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ESEA Invite Week 3.1 (de_dust2): Frost Gaming or Global Revolution ?
b "verizon-" r on Tue, 03/05/2013 3:41AM
| TEAM | RANK | COMMENTS |
|---|---|---|
 | 1. | Make no mistake, Stay Frosty is by far the best team in intermediate right now. In fact, I'd reckon that there isn't currently any team that is even remotely close to this team in terms of skill right now. This team has been consistently beating invite teams in scrims, and now with another top LAN-proven player b0n3z in for juv3nile, this team is actually going to get better. There has been three teams to get more than double digit rounds on this team (in 9 matches) since their new roster, and two of those teams are currently dead. They tore apart cpd and SYOPS on dust2 much like Curse or Dynamic would stomp my old teams, and cpd is easily a top 5 team in the division. I'll be completely shocked if Stay Frosty doesn't win intermediate this season, considering that the only way I saw them losing would be if they play a really good team on an awful map like dust1, and it just so happens that dust1 is not in the playoff rotation. Imagine that. PTW: ryx |
 | 2. | While it appeared as if cache wasn't their strongest map, tdM pulled out two wins against strong opponents on dust2 and followed that with a 3rd place finish at ETS, beating some notable teams/pugs such as devastation and Vae Victus, while dropping their only two maps of the tournament to a very strong LAN team in c2. In terms of online play, especially in this division, I don't think that the second seed is too far fetched for this team to have at the end of the season. However, I'd say that the gap between 1 and 2 is a lot bigger than the gap between 2 and the rest, and on a good day, I personally believe that any of the teams within the top 5 can beat each other (with the exception of Stay Frosty), depending on the map. After all, c2 only has the 8th seed, and they almost took two maps off of the Dynamic pug in the grand finals at ETS. in If my math is right, this team should be looking at a rematch against FD/f27 in their first match, which just so happens to be on cache. That might be very unlucky for this team considering they haven't had that much luck on cache, and if adept decides to show up to the match, tdM has the chance to be the victim of an upset as the 2nd seed in the playoffs. PTW: Jerbear |
 | 3. | I really didn't see GB pulling off the 3rd seed at the end of the regular season, even though this is probably where they should have belonged at any given point in the season. You don't expect a 3-3 team to end up 12-4 (the other exception being the Patriots), but that's what happened to GB, and with their successful run from that point on (with their only loss during that run being a 16-14 loss vs cpd), they've definitely earned their spot at the top of the division. However, Bloominator is still banned for another 2 weeks, which means that the team won't have the luxury of practicing on-client with their starting 5. With their first match being against zErO tO hErO, I don't think that a lack of practice will affect them that much. With that said, they might run into some trouble if they match up against a really good opponent second round that will have the preparation advantage over them. Either way, I don't expect GB to go out early in the playoffs, and I'll confidently predict that this team will end up in the top 3 when all is said and done. PTW: Sh0ts |
 | 4. | Exertus (formerly Ghost Regiment) is a team that I had a lot of faith in coming into weeks 6 and 7. They were 11-2, have beaten good opponents, and were poised to take a top 3 seed into the playoffs. While that did not materialize, due to them dropping 2 of their last 3 matches, there is still no doubt in my mind that this team is still a top 5 caliber team. On the other hand, while the majority of this team doesn't have nearly the amount of experience that the individual players on GB and tdM have (which, I reckon, is about 10+ years on average for the players on either team), they still managed to pull out a win over tdM earlier on cache and lost a close fought overtime battle against GB on dust2. As I stated above, the gap between the rank 2 and 5 teams is very small, and all of them have a chance of placing in the top 3. I feel like Exertus can bring it up a notch in the postseason, and be able to pull out wins in some of those close one or two round matches. A top 5 finish wouldn't be very surprising. PTW: seangares |
 | 5. | Going into the last week of the regular season, cpd was on an 11 match winning streak, and had a high playoff seed locked down. Whether that might have been the reason, or whether they were simply outmatched, they dropped both of their matches on dust2, not getting more than 6 rounds on either one of their opponents. It wasn't for a lack of practice, either, considering the team played more than a few dust2 scrims. While it might be hard to be motivated when you know you have a top 5 seed locked down, those were still two very convincing losses to the #1 and #2 ranked team in the division, which does place some doubt in my mind about whether cpd is a real contender or not. This team has pulled out its share of close wins during their 11 match winning streak, which is something that they'll likely encounter again during their upcoming postseason run. I don't think they'll slack off and get destroyed in the playoffs as they did on dust2, but my personal confidence in this team's abilities have dropped a little with last weeks showing. PTW: TMO |
 | 6. | instant classic was one 16-14 match away from making invite last season, and they'll be looking for another shot this season after they posted a 12-4 regular season mark. This is a team that ALWAYS performs better in the postseason than the regular season, and has the necessary pieces needed to make another deep postseason run. The only issue I see with this team is that this current group of 5 really hasn't been together that long, having only managed to play about 3-4 matches together. Not only that, but sluG doesn't seem to be putting up the same elite numbers as he did in 1.6, which is something that he, personally, will have to start working on. This team will need to start playing as if they've played together for years, as almost every single one of the teams I rank above them have a core group that have been playing for as long as the game has been out. Either way, the 6th seed isn't that bad for a team that had a 3 match losing streak at one point. PTW: conner |
 | 7. | allday, now known as Intl Lifting Committee(?????), turned their rough 6-4 start to a 12-4 one, including a very impressive win over c2 on dust2 to finish their season. In all honesty, I can't really give a good prediction on where this team will end up because they are, as I've said many times before, so consistently inconsistent. Many of their blowout losses are to inferior teams, but they've pulled out close wins and close losses against some of the top teams in the division. This team has the potential to reach the top 5, but could also easily get 0-2'd simply depending on how they are each playing as individuals on that given day. They haven't really practiced at all this season, but yet still have this very good record. The only thing that I can expect is to expect the unexpected. PTW: Troyboy |
 | 8. | If the intermediate playoffs were played on LAN, I'd probably put c2 ahead of all of the other teams in the division, even Stay Frosty. This team has always been a much better LAN team than online, and they showed that by almost taking down the Dynamic pug at ETS this past weekend, losing the second map after taking the first map. However, the playoffs are not on LAN, and c2 has always left much to be desired from their online performances. Simply put, in this non-veto, double elimination bo1 format, I don't see c2 placing very high, especially considering their online results in the past few weeks. Granted, none of their losses have been to bad teams, but they simply have not been as consistent as they were as when deciple was lead awping for the team. They haven't shown themselves to be a top team in the division since removing him, and their power ranking stock have gradually declined due to that. The one thing going for them would obviously be the momentum from coming home after that LAN performance, and getting some of that team bonding experience that they've already had a lot of in the past. In all honesty, this team would probably win every division if they just picked up Periphery for online play. PTW: vEz |
 | 9. | As I expected, SYOPS didn't stand much of a chance when matched up against better opponents. With losses to c2 and Stay Frosty, SYOPS went from their 9-3 rollercoaster to a 10-6 hellavator. What's worse is that with those two losses, they secured themselves the 9th seed in the postseason, which normally wouldn't be that bad. However, they have the unfortunate distinction of matching up (again) against a c2 team hot off their 2nd place finish at ETS. I hate to say this, but it really doesn't look that good for SYOPS heading into the playoffs. PTW: pr1sm |
 | 10. | tlQ didn't really even play dust2, as they got a 5v4 win in their first match and had to forfeit their 2nd match of the week due to not being able to field enough players. The biggest problem I see with this team would actually be their schedule. It seems as if there are very few days that tlQ can actually field their starting 5, which is usually not that big of a problem in the regular season when more teams are lenient, but becomes a problem in the postseason when your playing dates are severely restricted. With that said, tlQ probably has one of the easier matchups for a lower seed, considering they play the consistently inconsistent allday, a team that has a habit of... being inconsistent. I really do hope this team manages to field their starting 5 for their playoff matches as there will be no pushovers in this postseason. Everybody is looking for a shot at invite, and that's what winning this division guarantees. PTW: d0minus |
 | 11. | If you told me at the end of week 3 that this BDS roster would get a higher seed than FD/f27, then I'd probably laugh at your face, run in a circle, and laugh again. However, that actually happened. Yeah, it did. Unfortunately, this seed for BDS is not high enough for them to avoid a matchup against a very strong team, which is what they get in the form of instant classic. The last time these two teams met, instant classic took the match in overtime. However, since that match, instant classic has arguably gotten worse, while BDS have gotten better. With the map being more of a shot-oriented map (cache) than a teamwork oriented map (train), I'd still give instant classic the advantage. However, the best .5 fpr player in the division in hairEeE might just pull something out of his sleeves to get his team the win. PTW: pL0y |
 | 12. | It took until the last match of the season, but bushido snuck into the playoffs by virtue of a 16-8, winner-take-all match against Limitless. Unfortunately for these guys, they were only able to get the 12th seed, which is a problem considering that means their first round matchup will be against cpd. Considering that cpd beat both c2 and Exertus on cache, Bushido definitely has their work cut out for them. However, cpd is going in cold, having dropped their last two matches by a large amount. If bushido can capitalize on that, they may have a chance. Their work is definitely cut out for them though. PTW: SPAMMER |
 | 13. | The NA Bears really disappointed me in their final week's performance. They had arguably the easiest schedule coming into the week, having being matched up against two teams that weren't in playoff positions (6-8 Simplify and 7-7 zero to hero). They had a shot to end the season 11-5, and pick up a top 8 playoff seed. However, they dropped both of their matches, which means that they'll have to start their postseason run starting with a match against a very good Exertus team. Quite honestly, I don't really think the NA Bears have a shot at winning that match. If they are unable to consistently beat inferior opponents, they will not be able to make a deep playoff run when they start off by playing one of the top teams in the division. Any wins they pull out from here on out would be a bonus, but I can't see a successful playoff run on the horizon. PTW: WTR |
 | 14. | If I did my math right, zErO tO hErO should actually have the 14th seed. While I commend this team on a job well done, managing to take their final 4 matches in order to make the playoffs, they will almost certainly have a short playoff run as their first matchup is against GB. While I won't say that zErO tO hErO is vastly outmatched, they are probably severely outmatched, and have a tough road ahead of them. There is definitely not a lack of talent on this team, but I don't think their individual talent will help them against a team that is simply much better. PTW: GlOOOriN_Lg |
 | 15. | FragDaddies (formerly focus 27) is easily the best team in the bottom half of the bracket. They took 7 rounds off c2 playing 4v5 on cache, and took both instant classic and Trademark to the brink, losing 16-14 and in overtime respectively. What's more impressive is that they did all that with a backup, due to their top fragger adept deciding to suddenly getting a personal life. If adept decides to return for the postseason, this team could potentially make top 5. However, their road in the playoffs will be a hard one, as they will face up against tdM once again to start their postseason run. In comparison to some of the other matchups, this will probably be one of the closest matchups in the history of 10+ seed differences, as I'd actually put both teams at roughly the same skill level in terms of individual skill, teamwork, and experience. In my opinion, that will probably be the match of the week. PTW: CronuS |
 | 16. | The one thing going for HighDef, through all of their trouble at the beginning of the season, was their superior amount of rounds for gotten in all of their losses. 14-16, 14-16, 14-16, 17-19, all looks pretty rough on paper. However, when all is said and done, those were the rounds they needed to secure the final playoff spot, and the only playoff spot given to an 8-8 team. While they essentially had a free ride in the last few weeks of the regular season, there are actually some amazing players on this team. Solidify and Spider are both incredible awpers, and Vapen can hold his own against anybody in the division. With that said, this team has the unfortunate distinction of having to play Stay Frosty in the first round. No amount of individual talent or teamwork will be able to help them there. PTW: Spider |
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