Even though there are still slightly more than two weeks till the start of ESL Pro League Season 14, ESL is pumping up the tensions with their EPL S14 groups draw. They’ve revealed the groups this morning, but still no news on the schedule. Hopefully, we’ll know more in the days to come. No rush, though; the event starts on August 16^th, so there’s plenty of time for that.

The summer transfer market is wide open. CSGO teams are making roster alterations left and right. We’ve already seen a couple of notable moves. Lucky signing for Astralis is perhaps the biggest one thus far, though more are bound to come in the coming days.

The four EPL S14 groups will each be sporting six teams. The three best teams from each group will go through to the playoffs—winners from the semifinals, second and third-place finishers from the quarterfinals.

Here’s a closer look at all four groups:

All four EPL S14 groups are packed with quality teams. There’s not a single weak link here. In group A, four teams will be in a direct fight for one of three spots leading to the playoffs. ENCE and Bad News Bears are not to be taken for granted either. They will bide their chances and, if the schedule allows, pose as threats to the big boys. One slip-up and they could be fighting for the playoffs. Nuances will decide group A, but looking at the grand picture, the same ought to be true for the remaining three groups as well.

Mind you, though; this is not a LAN event. That said, Astralis might not be the first name on the team sheet. Heroic and Spirit could be the frontrunners, but it’s too early to say much more since we don’t know the fixtures. Once we do get that info, we’ll be able to make proper assumptions.

• Heroic
• Astralis
• Vitality
• Spirit
• ENCE
• Bad News Bears

Group B features Virtus.pro and G2 as the main favorites. G2 are in fine form, rarely missing a beat when it comes to consistency. They’re constantly reaching the top four spots, and I, for one, believe they might even do more on ESL Pro League Season 14. If NiKo, nexa, and huNter can continue delivering world-class performance, G2 fans could be in for an awesome event.

As for the second and third-spot, Virtus.pro and OG are my top picks. Complexity and Renegades will be in the mix too. Sinners are definitely the underdogs in this one, though I wouldn’t be shocked if they manage to steal a win against one of the above-mentioned big boys.

• G2
• Virtus.pro
• Complexity
• OG
• Renegades
• Sinners

Natus Vincere is the obvious favorite in group C! S1mple and the boys are currently ranked as the best team in the world, and I don’t see them failing to clinch playoffs in this group. It’s not an easy group, far from that, but a team of NaVi’s caliber shouldn’t have any major issues here.

The real struggle will be the second and third-place battle. All five remaining teams will be eyeing a spot in the playoffs. There’s not a single outsider here, which isn’t the case in the other EPL S14 groups. All six teams are in the mix, with NaVi being the only frontrunner.

Group C will offer the most interesting clashes, no doubt about that! Fingers crossed we get to see this one reach the final round without concrete spots in the playoffs. That’d be a fine way to boost the tensions and up the fun!

• Natus Vincere
• Faze Clan
• BIG
• Mousesports
• Evil Geniuses
• Fnatic

Group D has one clear favorite right off the bat. It is, of course, Gambit! The CIS champions have been nothing but brilliant this year. Led by enthusiastic sh1ro and Ax1Le, this Gambit roster is insanely difficult to play against. They didn’t bottle the recently finished IEM XVI Cologne either, despite many expecting them to crumble under the live-studio pressure.

Right behind them are NiP and Liquid. Liquid should have the upper hand in front of FURIA, but NiP is the definitive second-place material. If device gets things going right from the off, we could be in for a few dominant displays coming from the Swedish team.

• Gambit
• NiP
• FURIA
• Liquid
• Entropiq
• Team One