What to expect from BOSS v. BIG

At long last, BOSS' prize for taking second place at ECL Season 46 has come, their invitation to ESL Pro League Season 19. One of just a few orgless teams in Malta, EPL will be the top of the resume when shopping around organizations, so a solid result at the event is imperative for BOSS. That all begins with their first match as they go up against the German powerhouse of BIG.

BOSS' form

BOSS have become a solid mainstay in the upper echelons of North American domestic Counter-Strike, among the likes of Wildcard and Nouns. They are currently sixth in ECL with a positive win-rate, however have stumbled in matches to Elevate and NRG. EPL is their only notable LAN coming up, with losses in the Dallas and Jönköping qualifiers still stinging. So, let's see what we're working with.

• Justin "FaNg" Coakley, the newest addition to the squad, has posted a 1.20 rating in his 17 maps over the past month

• Josh "PwnAlone" Pigue the 33 year old talent has a 1.10 rating with the team, but will have to out-AWP Florian "syrsoN" Rische

• Win or lose, BOSS need to take this time in Europe to learn how EU plays CS and take it back home to retake a top spot in the region

The roaring bears, a tad quiet

BIG have looked, to put it frankly, bad. While I applaud their dedication to the German scene, BIG's results have left a lot to be desired. They've recently dropped matches to BLEED, OG, and Young Ninjas. Yes you read that right, Young Ninjas. BIG have dropped out of the Top 30 for the first time since promoting the majority of their academy squad. While their slate of future events is still quite full, the national squad must look for a strong finish sooner or later or else they will quickly lose ranking points and risk missing invitations.

• syrsoN has not achieved his former self, holding a sub-1.0 rating since re-joining BIG

• Karim "krimbo" Moussa is not carrying games like he used to

Previous Matchups

Due to BOSS' players' limited European expeditions, these two teams have not faced off before.

Likely Vetoes

As the higher seed, BIG will likely choose to pick and ban second.

• BOSS ban Nuke (Permaban)

• BIG ban Mirage (Permaban)

• BOSS pick Ancient (By far most played map)

• BIG pick Vertigo (Comfortable pick, BOSS have bad win rate)

• Decider Anubis

BOSS and BIG will face off tomorrow morning at 07:30AM.