WCG 2009 Preview: Group B

In the second installment of our pre-WCG coverage, we now take a look at Group B.

Group B house two strong candidates for final stages of this year's World Cyber Games, in Group B we have; fnatic, DINC, FireGamers, Executioners and wNv.cn. The lineups for the respective teams are:

fnatic	DINC
Patrik "cArn" Sättermon	Jamie "PHZ5ao" Cross
Harley "dsn" Örwall	Kory "semphis" Friesen
Patrik "f0rest" Lundberg	Scott "bishop" Bishop
Christopher "GeT_RiGhT"Alesund	Brennan "eleiNt" Webster
Rasmus "Gux" Ståhl	Garett "GRT" Bambrough

FireGamers	Executioners
Bruno "bruno" Ono	Ferdinand "iMothed" Putra
Renato "nak" Nakano	Grayson "Gray" Sumarlin
Lincoln "fnx" Lau	Indra "Legend" Tay
Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo	Paulus "Hittt" Wijaya
Arthur "prd" Resende	Rizal "Ijal" Ardi Patanroi

wNv.cn

Jiang "Virgo" Qian

Bin "Savage" Liu

Bo "SmallBoy" Shi

Yi "zy" Zhou

Biaohong "Rita" Huang

Once again, Group B promises to be one of the hardest ones on paper after it contained a very interesting mixture last year, when Ola "elemeNt" Moum's Norway, Dignitas, Immunity and Vatos Locos were drawn together.

This year, it is fnatic the team that seem to have the edge here, as the Swedish giants are without a doubt the main favourites to win the competition. After losing to their arch-rivals, SK Gaming, in the final of Extreme Masters Global Challenge in Chengdu, fnatic showed their best face in Dubai, finishing in first place after a troublesome group stage.

Sweden's number one representative decided against attending IEF to stay in their homeland and practice for this WCG as to look to clinch one of the few trophies they do not have in their cabinet. As such, they are expected to stay at the top of their group and move past every opponent here.

The battle for the second place looks like a two-horse race between wNv.cn and FireGamers. Fresh from a runners-up finish at the IEF, the Chinese team will be playing at home, something they have used in the past to their advantage. wNv.cn's consistency, however, has yet to be shown, as sometimes they falter in the early stages, like at Global Challenge Chengdu, where they bowed out in the quarter-finals following a defeat to WeMade FOX.

FireGamers, on the other hand, will finally have their official debut on the big stages in Chengdu. After finding themselves behind Made in Brazil for too long, a dramatic final against the 2006 ESWC champions saw them seal the berth to this year's WCG Finals. The question is: can they perform? FireGamers definitely have the quality to make their mark in Chengdu, but it is a known fact that Brazilian teams tend to be discrete when unable to practice in Sweden, so their chances here look like a big, fat question mark.

In 2008, Canada's representative, NoPression, made it to the knock-out stage courtesy of an easy group draw, but this time around luck was not on Blight's side. Despite having a quite interesting line-up, which contains veteran Garett "GRT" Bambrough, DINC are far behind the big guns and they should be happy if they somehow manage to challenge for the third place.

The weakest link in Group B appears to be Executioners, who hail from Indonesia. In Cologne, the Asian country was poorly representated, as Nextlevel placed fourth in a relatively easy group. This year, Indonesia has a stronger team, composed of four players from XcN, but getting anything out of the group will certainly defy the odds.

HLTV.org's final placing prediction:

1. fnatic
2. wNv.cn
3. FireGamers
4. DINC
5. Executioners

Related

Preview: Group A

SteelSeries competition

Whodo you think will win Group B? By leaving your prediction in a commentbelow, you will have the opportunity to win a SteelSeries QcK+ CustomLimited Edition mousepad. You can pick your favorite, as there is awide range of mousespads to choose from (fnatic, mibr, MYM, SK andmore (stocks are limited)).


XLBet offers you the odds on Group B

XLBet is once again again ready to serve you withthe odds for World Cyber Games. Group B bets are available right now. Remember handicap bets finalizes once a team has reached 16 rounds won.

Group B will be a tough one, but do you have it figured out? A victory for fnatic against wNv.cn will grant you a 1.35 odds, while a win for the Chinese team will give you 2.82 odds.

What could be the fight for the second place, wNv.cn versus FireGamers, FireGamers leads in a 0-7 handicap, meaning FireGamers will have 7 rounds before match start. A win for wNv.cn in this match will give you odds 1.52 while a win for FireGamers will give you 2.30.

XLBet will be your home for all odds during World Cyber Games, go check out the available odds right here.