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The The Sex Files 2 A Dark XXX Parodyfirst Counter-Strike: Global OffensiveMajor of the year is nearing its end and only eight teams are left in one of the most exciting and prestigious tournaments in CS:GOhistory.

The ELeague Major playoffs kick off this Friday and run through Sunday, featuring Na'Vi, Virtus.pro, SK Gaming, Fnatic, Gambit Esports, North, FaZe Clan and Astralis battling through the single-elimination bracket to be crowned the greatest CS:GOteam in the world.

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These eight teams have already earned the title of "Legends" and automatically qualify for the next Major after emerging from the 16-team preliminaries, but they still have more fighting to do to inch closer to the grand finals taking place at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, taking home the biggest piece of the $1 million prize pool. After this week's preliminary matches, a few teams stand out as strong contenders for the title.

SEE ALSO: Ahead of the Game: A new year for CS:GO

We're breaking down exactly how each team is looking in the Major and how they've performed at recent tournaments to get a better idea of how this week is going to go down. Check out our team-by-team preview of the ELeague Major playoffs below.

Na'Vi

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If there's one clear stand out from the ELeague Major's preliminaries, it's Na'Vi. Over three matches against Mousesports, Team EnVyUs and SK Gaming, Na'Vi only gave up 12 rounds, coming into the Major with an absolutely dominating performance that hasn't been seen since their championship run at ESL One New York in October.

Every member of the five-man squad has been on fire this week. As long as the team can stay cool under pressure and stay in control like they have been, Na'Vi could have this Major in the bag. The team hasn't performed very consistently since Oleksandr "S1mple" Kostyliev joined in August, but it seems like it's found its footing at the ELeague Major.

Virtus.pro

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Although the Polish squad also made it to the ELeague Major playoffs on the 3-0 win streak, the team didn't do it quiteas convincingly as Na'Vi. After close wins against OpTic Gaming and G2 Esports, VP secured its spot against Gambit Wednesday. Despite its path to the playoffs, you can never rule out Virtus.pro.

Virtus.pro has seen two first place finishes in the past six months -- ELeague Season 1 and DreamHack Bucharest -- but the majority of its other tournament finishes haven't been anything to write home about. If they can get the crowd behind them and engage the famous Virtus.plow -- a term their fans coined for their ability to succeed most when they're on a roll -- the men could see themselves winning their first Major since March 2014.

SK Gaming

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The SK Gaming roster is the two-time reigning Major champion, having torn through the past two Majors with exhilarating flair. The team made it to the ELeague Major playoffs with wins against HellRaisers, FaZe Clan and favorite Astralis, only dropping one game to Na'Vi, proving that this is a team that's hungry for a third title.

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Since the ESL Cologne Major in July, though, first place finishes have completely eluded the (mostly) Brazilian team. SK has placed in the top four of multiple tournaments but haven't been able to close out important wins near the finals. The squad has welcomed Ricardo "Fox" Pacheco to mix things up and push them all the way to the finals, but a lack of practice time with the Portuguese player may be a detriment to SK's success.

Fnatic

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Fnatic scraped its way into the ELeague Major playoffs, starting with a loss against G2 and then three wins against North, Mousesports and Team EnVyUs. Their close wins don't exactly prove that the new roster is comfortable with each other all the time but show they have enough individual skill to compete at the top.

Between August and November, Fnatic shuffled its roster so much that the team hasn't had a chance to catch its breath. The Swedes haven't had a solid tournament placing since their second place finish at ELeague Season 1, and the team isn't expected to change that at the Major. With rumors floating around that Fnatic is reverting all those changes and going back to its old roster after the Major ends, don't expect a lot of dynamite from this team.

Gambit Esports

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Gambit is the dark horse of the ELeague Major, landing wins against North, Godsent and FaZe Clan this week and only losing to Virtus.pro before making it to the playoffs. If Gambit didn't qualify based on their top-eight finish at the last Major, the team may not have even made it to the preliminaries this time around considering their failure to qualify at a handful of premier tournaments throughout 2016.

Two of Gambit's top players, Ivan "Spaze" Obrezhan and Dmitry "Hooch" Bogdanov, left in October and Gambit hasn't had enough time to feel out their new squad. The team won DreamHack Winter in November, but the competition also wasn't very strong.

North

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North, formerly the roster of Team Dignitas, qualified for the playoffs after wins against HellRaisers, G2 and Godsent, which followed losses against Gambit and Fnatic. Despite those losses, North have been looking strong recently and could go pretty far at the ELeague Major.

The members of North proved they're a top team at Epicenter in October, beating both Na'Vi and Virtus.pro to take first place. Their nemesis appears to be SK Gaming, which North has lost to numerous times at recent tournaments. If North can avoid SK in the bracket, they have a shot at the top.

FaZe Clan

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FaZe Clan landed wins against FlipSid3 Tactics, Team Liquid and Team EnVyUs to make it to the ELeague Major playoffs, but lost to SK Gaming and Gambit. The team isn't among the very best to make it to the Major but they've definitely upset solid teams before.

FaZe Clan has been on the upswing since it signed Finn "Karrigan" Andersen in October, giving the team a needed boost in recent tournaments, but not quite enough to land in first place. FaZe has managed a few recent top-four finishes but nothing that suggests they could come out on top at this Major.

Astralis

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Astralis came into the ELeague Major as one of the favorites to win, but had a tough time in preliminaries. Astralis lost to Godsent and SK Gaming but beat out G2, Team Liquid and OpTic Gaming to make it to the playoffs, led by some amazing performances from its newest members Markus Kjærbye and Lukas "Gla1ve" Rossander.

The Danish team has the most success recently out of all the teams in the Major, having won ECS Season 2 and taking second at ELeague Season 2 in December. If the squad can learn from its losses and stay cool under Major pressure, Astralis still has a good shot of going all the way.

We're in Atlanta for the tournament and will be reporting on all the best plays and match results.

ELeague is owned by Turner Broadcasting, which also is an investor in Mashable.

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Topics Esports Gaming