STC11 Groupstage Preview - Groups A-C - ManiaActu - News for TrackMania, ShootMania, and QuestMania
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Group A is quite interesting one. With both Team Dignitas and Against all Authority from ESL's first division the other teams have to put up big numbers to be close the top. Stealing maps from aAa might be the key for Q, off and mCon.

Favorite: Team Dignitas

With the two-time world champion ca Carl-Antoni "Carl Jr." Cloutier and numerous talented drivers Diggy is once again a candindate to win whole tournament. First they have to go through groups of course, but that shouldn't be a problem for them. Incoming ESWC might be a problem though, since many players such as gb Andy "Sabre" Wilson will surely go all in to challenge Cloutier there, and also nl Tim "Spam" Lunenburg is a likely face to be seen in Paris. This might give newer members like de Andy "TripleX" Ko a chance to show what he's made of. Overall, Dignitas is a clear favorite.

Lineup: Bergie, Carl Jr., Insane, JonNo, nugget, Pac, Sabre, Spam, TripleX

Challenger: Against All Authority

The French force aAa is a second favorite in the division. With one of the hottest player past year, fr Benjamin "Kronos" Suzenne supported by wide lineup of French players including the "little champion" fr Yoann "YoYo" Cook the gang is dangerous. The lineup also contains more LAN-proofed Frenchmen such as fr Laouenan "zo0m" Le Corguile, and what can make things interesting is that ex-fullspeed player fr "Piranha" has also got better and better on techy roads. The team is a clear favorite for second playoff spot.

Lineup: Snaky, Alex, Cocow, Galak, Kronos, Nixor, Pirahna, Silver, Slowarse, Yoyo, zo0m

The others

The other three teams might be quite equal. Legendary mCon (mouse control) does have the nl Mark "Ruva" van Vugt himself captaining and nl "zycos" causing damage, but off (only for fun) seems to be clear underdog with not really special players to name. Q has numerous decent players like  es Javier "Calketh" Vico and cz Marek "Maktikt" Holub. With weaker teams than aAa and Dignitas I would call Q being the dark horse of the group, but right now they can't make it to top two here without the performance of their lives. 


Group B is the home of the outlaws, a mixteam built around players driving for other organizations and currently teamless guys. The fight for second spot might be cruel, since all SAW, ANE Core and MaDrivers are strong teams, and neither the others FD/THC and NGamers can be counted out.

Favorite: the outlaws

Captained my de Dennis "Massa" Lotze, the outlaws has numerous talented players. Even ca Philippe "wally" Trudeau joined the gang from Begrip. Also three-time ESWC runner-up sk Marek "tween" Pacher is in the lineup, and so are gb Leo "Leo" Falcomer-Dawson and fr Romain "Roa" Alliet. That's not even the end of famous names here, go look the team yourself to find out the rest. This team is a clear favorite to be high in the tournament if they manage keep up the motivation - the biggest problem of mixteams.

Lineup: Massa, cannot, DeviL, kubayz, Leo, Roa, sawkv, swissbaron, Tamarillo, tween, Tomsen

Challenger: MaDrivers

MD has lost their best player pl "maxc" some time ago to Lioncast, but they still have wide lineup of talent in pl "Edward" who put up great results in True Talent Cups lately, and also pl "MikuS" is one to fear. The team is talented and surely can take the second spot of the group, but not too easily, since the other teams also have some talented players.

Lineup: Tomczan, ANUBIS, Darell, Edward, Grimm, Grono, kiszon, Kulisa, maciey, Magorian, MikuS, Narcorek, PejaSK8, Phil95, zloty

The others

Sex Alcohol Weed is a team with numerous French players. Led by famous skinner fr "Schumi" the team has a large field of decent players, yet zero seriously good star player. fr Tanguy "Cappucino" R. could be one threat, but without him the team has to go nuts to win maps. Also ANE Core is a strong team, and players such as it "ErviS" can be harmful to others. NGamers is another French team with less known players, but like all French teams, surprises may happen. Last but not least we have FD/TH, who have some talented players like ee "kawi" and de "Crunch", and after all it might be this fusion team that can challenge MD the most. Expect this group to be very tight!


Group C has again five teams. The clear favorite here is Planetkey Dynamics, former PENTA, who are among the best four teams in pretty much any tournament. Fight for second place might be hard, but THE-Gaming should take it if no surprises occur. With three other teams we got to wait and see.

Favorite: Planetkey Dynamics

The German-based team with several strong players like at Michael "PokeR" Neuhold and cz Michal "Flyer" Vo. Even tho Vo and other newer players in PkD are great, the gang is lacking fi Mikael "MiQuatro" Jäppilä in army for long time still. Luckily his fellow countryman and namesake fi Mikael "swoopy" Hakanen has also caused a lot damage to opponents in past events. Nevertheless, with wide lineup of talented player the team is a clear favorite in the group.

Lineup: Flow, ChillerSide, Extreme, Flyer, JaviFlyer, JoDooky, klovni, Mesko, PokeR, Renew, Safran, Scrapie, swoopy, Zack

Challenger: THE-Gaming

The team quite much built around de Tobias "shorty" Rouschal is a serious threat, and Rouschal akready showed what he is made of being second in Intel NesTM Cup some time ago. The lineup has other good players as well, and especially de "Dexter" is a talented player who is able to set up pressure on others. Good for them, they have many members making players focusing on certain maps possible. 

Lineup: CicimaN, Ami, angelhard, bart, Becks, Dexter, EgeR, Famezor, LuKe, Mariou, Razor, shorty, Sky, Killa, Vanilli

The others

Molotovs & Marshmallows's second squad has a chance to challenge THE. Players such as lt "Etu" and cz "Zerd" with many others can be fast with enough train, and the wide lineup allows them to rotate players a lot. Meanwhile ANE's Community team looks like a retirement home from the game - they have really many great drivers, yet activity might not be their strenght. Especially buddies nl "Insensus" and fi Teemu "Rediez" Leinonen are a fast duo when trained, and they also have names like se "LJ" and ex-BX3 nl "Micro" (Krijn). Full trained these guys can even beat THE, but the chance to see them full trained is minimal. The fifth team,Owg (Overwhelming), however, seems to be an underdog of the division without any that famous player carrying, but no one should be underestimated.

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