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The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) scene has been in a lull for the past few weeks. Many of the top teams are inactive from mid-July to mid-August as part of the agreed-upon player break. That does not mean, however, that CS:GO fans will be completely bereft of entertainment. The CS:GO scene never completely sleeps and there are always ongoing competitions.

The most prominent upcoming tournament is the DreamHack Open Summer (DHO Summer). Taking place in Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania, the DHO Summer is the result of three events (DreamHack Valencia, DreamHack Montreal, and DreamHack Hyderabad) restructuring for online competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even with several of the scene’s most prominent teams on break, the DHO Summer looks to be an exciting event with great competition. Both the North American and European regional tournaments feature teams in HLTV.org’s Top Ten in global rankings. The DHO Summer also gives several of the upcoming teams a chance to take on their region’s best and brightest and prove themselves against the global elite.

DreamHack Open Summer EU Preview and Predictions

In Europe, the attending teams (and their HLTV global rankings) are:

BIG, Complexity (COL), Spirit, Heroic, MAD Lions (MAD), and forZe were invited to the event. OG and Endpoint qualified through the closed qualifier.

Of the attending teams, BIG, COL, and OG are all favorites to win. BIG in particular has been in excellent form recently. The German squad has flourished in the online era of CS:GO, reaching new heights and claiming the #1 spot. The victors of the recent CS_Summit 6 a month ago will be looking to add another title to their names.

COL and OG will also be looking for the championship. The new COL lineup was built with the goal of winning trophies. As a hybrid of Americans and Europeans, this mixed roster is an ambitious cross-Atlantic project that is looking to maintain their success at the BLAST Premier.

OG is a multinational project with five players of different nationalities built around the famous in-game leader (IGL) Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen. The OG organization is a well-respected name from Dota 2, but has yet to replicate their championship success in CS:GO. Still trophyless eight months into 2020, OG must be very hungry for a major victory.

The four players to watch are:

XANTARES is the heavy-hitting top fragger for BIG. His strong performances form the cornerstone that gives BIG the firepower to hit back and overpower opposing teams.

As the entry fragger for COL, RUSH needs to make high-impact kills to secure sites and information. The 2018 Boston Major winner has maintained a high level of performance since that peak but more will be required to elevate his team to the next level.

Valde is a historic player famous for his fragging. Aleksib was to be the brains of the team and Valde its fists. He has yet to live up to the high expectations placed on him and this DHO will be a key opportunity to prove himself.

cadiaN is the veteran leader of the Danish squad Heroic. Long overshadowed by the likes of Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander and Finn “karrigan” Andersen, cadiaN has a long way to go if he wants to prove himself their equal. A victory with a relatively unknown Danish roster is the first step down that path.

The two teams in the final are most likely to be BIG and Complexity. It will likely be quite close, but recent form gives the edge towards BIG, if only ever so slightly.

DreamHack Open Summer NA Preview and Predictions

In North America, the attending teams (and their HLTV global rankings) are:

Evil Geniuses (EG), Team Liquid (TL), FURIA, Gen.G, 100 Thieves, and Cloud9 (C9) were invited. Triumph and Ze Pug Godz qualified through the closed qualifier.

EG, FURIA and Gen.G are strong contenders to finish in the top three. These teams consistently display the tactics and skill needed to reach the top. Team Liquid is also a contender, but their recent roster changes make any faith in them tentative at best.

The four players to watch are:

CeRq and yuurih are the heavy hitters of their respective teams. Both boast high statistics and have played crucial parts in important rounds to secure victories for their teams.

BnTeT remains an interesting individual. The Indonesian superstar is a rare representative from Asia at the top of the global CS:GO scene. Over the past few months, he is starting to fit better with Gen.G and this tournament is an opportunity to showcase their teamwork with another trophy.

Grim is perhaps the player with the most eyes on him. Any new addition to the star-studded Team Liquid line-up would draw attention; Grim is in the unenviable position of replacing Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella, the legendary IGL of Team Liquid. He will need to have an outstanding debut to silence the doubtful.

Both the North American and European DHO Summers will take place from August 8 to August 16. In both regions, eight teams will compete for a $90 thousand prize pool; first place will take $35 thousand.

The format is, at the time of writing, unannounced. The English broadcast will be available on the DreamHackCS Twitch channel.

CSGO Betting markets for DreamHack Open Summer will be as always available on thunderpick.io.