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Open Playoff Matchups and Predictions

RGL-Amateur

   Godfather   - 11/4/2018

Introduction

Hi and welcome to the Thunder dome first round of RGL S1 Open Playoffs. In these Pick/Ban Single elimination matches, teams have the the opportunity to get an advantage on their opponent before the match even starts. Seeing how the pick/bans go down will be very interesting over the next few weeks. For those who don't know, koth maps are played best of 5 rounds (first to three) and payload maps are best of 3 (first to two). If you want more information, exa_ wrote an article just for you.

Author's Note

Just a friendly reminder that you are in no way required to read my weekly articles. If you disagree with something I say, be it a prediction or assessment of the weekly outstanding players prove me wrong in game!
There are no written Power Rankings this week, however my rankings match the seedings below.

Seeding


1. Sifety - 19.7 Points
2. el Deguello - 18 Points
3. Barcode-HL - 14 Points
4. Late Night Legends - 12.3 Points
5. The Garage Band - 11.4 Points
6. Team - 11.4 Points
7. God’s Plan - 9.6 Points
8. Ringers - 9.0 Points

Matchups


#1 Sifety vs #8 Ringers

Sifety: DanTheMan11 // Pup // Com-Lag // A Satanic Fish // Hael // gLuD // Guild Knight Nub[ // Page // Bliztank
Ringers: armaicho // SkariaN // savvaisnotagirlolbbq // b1zzmyth // Miles O’Crien // Private_Eevee // Orbit // LaaaNgdon // Sock

Pick/Bans

Ringers bans cp_steel
Sifety bans koth_lakeside_final
Sifety picks pl_borneo
Ringers picks koth_product_rc9
Ringers ban pl_swiftwater_final1
Sifety picks koth_ashville_rc1

pl_borneo


Sifety picking borneo here while banning lakeside at the same time was an interesting decision. The team must not like the map lakeside very much after their bad memories from the near loss against Late Night Legends week 5. Even so, koth maps such as lakeside generally allow DM heavy teams such as Sifety to thrive. However, Sifety still has the coordination to do well on Borneo, and I don't see Ringers taking this.

koth_product_rc9


This was in my opinion a bad pick for Ringers, and I believe they should have banned product first. Although Ringers may feel this is their best map, they gave up a point to Compman Players week 1 and they will struggle to counter the exceptional DM of Sifety.

koth_ashville_rc1


With their last pick Sifety chose the last of the available koth maps, and rightly so. As I mentioned above, their DM simply outclasses that of Ringers, and I expect players such as Hael to thrive here. Unfortunately, we probably won't get to see Hael shine, as I doubt this will go past 2 maps.

Analysis:

I think Sifety got the best of these bans, having not lost a point on any of the maps being played. After an incredibly strong, near perfect 7-0 season, they're a clear front runner for winning Grand Finals.
(note: I said "near perfect" since they did not get the legendary 21 point season, due to a near loss against LNL (4-3)). Oh yes, and one other thing: Ringers beat Brendan Fraser in the tiebreaker match 1-0, so congrats to them for that.
Prediction: 2-0 Sifety

#2 el Deguello vs #7 God's Plan

el Deguello: Steiner // Focks // Cookie // -L // Nick // St3vo // Ezra // jahbooty // catfish
God's Plan: atomic // dan // quiggymcsmiley // meese_ // cmdr.cameron // god is a black brony // anonion // A Big and Fluffy Hippo// MystiK

Pick/Bans

God's Plan bans pl_swiftwater_final1
el Deguello bans cp_steel
el Deguello picks koth_product_rc9
God's Plan picks pl_borneo
God's Plan bans koth_lakeside_final
el Deguello picks pl_upward

koth_product_rc9


With their first pick El Deguello took the most predictable map, product. Not only does el Deguello perform well in scrims on this map, but God's Plan did not do very well on it in week 1, giving up a point to Farmers Only. Overall damage output from players such as -L will be too much for God's Plan to handle.

pl_borneo


I'd imagine God's Plan took this map wanting to avoid koth maps against El Deguello, but that won't do them much good. El Deguello might be able to set up a strong 1st and 2nd point hold to end the game early. I'd be surprised to see God's Plan push through.

pl_upward


I was a bit surprised to see El Deguello take upward over ashville with this pick, since they have their only loss in week 4 against Sifety, on upward. Perhaps they're trying to prove they can do well on the map? I don't know, but one thing is for certain, El Deguelo will steam roll on this map, assuming it''s even needed.

Analysis:

El Deguello got the edge with the pick/bans and shouldn't have any trouble moving on to the next round.
Prediction: 2-0 El Deguello

#3 Barcode-HL vs #6 Team

Barcode-HL: angent // Latte // escape // juice // mocha // DatDrop // TopsideHorse // Captured // mcgee
Team: Ikillbannanas // downup // Dakka // Bruce // Pain_Seer // Hypnis // Craterpie // addison // echotheelf

Pick/Bans

Team bans pl_upward
Barcode-HL bans koth_product_rc9
Barcode-HL picks koth_lakeside_final
Team picks pl_borneo
Team bans koth_ashville_rc1
Barcode-HL picks pl_swiftwater_final1

koth_lakeside_final


This is where Barcode's flank will shine. Apart form an unfortunate first half on cp_steel, Angent has been able to put out considerable damage. With Latte filling in as the new main soldier, it should be a field day for the pair.

pl_borneo


Borneo is not Barcode's map. In their week 7 matchup against LNL they didn't hold Corn and were punished for it. I'm not actually sure if they know where Corn is, I didn't hear anyone call it, even though LNL's combo was there a few times.Team made a good pick with this map and they need to capitalize on exploiting the flaws in Barcode's unorthodox methods if they want a chance at taking this match.

pl_swiftwater_final1


With the remaining two koth maps banned at this point in the picks, Barcode was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Barcode did not play up to standards on steel or swiftwater during the regular season, and if Team can force this map to be played they might just pull off the upset.

Analysis:

Well Team certainly got the best results from the pick bans, but primarily due to Angent accidentally (?) banning koth_product_rc9. To quote match comms "oh wtf i banned product lmao" -Angent. Mistakes like this are dangerous in playoffs, and with Barcode's no scrim policy this one is a bit closer than it should be.
Prediction: 2-0 Barcode-HL

#4 Late Night Legends vs #5 The Garage Band

Late Night Legends: Peaches // Toastie // Sndls // Kinetic // Grand Pear // Scottluck // Etho // FOAD // Porpo
The Garage Band: Vacket // Hoekstra TF // Rhysand // Joey // AstronomyTwin // Smokey // LucG_ // KutchKutch // Lookout! Awwww.

Pick/Bans

The Garage Band bans koth_lakeside_final
LNL bans koth_ashville_rc1
LNL picks koth_product_rc9
The Garage Band picks cp_steel
The Garage Band bans pl_swiftwater_final1
LNL picks pl_upward

koth_product_rc9


Late Night Legends went with what they knew, and with this being the only koth map in this match, I think LNL has the slight edge. They tend to strike fast, taking early points of of team such as Barcode-HL.

cp_steel


Someone picked Steel!!! The Garage Band played very well on this map in week 6 with a dominant 3-0 pv win over Team, where LNL struggled against the lower ranked God's Plan.

pl_upward


If this match goes the distance, it will be very interesting to see how each team does on this map. LNL tends to take themselves more seriously then 182 (Not a bad thing at all!), and if they get shaken up by steel they might not be able to recover. Either team could take this map, and overall this is certainly the closest matchup of the evening.

Analysis:

Both of these teams embody what it means to be top Open teams. They lack higher level players, and they're here to have fun and improve as they go. I love the spirits and mentalities of both of these teams and Open needs 10 times more teams like these ones next season. As Hoekstra described his team, they're "Just 9 guys who like tf2 and life eachother."
Prediction: 2-1 LNL