The Favourites:

Nickname:  frostBeule

Team:  Acer

Preview: Six-time winner of the EMS, frostBeule will have only one ambition, a seventh title. The battle for the title may be even more difficult than past seasons, but he is the best in this kind of competition, frostBeule is the big favorite! (Preview written by Clemouf.)

Nickname:  Spam

Team:  Dignitas

Preview: Recent winner of ESWC 2012, no one has a better confidence right now than Spam. He is looking very good for EMS.

Nickname:  Carl Jr

Team:  Dignitas

Preview: Dubbed as the "Justin Bieber of TrackMania" and recently getting 3rd at ESWC 2012 for his first ever offline event, Carl Jr is looking to be a strong contender for the EMS title.

Nickname:  YoYo

Team: 3dmax

Preview: Regarded as one of the best, if not THE best player in France (which is a pretty hard country to be the best in), YoYo has alot of merits. Not managing to qualify for ESWC might put him down a bit though, or make him extra motivated for EMS.

Nickname:  nugget

Team:  Dignitas

Preview: A person of controversy having recently left Acer for Dignitas in a questionable way. One thing is sure though; nugget is a very good player and has shown many times that he's to be reckon with, unless he's too busy with his academic studies.

Nickname:  Bergie

Team:  Dignitas

Preview: A veteran of the scene; everyone know who Bergie is and what he's capable of as long as he puts in the effort. Did decently well at ESWC 2012, which might put him in a good groove for EMS.

The Contenders:

Nickname:  huby

Team:  Acer

Preview: A very good and accomplished player online, which may be a recipe for succcess in EMS. Having participated in the tournament many times with success, albeit only in team, he is a player to look out for.

Nickname:  Insane

Team:  Dignitas

Preview: An "under the radar" player; has been a good player for a long time, but never participated in many competitions. This time might be different, and he might surprise a lot of people.

Nickname:  dNs

Team:  Acer

Preview: One of the best players from Germany, the capability of dNs is well known. This EMS will be a proving-ground for him, having not participated in any major individual tournaments as of yet.

Nickname:  Massa

Team:  Dignitas

Preview: Massa is a player which has impressed many with his fast dedi-records. The question is however if he can also have that success in tournaments. What's certain is that the motivation is there to try for it.

Nickname:  B3pp0'92

Team:  Acer

Preview: A long-time member of the scene, with many achievements under his belt. B3pp0'92 is always keen to show what he is capable of.

Nickname:  Royal

Team:  Acer

Preview: A relatively new player to the scene, Royal has impressed many recently with his great performance in team tournaments. This will be his first entry in a major individual tournament, which many are excited to witness.

Nickname:  Horeni

Team:  Acer

Preview: Horeni recently did well at the official Czech Republic/Slovakian eSports Championship finshing 3rd, and also qualified for ESWC 2012. For the grand final however he didn't do so well, which will most likely make him motivated to try and do better at EMS.

Nickname:  mael

Team:  RtA

Preview: mael showed some impressive results in 2012, even reaching the final in one of the Alienware Challenges. A repeat of that in EMS is not entirely unthinkable. 

Nickname:  B1ts

Team:  dac-SP

Preview: B1ts is an experienced player, having participated in EMS many times, both in team and individual seasons. A good player for a long time, his experience might take him decently far this EMS. 

Nickname:  Oli

Team:  dac-SP

Preview: Arguably the best player from Switzerland, Oli is an interesting player to follow for this EMS.

Nickname:  Zack

Team: NoTeam

Preview:  A relatively unknown player when it comes to individual tournaments. He is French though, and that usually means he is pretty good and might do well this EMS.

Nickname:  Scary

Team: Fusion Gaming

Preview: Scary is a pretty unknown player aswell, but the run through his qualifier was quite impressive, beating both ArtiShöw and Renew. He might be a pleasant surprise this EMS.

Nickname:  JohN

Team:  BX3

Preview: A pretty new player, having started in 2010. This means he got nothing to lose and can look at the tournament as a way to prove himself.

The Joker:

Nickname:  Kronos

Team:  HappyCrew

Preview: Kronos seems to have qualified for EMS by sheer luck. He is French, but that probably won't mean he will do so well.