moses: "I don't want to hear any more NA CS veterans complaining about practice quality and conditions"

The PGL Antwerp Major Challengers Stage is set to begin in just under a week, meaning sixteen teams will do battle inside the Swiss System format until just eight teams are left to advance. Before these teams go to war inside of the Challengers Stage, we took to some of the most notable expert minds inside the North American Counter-Strike region, to hear their thoughts on not only the teams representing our regions but the Major in its entirety.

Experts include:

• Jason "moses" O'Toole - Caster, analyst, former Liquid coach

• Alex “Mauisnake” Ellenberg - Analyst, commentator, former coach, former semi-professional player

• Nathan "madcow" Retterath - Bad News Bears coach

• Joeseph "muenster" Lima - Party Astronauts coach

• Daniel "sprayxd" Kogan - ATK coach

• Mike "DarfMike" Winnick - Caster

• Bobby "stamina" Eitrem - Strife in-game leader

• Danish "Nohte" Allana - HLTV senior staff writer

• Cole "xner" McHenry - Caster

Of the six Americas teams, which has the best chance to win the Major?

moses, Mauisnake, madcow, sprayxd, stamina, and Nohte - FURIA

DarfMike – FURIA: As much as I'd like to put Liquid here I think that would be dishonest. FURIA is gelling with Rafael saffee Costa in the roster at just the right time to have momentum heading into the Major. That plus a Legends spot already secured has me very excited for what this team could do when the lights get bright.

Muenster - Liquid or FURIA: Even though FURIA steamrolled every team they played against at the RMR I think their particular playstyle is something most top EU teams are comfortable playing against at this point, and a Major winning run would have to come down to consistently above-average individual performances from two of the three-star players on the team. Liquid has an equal chance as FURIA in my opinion because I think their particular playstyle is well suited for top European opposition. They also seem to prepare very well for games which could give them an edge. On top of having a very well-structured team and doing good prep, oSee has proven himself to be potentially one of the deadliest AWPers at the Major next to the likes of s1mple, m0NESY, and ZywOo. A star AWP is something Liquid hasn’t had since s1mple was on the team and he will definitely be the X-factor in their Major run.

xner - FURIA: Without a doubt the most proven team so far on LAN. They dominated in the RMR on the way to the Legends stage without dropping a map. drop has become a consistent high impact rifler alongside KSCERATO and yuurih. Finally, we move on to arT who seemingly has no trouble calling against some of the best IGLs in EU right now. FURIA is my dark horse pick for the event.

Which Americas team or player has the most to prove at the Major?

moses - Complexity: I have a sneaking suspicion that this team has peaked... that they've hit their ceiling of what they are capable of. And I think on a certain level that's a pretty harsh realization for a team that is supposed to be full of potential for the NA scene. But I haven't seen any meaningful improvement within Complexity that makes me feel like they'll be competitive with the EU squads.

Mauisnake - oSee

madcow and sprayxd - Liquid

Muenster - JT: After consistently calling his rosters to the top of the tier two NA scene it seems like it’s time for him to prove he’s capable of IGLing at the highest level. He definitely has the firepower in Grim, FaNg, and especially floppy to execute his strategies so I think JT and the Complexity squad will surprise a lot of people at this Major. Oh, and JT is quite the headshotter himself so teams would be dumb to underestimate him.

DarfMike - Imperial/fnx: I'm going to cop out and provide two for very different reasons. The Last Dance moniker kind of tells the story in that if this is the last hurrah for the storied former Major winners on the roster, what better way to do it than to make a real run at the Major. Qualifying was already a victory of sorts, but as the saying goes no fnx no Major, so now fnx then Major win?

stamina - Imperial: Most people think they're washed and going 0-3/1-3 would be pretty tough for them. Making it through stage one or fighting really close to making it through would be big for them.

Nohte - Liquid: It is about time they start putting up results with their new roster because they simply aren't a team that can be content sitting around the top ten. If that isn't a possibility, then we have to start pondering whether changes are needed. Complexity have the most to prove for North America as a region. They carry the hopes of the next generation of talent with them, and simply exiting in the Challengers Stage would be a disappointment, not just for fans, but for the players as well. The roster needs to taste some level of success at this point, and even making the Legends Stage would help to quench that thirst somewhat - anything further than that would only serve to carry the dreams of the players further and offer a bastion of hope for the region.

xner - Liquid: At the moment they are not a title contending team. This Major should determine if they should change up the roster or if they can keep things running as is. shox's current level should make it no surprise that he needs to be the one on the chopping block. If he doesn't come into this event and play the best CS so far in his time with NA then Liquid will continue to struggle.

Which Americas team do you see needing the most drastic changes if they bottom out of the Major? If so what changes?

moses - EG and Complexity: I mentioned on a dust2.us show at some point with Ryan that I think it's time EG gets blown up and the project changed. I have to imagine if we chop up and Frankenstein the shit out of every team not named Liquid in NA we could surely build at least two squads better than the current iterations of EG and Complexity. That probably sounds harsh for the Complexity guys but with the state NA CS is in, this isn't the time to be sentimental about cores of friends and lineups. We need competitive lineups and we need them to bring value to the few orgs still investing in the region.

Mauisnake - Liquid: autimatic for shox.

madcow - FURIA

Muenster: I believe every single team at the Major either has an already insanely strong roster or has a roster that, given enough time, could improve even more. There isn’t a team at the event (including EU) who I think should make changes even if they place last.

sprayxd - Imperial

DarfMike: I honestly don't think any of the teams do. All of the teams have either made recent enough changes or already achieved a good enough result compared to the expectation that I don't think any result here would prompt drastic changes. That being said if Liquid completely shit the bed and looked awful in every game they played that would be cause for concern.

stamina: The NA/SA teams are all kinda young or new rosters, so I don't think any of them would need to make that drastic of a change. However, pressure is definitely on shox & Liquid because people thought that was a bad move from day one.

Nohte: Not drastic per se, but should Liquid "bottom out", they need to take a look at making at least one change, more than likely something along the lines of swapping shox for floppy. Complexity still needs more time, so changes of their own volition shouldn't come around quite yet.

xner - Liquid: shox certainly needs to go if this Major isn't the turnaround for him and Liquid.

Which Americas player are you expecting to have a breakout event?

moses - oSee: I guess you could even argue that he's already had his "breakout" showings. I would agree to an extent but the Major is such a different beast.

Mauisnake, Muenster, Nohte - floppy

DarfMike - DGT That dude is nuts and I think 9z could pull off some spicy upsets.

stamina - Luken I originally thought he should have joined old MIBR way back when, in place of meyern, as he was 2x the player at that point. I think he will establish himself as the best SA player outside of KSCERATO.

sprayxd - oSee, Luken, exit

xner - Grim: He has been improving in form since his start on Complexity. The level of impact that he has right now wasn't seen on Liquid because of role clashes, but now that he has regained confidence in himself, the guy has been dropping crazy numbers.

Any hot takes?

moses: I don't want to hear any more NA CS veterans complaining about practice quality and conditions in NA. I don't want to hear complaints about travel schedules and time spent abroad. We all know and understand the situation and the difficulties, but you don't get to use that as an excuse anymore. The greatest thing that the "Brazilian Storm" has accomplished is showing how incredibly weak and stupid it is for NA teams and players to continue clinging to this crutch. And that's all it is - it's an easy crutch to reach for in order to explain away poor performances. But while all that was happening, the Brazilian teams just shut the fuck up, practiced, worked hard, and they've all been rewarded for their singular focus on their goals. And they did it all while, for the most part, living entirely outside of their home country just like NA squads have been forced to do. We've all indulged this weakness too much, myself included. But now that Brazilian teams, and even some of the younger NA teams, are showing that they can be competitive and overtake the veteran squads, it's time to shut up about it and get to work.

Mauisnake: Complexity will do as well as Liquid.

madcow: Complexity is going to look scary, but it will be one extreme or the other. Scary good, or scary bad.

Muenster: I don’t think Vitality will make a deep run or possibly even make it out of the Challengers Stage.

sprayxd: MIBR will make a deep run.

DarfMike: For once I don't think I really do. I have this sneaking feeling Vitality is going to have a disappointing Major but that's less based on any fact and more just a hunch.

stamina: If Liquid doesn't make an impressive run, shox will be removed.

Nohte: All three of Astralis, Vitality, and NIP won't make the playoffs.

xner - FURIA could win the major: Its will require everyone to keep up their current level and be some of the best performers in the tournament, but FURIA have proven themselves to be a deadly team on LAN.

Who is winning the Major?

moses - NAVI: God I hope it will be them.

Mauisnake - Cloud9

madcow, sprayxd - NAVI

Muenster - NaVi or FaZe: In recent interviews, Blad3 and other members of NAVI said that they haven’t been able to practice much or at all due to circumstances in Ukraine, but I believe they will 100% be putting in the work and prep for the Major and make everyone remember what happened last time. NAVI proved last Major that they are capable of being the deadliest team of all time and I don’t think they’re ready to take their foot off the gas just yet. FaZe, in my opinion, will be a close contender though. Right now they are such a well-oiled machine and everyone on the team is performing well individually so they definitely have the pieces to give NAVI a run for their money.

DarfMike - FaZe: With the CIS teams still in some degree of very understandable disarray the table is set for the current world number one to finally earn that Major crown. Plus they have an NA player in Twistzz so that would mean NA gets its second Major.

stamina - Heroic: But it could be anyone 1-6 on the rankings.

Nohte, xner - FaZe

The PGL Antwerp Major is now just days away, with the opening matches of the Challengers Stage set to start on May 9th.