Denmark's DSRack LAN, which was set out to be the biggest Call of Duty 4 event of the year with room for 64 teams and a total prizepot of 20,000 euro, has unfortunately turned into a mainly Scandinavian affair, with the mixed European roster of fnatic, the Dutch side effex and Europe's current number one, Power Gaming, (a Dutch - Czech combination) as its only exceptions.

With 13 teams in attendance, the tournament turnout is somewhat dissapointing, but still largely expected given the date, but despite all this, Europe's current top three will be making their appearance at the 5,000 euro tournament and the teams that did register for the competition do benefit, as they are likely to play more matches in the groupstages.

With the old TCM roster revamped after losing two core players, Reason Gaming going their seperate ways and Team Dignitas in no state to attend a LAN, the top 10 teams in attendance is limited to Power Gaming, the Swedish TCM Gaming (ex-H2k) and fnatic, who have proven to be one step above the rest throughout the year.

Despite the lack of 'main challengers', those three should make for an interesting tournament and the final standing is by no means set in stone. Although upsets are certainly possible, with teams such as Dynamic, Blight (who have proven to be capable of upsets) and auRic, those three teams are more likely to decide who finishes 4-6th. All in all, Europe's current top 3 should be very motivated to claim first place: Power Gaming will try to hold on to their #1 spot as fnatic attempts to reclaim the title of Europe's leading team. TCM Gaming in turn will look to do their new organisation proud and win the tournament after placing second at both the SteelSeries Esport Challenge and Antwerp Esports Festival.

The Favorites

Power Gaming Jan "paradox" Duchon Lubomír "Luboshmir" Pešák Nick "toxjee" Hol Erik "FrosteR" van den Biggelaar Petr "king" Elbogen Achievements 2010 Frag-O-Matic 12.0 Crossfire Intel Challenge 7 SteelSeries Esport Challenge Antwerp Esports Festival Most recent changes Nikolaj "Mazarini" Lazarev Petr "king" Elbogen		A third place finish at the Crossfire Intel Challenge 7 in Enschede, the Netherlands and SteelSeries Esport Challenge in Copenhagen, Denmark earlier this year, combined with various online victories, have helped Power Gaming establish themselves as one of Europe's leading teams. Still looking for their first major LAN victory, the Dutch - Czech combination had struggled to get past fnatic and H2k Gaming (now TCM) at the monthly European leaderboards and remained third, a place they kept for several months. With the summer approaching the team replaced Nikolaj "Mazarini" Lazarev with Petr "king" Elbogen ahead of the Antwerp Esports Festival, and despite a lack of practise, at least from their point of view, Power Gaming finally took that last hurdle, claiming first place at AEF with a 2-1 victory (mp_crossfire: 13-10, mp_citystreets: 8-13, mp_crash: 13-10) over H2k Gaming. Their first place finish in Belgium propelled them into first place, which they kept for the past two and half months and were likely to keep until the next major LAN. With the DSRack LAN in Copenhagen around the corner, that major LAN has arrived and despite the low turnout, the presence of Europe's current top three will make it into an interesting spectacle. Going into a major tournament as the main favorite for the first time, an unchanged Power Gaming roster will look to defend their title of #1 in Europe. While fnatic are likely to need more time to challenge Power Gaming for the top spot, given that they are attending with two new members and a standin, Power Gaming's main rival will come from a very motivated TCM Gaming side, who will be eager to claim their first title after finishing runner-up at the past two events. Power Gaming versus TCM Gaming is a game that has always produced mixed results, but was never a walk over. Over the past months, both teams met countless of times, both at LAN and online. At LAN, the current score is 1-1, with TCM Gaming taking a 2-1 win at the SteelSeries Esport Challenge and Power Gaming defeating the Swedes 2-1 at the Antwerp Esports Festival Grand Final. Online, Power Gaming recently lost the PC World Cyborg Challenge Final against TCM Gaming (2-1). Other official results of 2010 include: 13-7 to TCM - Sapphire Euro Challenge 2-1 to Power - ESL Major Series Season 6 2-0 to Power - Vita Nova Premier League Overall, a sure candidate for the final. What happens if they meet TCM is anyone's guess.
TCM Gaming Johan "miRACLE" Gärtner Adam "Mumma" Timle-Händel Fredrik "qLimAxzU" Idh Hampus "mySpyS" Karlsson Roe "froz" Langaas Achievements 2010 5-8th. Crossfire Intel Challenge 7 SteelSeries Esport Challenge Antwerp Esports Festival Most recent changes Victor "vissEh" Gunnarsson Roe "froz" Langaas		The current TCM Gaming, until recently known as H2k Gaming, has come a long way since the times of Insidiae and The Experience 2009, going into a tournament as underdogs and ending up fourth, ahead of respected names such as Reason Gaming and Team Dignitas. The Swedes have gone from dark horses to tournament favorites, hovering between second and third place in Europe for the past six months or so, but are yet to win a major European LAN event, having just fallen short on the two previous occasions. Despite a more than impressive performance at the SteelSeries Esport Challenge, only losing to their fellow countrymen from fnatic in a thrilling Grand Final after defeating Team Dignitas 2-0 and Europe's current number one in a threemapper (2-1), TCM parted ways longtime member Victor "vissEh" Gunnarsson shortly after the event. With the Swede quitting competitive gaming to focus on his new job, Pandorum prospect Roe "froz" Langaas was given a shot and it certainly paid off. TCM Gaming impressed earlier this summer at the Antwerp Esports Festival, defeating all but one of the, at that point, European top 5. Victories over Reason Gaming (2-0), SPEEDLINK (2-0) and fnatic (2-0) were, in the end, not rewarded with a first place, although many thought the team certainly earned it. Power Gaming went on to win the final 2-1 (mp_crossfire: 13-10, mp_citystreets: 8-13, mp_crash: 13-10), resulting in the second silver medal for the Swedes in the year 2010. With froz in their middle, TCM has never been this close to a first place in the European Call of Duty 4 leaderboard, finishing second in the September rankings with just one point behind tournament favorite Power Gaming. Their recent move from H2k to TCM earlier this week, coupled with the fact that they are yet to win a major European event, could give the Swedes that little extra to go all the way. Although fnatic is never to be underestimated, with a roster full of European allstars, TCM and Power Gaming's stable rosters are the most likely contenders for a spot in the Grand Final. Every best-of-three encounter between these two powerhouses, bar one, has resulted in a 2-1 victory to either side, with the most recent one, the PC World Cyborg Challenge, ending in favor of the Swedes.
fnatic Conney "KyoChi" Sjöberg Stevy "Stevy" Verheyen Jonathan "raz" Baker Christopher "Lighters" Lightburn Chris "nreo" Mead (standin) Achievements 2010 Crossfire Intel Challenge 7 SteelSeries Esport Challenge Gamersject LAN 3 Antwerp Esports Festival Most recent changes Daniel "zEnith" Johansen Jonathan "raz" Baker Marcus "odyx" Nilsson (backup) Christopher "Lighters" Lightburn Standins Chris "nreo" Mead (replaces LINQAN)		Fnatic, the undisputed number one of the first half of 2010, has gone from gold at the Crossfire Intel Challenge 7 and SteelSeries Esport challenge to silver at the Gamersject LAN and bronze at the Antwerp Esports Festival, which made them lose their title of Europe's number one team. Despite a current third place in Europe, fnatic is the most successful Call of Duty 4 team of the recent years. After two consecutive victories at the Crossfire Intel Challenge 7 and the SteelSeries Esport Challenge, the Swedish based started out flawlessly at the Antwerp Esports Festival this summer, going through the groupstages undefeated, taking out Team Dignitas (2-1) in a thrilling, only to lose to H2k Gaming (TCM Gaming) 0-2 (mp_citystreets: 7-13, mp_strike: 17-19) in the semi-finals. Unlike main rivals Power Gaming and TCM, whose rosters remain unchanged after the Antwerp Esports Festival, fnatic has recently changed their roster, twice, with Daniel "zEnith" Johansen leaving the team to focus on his studies and Marcus "odyx" Nilsson moving to the backup spot. Their replacements, former Team Dignitas star Jonathan "raz" Baker and one of Europe's leading AK's, Christopher "Lighters" Lightburn, are two of the best players out there, but their recent arrival (and thus little time to fine tune everything), combined with the use of a standin, Chris "nreo" Mead, could mean fnatic need more time. While this doesn't change the fact that they are a clear candidate for first place, and their roster certainly spells trouble for any team they meet, Power Gaming and TCM Gaming are likely to have a little edge over fnatic. A roster worthy of the #1 spot in Europe, but likely to need more time to settle.