Fragadelphia CS/DO group stage preview
Ahead of the start of Fragadelphia CS/DO in Philadelphia on March 15th, groups have been released for the 32-team $10k event. As is tradition with FRAG events, the 32 teams have been divided into eight-GSL groups, with the teams battling to grab one of sixteen spots in the single-elimination playoffs.
Group A: LAG, MCS, UltimateDarklordWizardz, Focus
Starting with Group A, LAG is far and away the best squad in the group, with the European lineup recently claiming a spot in ESL Challenger League Season 47 after a fifth-place finish in ESEA Advanced Season 47. MCS are also a squad to look out for, with the team being Fragadelphia regulars who most recently finished Fragadelphia x GXL 2024 in third-fourth place.
Group B: Xiaoma, WICKED, Team Skyline, Fastermen
In Group B, the top teams that look likely to make it out of groups are Xiaoma and WICKED. Xiamoa is currently competing in ESEA Advanced Season 48 playoffs, with the squad currently being in the upper bracket semifinals. As for WICKED, the Main squad features a number of well-known names including Austin "Austin" Meadows, Andrew "Andrew" Burrell, and Mason "mason" Watkins. Fastermen may also be a team worth rooting for in order to set up a Fastermen vs. FASTMEN showdown in playoffs.
Group C: my life be like, boyfriend_peek9, REALiSTiC, The Serbian Pretzal
Group C's strongest teams are my life me like and boyfriend_peek9. The former squad is currently in ESEA Advanced Season 48 playoffs and includes the likes of Ethan "Ethex" Eihardt and Andrew "Drew" Warkentin. As for boyfriend_peek9, the mixteam contains former ECL players and Fragadelphia regulars like John "arcade" Rogel, Noah "flixxy" French, and Tommy "corn" Eckhart.
Group D: Snakes Den, Artemis, Professional Goofballs, FASTMEN
Group D features ESEA Advanced squad Snakes Den as its strongest squad, however the other three squads have a mix of Advanced players, those with LAN experience, and other known names in the NA scene. Additionally, FASTMEN will look to make the destined bout against Fastermen in playoffs.
Group E: Villainous, Revel, Shimmer, Goon Ass Suckas
Group E is one of the more interesting groups at Fragadelphia CS/DO as it features our first ESL Impact squad as well as Villainous, a squad which finished the ESEA Advanced Season 48 regular season in first place. This event will be Shimmer's first LAN since ESL Impact League Season 4 and the first with their new roster. This group also features Revel, a team with a ton of LAN experience as James "Jachro" Brooks and co. have attended nearly every East Coast LAN in the past year.
Group F: G3, Detonate, Karma, Persona Esports
Group F features two Advanced squads in the form of G3 and Detonate, alongside Emmalee "EMUHLEET" Garrido's Karma lineup. G3 features a core of hungry Asian imports who are currently battling through the lower bracket while Detonate unfortunately missed out on playoffs after a 5-9 regular season. As for Karma, the elder stateswomen of the ESL Impact scene are set to attend their first CS LAN together in something like eight years, which should certainly be exciting.
Group G: Wanted Goons, NuTorious, Atomic, Gourmet Crunchers
In Group G, we have Wanted Goons who were recently knocked out of ESEA Advanced playoffs. Outside of Wanted Goons, the group is quite the open field, with 7-7 ESEA Advanced squad NuTorious being the most well-known name of the remaining three squads.
Group H: Fisher College, FlyQuest RED, Anomaly, Limitless Angels
Finally, in Group H there are two Impact squads in the form of FlyQuest RED and Limitless Angels. As the number one NA ESL Impact squad, FlyQuest RED will look to make it out of their group after making a number of roster changes in the off season. However, both squads may find tough customers in the form of Fisher College, with the team featuring European imports in the form of Dutchman Nils "ReFuZR" Groot and Swede Alexander "AlekS" Andersson, with the duo looking to lead the sole collegiate squad into playoffs.
Fragadelphia CS/DO is set to begin on March 15th. The complete bracket can be viewed here
