There’s a lot at stake for the IEM Season X World Championship in Katowice, as it’s the first premier tournament of the year as well as the last premier tournament before the MLG Major Championship Columbus. The top teams will look to size up their competition ahead of the Major, while the newcomers will look to make their mark on a global stage.

We take a look at five prominent storylines going into Katowice, such as the new coaches that could make or break their teams, the underdogs on home soil and the teams looking to Katowice as their second chance after missing out on the Major.

Who will meet Fnatic in the grand finals?

Fnatic have been playing out of their minds in the winter season, so no one will get their jimmies rustled if you predict them in the Grand Finals in Katowice. But with every single Legend team competing in the MLG Major Championship Columbus also present at Katowice, predicting the other grand finalist is a whole other matter entirely.

Team EnVyUs are the first team to come to mind as they continue to be one of the few teams that are a threat to Fnatic, their problem seems to be their consistency against all the other teams. Even Virtus.pro, who have been slumping noticeably in their recent games, took one map off of them during ESL Pro League Season 3, and forced an overtime in the other.

Natus Vincere are another top contender, who squared off against Fnatic in two different Grand Finals (SL i-League and ESL Pro League Season 2). They lost both times, but their runs were hard fought and they drew blood from the Swedish gods. Same goes for Luminosity Gaming, who trounced Fnatic 16-6 on Mirage during SL i-League and nearly knocked them out, but Fnatic ended the series 16-14 on Inferno.

There’s only room for two teams in the grand finals, but two other teams that should be watched are FaZe Clan and Ninjas in Pyjamas, who have very recently picked up CS veterans as their coaches.

Game of Coaches

Ninjas in Pyjamas have been a shadow of their former selves for a long time now, and despite their roster changes they haven’t found the success they wanted after losing Robin “Fifflaren” Johansson over a year ago. However, there’s been a noticeable upturn in their performance with their latest roster, and it appears that their new coach Björn “THREAT” Pers is largely to thank.

THREAT is a veteran in-game leader from the CS 1.6 days, and he brings pedigree even into NiP’s lineup. However, he’s not the only CS 1.6 veteran to come into a coaching role on one of the top teams. FaZe Clan have recently picked up Robert "RobbaN" Dahlström, of SK Gaming fame, as their coach. Unfortunately he was picked up fairly late in the winter season, meaning that he’ll be part of the team for less than a month by the time FaZe compete in Katowice.

Additionally, FaZe have only played a handful of games as part of the organization, and only two maps with RobbaN during ESL Pro League Season 3. It was a convincing 2-0, but it was also against the not so convincing Virtus.pro. Outside of scrims, their full lineup is untested, but the surprise factor could also be a boon.

NiP and THREAT however have been working together for two months now and the fruits of their labour are apparent. Their first outing was less than stellar as they failed to qualify for the Global eSports Cup Season 1 LAN after being defeated 2-0 by then-ex-Titan, but they’ve put up solid performances in the ESL Pro League. They swept both Team Dignitas and mousesports, and even split the series against Natus Vincere, arguably the second best team in the world currently.

Katowice will be important for the coaches of both NiP and FaZe as they will be looking to prove their value to their respective teams and flex their strategic muscles ahead of the Major.

Solace for Tempo

Tempo Storm had a big opportunity during the MLG Major Championship Columbus qualifiers. Not only was the prize pool for the Major increased significantly, but if they qualified, it would be the first time two South American teams competed in a Major. However, the former Games Academy squad were completely shut down by Flipsid3 Tactics 16-5 on Cache and then Train and had their million dollar dreams crushed.

All was not lost however as they still have a running in Katowice and they find themselves in arguably the easier of the two groups. Team EnVyUs and Astralis will all but guarantee their slots, meaning that the final third slot will be up for contention and Tempo Storm will have a good shot.

Virtus.pro have been slumping lately, FaZe Clan are largely unproven with their new coach and E-Frag.net Esports Club shows promise, but among the European qualifier team, they’re probably less threatening than mousesports. Additionally they’re forced to play with a stand-in, Nikolay “pNshr” Paunin, as their primary Rifler Simeon “dream3r” Ganev was VAC banned.

The stars have apparently aligned in favor of Tempo Storm, they just need to deliver; unfortunately, the same fortune could not be given to the underdogs in Group A.

The Great Wall of Group A

Like Tempo Storm, the MLG Major Championship Columbus berth was stolen away from The MongolZ, but their circumstance was more tragic as they weren’t even allowed to compete due to visa issues. But with their visas secured for Katowice, The MongolZ will be looking to raid the global stage in the Spodek, they just need to make it past their group, but Group A is as close to a group of death as you can make it.

Joining The MongolZ in the group are Fnatic, the strongest team in the world; Natus Vincere, arguably the second strongest team in the world; Luminosity Gaming, the strongest team in America; a reformed Ninjas in Pyjamas team and even mousesports look strong.

With only three playoff spots being allocated per group it’s doubtful any team will hold back in any of the matchups, which is both a blessing and a curse for The MongolZ. On one hand, their chances for the playoffs are practically zero, but on the other hand it’s not everyday that you get to play against the best teams in the world. The MongolZ’s experience in the Katowice group stage will temper their competitiveness in the future, they will surely be taking a lot of notes.

Plow or Throw?

Six Majors in a row, all Top 8 finishes, one championship and zero roster changes. It’s hard to call Virtus.pro inconsistent with those numbers, but that seems to be the weird reality.

As it stands, VP don’t look or feel strong going into Katowice, even if it is on home soil and the same place where they won their first and only Major championship in 2014. VP kicked off 2016 with an abysmal start, finishing in last place at DreamHack Leipzig and they’re currently in last place of the European leg of ESL Pro League Season 3 with a 1-11 score. The one map they won was on Cobble against Team EnVyUs, but they had to force a double overtime to do it, finally taking the map at 22-20.

Being able to bounce back in Katowice, and later in the MLG Major, will be important for the careers of certain VP players, primarily the former Golden Five players: Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas, Filip "Neo" Kubski and Jarosław "pasha" Jarząbkowski. All three members are approaching thirty-years-old and while pasha is the youngest of the three at twenty-seven, he’s also the only one with a child.

Retirement has likely been a thought for these players, but those thoughts are likely staved off now that the stakes at the Majors have been increased significantly. However, the stakes mean nothing if they’re not winning. If the Poles don’t perform in Katowice, and more importantly the upcoming Major, the state of the roster could end up in flux.