SLTV StarSeries Season XI LAN Finals preview and predictions

The SLTV StarSeries Season XI Lan Finals will start on Saturday, October 18th and will continue until Sunday, October 19th. The finals will feature four of the best teams of the online phase, including Na'Vi, Epsilon, Team LDLC, and Titan.

Participants	Prize pool
Team LDLC Titan Natus Vincere Epsilon	1st: $13,000 with $2,000 travel support 2nd: $7,000 with $2,000 travel support 3rd: $4,000 with $2,000 travel support 4th: $3,000 with $2,000 travel support

Online Standings

This season had a slightly altered format for the online phase, where the sixteen teams were divided into two groups. They battled each other only once, in best-of-one format, with the highest placed teams in both groups advancing directly to the LAN finals. However, the 2nd-5th placers of both groups got the chance to enter the online playoffs for the remaining two spots.

Natus Vincere and Epsilon qualified directly from the group phase, while Team LDLC and Titan had to fight their way through the playoffs.

Brackets

The tournament will be played in the standard double elimination format, where four teams will be split into two groups - Epsilon and Titan in one group and Na'Vi and Team LDLC in the other. The matches will be played in a BO3 format, and the winner of each group will continue in the second round of the Upper Bracket, where they will fight for a spot in the final.

The defeated teams of each group will drop to the Lower Bracket (also in BO3 format), and will have to win two matches in a row to secure a spot in the grand finals. If a team loses a single match in the Lower Bracket, they are out of the tournament. In the grand final, the team coming from the Upper Bracket will start with a game advantage against the team coming from the Lower Bracket.

Location

The SLTV StarSeries Season XI LAN Finals will be held at the Kiev Cybersport Arena in Kiev, Ukraine. This is the same location of the previous SLTV StarSeries LAN Finals, and the venue will feature a large LCD screen above the stage in order to broadcast the matches in front of a spacious viewing lounge. Live online broadcasting will also be provided by FACE IT .

Predictions

Match 1: Epsilon vs Titan
	Epsilon had to undergo a roster change only two days ago, and they have yet to prove themselves to be top contenders in the CS:GO scene. While they already replaced fxy0 with sixeR, Pm will also be unable to attend the finals, and he will be replaced with MAJ3R. The team results recently were far from great and they will have to make a fresh start for this event. Epsilon is currently ranked 16th in our rankings database.

	Ever since Dreamhack Stockholm, where they dominated the opposition, Titan is struggling to find their old form. The Swedish event was a true demostration of their power, but in order to stay at the top they will need to have more consistency in their results. So far, in October, they are sitting at 5-7 in their official matches, but that does not change the fact that they are still among the favorites of the matchup especially if kennyS shows his true capabilities once again. They are currently ranked 5th in our Counter-Strike rankings database.

Match 2: Na`Vi vs Team LDLC
	Na'Vi, the champions of SLTV StarSeries Season IX, have proven to be serious contenders in the scene since their roster change in December 2013. After getting eliminated from ESL Cologne by Fnatic during the Quarter-Finals, Na'Vi still performed well, finishing second in the last season of StarLadder. With arguably one of the best LAN line-ups, it would be hard for the Ukrainian team not make it to the finals. Expect to see some heartbreaking rounds on T-side, where the team specializes. They are currently ranked 9th in our Counter-Strike rankings database

	Team LDLC is currently at the peak of their form since their roster changes back in September. They are almost unstoppable, and the only team that managed to defeat them this month is Fnatic - twice on de_cache. They are one of the most consistent teams of the current scene, yet they still possess no advantage over Na'Vi in the upcoming SLTV LAN finals. shox and co. will have to put on a good show in order to take down the Ukrainians. Team LDLC is currently ranked 2nd in our Counter-Strike rankings database.