With the last Counter-Strike major behind them, the teams that dominated there have undergone significant changes, and they arrive in New york under a cloud of doubt about their competitive viability, with player transfers, surgeries and a major format change that alters the way CS: GO is played professionally.

buy csgo skins scene throughout 2015, has seen one of the biggest roster shake-ups in the game’s history. Where does Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer’s new squad fit into the European hierarchy? Can Liquid prove themselves outside of the major, without the support of Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev? SK Gaming, the current kings of the scene, have sat out the smattering of offline events that have occurred since the roster agreed to take a break from their competitive schedule, and in the downtime Fernando "fer" Alvarenga took that time to correct long-standing medical issues. SK will have to post an impressive result with this event to reassert their supremacy in a scene they seemed to dominate effortlessly in the last year.

Thanks to the inclusion of a Swiss format which increases the number of games each team will have to play, this tournament should allow these teams to fully explore their potential and for us to see how they perform in the midst of what is arguably the most competitive era of CS: GO.