Everything you need to know about Nordavind: Europe Closed Qualifier profile

Click here for all links to all sixteen of the team profiles for the Europe Closed Qualifier for ESL One Rio.

Rank (HLTV/ESL): #50/#35

Invite or Qualifier: Open Qualifier #2

Lineup

• Jesper "tenzki" Mikalski
• Haris "H4RR3" Hadžić
• Jørgen "cromen" Robertsen
• Niels Christian "NaToSaphiX" Sillassen
• Kevin "HS" Tarn
• Dennis "Rytter" Rytter (coach)

Five most recent results

• Europe Minor Open Qualifier #2 = 1st (Online)
• ESEA Advanced Season 32 Europe = 1st (Online)
• Telia League Fall 2019 Finals = 2nd (LAN)
• LOOT.BET Season 5 = 4th (Online)
• Qi Banja Luka 2019 Europe Qualifier = 17-20th (Online)

Brief rundown

Nordavind sees the return of H4RR3 to the roster for the event due to a wrist injury that has seen captain Ruben "RUBINO" Villarroel have to sit out multiple ESEA MDL Season 33 matches ahead of the Closed Qualifier.

The team also lost young talent Håkon "hallzerk" Fjærli to Dignitas, a fellow Closed Qualifier attendee. Danish AWPer NaToSaphiX and Estonian rifler HS were signed to replace the two players, with the former testing the waters for a potential return to in-game leadership during MDL matches.

Back in 2018, cromen's jump from standing in for Heroic to FaZe Clan saw him win the final round to claim the ESL One Belo Horizonte 2018 trophy. Many thought that cromen could even remain with FaZe as Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer was inactive for a second time with an unknown return date but instead he found himself signed to Nordavind in early 2019.

Player to watch: NaToSaphiX

After his time on Sprout and Heroic, the removal of NaToSaphiX was met with negative community reactions in both instances due to his popularity as a content creator.

NaTo will have to prove that he has what it takes to compete at the top level beyond his time as a stand-in for mousesports during cs_summit 5 where the team triumphed over G2 Esports and show his former teams just what they’re missing as both are also in attendance for the Closed Qualifier.

GINX prediction

While Nordavind is the stronger Norweigian lineup on paper, the old lineup and core going into the Closed Qualifier lost the Apeks at the Telia League Fall 2019 Finals in their home nation at the end of last year.

The MDL season could be better, as Nordavind currently have a 3-0-5 record, and the competition is fierce, but a lucky run could see them avoid some of Europe's heavy hitters and push through to Rio.