European RMR Group B preview: The Outsiders
Will we see some of these teams upset the heavy hitters in Group B?
There are eight spots left for the Antwerp Major next month. All of them are on the line in the European RMR Group B.
Here we give you a run-through of the teams, that we have placed in different brackets; Favorites, Contenders, and Outsiders. This article will feature our picks for the Outsider's category.
Outsiders:
Spirit
If this was one or two years ago, then we would have had Spirit among the contenders or even the favourites in a group like this. However, the Russian side is nowhere near their peak level from previous years as we have seen them drop down the rankings and not qualifying for the top-tier tournaments.
This RMR tournament will work as the first big test of their new roster after bringing in the youngsters Patsi and s1ren. The big question mark will undoubtedly be their amount of firepower, or more the lack of it.
Player to watch: 
Abdul “degster” Gasanov was once of CS:GO’s most promising talents - But alongside Spirit, the AWPer has dropped off quite significantly. It will be interesting to see whether degster can return to his former top-level and help Spirit snatch a Major ticket.
SINNERS
is another exciting team to follow in this PGL Major Antwerp qualifier. Going into this year, the Czechs lost their talisman in the former mousesports profile Tomáš "oskar" Šťastný. A roster move, which looks like to have bruised the team a bit so far, with SINNERS not having been able to stabilize themselves as a solid top 30 team.
With that being said, SINNERS can still do a lot of damage in a group like this. Especially looking at their promising trio in NEOFRAG, forsyy, and SHOCK.
Player to watch: 
Adam “NEOFRAG” Zouhar seems like the man who’s taken over as the star player after oskar’s exit. And it’s with good reason, with the 20-year-old rifler averaging a solid 1.16 Rating over the last 12 months.
Sprout
The Germans from Sprout are a bit tough to figure out. Sometimes we see them in Top 20 and participating in big tournaments week after week – but on the other hand, we also see them change rosters and show lacklustre results in tier-3/4 events. And in most recent times, it has been more of the latter.
It didn’t strengthen Sprout’s chances of qualifying for the Major, when it came out that they will have to play with their head coach, BERRY, as a stand-in due to Staehr being sick. But if they find their groove and raalz finds a great set-up, they might be able to qualify.
Players to watch: 
Fritz "slaxz-" Dietrich (in the picture above) has been Sprout’s best-performing player in 2022 and his level will surely be a decisive factor for the Germans' success at the event.
The Underdogs
Lastly we have the underdogs. Here we have a quartet of teams that will have to bring their absolute A-game and all their lucky charms if they wish to book a spot at the $1 Million Major championship next month.
- Endpoint
- ASG
- Sangal
- Anonymo
The first round of Group B will start Thursday.
Schedule:
11.00: G2 - Anonymo
11.00: Entropiq - Bad News Eagles
12.15: NIP - Endpoint
12.15: HEET - SINNERS
13.30: Players - Sangal
13.30: Astralis - ASG
14.45: Copenhagen Flames - Sprout
14.45: Spirit - ENCE
