This thread is dedicated to showcasing each team partaking in the tournament.
Captains: Voluble,
HerisheyKey Players: DOMI, Python, Shadey
Predicted TOP-7: DOMI, Python, Shadey, Bagins, Voluble, Axiom, BlackBeard
Overview: One of the most decorated nations in this series of tournaments, a team made up of the strongest and most experienced players in the competitive community. The main favorite this year. The only thing that can be noted as a major change from last year is that England has changed its in-game leader. Voluble will be in charge during group fights since Bagins just came back in-game and judging by the roster at the moment. We can assume he will take the role of a player. Herishey will be on the other-side of the England capaitancy but it is more likely that he will only take an organisational role rather than a leadership one. Englands core has been the same for some years now so their teamwork is always improving. Only really rivaled by France in recent years they'll be hoping to take the gold once more. It is also worth noting that the already old and less active players like Hypno have been replaced in the core line-up by Shadey, who did not play for his nation last year. Where as Hypno played very well against France in the last final. The majority of people would consider this an upgrade, although it will be Shadey's first time playing for his nation. Will Hypnos impact be missed? We will find out during the tournament. Regarding the playstyle of this team we'd expect the majority of the team to play fairly aggressive with players like DOMI, Python and Bagins leading the forefront for early picks in the team.
Captains: Cazasar,
TigereKey Players: Wolpi, Gerher, Bunter_Igel
Predicted TOP-7: Wolpi, Gerher, Bunter_Igel, Tigere, Phoen!x, Jakob, Felociraptor
Overview: TOP-3 Nation based on NWWC at the moment, winners of NWWC 2016, and multiple silver, bronze medalists. When someone talks about German quality, I always mention the German national team in NW, having not as many top players as the other two dominant nations, they always manage to give them a fight and keep the intrigue till the end. This year, even without such melee giants as Moskito and Wursti, the German national team still looks very strong, especially considering the fact that many of their players have played a lot over the past year and have improved (Bunter_Igel, Tigere, Jakob). I personally think the mix of experience from the old players (such as Nosswill, Phoenix etc) and the skill of new players (such as Bunter, Jakob, Wolpi etc) will develop in something that will help the German national team create the perfect balance in order to fight for the title this year. The German team have often struggled with competing with the other big three (often being seen as the underdog of this group of nations), having only one won NWWC in 2016 where they didn't actually beat either France or England/GB they normally are around the top 4 mark. They are certainly not a team to overlook and will be looking to potentially claim their 2nd ever gold medal with a strong mix of old and new players this year. As for playstyle this is a team you'd generally expect to be one of the more passive teams looking at both the line-up they have and the way this team has played in the past or even the majority of these players in recent tournaments.
Captains: Elsse,
HigenKey Players: Elsse, Zeyden, ExTaZz94
Predicted TOP-7: Elsse, Zeyden, ExTaZz94, Higen, Troister, LeBrave, ClaSh
Overview: The second most successful nation in the NWWC history is France. They are a 4 time champion of the competition. They won the two M-NWWCs in 2015 and 2016 to achieve their first titles, twice overcoming England in the final. In the "normal" NWWC of the year 2016, France made its worst appearance in NWWC history. They lost in the quarter-final. Fighting back from that they won 2 more NWWCs in a row. In 2017 they won the final against the big underdog Czechslovakia and in the following year 2018, the final was once again a win against England. In 2019 it came to the big final between France and England. After 3 losses for England, they managed to win their second final against France after the NWEC 2013 and won the title. France this time had to be happy with silver. In the last year, France brought 3 teams into the competition. With Team 3 making nothing special, Team 1 and 2 both looked strong. From the very beginning, it seemed that Team 2 may be a bit stronger than Team 1. That proved to be right. Team 1 lead by Fotin and LeBrave was stopped by Germany in the quarter-final. Team 2 lead by Dren and Elsse won the quarter against the Netherlands and after that easily overcame Germany who had beaten the first team. In the 6th French-English final France 2 was beaten though and the final counter between these nations is on 3-3 now. As already shown last year France's biggest issue is that they have 2 strong player groups who do not really like each other. It will be the captain's job to bring them together. This job will be upon Elsse and Higen. Compared to the rest of the French player base they are both fairly new players. Elsse last year was one Captain of the successful second team and is probably one of the most diplomatic French players. Although it seems different it is only his 3rd NWWC. Higen will pick up captainship for the first time this year. He will play his 4th NWWC. But let's take a look at this year's roster. Elsse himself can easily be considered a Top 10 EU player. As said although he is fairly inexperienced for the French standard he has played along with the best groupfighting teams and has won a lot of tournaments in that "short" time. A couple of people rated him as the best EU player in 2020 and they had an argument for that. Actually somewhat comparable is Zeydens story. Starting under the name Radulf he made his first international experience only in 2017/18 being mostly a rotation player in FrenchTouch. But he made huge steps over the past especially 1 year and is the second player to be widely considered Top 10 EU. He will only play his 2nd NWWC. The second captain of the team Higen, and the 3rd and last similar-looking story is Higen. He made his first steps in the known competitive Community a bit earlier and also started to play the NWWC in 2018. Still, he hugely improved in the last 1,5 years to move up not only from a French rotation to a French key player but also he rose to a Top 15, potentially even Top 10 EU player. The next strong player in the Team is Troister. Different from the 3 already mentioned he is an absolute old-gen. He was already at the absolute top in 2014 and in 2017 potentially was a Top 5 player. Having not missed a single NWWC in the second half of the last decade he still is in stunning shape and is 1 of 3 incredibly looking mid-players in the French Team. The potentially best French player to have ever touched the game is ExTaZz94. He as well is an absolute old-gen and as well has not missed a single NWWC in the second half of the last decade. In his prime from 2015 to 2018 he was together with Haze the best mid-player in the game. His incredible range play was one of the main reasons for the dominance of FrenchTouch. He surely is not in a shape like in that years but when I say he is some distance of his prime and still is a Top 15, if not Top 10 EU player there is no need to add more. A good friend of Extazz and a FrenchTouch mate is LeBrave. He has a for Frenchies very unlikely playstyle being extremely aggressive. LeBrave has embossed an era of the French national team. He was a French Captain for 5 consecutive years between 2016 and 2020 and will for the first time since then not be in that role. His performance prime was in 2016, 2017 but he can still show strong performances. But with his playstyle, it's often between genius and madness these days. Two mentionable comebacks in this year's team are furthermore ClaSh and Spacekiller. ClaSh was a Top 10 player in 2012 and together with LeBrave a captain in 2017 but has never played an NWWC ever since. Spacekiller as well was very strong in 2013, 2014 but also has not played in the NWWC for years. But not only comebacks and strong players. French legends such as Cr3a, Tiberias, Maharbaal, and last year's Captain Dren will be missed in the team due to their inactivity. Drake, together with Extazz one of the bests in 2016 will miss due to his lack of performance after his break. All these decisions are hard to make but understandable. A bit surprising is the missing of Ted, who made a huge improvement over the last 1,5 years, and that last year's captain and an absolute French old-gen Fotin were not nominated. So to come to a conclusion. France has a huge player base and 2 big groups. FrenchTouch and grouped. The captainship made mostly logical decisions and if they manage to make a real team out of France there is no doubt they can win their 5th title. With both France and England being incredibly stacked in the middle that will be the deciding part. Unless one nation has the intelligent idea to make the plays over a flank which could be a surprise. Everything below a semi-final would be a huge disappointment for France and the goal has to be the title. Everything is set up for the 7th final between France and England. In that final France would be a minor outsider. The depth on the positions 6-9 is slightly behind England.
Captains: Fralla8,
SteinmannKey Players: Stark, Steinmann, Fralla8
Predicted TOP-7: Stark, Steinmann, Fralla8, Achilles, Rydh, EpicxPizza, Sadman
Overview: Sweden is the eternal number one contender for the TOP-4. The nation consists of experienced and strong players who have won a lot of tournaments in their history (Stark, Fralla8 & EpicxPizza). As well as beginners who are improving every day (Achilles & Steinmann). If Sweden finally gets it all together this year, they will be able to reach not only the TOP-4 but also upset some already TOP formed nations. I personally think Sweden's got everything to make it in 'the big four'. Looking at the line-up this year we'd expect Sweden as a whole to be one of the more passive teams with a couple of players such as Stark making the majority of the 'aggressive' plays. If some of the 'older' generation players do take this seriously and practise there is no telling how well the team could do even against the top 3 contenders. Sweden had it's most successful tournaments under Stark's leaderships but I'm sure that Fralla8 and Steinnmann will be looking to try and prove once again that their nation can compete against other top nations and cause a few upsets a long the way of making to the later stages of the knockouts. Sweden's biggest achievement was coming 2nd in 2016 where they lost to German after gaining a significant lead in the final to give Germany their first and only gold medal.
Captains: Melsyo,
RikkertKey Players: Rikkert, Melsyo, Floris
Predicted TOP-7: Rikkert, Melsyo, Floris, Anubis, Ismar, Snikkel, Rikimaru
Overview: This year the Netherlands is a team to look out for. Even though they are probably not as hyped this year as they have been before, they are as always a safe pick for a Quarter-Finalist and even a "Dark Horse" for a medal. In the second half of the last decade, they have not once missed out on a Quarter-Final. Their biggest achievements in the NWWC are 4th Place in 2017 as well as their only NWWC Medal in 2019 when they won bronze. Before the NWWC the Netherlands did win 2 gold medals in the NWEC in 2012. Having had 4 different Captains in the last 4 years, Rikkert will pick up Captainship for the 2nd time after 2019 when he managed to achieve Netherland's biggest success as a Captain. Also for the first time since 2017, the Netherlands will have two Captains again, as Melsyo, Rikkerts fellow 15thYR CO will be an NWWC Captain for the first time. Roster wise there are some interesting personalities and situations. Rikkert over the last 1.5 years has definitively arrived on the absolute tpp being widely considered a top 20 player. Melsyo, playing nearly on a daily basis in both a regiment and his own groupfighting team is in sharp form as well. The youngsters, Floris and Snikkel had the chance to gain some experience in their first-ever NWWC last year and after a year of huge improvement should also be considered dangerous. Different from that, one can have some question marks behind Anubis, Ismar, Rikimaru, Timlef, or Nero. Anubis has been an absolute Dutch Key-Player since 2018 but lately has only played from time to time. Rikimaru being one of the best players of the "early competitive" lately performed decent but not exceptional in his matches. At least he has regularly participated in tournaments with his groupfighting team. The other 3 older generation players Timlef, Nero, and Ismar will all once again represent their country even though they all do not play the game on a regular basis. Especially Ismar who last played in the NWWC in 2018 could really help his team if he gets anywhere near his old form. But this roster is not only having members return. Having not missed a single NWWC in the last 5 years Ziggy won't partake this year. The same goes for the former captain Pieter who although being active didn't fit in the Roster. But not only those two. Last year's Captain Movement due to private reasons is not able to play this year. So when we look at strengths the leadership with its authority, experience, and automatisms on the one hand and the refreshing and matured talents, on the other hand, give hope for a big run. But the missing activity of some former key-players and due to that a missing depth in the squad could be considered a weakness. Regarding the playstyle, we can likely expect the Netherlands to be pretty aggressive which could both catch some nations off-guard as well as it could be an issue against top-tier nations like France and Germany with a very passive style.
Captains: Desant,
KOBZIKKey Players: MarxeiL, Desant, Witcher
Predicted TOP-7: MarxeiL, Desant, Witcher, Shogun, Tw1ster, Yoda, eXt_kill
Overview: Ukraine this year looks like a strong Nation once again. It seems as if for the first time since 2018 they have managed to pick up a roster with every Ukrainian key-player. The first part of the captain duo is going to be Desant who will fulfill this job for the 5th time in a row. Like in 2018 when Ukraine managed to claim 4th place, which is till now their best result. He will be assisted by KOBZIK. A short view back on the results since 2016. In 2016 Ukraine missed out on the NWWC. In 2017 they managed to win their group, overcoming Sweden and Germany but got easily knocked-out by Great Britain in the quarters. In 2018 they again won their group this time making it into the semi-final. But both in the semi as well as in the bronze match Ukraine was without a chance. These 2 successful years were followed by 2 weaker ones. In 2019 Ukraine only came 4th in the group and was eliminated. In 2020 Ukraine participated with 4 players of this year's team in CIS 1, only making it to the pre-preliminary knock-out round. The other CIS teams didn't make it out of the group. Going forward we want to take a look at the roster. As teased before it seems as if Ukraine finally managed to convince every active and upper-tier player. Desant himself and the long-time captain MarxeiL are both still in comparable sharpness to the last years. Both being more or less active neither being absolute top players but being extremely reliable and strong. As the 3rd key-player, I picked Witcher. Although he was consistently playing in the NWWC in the last years it looks as if he has extremely improved his "A-Game". If he can find it he can also go top fragging for the team. Latvia's Shogun is another important part of the team being both a very good team player and an extremely dangerous dueler. Yoda and Tw1ster as well as eXt_kill and Bagration are all very consistent and reliable players, neither donating huge performances nor dying stupidly at all. All of those guys including Ben have played several times in the NWWC. Most of them not year after year but 3 or more times in total. Ukraine is known for good teamplay and discipline in following the gameplan and by that could easily annoy opponents. It will be important to stay patient against them. Considering most of the players have a big history together over the 96y or several Russian speaking GF-teams the coordination does not surprise. On the other hand, they are missing an absolute star player and have a big history of internal conflicts over the past years. If they can all keep it together, a better year seems absolutely in range.
Captains: Golden,
RyanKey Players: Golden, lonedoge, Ivan
Predicted TOP-7: Golden, lonedoge, Ivan, Irish, Ryan, ONeil, Valley
Overview: Ireland. Once again the nation with the, judged by names, best roster apart from the "Big Three". But can they bring it all together this year? Let's start with what they achieved in the past. After missing out on the 2016's tournament, Ireland in 2017 got mostly smashed and ended getting knocked out in the group as the last team. In 2018 they improved but still didn't make it out of the group coming 3rd. The chance of a secondary bracket being played that year was used though and Ireland managed to secure the title in the lower bracket. In the past two years, Ireland twice made the quarters. Both years offered bigger opportunities that weren't used. Golden once again is Ireland's captain for the 5th time in a row. Like last year Ryan will join him in that spot. But not only the captainship brings consistency to the team. Golden, Ryan, lonedoge, Ivan, Irish, and Mac are representing their nation without a break since 2017, 4 of them even longer. Golden without a doubt is one of the strongest players in the game right now and brings every opponent danger. Something similar goes for lonedoge. He took another big step in the last year, adding a lot of consistency to his game. Having improved and matured Ryan surely is not on a level like the 2 of them. But we can expect him to give the squad the needed depth. Ivan will be quite interesting to watch in this NWWC. He has not missed too many tournaments recently but is also not playing as much as others in the team. If he can show what we all know he could do he will prove to be an absolute key-player of the team. The last 2 players I wanna mention are Irish and ONeil. The former multiple times captain Irish is often underrated these days but is an extremely reliable player. Maybe not being as reliable but surely as important as Irish is ONeil. He will play for Ireland for the first time since 2018. Not being an NW main he still has a lot to offer to his team. So the huge consistency in the squad and the enormous individual skill of several players make it look like one could even speak about the "Big Four". The missing results in the last especially 2 years where the situation was only slightly different and the dependency on those 6 to be active due to a big skill gap after them quickly stops that thought. It's all up to both Captains to make sure the teamplay reaches another level this year. The potential is there.
Captains: Alatriste,
MarquezKey Players: Marquez, Alatriste, R1bazZz
Predicted TOP-7: Marquez, Alatriste, R1bazZz, Mr_T, Chicken, Carlitos, Retamar
Overview: Another main contender for this year's NWWC is Spain. The nation from the Iberian Peninsula is hoping for another quarter-final. In 2016 and 2017 they missed that round and were twice knocked-out in the group stage. Having recovered from that they in 2018 and 2019 came into that exact round, the quarter-final twice in a row. That round proved to be the end on both occasions. Last year Spain was represented by 2 teams. Surprisingly both teams failed to make it out of the group. The leadership will once again be in the hands of Marquez and Alatriste. They play and stick together for several years now. Last year they picked up captainship together for the first time, Marquez will overall be a captain for the 5th time. Spain is like a lot of other nations this year a team with long-time members in important positions. Let start with the ability of the 2 captains. Marquez can likely be considered the best Spanish player ever in this game. Even though he is not as active and strong as he used to be, he's still a clear high-tier player. Alatriste´s situation is kinda the other way around. He generally is slightly weaker but plays the game more regularly and thereby is close to his form of the old days. Considering both general ability and form they are probably on the same level at the moment. R1bazz, one of two Portuguese players in the team is the next important player in it. He made a huge step in the last months as a part of the Cazadores GF-Team and with that newly gained experience and strength, together with his very passive playstyle, he is an unpleasant opponent. MrT is a widely known old-generation groupfighting warrior and still regularly plays this game. He is a player with great mechanics that due to his sometimes trolly-looking playstyle can produce some surprising situations. The former multiple times' captain Chicken will feature this year's roster again. The same goes for Carlitos. Both have not missed a single NWWC in the last years. Some months Retarmar was the Captain of the 2nd Spanish Team. This year he will play with the main team like he last did in 2018. Those 3 players are all experienced and solid players. Missing in the team is on the one hand once again Padawan, on the other hand, Garcia will miss an NWWC for the first time since 2017. So when we take a look at the strengths, the experience, and ability of the top 7 roster and the compared to other nations high activity of the old gen players looks very positive. The missing depth of the squad and the skill gap of the debutants or fairly new members will put a lot of pressure on the main line-up and could cause some issues. With proper seriousness in the tournament, the way out of the group into the quarter-final looks realistic. Something bigger does not seem likely.
Captains: Vortx,
XaArtilKey Players: Vortx, Komar, XaArtil
Predicted TOP-7: Vortx, Komar, XaArtil, Amue, Dundi, Popowicz, Michal
Overview: The Polish national team was the biggest surprise last year. But can they repeat it? In the gone editions Poland has been one of the more successful contenders. In 2016 they played themselves into the semi-final. With two losses their end position became 4th place. The year after was Poland's only group-stage exit in the last 5 years. In 2018 and 2019 Poland twice survived the group and made two consecutive quarter-finals, more was not in range on both occasions. Last year Poland made it, for many of us surprisingly, past the quarters into the semi-final. Loosing in that round they won a close Bronze Match 15:13 against Germany to win the Bronze medal. Poland will this year, like last year be lead by Vortx. Vortx has taken this responsibility on him since 2018. Assisting him in that role will be the longest-serving member of the team XaArtil, who hasn't missed a single NWWC in the last 5 years. Generally speaking, the Polish team is a fairly new one. Different from a lot of other contenders the Polish roster has been subject to multiple generation changes. But lets start with an old-gen, a captain, and the best player of the team, all in one person. Vortx has to offer his team a lot of experience and will try to go for as many first picks as possible with his offensive style. He played for very strong teams in the past and these days often gets underrated as he is not playing in that "big" teams anymore. Komar although being on a certain level for some years now is barely known in the competitive scene at all. He has shown everybody what he can do on a regimental basis in the past months and if he can bring that to the NWWC he will be very important for Poland. XaArtil is a bit different from that. He plays the game on a regular basis but not really on a tryhard level so he is inconsistent at the moment which still means that he has some very strong performances from time to time. Furthermore, we can look forward to Michal's return. The former 66th Sjt used to be not only a good player but also a good communicator. As he hasn't actively played the game for about 2 years it will be interesting to see on what level he is. The only 2 other players with experience from international groupfighting teams are the former vice-captain Amue and Dundi. Both are very solid and reliable players. So to sum it up Poland consists of a bunch of solid and reliable players with a good team spirit. Also, the not-mentioned players are on a good level, just less know in the international scene. So a strength clearly is that apart from Vortx the team is on nearly one skill level in its full depth. But they are missing some top-tier players like Zenon last year who had a huge impact with his very defensive and effective playstyle. Another medal for Poland would really surprise. A quarter-final appearance looks realistic.
Captains: Gi,
RickyKey Players: Mike, Caskie, Jerome
Predicted TOP-7: Mike, Caskie, Jerome, Gi, Dayboul, Eazy-E, Ricky
Overview: Another nation being represented in this year's NWWC is Scotland. A nation that could not fulfil the title contender any better. Before 2017 some Scottish players played along in team Great Britain. Then Scotland forms its own team from 2017 on. In 2017 they managed to win their group making it to the quarter-final where they got beaten. In 2018 and 2019 they played two very respectable seasons even though they twice came 3rd in the group and missed the knock-outs on both occasions. Last year a 3rd place would have been enough for the pre-preliminary knock-out round but they only came 4th and once again missed the second stage of an NWWC. Gi will once again be Scotland's Captain. Also not for the first time the second captain will be Ricky. To start with the roster analysis let's have a look at Mike. He is one of the best, if not the best flank range player in the game. He is the perfect counter-attack against any offensive flank. Likely we can expect Mike to play alongside Caskie. Although Caskie due to a lack of time does not play the game too often he still is a higher-tier player and his connection to Mike could prove to work. Jerome who has recently had more attention for being 45thN CO is a very consistent player who will try to give the Scottish team some consistency. Different to that "toxic but good" is a good way to describe Dayboul. One shouldn't underestimate Gi either. He maybe is not known for carrying his teams but he is playing alongside an extremely competitive environment for years now and can bring a lot of experience also to his very personal game. Generally, the Scottish team consists of "old gens". Eazy-E, Gaz, Dayboul, Gi, Mike, and Caskie are playing the NWWC for years. And with that, we have both a positive and a negative aspect. Consistency within the team is good, but missing new blood and those old players being fairly inactive is a bad thing. So to sum it up. We shouldn't expect Scotland to make the knock-outs this year. Neither should it surprise us if they do make them.
Captains: Kore,
SalakienKey Players: Kore, bagetak, Kevinak
Predicted TOP-7: Kore, bagetak, Kevinak, Gunebol, Delsuna, Menty, Mattysek
Overview: The Czechoslovakian team is although it may not seem like it nowadays one of the pretty successful nations in NWWC history. In 2016 they played a great tournament and came into the semi-final which they lost but won the bronze medal later. The year after in 2017 Czechslovakia made an even more memorable run making it all the way into the final beating strong opponents on the way, especially winning the last round decider in the quarter-final against Sweden. In the end, they lost the final against France but still won an incredible silver medal. The year after they at least made a respectable quarter-final. In the last 2 years, Czechslovakia was far off the "old day performances". In 2019 they lost in the group stage and in 2020 only 1 of 3 teams made it out of the group to then directly lose in the preliminary knock-out round. This year's roster more reflects the results of the last 2 years. One captain Kore, who was also the captain in both successful years 2016 and 2017 as well as in the last 2 years, is still a very strong player. He surely has some gap to the strength he used to have but he is still playing along in the absolute best teams and elevated his impact in those teams again in the past weeks. The other captain will be Salakien the former leader of the 66th and also a multiple times former captain. The rest of the roster features core members of mostly the 56e. Most mentionable is the former captain Thor and the although being not really an active competitive player the somewhat experienced bagetak. So to sum it up this year's roster is a totally different one compared to 2016 or 2017. People like Lesak, Wencosa, Raii, Messius, Hokej, Petl, and even Fwuffy who is the only one to still play from time to time are missing. So in the end we cannot really expect great things from this year's team which is pretty much a rookie team playing under a big name.
Captains: Gull,
DarkTemplarKey Players: Gull, DarkTemplar, Eddard_Stark
Predicted TOP-7: Gull, DarkTemplar, Eddard_Stark, 19boboy97, Coco_Ayala, Blee, Schmit
Overview: Switzerland and Austria are a coalition that will happen for the third time in 2021. Their former appearances are two times being knocked out in the group in both 2018 and 2020. Furthermore, both nations once participated alone in the past 5 years. In 2016 Austria was a part of the NWWC and in 2019 Switzerland represented itself alone. Again on both occasions, neither nation made it out of the group. In 2017 non of the two nations played in the NWWC. The captainship, like last year, will be split between the Austrian DarkTemplar and the Swiss Gull. DarkTemplar who recently formed the new German top-tier regiment 71st is a very offensive player being known for his fast down stabs somewhat comparable to Janne. Gull who is one of the key players of the 15th has recently not been in super-strong groupfighting teams but is still like DarkTemplar without a doubt an absolute high-tier player. The third high-tier player in the team is the Austrian Eddard_Stark who even though he doesn't play the game that often anymore is still in a good shape and btw as offensive as DarkTemplar. The other 2 members of the team who deserve to be mentioned are Coco_Ayala, the only not German speaking member of the team, and the captain of several strong groupfighting teams like Animals or Virgins who is known for maybe the most defensive playstyle in the whole scene, and 19boboy97, an old gen who returned to the game about a year ago and can become dangerous on good days. Generally speaking, we can actually expect some things from Switzerland-Austria this year. They are pretty much a core and most of them know each other for some time now plus they have 3 very strong players to equal most of the main contenders on the first 3 positions. On the other hand, the offensive style of a lot of key players could be outplayed by defensive nations if patience is missing and from position 6 onward we don't find anybody with mentionable experience in the groupfighting scene. The preliminary knock-out round seems to be a reasonable goal
Captains: Giles,
FlexKey Players: Sanel, ironreign, Nedim
Predicted TOP-7: Sanel, ironreign, Nedim, Russizn, Sayartun, Max1m, Flex
Overview: Turkey is another yearly participant. Another nation where the word contender could hardly fit better. 5 years ago in 2016 Turkey made their only knock-out appearance of the last 5 years. Coming 2nd in the group they made it to the preliminary round where they were beaten. One has to mention that in 2016 the brackets were made of 6 groups with 3 teams each. Since then they were always thrown out of the tournament in the group. Twice they finished their group 3rd and twice 4th. The team will be lead by Giles and Flex. Giles is in that position for the second time after last year where he was alone in that spot. Turkeys roster only features 3 people with international experience. Sanel is someone to have made news especially in smaller formats of a maximum 3v3. He for a long time had a spot in one of the better groupfighting teams and in the last real duel tournament, he came 4th place and showed everyone he is one of the best duelers. The second player with some international experience is ironreign. He is especially known for being a really good blocker. The last of that 3 players is Nedim. Although his experience is mostly limited to regiments he is a decent player. It's also needed to mention that different than other contenders the Turkish team mostly consists of new gens from a competitive point of view. Still, 9 of them have already played an NWWC. Furthermore, it is necessary to mention that 2 for Turkey very strong players, Strawhead and Salogas will not play due to personal issues. So, what can we expect from Turkey? They are a team consisting of solid players with a few really good ones. But they are lacking experience and also strength compared to other teams. That does not mean Turkey is without a chance. Some wins in the group stage are absolutely possible. If they wanna make the knock-outs outstanding teamplay will be a requirement.
Captains: Vegi,
BarroKey Players: Barro, Ilypa, Vegi
Predicted TOP-7: Barro, Ilypa, Vegi, Pirex, Xaos, Deadwulf, Kani
Overview: The second Benelux nation Belgium will once again participate in this year's NWWC. Although being fairly active in the tournament's history Belgium is nearly without success in the past 5 years. In 2016 they made their only deep run losing in the quarter-final against Czechslovakia. Odysseus and Belgicus picked up captainship that year. Since 2017 Belgium was not able to get out of the group once. In this tournament, the team will be lead by Vegi, who takes that responsibility for the third time in a row. After being assisted by Ilypa for the last two years, Barro will join him in that role this year. The new captain Barro is also the most important player of the team. Having arrived on the higher competitive stage not long ago he worked hard to be a dangerous upper-tier player. Having slightly more experience Ilypa is on a comparable level and as important for the team. Team captain Vegi was able to focus on his own game in the last months and with that also made a step forward. Although he is lacking consistency he is the only real competitive player in the team besides the already mentioned guys. Only 3 other guys of the team have played more than 1 NWWC and the player base can be considered as good role players or very new competitive players. Tactic wise Belgium in practice matches tried to stay as passive as possible to give Barro and Ilypa time for picks. In the end, they could still prove to be the best of the 5 "underdogs". Arriving at the knock-outs still looks far off the range.
