It's the last event of the year and although normally passing by unnoticed this time NorthCon is attracting some attention from the wider European scene.

The event was rumoured to be attracting a number of top teams given the recent increase to the prize purse - with the winners now walking home with €3,000 in the non-BYOC tournament - but gradually most of them began to drop out for whatever reason. This means that there are only a few teams there this weekend who could realistically win the event, but that hasn't stopped people from getting excited. The main reason for this is the fact that the new-look mTw.International squad will be breaking themselves in to LAN environments this weekend and have made the trip to the event, joining them are Danish upstarts Copenhagen Wolves and a few dangerous looking German teams, including Thermaltake.

All eyes will be on the mixed European side though and most will be expecting them to walk away from the event victorious, it's going to be tough for them though given the fact that they've only been a team for the best part of a month and will yet be functioning as a well oiled and well drilled machine. Some of the other teams though will be more than prepared to stick it to the big names and cause an upset, as such this should be one of the most interesting events to watch unfold this year.

As with most tournaments this days I've been tasked with bringing you a preview, giving you a detailed look at the challengers and picking out a few players to watch. Unfortunately watching those players is going to prove difficult with no SourceTV, but hey ho.. Swings and roundabouts.

mTw.Int

HenryG, hudzG, nooky, stingeR, wez

This new "super-team" have been formed with European dominance in mind and their one and only goal will be to bring some glory back to the mTw organisation who have failed to set the European scene alight on numerous occasions with numerous combinations of players. Many people saw it as a risk when the organisation chose to pick up George 'hudzG' Hoskins given the language barrier and the different in play styles, however since joining he has helped mTw secure two EPS titles and was their main asset during a year of domestic dominance. Encouraged by the improved team performances the organisation have been flirting with the idea of a European lineup for some time and have slowly but surely began to warm to the idea, or the fact, that most German players simply aren't good enough to beat the very best in Europe.

They finally took the plunge last week when they announced an all new team and in it are some of the most experienced and best players to pick up a mouse. Two former CGS players - one winner - and arguably the best English player ever lead the charge and they're joined by the jewel in the crown of Norwegian CS:S and the most revered and well decorated German since Rudi Völler. With time to practice this team could and should be challenging for honours at major international events but even with little time to prepare and gel as a team they should have enough in the tank to take gold this weekend, they must remain focused though as underestimating some of their opponents could prove costly.

Player to watch: Elliot 'wez' Welsh - The CGS winner has been considered one of the best in Europe since he made the switch to CS:S over three years ago and has remained at the top of his game throughout. As naturally gifted a player as any - proven by his switch back to 1.6 where he became the highest ranked British player and only Englishman capable of standing toe to toe with the Europeans - he is capable of doing the unthinkable and is almost always the difference maker in big rounds. It's a glowing testament to how good he is when George 'hudzG' Hoskins declares himself awestruck and should leave people with no doubt who the man to watch is this weekend.

Copenhagen Wolves

AnK, purityy, smF, socN, xLo

mTw's main challengers for the NorthCon title will be Danish side CPH Wolves and given their recent spell of success they should not be taken lightly by the favourites. The team is like a who's who of up and coming Danish CS:S players and in a scene brimming with talented youngsters these guys are the pick of the bunch, led by the old and wise head of Jesper 'purity' Larsen. This is the former Imperial and Reason Gaming player's latest project and so far he has to be commended for a job well done, bringing these players out of obscurity and into the forefront of European CS:S. The team currently sit in sixth place on our monthly Top 10 rankings thanks to a number of favourable results against the best in Europe.

Although they have yet to really show what they can do at a major event - choosing instead to keep it local and within the confines of Denmark - they have proven that they can do it on LAN as well. I can't see any team beating these guys apart from mTw and they won't meet until the upper bracket final, until that point the toughest challenge they will face is the osirisbash led Team Thermaltake, a challenge that they should be able to overcome without too many problems. I feel like they do have the potential to upset this mTw side given the lack of time to prepare but the experience and ability of the favourites should be enough to see them through, still, second place isn't too bad is it?

Player to watch: Søren 'socN' Falke - Forever the onliner. That's a tag that Søren carried with him for many months as he consistently out-aimed and out-thought some of the most talented players in Europe in online matches without really porting it to the LAN environment. In the past few months though he's began to do just that and was one of the most consistent players in XAYA Gaming before the teams acrimonious split. This is another chance for him to prove that he's a solid LAN player and doing so against mTw will no doubt silence the remaining critics he has.

Team Thermaltake

osirisbash, miniT, sraven, csrisby, xs1ck

It's been a tough year for the Thermaltake organisation and one that they will be good to bring the curtain down on. Doing so with some success at NorthCon would be ideal and it would have been possible had mTw and CPH Wolves not decided to turn up and ruin the party. For a long time the organisation boasted one of the countries best teams and managed to qualify for the EPS finals on a regular and consisted basis. Despite almost always finishing in third or fourth place a regular spot in the offline finals was enough to keep the organisation satisfied and keep the fans placid. This year has been a very different case though and instead of fighting it out for a chunk of the prize purse they have been battling for survival in the league, something that both the players and organisation aren't used to.

Surprisingly the turning point came when their former lineup picked up their first EPS title after a shock win over mTw in the grand final. This was the beginning of the end for that team as the players were poached and left to fill the void, and expected to keep this new found run of success going, was a team who simply didn't have the ability to do so - especially when faced with the strongest mTw side in years. Since then it's been a constant struggle for the team but one that they have been getting under control recently. Despite still being a long way off challenging for titles they have steadied the ship and now look like a team capable of pulling out results against the big boys.

Much of that is down to the hard work of former mTw man Philipp 'osirisbash' Kaczmarczyk, and he will be hoping his team can pull something special out of the bag this weekend. I think a podium finish is definitely on the cards but when up against CPH Wolves or mTw it's unlikely that they'll get a result.

Player to watch: Philipp 'osirisbash' Kaczmarczyk - Philipp has been playing at the top of the German scene for as long as I care to remember and was one of the key players in the mTw side that enjoyed so much success in 2008. Now parted with mTw he is the man who his teammates look up to and the one who has the ability to make the big plays when needed to. He's undoubtedly the star man in this Thermaltake team and he will be the one to drag them to a podium finish.

x2-hosting.de

Kaiii, d0n, KRAEUTERHUMPEN, smn, stavros

The dark horses of the tournament will be playing without pressure this weekend but they will almost certainly have the motivation to cause an upset or two. For years the wider European scene has been of the opinion that most German players are sub-standard when compared to those from other nations, and it's an opinion that has been backed up by results and performances down the years. German players didn't really care for the most part because their national scene was the best in Europe and they had a regular stream of tournaments both on and offline. Recently though even the organisations have began picking up players from different countries, with both mTw and mousesports leading the way.

The German players that remain will be eager to prove that they aren't as bad as people seem to believe and beating mTw this weekend would be the perfect way to do that. The man with arguably the biggest point to prove is Patrik 'KRAEUTERHUMPEN' Jakobi having been removed from mTw in favour of the new look International team. Although the team are a mix of sorts it's unclear whether they play on sticking together afterwards and they have been linked with a move to mTw as the organisations German representatives. What better way to sell yourself than to defeat the main team at LAN?

Player to watch: Dimitrios 'stavros' Smoilis - One of the most underrated players in Germany and in my opinion the best player since hossa to emerge stavros will be the key to his teams success this weekend. His performances in the most recent EPS season were fantastic and he's shown that he is more than capable at LAN also, I expect him to be pumped up and eager to stick it to some of the bigger names in attendance; keep an eye out.