We are now at the end of the 8th season of the French EPS and here are the four teams attending the lan finals at the Japan Expo in Paris.

After 11 weeks of competition the top 4 teams have reached the lan finals, and as expected, VeryGames' dominance and talent shined throughout the season, with many surprises along the way. On the 3rd of July we will have two semi-finals, redface will be battling it out with redLine, and VeryGames will fight D4Gaming. The finals of the season will be played on the 4th of July, and unfortunately for the spectators, the dates are similar to the ESWC event, which is expected to hold the majority of publicity.

Once again during the season we witnessed the disqualification of ROCCAT who were forced to play their last game with 3 players; The hf.MOTHER mix team managed to qualify to the lan finals, but they decided to refuse the invitation. Due to these unforseen circumstances, teams redLine and D4Gaming are now the ones to the finals. have a look to the four names that will play at Japan Expo in Paris.

The Final Teams

VeryGames

Loïc 'RegnaM' Péron
Kévin 'Ex6TenZ' Droolans
Cédric 'RpK' Guipouy
Nathan 'NBK' Schmitt
Ludovic 'Shokkk' Martin

Showing full dominance throughout the season and a confident win at lan79, the team are a big favourite for the title that they have previously obtained last season; With their new addition Cédric 'RpK' Guipouy, VeryGames is currently considered one of the biggest teams in Europe, and even if they are lacking in preparation with their new lineup, the level of raw talent that this line-up provide is enough to be earn them first place this week-end. Their first encounter will be against D4Gaming - also probably the best opposition they can face during the finals, giving them the French national squad a chance to prove themselves.

Prediction: 1st

One to watch: Cédric 'RpK' Guipouy
The former ROCCAT player is considered by many as the best player in world and joining VeryGames is huge step in his gamer career. The lack of preparation with his new team mates will probably be over shadowed by the sheer talent, let's see if Cédric is able to carry the team like he did with krL and make people forget the departure of Victor 'victorz' Matyjasik.

The team manager NiaK said the following on the ESL website:

The regular season went pretty well, the only team that managed to beat us on de_train was the ROCCAT mix team. As a whole, it was very satisfying. We managed to prepare for play days, which permitted us to lose only a few rounds. Getting the 1st spot allowed us to face D4Gaming in the Semi-Finals, who had SmithZz and KrL in their line up for this special occasion, a promising game which is sure to be a good game that we really want to win!

redLine

Vincent 'EMSTQD' Cervoni
Jérôme 'Soulm8' Michon
Kévin 'Uzzziii' Vernel
Rodolphe 'Rodoo' Barsky
Adil 'ScreaM' Benrlitom

Supposed to play against VeryGames in Semi Final the redLine academic team will finally fight against redface for a spot in the grand final of the season. Even if they lost to OXXI and his colleagues with a score of 16-10, they now potentially have the experience and talent to reach 2nd place in the competition. They demonstrated at Lan79 that they have to be considered as one of the best French teams and they will now have to show it again , even if a global victory of the event looks very difficult I see them facing VG for the top spot.

Prediction: 2nd

One to watch: Adil 'ScreaM' Benrlitom
A few month ago this nickname was totally unknown. After great performances online and offline, ScreaM is now one of the greatest players in the scene. Now playing for redLine, he will have the chance to shine and allow his new team to progress, in this skilled line up he stands out as the one with the most potential.

D4Gaming

Alexandre 'Bistoufly' Lebozec
Stéphane 'HysokA' Salvadori
Sébastien 'krL' Perez
Joan 'Bub' Huillier
Edouard 'SmithZz' Dubourdeaux

Knowing at the last minute that they will take part of the lan finals - D4Gaming will be playing as a mix since two of their players had already planned things this week-end. Their two luxurious replacements will be krL and SmithZz who accepted to help their friends and this will also be the last run for Sébastien. Facing VeryGames in their Semi-Final will give them a good chance, and even if they are a mix they have know each other for a long time and play together quite often. This line-up, which could be an ENC French team, will do their best to defeat VeryGames, no doubt about it.

Prediction: 3rd

One to watch: Edouard 'SmithZz' Dubourdeaux
Now rebuilding a ROCCAT team with shox, SmithZz is still one of the best player in Europe, having one of the best cs:s careers. If he performs at his best then D4 will give the other teams a run for their money. SmithZz's AWP and rifle skills are always exciting to watch, and now that RpK is not with him anymore, I have no doubt as to who people will follow on SourceTV regarding D4Gaming.

redface

Romain 'OXXXI' Rallo
Dan 'apx' Madesclaire
Kévin 'kevZ' Dalibert
Thomas 'Karas' Quin
Antoine 'Tonuz' Muzy

redface was the surprise of the season as they managed to get their qualification tickets quite early, especially when you look back at the large number of teams who were able to reach the playoffs this year. They will come with a replacement, Antoine 'Tonuz' Muzy who has been on the scene for some time now. It is most likey that this change won't cause any problem for the team, and with the first 3 names in the list, I can't see redface going far in this competition. The opposition against redLine will determine the outcome of the season.

Prediction: 4th

One to watch: Dan 'apx' Madesclaire
Banned from the ESL website for several weeks and accused of using an aimbot during a match, apx is finally unbanned and he will come to Paris this week-end with fire in his eyes. Obviously he will give his best for his team and he will also have the pressure to play with alot of people watching him due to his recent publicity.

The prize distributions will be as follow:

4000€
2000€
1000€
4th. 500€