Start of the Dutch League

At the top of the table we find PSV Esports, a new face in the Benelux but with old faces from the scene. After being relatively quiet about their line-up, they dropped a bomb on the scene when announcing the team. Not only do they have the veteran talent of Kitty and Zhergoth, they have managed to bring back Anthrax and Furuy to the Benelux. Furuy is also reunited with old Defusekids teammate Albetrayber. From the start they were regarded as a contender for the throne and how they have showed it! Going undefeated in a league with Defusekids, they show very clean gameplay. Under the leadership of coach Jigly, they have their eyes set on the EU Masters. Depending on the form of the other teams, it heavily looks like they will ace the play-offs.

In a surprising second place, we have Dynasty. Currently they have the same record as Defusekids, they have the upper hand after defeating them last week. After being renamed, Dynasty stayed true to their rookie-developing values. Fielding mostly rookies, we have our eyes set on their jungler RedNosePanda. After flying under the radar for 3 weeks, he showed up on Week 4 after playing a massive role in the upset over Defusekids. The peak of this team is still unclear, but a lot of mistakes have to be sorted out before they can challenge the current number one.

The kings of 2019, Defusekids, seem to struggle in their current form. A loss to Dynasty has shown the vulnerability of this team, opening possibilities for a lot of scenarios. On paper, their line-up looks like one of the best ever formed. Their mechanical and individual skill-level is sky-high, but they have struggled to play clean games. The downside of this team with so much raw talent is the lack of true leadership. Although this does not yet mean the end for Defusekids, Gevous has quite the task ahead for the second part of the split.

When the first week started, mCon esports were the talk of the day. Going 2-0 on the first week, high expectations were set for this team. Having changed their topside of the map, they looked more confident in their games. Unfortunately they seemed to struggle the next few weeks and they haven’t won a game since week one. With a play-off spot on the line, the pressure is on for this squad. Eyes are on sumi and which sumi will show up to play.

The ever-confident Echo Zulu squad finds itself in a delicate situation. The renowned Benelux organisation has had a slow start and we are still not sure where they belong. They will most likely contest one of the play-off spots, but it will be hard for them. They have shown great things, but also had some very unfortunate games. The pressure is on them to turn the split around.

Against all odds, we find Team THRLL in last place. The expectations for this team were so high, they might have crumbled under them. With very well-known players like Sebs, Raqo, Mytheos and Atrocez, they were deemed top contenders for the league. However, their experiment of starring Raqo in the botlane did not work out. They look to bounce back after the return of Raqo in the midlane and Mytheos in the botlane. But the most important question is… Are the #VamirDrafts to blame?

To answer the question asked in the beginning of this article, yes it does seem like the Dutch League is the stronger league. Being more competitive and arguably having individually better players, the Dutch League looks very stacked. One question is on everyone’s mind, when does PSV Esports play vs Sector one? A question we might never see answered, but one that gives hope to the Belgian League!