Virtus.pro has a powerful rival on Nuke. Seriously?

On the night from 22nd to 23d of September, Virtus.pro will begin their play in ELEAGUE Premier 2017. Their first opponents will be Team EnVyUs; at the same time, Ninjas in Pajamas will play with Cloud9 in a parallel match.

What do we need to know about our enemies to advance to the prestigious league's playoffs from the group stage?

EnVyUs' capabilities

Team EnVyUs – one of the few teams that can stand their ground against Virtus.pro on Nuke. Don't look at the winrate – French team can surprise you: during the ECS Season 3 they defeated VP 16:2. In that match, Polish team only managed to get one round on the offense.

Even considering that, Mirage, Overpass, and Nuke are looking much more comfortable for VP than Cache, Cobblestone, and Inferno. On these particular maps, EnVyUs have the highest win-rate.

EnVyUs' win-rate per map:

  • Cache — 63,2%
  • Cobblestone — 60,6%
  • Inferno — 58,3%
  • Train — 54,9%
  • Mirage — 51,9%
  • Nuke — 51%
  • Overpass — 41,2%

Pistol round masters

EnVyUs' pistol round success is a key in an absolute majority of situations. Traditionally, closed defensive positions and timely rotations diminish the danger of this factor.

Opponent's style

At the moment, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Cloud9 are in a phase of adaptation to the new players. Both teams follow a free playstyle, which makes their defense much more dynamic and increases their dependency on individual plays in offense. It is very well reflected by Stewie2K's ever frequent lurks on the closed plant on Train.

Which map is the best against Cloud9?

In a potential match against the North American team, it would be best to pick Inferno. On this map, C9 have the lowest winrate (48.7%). The Polish Five's veteran experience on Inferno makes them clear favorites there. Although, we shouldn't discount such maps as Train and Nuke.

The weak link in EnVyUs' defense

EnVyUs' main AWPer's inconsistency makes his position a prime target for a pop-flash entries. Christophe "SIXER" Xia holds Ivy on Train, A plant on Cbble (usually on Long A), bombsite A on Mirage and Cache, and Close Middle on Inferno.

The secret of victory against Ninjas in Pyjamas on Train

In the quarterfinals of the DreamHack Masters Malmö 2017, Natus Vincere showed a great example of how to play against NiP on Train, finishing the match 16:6. The secret of Na'Vi's victory – outstanding awareness of mobile Swedes - who liked to attack A plant after a B fake.

Swedish ninjas' X-factor

After William "draken" Sundin's arrival to Ninjas in Pyjamas, Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg received a lot of freedom in his play, which positively reflected on his individual player stats. His elimination brings VP's victory closer.

CS2