DreamHack Open Rotterdam 2019 Event Preview & Team Overviews
Let’s step away from the grandest of CS:GO stages for a moment and focus on a slightly less-notable event. It still bears the DreamHack trademark, but it’s not a Masters tier event but its little brother, DreamHack Open. Rotterdam is the location, and several impressive teams are going at it in just a few days.
With those introductory words, I’d like to welcome you all to our comprehensive DreamHack Open Rotterdam Preview, which serves sort of like a viewer’s guide for the upcoming Dutch spectacle.
We’ll cover lots of things, such as the vital tournament facts, event format, match schedule, and team overviews. It’s the usual topics we cover in our event previews, meaning there are no surprises in that department.
Unfortunately, DreamHack Open events aren’t as prestigious as they once were. These days, DH Open events don’t sport the biggest names in the business, that’s what DH Masters events are for. However, DH Open events are still an essential part of the DreamHack pro ecosystem and bring forth up-and-coming teams that want to step their competitive game up a notch.
DreamHack Open Rotterdam 2019 Preview | Interesting Facts
- Even though DreamHack Open Rotterdam doesn’t sport the likes of Team Liquid, Astralis, Evil Geniuses, and similar, the eight competing teams are still pretty notable. Well, some of them at least. The most famous side is AVANGAR, StarLadder Major finalist, with the likes of CR4ZY, ForZe, and ex-DreamEaters (now Hard Legion Esports) completing the StarLadder Major Lineup.
- Despite the fact DreamHack Open events lost their prestige over the years, they still feature hefty prize pools. We’re talking about $100,000 in prize money, half of which goes to the winners. Not bad, eh?
- Our DreamHack Open Rotterdam Preview is here just in time since the event kicks off this Friday and will feature thirteen matches across three days. The group stage matches will go on the first two days while the playoffs are scheduled for Sunday.
DreamHack Open Rotterdam 2019 Event Format
Moving on with our DreamHack Open Rotterdam Preview, we’ll quickly go through essential things regarding its format. For starters, this is a small(ish) event featuring only eight teams. It still features two phases, the usual suspects, group stage, and playoffs.
The group stage sees two double-elimination groups, each containing four teams. As usual, opening and winners’ matches are Bo1 while decider and elimination matches are Bo3. This will ensure no eliminations take place without at least one Bo3 loss.
The top two teams from each group advance to the playoffs, with seeds being B1A2 and B2A1. Both semifinals and grand finals are scheduled for the final day of the event (Sunday) and will feature thrilling Bo3 contests.
DreamHack Open Rotterdam 2019 Team Overviews
Our DreamHack Open Rotterdam Preview isn’t over just yet! There are still a few things we must go through before we can call it a day. First off, we need to examine the four most notable teams, two from each group. You know, the teams that are the most likely contenders to reach the playoffs.
By looking at the list of competing teams, AVANGAR, CR4ZY, ForZe, and Hard Legion stand out as the most notable ones. All four of them participated in the StarLadder Major earlier this year, with AVANGAR reaching the grand finals and almost going all the way. CR4ZY also had a spectacular string of matches, but they lost their leading players and are nowhere near their Major performances.
ForZe and Hard Legion (ex DreamEaters) had solid runs, too, and I’m eager to see what they have to bring to the table in the Netherlands. With those words, let’s check out what these teams are all about and finish our DreamHack Open Rotterdam Preview with style!
AVANGAR
Let’s start with AVANGAR, the biggest StarLadder Major sensation, the team that elimination a handful of superior opponents such as G2, Vitality, and Renegades. The crazy Kazakhs surprised everyone in the Legends Stage when they exploded onto the stage with three consecutive wins against top-tier opponents, Renegades, Team Liquid, and G2.
Their fantastic results didn’t end there. Led by in-form Jame and buster, AVANGAR transformed into a proper behemoth to eliminate ZywOo’s Vitality in the quarterfinals. They did the same thing in semifinals too, this time against Renegades. Unfortunately, Astralis was too much for them in the grand finals, but they still had to be satisfied with their best Major performance ever!
Even though many believed AVANGAR’s success was a one-off thing, Jame and the Kazakh boys cemented their position with a spectacular show on BLAST Pro Series Moscow where they effortlessly demolished the likes of NaVi, MIBR, ENCE, and ForZe.
Even though they had some problems against lesser-known teams such as Illuminar, Japaleno, and Heroic in recent weeks, AVANGAR is still the first name on the team sheet for DreamHack Open Rotterdam. If they manage to get their game on in the opening Bo1 match against Besiktas, I reckon ex-DreamEaters (Hard Legion), and Heroic will have a lot of work to do to contest against the crazy Kazakhs, especially if push comes to shove in Bo3s.
CR4ZY
Moving on with our DreamHack Open Rotterdam Preview, let’s talk about CR4ZY! Just like AVANGAR, CR4ZY was another proper sensation in Berlin. True, their magnificent performances didn’t leave as much of a bang as that of AVANGAR, but their overall displays were pretty good. Unfortunately, CR4ZY’s StarLadder Major roster is no more. Nexa and HuNter (arguably two of CR4ZY’s best players) have signed for G2 Esports less than two weeks ago. Emi, CR4ZY’s former coach, is their new IGL with SHiPZ, 19-year-old fragger from Bulgaria, completing their five-man roster.
In all honesty, this new CR4ZY roster doesn’t look nearly as prolific and productive as the one they featured in Berlin. Still, it’s early to draw big conclusions as these players are yet to sync up and prove their worth against tough competitors properly.
However, thus far, the matches they did play together leave much to be desired. Several losses against tier B sides, as well as a handful of tricky wins against unknown names in the industry, pushed them out of the world’s top 20 teams.
Despite that, the likes of ottoNd, and EspiranTo are still in proper form, with the Finnish AWPer enjoying his brilliant form match in and match out. But will OttoNd’s brilliance coupled with sparks of perfection from their new signings and EspiranTo’s sick one-Deags be enough to push CR4ZY into the playoffs?
Well, they’re in group B with Asterion, ForZe, and HAVU Gaming. Realistically speaking, ForZe seems like the only noteworthy contestant, although HAVU and Asterion aren’t to be taken for granted, especially knowing CR4ZY’s struggles with lesser-known teams.
If OttoNd and EspiranTo kickstart their Dutch campaign against HAVU with straight A’s, their snowball potential could be what drives CR4ZY to the semifinals. If not, if CR4ZY fails to impress against the finicky Finns, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them flunk out of the group stage after just two matches.
ForZe
Next up, we have ForZe, a solid StarLadder Major contender that almost made it through to the Legends Stage if it wasn’t for a brilliant performance by the last team we’re going to talk about today, DreamEaters, now dubbed as Hard Legion.
What’s there to say about post-Major ForZe? Well, as opposed to CR4ZY, ForZe still has the same five-man starting roster, meaning their performances (at least in theory) shouldn’t devolve too much coming into this tournament.
They weren’t in the best of forms on the European Champions Cup, where they lost against Heroic and GamerLegion. However, their GG.bet Beijing Invitational was pretty solid. Yes, they did lose against mousesports but got back on their feet with impressive wins over ex-Epsilon, G2, and Heretics. Right now, they’re on a three-match winning streak. Even though it’s against lesser-known opponents like pro100, Unique, and Demise, wins are wins, and they’re bound to shape the way ForZe comes into this event.
What exactly do fans expect from ForZe in the Netherlands? Well, qualifying for the playoffs would be the bare minimum. After all, they’re in group B with CR4ZY, HAVU, and Asterion, and by looking at the team sheets, ForZe is the top name. If they go through, anything above semifinals would be an excellent introduction for what’s to come in the foreseeable future.
Hard Legion
The last team we’re going to discuss in our DreamHack Open Rotterdam Preview is Hard Legion Esports. As stated above, we’re talking about the ex-DreamEaters roster that left their organization a week ago. We won’t go into too many details regarding that, but instead, we’ll focus on their recent performances.
Ex-DreamEaters, or should I say Hard Legion, aren’t exactly playing their finest CS:GO at the moment. Losses to Nemiga, Gambit youngers, and Aristocracy revealed a ton of burning issues in the roster. But still, it could be the whole org-breakup ordeal getting the best out of the players. We could finally see them perform at their finest, just like they did in Berlin earlier this year.
Need I remind you, we’re talking about the team that defeated NRG (now Evil Geniuses), and Vitality in the Challengers Stage, so they have the firepower needed to give some stick to the biggest and baddest CS:GO teams out there.
With all that in mind, there’s no doubt Hard Legion AKA ex-DreamEaters has the potential to cause havoc in group A. AVANGAR should top the group and seal the deal right off the bat, meaning speed4k and the boys will have a proper fight with Besiktas and Heroic for the second place. It could go either way, but I suppose ex-DreamEaters’ experience should be enough to sway the odds in their favor.
DreamHack Open Rotterdam 2019 Schedule (CEST)
Our DreamHack Open Rotterdam Preview is almost done! There’s just one more thing we need to cover, and that’d be the schedule of the first round of group stage matches. As stated above, the group stage matches feature a mixture of Bo1’s and Bo3’s, with all four opening matches scheduled for upset-prone best of one’s.
Here are the starting times so you can plan your schedule accordingly:
Friday, October 18th
- AVANGAR vs. Besiktas – noon
- HLE vs. Heroic – 3 p.m.
- ForZe vs. Asterion – 1.30 p.m.
- CR4ZY vs. HAVU – 4.30 p.m.
Opening matches are followed by the winners’ round, which will decide the top team in each group. The remaining Elimination and decider matches are scheduled for Saturday with playoffs set for the final day of the competition, Sunday, October 20th.
If you like what you see here, you might be interested in the live-action. No worries, we got you covered. You can find the official DreamHack Open Rotterdam Twitch livestream. As stated above, the action starts on Friday, October 18th, so make sure you tune in and don’t miss any of the live-action from the Rotterdam Ahoy arena.
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