DreamHack Open Leipzig will kick off on Jan. 24 and run until Jan. 26. The $100,000 CSGO event in Leipzig, Germany sees eight teams split into Group A and Group B. We covered Group A earlier, and now it’s time to look at Group B.
Group B of DreamHack Open Leipzig consists of a European quartet with three Danish teams. The formations have either gone through some roster changes or have impressed in the qualifying process to the event in Germany. So let’s take a look at each team of Group B: Heroic, North, MAD Lions, and the Group’s only non-Danish team, Sprout.
Heroic
Heroic qualified for the Leipzig event through the DreamHack Open Leipzig 2020 Europe qualifier. The team defeated Team Secret and Gambit Youngsters to find themselves safe and sound in the event alongside their Danish rivals, MAD Lions. Heroic are currently placed at rank 16 on HLTV Global rankings, making them one of the favorites to move onto the playoffs. That said, the team saw a lack of success at any major 2019 events, and they only managed to place third at EPICENTER 2019.
This will serve as the team’s first appearance in the 2020 CSGO season. Casper “cadiaN” Møller’s side needs a win to prove that the Danish side is a respectable formation, even as they live in the shadow of the Danish giants, Astralis.
North
North has just undergone a major organizational and cosmetic transformation. This resulted in a brand new logo and new signings in the coaching department.
As the second Danish team on the roster, it is likely that they are the favorites, despite sitting at 21st on HLTV’s global rankings. Headlined by Markus “Kjaerbye” Kjærbye, the roster has seen slight alterations recently. Namely, Mathias “MSL” Lauridsen returned to the North CSGO team in place of Jakob “JUGi” Hansen. MSL will be the primary AWPer for the Danish powerhouse. These changes come after a relatively poor year for North, as they only managed to place third at the ECS Season 6 and 7 Finals.
On paper, this is a very strong team, one that can dish out much more impact at LAN events. Perhaps DreamHack Open Leipzig will be their event at last.
MAD Lions
The third and final Danish team in Group B, MAD Lions have impressed immensely over the past month. Their biggest upset came at IEM Katowice 2020 Closed qualifier, where they managed to knockout ENCE in the Lower Bracket final and take the last European spot at the event in Katowice. The roster, led by Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen, has been brought over from Tricked, yet another Danish CSGO club to add to our list. So far, they have impressed under the MAD Lions banner. However, they have yet to show that they are capable of dominating in a proper LAN event.
Sprout
Sprout stands as the only non-Danish team in Group B of the initial Group Play stage. They had a turbulent end to 2019, with two of their talents leaving to BIG Clan. This left two vacant spots for the German team to fill so that they could compete once more. Fortunately, Sprout managed to bring on the immensely experienced ex-mousesports AWPer Tomáš “oskar” Šťastný, as well as the ex-Aristocracy Pole PaweÅ‚ “dycha” Dycha.
The new lineup now includes three Germans, a Pole, and a Czech, making it a central-eastern European medley. This will be the first time we’ll see the rebuilt Sprout formation in action, and they’ll take on North in the first matchup. It will be a true test of nerves for both CSGO teams.
What do you think of Group B of DreamHack Open Leipzig in Germany? Who will come out on top? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments, and make sure to check out Group A’s preview as well. As always, remember to follow us at Daily Esports for all your latest news in CSGO as well as other major esports out there.
