With less than a week separating us from the final CSGO event of 2019, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and learn more about it. After all, it features a healthy dose of the top 10 teams, meaning we’ll be up for quite a few screamers along the way.

As the title suggests, I’m talking about another EPICENTER installation. Scheduled for next Tuesday in Moscow, and leaping all the way to Sunday, this event has the potential to rack in serious numbers.

Our EPICENTER 2019 Preview is here, too, presenting you with the latest facts about the event as well as the participating teams. Once again, there are plenty of top-tier names here, and it would only be logical to check them all out.

But, first, let’s talk about the key facts regarding this event:

EPICENTER 2019 Preview |Interesting Facts

• As hinted earlier, EPICENTER 2019 starts on Tuesday with the first two opening matches. You can check out the groups right down below.
• Twitch streams will be available in the following languages: English, Russian, French, Spanish, Danish, and Vietnamese.
• EPICENTER 2019 sports $500,000 in prize money and will be held in Moscow, at the Crocus Expo Hall, to be precise.
• The event consists of two phases, group stage, and playoffs. All matches are Bo3, from start to finish. There will be two groups with four teams in each. Group winners advance to the semifinals while second and third-place teams have to battle their way through from the quarters.

Prize Pool Distribution

Here’s a closer look at EPICENTER 2019’s prize pool distribution:

Place	Prize
1st	$250,000
2nd	$120,000
3rd – 4th	$40,000
5th – 6th	$15,000
7th – 8th	$10,000

EPICENTER 2019 Team Overviews

If we want to understand the complexity of this event, our EPICENTER 2019 preview has to focus on the participating teams. The most notable ones, at the very least.

And that’s exactly what we’re going to do here – check out the five teams bearing the highest chances of success in Moscow. I expect all five of these teams to reach the playoffs. Some of them have the consistency, some of them are on a huge run of success, and others have the firepower needed to go toe to toe with the best of them.

Evil Geniuses

Let’s talk about Evil Geniuses, a potent lineup consisting of some of the biggest NA talents. Surprisingly enough, EG is not the first favorite to win this one. That flattering title belongs to the team that’s coming right up, Mousesports. Still, in my opinion, EG is the strongest side in Moscow, despite the fact Mousesports is in a much better form than the Americans.

This ex-NRG roster is led by CeRq and Brehze, two very fine individuals that helped the team climb up to the #1 spot in late October. Even though they were eventually dethroned by Astralis, a taste of the top spot was surely enough to spark the fire in this team.

Coming to Moscow, Evil Geniuses are already eyeing the top prize. Motivation won’t be lacking, that’s for sure, especially after a clumsy outing in Odense where they got eliminated by Mousesports. Their direct competitors are pretty fiery, though, and they’ll have to put together their A-game starting from the group stage. With the likes of AVANGAR, ForZe, and Mousesports, especially Mousesports, EG will have no time to rest in Moscow.

Mousesports

Mousesports is hot right now! Frozen and the boys are coming off of a world-class performance on ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals. For those of you not in the know, Mousesports won the event, beating Astralis in the semis and Fnatic in the grand finals. The event was a proper show for all EU teams, with NA’s best finishing on the 5th/6th position.

Haters will say that wicked overtime in Astralis could’ve gone either way, we all know that. However, we have to give credit where credit is due, and Mousesports didn’t back down after their breakthrough semifinals win. They took on the opportunity and smoothly defeated Fnatic on Inferno, Train, and Mirage.

Players-wise, ropz has to be pointed out as the stand-out performer in Odense. However, the rest of the team pulled their fair share of weight too. Woxic was brilliant against Astralis, ChrisJ as well, while Frozen and ropz took out the Swedes.

Overall, I can see why people consider Mousesports the heavy favorite coming into EPICENTER 2019. They got winds of victory in their sails and will hope to finish 2019 off with a proper blast, and two notable titles in December ought to do the trick!

AVANGAR

What is there to say about AVANGAR without mentioning the thing everyone knows for – their StarLadder Major performance. True, AVANGAR could’ve been seen on numerous other international events, but it’s safe to say they made their biggest imprint in Berlin. Jame and the boys swept through the competition, not only qualifying to the Champions Stage but eliminating some of the world’s greatest. In the end, Astralis was too big of a bite, but I’m positive the Kazakhs weren’t that heartbroken after the defeat.

Shortly after their Major triumph, AVANGAR went to Moscow and won a BLAST Pro Series event. Truth be told, the competition wasn’t the greatest, but a trophy is a trophy, and AVANGAR snatched one. Since then, their form hasn’t been the greatest. They’ve started oscillating in form, winning against class A teams but losing to semiprofessional buggers.

Consistency seems to be their greatest issue at the moment. If they can sort it out before their trip to Moscow, I wouldn’t be surprised if they make it to the semifinals. Playoffs shouldn’t be in question, even considering the fact AVANGAR is in group B with EG, Mousesports, and ForZe.

Vitality

2019 was supposed to be Vitality’s year. They had in-form ZywOo and a healthy roster across all departments. They had the perfect mixture of youth and experience, and realistically speaking, they should’ve done a lot more. Yes, I know they won the seventh season of Esports Championship Series and a few other (much smaller) events, but their overall presentation wasn’t up to par.

They were quite unlucky too, finishing in second place on two notable occasions. Semifinal finishes were frequent too, IEM XIV Beijing and Chicago being the most notable ones. Vitality’s StarLadder Major performance left their fans with a sour taste in the mouth after getting eliminated in the quarterfinals.

But still, despite all that, Vitality is a tough team to play against. They have the individual brilliance in ZywOo, a ton of experience in RpK and apex, and an all-around team composition with a solid map pool. They aren’t afraid of anyone, and if they manage to qualify straight to the semifinals, they might even go all the way.

Natus Vincere

Natus Vincere just can’t get a lucky break. They’re turning out to be one of the biggest losers of 2019, bottling it at several semifinals. In fact, S1mple and the company won only a single notable event, StarSeries Season 7, which was way back in April. With GuardiaN now onboard and B1ad3 as their new coach, I believe they can turn a new page… and pretty soon. Perhaps Moscow can be their lucky break?

There’s another thing we need to mention here, and it’s the home soil advantage. Seeing as NaVi is the best CIS teams, with most of its roster originating from Russia, the Moscow crowds ought to cheer for them. They love the home crowds, and the home crowds love them. It’s the perfect mixture of electric Eastern European fans being the sixth man in the game. You just got to love it!

Overall, I believe Natus Vincere will have a very successful EPICENTER 2019 campaign. With a bit of luck, they might even go all the way. Baby steps first, though, even though group A might seem simple enough, NaVi is known to bottle it in the early stages. If they can start off on the right foot, their snowballing potential should take care of everything else.

EPICENTER 2019 | Event Schedule (CET)

We’re almost done, fellas! The last thing we have on our bucket list is the event schedule. EPICENTER 2019 keeps things nice and simple, featuring a lenient schedule with plenty of time for teams to refresh and prepare for upcoming contests.

As for the actual contests, EPICENTER 2019’s group stage starts on Tuesday, December 12th, with two opening matches of group A.

Tuesday, December 17th

• Vitality vs. EHOME – 11 a.m.
• NaVi vs. Heroic – 2 p.m.
• Winners Round – 5 p.m.

Wednesday, December 18th

• ForZe vs. Evil Geniuses – 11 a.m.
• AVANGAR vs. Mousesports – 2 p.m.
• Winners Round – 5 p.m.

Thursday, December 19th

• Elimination Round Grp A – 10 a.m.
• Elimination Round Grp B – 1 p.m.
• Decider Round Grp A– 4 p.m.
• Decider Round Grp B – 7 p.m.

Saturday, December 21st

• Quarterfinals #1 – noon
• Quarterfinals #2 – 3 p.m.

Sunday, December 22nd

• Semifinals #1 – 10 a.m.
• Semifinals #2 – 1 p.m.
• Grand Finals – 4 p.m.

If you want to watch the action live, EPICENTER’s official Twitch channel is the obvious way to go!