Expert Opinions: Americas RMR

Major season is finally upon us, and with American CS on something of a high note, all eyes are on the RMR in Stockholm to see who will be our representatives in Rio. The European RMR has already begun, so now we turn our heads to the American teams.

We've asked some of the smartest in our region to lay out their expectations for the competition. Featuring in this article are madcow, manager of EG and former coach of BNB, Roque Marques, head editor for Dust2 Brasil, DarfMike, caster and self-proclaimed NA CS evangelist, Danish "Nohte" Alana, senior writer for HLTV, Jason "moses" O'Toole, caster and former head coach for Liquid, and Alan "Shakezullah" Hardman, former Triumph and Bad News Bears IGL.

Who is your dark horse pick to make it through and why?

DarfMike - ATK. I've seen their moments and flashes before. I think if they have a streak of consistency and form, there's a world where they make it in.

madcow - 00 Nation. After GODSENT failed to qualify for the RMR, and the last iteration of this roster failed to get through the RMR, I think they’re hungry to make a statement and play in a massive tournament hosted in their home country.

Nohte - Imperial are the last team that I think will sneak through, partially because I think they have an edge over the SA teams that aren't FURIA/00NATION, and partially because they outmatch the rest of the field in raw experience. That will be important for them not crumbling in some of the later matches as I see them needing to fight back from 1-1/1-2 matches. chelo will also add some much needed firepower and injection of energy into the team, which they have been lacking.

Roque - I think paiN is the "dark horse" to choose from. They've been playing really good after adding skullz and zevy, mostly because they showed up strong in online competitions and also won in Melbourne.

moses - paiN. I like biguzera and I like hardzao. They've had some solid wins recently over Imperial. They've been right on the edge for a while and this would be a perfect moment to turn the corner.

Shakezullah - No dark horse. Think there is a pretty clear top six. MIBR/9z are the other two teams I realistically think can make it. 00 Nation scares me a lot. I think they will underperform. If I had to pick a dark horse, it's MIBR, because they are very inconsistent but when the peak it's good enough for the Americas RMR.

Who are your picks for the Legend stage and why?

DarfMike - Liquid. Hot damn do Liquid look good since the YEKINDAR addition. I think FURIA is the only team in the event who can really challenge them for the spot.

madcow - Liquid. They’re getting into scary form at a really good time. They will be tough to knock off at the RMR.

Nohte - Liquid. They far outclass the field right now as proven by their EPL run, and I don't think that teams here will be able to contend with YEKINDAR's current form, nor the consistency of EliGE and NAF.

Roque - Liquid. They're the most consistent American team at the moment.

moses - Liquid.

Shakezullah - FURIA. They usually match up well vs Liquid and I think they are the clear top two teams. Others might have bo1 upset potential but FURIA's 1 seed will gift them an bit of an easier schedule while Liquid might play vs Complexity or something.

What one player, of any ability, should we be keeping an eye on this RMR?

DarfMike - chelo. I think he's going to go nuts and be a huge piece for Imperial.

madcow - try. For 00Nation to achieve what I think they’re capable of, he will need to be on top of his game. When he’s playing well, he’s an unreal talent.

Nohte - Top level: Grim. If we can see him maintain the kind of level he had at EPL, it will be a really great sign for Complexity. Subtop: Swisher. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do on LAN against some of these teams.

Roque - skullz

moses - dumau

Shakezullah - skullz. I think he played poorly on oNe and underperformed, but he was young and has improved a TON. He might be very well known in Brazil, but I think for a ton of NA players as well as fans, they will be surprised at how good he has become. paiN is definitely a favorite to make it through, so if I had to pick an underdog to perform, it would probably be nqz from 9z.

Is there any team that you think will underachieve?

DarfMike - It depends on your definition. EG is the obvious answer, but I'm not really sure what underachieving looks like for them.

madcow - Imperial. After failing to beat a paiN roster at Melbourne that I personally believe isn’t as strong as the last iteration (despite solid results), they’re in a tough spot. But who knows, maybe they have another miracle run. They SHOW UP in any match related to the Major.

Nohte - EG and Imperial both have chances to fail here depending on the draws and whether they hit the ground running. More inclined to believe EG are on the upturn though. Outside of those two, paiN should be in contention to make it through, but I feel like they will likely narrowly miss out.

Roque- Evil Geniuses. I think they won't be able to play as good as they did in EPL.

moses - Let's just hope Complexity isn't flying too high after a goodish run at EPL and think they'll skate through the RMR. That's all I'm gonna say.

Shakezullah - 00 Nation. They have a lack of consistent results recently; I'm unsure if coldzera is really going to be a solution in that team over b4rtiN. I don't know if they have enough firepower unless dumau really pops off.

Who will be right, who will be wrong? Matches begin tomorrow at 06:00AM!