TF2 LAN Preview: Srsly br0

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(ESEAnews) - BY CLOCKWORK

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THE TEAM

Adam “mesr” D
Tyler “blaze” Brown
Tim “dummy” Olson
Reed “boomer” Davis
Samuel “oPlaiD” Lingle
Ben “Yz50” Ock

THE JOURNEY

As the new team on the block, srsly br0 started the preseason with an unpromising scrim record. Before any official matches were played, the upper echelon of invite TF2 did not consider them a threat. However, it took only one game to turn the heads of the TF2 community – their 5-4 loss against Mihalys Flow. Now they stand at the #2 seed entering playoffs.

Starting their season with a 5-4 loss to Mihlays Flow and a 5-3 win to season 10 top 4 team High Rollers Gaming sowed the seeds for a promising season. However, their journey was not without obstacles, as only one week later, Yz50's hardware issue reared its ugly head. Some may have thought that two weeks without Yz50 would prove to be only harmful to the team's record, but despite the odds they were still able to go 4-0, with a crushing win over Leviathan Gaming 4-1 on Viaduct.

The next obstacle proved to be a blessing in disguise. Due to snoopy's inability to go to LAN, br0 searched for a new medic and found mesr. Although snoopy was surprisingly good for his lack of medic experience, mesr is a veteran on the medic position, having played for Mixup in the season 9 LAN playoffs. Widely regarded as having the aim of a crossbowman, mesr brings not only solid medigun heals, but express heals in the form of arrows. Since the pickup of mesr, the team suffered only one loss, a close 5-4 game to Leviathan Gaming.

With only three losses, two being from the regular season superstar, Mihalys Flow, srsly br0 enters the LAN playoffs sitting comfortably. Besting veteran team Leviathan Gaming on Viaduct and previous champions Classic Mixup on both gullywash and badlands, srsly br0 have proven themselves a deserving team for the #2 seed.

But can they show the same dominance at LAN?

THE OUTLOOK

Any weakness they have lies in strategy and experience. As a team loaded with top DM players, srsly br0 is certainly not lacking in the fragging department. Roster rundown time:

Even with low fps, Yz50 is as dominant as ever. As a scout armed with some of the best aim TF2 has seen, Yz50 runs throughout maps gunning down soldiers with ease and dishing out high, constant damage to anyone who looks him in the eyes. With his trusty scout partner and TF2 legend, oPlaiD, the scouts for br0 are a force to be reckoned with. But what is their weakness? We all know Yz50 is twice the player on LAN. But oPlaiD practices less this season than he has any other season. With br0's already lenient scrim schedule and oPlaiD's fleeting dedication to TF2, will he show up at LAN and prove himself?

Excuse me for being a few full seconds late in introducing the golden boy of gaming and everyone's favorite demoman, dummy. throws out the same sick pipes and good damage that everyone has seen for seasons. While never considered more talented than b4nny, dummy has been a consistent demo since the beginnings of competitive TF2. Renowned for his airshots and aim, he poses a threat to any team. But will he finally win his first season? Dummy seems to not have the best of luck with his teams, especially The Experiment, who failed to secure an expected first place win at the season 9 LAN, placing a disappointing third. Let's hope this time dummy's team can live up to expectations. LET'S SEE THE FIRST PLACE WIN, TIM...srsly....

The soldier squad of srsly br0 consists of boomer and blaze, as pocket and roamer, respectively. Last season, boomer showed the community he was more than capable in invite, putting up good numbers despite his team's unimpressive record. This season, his ultra-aggressive style seems to mesh very well with the DM fanatics of br0. While he is not LAN proven, soldier is a class that is essentially upgraded on LAN. Boomer, with his aim, should be able to use the 5 ping to his advantage and torment the ground (and air!) like he never has before. Now onto the slightly more interesting soldier this season, blaze. Blaze has been playing TF2 for a long time. In that time, he has switched classes quite a few times. When he played scout in invite, he had some of the best aim and smarts. Now, as a soldier, the kid jumps around, frags everything in sight, and comms for his team all at the same time. With 80 ping. His ability to perform that well on a projectile class with ping that would be detrimental to even scout is a miraculous feat. I know my buddy PYYYOUR would come in at this point and scream “DO IT ON LAN, BLAZE!”, but I doubt that 5 ping would do anything but make Blaze thrice the player he is online.

Lastly, we have mesr. Mesr has the healing skills to throw out clutch saves and play aggressively with the rest of his team. Having already played a LAN playoffs as medic, he definitely has the experience to lead this team to a victory.

So what does it take for this team to take the trophy home?

Cohesion. Synergy. Teamwork. As I've already said, their DM is spot-on. All they need is to put the time in and practice as a team to get ready for LAN weekend.

Their first game is against Mixup, a team they've beaten twice in the regular season. I don't doubt that Mixup will show up prepared. It's up to br0 to show that the earlier two wins weren't flukes.

Can Yz50 and his team of DMing br0s be enough to upset the previous champs, the veterans, and the feared Mihalys Flow? Or will lack of team experience and lenient practice scheduling be their biggest shortcomings?