ESEA Season 21 Invite playoffs preview

Originally posted here: http://www.teamfortress.tv/32662/esea-season-21-invite-playoffs-preview

With the regular season of ESEA Season 21 having concluded, the playoffs for North America's top division are now rapidly approaching. This season holds a little more importance due to the circumstances: with ESEA almost certainly having only two seasons this year, the winner of this season's playoffs will have one of the best claims to being the top team in North America heading into Insomnia58.

Format

As always, the ESEA Invite playoffs feature four teams in a best-of-three double-elimination bracket. Unfortunately, despite the reintroduction of playoffs hosted by ESEA for the CS:GO Premier division, the Invite playoffs will once again be held online over the course of several weeks. As has been the norm for online playoffs, the maps will also be predetermined for each round.

Every team participating will receive a share of the Season 21 prize pool as follows:

• 1st: $5600
• 2nd: $3500
• 3rd: $2800
• 4th: $2100

Teams

RONIN have been dominant this season, crushing the mid- and lower-Invite teams beneath their heel. A glance at their rounds against shows that they were never in a tough situation against non-playoff teams, and only dropped a single map to froyotech on Product. The ESEA Season 20 Invite champions look solid on their throne, and it will take something special to unstick the crown from their brow. Nonetheless, froyotech have proven they can take maps from RONIN, and took the opportunity in week two to reaffirm their position as the gods of Product. They have looked a little shakier against other playoff teams however, and the lost map to EVL Gamingshows they are susceptible to upsets.

EVL Gaming have been performing at a consistent top Invite level, trading maps with froyotech and Street Hoops while denying other playoff contenders upsets during their games. They didn’t quite live up to their early hype, undefeated as they were until mid-season, but they deserve their spot in third and have proven themselves as an upset team. Street Hoops eSports, on the other hand, have been the kings of inconsistency. They have had moments where they’ve looked better than EVL Gaming and have contended with froyotech, but have spent most of the season desperately trying to rescue themselves from their early mediocrity. Fortunately for them, it seems that the large roster changes halfway through this season worked out, and they’ve finished the season on a large win-streak. Both of these teams have a high chance of upsetting the top two teams on individual maps, but haven’t yet shown their ability to take best-of-three series.

RONIN

RONIN are the current ESEA Invite champions, having finally broken through to victory after years of toiling at the top. Their consistent level of play has allowed them to plow through the mid-Invite teams, even demolishing playoff teams in their fixtures. RONIN have given up only 13 rounds this season so far; other than their Product game, they have won every game 5-2 or better, smashing EVL Gaming, Street Hoops eSports, and even froyotech on Metalworks. They have been dominant, with one notable loss on Product to a froyotech featuring  b4nny and  clockwork on scout. With that no longer being the case, perhaps even froyotech will struggle to contest the might of these champions in the playoffs.

RONIN have had no roster changes since winning Invite last season. Their lineup has been stable since September, when they brought in  yomps and  phorofor. These two players have been improvements over their predecessors in terms of individual skill, and allow the team to play a predictable but powerful style. yomps and  shrugger are the best scout duo in Invite, a title contested only by the froyotech scouts, and they have excellent timing and initiation with the rest of their team.  rando, although not as technically skilled or aggressive as his opposition, has an important role as the backbone of the team, responsible for dealing with any flanking aggression or players going behind before they have the opportunity to engage.  Ma3la is able to both initiate for the scouts and relieve pressure from his combo with well-timed bombs, and  Bdonski has been performing admirably against what could be the best line-up of Invite playoff demomen in years. This is not a team to be trifled with; their years of experience together in tournaments and seasons has them disciplined, allowing them to frequently seize opportunities to punish mistakes from other teams.

With the froyotech shuffle last season, they are now the team to beat. They have the most experience, consistency and level-headedness, and have dealt well so far with the new concoction of talent being cultured by froyotech. Once they move to maps that allow for more dynamic flow than Metalworks however, they may find that their regimented play can be exploited by their opponents in playoffs. Thankfully for them, Granary features in both the upper bracket final and the grand finals, but Product also features as the decider for the first series of the grand finals. RONIN will have to keep up their work to outperform the other playoff teams, all of whom will be improving faster and faster.

froyotech

froyotech started this season with only b4nny featuring from the previous team, as he took on the task of bringing mid-Invite players to a point where they could contest the best. Joined shortly afterwards by his perennial brother-in-arms clockwork, the new froyotech team began a journey of self-discovery. Only Muma has remained on his role throughout their mini-shuffles this season, consistently pumping out excellent damage whilst always managing to stay alive in any situation. Even when froyotech are on the edge of wiping, Muma can be found conserving his life, laying down stickies to slow the advance of the enemy team and allowing his to stabilize. After a brief stint attempting this alongside  Freestate on medic, the team decided to move Freestate to pocket scout and recruit  ninjanick to heal. This killed two birds with one stone, allowing them to replace  corsa, who hadn’t been able to keep up with the team’s progression, and recruit a medic with more skill as well.  paddie has shone on roamer alongside b4nny, keeping the dream of the froyotech Canadian roamers alive although he hasn’t yet developed the connection that  blaze and clockwork had.

The team is obviously more comfortable in this final form than their previous iterations. Their issues with the pocket scout have been solved after moving Freestate to that role, with b4nny leading from pocket. It must be remembered though that their victory over RONIN on Product saw b4nny and clockwork on scout, and the i52 scout duo have vast amounts of synergy together. Whether Freestate can match up to that level, and whether b4nny can have the same impact on pocket, remains to be seen. The complete lack of information on other classic maps merely whets the appetite for playoffs; how will RONIN and froyotech match up on Badlands, Gullywash, Process, etc? This could just be a preview of a rivalry that lasts seasons, each having dominant maps.

This entire season, and the achievements of froyotech, are testament to the leadership of b4nny. He has taken players previously unable to break into the elite and matched them together, allowing them to shine in their roles. A previously untapped barrel of talent has matured, ready to be unleashed against the old guard of Invite. Perhaps the true unsung hero here, however, is clockwork. Could this really have been attempted without him providing a huge fragging crutch for the others to lean on?

EVL Gaming

This has been a true breakthrough season for the players on EVL Gaming. They have risen from their shaky performance last season, no longer pinned down by the clash of playstyles brought about by  goldfish’s pocketing. They started this season incredibly, taking maps from both Street Hoops and froyotech to stand alongside RONIN as undefeated. The anti-climactic 'clash of titans' that followed was more reminiscent of a master beating an unruly student. EVL Gaming’s thrashing and subsequent losses to the same teams served to put their first results in context: excellent upsets, especially for a new team to the top of Invite, that were facilitated by internal tensions within Street Hoops eSports and froyotech.

EVL Gaming moved  aim to pocket after last season, creating a tighter combo with  Nursey. Upcoming scout  arekk also carried on in his role, building on his performances from last season to become a scary player. Alongside him for the majority of the season was  slemnish, who is unable to play the playoffs due to time conflicts with his studying, and so the team have brought in  Sezco as a replacement.  botmode was a new addition to the team this season on roamer, and has put in a solid performance though occasionally one-dimensional in his attempts against the other playoff teams.  Hassassin has been one of the breakthrough demoman talents this season along with Muma, and both have managed to compete against Invite legends Bdonski and  duwatna.

This team features some very young talent, without much experience at the top of Invite or experience in important fixtures. After slowing from the breakneck pace they had set themselves early in the season, they can approach playoffs without too much pressure; for EVL Gaming, taking upset map results against the top teams whilst holding onto third place would be a great achievement and allow them to build further for the future. This could be a difficult task given that they are now lacking slemnish and have to compete against teams who have ironed out early issues and look far more comfortable.

Street Hoops eSports

Street Hoops eSports started the season with some awfully inconsistent performances mainly due to fierce differences in motivation and decision-making, and frustration at their own inability. The team looked to be spiraling into unsalvageable levels of tilt. Halfway through the season, ninjanick left the team to take his talent to froyotech - a blessing in disguise. Street Hoops eSports took the opportunity to refresh their roster, bringing in  cozen on medic and  ash on roamer to replace  grape. After allegedly hashing out their gameplay problems in a heated discussion of titanic proportions, the team took a breather and began to play their game again.

Street Hoops eSports began to improve, and  showstopper’s team brought their playoff run back together with an incredibly tight game on Metalworks against  Running with Scizors, taking revenge against EVL Gaming the week afterwards. At that point it was still possible for them to throw it away, but in the penultimate week they killed two birds with one stone by beating  Vand’s crew and taking a forfeit win from a lethargic (or scared?) froyotech afterwards.

Street Hoops eSports finished second last season in Invite, after a historical victory over then-dominant froyotech in the lower bracket final. They have the potential to repeat that run again this season, especially with duwatna now playing demoman for them, but the competition appears even more fierce. Street Hoops eSportshave shown the quality to beat EVL Gaming, but have yet to show the same ability against froyotech or RONIN. A cinematic rousing speech from showstopper will be required for this epic comeback to reach its climax.

Schedule

The action begins soon, with RONIN facing Street Hoops eSports and froyotech facing EVL Gaming in the first round of playoffs early next week (around April 3rd) on Metalworks, Sunshine, and Process. The winners will face each other for a spot in the grand finals while the losers fight to stave off elimination soon after (around April 5th), with both matches occurring on Granary, Badlands, and Gullywash.

The two teams left undetermined will face off the week after (around April 11th) on Snakewater, Product, and Process, with the winner taking the second spot in the grand finals and the loser going home in 3rd place. The grand finals themselves will be the week after (around April 18th), starting with the first series on Gullywash, Granary, and Product. If the team from the upper bracket takes this series, they walk away with the championship; if the team from the lower bracket manages to take it, however, they break the upper bracket advantage, and a second series on Metalworks, Process, and Snakewater will determine the final champion.

As always, teamfortress.tv will be there every step of the way, covering each match live on Twitch. Pay attention to teamfortress.tv in the coming days to keep up to date as matches are scheduled, and make sure to tune in live as North America's best team is determined once again.

ex-iM players form new team: ego

Three of the core players previously seen on Australian super-team  Team Immunity have formed a new roster for the upcoming ozfortress season 15. The line-up sees captain  yuki reunited with former Immunityteam-mates  termo and  aporia, along with some fresh talent to star in  ego

The players on this roster have a history of top finishes within the ozfortress scene, amassing countless league victories along with cup titles whilst playing with Team Immunity. Insomnia49 and Insomnia52 saw the Australian fan favourites perform above expectations and have close series against the elite European and North American teams, but they finished fourth both times. yuki has re-assembled some of the old roster to play in ozfortress, along with a new medic,  Jersh, and two new scouts,  faithless and  namey. They will be looking to take the Australian crown away from current top team,  Jasmine Tea.

ego's medic Jersh is better known for his top level pocketing, most recently seen with rocket launcher in hand for team  Gossip Girl who finished 2nd in the ozfortress Summer Cup 2016. Despite good deathmatch skills, he has made the move over to medic to play closely with yuki, hoping to form a tight combo and benefit from the strong maincalling.  Bulk was also considered for the medic spot, and is now sat on the bench for ego, but Jersh was chosen as part of the starting roster as he is, 'really keen to play with [ego] and determined to be "the best"'

faithless and namey, the new scout duo, both have history with rival team Jasmine. faithless won the twelfth ozfortress season with the team, whilst namey recently subbed for them as they finished first in the Summer Cup. faithless also has experience playing with yuki late last year, where he was recognized as talented and remained a name to bring on board at a later date.

We spoke to team captain  yuki, and his thoughts on  ego:

Our aim is to be focused on improvement and have a good time. We have a bit of new blood, and some people new to classes (e.g. Jersh) but I'm pretty confident that we can do well this season.

4/6 of our roster are no strangers to the #1 spot (myself, aporia, termo & faith when he was on brutalix's team Season 12), so we're definitely aiming for it. I won't lie and say it won't be difficult, because it will be, but I think with the right work ethic and just a positive attitude that persists throughout the season that we can definitely get there.

We played with faithless loosely late last year when we made a somewhat "throwaway" team for a bit of fun that wasn't 'too' serious, and he performed really well in the limited numbers of games we played. He's a confident, vocal player, and has good dm. He's a little bit rusty, but I'm sure that'll wear off in a short period of time.

As for namey, he played pretty well with Brutalix's team, and he's really intent on improving. He dumps a lot of hours into this game, and while his improvement has been somewhat slow, it has been steady, so I'm looking to put him in the right direction with review of his demos.

The return of these players in a serious outfit should make ozfortress season 15 a highly competitive one, as Jasmine look solid at the top of the scene. With both of these teams at a level where they should be able to compete on the global stage, we asked yuki whether he had any plans towards upcoming Insomia58 in August:

We're focused on the short term which is pretty much mostly this season. We aren't planning [i58] at this stage, but it's never out of the realm of possibility. I myself would like to go and compete (for what that's worth) and perhaps eliminate the 4th place curse once and for all. However, as I said, no concrete plans - tl;dr "we'll see".

The  ego roster for ozfortress season 15 is:

•  Scout:  faithless
•  Scout:  namey
•  Roamer:  aporia
•  Pocket:  yuki
•  Demoman:  termo
•  Medic:  Jersh

TF2 needs an NA Major

Originally posted at: http://www.thespire.tv/tf2-needs-an-na-major/

The only LAN tournament that features global competition in the TF2 calendar is in Europe. Despite the record not showing it, this skews the tournament in favour of European teams, and puts the financial burden consistently on the North American and Australian scene. There are some good reasons for this, but equally it seems like a trend that can’t be continued as TF2 expands. TF2 needs an NA Major.

An esports ‘Major’ in other competitive games could be broadly defined as a LAN tournament that brings together a majority of the highest level global teams, and has them competing for a large prizepool. Both the amount of top-tier teams and the prizepot can vary, depending heavily on the context of the scene itself, but in general this definition applies. CS:GO has 3 Majors per year, and Valve has recently increased the prizepool to one million dollars, while Dota 2 has 3 Majors per year with three million dollar prizepools each (as well as The International). TF2 has one Major by these definitions, the UK summer i-series.

The summer i-series occurs each year on the Bank Holiday weekend in August, and plays host to a range of tournaments. The biggest for its scene, and the biggest in terms of viewership, is the TF2 tournament. It functions as the world championship for TF2, simply because it’s the only LAN tournament that global competition attends. Since 2012 we have had at least Europe and North America represented, always with at least two teams from outside Europe attending. However, since the event is always held in the UK, three non-EU teams has always been stretching the community finances to the limit.

ONE EVENT TO BRING THEM ALL

This has created a complete wasteland in TF2 from September to April. Every year, a top team has looked forward across the barren desert towards a shimmering LAN on the horizon, and judged it nothing more than a mirage. The mere thought of holding out through another year of tedium killed top teams that would otherwise have become true superpowers: i49 Epsilon; i52 Mix^ and iM; i55 TLR, nerdRage, Reason, and froyotech. Another Major would certainly have provided the motivation they needed to stick together, halving the downtime between global competition.

Not only would this keep the top talent far more interested, but holding a second Major in North America would boost motivation for European talent to compete for the right to attend, whilst also allowing mid-Invite NA teams to rank themselves against global talent for the first time. The lack of ESEA LAN for North America has had a negative effect on competition, albeit less so than I would have thought, and having a large LAN there would be a great positive for the scene. It would also make the competition for the world championships more even, as NA teams don’t have to deal with jet lag, lack of home support, travel problems, and rental PCs. Not that NA teams appear to need the help.

The more I dig into this idea, the better it seems. So what’s the problem? Why haven’t we got an NA i-series, with top teams flying over from Europe and even Australia to compete every spring? The biggest issue, of course, is money. That perennial thorn in the side of TF2.

AND IN THE DARKNESS, ROB THEM BLIND

The money that teams NA and AU teams required to attend iseries has almost entirely been fundraised. Players have paid a significant amount out of pocket, some more than others, but each year it weighs heavily on the wallets of your average Joe TF2 fan. Fundraising a team from outside Europe requires around 6000 USD to cover flights, accommodation, and rental equipment. This would presumably double the drag on Pugstar McJoe’s wallet, should we wish to run two global events per year. Fundraising 24,000 USD per year, enough to send two global teams per event, could be viable with enough of a gap between the Majors. Is this money well spent?

I’m of the opinion that is would be a wise investment for the TF2 community. Fundraising small projects is never as popular, so the simplistic argument that the money could be pumped into countless smaller online events does not hold water. For the extra money, we would have a scene that kept talent around, bolstered both the NA and EU scenes with regular global competition, and was more likely to grow in terms of viewership. The global iseries events have been a driving force for change, growth, and elevation of skill in this game.

There is also new money entering the scene with the announcement of Valve supporting matchmaking. Larger organisations and companies within esports had their attention taken momentarily by this, before filing it away under ‘potential for investment’. We’ve seen increasing (and perhaps more telling, new) sponsorships from companies over the last year, which appears to correlate with that announcement. It’s put ex-Ascent in a great position with financial backing from Ronin, while nerdRage, Perilous, and Publiclir all have extra cash in their back pockets to attend events from their eponymous sponsors. Perhaps we’re beginning to enter a new era for the community, one where the majority of the financial burden is not on players and fans.

ESEA has always been a huge help in this regard. Top teams from North America (especially with the death of ESEA LAN and associated travel costs) can use ESEA winnings to help them travel across the Atlantic and compete in the UK. Their counterparts in Europe and Australia have no such league with prizepools that large, and would struggle to raise the travel costs. This could be a problem with running two global events per year, as it may increase the yearly cost to around 30,000 USD. In two bursts this may be manageable annually (and Australian competition would also find it considerably cheaper to attend an NA event), but in order to make this a reliable financial reality we either need organisations to invest more heavily in TF2, in a similar vein to Ronin, or for teams to rake in more money from online competitions that are beginning to surface.

WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY

One also has to consider the issue of organising a tournament of this scale. While the summer i-series makes it more difficult than necessary with its open tournament and group stage structure, running any global tournament requires exceptional organisation and an existing LAN on which to piggy-back. Attempting to run one from scratch would involve too great a cost, both in terms of money and effort, for the volunteers of the TF2 community to handle. There is a lot to be said for the help and infrastructure than insomnia provides every summer.

Previous attempts at large NA community LANs, like theGXL, have been popular but lacked a large prizepool and suffered from organisational problems. People within TF2 production have had bad experiences with those running GXL in previous years, and have had to stump up a large amount of their personal money to fund the tournament. Finding an existing LAN that can house 8 top teams, is situated in a good location, has potential for sponsorship, and has staff with an amiable working style is a hard task.

In order to minimise the work required, the focus should be on making a closed global LAN, located in North America. Reducing the LAN to eight teams, with two from outside North America and the rest from within, allows the focus to be completely on the global competition whilst still allowing all of the viable NA talent to take part. There are, doubtless, LANs that would be interested in playing host to this event, but it would require time and effort to create these connections and find a venue and sponsor.

THE FUTURE OF GLOBAL COMPETITION

At some point as TF2 grows, we have to improve on our current model of global competition. Our system at the moment requires every top-tier team to be able to make the trip to the UK on one weekend in August, favours European teams at this event, has a large and sudden drain on the community funds (as every team wants to attend this single event), and creates a lull in the rest of the year that kills competition. Creating a Major in North America would be a huge asset for the TF2 community, and should be a focus for 2016/2017 as further sponsors become involved and TF2 grows.

ESEA Invite Season 21 Week 7: Metalworks

This week of ESEA Invite should be the finest yet. We have a tense playoff battle between 20b, -bird noises-, and Running with Scizors, while froyotech battles the other two top teams. This week the fly in the ointment is that we're on Metalworks. Teams often dislike playing Metalworks and the map tends to be slow paced and chokey, but the combination of it being an unfavourable practice map and the defensive gameplay does lend itself to upset results. This is the map that saw Ascent (now Ronin) win against S20 froyotech, just after losing themselves to TSU (now 20b)!

cp_metalworks

ESEA Invite Season 21

Week 7: Metalworks

-bird noises-    vs.    The Bugs    

Running with Scizors    vs.    Street Hoops eSports

    froyotech    vs.    EVL Gaming

The Bugs    vs.    The Grime

    EVL Gaming    vs.    -bird noises-         
             The Grime    vs.    Running with Scizors

-bird noises- vs. The Bugs

-bird noises- Week 1 loss to Hands Off has come back to bite them in the cloaca. It seems reasonable to count them out of the playoff run if they can't secure a victory against The Bugs on Metalworks, and ideally they'll be looking for an upset against EVL as well this week. There could still be hope if they were to take maps from the other playoff contenders in the final weeks, but they are teetering on the edge. This match is absolutely vital, and there can be no risk of an upset if -bird noises- want to claim the 4th place spot.

Roster Showdown

          indust          Cole          

   sighguy          mausy   

               Voll          goldfish       

      Hellbent   Digi           

   Linkuser   mu           

                 Vand  newspeak        

Map Analysis

Both of these teams are newcomers to Invite. -bird noises- and The Bugs have retained the core of their roster from the top end of IM and Open respectively, and so have little top level experience on specific maps. The only interesting piece of data about these teams on Metalworks is a fixture last season between playoff contenders -bird noises- and Running with Scizors, which ended 5-3 but only after an incredible 3-0 first half from sighguy. I don't put much stock in this single result, but sighguy has had a breakthrough season so far and if he feels at home on Metalworks then it bodes very well for his team.

Predictions

The Bugs have been struggling this season to match up against the playoff contending teams, while -bird noises- have been over-performing recently after a slow start. Metalworks is such a foreign map to me that I am struggling to argue all of these predictions, but I consider -bird noises- to be reasonably strong favourites in this fixture. sighguy should be able to pound on the middles, and goldfish's ubers have a tendency to overextend which should be punished on such a choke-centric map.

Running with Scizors 
vs. Street Hoops eSports

Both teams need this win to make playoffs. Whilst it is still technically possible for the loser to come back, it would require a situation so convoluted that this is realistically a fight to the death for both teams. Street Hoops eSports have been on the wrong end of some upsets this season, but having made recent roster changes their odds are looking up after their close victory over EVL. Running with Scizors, on the other hand, are barely in the running at all. They need a blast of positive results to end the season and this has to be the beginning. On paper this fixture seems like a foregone conclusion; Street Hoops have their opposition outclassed in every role beyond some promising performances from MrMuffinz and sen. Nonetheless they've found ways of throwing maps against lower level opposition earlier in the season, and are only now starting to read from the same page.

Roster Showdown

                 Skye          cozen           

         Jarrett          duwatna 

                    Deathy          Showstopper      

      Rekuso   ash        

     EvilMrMuffinz   cyzer              

             sen  alec        

Map Analysis

Street Hoops had a surprising victory over Ascent (now Ronin) last season on Metalworks, as Showstopper and xalox won the spam warfare by a considerable margin and their scouts were able to clean up in teamfights. ash and Rekuso should have an interesting fight on the flanks and on midfights, as this map can be a roamer's paradise or end up being a slugfest, tying them down to exchange spam.

Predictions

Street Hoops should be able to end the playoff run here for the cutting utensil enthusiasts, barring an upset against the elite teams in Invite (or Street Hoops/-bird noises- beefing in a style only previously seen by LEGO in Premiership). duwatna and the soldiers from 20b have more experience, deathmatch, and synergy at their peak, which should allow them to take this map. A real vulnerability could be the last pushes, and if showstopper leads one fail-uber too many into a Scizors' defense then they might find some easier rounds, but if they can execute effectively they should find this an easy map and an easy road to 4th seed.

froyotech vs. EVL Gaming

froyotech failed horribly the last time these two teams met. Planting the seed for the EVL hype this season, the previous Gullywash game was one of the rare occasions that b4nny's maincalling and ego caused him a terrible loss. froyotech were in control for the vast majority of the map, but kept failing pushes to 2nd, leaving them without enough points on the board. With time dwindling and a Golden Cap on the cards, froyotech decided to repush into last in an unfavourable situation for the win. They wiped and were rolled all the way to a loss, with only seconds left. EVL were gifted the win after an otherwise strong performance from froyotech. EVL have not looked on par with Ronin, getting annihilated in their match on Sunshine 5-0 and losing 4-2 to 20b. With the newest roster changes for froyotech, they should be in a good position to take revenge on EVL.

Roster Showdown

                 ninjanick          Nursey                 

          Muma          Hassassin 

          b4nny          aim             

          paddie   botmode     

        clockwork   slemnish        

        Freestate  arekk            

Map Analysis

froyotech, before the large shuffle at the end of 2015, was not a particularly strong team on Metalworks. Like Granary, the map tends to be slower with more spam, and doesn't allow their scout-centric gamestyle to be executed as easily. During fixtures with less importance they also tend to have a lack of patience, which can hurt them on maps with well-defined choke points and a lot of spam. The new iteration of froyotech this season brings new blood; this has seemed to focus them more than in previous seasons as the new players are still eager for online victories. They will not be as likely as previous iterations of froyotech to yield to the boredom of a slow game.

Predictions

Given how close the previous map was between these two teams, and how much I feel froyotech threw in the final minutes, they are the favourites to take the map. EVL have been slightly over-hyped since that previous win, and gave a more accurate view of their skill level in their recent incredibly close 4-2 loss against Street Hoops. They certainly can upset froyotech and Ronin, but those results should be viewed as upsets rather than their average level of play. As to whether they can pull out another upset on Metalworks? I don't think so, but the map does favour them. I think it's unlikely, but possible, for EVL to take this game. froyotech should win but not by much.

EVL Gaming vs. -bird noises-

EVL Gaming will have no trouble making playoffs after their excellent start to the season, and so this game only acts as an opportunity for -bird noises- to steal points and boost their own playoff run. -bird noises- appear to be performing just underneath the level of Street Hoops and EVL, but their consistent performances could grant an upset if EVL don't feel comfortable on Metalworks. After seeing the EVL vs froyotech, and -bird noises- vs The Bugs games, we'll have a better understanding of whether EVL are at risk of bleeding points here, but as they haven't happened yet I'll take a stab in the dark.

Roster Showdown

                Nursey          indust             

     Hassassin          sighguy    

            aim          Voll       

          botmode   Hellbent      

     slemnish   Linkuser  

             arekk  Vand         

Map Analysis

EVL's games last season on Metalworks comprised a default win and a 5-1 against the stand-out worst team in Invite. Likewise -bird noises- have only faced Running with Scizors when both teams were in IM, winning 5-3. There is no telling how either team will play this week, but looking at their performances in their other Week 7 fixture will shed some light.

Predictions

I do not think this fixture is an opportunity for -bird noises- to upset a playoff team. They need some kind of upset in the upcoming weeks to overtake the re-energised Street Hoops, but I don't think they have much of a chance here. The more they can shut down Linkuser and arekk, the more they will amplify their chances, but this map seems unlikely to fall to EVL. The soldier combo of aim and botmode should run circles around their counterparts.

Ronin.gg vs. froyotech

The last time the two superpowers of Invite met, it was on Product. This time, Metalworks. Are they fated to only meet on fringe maps? Perhaps, but it only adds to the mystery of how these two teams will match up come playoffs. Their previous clash saw the less experienced froyotech team come out on top, as the i52 scout combo of b4nny and clockwork tore through Ronin's heavy classes. Muma played fantastically as well, able to pump out damage, guarded by corsa and paddie. The roster has changed since then, and froyotech have been left with a slightly weaker scout pair but a much stronger combo. This will be an amazing match between these two teams, and give us another indication of who truly sits at the top of Invite.

Roster Showdown

                Phorofor          ninjanick            

      bdonski          Muma    

            rando          b4nny        

           Ma3la   paddie      

       shrugger   clockwork  

                yomps  Freestate        

Map Analysis

Metalworks throws a curveball into this clash of the titans. The map is reasonably strong for Ronin, but there's no telling how froyotech will take to it. Their performance against EVL will give clearer markers: if they can't beat EVL on this map, there is no hope against Ronin. Nonetheless I do not expect EVL to win, and although froyotech may struggle on Metalworks more than Product, this game is going to be very close.

Predictions

This is likely to be a slow, ground out win. These two teams are so close that unless froyotech are awful on Metalworks (which we can't tell at this point in time), the map is likely to be decided on small mistakes within the game rather than overlying trends. A failed push, a backcap, an impatient decision from a scout. These are the factors that are more likely to give an edge to one of these two teams, rather than one roster outclassing the other. On Metalworks, Ronin have the upper hand by a little; clockwork will be less able to engage through the chokes, and Muma's damage should be contained to an area. This game is very tough to call, but I'll give it to Ronin by a whisker. Either team could take it, and the winner is likely to take 1st seed.