From Favorites to Dark Horses: Americas RMR NA OQ Viewer Guide

If the Major is like Christmas for Counter-Strike fans, the RMR qualifiers are the Thanksgiving of the scene and there will be a lot of teams getting stuffed next week. Dust2.us brings you the shopping list for the open qualifiers in the form of a viewer guide, so fans know who they should look out for and who they should count on being present in the Closed Qualifier.

Let's take a look at what's going on inside this big reunion we call the Americas RMR Open Qualifiers.

Failure is not an option

With two behemoth organizations of NA CS sitting atop the table, Liquid and NRG are not just expected, but required, to be two of the first four teams to feast their way to the Closed Qualifier. These are two teams that, under normal circumstances, shouldn't be playing against this level of CS, but due to the recent inception of the two rosters, Liquid and NRG will have to prove themselves back to the top of the food chain.

Even more so for Liquid than NRG, this is the moment to show they are a team to be feared worldwide, and Liquid certainly hope to reach the RMR stage and clinch a spot in the Major without breaking even a single sweat. As for NRG, the Canadian squad can't set its expectations as high, but should certainly be looking to get its ticket to Monterrey, although it might not be without some scary moments.

Nipping at the heels

Open Qualifiers are much less directed to the top dogs of the CS ecosystem than it is to lower-level ECL teams who might be looking to make their way up the family hierarchy. Still, there is one group of teams that has to send a message during these qualifiers; the ECL teams that did not receive an invite for the Closed Qualifier, such as Mythic, Take Flyte, and FLUFFY AIMERS. MIGHT also join this group, although they have just been promoted to ECL, as the team has big names in the NA CS scene and some exciting young players.

These four teams in particular are expected to join Liquid and NRG in the next stage, with more or less difficulty, sooner or later. The question remains if they can make it through unscathed to be fearsome challengers in the Closed Qualifier or could stumble out of the gates.

Not under, not over, just dogs

In this section, you can find the rest of the ESL Challenger League S46 teams, at least those still alive, like Limitless and... that's it. The only reason, pun intended, this squad isn't included in the section above is due to the team's poor results during Season 46, as well as the recent changes the roster has undergone, swapping two players. Just so Limitless doesn't feel alone, one can also include the recently promoted Spectre, who didn't drop a single map during the ESEA Advanced S47 playoffs, and the newly formed RUNnGUN, a Canadian squad that features ECL-level players like David "J0LZ" Jolin and Gabriel "tENSKI" Rodrigues.

The return of LOS + oNe is also worth noting here, as the team is comprised of five very strong players. Although the team has a huge target on its back, being the only 100% Brazilian team playing outside the South American region, this is a squad that can very much get a spot in the Closed Qualifier.

Dark horses

These are the teams with very slim chances of making it into the next phase of the Major cycle, but it isn't impossible, especially not in NA. Just last Major, North America witnessed yur making a run into the Americas RMR and putting up a fight against Major-attendee Fluxo, although, ultimately, yur didn't travel to France.

From this group, fans should pay attention to Snakes Den, Villainous, LAG, Tsunami, Datejust, and vagrants, a free-agent team with Jordon "jitter" Ruggiero, Josh "PwnAlone" Pigue, Adam "Grizz" Golden, Jack "micro" Ryan, and Anthony "CLASIA" Kearney. For those who don't remember, jitter and CLASIA were both part of yur.

It's the start of the most beautiful period of the Counter-Strike season, and you should definitely get excited to watch all these teams, and many more, battle it out throughout this week. The schedule is tight, with the first Open Qualifier starting on Monday and ending on Tuesday, the second OQ will go from Wednesday until Thursday, while the Closed Qualifier begins on Friday and ends on Sunday.

Dust2.us will be streaming every day of the competition, with Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore as host joined by some very illustrious names from the NA CS community, such as Jason "moses" O'Toole, John "JRT" Tsoupanarias, Donald "Voo" Parkhurst, Garret "Phy" Schier, and Mike "DarfMike" Winnick. Starting Monday, January 8th, until Sunday, January 14th, at 04:00PM, you can catch Dust2.us live on Twitch.

If you are more interested in playing than watching, sign-ups are still open for both the Open Qualifiers at the time of publication. You can register for the first OQ here and for the second one here.