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Hello and welcome to the final playday of S.A.L. group server, determined in five best
of ones who makes it to the playoffs and for who the season will end here. My name is Anne
and joining me today on the podcast we have a Foxy who will be diving right into the action.
Foxy, welcome back on the SAL. A lot has been decided already but still some good matches coming
up today. Yeah, of course, I mean we have one spot left to be able to determine who's going to be
in playoffs essentially and then at the end of the day, seating doesn't matter to a certain
extent. We saw how the NAL went down where a hundred thieves had to go through M80 and Shopify
So, for any team, the position that you end in matters entirely.
Exactly, yeah. It's all about that sixth and final spot going into playoffs today, and it currently is on the side of whether Lowe's or Fuxxer W7M will be running away with that spot.
Mostly matchup 3 and 4 will be really important for that spot, but as you already mentioned as well, of course, seating is also important, and so much is to be played still for the upper bracket.
record. One team of Roddy Lock themselves in for the best face plan. We actually want to dive into
the action from last week a little bit further because Faze actually took their first loss.
They were on an unbeaten streak, things were going really well for them, and then they lost their
first game. So we checked in with our colleagues from the native broadcast as well who put together
a beautiful piece to talk about what happened last week.
I think they're trying to force a rivalry between FaZe and Fupi Liquid.
That's it, Cyber Dead! Seriously!
That's exactly how the beaten streaks started to fall last weekend.
And you must be thinking, wait, if your FaZe and Furia were undefeated in phase 1,
how can the beaten streaks fall like in plural?
Let me explain my impression for you.
It turns out, Jaminda does's team also lost, but on the next day against Loud, and that
was a huge win for the Loud boys.
It was what secured the team in the next stage.
Aeol's team currently sits in 50 place, and remember, only 6 teams qualify for the playoffs.
So far, we have FaZe, Nip, Furia, Liquid, and Loud locking in, while Lowe's and Fluxo
are battling for the last playoff spot.
But don't get it wrong, practically every duo today is important.
That's because only Faze secured their position on the table, Rank 1.
Except for the eliminated Chains, the rest of the squads still need to figure it out
where they will end up in the standings, and consequently who they will face in the next
stage.
Luxu is trying to grab the spot against Loud, Loss, Faze's cavalry chasing a giant Upset.
Finally, Furia and NiP clash to see who finishes in the second place.
Also, our stats squad ran all the calculations, so you can know each team's chances.
Check it out on the screen.
So that's it squad, a lot is still on the line in this final crush around.
Make your bets, it's all you, Studio Crew.
And as was mentioned, really when we get into the later matches all today,
Things just start to get exciting about that final playoffs pop, but also the seeding in the upper bracket.
You already mentioned it as well, Fox.
It really matters about who you're playing in that bracket later on as well,
to see if you have a good chance of making it to ELBC or where the things will be really difficult from the start.
But I do like it when we get to a final playday and there are still things to be played for.
I mean, we've been here before with other leagues or other stages that you get to this final playday
and everything's already kind of decided.
Yeah, I mean, you don't want to go into the last playday with nothing to play
for in the line. If you're a viewer, every game needs to matter to you at a
certain point. Faze is the only team that really has solidified their spot in
first. We're starting off the day with a real heater of the game. Battle of the
two bottom teams, INTZ versus IMP. Unfortunate, you know, season for them
specifically, but I personally love watching games like this, where it's the
two, quote unquote, worst teams of the region, just because they really put
their best foot forward, there's nothing to necessarily hold them back, no fear to be
able to play against one another. And sometimes you get to see some interesting rounds when
you put two teams that haven't had success throughout the stage against each other.
That is a really big thing, right? Sometimes when you don't really have anything to play
for anymore, you can kind of get unleashed as a team. And we've seen that as well in
the other regions, for example, with heretics in the EML when they had nothing to play for,
when their players were already out of the picture, all of a sudden they come out and
they beat a bigger team inside of that league. So that first matchup, of course, you know,
these are the bottom two teams in the league, but a lot can still happen with that one.
As you already said, it's more so that third and fourth match. If you are a Fluxia W7M
enjoyer, you're kind of hoping that Liquid does really well against Lowes, ideally, regulation
victory, overtime victory, which would then leave Lowes vulnerable for Fluxia W7M, eventually
to overtake them should they get a victory against Lowes.
Yeah, I think if you are flexor W7 you're going to be the biggest fan of liquid vice versa for, you know, flexor W7M going up against loud at the end of the day.
You don't want to be in a situation where you have to rely on another team beating the team that you need to lose. Los has one point of an advantage when it come compared to flexor W7M.
of them. So even if both teams lose out, it's very difficult games for both of them. Loser
would be the one to get it, but you want to be able to get a win just to be able to go
into the playoffs with that under your belt.
Yeah, it'd be a little bit sad for these teams to kind of have their season over from here
and not get to play in the best of these, not have a chance of making it to an international
event, especially for a team like Liquid as well. Like if you think very much forward,
you know, talking about the, the championship that's going on at EWC, you know, big organization,
different games that they participate in so they want to rack up those points in that competition
as well but moving into our first game of the day you already alluded to Imperial eSports versus
INTZ we got the number 9th and number 10th team of the league going up against each other and
surely Imperial eSports will be a little bit upset with INTZ getting so close but coming short
against Lowry because that eventually cost them their chances of making it to playoffs but as
you already said I thought you know in the end if you want to make it to the playoffs you've got
You've got to make sure you get those things yourself and you don't want to be relying on other teams that will do the job for you, essentially.
Speaking of Imperial doubt, they did see those players who go up smoke.
Do you think there's any kind of grudge maybe they'll hold against their opponents for today or for how that match went last week?
I mean, I do think that if you're IMT, I mean, just being able to get a win, I don't think they're holding a grudge, I think for them.
It's difficult to say, but they're just happy to be here.
I mean, they've had a really rough stage so far.
I mean, they only had one win.
And that was just not something that you can take
going into the next stage and be comfortable with.
So if you can at least get another win,
maybe bump yourself up the ninth place,
I believe the round differential,
very difficult for them to overcome
when it comes against INTZ.
But I think there's some good redeeming qualities
for IMP essentially, just the area
that they were able to beat loud.
I feel like Maki has been having a pretty good stage so far.
He's a player that everyone talked about since he joined the SAL,
but he never really lived up to the hype.
I think this is one of his better stages individually,
despite his team not doing too well.
And it's just something that hopefully they understand the issues that
happen throughout this stage.
They have a lot of good individual performers.
I really love the way that they play their shields,
but it needs to be more consistent.
It feels like when push comes to shove, when the time gets down,
I don't want to say it's an experience because they have a
player like sexy cake on the team who has the most amount of experience in the
sale, but everything gets really hectic and it seems like they abandon all
synergy and team play when clock starts to get dire when the time starts to
trickle down.
The player that you mentioned there, sexy cake was so important and at least
then in those three rounds on the board last week for for their team, big
rounds, big moments. But on the other side, we saw some questionable mistakes
from them on the defense and very unfortunate films eventually be
losing a game to two Black Dragons. Speaking of their opponents for INTZ, for them it was
even more heartbreaking. They had a 5-1 lead going into what probably was their most important
matchup of the stage against Rose, devastating six rounds in a row that they were losing there,
and that's just really important to see your playoff teams get ruined in that way.
But I think the big light for this matchup is the core of Arthur, legacy and angels who have
been stepping it up in these last few matches have really been showing up for themselves.
And if you think for these players as a matter as well, given the stage is practically already
over, but looking for themselves here, they're playing to, you know, maybe get picked up by a
bigger team or even get a good showing that helps them with the benefit of the stage too.
Yeah, they could also climb over Black Dragons just as a consolation prize. They could be finished
themselves in eighth, but I do agree. I mean, I think Angels, Arthur, specifically Angels,
I mean, they've been having a phenomenal stage so far. I mean, they've been so impactful
when it comes to getting their two wins that I believe they beat flexor W7M. And if I'm
not mistaken, NIP. So both of those two games, those two teams, you know, when you look at
how everything was going into two weeks ago, you would have thought this team was going to fall flat
on their face. But for a team to be able to get two big wins against two big orbs like that,
I think it has a lot more to show in ITZ's favor than it does for Imperial. I would say that they
maybe a little bit more time into the stage going into next season.
I think I think it could be a contender for a team that could fight for that
six place spot. I mean, they have a lot of good things to show throughout this
stage. Unfortunately, somebody has to be at the bottom and a lot of their games
were very close. Besides their phase matchup. That was a pretty, uh, that was a
slaughter. But every other match, I'd say on TZ was doing fairly well.
I just think they need a little bit more time together. First, the process
maybe going into stage two for them and they should because what this matchup might come
down to in the end as well if you're looking all the way at the end of stage two is relegation,
right? Getting those matches and those victories against the teams that are around you on that
lower end of the league could be so important to keep your spot secure in SAO for next year.
But as we dive into this matchup, the final best of all between these two teams, we can
have a look at the veto and see where the series will be taken to. The final time, we'll
see these two teams inside of our region. Any thoughts and
expectations for the map, maybe, Boxer?
I'm expecting to see a lair. Both these teams are very
comfortable on it. No, unfortunately, I thought I was
going to make a big brain prediction. Both of these
teams are very comfortable on there. It makes sense that they
want to go to a labs. It's just one of those maps where similar
to lair in the way that you can play very slow. I believe these
two teams have issues when it comes to late round. Imperial
from what we were saying in the last couple of 30 seconds,
minute of the game. They tend to stress out. Labs is one of those maps where it makes things
very straightforward and easy on defense. There's so much room that you have to be able to go
through. So when you're on defense, you're able to just sit back, let the opposing team deal with
what they need to deal with. And I think it'll work in favor for Imperial at the end of the day.
It's a toss up. I think INCZ is going to be the better team going into it. But that being said,
Imperial has shining moments of hope especially the way that they use their shield and sexy cake has been one of those players that is able to carry a game and he has shown it throughout this last stage.
But we'll need to see if the shields will even be a factor in the play. The Monty, the Blitz, the Blackbeard or if I and TZ just forces Imperial to have to clear themselves which that is a very big issue for Imperial as if sexy cake is not entering, they really fall flat on who's going to be taking that torch and entry for the team.
really will be a big show of the clean players like for example 6k but also the
core that we talked about over on the other side with INTZ here and INTZ
starting out on the defense as you mentioned should also have an easier
time at least in those very first few rounds but as we now know the map and we
know everything about these two teams you can get our casters in for today for our
five best ones today in the SAL we are joined by Intero and Jesse and guys I
heard you say this is the first time you guys are working in the SAL this stage
But we're glad to have you here
Well, it's good to be here and we we were our best matching stripes
We were in various phases of about to be bowling. I think that's very nice for us
Yeah, I've been practicing my bowling all day long
But now we can switch over the focus to siege and I'm really excited because it's South America is one of the most fun
Regions to watch in all of rainbow sticks. I'm sure gonna have a great day
I'm glad as well for you that you get to what one of your favorite players later on as well as fantasy
will be diving into action later with those matches. But speaking of the day as a whole,
I mean, I know we already talked about that these two first matches are not going to be
the super important ones, but the pressure that must be on the players for these later
matches in general, like that, that must be crazy. One of the best, the most important
matches they're going to play of their life.
Yeah. I mean, expectations in this region are always high. You know, despite what happened
in Salt Lake City, we still consider Brazil to be the high water mark for Siege or maybe
not as much right now. But if you're on one of these teams, expectations are going to
be quite heavy on your shoulders and for a lot of these teams they don't make a
ton of roster moves even if you don't do the best in stage one even if you are a
team that's already failed to make the playoffs as both of these squads are
you're playing for stage two you're playing to grow you're playing to improve
yeah I think certainly there's a lot on the line today we saw that a playoff
spot to determine the fact that flux of W7M are still currently outside of that
playoff picture and they've got to earn their spot today that's a huge
organization with really high expectations so going out today would be a
massive blow to that scene.
And then bringing things back to
what just came here between
Imperial and INTZ. Any predictions
on what's going to happen starting with you, Jesse?
Listen, these are the
bottom two teams, but I also think there are
levels to this thing, and I think
INTZ are a significantly better team than Imperial,
so I expect them to walk with the win here today,
but they think it's possible.
I agree. I mean, and one
thing I will say is none of us are American.
Should we not be saying INTZ?
I mean, I guess if you want to go ahead for thoughts with the game, that'd be fine.
Foxy, you're still sticking with your prediction as well that Imperial will win this?
I'm sorry, INTZ will win this?
Or are you changing your mind?
Yeah, INTZ definitely will win.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I really am the fan of how good Parker is at avoiding the prediction question.
It's so good.
The dance around it.
I love the dance, baby.
You know me.
I'll see where it as much of ends up though.
We've got to get some hope.
We've got to get some hope.
We've got to get some hope.
We've got to get some hope.
We've got to get some hope.
We've got to get some hope.
We'll see where it as much of ends up though.
We gotta get some hope though for Imperial eSports
with the big players on that roster.
Can they get anything going here
on the attack on Night Haven Labs?
Well, thank you so very much.
Let's kick off our first game of the day
as we've got a busy day in Brazil.
Jesse, we're going to be seeing some teams go forward.
One of those teams will be at their low spore, Fluxer W7M.
As was stated by the desk,
We have a single team outside of the playoffs locked in.
Now it is a bit bizarre, I will say,
as a North American fan, and I can be unabashedly,
pro North America, because for the first time in ages,
we are actually good at Siege.
We get to see what Brazil is going to bring to EWC,
and while most of our representatives have been sent
in other regions, Brazil is still waiting,
and of course the playoffs for Brazil
are gonna be a bloodbath when they pop up.
But for now, we start off with two teams
that are unfortunately in the basement of Brazil.
And yeah, I think IMTZ certainly has the leg up here
between the two.
Yeah, I mean, Imperial eSports have struggled.
They have a one and 11 record this season
going back to kickoff as well against tier one opponents.
Intz or IMTZ, I mean, they've certainly had their struggles
but they've also had some wins here and there
through both kickoff and this stage.
So they've definitely had some big moments
where they've been able to take out some better teams.
I'd like to back up what Fox was saying.
I mean, he was talking about the shields a lot on the desk,
and I think he hit the no on the head,
because I think he's out of immediately gone in the end
with the Monty and the Blitz.
Sexy cake, of course, the primary shield player on Imperial,
but you'll see Mitrix and Floreo pick up shields
from time to time as well on this team.
And then Arthur, maybe the number one clash player
in all of South America.
He has a higher clash pick rate
than anybody else in this league.
Immediately doing his best Canadian impression,
jumping on this operator
from top floor of that hit of labs.
The Jackers are heading out to the bottom.
We're good to see them in action,
and Night Haven Labs is a great map for us to watch.
Imperial's a team that we didn't cast too, too much
during kickoff, if memory serves correctly, Jesse.
So, but I mean, there's been a lot said from them
in their performance over kickoff and onwards.
It's just, they're a team that has,
I think, played well below expectations,
especially with some of those players on the roster,
like Mitrix and Machina have had really, really good games throughout their career, but consistency's been the issue in surrounding themselves with the right supporting cast is, I suppose, a little bit trickier.
So they've got their word cut out for them now as they enter the game in last in Brazil.
And this is a golden opportunity to play up against, honestly, your contemporaries out of all the teams in the league.
I and TZ will have the most in common with Imperial.
If Imperial can get a victory here, it should be a big confidence boost.
Libitoff starting on the attack of course going up on Nighight and Lab these top floor
bomb sites and specifically just top floor and then storage as well can be really really
powerful for the defender so you've got to be watching over that.
RLU player in a bit of an aggressive position droned out over towards meeting, like that
was STK he's dropped all the way back down to that bottom floor so pretty rare that you
see a roamer get so aggressive, legacy here in connector as well even after getting droned
out he's sticking around here not wanting to fall back to the site.
like I think showing a little bit of the confidence from IMTZ here Parker where they want to be getting
in these early gunfights they feel good about winning them.
They'll now dance away as the clash gets called into action to try and settle some things down.
Slowing things down that's for sure.
We've got our first casualty, backing up bleeding out as the breach is open. I'm gonna be honest with
you. I struggle to see where INT's
integration came from to find him.
Just about a swing on the breeze there I think Parker. They managed to pick him
back up though so it's no harm no foul. 60 seconds and I'm worried about the
dimensions for this bush. Imperial they've got that connector control that's
great but usually on this bomb set you want a second angle. Start to see people
move now with the X on this roof and Mixtrix as well but they have to be able
to pressure elsewhere on this map.
They'll find Floreo legacy, the only kill so far.
IMP just getting whittled down.
There goes Yetz as INTZ is finding all of their targets.
Nitrix, the next casualty, and the shield
is the last one remaining.
Sexycake, the veteran member of Imperial eSports
will now wander his way in.
No fall is round to be had for INTZ,
and Sexycake will actually find a second as he exits,
but the round goes quite easily to INTZ.
Yeah, you never really want to be seen your shield player go down as the final player alive on the stack.
You'd expect him to kind of be leading the charge.
Nice that he gets a couple of kills in there, Parker, but I want to see Sexycake being that spearhead for the team rather than the last one alive.
And again, you go back to the dimensions that they had on Imperial, it was almost entirely focused on that connector push.
There was a little bit of pressure looking towards Raptors, and there was that ying that went off the side, but the ying just wasn't able to accomplish much.
some really nice shots coming out from angels there to lock down that garage side and make
sure that the rest of his team could fully focus on that connector.
And that's the biggest thing you could have clashed, right?
If you can stop that back pressure, if you can isolate that push to just one dimension,
there's almost no way for the clash to go down and for the defense to lose their rounds.
So really good game plan from INPZ.
I think they knew exactly how they wanted to play that one and they get the win because
of it.
Absolutely correct.
These teams have struggled to grow, I think is a fair thing to say with them.
If we want to just reference the overarching numbers, unfortunately both of these squads
make up the lion's share of the bottom 10 rated players in the league.
There's been some standout performances in some good plays, but the highest rated player
in the lobby is Angels, the aforementioned player that you talked about.
a plus one in terms of KD. Everybody else has a negative KD on both of these teams. So again,
W and a B-deaf on teams that are towards the bottom, but I do think it is fair to call a spade
a spade here, and both of these teams still have quite a bit of growing to do, and they're evenly
matched, as was said in round number one. Now, if round number one has any indication, then
they're not quite evenly matched, because Imperial's gonna have some serious work cut out for them to
to match INTZ Fury after, I guess, they lost two, but they only lost one active player,
I suppose, when the round was finished.
So where are some of these roamers?
The very extended push or hold from INTZ Parker, where they've got four players up outside
of the basement, of course, SCK on that solace, up above on the top floor, he's currently
spotting some of these drones, they come through the mid-floor, but Angels, Raps and Legacy
all lurking around that mid-floor as well.
in particular inside storage will have a really good vert angle on the main breach that got
opened up by Florio so getting him at a position will be absolutely critical before you go for this
push and already nitrix in the building hoping to find one of these players not looking his way
this may or may not get hurt i think sdk should hear it he's actually already fallen all the way
back down to this bottom floor so really just peeling back for my enthysiast staying alive in
in this mid-round.
Yeah, Makina holding this cross.
I remember when Makina first made his debut and people were saying that he was an up-and-coming
fragger.
I mean, hey, look, he takes out Legacy.
A pretty nice shot and immediately, Imperial sinking their teeth into this INTZ defense.
Angels and Legacy down for the count.
That leaves two players on INTZ still searching for their first kills.
You've got some stall potential here with the Gale and you've got all the gas canisters
in the hands of wraps, but IMTZ is quite eager to take these engagements, swinging onto Imperial
as they hang outside the windows makina, gunning down wraps, and it's all up to SDK and Arthur,
a brutal round so far for IMTZ's Fraggers as they've come up empty-handed in these engagements.
We're truly living in the F2 era, Parker, and I'm all here for it. Now, Arthur and SDK,
the last ones to stay alive, the time is pretty low. This will give them some hope that they
have to be focused on that diffuser and that makes it really tough.
Yes, finds Arthur, STK and the 1B5.
When you have no vertical control, you don't have a lot of utility.
The first round, so dominant in favor of INTZ and Imperial Esports will answer back
with a flawless round of their own.
We thought a flawless round might materialize after round number one,
but Sexy Cape got a couple impactless exit kills.
A lot more formidable for Imperial as INTZ just seemed a little bit restless.
My read, Jesse, they didn't have info.
they went for just info swings.
They got punished by Imperial every time.
Yeah, I mean, they were trying to hold a lot,
a lot of the map, right?
They were holding onto a large portion of map control.
And eventually, I think those,
those pincers really just came down.
They were trying to make rotates in the F2 again.
It was singing for, for both Mitrix and Mokkina.
And that's what I want to see throughout this game, right?
I want to see these guys on Imperial,
the young fraggers who are so talented and are so good.
Mitrix in particular, Mokkina, I know,
has not maybe lived up to expectations
that we were initially hyping him up for, but they're still talented young
fraggers and I want to see them just play into their aim, play into their gun
skill, get some of these 1v1 engagements because that's gonna be where they find
some success. You're gonna put against a team like IMTZ who could be extremely
utile focused, they're also a heavy shield team much like Imperial R and you're
seeing that with Arthur going back to the clash for the second time this game.
If you play the utile game, if you play the plant game, I just fear it's not gonna
go your way. I want to see them getting active in these gunfights. We've done it once so far,
let's see if they can do it again.
Brutal control important on all maps, but especially important on this one. Now you're
going to be defending that first floor. So, do you spread out? Do you expect a linear take
for Imperial esports? One thing that Imperial has struggled on, as Dominic talked about,
was their entry and the ability to do so in a, I guess a more comprehensive measure.
To be honest, I don't think I'd ever use the word comprehensive when talking about
Rainbow Six Siege, Jesse, but here we are. Basically means that if you don't do your due
diligence before getting to the bomb site, then you're going to get beaten by the defenders.
That wasn't the case in the previous round. It was a very comprehensive execute by Imperial
Esports. If they're too linear, they can get picked apart as they now tackle with this cafeteria
to catch your bomb site. This is a really weird defense from IMTG. Usually with the clash on the
site, you see them playing at the top of the lobby stairs trying to stall that control of the top
floor, but instead they're just holding really everybody on this mid floor. They've got control
of lounge as you see angels getting the hard ping there. You'll know that he's been drowned out,
has to back off, but even Arthur just kind of sitting bottom lobby trying to stall out any
of that linear push, completely conceding this top floor, which means Mittrix and SexyKick should
have a really good time up here just ripping apart these floorboards, finding a lot of space,
unless there's a late flank from somebody like STK. I find it really difficult for against to
survive in this round and to make that play happen. He's on drone here, this was a golden
opportunity to potentially take care of him. The X1L await, one of those players that were
towards the bottom, whether it be the Smoke or the Yeager, still has every logic bomb in pocket.
I was gonna say good time to start using them if you gamble your life and you die with that intel in pocket
That is bad bad not good whatsoever
He's trying to hunt down the Aruni
So he doesn't realize that the person below him is wraps and SDK again there for follow-up
They're keeping his intent attention
But Jesse is it good that two defenders are focused on a single attacker when there's still four other attackers to deal with?
I mean what are those attackers doing?
That's my question because if the rest of the team is stalling out and that's totally fine for ince
I think they're right now. We're seeing a little bit of that from imperial
You're looking at floria with their fuse kitten looks like he wants to push in through lobby side
He tries that he's gonna come head-to-head with Arthur on the clash
So they need this back pressure to really open up the bombsite before they go for anything. Oh
That's a devastating blow losing to one of the premier shield players in Brazil in Arthur Machina
We'll trade it right back that f2 singing in his hands. He had a great previous round and he'll continue to find yet another kill
Now it's Arthur being hounded. That leaves STK on the side of INTZ without a kill.
The only person in the lobby not to get one, INTZ finding their frags.
These are such lopsided rounds, Jesse. The moment that you get that first pick, you basically win the round.
STK finds two, pikes his goose egg, and INTZ goes back to the lead.
lead again it's kind of that gunfight focus execute coming out from what we're
seeing on imperial parker and they've got good pressure all around the map but
again I just feel like what did they accomplish with that vert pressure they
had full top control the entire round and we didn't really see those vert
players doing a whole lot inside of meeting inside of that top floor
position trying to force those players out from inside the bombsite maybe it
was happening off cam and we just didn't quite catch it on the spectate but it
really felt like they could have done a bit more with that pressure they had up
above. It was given to them completely for free and they just weren't able to do much
with that control. They weren't able to put an execute together despite all of that space
they were given. So, tough push coming out there from Imperial. I still think a 2-1
first quarter is a pretty good result for them. They are on the attacking side and despite
where the meta is shifting, I do think that this is still going to be a game that leans
defender sided just because of the 2-2 and who got playing in this series. So, getting
away with one stop at the end of the world, if they can escape this half on like a 4-2
or even a 3-3.
I think they'd be very happy with that result.
Absolutely.
And again, we want to say expectations for this matchup
and not trip over ourselves to sound too mean-spirited
or to sound too pessimistic.
But at the end of the day, these teams
are basically playing for posterity.
Both of them have already been eliminated from the playoffs.
They both sit in 9th and 10th with INTZ in 9th
and Imperial Esports in 10th respectively.
So the big focus, I think, for these teams
is just woodshedding, it's practice.
It's the same thing we say in every single region.
Teams get talked about in EML this way, in APAC.
We've said it a few times in the NAL
when you look at the teams that are towards the bottom.
Whether these squads make roster moves or not
and change things up for the future,
doesn't really matter.
Game day reps are oh so important.
And I mean, Brazil would be in a competitive region.
Even the team that finishes in dead last in Brazil
is usually in pretty good shape
and usually has a couple good players on it.
So there's things here to correct.
The only thing I will say to argue against myself,
Jesse is that these are mostly veteran players in the lobby. So it's not like
they're new. They need more reps themselves. It's more just about finding
that cohesion as a team. It's a completely different setup coming through
from the incident. Got really good information with this pulse coming
through on STK. He's already spotted the X opening up that wall. Not that it's
a huge surprise that there's a thermite out there. They went for the shield
band. So these heartbreakers are all going to be up and thermite will be a
mainstay here on Knighthaven Labs. I wonder if they're wanting to go
aggressive here with anything Parker they've got Arthur right next to SDK so
they could go for a big swing and try to get that man advantage and there it is
right when the wall gets opened up you will find Makana and get themselves a
5v4 that's a beautiful little play from Arthur.
Arthur's been a very interesting player over his career right?
He's got some really great looks and there's been seasons where it just seems like he can't find anything but he was one of the first
premier shield players that we saw on attack, rocking it quite consistently. He made Manchester,
correct me if I'm wrong, that E1 roster. So, he's got a lay and wrap experience, even if E1
got bounced from Manchester in one of the first four spots. But he's got experience and he can
help lead this team. And right now he's leading by example. He was really early to the shield meta.
I think that's the big thing is like when Schultz worked first like Boffton team for
starting to realize how good they were. He and, as you say, E1 were so dominant in that space,
they did really good work a couple years back on that. They struggled, I think, to keep up with
the meta in recent times. Continues to play hyper aggressive. You don't see this from shield player
IGLs too often, but really feeling himself here up against the 10th ranked team in South America.
If you can get another one, this could be massive to just shut this round down for ints.
I don't want to say bizarre, but it has been very explosive.
His action that will not occur for most of the round and then well, everybody dies in
very short order.
That seems maybe angels now lined up with 30 seconds to go in the round.
IMT's head want to block Imperial from getting in they failed to let sexy cake into the spot he finds one misses the recoil on
Legacy guys out of the candles the charge on in now from IMP will they run headfirst into a brick wall
Mitrix getting down wraps a very even contest only 10 seconds to go now
It's Imperial coming out ahead for you sound an opportunity to the diffuse kid at the halfway point
Right now yet holding cross. He's boxed them in legacy's lost to be found
If you get down running away and Mitrix will get the job done and all out brawl that goes the final 30 seconds and IMP tie things up.
That's the power of that ying. They tried to do something very similar back in round number one Parker where Imperial had most of their forces pushing connector and pushing in through IT and then they just had the ying solo over to Aqua.
Back in round number one, Mitrich and the Ying got absolutely slammed early by Angels.
This time though, he's able to use those candelas, get the triple kill, of course you're gonna see lots of value in that.
But even the kills that he didn't get, he's forcing those players to move inside the site by tossing those candelas, making those positions difficult.
And then what do we see? It's F2s holding angles, catching players as they cross, just like the round they won back in round number two.
So this is clearly a strategy that's developing for Imperial.
They can make these defenders move if they can force them to run around the map and they can hold those angles to clutch up
That can make all the difference in the world and it's too too. It seems like a close game
But again, I think this map will lean defender sided
And so the fact that imperial have already got themselves a tied game after four rounds and they could push for a fourth
You split on the attack. It's cause for concern and 90s Ed will use their attack time out because of it
I mean you don't have to be the smartest man alive
to look at a 2-2 score line and go, wait, you're tied and you're using your own timeout? And again,
teams use timeouts for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it can be because the coach hears
something that we don't. This is idle speculation, of course, on our part, but when you look at what
the coaches have access to, and believe you me, most teams in Brazil have quite an extensive
amount of coaching staff. Yes, even the teams with lower budgets and lower in the standings,
they are usually well equipped. They might just, they're not liking the fact that on defense,
they're dropping too many rounds and again these teams tend to collapse when things go badly.
So if those are the main issues for INTZ you've got two rounds to put as much of a lead between
you and Imperial Esports because if you believe that the defenders have an advantage here on this map
Imperial already getting two of the six rounds is their win condition. They've accomplished that.
Most teams on attack will only get those two rounds anymore and INTZ ends up in you know
kind of dangerous position so good time to call your timeout and if things go bad for impure
you'll have another opportunity to talk to your team as well as timeouts allow both teams to speak
I'm a surprise oh oh
all this chicken in the book especially in South America it was the Brazilians who invented this
aggressive mirror that they put on these outer walls and they really started to popularize that
but this time it does get caught out they're ready for that swing and it's an early kill
on to the captain of INTZ. Second time in a row, Arthur's been involved in that opening
duel and again as the IGL support player you don't see that so often from him but I think again
feeling the stakes of this match and knowing that they're up against Imperial eSports maybe he's
feeling a little bit more aggressive like he can take some of these risks but yeah going for a full
man a full four man a roam now down to a three roam his legacy goes back to site is kind of risky
you given how it went back in round number two.
I'm reloading.
Just I see stuff like that and it's like I see that in like silver
ranked, which I know is a higher rank than you are. So you might
not see us there. But I get to see it down there, I would say.
Yeah, in copper five, we haven't figured that strategy yet. We're
still working on it.
Jesse, I heard they made toilet paper for you. So you were
toilet paper five. That's that's what I understand. STK on the run out on the
matrix who is completely unaware and we're back to even footing.
The IMDZ will tie things up with a minute 20 still left. I like that from STK.
Let it hang a little bit. Get some aggression going in this game.
Find a way to be able to equalize this man count after you lost your captain
down inside the site. Certainly you've got to give up your position a little bit,
but you've actually gone right back up these awkward stairs and mocking on the snake
might not be ready for that. There is a player pushing up here towards the top floor.
I believe that's Yex who's just outside of rafters at the moment and he will go into blows with STK
But oh god, they have no idea where SDK has gone Parker. This could be a huge flank
And they'll get Yex so the spray transfer just misses Florio takes some damage, but is still alive
This has been a great round from the Fragmite if you want to call him that
You got the first pick on that ejected Mira and now shuts down STK both kills so far in the round on this support player
he's still holding the case as well. Sexy cake is there for backup and suddenly
INTZ after using their time out Jesse. Now on their back foot, 25 seconds left.
You've got Glyon canisters spread out around this bomb site. You've got two
gas canisters in pocket as well. There's still potential here for INTZ to
hang on especially with a shotgun in such close order but he misses his first shot.
You're not going to win when you're missing like that. Perhaps legacy takes down one.
He gets them both no doubt about it. I and TZ managed to salvage the round but who boy
That's not a confidence inspiring win
No, certainly not that was just like round number two Parker with those rumors falling by the wayside not able to play together
It seemed like we're gonna see and put together a lead finally here in this game
But it's the clutch master of South America who steps up and make sure that doesn't happen
in legacy, what a round to come through from him.
He has been doing this all stage long.
He's got a 29% success rate in the clutch this stage.
That's the highest of any player in South America.
And it allows IMTZ to be the most clutch team
in South America on the defense,
despite the fact that they have been struggling
so much in the standings.
When it comes down to winning in these clutch moments,
when it comes down to winning the last moment,
that's where IMTZ start to shine.
seeing that once again here on night Haven lads and it will make sure that they at the very least don't lose this first half.
It's if we'd said this before we actually got in to round number one, we would be saying, well, that's great silly because you don't want to be in a position where you can't lose it.
You want to be in a situation where you win it. So for INTZ, you got to win this round or else the second half becomes a lot more precarious.
Do it again. Do it again, yes. Yes, of course. Do it again. I'm a sicko, man. I just want to see this.
I hate to break it to you, but we're not going to see it.
No, Thermbite being brought this time around, it's just going to be 4A on the Ace, so they can open that wall a lot safer than they otherwise would.
He's playing IT and he's got impacts in his pocket. So do be wary of that if he's the Selma's start to come through
You could see an impact trick come forward as well. That's gonna be Arthur's main goal as he holds the pokeball in his hand
She is opening away from that mirror window so it can't be impact trick. That's really smart before you
He's just inches or centimeters away if we're gonna say IT's out I gotta stay with the metric system here
Almost had a nice read on Arthur who had some impactful kills earlier, but has largely been held off the scoreboard because of his role in the operators he's playing on.
We'll see the clash and survey him yet again as that's quite the job on the ST wall, I do tell you that.
Yeah, they've got one more Stelma so they should be able to open it because you don't want to have to vault in through this wall, but thankfully they forced Arthur back a little bit I believe unless he is still in IT.
These are the impacts I guess so it doesn't really matter one way or another this wall should be opened fully in a matter of moments
I think they always hold my breath when I see that upside down retell by the way
I've seen teams I've seen teams watch that too many times the glass comes in Machina will join
Firespreads in front as you can see rafters completely vacated by INTZ not held in this position
The gambled quite a bit to clear that out and they managed to do that just a little bit over a minute to go and surprisingly nobody dead yet
Yeah, this has been a really weirdly paced from Imperial
They haven't got that connector pressures they've had so consistently on this bomb site
So that means they're pushed a little bit different this time to God it they got rafters as well
But without the ying, how are they gonna force these players to start moving?
How are they gonna cause that chaos? That was the real victory commission back in round number four and I'm not seeing it today
Angels will lead things off, again the highest rated player in the lobby, you will need to rely on him to be better than 3 and 4 as Legacy now finds his 8th kill.
A huge round winning moment for Legacy and he might have just cracked it open here too. Angels another. Now it's just Floreo's, Legacy's on the board.
Two for Angels, two for Legacy, who's gonna get Floreo? Will anybody from INTZ die? Yes, SDK's in the ground.
Royale might as well be buried inside of IT as Raps will do what his name does.
That's Raps for the first half and INTZ walks away, 4-2.
Yes, they do a 4-2 lead now as we see INTZ on defense.
I feel like I was really back and forth in those first two rounds there where
Parker already said as well the opening kills seem to be really important in those rounds.
I mean, opportunity advantage with refragging out, picking out your 2v1s.
And then I think in front of five, something clicked.
You know, the, um, despite having an opening loss on the side of IOTC set,
they showed much more aggression.
They got two rounds in the board.
And I think legacy also a very important player in that later half of the first half.
Yeah.
Legacy has been phenomenal in the later half of that first, uh, the first half, essentially.
I think IOTC Zeta had a really good understanding of what they wanted to do.
I mean, we talked about Imperial struggling to be able to get their foot in the
door and have an entry if there's no shields on the board.
what does INTZ do? They ban all three shields. Blitz, Montee, Blackbeard, and I think that's in
direct correlation to once the final shield was banned at that third round. That's when we started
to see INTZ just run away with it because Imperials is struggling, even just had a base being able to
get the IT wall open. Just getting in the map was costing them so much utility, so much time
to the point where once they actually tried to go for an execute, once they tried to push through
through that hurdle, INTZ had so much time
and so much utility of their own to be able to hold them back.
And that's why it looks so sloppy and disjointed
from Imperial where everyone's just jumping in,
everyone's pushing, 1v1s all over the place
and INTZ just is able to sit back and relax.
And that was the strength that we were talking about
of Nighaven Labs is it's such a difficulty to get in the map
that a team that struggles to entry
is not going to have a good time.
And taking Imperial's wildcard off the board
with bending the shields made it so much harder for them.
but now the sides swap, Imperial being a big mental team,
yes, they can do the same thing, they can sit back,
they can use their own set of utility.
INTZ has the momentum on their side
and who better than one of their entries,
Legacy, to be having a great game
if he's gonna be able to facilitate getting those first picks,
it's going to be a different story altogether
for INTZ on their side of the attacks.
Yeah, he was one of those players
that we really mentioned in regards to that core
from the side of INTZ that
We kind of expect to be showing up in these later games here in, uh, inside of stage one looking at the Benz and I think we already talked so much about the shield potential.
Do you feel like she'll probably take it away from here too?
It's possible. I know the Monty's a really big hindrance. That being said, I just don't believe that the imperial would worry too much about it.
If anything, I see that is more of a utility team, which is why we're seeing Grim come off the board.
We might see a multi here or a capital band, but Imperial, in my opinion, it doesn't seem like they would worry about the shields too much because they know how to deal with it in a way. I think their main focus is trying to keep walls closed and stall as much time as possible.
I'm looking at the second been here then one shield coming out and one of those
you 30 operators as you already mentioned as well for INTZ opening up
these walls will surely be a little bit easier with the breach denial off the
board now there only three rounds away from three points here inside of the
last game of SL and that could potentially mean they overtake black
dragons as well. Can INTZ do that? Let's dive into the second half.
Thank you very much Ann and Fox and you're absolutely right of course
I am CZ still playing for that eighth position. They can vault over black dragons
Black dragons will be in our next matchup today Parker up against FaZe clan and bold prediction
It's gonna be a tough game for black dragons to win up against the number one team in South America
So it seems likely that if I and CZ can get at least a couple of points here in this game
They will be out of ninth and jumping up into eighth
Unfortunately for Imperial after that first half result it does look like that window has closed for them
They could have jumped over ints and gotten out of last place with a dominant win,
but at this point, even if they get a 7-4 victory against ints, their round differential
will not be strong enough, and I believe they are now locked into 10th place for stage 1, so
unlucky start for Imperial, it will have to be better in next stage, they will have to build
back better, but for ints, plenty on the line still play for. There's no way you just said
build back better. Last stage 2 for Imperial, what else could it be? Alright, alright, alright.
it. And our next match up, FaZe Clan sits at 21 points. They are the only team that
is locked in for the top four right now. In Brazil, they have looked as dominant as
ever. This is the defending back-to-back world champion. FaZe Clan has seven wins so far
this stage, and their opponents, Black Dragons, have seven points. So it's surely going to
be a relatively even contest, Jesse.
I expected to be equivalent, equals on the battlefield.
Well FaZe are literally already guaranteed first place, so they do have nothing to play
for that.
Sometimes does make teams play a little bit crazier, a little bit more loose than they
otherwise should be playing, so that does give a little bit of hope for Black Dragons,
and of course on the day, anything is possible, it's best of ones, so you can never count
a team out.
For now, it's still going to be focused here on INTZ up against Imperial, and this defense
is looking pretty formidable coming out from the underdogs.
They've got these Goyo Canisters set up, they've got Floreo on the pulse as well.
This was being shown earlier in the game by INTZ when STK was rocking this operator.
The information it gives allows some really aggressive moves to come through, and it's
been slow going so far from Imperial who have just started to deal with some of these Goyo
cancels stuff on the connector side and still no real pressure over towards aqua or over towards rafters
see unable to get in oh there we go okay i thought he was rubber banding or having
some issues there double shield finally from iantz as arthur and wraps will be the focal
points with iantz having three guns backing him up and yeah legacy is having a legacy game right
now far outrunning his stats from the rest of the stage, but everybody's got to over
improve or overperform. Yaxx is the one doing that on IMP, by the way. He takes two down before
legacy of all people shuts the door on more, but you've lost your Capitao, you've lost your Monta,
and these are devastating operators to lose when the execute is just inches away.
It has a massive couple kills coming through from Yaxx. He's really going to put the brakes here
onto anything he said. They've got 30 seconds now. The Blackbeard's still alive, hoping to make some
space but his teammates are all falling around in Parker. They get one back as Legacy finds
that one for 25 seconds. They have to find value and Sexy Cake will shut them down on the push.
So a really good defense coming up from Imperial keeping this game close to start today.
I mean, it now starts to make sense if INTZ is not confident in their attacks,
why they burned their time out so early, Jesse. And that was what our speculation was, right?
If INTZ needed that they would have struggles in the second half and then Imperial eSports
would would swim and not sink as those are usually the two options when we uh
we use that wording you gotta make sure you run up that score as best as possible
INTZ looks like they just ran head first into a brick wall
Imperial rebuffing them every step of the way it didn't look like there was
lots of information on the side of INTZ it didn't look like they were
particularly comfortable with going about attacking the bomb site
and Imperial eSports was there to greet them this happened a little bit on the
Opposite side back in the first half of you recall Imperials two rounds were one when it seemed like they were exploiting
INTZ's lack of awareness
Awareness is very important no matter what side you're playing on but if you are not aware of where you need to go on attack
Those attacks are gonna fall in their face very quickly
I think you gotta give credit to you as well
I think that 2k especially onto the Monty playing inside of
Electrical like that's a massive couple of kills to get especially for a guy who enters this matchup as the worst player here in the stage
She entered with a negative 30 kill differential and then of course was one and five for that last round as well
One and four I should say so he's not had a very good game of these when you look at the statistics
When you look at the fragming ability and as a guy who does play a bit of a flex role
You want to see him a bit more active
I think in some of these gunfights, but good to see him getting his first good round on the board having some success there
I'm a smoke with the defense who will move to the Valkyrie here for the second round as the bomb site moves downstairs
And here you'll try to tie the game
Hard to pull off and execute in the previous round too when you lose Arthur and I know you've
credited Jax for that and I'm rightly so too of his three kills very high impact in that
previous round and I don't think, why do you think maybe you don't win that round if Jax
isn't able to pop off.
But Arthur is always so integral for his teams.
He's going to be very vocal, he's going to be taking map control.
He can be quite aggressive on those shields.
Shield mains are all over the place.
He's never really been passive at all Jesse. He's usually involved in the fray
So if he dies early, you have to think the entire push from INT's that falls apart and that's exactly what we saw in the previous round
This time is a very different defense. The approach is going to be very different as well. It's a really heavy round game
Both these teams like to extend out of the basement to hold these top couple of floors
That is the meta here on the bottom floor of Nighthaven
You can't really just bunker with five guys down inside the site
site. You have to be able to take some early gun fights. So the player is on Imperial,
not currently getting into those engagements, but they've got players littered around this
mid floor. They've wasted some decent time up above. Raps will have to be using some
of these boogie drones on the top floor just to force these roamers out. This isn't even
looking into the site. It's just getting some burp pressure on these mid floor players.
There's metrics here on the cargo stairs, a couple of players over towards Capitaria,
but the majority of this space has been seized without really taking any fights.
holding their attention, playing a bit more passively. This moment in Angels will immediately
capitalize. Sexy K is there for the follow-up, so a missed opportunity for Angels to get
more, but STK gets him before he can get back to the bomb side. A hail of bullets goes out,
as now STK will need to be brought back from the death.
Llorio in a 1v4. What on earth just happened? How did every single player on the side of
of IMP die in a matter of seconds.
Florian now in a really tough shape.
He's got a vector in his hand, so it's always winnable,
but he runs up against another guy
with an unbelievably high rate of fire
and legacy continues his impressive performance
and INTZ looking far more comfortable on attack.
What a peculiar match so far, Jesse.
Yeah, certainly for a team like INTZ as well,
who I should mention have the lowest attacking win rate
any team here in the South America League. They are going up against Imperial who have the lowest
defending win rate of any team in the South American League. It's 30% for ins and 33% for
Imperial. So maybe you expect this second half to be relatively competitive and back and forth.
But even still, I like that attack quite a bit from from IMTZ. They use the information on Arthur
to be able to get some of those pings. They found out the players over towards cargo and then they
can coordinate it with the information to be able to get some of those early picks. There were good
trade backs from Imperial in the midst of that, but because the vert pressure had already been
established, because it was five players that were working on that vert, they had really good
ways to catch those players after they go for some gunfights, to catch them on rotations,
to get that man advantage back into their control, and then in the 1v4 on site, there's just no
chance for Imperial to clutch that up. So really good stuff coming up from from IMTZ, they find
some of that space, they use that shield from Arthur, and you go back to those operator bands,
You banned the grin and the blitz.
I know Fox said if you have ways to deal with these shields and I don't disagree with him, but you have to think you're going up against Arthur.
Maybe those shield bands would have been the way to go.
Hindsight's 20-20. We'll see if it has big impact in the turn as well.
I just heard Fox say let out a sigh of relief hearing that you don't disagree with him.
I know that your opinion to Fox say is very important and he's like, oh, yes, he doesn't disagree with me.
It's not even that you agree with him. You just have to not disagree with him. It's very integral.
I like matrix for a second here running the the banana yellow with narcoleptic nugget streamer charm
That is we're skit energizing right now. That's some beautiful stuff. I really appreciate that
Shut up. Shout out
This is a bit of a sneaky play from SDK it is barricaded off
This is good a lot of things would be this on storage where they want to be extending upwards so they can't really extend outwards
They just give up cafeteria entirely, barricading it off so they can't get hit without a little
bit of notice from the back.
But keep in mind, like, look again at this operator lineup on the side of Anse.
They've got a little bit of hard breach, but that it's all F2s and shields.
Like, this is going to be so scary to try to deal with.
And a lot of these players are Imperial.
They aren't kind of isolated.
They've got some players here and there, but if you can get one of these, I mean, isolated
engagements, it can be really favorable for the attackers.
They're just waiting their way for utility right now, and speaking of skinner-jazzing,
STK sharing off that new Shopify rebellion skin that a lot of teams have been using on
their F2.
It's good to see Twitch and the F2 in particular back in action.
There was a long time when I'd done this just simply not useful, and it's not gonna save
Angels there, though he probably should have had that engagement.
He swatted away by Machina, and Imperial will strike first a little bit more than a minute
to go.
that he's on a collision course with yet another, but there is a brief delay when he puts his gadget away.
He's not able to out-dual any of those players on IMP as he now backs away to save himself for the final minute.
Barely going in and out of the scanner range, the player over in cargo. It was really good use of the fire extinguisher there just to provide some smoke to the player away.
But SDK, he's still not giving up the hunt. He knows he has to equalize this man count.
Insane to me if they didn't get the trade and a mock and by the way so aggressive and bottom garage
But there's no teammates for the trade there. So the man advantage for Imperial does look good now
INTZ have to be worried against him. This is a really aggressive peak from yet
He does not necessarily need to hold this especially with two toxic babes this pocket 30 seconds
There goes the F2
Down goes Mockina finally caught out and now looking for a little bit more
He's still in this position
He might get one.
Creeping up ever closer.
Good timing.
Takes out the smoke.
A swing now from the Ella.
There's another one as he gets caught
with his pants down in the reload.
Sexy cake eliminates him,
but all the attention from Imperial
is allowed the fuse kit to get planted.
Wario and Mitrix last two alive for Imperial.
IMTZ prevails here.
They move to map point.
Raps still holding control from above.
Oh, this is gonna be so challenging for Imperial.
They just have to go for a linear retake
and they don't have the bodies more of the time
to flush out wraps from this position.
IMTZ very well structured.
I'm still holding this spot.
A bit listless from the IMP guys.
Down goes Florio.
Wraps will unload the remainder of his magazine
in the Monty harassing matrix.
As there's no hope whatsoever.
Pass the point and no return.
Matrix finds one onto legacy.
That'll be bad for legacy's numbers
but the round will go to IMTZ
and they move to match point.
Huge round from SDK Parker.
space that he made in the distraction that he was able to cause alongside
getting two frags. It was absolutely critical in that round. SCK, part of that
E1 roster that he and Arthur were on to make it to Manchester to have that
international experience, spent quite a little bit of time there on Loud and on
the Rossacompany Academy where he had a deep run back during SI 25 as well. Now
has come back to his former captain in Arthur to play now on IMTZ.
Tactical timeout will be called from Imperial as they face a 6-3 deficit.
They'll have to be flawless through this fourth quarter if they want to force this into overtime and eke out a win.
It just feels like the coordination's on a bit of a different level though, Parker.
The shields working with the F2 gunners on the side of INPs that have been really devastating to deal with,
and Imperial have to find a way around it.
Whether that means getting more aggressive to catch these players off guard before they can coordinate some of these executes,
whether that means bunkering back in and playing around the utility, finding some way to survive
against this horde of F2s that are coming your way, something has to be done and that's going to be
the goal of the coaches now to figure out what that will be. Very tough spot to be in though,
still I do not like this position from them. No, it's a rough spot for Imperial and I mean,
the team's been in a rough spot for most of the stage, right? This will be a stage that
that Imperial will be quick to forget.
So far only three points.
They've mustered 34 rounds.
They have the worst round differential of any team
at the present point in time.
And I mean, Imperial is,
I don't want to say an odd assortment of players,
but it's not the team that I would imagine putting together
and the results have been harder to come by,
I think for them than they'd hoped.
And obviously frustrating for the team,
especially frustrating for somebody like Sexycake.
Don't forget, Sexycake is a pro league champion.
He was on that team liquid roster when they won in Atlantic City.
A lot of people forget that.
But Imperial has had some struggles all stage long.
They managed to go to OT against Feria.
And that was a bit of a shocker.
And then they bested loud in OT, but everything else
has been relatively easy losses in regulation.
So for Imperial, again, as we talked about with some
of the NAL teams, whether teams are going to make roster moves
or not the squad has underperformed their expectations.
Maybe they look for more chemistry,
maybe they look for more leadership,
maybe they look for more fragging
when the next stage begins,
or maybe they hold with their roster, for unsure.
But either way, Imperial eSports,
probably not very happy with their performance in stage one,
but I will say, there's gotta be four teams
that miss the playoffs,
there's gotta be a team that finishes and lasts.
It's somebody in Brazil,
even the good teams are gonna end up missing on the playoffs.
Hey, I'm sure W7M might actually miss the playoffs
Jesse and they're a pretty decent team as well. So again, a lot of depth in Brazil.
Imperial eSports has their hands full and hopefully we see some improvements for Stage 2.
Yeah, the interior is not about finishing outside of last. That is again outside of their hands at
this point, but it's about getting just another win, right? Again, this team, one win, 11 losses
on the season. So just to double your win count, get up to two would be a massive, I think, mental
boost for this team. When you look toward the off-season and look towards that seven stage,
It starts in the easiest position that it could. They go back to this top floor bomb site, and they have won this site the last two times they've played it.
Of course, back in round number seven they were defending, they've won that against IMTZ, and back when they played this map in June versus FaZe Clan,
they won this bomb site the final time that they defended on it. So they've certainly had some experience and some success here in the top floor site.
It can be really tricky to break into. Kind of look to IMTZ to figure out what's gonna be that game plan to break this hard hold on the top floor.
there's no roamers to try to work this man counter vantage so it looks like the
pressure is gonna be over on IT it's gonna be over on connector it's gonna
involve a lot of this hard breaching and then it'll really be up to STK and
Arthur to make the space so we'll get inside the site if the cap it's out and
the blackbeard they have to be good at taking this control
Hi, now for INTZ did not work, or sorry, did work, if you recall, as for Imperial, do
we see immediate capitalization? I'm trying to figure out what the overall gist of this
take is, is right now the INTZ core is very spread out. I'm a little worried that they're
going to take a bunch of isolated engagements in the learnings and that will be the round.
Plenty of times, you've got Raptors control, they've got IT control and that's pretty
much what we're looking at.
If you have some pressure, I think over towards connector, but it's going to be Raptors, the
first gunfight, Raps finds Machina on a flank.
Well, I mean, if you're isolating you in your engagements, then you look a lot smarter
than I guess I just kind of framed you to be.
Opening pick has been pretty important in most of these rounds, but over the last couple
Really has not had as much of a factory yet. So now get on the board shutting down Arthur once again Arthur dying really early on
Those shields is unideal yet. He's gone. Florian is gone
Mitrix last man standing in a 1v3 with 15 seconds to go
There's no way he wins this right he's taking one down legacy in SDK now
We'll attempt the plant matrix is isolated cut off. He's over by fish going back through commander and now they've caught him
STK's last one standing, how does Mitrix do it?
Goodness gracious, sloppiness from INTZ and Mitrix clutches the round to keep Imperial in this.
That is it, the 1v4 clutched up by Mitrix, well his team is up against the wall, what a ridiculous round
to come through from the most clutch player on Imperial, a massive round to come through on that Denari Parker,
the way he's able to play around that awkward position. It seemed like that was going to be it for sure
with INTZ closing out the game. But again, they're pushed maybe a little one-dimensional. They had
all those players pushing in from Rathers and from IT. They did try to push awkward stairs. They had
some pressure there, but it was immediately taken out as Arthur died very early in that push to Yix.
It was the one kill that Matrix did not get in the midst of that round. So really good stuff to come
come out there from Matrix, an incredible clutch to keep his team alive.
And sometimes, listen, I know that's supposed to be the ball,
so if it's easy to win, that's supposed to be your dominant round.
But like, if you're trying to build some momentum,
if you're trying to get in your opponent's head so that you can win the next round
and the one after that to force the overtime,
sometimes a 1vx clutch like that is exactly what you need.
It can prove to be such a motivating factor as well.
All it takes is one person getting really hot firing up the team and when a match is this close, just playing, not playing scared, playing confident, playing with the confidence that you know your team should have,
can completely change the course of this one. For INTZ, again, both of these teams not really playing for much. We've said that a few times, not that we want to turn people off of watching this match, but states are pretty low for both of these teams.
I am to use that obviously wants to close this one out strong and get the victory in regulation just for posterity's sake
Imperials gonna finish in last in the league no matter what happens. So for them. It's more about bragging rights and just feeling good about
You know not going out with a loss. No team wants to end their stage with a loss
And especially if you're a player who might be on the razor's edge
Let's say there is a roster mover to coming for either of these squads
This is an opportunity where you use the player can selflessly say I need to show them that I'm an integral part of this team
even I can continue to be a value and I mean, you got to take every round and
all the chances that come with it as if it's your last. And for some of these
players, that could potentially be the situation that they're in. So there's
still things being played for on an individual basis, even if the overall
standings won't be impacted too much.
Well, I'm TZ hoping to close out this game will go for a relatively direct
push just in through cafeteria Parker. There's a guy on these vending stairs
that they have to be worried about. Of course, that's gonna be yet here on
clash so they'll find out very quickly what they're going up against. There are still players
lurking over towards storage as well, so they have to be worried about a bit of a flank,
but they're not looking to directly engage with these roamers. They don't want to go hunt down
Machina. They don't want to go hunt down Mitrix. They're really happy just to try to take a bit
of map control for CX back. They do lose SCK to SexyK. That's playing over towards warehouse side
of things, so very separated from this push we're seeing out of the cafeteria side and gives the
the man advantage back over to the underdogs.
They start in spiral Parker.
One of the things that you tend to see about these,
these level of teams is that they're hard to close out games.
It's really tricky, right?
When they're back is against the wall.
When adversity gets to be the hardest it is,
teams can kind of fall apart.
And again, even some of the best teams struggle with adversity.
Look at phase clan for crying out loud.
Phase clan, W7M, one of the greatest games we've ever seen
in the history of this esport happened
on Brazilian soil. And I think it's fair to say that they
is mentally boomed in that match up and allowed W7M to get back into it. So if it can happen
with two of the best teams in the world, it can certainly happen with the two lowest rated
teams in the region. IOT said Williams are back, maybe a bit belatedly as they take down
Makina. So it is a 4v4, far more winnable for IOTZ, but the timing is what I'm going to
keep an eye on, Jesse.
Yeah, the clocks are huge yesterday. The information could be good. They've got both
the gamemos and the snakes here to try to find some impact, but they have to get Arthur
to get that plant down. It is critical when this time is so low. It's so scary.
Down goes Raps to Sexy Cake. The veteran presence on IMP, showing why he's been able to hang for so long at this level.
Mitrix now on the board as well. IMP's had completely stalled out, still having to deal with the clash.
They're all getting fed to the remaining players of IMP. Arthur last man standing, yes, shuts him down.
And oh my goodness, the comeback is very real. Jesse, two in a row.
before Imperial at this point in time, three in a row technically, no, two in a row and
we will go to 12 rounds of regulation.
How about you next man?
I want to talk with this guy because again, entered this matchup was the lowest rated player
in the South America League was negative 30 on the KD, but I think it's had some hugely
impactful moments here, especially on the defense clash is his most played defender
and that's not going to do any favors to his stats.
There's no doubt about that, but the impact he's able to have, he makes that Blackbeard
push from Arthur so difficult coming in through XO and just the fact that he's always behind
some of these causing a whole lot of panic just coming through from this team as you're
trying to barrel down to the site with 30 seconds.
You were right, the timing was really the biggest issue coming out from I&T's edge
and the fact that Clash was there to make things even more awkward was of course a huge
deal.
Also big credit to Sexy K. That was a triple kill by the way for the captain of Imperial
started with that Rome pick onto SDK ran out the breach for a second and the
third there in the midst of it that I believe got finished off by the smoke
so really high impact coming from the captain he will vault matrix for top
frag in the law or in the team legacy top right of the lobby still with 14 and
seven on his stat line final round of regulation now kitchen cafeteria is the
bomb site I know this is their site this is the one they like to play over that
storage site but still it feels like a bit of a risk Parker just given how we
know this bomb set plays.
Absolutely.
That's the other guys.
The IMP is the opportunity to find this thing ever.
Because we didn't send us to overtime.
Ooh, I certainly feel like that could be the play.
It could be the play.
I mean, it's the team who've got nothing to play for.
And sometimes those are the scariest teams
that you see inside a siege.
I will say as well for IMPZ, like, even if they lose this 8-6,
they're still in a good position to finish in eighth instead of in ninth just because they would be
putting their future in the hands of phase clan and that's a very good team to get to bet on but
close this out seven five give yourselves the better uh the better position and feel good about
it right like if you're trying to fight for that eighth place you're in the league you want to be
able to earn it off of your own uh hard work you don't want to have to rely on phase clan to do it for you
I mean, lying on FaZe Clan to win is a pretty safe bet here, you know?
Sure, sure, but it feels bad, doesn't it?
Like, oh, we only got 8th because FaZe Clan beat Black Dragons.
Like, you'd like to beat Black Dragons.
Yeah, yeah, I know what you're saying.
I understand.
You never want your fate to be in somebody else's hands.
Yeah.
And, you know, this is something we talk about pretty early in the stages as well, Jesse,
where we'll say things like, you know, all of you can...
That was not good.
You shoot Arthur's legs.
But this one thing we talked about earlier in the stage is where if you have two relatively easy games and you drop points, whether through overtime or through just regulation losses,
your fate gets out of your hands towards the end of the stage.
Angels takes down Floreo, but SexyCake will start off the killing.
SexyCake has the last two opening picks.
He has been far better on this side of the board and he's sitting at 13 kills right now, very stealthily amassing an impressive tally.
Matrix's clutch has put him at 11 as well.
That was a neat reload animation, it's gotten a funky.
Now you've got this 4v4 Parker, the smoke's still down, I don't hate this for IMGZ.
They've got good position to try to work this plant in, Arthur will start holding
half and they'll hope that this can be their success.
This could be the ballgame for IMGZ, Imperial will need to shut them down.
Sexycake and the X will do just that, two very quick kills,
and it's put Raps and Legacy in an almost unwinnable position with the clash still up,
the main impediment from the previous round and there she goes! Sexy cake and Makiina! Huge moment
sexy cake in particular! The most delicious type of cake I hear you can eat! And Jesse,
between these two teams, we go to overtime. And yes, man, I can't stop talking with this guy.
He got one kill in the last round, one kill in this round. It's not the eye-popping numbers that
are going to grab your attention the stats, but his nitro cell denied that plant from Arthur with
a fraction of a second still to go. It looks like for sure,
INTZ we're going to get that plant on the ground there again, get into the post plant,
and once you're in the post plant, I mean that round becomes so much more winnable,
but it's that one kill at the last second. They can't stop those natural cells from coming
through. They're trying to cover with the glass, the glass ends up getting absolutely slammed in
the gunfight. Just a brutal execute from INTZ that does not go the way they were hoping. They
It comes so close for that, but unfortunately it's not there.
And Imperial have seemingly come alive on this defense side.
Parkery, they will get defense in overtime as well.
This game has suddenly flipped.
I no longer feel confident in IMT's ability to win this.
For the first time, I feel like Imperial are genuinely
in the better position to win this match.
That is an unbelievable thing to say out loud,
given the way that this entire series have gone.
But I do think your read is correct.
Imperial seems to have found their footing. Nobody is stepping up on the side of IMTZ.
If you look at the bottom right of your screen, it really does tell a pretty basic story. Only
one player on the squad is positive. That's Legacy, who was sensational through the first half,
but his value has dropped quite a bit. Now heading into attack, where he's been taking
more of a passive role in comparison to where he was at on defense. Meanwhile, on the side of
IMP, Mitrix and Sexycake have been terrific. I know you've been talking about Yax like he's
he's your co-caster, but he's a competitor in the game, Jesse.
And he's had some big moments.
The standout performance has really been sexy cake.
And I mean, hey, the veteran presence,
leading by example, basically carrying this team
like a bunch of baby koalas to this point in time.
And now, potentially six minutes away
for a big victory for Imperial.
What I will say though is that Imperial only got the victory
in OT over loud.
There will be no regulation win for Imperial
when the stage concludes.
Yeah, but noting that both of these teams
were successful the last time they went into overtime
and Piro beating Loud as you said a couple of weeks back
and also IonTZ had beating the Ninjas in pajamas
earlier this month.
So both of these teams have a victory column
when you look towards their last overtime performance.
They can find success in these high pressure games
despite the fact that they have struggled
with that success all in all through the season.
Now you give yourself this opportunity though
start in the defense and you have to think Imperial will be loving this position. It was
Mitrix with a massive multi-kill that gave them the round when the last time they were able to
defend on this top floor Parker. And it's a similar setup. You're running a lot of these traps.
You still got this information flowing from Floreo. They have to be feeling good about the spot they're in.
Fair to say Jesse that on attack the shields haven't really been as
important in this match as we'd hoped for. Obviously does not bode well for Arthur's
And I trust so goes out to get shot by SDK at the last second a thing of beauty is
He in the black beard of Arthur work together to take care of yaks. That's your boy down Jesse shed no tears for him
He'll be back in the next round no matter what still a bit of ugliness on the side of INTZ Arthur and SDK taking a beating
Despite them getting the kill
That's not exactly the situation want to be in just under a minute to go and around that has flown by so far
Yeah, without stalling things out inside of electrical
This one gets a little bit more awkward.
They're going to try to equalize this man count and we'll do so.
We're all going to find the pick on the wraps.
That's the ying down.
That was a huge part of the attack back when Imperial were on this side of the map.
So you really have to think, does that open up the board?
Still some good utility from STK, but they lose their black here
and the numbers are now falling for IMTZ.
Oh, my Imperial has grabbed the bull by the horns at this point in time.
We remain on the side of IMTZ with very limited time remaining.
and that's been a bigger issue for INTZ is stalling out.
Legacy gets Florida a bit of impatience
on the side of the polls,
but hey, you can die for the cause.
I suppose INTZ have suddenly turned this one around.
What are these rounds?
And then Makina pops up out of nowhere,
hidden inside of IT angels in a 1v1 with Makina.
How does it end this way?
What are we watching?
Imperial limps their way to finish line
and they've got the lead.
Battle by the end of the round, Parker.
That was a nightmare as everything looked like it was going the way on the side of IMTZ.
They had that man count advantage.
They'd seemingly done the hard part.
They'd knocked those players out of those power positions,
but Angels just ends up on the other side of the map from Makana in that 1v1.
They really tried to go for a plant in the midst of that.
Time was low and I get it.
That means you're panicking.
You want to hold F. There's less than 10 seconds on the clock,
but it was a 2v1 and it didn't seem to know where Makana was.
They had to be able to find that position instead of just panic going for the plant.
That decision from Legacy made things absolutely brutal for Angels over 7 seconds in a 1v1.
Trying to barely walk your way through. I believe he walked into a Genari tripwire as well.
So if he was moving way slower than he otherwise would be, which is why he couldn't get to Makina in the 1v1,
just bad decisions in the late chaos from Ince that are causing them to spiral out of control in this game.
They've now lost, I don't even know how many rounds straight, that'll be four in a row for Imperial.
The mental is completely broken on the side of INDZ.
We'll always know it's going to be an interesting day, Jesse, when you start off with two teams playing for...
not much!
And we are staring down all 15 rounds at this current point in time.
Assuming the defenders win their sides in OT, then we will go to round 15.
Yes, do it again, do it again, yes.
Of course.
Get him.
I'm a child, I see an ejected mirror window, and I know that there might be a killer, a
nitro cell through it, and I just get unbelievably excited.
I said Christmas morning.
Yeah, it's kind of the way the meta is devolved on this site, right?
Because every team is going to ban Kaid and banned it first.
Usually you'll see Mira as that third fan, but it's all about getting these walls open on Knighthaven Labs.
That IT wall, I've said it before, I'll say it again, it is the most important wall in all of Rainbow Six Siege.
That and CC on Clubhouse are kind of the two that are the focus of all attention any time the bombsites are near them.
So once again, both teams are dedicating a ton of resources to this wall getting opened up.
You can see Arthur playing here with the impacts, but when you're up against the Nomad, it makes it really scary as the clash to actually throw those impacts.
and dip the denial here on to the wall. There's not go for it. Florio opens up the wall just as
he did in the previous attack here on this bomb site. So I like this coming out from Imperial.
Got the hard part out of the way. They can start to take this IT control, but getting
past the clash is still going to be a big problem for them for sure.
Okinawa looking for a vault in the building. He will find it. It's disoriented by the Gougemaat
mine. Gougemaat mines are good obviously for that disorientation as we talked about, but it's also
a good warning sign it triggers whenever somebody gets near it so angels knows that rafters control
has fallen in favor of imperial imperial put on a very impressive showing here they just found their
first lead of the game as iamts ed was in control throughout all of night haven labs and now
imperial's looking for the knockout blow sexy cake who is the star of that second half
simply terrific as a defender is now at a single point of HP so he will limp
along for the next minute. And IMTZ what are you laughing at? I mean it's just a
terrifying spot to be in isn't it like low HP you've got the control inside of
rafters and IT you're scaring into the site but still 10 players alive on the
server with everything on the line the tension is just crazy in this round.
Angel's still living in that position, STK will be the first to get put in the ground
as he and Machina are traded out, neither team gaining any serious advantage, but the
attackers are just walking right into the bullet through the defenders at this point,
Mitrix and Florio last two remaining, and they will do some more Mitrix, clutched up
in this exact same position Jesse, but he was doing it as a defender.
He stares down the clash of Arthur, his legacy will search for kill number 18, old enough
to vote in most jurisdictions here.
Mitrix in pursuit, and there we go.
Legacy, the final kill, and we are going all 15.
Straight to the polls, and 15 rounds
is exactly what the public have voted for in this matchup
here to start our day in the South American League.
7-7 between the two lowest rated teams in the standings,
and that just looks like a really tough attack.
Again, that top four bomb site is so difficult to crack open.
You need to be able to bring some kind of a tool to make that happen.
The Ying has been a big favorite of teams to try to make that work.
Hasn't found so much success, but instead, they go for the Capitao, they go for the Nomad.
The Gridlock's interesting decision as well in that push.
A lot of it for Imperial kind of came down to holding angles,
getting that space and hoping somebody makes a poor move.
But because you can't force them out of those spots, they're really not able to get those early picks.
You end up in a high chaos final 60 seconds where the defense will always have the advantage.
So nice patients coming out there from ince, but now Parker, they have to do the impossible.
There's no more second chances.
There's no more time to go over to the defense.
INTZ will have to win this game on the attack, something that only been able to do twice
so far in this matchup in runs eight and nine.
We know that the conclusion is coming, Jesse, just three minutes to go.
and one of these teams will walk away with two points.
The other with one reminder that it does not impact
Imperial eSports whatsoever in the standing.
Should they prevail, they would jump from three points
up to five points, but that is still back of INTZ.
Even if INTZ hadn't picked up a point, but they will.
Even if they lose, INTZ picks up one.
It would tie them with Black Dragons.
There's not really much movement that can be had here
because I and he said started the day four points back a fluke so W7M who
sit in seventh place. So pretty much the bottom is locked in. It really just
comes down to black dragons and how they fare in phase clan, which is our
next match.
Kitchen Cavalieria will be the site again. They just don't seem to love that
storage bomb site. They did lose it back in round number nine. So run back
kitchen. They won this in round 12 course and that was the sexy cake triple
kill that came through. We had seen some really nice moments coming through
from this team burial on the defense. It was that failed plant attempt as well that they tried to go
for on the side of I and TZ. They saw that Arthur here on the Blackbeard's shot to make that happen.
The clearing at this top floor should be the primary focus. You've got Mockena up here on
the solace. He's playing just inside of command at the moment. They want to start ripping up these
floorboards. That is desperately going to be the goal of Legacy to get this boogie drone in and start
providing some pressure in towards the bomb site. It's a great air jab actually just placed up by
angel because it's going to stop Mock enough from really being able to move from the other
part of the stop floor over towards meeting, which is where he'll be trying to harass legacy.
Drowns have been very spread out, slow moving, very limited action occurring in the first
couple minutes or so. Usually it takes us to one minute mark or later when we start to see blood
to being shed by both of these teams.
INTZ will have their work cut out for them.
They have led or tied all but one round.
Oh, what a nice comeback it would feel for Imperial
if they were able to take this one.
Still upstairs control for INTZ as they work their way
towards the bomb site and with the final minute to go,
both of these teams still sit at five players.
Picking his moment, he's got impacts
and you can see that air jet.
So of course, when he goes for the flank,
can have that impact, but Arthur's already looking to maybe get inside the
window that Candela's are flying. If Akiba's will stall this momentarily,
but this could be a fast execute coming out from the attackers.
The first one in 19 kills for legacy, an absolute bear of a performance for him.
How devastating it would feel if a loss came in the hands of INTZ with legacy
almost breaking 20.
They got the candelas.
They got the shotgun there now off to the races.
SDK looking for something.
Oh, no, a team kill from Imperial.
How does that happen?
Rapson Arthur with kills of their own
and the man who saved the day
and let them get to this point.
Sexy cake as last man standing.
All five for INTZ still upright.
A flawless end for INTZ.
They prolonged the inevitable.
The inevitable rides are all the same two points in OT for their final victory in their final match of stage one
That has got to sting you come so close
But yet so far for Imperial that'll be one win 12 losses on the season as we hit the halfway point at the end of stage
One here for Imperial a rough start to the season for sure
But I and TZ feeling very good ending the stage with the win despite they're missing out on playoffs
that Jesse we got the desk ready to break down our first of many matches today. We'll see what they have to say.
Thank you so much and what a series that was or what a game that was it took us all 15 rounds and we saw two very defensive
sides here with the four to split and it takes us all the way into round 15 before we see a proper execute coming out on the attack in overtime here, helping
Helping, um, I'm just you went out the series here. I mean, that's the most important thing, right? You think they go into the disadvantage
Going in attack on on overtime, but somehow they managed to pull this one out of the back
It's better late than ever at the end of the day labs is one of those maps. That's very difficult to attack to
It really looked like imperial was going to be making a little bit of a comeback
But at the end of the day what really cost of them was their own
Fair share of attacks the fact that they weren't really the able to make anything find success without the shields
just shows the glaring issue for Imperial that not having a dedicated entry
besides you know sexy cake on the shields is going to hurt them in the
long run so that's something to look forward to with this stage ending for
them and as for INTZ I mean it seems that they have the understanding of what
they need to do it just takes them a little bit of time to get there I mean
they looked very good on their defenses their attacks didn't necessarily
necessarily surprised me too much, but you're right.
They want to matter the most.
That's when they were able to clutch it out and over time.
And it's a bittersweet moment for them
because with such a good defensive side at half,
it really makes you think that they wouldn't have been able
to close it out if it wasn't for legacy dropping 18 kills.
But that's what we were saying, right?
They have momentum.
Of course, if legacy, the entry fry and TZ
is going to be having a pop-off game,
they should be the rightful ones
to be able to win it out on attack
they were. If I like an extension of execution here for the side of Imperial
I mean you more to mention it some big rounds we nearly saw a comeback there I
mean I'm talking about the 1v4 close from matrix that we see when we think the
game is over in the regulation round nine but he closes out of 1v4 to keep his
team in it and I think for both these teams really as this is their final
showing inside a stage one right they have to keep this in the back of the
mind like okay we got this we've got a good bunch of rounds on the board here
for the both of us we show some good things from either side you know with
that's like the shoe juices that we see on the side of IMT said or these incredible individual
moments that we see on the side of Imperial. That's the big positive that they have to take
in the back of their mind. I guess going into stage two. Yeah, I agree. I mean, also you mentioned
earlier, some of these players could be playing to potentially find homes and greater pastures.
You know, Mitrax absolutely had a blast of a stage so far. Sexy cake, really showing that he could
run back to clock some of these games. I mean, he finished today with 16 kills, despite not
playing any of the shields, that being said from the side of
I'm TZ like to see angels. I mean, there's a lot of good
talent on these rosters. They could end up finding themselves
on the other team that might need it. But if they do end up
staying together, I believe we know what the glaring issues
are, at least for Imperial, it's the entry game. And for I'm
TZ, it just seems like they just need to be a little bit
quicker. I think a little bit more time together as a roster
will give them the extra push that they need to be able to, you
become that team that's competing for a top six spot. Yeah, especially some scrims as well in that
off period to really pick up the pace and because that was essentially what was herring them on many
of these attacking rounds, essentially, or especially when the clash game in play as well
with defense for Imperial eSports. It was really difficult for INZ to get something on the board.
I really love the adaptation that they do that in the final round where they get a more aggressive
take on that kitchen window. Of course, the team kill helping out a little bit in that as well,
but moving at this 8-7 victory here, I mean, what are the usual suspects that we mentioned
as one of these star players on the side of INTZ finds himself as the MVP for today as well?
Then we're talking about legacy, a decent cost on the board specifically with how close this series
got and the fact that it did go all 15 rounds. Being able to put up this much of a cost at almost
20 kills as well is definitely something positive for him to take away. Yeah, of course. I mean,
legacy is one of those players we saw him in the NA L for a bit back and now he's back in the SAL.
It's just one of those players that he is still very young and you compared to a lot of the other players in the SAO
a little bit more time for this player a little bit more time for this roster because when you look at it
Yes, they do have a little bit of experience
But they don't necessarily have a player that has been making it to majors and I believe that's what
ITZ might need is a little bit of guidance behind some of this young talent and they could be a team that's competing for
top positions, making it to the major, but legacy you know is one of those players that
has ups and downs, but it's good to see that when there's no pressure on the line. I mean
he has the talent to be able to back it up.
Definitely does yeah and that concludes our first game though as you mentioned we'll have
to get through a series of games where the implications of the results aren't that important
for our teams. You already talked about that this was our number nine and number ten in
the league not playing for playoffs anymore and the same goes for black dragons when they have to
go up against face however this will be maybe much more of a lop side of best ship as face is
our currently leading in the slm ago for a bit of a break and we're back it's black dragons and face
hello i have three minutes to go so i'm going to give you a little something
Which one do you want?
Yeah.
I already have a pistol, so I'll come and take it.
Makin' up, how's your aim?
It's good, I think.
Is there anything?
Yeah.
Let's see if it's out of the series too.
Which one?
Which one is in the series?
This one.
Let's go here, look.
Two arrows, which one are you going to take?
The biggest one.
The biggest one.
There's a chance to try to get there.
If you have six bullets, three shots, you can give it.
Error!
Error!
I'm gonna go for the first one
I'm gonna go for the second one, but we're in the best
I'm gonna go for the last one
Calm down, I have 4 more chances to get there, I'm gonna get 3
And in the middle
I have to at least go for the second one, at least
It was a low one. It could have been better. But the first time in my life I was not lucky enough.
That's it. I have 3,000 pins.
This is crazy. I'm rewarded.
I'm the first one to do this!
Really?
Really!
It's really easy!
I can't believe I'm taking this off!
You're kidding me!
Who did this?
The production!
Just kidding!
Interesting!
Let's see who's going to play the chalet.
Let's play the chalet.
Saber will play the Miratriang.
Exactly.
Caduce will smile.
Exactly.
And Vita King will play the mountain.
And maybe, maybe, there will be something of mine.
Now, losing to F7M, losing to Liko, to Tomas Fiaselo...
Then it's just a game for our face.
Wow, just kidding.
Who did that?
The production.
Pobar, right?
The story of the champion here in Paraguay.
I don't know what to say about this game, but it's a very good game, it's a very good game.
It's a very good game, it's a very good game, it's a very good game.
Oh, the key was this one!
It was this one!
This is the audio track, I think it's this one
Damn, man!
Is it a medical prescription?
Damn, it can sting!
I'm gonna put it there with the juice
There, the E.C.I.P.
That's enough!
There, the E.C.I.P. is the son of the f**k!
Damn, the KDS is very...
It's very...
With no connectivity
I don't understand what you are saying.
This one is...
Tell me what's here.
How many?
How many kilos?
Come on, come on!
Come on, come on!
There's a guy here.
What's his name?
My name is Laura.
Haha.
0.3 in the middle.
16.5 in the 4th map.
Dive.
Dude, dude.
And if it wasn't for him,
I'd be f***ing taking someone from the portfolio.
How many relationships are there?
Like, I can't...
I need to specify a lot of things
I don't know how to explain it
No man, no
No man, no man, no
No man
Thank you for taking the Major to do that shit there
I still owe two jantars
I love you, I gave you the largest
The largest?
He wanted to bet with me the two matches we played with them
He made the bet, I gave you two jantars
I bet more, I bet on the car from the next
You're going to be a great teacher, you're going to be a great teacher.
I want to tell my friends that I'm very good at nothing, I'm very good at nothing.
Let's see, who wants to be hunted?
Here I don't understand the lyrics.
Good afternoon, mister Aura.
Be careful, I'll get you on the basis.
I want to see, it's easy.
You are a good ballon.
Zagueiro, rival of training.
I don't even know what I'm talking about.
I prefer the law.
I don't have any idea.
I'm 36 years old.
I don't know who he is.
Thank you for the message, if you find out who you are, you will have more chat in the training, so good luck there.
I want to highlight, you and I are too good, he would think of playing a Forza.
This is already a fact, this is the illusion, right? Focus on the giant T3.
Nice drag there over through the barbed wire.
Nice to go for a peek.
That's going to be a wonderful shot by Cameraman.
Did he crush it?
He's on forward.
So there's some more shots.
Now before he walks out through this door,
he shouldn't point out the heartbeat sensor he's not going to.
Instead, it will be a nice push by Cameraman.
They died on the stairs.
Not Serena.
Small Rika whereof.
Nice and rack.
Now Niko and Gash, he's just on quick these waves.
It's just been a party.
He's right now.
The Nade comes out the top and drops Stiggs as well.
What a nutty round from him, he gets two grenade kills and a nice peek and closes it out.
No way! I've got the clutch!
That's the one best, it's my clutch!
Rise from the ashes to claim the hammer of the Sixth Infantational 2021!
I'm about to complete BGT!
Find a huge pocket and get the...
And do whatever you can to try to get the diffuser down and we'll be on the temple because
Valkyr does absolutely wild with the shotgun and that is a pretty huge kill for him.
Lackzie will now get into a cage but Yeti is just an absolute, Yeti with four kills.
Goddess uses a tiny bit of health and Yeti will get the ace to both Coutted and CatSan.
Watch it from this angle.
Kansan, are you a miracle worker?
You only need one more!
And there it is!
One of the best plays that we've seen at this tournament.
The $100 is the best team in the world.
Never held back this nation until today.
Kansan are your world champion.
We just practice love.
Wish...
Sorry for that.
Hey dad!
Time to get into our second game of the day.
We got Black Dragons going up against FaZe.
And if this is anything to go by, when these two teams played against in kickoff, it was a 7-0 for FaZe.
So, for Black Dragons, they got a hope they don't replicate that result and get some more rounds on the board at least today.
but the the matter is it will still be a very difficult opponent for them for black dragons
They saw their playoff dreams go up in smoke last week without even being able to defend it for themselves
Due to the results from the games earlier
But what we did see from the dragons was a good game against imperial before you know
They that one might end up being important for
delegation concerts next station with a good second half
Everything seemed much cleaner big players are coming alive as well
in my game. The guy that you're seeing on the screen right now is always the MVP of the last
match of this, the P1 as well. And also Kuto, Mr. Alt-La, please give them a stepping up. And
it's the tiny life that we're seeing in 4-20 seconds. It's giving them the ground and
food for both of you. Yeah, I agree completely. I think Black Dragons, the way they're standing on
the Scorsche right now, it doesn't dictate with how well that they have been playing. Every game
that they've been playing has been hit or miss. Essentially, you know, they beat Fulks or W7M,
but then they get 7-0'd by NIP, they get 7-1 by Los.
But then they're keeping it close against some of these upper tier teams.
I mean, very close loss to Loud.
Like you said, that completely cut them out of being able to make top six right now after that INTZ win.
They're sitting in ninth place.
And like you said, for the relegations, points do matter.
So a win today would put them at finishing in eighth, potentially seventh,
if they can get the round differential against Plexer W7, which I don't think that's possible.
But that being said, I mean, they really do better than what the statistics have been showing for them.
I think the biggest issue for them really is just their supportive squad.
They have really good entries.
Like you said, they have players that have been performing very well.
Outlaw, Romeo, Swag.
I mean, the entries for this team have been finding a lot of success.
The biggest issue has been their shield play feels a little forced.
Rare has been struggling when it comes to that supportive side of things.
And there's just no connection between the front line and the back line.
The trades haven't really been there.
They've been a little lackluster due to rare, not being in positions to help his team.
And it's just something that they can easily fix going into the next stage.
And I do believe they're a team that is on a good track, similar to INTZ,
to being a contender for the top six next stage.
Yeah, I do like how you say that if they get a win here today, obviously,
it moves them up in the scoreboard.
But let's face it, they're going for to a very difficult opponent here,
you know going from facing the very bottom team in the league last week in a period. So now having to go up against FaZe is surely not easy matchup for the
team here but for FaZe at least I think there's moments where they showed being
vulnerable and that's something we saw last week we talked about this team having a big win streak, they were defending
out you know even against teams like Puria they were still getting these victories on the boards and then also last week
they face their first loss against WoW as well and that's a bit of a
concerning thing and what was even more concerning in my opinion was that
they did it on a map that we consider this team the best of the world on
Night Haven Labs so I think the main question for this team is is that is
that gonna mess with their mental going into this one will they be upset
about that JP said they don't really care about that win streak that they got
going on but surely if you are the best team on Night Haven Labs you should be
to win it against the team
from your own region, right?
Yeah, give and take labs is a very defender sided map.
I don't want to say it's similar to clubhouse,
but it's one of those maps that any team can really win it
just because of how defensive side it is.
At the end of the day, your phase,
you're used to winning trophies.
At the end of the day, you're not worried about a win streak.
They secured themselves in the first seed
so they can go into it and just try new attempts.
That's one thing that phase love to do
is constantly trying to push the envelope
of different play styles, different maneuvers that they can run, different players on different
roles. I mean, we got three people that are meaning Blackbeard on this team. So that's just
goes to show the phases of diversity. And if they know that they've already confirmed first seed
for them, it's another day in the office where they can attempt something new, they can stay
fresh and a team like this, they have to be able to do it. I mean, they've been together for so
long, they've won so many tournaments that they have to use opportunities like this, the very
very few opportunities on game day settings where you can try out these new strategies,
these new play styles and be able to test the waters before you get to an international
event and that's where you pull it out. I mean, we've seen something similar like last
year when FaZe was trying to run cyber on supportive roles and it wasn't necessarily
finding too much success. Everyone was like, oh, they should be worried. What's going on?
And then they get to the next major and it's same phase as always. So at the end of the
day. It's phase plan. Yeah, I'm not gonna really look at a loss against loud and just
think that something is up. It's not too big of a worry.
No, and especially if JP himself was saying as well, they don't really care about
the win streak they have. And as you mentioned, they locked in first position.
They can't go anywhere for them. It's kind of a waiting game for the end of this
day to see who will eventually face in that in that four spot inside of our
competition, though, and something you already mentioned to which was echoed by
to try out different roles, different types of executes, different maps as well, potentially
two coming into the series, but you don't want to give everything away too far, especially
with best of these on the line for next week, and those being the more important matches,
FaZe out today will be one match away from making it to EWC.
That's the big positive for them, but they have to get through this final best of one.
So I want to have a look at the map video and see where they'll be taken to series two,
We already mentioned to last time they played each other was a 7-0 for for phase that was a clubhouse
Which as of right now is still a possibility for us to be going to
But face that out themselves. We're going to learn
Yeah, interesting that phase aside the band and knowing that they seven of them on it
But layer is a good match up
I think phase wants to take black dragons to a map again that where they can try things a little bit more competition
I really do feel like phase is playing with their food
We saw Black Dragons play there twice last week.
It wasn't necessarily incredible performance.
I mean, they've lost it to Loud 7-5 close,
but then they beat Imperial on at 7-3.
And again, it's Imperial.
So FaZe not trying to go to an easy way out.
Clubhouse is a map where anybody really can win it.
So they go to a map like Lair.
It's a very big map when it comes to entering a lot of time.
It's similar to Lab's in a way, which there could be a toss-up
Black Dragons is able to get the edge up because it is a slower map defense side of map and Black
Dragons tend to favor those sides of maps bank layer clubhouse labs where they can just play
very slow and let the opposing team make mistakes but that's the issue phase don't make mistakes at
least not too often yes they have looked human but I imagine they're just going to use this as another
day to be able to try out some new things maybe we'll see sidearm shields again who knows
especially on the attack as well like that's what we're starting on the attack
going into there here for Black Dragons the main question that is what can they
do you think to try and force face to to make any kind of misses or you know
have an execute go wrong in this year what's that what's the thing that Black
Dragons need to look for on their defense to at least pull a few rounds off here
I'm in the defense I know they favor a lot of being able to play the clash if
if they're able to play some type of stall operators,
did they like to play very slow?
If I'm Black Dragons, you're in a situation
where you can't make top six.
I would use this as an opportunity to play aggressive,
turn the jets on, try to catch phase off guard,
just because we wanna see something different
that we haven't really seen.
Again, there's not many opportunities
to have game day settings like this to practice.
So why not use it and try a different play style
than we've seen from Black Dragons all stage
and get aggressive against a team like FaZe
and be able to use it as a witness test on what we can look forward to changing into stage two.
A Glorified Scrim, essentially, is what you're seeing.
Yes, yes, essentially. You'd be surprised. Scrims will never amount to what it's like playing on a game day.
So this situation is probably such a good learning experience for Black Dragons and FaZe,
because it's always going to be way more serious than it is coming into a Scrim.
But yes, Glorified Scrim, yes.
it is. But hey, it's a good team to have to do a glorified scrub against, you know, if you want to try things out, why not do it against a level 1 in League right now.
But as our match is almost ready, we'll bring in our casters for our match back in with Interio and Jesse.
And guys, we had a pretty intense first matchup going all the way to 15 rounds.
Are we expecting that from this one as well or not really?
Oh, no, uh, FaZe Clan should, uh, on paper demolish them, but again, they've already
clinched top four.
Why bother over-inserting yourself or showing strats if you can manage to safely, you know,
win or lose the game and still maintain your position?
Yeah, they've already clinched top one, so I really don't think that they're gonna be
coming at this one with, uh, too much pressure on their shoulders.
I think this is a saving strats mission for FaZe Clan.
Get this one done as quick as possible, sweep down under the rug, and focus on the B03s
that's always the question
where it's saving strats. How
much can you really do that to
to maintain your position? But
as that really isn't of the
matter for Phaser inside this
matchup, it more comes down to
the question for us what we're
going to see. I like how Fox
already mentioned as well that
maybe black dragons should try
and go for a bit of aggression
on on the defense as well.
From YouTube, I'd like to hear
as well starting with you, maybe
Jesse, which player would you
want to see do really well
today on the side of life
dragons? Who do you think has
that pressure on the shoulders?
I feel like I lost with the guy
outlaws been the guy who's been standing out so far and he's kind of been
there one main fragger Fox said it's been the entries who have been the
biggest stars for Black Dragon so I'd like to see them continue that and
continue to build off of what they've already found success on if we can see
outlaw getting aggressive and swag as well that might be the road to success
for Black Dragons today. He has been one of those main characters for the side of
Black Dragons can we do it again against the number one in the league? The game is
right to go. Even be number one in the world even with their Salt Lake City
performance being what it is because that Jesse by my numbers and look at me
wrong you're a numbers boy here when we talk about numbers face clan one SI and
then still made a triumphant top four at Salt Lake City where as DZ and Shopify
Rebellion the two teams that finished in the Salt Lake City finals did not quite
have the same level of success at SI at our World Championships. So, Face Clan
couldn't still easily be the number one team if that's the case. Oh boy, poor
Black Dragons. The one thing that will give them a little bit of hope is that
Loud gave Face Clan a black eye in the most recent playday, so there is hope
that the underdog can beat the big dog. So I'm only gonna be a tall toss though,
regardless of those recent results. Face Clan and Black Dragons, two of the
longest standing words inside of South America. Phase of one, eight of the last
ten meetings between these two organizations including the last four
games in a row. That's every game from this season and a couple of games from
last season. So, they've definitely been confident against Black Dragons. The
desk talked about the 7-0 they had in group stage. They also two-0ed them in
playoffs back during kickoff. So, they definitely have experience taking these
guys down. I think for Black Dragons, I really like what Fox said actually at the
desk where he wanted to see them move away from the current play style of stall tactics
and try to get a bit more aggressive. As we say that, they have instantly locked the
smoke, the Chanka, and the Goyo, so I don't know if they're really going to be listening
to Box's advice, but sometimes it also makes sense just to play what you know, right?
Play what you're comfortable with. This is a really good bomb site to solve things out
and try to play with the clocks though. I'm not hating on it, but something to keep
note of this game continues on
these clans are always an exciting team yet they do remain a bit of an enigma
for the international audiences
you know you think about some of the brazil teams that everybody talks about
the flashy teams etc
and they're never usually one of those squads that's in that topic of
conversation even teams like curia or team liquid alienware who don't
as late have the most success either making events or playing in events
tend to get more uh... oxygen
when you discuss them versus face claim
face face is very steady as she goes
and if you have a steady as she goes day today
then the one who will be going these black dragons
that's out of the match in the wrong direction.
So starting off with our very first game on Night Haven Labs
now we move to layer two of the newer maps being played
fingers crossed for a fortress in our third match of the day
pacing already pretty respectable for face claim
inside the building in the discovery phase
one minute and 15 seconds into round one.
They were hunted down rare, who did start this round down in the bottom floor,
he's come back towards the site, so no cigar there.
We've got handy on the supernova on the Habana.
The Habana mains have quite a great selection of guns to choose from,
but the shotgun is not usually where people will go for it.
Even still, this pressure in towards the storage hallway has been really tough to deal with,
and the Blackbeard is making great space for the Viddicombe.
Stalled out momentarily by these toxic babes.
Usually it's gonna be KDS that you see on the block here, but they can picking it up here instead kind of interesting to see that change
First kill is gonna come to handy Jesse rare goes down for the count
It's not exactly ideal rare great player long
Long tenured player in this league and cyber just saw the feetsies as our good friend Nicholas Mauritson says Mr.
Outlaw is
Manages to get away for the time being
You cannot stall here if you're finished playing, but I will say Jesse, you don't usually see them stall.
No, certainly not, and here we go. KDS finds one under Noguto, 35 seconds, so this is going to be a 5v3 advantage.
They've dealt with a lot of utility and they're starting to make their way in towards the plant spot. Swag has to go big here.
He's right now trapped. Mr. Helmhauer on the board. Highest rated player in Black Dragons. He has way more to do now.
It's just him and Romeo. Romeo, oh Romeo, where for art thou Romeo death?
KDS sending him to the grave and Mr. Outlaw now with his back against the wall
defuse kit running sees the blackbeard bullets bouncing off of the shield of
it a king but handy is there first kill last kill a nice bookend around one and
phase plan break very little sweat as we start off on layer like that push
coming out from phase they were really aware of everything the black dragons
were trying to do in that rounds most notably rare who again was playing on
bottom floor. He went up towards the site for a moment, but eventually did try to flank up through
Skybridge to catch them off guard. Handy was watching it. That's where he got that first kill
that we were talking about. And then just able to collapse into 5v4, shut down that tachanka,
the smoke. Usually on that site, you're really worried about planting because of all the plants
is through, but they're honestly able to just work themselves such crazy man advantage that there
was no time to worry about plants now on the side of Black Dragons. They were just trying to stay
alive. Really good pressure being applied by FaZe Clan. They will take a 1-0 lead in this game.
Again, we're here on Lair. There was a point in time where I think FaZe Clan would be best Lair
team in the world. And this map was brand new. This team was really running it inside of South
America. It cooled off a little bit on it. Mostly because teams have just really been banning this
map up against FaZe Clan. So the fact that they thought to go here is maybe a question mark for
Black Dragons, but it's always tough when you run up against the two-time War Champions. There's no
easy map to go to against FaZe Clan.
Is there ever an easy road against a team that has been in three
consecutive world championships, two of which they won?
Nope. No, there's not. Loud did have their number
in the most recent playday back on July 5th. Loud punishing FaZe Clan on labs
7-3. Maybe there's still some long-standing issues that FaZe has with
with the night even labs map, Jesse.
But I mean, that was an impressive tally for loud
and it helped loud clinch a playoff spot
because of it, playing for their lives,
playing to be one of those top six teams.
And if you look at the numbers,
hard pressed to imagine loud falling out of that top six,
even with a loss there, it's just been,
the middle tier teams of Brazil
have shown some struggles, Los and Fluxo W7M,
the latter of which has been talked about quite a bit.
But I mean, Loud took advantage of the opportunity.
Can Black Dragons do the same?
So far, through a round and one minute in the second round?
Not really.
They find the opening pick yet again, swag finished off.
But there's Ray, or the first one to die for Black Dragons
in the previous round.
He will find Cyber.
And we are back to even putting.
What an insane push from Cyber.
He is inside the bomb site.
As all of his teammates are still
pressuring in towards Garage.
They don't realize he's down there.
It's a really important trade to get back
onto the top frag of FaZe Clan.
Cyber such an incredible primary entry rolling with that after a good start for him.
But still for before black dragons have kept these numbers close and these
roamers continue to be elusive.
Oh, he just mistrown him. I think he did drums. Jones scooted on by Romeo tossed
the nitrous cell out. It does a little bit of damage and he's got a good idea
and a good handle on it takes handy down in the process. Really good response by
black dragons. Romeo in particular and another is there as well as KDS falls
the hands of Romeo, who's made maybe a step or two out of the spot in which he
just killed his teammate moments before. He's playing on their back foot now
with a minute to go in the round, Jesse. Yeah, they really need to hunt down Romeo
Parker. He's been such a big problem here inside a briefing. He's just backed off a
little bit. They might have intel on where he's gone, but Vidic King, he's all
by himself. Souls is still all the way down inside that basement. So this will
be a straight one V1. He wins it as Romeo is not looking, but now 45 seconds to
convert this 2v2. Defuse kit will be recoverable, but even still, the time and the clock will
be their biggest issue.
Not a good position here. They need to manage the clock really effectively. Souls to scout
ahead. Vita King in a safe spot, not far back from him.
Defuse kit not within their control. That is going to be the bigger issue for Faze Clan
at this point in time.
Great patience from Black Dragons,
but you can hear the sound of the SMG-11.
Rare is given his position away.
You need to pounce on this information as quickly as possible,
but Faze know how daunting this task can be.
Reconnaissance mission successful so far.
Souls is the diffuse kit with one second left.
He relies entirely on the coverage of Vita King.
He's going down, they swing at the same time,
and a great take by Black Dragons to equalize.
Very nice round coming through from BD,
the boys sitting in the yellow chairs.
It was a really nice late 2v2 Parker
You really expected phase clan to be able to start working out plants early to be able to pressure some of these players to come out
But instead of immediately grabbing it a fuse kit and again that if you skip was like more or less in their control
They had they knew where it was they could pick it up
Nobody in the defense was actually holding on to it, but they waited so long just trying to bait out a kill
They were desperate for rare or goo to just swing to get that man advantage because they know as long as one person's planting
That's a 1v2 in terms of players with guns up.
So they were hoping to get that man down early enough.
They never swung, they never gave them anything.
And then finally, once that plant went down,
that's when Black Dragons took those gunfights.
That's when they knew the enemy had to be holding F.
So let's go take these and win these fights.
Really well coordinated by Black Dragons.
Some of these younger teams,
they'll panic in those moments.
They'll really fluster,
but BD is super strong defense to close things out
after Romeo really opened that round up.
really does come down to that mistrone right a whole round fell apart because
they didn't have proper information they suspected that Romeo would rotate
which is frankly a good thing to consider because very rarely do you get
that kill and sit in a relatively vulnerable spot and wait for the next
player to come especially if that player is coming from somebody on phase clan
side of things those are players that don't usually miss their shots and
that's maybe lesser practice teams sure it's a position where you could get away
with it, but FaZe Clan will punish you more often than not.
Romeo, whether he deliberately did that or accidentally did it, he played it very well
and he got the upper hand on two FaZe Clan members and ultimately put the remaining
support players of FaZe Clan in an unwinnable position.
Yeah, I'm not even 100% sure he did get missed rounds, but it was kind of just a weird clear
from FaZe where they didn't have Uto to clear him, they weren't very well coordinated, like,
it's sloppier than what we come to expect from the two-time world champion, but Siege
is a very difficult game and even the best teams in the world will have those moments
where they make some mistakes. Again, the pressure for FaZe Clan is completely off of
them in this game. Nothing will change for FaZe, no matter what this result is. So, probably
not going to stress too much about that. This time they're going to be looking towards
his bunks and briefing bombsite parker and this site is all about that tall floor control,
but when you bring the sends as Vidic King has, it opens up the opportunity to ignore
the top floor to try to sneak a plant right under their nose.
BotchRangs are ready for it, that's why they brought Rare here on the solo so that specifically
to counter the sends that Vittacan has brought out, it's really critical that Rare can spot
that defuse kit as it goes down behind the sends walls because it's likely that FaZe
Clan won't be able to clear out these top floor players.
Rare hungered down yet again, one of the more experienced players on this team, he's been
around for eternity. He's played on land before. You know, players like rare age, I find why they
continue to improve. Never spoiling. He's going to rely on the rest of his support players now
to hold down this bomb site. As Romeo gets chased off of his position, by an aid tossed out will
now reposition. If he can play that rat spot the same way he did in round number two, the Black Dragon
stock rises dramatically. Yeah, it's so important he stays alive. He's the only anchor here Parker,
and you read this carefully with the risks that he takes.
Finally does go down and that might open the door.
If FaZe Clan realize they've downed him
and they might not know it immediately,
there'll be nobody in the bomb site to stop them
and it'll be all on that vertical pressure from above
to stop this kick giving the floor.
Leading out, still unretrievable.
Flash will go in, Guto manages to handle it.
So smart glasses come to play.
Don't think FaZe Clan has the information that they want.
He's still not been shaken off his position.
No, he could have fired from the grave.
Cyber takes him down.
Phase Clan now finally hitting their marks.
Reminder that Romeo is bleeding out.
Now Swag is down, but not out.
That leaves Rare as last man standing.
He's the savior of round number two.
First casualty in round number one,
he will be the last casualty in round number three.
He gets taken care of a flawless round from Phase.
They got the diffuser down as well,
but honestly, not even worth mentioning
with the way that that round played out.
and that's FaZe back to their final form.
Beautiful little triple kill coming through from Cyber,
the oldest player in the South America League.
He was pressuring that top floor
as his captain went for the plant down below
and that's the key point to that push, Parker.
It's not like you're fully focusing
on their own clear up above.
It's not like you're fully focusing
just on that execute down inside the site.
It's both aspects of the push happening together.
It's so important that you cause chaos on that top floor
while you're going for the plants.
That's exactly what FaZe Clan did.
Unfortunately, the Solas just not really able to find that defuse kit.
I think the Solas was even extended kind of in towards the hallway, so not even playing
on that soft floor, kept them alive a little bit longer from Cyber's Wrath, but ultimately
it doesn't achieve the goal of stopping that defuse kit from going down.
So Phase Clan 2-1 through this first quarter on the attack, that's a really strong spot
to be in.
It will ban the Azami for the rest of this half.
Great operative to take away from Black Dragons and big slowdown Phase Clan.
And the other thing with an Azami ban is whether she's strong or not.
The attackers usually have to respond by bringing enough explosives.
If you just get rid of the Azami, you can bring the explosives for other things and not worry about tussling with them.
She is still pound for pound, one of the best defenders and one of the best operators in the game, frankly.
Azami is terrific, especially on a map like this where there's lots of power spots,
and you can use them to extend a roam, you can use them on another floor,
or you can even use them quite selfishly inside a bomb site.
So, lots of flexibility in an operator like her.
A great, great operator to take out of action.
And I mean, no electrification and no a zombie means
that FaZe Clan has a pretty easy road to the bomb site,
especially with getting open those walls.
Smart strategic bands that make a lot of sense for Lair
and make a lot of sense for what we've seen
in a Black Dragon so far.
There's Outlaw who is playing this operator consistently
through that first quarter.
He will move to the Aruni for the fourth rounds now.
And you combine that with the mirror windows
and some of these doorways into the sites.
And Aruni could be a really strong pick.
talking about some of these outside mirror windows parka that we used in our previous game on
nighthaven labs and we're seeing it once again here on the outer mask wall this is going to be
really difficult to open things up if you try to do it with a thermite or a can opener it's going
to be almost impossible to get close enough but no habana has been brought no ace has been brought
so that's really the only tool phase plan to have they'll probably have to push a different direction
maybe over towards gallery maybe over towards ops maybe even towards the storage hallway as well
because trying to pushing through that breach is going to be nearly impossible as long as they're
holding it with the mirror.
They should see you're from this Black Dragons defense. They're not very active as you've noticed
a lot of them are holding spots waiting for FaZe Clan to bring the aggression to them.
I don't hate this idea but so far the one thing that has managed to not happen on the side of Black
Dragons is be mobile on their realms. They are spread out, they are away from the bomb site,
But they are largely just holding positions. They're not actively changing the map control if they have
Vidicain will come to blow as pretty early on survives a scare
Already good information. I mean rare tried that round number one. I went kind of horribly for him
So I kind of like that they are just sitting in site
This is one of the strongest sites in siege. So sitting five guys into the bomb site is not a bad strategy by any means
You see with the bigger maps it's possible to
Oh, on Earth does Nidiking not have that bad coordination.
Guto taking full advantage of it.
They had the read.
I think he was just caught mid-animation
with the gadget still in hand.
Things go bad for FaZe Clan, though.
Cyber will look to try to salvage things
as we hit the final minute,
and he's knocking on the door of the bomb site,
but hasn't been able to determine
where these defenders are just yet.
It's not a bad trade from Guto.
You kill the Blackbeard.
That's the tip of the spear.
Now it is really awkward for FaZe Clan
to actually get into bomb site,
and there's still so much use
that they haven't been able to work their way through.
They're still outside the building.
I said what, two rounds ago, if you're FaZe Clan,
you have to worry about stalling out.
This is a team that is usually so well in control
of its timing.
Swag first kill, Cyber trades it out,
Mr. Outlaw on the board as well.
FaZe Clan now, down in numbers,
but not before Viditkin can trade it.
All of these trades continue to benefit Black Dragons
as they now have two soldiers
and souls will gun down Mr. Outlaw.
Rare last man standing, yet again, will he allow souls to extend the round.
It goes out, souls off of the defuse get running out of time,
and Rare wins the 50-50 to give Black Dragons a much needed round win.
Huge round from Rare Parker, way better than what we saw from round one,
where he was the opening death, tried to make a flank happen.
That's why you want to stick all five guys inside the bomb site,
because it lets you trade things out,
It lets you keep that man advantage close.
At every opportunity, when something
starts to go wrong for Black Dragons, they made a move.
They hopped out a window.
They went for a swing.
They were reacted to their teammates taking a gunfight,
and they helped each other around the map.
That was a really well-coordinated defense coming in from BD.
Again, it's a strong bomb site.
You kind of expect this to come through from the defense,
but nothing is easy against FaZe Clan.
They did a really good job isolating
some of those early important picks,
most notably taking down KDS on that shield.
and then after that point Parker,
the plantanal was fine.
It's laid a little bit just long enough,
I think, to get those trades down
and eventually win that 1v1,
a huge round coming up there in the 1v1 clutch.
Well, we wondered what two things would happen.
Number one, Face Clan would dog walk Black Dragons
because they are objectively speaking,
the best team in Brazil
and one of the best teams in the world.
And Black Dragons is unfortunately none of those things.
Or FaceClan would realize they've locked in first place,
and they don't really need to try it all
because it doesn't ultimately matter
why bother stressing yourself and showing things off
on maps or on sites, et cetera,
when none of it really matters.
I don't mean to be uncharitable to Black Dragons here,
but it certainly looks like the latter
is happening far more than the former.
Yeah, I mean, again, like I like their coordination.
They've got some good moves,
but this is definitely not the best FaceClan
that we've ever seen.
There's no doubt about that.
So maybe something will need to change
these last year round of the half or face them to get back in control of this game.
They'd love a 33 split here on the attack and side of Lair Black Dragons have been frankly
struggling on both tack and defense below 50% win rate on both sides throughout the stage
so far.
But anytime you're the the underdogs in a game, you've got to favor the defense setup.
There's a little bit of a roam game.
It's really just outlaw all by himself.
But I don't think face cleaner interested just like last time Parker they're going all
in through the garage and are hoping to find a bit of a gap here to get to this man count.
I'm impressed with the way the Black Dragons have been shooting back. Rare dies early, swag
trades him right out. The nitro cell arrives in the nick of time and goodbyes souls. Down goes the
twitch, still one F2. Reminds us of a correction, both F2s are down. Firepower now severely neutered
on the side of FaZe Clan as they find themselves trailing yet again. This has been a very familiar
your spot for phase through these four rounds.
Big rounds from swag.
I mean, it's got a swag to take that two of twos
with the SMG-11.
He's certainly living up to his name.
Mr. Outlaw gets another one straight back onto KDS.
Now it's a 2v4 for Handy and Vidicon
to try to root the way out of.
And Black Dragons, keep in mind,
they've been very good at playing with the man advantage.
You go back to the last time they were defending this site,
they played really passive,
just waiting for phase plan to start that plan
before they went in and took gunfights.
I expect the same. Handy finds swag, but even still, they've got close-range gunfights there to be really tough to beat.
They can fight from behind if they really want.
They've got a reed. It could crack this open. Baguto will shut down Vitacig and now Handy wanders into lab.
Not the map, by the way. That's on-layer. He takes down Romeo.
He's still got the player that he was looking for around the corner. I believe that's Mr. Outlaw.
Now the defuse kid is within reach 40 seconds to go. This is very winnable for handy especially since his name just took a big bite out of Guto's HP
Mr. Outlaw just needs to win this way and he's reflexes usually quite good
He hears the MP7 he'll rope around this is giving Guto time to get into position and handy just doesn't have the information black dragons
Have taken the lead on
layer
Okay, we got a game in our hands
He's friend. Why are you laughing?
Well, I just think it's kind of an unexpected result, is it not?
Like, I kind of walked into this game expecting FaZe Clan to be the dominating Titans that
we know them to be, but now Black Dragons feel so confident here in this game.
They've taken this lead.
It's a bit of an unexpected twist, but it's a welcome one at that.
They do a really good job, again, of playing with that advantage in the 4v2.
They're not overswinged.
They're not playing overly aggressive.
They only make those swings when they know that they've got a massive advantage because
They've got a shock in around a corner or when they've got teammates with him to go for that trade
It was really well played and again
I have to give it back to swag with the SMG 11 that is
Those are not too easy kills to get but he found both of them has kind of struggled throughout this game
He entered this matchup or throughout the stage I should say he entered this matchup with just 50 kills and 64 deaths
So he hasn't really been shooting back the way I think that black dragon fans were hoping for but
Not around I think he was definitely the star of the show gives him that early lead and now a lead on the round count too
All told, really good underlying numbers here for this Black Dragon's team.
The one thing that they are trailing on is opening duels, they only have a single round
where they struck first, that was Guto back in round four, like three and a half to four
minutes ago.
Beyond that, FaZe Clan has been clobbering them, Cyber in particular, leading the way
with the most opening kills of anybody in the lobby.
that. And despite the scoreline that you see, phase clan, when they've won these rounds,
have done so quite valiantly. Both the rounds they won were with the plant going down at
the hands of vitikings, so objective strength, which is usually something that we pride phase
clan or we praise phase clan for is still showing up. I just think if we're being completely
honest with the viewers, this is not phase at their best. They're not playing the same
way that we're used to seeing. They're a bit lethargic. They're taking engagements that
they wouldn't do so. They're following up on a lack of information. It doesn't look
like textbook phase plan. And again, why bother? This is a largely meaningless game for FaZe when
it comes to the standings. Save yourself, save your strats, as our good friend Ann said, on the
desk and prepare for playoffs.
Cyber's not saving anything. Parker is already quite deep here into this top floor. Last time,
they went very direct into site, just using the top floor as a distraction. This time, though,
they want to be a bit more aggressive. They want to take fights up above before going for the execute.
Looks like they'll have to shrug off a little bit of damage here.
As rare again, the star of the show getting very high pressure situations, getting high
deployment against this team, finds another kill 4 for rare at this point in time, takes
down souls.
Souls dying early, never bode well for, never bode well for base clan, but again, the depth
of threats here.
Oh, okay, two kills very quickly.
another onto the arena. Mr. Outlaw who's now trapped on the stairs of Voltawn over.
Cyber needs to be doing some aim labs here, Jesse. He's missing some pretty easy to control recoil,
especially for somebody of his caliber. He does find the kill. The mirror walks have hazardly
into the waning arms of Handy, and it's all up to swag to clutch up a 1v4.
I don't know where he's at, too. I don't believe they do. Just given these firebolts being shot by KDS,
alright, they're right where he's at. They know exactly his position. This is almost unwindable.
so good with the SMG 11 in the last round Parker but he can't do it again. Cyber what
a round from him. Miss shots or not it's a triple kill regardless and he will lead
Vaze Clan to tie this game up three apiece after the first half.
That is obviously the thing right a 3-3 split all in all I believe the Black Dragons should
not be upset about that they still got three rounds on the board on their defensive here
and I believe that these rounds came because of good time wasting that we saw right either
that they get aggressive in that early round,
or they create problems for phase two to solve.
And then when it comes down to many end of the round
situation where we see like a 1v1 or 2v1,
they seem to have a good understanding of the situation,
either play it out by patience,
or just play it out well in holding your position,
you know, not going too crazy in that one.
So I think for three rounds,
would you say, bless you, I guess,
you're happy with this one, Foxy?
Do you feel like they could have gone better out of this?
No, I think they got to be happy
with what they're taking away from phase.
I mean, phase got the opening kill, like Ontario said,
four out of the five round, I believe four rounds total.
So for Black Dragons to be able to go three, three on the half,
even though they're losing men,
the men advantage early on, I think that says a lot.
It also goes to show that, you know,
Rare was two of those opening deaths.
That being said, being on a supportive player,
on defense, on layer, it's just one of those things that,
again, like we need to make sure
that we're prioritizing staying alive,
supportive staff from Black Dragons, again, still being the little bit of the hindrance.
So if there's a way that they could have done better, maybe it's limiting the amount of opening
deaths that they're allowing. But that being said, 3-3 against FaZe Clan, that's pretty good.
The last time FaZe played this map was against NIP in the third week, I believe, or second week,
I believe, and they 7-4 NIP. So Black Dragons, I mean, they're looking pretty good so far. Now,
the difficulty will come from being on attack. We saw Black Dragons ban out Monty Ying to make
make it difficult for FaZe to get entries in. FaZe also did not run much
Deimos, much Snake to be able to find information. As we go into things coming
on to the other side of the attack, what's Black Dragons gonna do? If the
Snake's taken off the board, I believe Snake Monty try to limit Black
Dragons entries when it comes to being able to take position. And if they're
able to do that, then what will be the response from Black Dragon? That'll be
the very interesting sight to see. This is arguably the more difficult side
right for black dragons and you kind of wonder what kind of executions they'll be coming up with
what kind of operators you already alluded to like the snake being so good for information here
the demos as well especially to put some vertical pressure on there especially the top for a bomb
side as well but some of the anti-breach denial being taken off the board here one shield gone
already as well so that won't be in black dragon specialization going into this one though but
the demos also being taken out it does leave up the solid snake like you said yeah well that's
That's what I was expecting from FaZe to be able to take out these entry operators because
Black Dragons is so primarily good at getting those entries, forcing them to have to find
a different avenue.
Snake's definitely going to come into play, Ying will be in play.
We see those two operators brought out immediately, but we'll have to see, I feel like the biggest
indicator will be how rare can be impactful on those shields.
Yeah, I'm not surprised to see these operators being brought out immediately.
But for the Dragons, you got a good start.
Three rounds on your defense.
What can you now do?
is it a second half? Thank you very much guys.
Great question, Jesse. I'm going to steal this for just one second here. I'm going to
say that it's nice to be backcasting Brazil. In Fox at the nail on the head, right? The
hard part is yet to come for Black Dragons. Now you move to the attack and FaZe Clan
are the single best defense team in all of South America, winning 72% of defense rounds
through their 8 best of 1s so far in this stage. That number jumps up to 83% in Islai
just to the 6 rounds that they've played here on Lair. So this is a really good team on a
really good map when it comes to the defense side of things. I also like their bans. You know,
this Deimos ban is a very targeted ban straight towards Romeo. This is most played operator,
both in general and specifically on this map. He's got a 56% win rate when playing on the Deimos,
so I like to see FaceClan taking that out, but now the question becomes what else do you have
to try to make this advantage go your way. How are you going to find these gaps? How are you
going to power in through some of these important spots? And we're seeing the answer with it. The
ying from swag, the black beard from rare, even the snake from Romeo to start finding some of these
isolated players. That's going to be the game plan coming through from Black Dragons on this very
first attack. F2's galore. Great to see them back in action. Snake obviously having high prevalence
Across all regions and didn't work all that well for phase clan and that one particularly amusing thing. We saw in round number five
When the balltown happened
It came in snake. No, okay. That's fine. You don't remember
You never listen. I was nodding. Yeah, you're nodding you were nodding for who?
No cameras on myself. Okay
speaking of the f2
Goodbye cyber loses his head at the hands of Romeo a good entry from black dragons
It will immediately work well, but Handy finds two in very quick order.
Rare and Outlaw are down.
Romeo will need to pick up the pieces he does so completely blinded.
I mean, that thing's a bullet hose.
You just need to hold down the trigger and you'll find some level of success.
Guto is gone.
Black Dragon's now with the upper hand.
Swag.
A kill on the KDS.
That might be meaningless.
Unless he can find a couple more.
Phase Clan looking to lock out this round.
Diffuse Kit surrendered by Black Dragons earlier.
And swag realizing how big this map is has no choice but to pull out the secondary wandering his way through this top floor
base clan waiting ever so patiently
Andi and eight kills tied with cyber. That's a good spot for face clan with a minute to go
Yeah, they're just holding that a few skit. They know they don't have to leave this spot defending on operations
This is a powerful position. He's completely out of 10 dollars as well
So I had some uts so this would go his way, but with the shotgun this gets so awkward
So I know what Swag can really do here. He's gonna rely on some mistakes being committed by
FaZe Clan. They both swung at roughly the same time and handy credited with that final kill.
I know we're tripping over ourselves to praise clutches, Jesse, but usually those clutches
happen because the numbers make a mistake. Okay, FaZe Clan would need to overextend,
and FaZe Clan doesn't usually commit those, even if they are, certainly, and very visibly not playing
at full strength. Yeah, it would have had to have been a crazy shot fall by a crazy flick
for swag to win that unfortunately he doesn't quite hit the first shot doesn't get a chance
at the second it's it's the difficult thing when you're up against faze clan right parker is this
team can play any style they might sit in the site and stall you out for two and a half minutes
before clobbering you on this chaotic last second execute or they might do what we just saw and be
happy to get aggressive and fight you before you're really ready to go for that execute the
fact that handy got two huge kills inside of ops immediately down into the fuse gate just made that
round completely impossible to clutch back up from Black Dragons. I think it was a good attempt
through swag on that ying. He certainly had some good value on his own pressuring that display
side of things, but when the core focal point of your push goes down and surrenders that if you
just get as rare an outlaw did early in that round, it becomes really difficult to try to pull that one
back. Nicely played by FaZe. Again, we expect them to dominate on their defense. They win the most
favorable side even though they lost a couple of bodies. Now they've got to do it on this
basement floor site as well, which can prove to be a lot more difficult.
Kills have been quite top heavy, four phase clan. We mentioned Handys kill,
Total Cyber sitting at eight as well. A fun little quirk of this current Black
Dragons team is every single player has four kills, incredibly even. Not all those
kills have equal weight though. Again, there have been impactless kills. There
have been round winning kills. Rare is the player that we've been looking at
quite a lot. But Romeo also broke open that one round with the two kills on
on the top floor back and I think it was round three
or maybe it was round four.
But ultimately Black Dragons need somebody to stand up
against this FaZe Clan team
because even when they're not at their best,
FaZe Clan can still be pretty much every team in the world.
A nook pick in 2026 is a bit of a rare sight to see
but Guto will jump on the operator
trying to make something happen,
pushing away from his team.
He'll be likely on that north side of the bomb site
while everybody else is pushing him through garage.
haven't really committed to this top floor clear Parker they don't feel it's
gonna be necessary to all the commits of that they do have Romeo who will be up
there but he's gonna be playing this pretty solo if he can get control he
can maybe work with those boogies but instead just focusing on pinching with
his teammates everybody in the defense has fallen back down and they've got such
a good read on KDS. Romeo's let one of those face clan defenders slip on by
they'll take care of the wall there goes the black mirror as as well there you go
The boogie might actually break it. I think that's what his goal was, but then he had to go melee it to
Not the end of the world for this BD team. I
Will defend the nook by the way on big maps
She is really really strong
That's how we tend to see her on a map like layer and maps like bank a swing from handy
But he misses the head of swag the same cannot be said for black dragons as they go up with a minute to go
Taking care of handy. That's the big bad down on the side of phase
Yeah, this is about to get chaotic. I think for Black Dragons, they have to be able to
force their way in. Take control of this man of energy you've gotten. Souls will get aggressive,
though. Equalizes that man count as the bodies start to fall. Souls with one rare trades it back.
Now it's Souls in the ground. Phase Clan just sitting like waiting ducks at this point in time.
No cloaking available for the nook. KDS sees that. Handles Gudo quite well.
Cyber and KDS the last two standing. KDS with a bullet hose of his own inside the
the vector and he tears through rare. Cyber on the board too. Face clear to turn this
way around and they know exactly where swag is coming from. Good thing though for swag.
You're on snake. Oh my goodness. A beautiful shot on a cyber. And with the round off of
it. That is a highlight real kill. A massive one from swag. Let this be a lesson. Nobody
stop swag from clutching in two rounds in a row. That's a big one. And as somebody who's usually
one of the entry duos, swag gets involved very early. That'll be his first successful clutch
of the stage. He has yet to find a one VX before this one. So congratulations to swag.
Now every player on Black Dragons will have at least one clutch to their name. And I think it
really comes down to the way that face plan have been choosing to play this style of defense.
They have clearly decided the best way to win this game is to fight early and aggressively versus
Black Dragons. They brought utility like the Mira and like the Echo, which should have allowed them
to take advantage fights over towards Garage. Unfortunately, they just lost a couple of those
big gunfights. They're a really good job trading things out, brought it really close, but in the
end, again, the guns are always going to be better for the attackers. Those F2s are so deadly to deal
with, so Black Dragons not panicking at what's being shown in front of them. They're finding these
kills and they're hanging with the big dogs in terms of winning these gunfights.
The performance so far for this Black Dragons team, and again, Mr. Outlaw, the standout
performer on the squad.
If we're just referencing the positions of these players, Handy is the third highest
rated player, vitiquiting eighth, Cyber, 13th, Souls, 14th, you got to go ways down and get
to KDS, but that's okay because, you know, KDS would rather be doing anything else other
than his job, which is so real, you know, like.
But on the side of Black Dragon, Mr. Outlaw far and away the standout performer on this
team, he's in 10th.
You have to go down to 30th to find Guto as the next highest rated player.
Rare, who we've been praising for his play so far, finds himself in 42nd of 50 players.
So right now, dramatically overperforming his numbers through much of this stage.
again, not to discourage you, but this is a game that FaZe Clan did not even need to
load into the server to play.
So for them, the stakes are much lower.
For Black Dragons, this is for bragging rights, this is for posterity, they're in 8th place,
they have been eliminated from the playoff chase, but 3 points here with a pretty decent
round differential and a loss on the side of Fluxo W7M later today, and 7th place couldn't
theory go to the Dragons.
Top floor here begins. It's just Romeo on this bottom floor who's trying to get some maybe picks down there
I'm trying to find a player but on this top floor right everybody is just focused on pushing these players back finding a bit of an angle
Here comes cyber about to go to blows
I'm
There have been a couple of uncharacteristic misses from phase claim again. I do think it goes back to they're not playing at full capacity
They're not joining things out as as it accurately as they usually do
There's been a lot of face checking from this face claim team across both halves
I mean you're taking the vector against the F2. It's not like the most players will be able to win
It's all right
You're still just in a one-man disadvantage the rest of this top floor clear has stalled out a little bit Romeo is joined the rest of
His teammates here off above but nobody on the face plan wants to move a muscle
Hoping to just stall things out use their toxic babes delay this push as long as possible
So when they finally get to the execute they can just win on time
Now we'll go to the Toxic Babes, slowing down Black Dragons as they march their way towards
the bombsites.
Handy dressed Army crawls away from the Nade, cannot get it done.
Vita King on the board, the only kill so far for Faze Clan, 40 seconds to go, the Nade
bounces off the wall, KDS falls back, out comes the SMG-11, soles on the board too,
shot gun time for KDS.
He's in close quarters combat but he just pulls the trigger a little too quickly, apprehensive
about what may lay in wait at the window.
goes down elsewhere the remaining two players on black dragons where the
ones that KDS was fighting and now a night show goes off but it hits the
door frame a fade away from the KDS finally finds one rare in position and KDS does get them both
his patience rewarded in phase clan goes back to the lead. You know it's not very
often Parker that we say somebody plays a perfect round in rainbow six siege but
that was about as close as you can get coming out from KDS he delayed so much
time of course partner with the toxic babes from a smoke player that was a
huge aspect of it as well as handy was able to stall things out but just
playing close with that soulless shotgun it's not necessarily just that you see too
often the soulless can very much calm in place on that Bunk's breathing bombsite
to deny the plant from up above but didn't need to focus on the plant that
now everybody on Black Dragons was pushing them up on that top floor so
he said let me stand my ground I know I'm safe by tucking the corner here
inside a display I'll play my shotgun I'm coughing in my teammates will you lock
things down behind me and that's exactly what happened. Really good top floor defense from
FaZe Clan using their utility, slowing down that top floor push and the time like there
was less than 15 seconds when that round ended and nobody from Black Dragons even took a
whiff of that mid floor bomb site. Everybody was committed to that top floor push, really
good stall game coming up from FaZe Clan and maybe the way they should be playing this
game further on. Black Dragons have been winning a lot of these duels when they give them early
gunfights, maybe the game plan just has to be for FaZe Clan. Winner in utility, stall
this team out.
The playoffs are coming up in Brazil in action in just a couple days actually. It's a good
start later this week. We already know that one of the teams qualified will finish in
first place. That's the team on the right side of your screen. FaZe Clan, Ninjas and
and bejamas, fury at two liquid and loud have all clinched spots as well, but none of them
have been confirmed for the remaining top three spots that remain outside of phase clan.
To qualify for EWC, it's really quite simple.
If you finish in the top four, you just have to win one best of three.
That's it for phase clan.
Whoever they end up going up against, they'll go up against the team ranked fourth after
today.
If phase clan wins that best of three, they go to Paris.
It's really quite simple for the two teams that finish in fifth and sixth
You start in the lower bracket and we'll need to go through that run
But it's still a relatively easy path
Qualification for this event is far simpler than a lot of the majors
So that's something that these teams need to keep in mind
We have an exciting game games ahead of us up next is Los and Team Liquid Alienware
But before we get there black dragons might want to prolong this bout as they get the first pick in this round
It's a pretty nice one. They take down Vittacan in the smoke.
It's a really early pick on one of the most important operators who's just playing at storage positions.
So now it puts pressure on to everybody else.
You have to be able to work a pick down either towards ops or maybe towards bathroom because that main position has been so lost already.
Look to continue to come to blows souls in the ground. Mr. Outlaw will join him the afterlife.
A busy place right now is Gudos takes care of cyber.
Black Dragons leveling up now, doubling up on Phase Clan's numbers. This has been such a back-and-forth contest.
Phase has not been able to establish much distance between them and their contemporaries.
Romeo takes down KDS and Black Dragons need just a single kill to tie the game yet again.
Black Dragons have not led in this contest. The best they've been able to do is tie.
If they take care of Handy, they go back to that oh so familiar position, but hey Jesse, a tie, certainly better than losing, that's for sure.
Handy in a really tough spot with his nitro cell. If you can deny the plant that's something, but there's over 60 seconds on the clock here.
He's got so much to do. Isolating this fight would be everything, but he just misses the shots again and again.
He is whipping on these kills. He has to kill this one player, but now he's isolated more towards his teammates.
They're giving nothing up and the plant will go down on one before.
Just a fun position to be in for Black Dragons, right?
You have a single player trying to deal with Handy.
You know that the kill will eventually come
unless Handy pulls off a 1v4 in a post plant,
which with the way Phases is playing today,
I just don't see as possible.
Take care of Guto right off the rip,
still leaving three from Black Dragons to be found.
And as we come to expect from teams experienced
like Black Dragons, you're gonna be quite patient.
A nice read from Handy on the Romeo,
staring at the bomb chassis,
The last two remaining players from Black Dragons, wondering why Handy is dragging this out as long as he is.
Pass the point of no return though. No defuse possible for Handy.
Even without the kills, Black Dragons will win the round, but Rare finds it with about five seconds left on the clock.
Black Dragons tie things up.
BD continues to do a really good job of getting fights early in the rounds.
They consistently are finding these players who are isolated and be able to work themselves as a pick.
Swags early kill and Davidicking, again, over towards storage.
We didn't catch it, but that kind of starts the domino effect for me Parker where black dragons are getting these picks onto important
Operators early and they're forcing the other face down players to start swinging because if you don't all of a sudden the map control is gone
The numbers are gone. The time is still very favorable for the attackers. So black dragons. They're keeping the pressure up
They're getting these early picks
They're forcing face clean to make some mistakes and even in some of these positions, right?
Like you saw cyber ratting inside of ops sure you get a kill, but it's easily traded out by black dragons
This is a very solid team certainly compared to what we've seen from some of the other teams inside the South America League in our last game
This is not a squad who you expect to be making big mistakes like that not when snakes on the board not when the information is flowing
Phase clan, I think a little bit sloppy and somebody's early rounds where they're giving up these opportunities to black dragons
They have to play tighter and they have to start playing for that clock
to go. Gold and opportunity
here for Black Dragons to make
a statement as again for these
teams that have already been
eliminated from the playoff
hunt, they will not be at EWC,
they will not be in Paris.
This is about improving.
We'd spend a lot of time across
all regions talking about game
day reps and it's really
important for these teams,
especially when they try to
iron things out. Romeo, the
least experienced player along
with swag on this roster.
Mr. Outlaw has been at land before, but also doesn't have the same level of
experience as a lot of the veteran teams here in Brazil.
So you want to get your game day reps and hey, even if they are playing the way
they are playing, FaZe Clan is still FaZe Clan.
You scrim against them, sure.
But scrims are never a proper substitute for the game day play.
Black Dragons can gain very valuable experience, throwing up against the
world champions and dare I even say it just beating the world champions.
And that helps you for stage two.
Of course, unless he makes some roster moves, which in Brazil is always possible.
Certainly is. But now here on the bottom floor, we're starting to see face
playing go for a similar defense. So would they last time they still got this
echo from the team, which is feeding them information over towards this garage.
Black dragons are happy to play into it. They've got the ram above just like last
time, and it got the full force of their attack pressuring into this basement.
Dragons are going to say they're playing slow. They're showing great
Patience and phase clan again just itching to take these engagements face-checking everything mr. Outlaw gets to
He's dropped, but black dragons with 90 seconds to go have reduced face clan to two players
One of those players souls still very good easily clutched. No, no, okay. Well
Yes, you black dragons just flawless the round and now they're on that point
So we keep talking about Parker at these early gunfights that are consistently going the
way of Black Dragons.
I understand that FaZe Clan have some advantages in these moments.
They've got the Yokai Cam inside a garage, in theory that favors them.
It gives them some intel to take these fights.
But Black Dragons aren't even in garage.
They're standing outside holding these angles, waiting for FaZe to swing.
They're playing a styled game that expects FaZe Clan to play into it.
And FaZe Clan are doing just that.
Every opportunity, FaZe are swinging.
are going for these fights. FaZe are ego challenging Black Dragons and when you're ego challenging
into DMRs and F2s and the long range guns that the attackers have, it's just not going to go
your way. Even when you are a FaZe Clan, here's a nice look at the standings. We get ready to jump
into this 12th and potentially final round of the game. FaZe Clan are locked into first. They
cannot fall out of that top spot. Black Dragons hoping to jump above ints and maybe even Fluxo W7M
they can get a regulation win here today.
There's been a lot of, a lot of these standings have been solidified, Jesse, and
it is a bit odd coming from North America and looking at the other regions, seeing that most
of these teams have already clinched their spots for EWC, and yet we still haven't even begun the
playoffs here in Brazil. So, um, yeah, I, I, I like Brazil. I think I've always been a big
Brazil supporter. You know, the very first live event I ever worked, one of these teams on your
screen, Black Dragons, I adorned myself in their garb. I had a hat on, I had a varsity jacket.
I was cheering for them to beat Penta, the team that would then become G2, and
well, let's just say the Brazilian fans quite enjoyed it. I think it's always been a terrific
region, and while it took them a couple years to get onto the same level as EU and NA, for many,
many years. About half a decade at this point, Brazil has very easily surpassed the other regions,
and it seems almost bizarre for a Brazilian team to not make a grand finals at this current point
in time. The one thing that needs to be answered is what happened in Salt Lake City? Three teams
from Brazil failed to make the playoffs, only FaZe Clan put in a good effort, and they did end up
making top four, but ultimately were blamed by DarkZero before DZ went on to win the whole thing.
So, hey, I mean, technically in a lot of ways, you could say maybe we're the second best team,
if you think they did a little better than SR, didn't their matchup. But Brazil is a region
very consistent, offensive threats across the board, experienced players.
Faze Clan has just been a kind of above everybody and Black Dragons has them on the ropes right now
and can knock and can land the knockout punch in the next couple minutes.
I think sometimes we're creating these storylines, the broadcasters, we make
We may over conflate a region with the teams inside of it, but I mean by that is like yes
The last couple years have been dominated by Brazil, but really it's been dominated by two teams in Brazil
It's been the Furia core of course previously known as well the liquid core now formerly known as Furia formerly known as
W7m and then it's been a phase clan and the current flux of W7m core as well have had some really big moments
But you look at the game today and it's like that liquid team have a made some russia moves
Which maybe have not gone exactly as they wanted at least through kickoff
But B have also joined an organization that is completely cursed and thus they did not make it to the Salt Lake City major
So that's part of the reason I'm sure why they struggled back during back during kickoff as a region
And then even a team like phase clan right like they had a good event. They made it quite deep ended up losing a
unfortunate game in the semi-finals to not quite make it all the way up against
Dark Zero, but the rest of those teams that attended Salt Lake City for South
America had all made roster moves. There were relatively new rosters. They
weren't exactly the put-together pieces that were used to seeing. Flux of W7M
didn't go, Liquid didn't go. A lot of the big heavy hitters didn't even qualify, and
sometimes that's just the way to cook crumbles. Sometimes these BO1s don't go
your way. Sometimes the regional best of threes can be a bit more fluky than you would like.
And certainly that's gonna, you know, that's part of the game. That's what we play. But
I still think Brazil has those powerhouse teams. It still has that ability to run through those
international events. FaZe Clan continues to be the shining beacon of a team for this region. And
they look like they will be dominant through playoffs as they almost always are. But it's
difficult when you play regionally. You don't always send the best teams in the region to those
international events. And sometimes that makes a big difference.
Absolutely correct. We've said that so many times with Brazil too. We
speak an awful lot about how good they can be interregional and how
good they can be domestically and how good then they can be when they go up
against teams on land because keep in mind a lot of Brazil was on land for
quite some time only recently if they stopped using their studio, which
means that none of the teams play on land at this current point in time are
removed. We are from the golden days of most of the leagues being played in
person, but that's just the way that she goes. You do have to wonder if their lack
of land experience day in, day out is hurting Brazil as a region too. On your
screen, we've got a head to head here showing the way that these teams play
and how they do. And while obviously face clan has the numbers, it's one
noting that Black Dragons is one of the oldest orcs in the history of our e-sport.
They've been around since basically the beginning, founded by a couple people,
one of whom is Cherry Gums, who still remains quite active in the scene.
And if Black Dragons ever does make it to an event, she will be there loudly
cheering them on. Black Dragons has been around forever and our e-sport wouldn't
be where it is without their contributions. They may lay in a number of times.
They've never won a live event. One of their rosters made it to the finals in
in Sao Paulo in 2017 and then that roster, which would then be picked up by ninjas and pajamas would eventually make it back to the grand finals for the six
Invitational in 2020 losing to SSG before winning the hammer the next year at the COVID SI that we saw. So they've scouted out great players.
It's just sometimes Black Dragon struggles to keep those top tier players without losing them to some of the other big dogs in the region.
So, what do you do?
Well, you have an opportunity to beat one of the big dogs right now.
We're back in action.
Six-five the scoreline Black Dragons, sitting on match point.
Yeah, to stand the Black Dragons will not be fighting for that spot at the
Esports World Cup.
They're already eliminated from playoffs, but taking down the best team in your
region would be a huge statement to bring into the offseason, to bring towards
stage two as you start to look towards those future games that you'll have to
be playing.
FaZe Clan now, with their backs against the wall, they will choose to
that offends downstairs of bunks and briefing.
They're locked in first place no matter what.
Again, losing two games to end at your stage
and end at the group stage.
They lost to Loud a little bit earlier.
Starts to put some fears into certainly the minds of others,
but I think also for this team,
you start to get a little bit worried
about how playoffs might look
if they have a series of losses
right at the end of the group stage.
And Loud and then Black Dragons.
I mean, Loud is at least a playoff caliber team,
But you don't want to dive too much in that theory crafting, right, Jesse?
Because we have said many, many times, this is not a must win game for
FaZe Clan, it does not matter.
It really, it's just about bragging rights.
If you can go undefeated, teams are never going to sneeze at that opportunity.
But if potentially saving strats, potentially keeping that stuff hidden
in preparation for playoffs, or even if you think, hey,
playoffs won't be too hard, we're better than at least two of the teams,
we'll make it to EWC, saving those for the big moment and the big payoff that
comes with EWC is far more worthwhile than beating Black Dragons. Let's put it
that way. Well, we're past the 62nd mark now and this Black Dragons push is
going to be trying to work things in through the top floor. We say this over
and over again. They don't have that sense. So sneak the plant down below the
defenders up above is going to be really tricky. Of course, this top floor clear
is going to get chaotic. It's going to get messy. Phase plan will be ready for
it. Souls is the only player in the site and all four phase plan members are
still up above almost a freebie from Romeo as he finds 50% damage on cyber
and through the smoke finds the rest of it really well played by cyber to take down or really well
played by Romeo to take down cyber oh jesse we're 11 rounds in and then these players have a single
kill that's crazy when you think about it mr. outlaw will finish what remains ob cyber goodle on the
the board as well. This one might be done in a hurry. Black Dragons sinking their fangs
in the phase clan and coming back from the Rehost, Solz looks around and goes, where
did everybody go? A 1v5. Guto, the only one taking some serious damage. A flawless round
will not be had as Solz finds one. How many more can he drag down with him? None. Guto
will seal the deal. Three rounds in a row. Black Dragons will take the match against
Phase 7-5.
Forever counting on a team with nothing to lose and their backs against the wall.
Black Dragons a big win over FaZe Clan. They gotta be feeling good about that one.
Managed to take down the two-time world champions here in the best of one at the tail end of the group stage.
They will not be making the playoffs of course, but still a big win to carry off into the off-season.
And FaZe Clan, maybe some things to work on as they look at two losses to end up at this group stage.
I got a couple days to do some some woodshedding and get up to speed because they'll be playing the fourth or a rated team
Coming out of playoffs, which we'll figure out which team that is as the matches roll on today
That's it for our second of five games. Let's hear what an end of the day. I have to say
Thank you so much what impressive victory from black dragons just in the final round of regulation
and they managed to get those three points on the board.
Big moments for them individually.
I mean, on the attack as well, you know,
the more difficult side on this map here,
but as we already talked about in that halftime,
we expected lots of Ying, we expected lots of Soul Snake.
That was exactly what was happening as well.
I mean, Swag getting some incredible moments
for himself as well.
I think KDS really tried to on the side of Faze,
but wow, for bloodshed,
I guess it must be an incredible confidence boost.
I mean, it sure was bittersweet
because they can't make top six,
but great win nonetheless going into the next stage.
So I'm going to take away from it.
And we highlighted Black Dragon's entries
and how good they were, you know, swag, Romeo, outlaw,
the way that they're able to find these opening kills.
And yes, I mean, the snake, the Deimos,
Deimos is banned by that, the snake,
but the way that they were able to get entries
and also rare, rare himself,
we were saying that he needed to be impactful
when it came to his attacks.
Those first three rounds with the Blackbeard,
He was really doing a great job at following his entries up,
which was the biggest downfall throughout the rest of the stage.
But he was there for his team so much so that Faze had to ban Blackbeard out.
And the entries were so good that on Black Dragon's attacks,
they got every single opening kill.
And that's something that is very difficult to do against Faze.
So to be able to do all of that, work in unisons together, and
be able to dominate on the opening kills, it shows perfectly why Black Dragon
was able to close it out on their attacks on such a difficult attacking
side of map. They had a really good understanding and when they're able to
get that pick it just looked like FaZe was a little flustered. That being said, I
don't necessarily worry too much against FaZe. Of course you don't want to go into
playoffs with two losses, being our only losses in the last two playdays. But that
being said, on FaZe's attacks we didn't see them bring any demos, we didn't see
them bring any snake they weren't doing what we're normally used to seeing from
phase so a different avenue that they try to attack with and it seems like it
just didn't work today that being said I'd imagine we'll see a completely
different phase coming into playoff so a win is a win for black dragons and
that's great from them I do want to say I feel like it was maybe a 70% 80%
phase game that were that you know we're used to seeing phase way better but
That's how it goes, you know, you're in a position where you've locked in first seed, you've got to try new things.
They try new things.
Yeah, well that's the big thing for this matchup to right face. Glenn already confirmed as the first in the league.
They don't need to show us the back of their tongue in every single round here, and every curve they still have up on their sleeve.
As the caches of course, a little too cute. This is probably not the best face we have seen.
And if you think on the side of face, you know, when would you want to have those losses?
When would you want to have that kind of re-elder check that brings you back down to the ground?
Probably now and not in the playoffs when you are that one best of three away from a qualifying to an international event
I'm glad that we see rare as the MVP though
I mean we put some pressure on his shoulders is when you talked about like dragons him being kind of player on the
Backline that hasn't been able to show up as much as the as we wanted to from him
But in this final game, you know, it gives him confidence
But also being able to to get points to the board especially if we think about the standings to run
I mean this again brings them back up higher and gives them even a better starting point going into
stage two and not having to worry about relegations. Yeah black dragons finalizing themselves into
eighth place so that's great you know they're able to bounce back over i and gz and yes i mean rare
that's something that we talked about he is that shield player he's kind of the support of player
on defense and he's been missing the mark throughout the stage mainly because he is a supportive player
him being on shields is something that is relatively new to Black Dragons, but today with no pressure on
the board that's where we saw him following up his entries and that's what we needed to see
throughout the rest of the stage. Thankfully it showed up now and that's good looks going into stage
two that he has that ability to be able to follow up on the shields and it's good to see him be able
to have the spotlight a little bit you know towards the end of the stage but just being able to see
that he has that ability gives confidence for Black Dragons going into stage two. You know sometimes
you need to be able to have stages or experiences like this to see where you can go forward.
And again, this was a learning experience for both of these two teams. Black Dragons learned
a lot. They got a win. They understand that, hey, we can beat the best team in the SAO right now.
And FaZe on the other hand, again, it did seem like they were trying some new things out,
not running operators that they're used to. So maybe that gives them an indication on,
well, we're not going to use this stuff if we get to, if we get to, you know, the major. So
that being said a good practice for those of them. It is yes but that is now our two matches where
the importance of them isn't as much now out of the way because we move into the more exciting
matches. As we already said earlier today there is still one more spot in playoffs to be decided
and two teams are fighting for it. Lois currently find themselves in six spots but they do have
Fluxer W7 and breathing down their necks as they're chasing them in that second spot. Lois get
They get their chance to defend their 6th spot against Liquid after the break.
Oh
The first one is a bit lower, but it doesn't matter.
One of three.
It's easier than the third one.
It's much easier than the third one.
Wow, what a shot!
But the first one was a test.
Oh, but that one...
Oh, the ball is making a curve!
The ball is making a curve!
It's the last one, I'll get it.
It's gonna be hard, bro. One more chance for the first bullet.
It's gonna be hard to stay still.
No, wait, wait, wait.
There, ready.
Cut here. Everything I made, cut.
Just put the three on the right side.
To prevent those who didn't pay attention to the lance,
let's show them again the magic of the immediate replay.
And play it, already.
That's great.
You have three bullets, you have three?
The best artist, there's no count.
Pausão doigão.
Pausão doigão.
Do you like it or not?
Wait, wait, wait.
It's cool, it's cool.
You can take this one, I never took it.
Another thing is, losing the face.
It starts with everything turned.
Because losing the face.
You can lose the face.
There's this one too.
You can lose the face, you can lose the face, you can lose the face.
You can lose whatever you want, you can lose it.
You can lose whatever you want.
You can lose the face.
You can lose the face.
You can lose the face.
Documentary, like, the guy goes there with the camera, the team and records.
Yeah, the bass player, nothing related to the case.
We never went to the championship.
We never went to the bass player.
How did you use the bass player? You've never seen a bass player video.
He was dressed up, dressed up,
he was very friendly.
He was on Twitter.
Oh, this one, this one, this one.
You know, the interpretation is very...
You say that, right?
The difference is...
Paul, do you want to say something?
Paul, do you want to say something?
No, wait.
What?
No, this one, no.
Pujá?
No.
Pausão?
No.
Doigão?
No.
Oh boy.
No.
It's Pausão do Igor CTG.
Not this one?
Pausão?
Yes.
Pujá?
Never.
No.
Pujá?
I've never.
So?
So no.
So we only do one.
But maybe what?
Two.
Pausão doigão?
Three, four, four.
Which team would you choose to save?
And why?
This one.
If you want to win this game, let's see the reserve team, it's my problem.
Because the more you play, the more you have.
Which player in the team would you win in the game?
And why?
The question is which one I wouldn't win, right?
And why I beat everyone.
If I were to win the selection of the worst player in the team, who would I win?
And why?
The situation is complicated, right?
The situation is very complicated, even.
If you let me in, I'll be in trouble, guys.
Whoever wins would be the Flasthry, very bad.
One of the worst is being there.
Which team would you choose to give up?
And why?
Well...
I'll send the imperial away.
Because I don't know, but he'll leave.
Nice and go for a peek, that's gonna be a wonderful shot by Cameraman, but he cuts it!
He's gone forward, there's some more shots now, before he walks out through this door, he should've pointed out the heartbeat sensor he's not going to, instead, it will be a nice cut by Cameraman!
They're dying on the stairs, not for no reason or being aware of, nice and right coming out.
Nico and Gans uses on pretty big nades, this could be the point, this could be huge right now, the nade comes out the top and drops stigs as well!
What a nutty round from him, he gets two grenade kills and a nice peek and closes it out.
No way!
Oh, what is the clutch?
That's a 1 versus 5 clutch.
Rise from the ashes to clean the harbour.
The 6th implementation of 2021.
And now it's going to complete.
Biggie T!
Finds a huge pocket and gets gold.
And do whatever you can to get the diffuser down there will be on the temple, the vulture goes absolutely wild with the shotgun and that is free huge kills for him.
I like the way he plays.
And he's playing well so,
Yeti will fight in box and I think he's going to be matched by the MP5K.
Latching without getting an engagement, Yeti is just an absolute,
Yeti with 4 kills.
Goddess who just has a tiny bit of health,
and Yeti will get the ace.
There's both Kodin and Katzang.
Warranty from the same goal.
Kanzin are you a miracle worker?
You only need one more!
And there it is!
One of the best plays that we've seen with this Kodin.
It's the best team in the world, never having that distinction until today.
Thanks to our world champions.
We just practice love.
Wish...
Sorry for that.
Hey, dad!
Big spout of the world, guys.
Now, this is where things get excited in the final playday of S.A.L. because we're about
to decide our very final spot going into playoffs, and we'll do that first by having Lose and
Liquid play against each other. Now, as I said at the scene, Lose are fighting for their
spot in playoffs, and all that Liquid can do is play the Grim Reaper here. I think
back about an interview last week with Igor saying that, you know, we think FW7 are going
to lock in that final spot because we play against Lose, and we want to win that game.
just is giving drama out of like you Foxy. I love matches when it involves so
much drama like this one. Oh yeah, of course, there's so many implications. I
mean, those playing against liquid, we have flexible to be seven and plumbing
against loud. Now, Los, they're probably in the most comfortable spot because
even if they lose out, let's say both the teams flexo and Los lose, Los would
still be able to advance into the top six. That being said, no team on sand on
the loss. So Flos is able to beat liquid. They would be able to jump up. There
be some round count implications, you know, depending on who wins, loud versus fluxo, but
Los would be locked in to top six with a regulation win. As for liquid, they're not just playing to
gate keep Los. They also want to be able to avoid that phase matchup. That being said, if liquid
wins, they can be able to bounce above Furia or NIP or potentially both of them. We'll see
based on round count. And that being said, liquid would be able to avoid playing against phase
because fourth seed should be playing against first seed in the upper bracket.
So that being said, there's so many implications for all these teams.
Same thing for loud and flexo.
I mean, loud can easily as well jump in above some of these teams,
depending on if liquid loses, allows able to get top four, maybe even top three
and tie a fury a tie an NIP.
So there's so much on the line when it comes to those two big games.
But first, I mean, Los versus liquid, everything on the line.
Los could just end flexo.
W7N's hopes and dreams here and now if they're able to be liquid.
Yeah, they would do the same as what they did last week because Lowe certainly gave
us some drama last week. They destroyed three teams chances of making playoffs simply by
their victory that they did last Sunday. So Lowe's now got a lock in for themselves as
well and put a similar effort to at least get their six position as well. But for Lowe's
and their roster, Duffo absolutely was the main person to show up. Then winning six rounds
in a row on defense as well.
Long unfortunately,
for men's and changer,
that just led to them winning that matchup
and keeping themselves alive in this matchup.
But as you already mentioned,
they need a regulation win.
If they want to make sure that matters,
stay in the row.
Oh yeah, of course.
And it wasn't just Daffo in that previous matchup.
It was all last week.
I mean, against INTZ having developed kills,
but against Imperial having 17 kills.
He's really been a slept on player.
I feel like Lois is comprised of just slept on players.
Perez is one of these players that we've talked about throughout the whole stage.
He's been doing very good.
He's within the top five, top six players of the SAO.
Daffodil is just right behind them within the top 10.
So both of these two players, I mean, they've been having an exceptional
performance for Los as a whole as a unit and them being able to just
constantly work around with what's given to them.
They're a very scrappy team and there's really nothing that has been
holding back besides teams that are better than them.
I mean, Los hasn't been able to, I believe, be another team that's in that top five, top six, besides loud.
So it is a very difficult challenge when they go up against a higher level tiered team.
They keep it close, but that's where they tend to struggle against that experience difference.
They're going against W's, Flexo W7M.
So that's a team that I would also say, even though they haven't had the best run of this last stage,
I would say that there are top six team contender. Absolutely.
They have great players and I believe that's maybe where it comes into play is when they get into a team
A 1v1 against a team that is also very gifted when it comes to individual fighting. That's where Loser's
weak weak areas shine
For their opponents for today for liquid at least their fans
They can breathe a sigh of relief because with that overtime victory that liquid got against NIP last week
They locked in playoffs
We had a super happy Igor in the interview as well and if any player on that roster
KZ takes a moment to come alive, play bomb in the matchup last week, so lock in at playoffs.
And we see this team also just really abuse crowd control all players on attack in any of them specifically.
Defensives seem to be a little bit more rock for them, but really making good use of the
attackers that we see so frequently in the current meta.
And as you already mentioned, there's much of instill important for them right, they can make it to top 4.
And they came to make it further past that a third or second would be ideal
You avoid phase that way and then you have I'd say a more suitable situation at your two chances of making it to EWC
Because we saw how that went last time around when they played in a kickoff playoffs and they just missed their two chances of making it to Salt Lake City
Yeah, you would have thought that after not making it to Salt Lake City that
Team look at where would have been able to lock in I mean this team since the start of time
I'm back in there on fury even now.
The only team that can really beat these guys is themselves.
There's a little element of just there's so much talent
on this roster that a lot of the time,
it doesn't seem like they're necessarily problem solving.
Their problem solving is let's all fight together.
And some teams are just really equipped for that now.
They're very prepared to be able to handle
an over aggressive team liquid alienware team.
And so that's the only downfall for them is
they underestimate their teams that they go up against them.
I mean, yes, this last week was good,
but a very close overtime win against NIP.
It's not something that is too confident
for Team Liquid Alienware,
because in my opinion, a lot of these games,
if they are just playing the most disciplined
the same way that they play at these events at these LANs,
these games should easily be going in their favor,
and they should be on par with a team like FaZe Clan,
that it just hasn't lost anything,
that sometimes that overconfidence gets the better of them,
and is what causes them to lose like I did against Loud,
like I did against Furia,
and that's really their downfall.
So at the end of the day,
if they can just make sure,
hey, we don't wanna go up against FaZe,
I mean, I'm sure they're not necessarily
thinking that specifically,
but if we wanna be able to just end it on a win
during the playoffs as confident as possible,
let's fall back,
like let's worry about what FeliPox is communicating to us,
and let's focus on the basics,
because sometimes they're relying too much
on the great individual performers on this team
to be able to carry it out.
Like last week, they needed KZ to have a 20 bomb to be able to close it out against IAP.
It shouldn't come to that, but so far it has came to that situation time and time again throughout the stage.
Yes, this will be their final best of one though, before they move on into playoffs.
If we look at the map veto then, because we've had some close games today, we've had an overtime and a full-on regulation as well.
These two teams, when they last face, it was a full-on regulation match as well.
75 victory for liquid on the bank. Lois do not want to get a repeat of that as they bend out bank
and suddenly move into cafe and liquid start on defense. Yeah, not a great look. I'll be honest,
not a great look. Lois, you know, recently played this, I believe it was against W,
flexes of an M. They got smoked 73. So hopefully they've changed some stuff going into it. I mean,
border is a very comfortable map for Lois. That being said, I believe they played it against
I am P they played it against I want to say
Also another team. I think it was phase potentially or black dragons one of those
So I think it was black dragons. They played it as well and they dominated those games
71 black dragons 7 5 against I am P
So that being said to ban out a comfort pick because you're worried that team liquid Alienware is gonna counter try you to go
To a map that is arguably one of team liquid Alienware is better maps
I mean, it's a revolutionary map for KZ. He's one of those players on the Azami
that's constantly bouncing around from piano, different positions, a very gunfight-oriented
map for Team Liquid Alienware. I'm not a fan of this map pick for LOSEN at all. That being
said, I mean, I just think Team Liquid Alienware is going to probably be the favorites in this
one, especially if the bright bands don't come out, if they're not able to ban out
Azami, ban out these utility-based operators to cheap TLA alive.
Well, okay, so the plan seems clear. Just make sure they don't have the Azami to play
and then try and go gong ho against them, I guess, if it's really a gunfight heavy map.
But let's get the opinions of our casters here as well then. We can chat with Intero and Jesse,
and I have this also important matchup because we're putting a lot of pressure on those shoulders
of these players with chances of qualification. It seems very likely that Foxy thinks Liquid are
going to just take this one home. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. What are your thoughts on this?
this entire starting with you.
I think this is a tough mask to assess for one reason and one reason alone.
Team Liquid Alienware is probably the least consistent team in any region at
any point in time. Sometimes they look like they could easily be the top of
Brazil. And then other times it looks like they have no idea how to play.
This goes back to the old Fury Arrest or they had moments like this on W7M.
They certainly look like they've improved and made some changes and fixed some
things, but Los is a team that loves to break hearts. And there's going to be a
lot of Team Liquid Alienware fans that are hopeful that this is a big victory
and Lois could easily play the spoiler. My money is on Team Liquid Alienware
because I know Foxy is gonna make fun of me for not making a prediction. Yeah
rightfully so I should say and I will also back you on the T-Law prediction
coming through here. I just think that this is a single best of one that they
have to play this week. One of the biggest strengths that Team Liquid Alienware
have is their coaching staff, it's their preparation. The fact that they could put
everything into the single B01 they likely expected the cafe would come up
maybe it wouldn't have been their first pick but they should have known it was
an option so they'll be ready for Los here on this map I can't wait to see what
they have in store plenty to play for for both teams so I expect a really good
game but Tim look at Alienware should come on top.
I'm not gonna lie this feels a little bit rough it feels like there's not a lot of faith into Los here
I mean this is a really high pressure matchup this is all to play for them
For this final matchup of the stage either they move the playoffs or just ends here for them
I mean, we're looking at players as Deffo and Paris they've been stepping up consistently
Any any other argument I guess you could make for for the Los Angeles out there that should be something that brings me to this
Fox anything maybe you can come up with or is it too difficult sir?
For Los something to give them confidence
at the end of the day like a Parker said
had Team Liquid Alienware underestimate their opponents
and they don't take things seriously sometimes
and there could be an element of
well, we're already qualified at the end of the day
so it doesn't really matter where we slot in.
That being said, just based on the map bands,
Lo's banning out one of their comfort picks
because they're worried about going to a head-to-head
gunfight against the Team Liquid Alienware players on border
but then they take him to cafe.
I think KZ might drop another 20 bomb today.
I really don't have much faith in Lo's.
That is very, very well.
Daria, your cat baby has something to add to this conversation.
He doesn't know ball at all.
So unfortunately, he's not the best with it.
So he's trying to desperately let go of me, but I'm not yet.
I am the master, not the cat.
He does not control me.
I think it's really going to come down to the fraggers.
If Perez could show up huge, I think Lo says a fighting chance.
That's the question, right?
I mean, of course, I appreciate your cat being here just
for the vibes. Maybe that's the support that Lois need into this going into this one, right?
The most important best of one for them at the end of the group stage here. Can they make it
into playoffs? They start on the difficult side of cafe going into the attack. Thank you so very
much, Jesse. Our expectations might not be grounded in reality. I think we got a pretty good idea
and handle on how this game is going to go. Cafe is an interesting one. It is a map that is not
not played as frequently as it used to be. Some of the newer maps have been far more
invoked these days. Again, just to summarize what I said on the desk, I think it boils
down to two things. If Losus Fraggers show up, they have a fighting chance, irrespective
of what T-Law does. But if Team Liquid Alienware plays some of the games that we've seen from
them, maybe not so much in this stage, but especially during kickoff, they can be their
own worst enemy. It doesn't matter who you're facing against in the server when you are
beating yourself. So it could end up being you know two teams fighting against
Team Liquid Alienware, Lowe's and themselves. We'll see as we get underway
with T-Law starting on defense. They'll pick the bottom floor on cafe.
Yeah I also don't think this is like a crazy like 90% chance T-Law win. Like
we're all picking them as the favorites but at least for me I think this is
pretty close. I think this definitely could go either way between these two
squads. You look at Team Liquid Alienware and Lowe's and I think Lowe's are a team
who have found some great success in the past.
They're led by Dash, of course,
who has come back from wild card.
He's come through his home region here in South America.
And I think he's had some really good success
building this team up
and kind of leading a brand new roster
into some really high successes.
Of course, this low C and we saw how good
they could be back during kickoff
where of course they were able to secure themselves
in a top four spot.
They made it to Salt Lake City
and maybe the international event
didn't go quite their way, but even still,
I think this is a team who are extremely formidable who have to be a threat domestically of course in these best of ones
So I'm not expecting a stomp. I expect this one to go the distance max regulation
Maybe some overtime for sure talk about how liquid Alienware have certainly been prepping for this game
But loaves have as well and already you kind of saw it early with some funky operator bands
Grimm is far and away the most commonly banned attacker on cafes
so it wasn't a huge shock to see him be kicking out. But the fact that they immediately banged the
ram was really interesting, I think, from Team Liquid Alienware. It's the most common operator for
Daffodil on this map. He loves to play ram on cafe and it also maybe gives a bit of a tease for
what their site rotation will look like. Cafe is a map with four viable bomb sites. All four of them
seek constant play here in professional siege. So the fact they ban out the ram probably means
they're going to be sticking to those lower bomb sites. They're going to want to play a lot of
of kitchen, they're going to want to play a lot of that mid-floor. These Rams, of course,
not really that useful on the top floor. So it kind of shows that Liquid have a very
significant game plan coming into this. Like they've been very thoughtful as to what they want to
ban, how they want to take these first six rounds in the defense. So I'm just super excited to see
what they've come up with because while this is so important for Lowes to be able to get that
regulation when to lock into, uh, into the top six, Liquid also want to lock in top four here.
You know, if they lose this game, there's a very real chance they'll be starting in the lower bracket,
and you never want to be starting the lower bracket, especially when you're a
team who have had difficult mental struggles like Liquid have in the past.
Yeah, again, they can often be their own worst enemy. The good news is they've locked in playoffs. They
fell short of where I think the expectations were for both the team and the organization.
There was a big splash getting them under that horse banner of Team Liquid,
which would then partner up with Alienware officially to rebrand as Team Liquid Alienware,
at least for the time being. And with it, expectations very high. This has been an org
that has been around in eSports since the dawn of time. They expect all of their teams to do well,
they support them well, they fund them typically quite well. And usually the org seems to be
immune from the drama that a lot of other eSports companies and organizations end up getting into.
There's a big reason why four of the five players left Fiora to go to Team Liquid Alienware,
despite Fiora being a huge Brazilian organization, and yet consistency has haunted this Team Liquid
and now Team Liquid Alienware squad for quite some time, irrespective of who plays on it.
Just ask Nesq, just ask Paulu. Look at guys like Ask, who've now gone over to Geekay and have flourished
in their position. I don't know if they're cursed or not, but they've got to exercise some demons
here. They've got a golden opportunity against Lois to cement themselves in the top four and be
one best of three away from qualifying to EWC. Definitely a bit of a chip on the shoulder for
Team Liquid Alienware just to rewind the clock back to the kickoff playoffs. They started in the
upper bracket, they won their group back during kickoff in the BO1s. They played ninjas and pajamas
in the upper bracket to try to qualify to the Salt Lake City Major. They lost 8-6 on map 3,
Barely losing to nip to lose that first opportunity. No worries though
They dropped down to the lower bracket and who they meet well
It's the best team in the world they go up against FaZe Clan and they lose that and another close three game series
So this is a team who definitely felt like they should have been at Salt Lake City
Like they should have been at that event to represent Brazil represent South America to continue their legacy
These are former world champions of course who have won more majors than any other core of players in history
so this is a squad that expects to be at the big stage all consistently.
Now would be the time to prove once again that you are still a top team in this world,
that your brightest days are not behind you, but that you can continue to push forward against
some of the best teams in the world, and also against Lowes, as they'll be playing here today.
That's been a very top-heavy side of things for this team Liquid Alienware Squad roster, too.
T-Law has KZ as the second highest rated player and Maya not far behind in fifth.
So the Fraggers are fragging and KZ said 87 kills competing with the likes of Hates and Handy
and Gabu for top in the region. The Perez is not that far behind and again so goes Perez so goes
this team low squad. I think if Perez has a rough day stacking up against the aggression and skill
of T-Law? It might be a quick one.
Could be quick here too. Daffod just outside the window. Maya heard that get
opened up. They are droning. You can see Daffod's run to the left. I think it just saw Maya.
Oh, but he loses the fight anyways. That's a tough one. He eats the nitrosol right
afterwards. At the same time, KZ finds Perez for a two-man advantage. So this is
a massive play from Team Liquid Alienware. Now you have to get Jesper on the side of
You've got to find some way to get this kill back, but everybody retreating.
They have one HP on Fleebox, one HP on Maya, but all of them get back to that ground floor.
It's a risky roam game there on the mid floor of Tafe, but it pays off for Team Liquid Alienware,
and they'll take a two-man advantage into the later part of this round.
As we've seen time and time again, even if you have just a single point of HP,
you can do immeasurable damage to your opponents.
That's the hope here for this this T-Law squad is that Fully Pox and Maya, both terrific players,
in their own right, will be able to still make some noise despite being in weaker position.
You might not see them as forward and aggressive because they can't gamble off of taking too much
damage, but they'll still be in a decent position, especially with three other players on T-Law
upright. Dash will find what remained of Fully Pox, and that's one of them gone.
What about Maya though? KZ active, takes down Dash.
Loose, reduced to Dark, and Nuxka. Goodbye, Dark.
Nuxka inside the site, charging his way out.
He finds the remaining point of HP on Maya after smiting him with a shield.
And now the fade away as he gets JV92 to boot.
T-Logist needs to lay out the next 30 seconds.
Keep Nade and KZ in safe positions. There's no reserve utility.
KZ finally gets Nuxga, so the waiting game doesn't last too long and the horsemen start off with a successful round.
Couple of good impactless exit frags from Nuxga there at the end of the round. Parker,
he enters this game as the lowest kill total player in the South America League, just 44 and 63.
He has the hard support shield man, so it's not something to dig too deep into, but just
nice to see him boosting those stats a little bit at the tail end of that round, which was more or
less loss. I don't think that was horrible by any means for Los. You know, they had a really good
opportunity to get a couple of those early picks. They brought Maya and Fleetbox down so low to one
HP each. If those kills go the other way, if they're able to find those frags, all of a sudden it's
a 3v3 execute instead of a 3v5 execute, and that could have gone so differently for Los, but a couple
of really close gunfights in the early game do go the way of teamwork with Alienware, and you start
start to wonder like is this gonna be a difference maker in this game? If Lowe's can put together
some good fights and some good strats, that's great, but if they're just losing these gunfights
by very slim margins, will that be enough for Team Liquid Alien Glitz to just run away
with it?
We know it's gonna be a dog fight between these teams. Again, we showed the standings
before getting into the matchup. Lowe's entered the day in sixth place there, safe there for
the time being as the only team that can surpass them is Fluxer W7M. They're up next, playing
against loud. Loud has qualified for the playoffs, whether they make top four or
they're one of those fifth, sixth teams in the lower bracket. That remains to be
seen. It is win one and you're in with EWC. So making the playoffs is the goal
for all of these teams. But if you finish in fifth or sixth, you start in the
lower bracket, which means if you lose that best of three, that's eight. You're
out. The top four teams get two opportunities. So if loud makes top
four loses their first best of three, but then prevails in the lower bracket.
They still make it to the eSports World Cup in Paris.
That means loud is not going to be taking that match easy, which is bad news
for fluks or W7M as they desperately need Lois to lose.
And then they need to win in order to capture this last spot, a three point
victory for Lois.
Secure their spot and Jesse, it might be a little bit challenging as KZ
blows you up with a nitrocell, leapox gets one as well, and dash and daffo are left standing.
They're going, guys, it's been a minute. What is happening?
Beautiful strat coming out. Maya, of course, on that pulse gets so much good information
for Team Liquid Alienware, and then the nitrocells just go flying. Those ones over towards that
pillar door that we were witnessing, so maybe the pulse won't as much intel on that one.
But even still, like, you're feeding information combined with nitrocells. It's a winning strategy
and Team Liquid Anywhere, surely no way they lose this round now.
They're in excellent position with a huge berth and tons of opportunity to close this one out.
I will say 3 kill lead of 5v3 to 5v2 tend to be among the most dangerous in-ceives.
That's when you start taking chances, but Flee Pox will find a second down does dash Daffo with one kill so far.
This is only kill in this matchup.
One of 90 in the hands of Gridlock is a pretty formidable gun, but...
He's got to deal with four players, three of which are world champions.
They played against some of the toughest opposition KZs sitting at 6-0 right now are
Herculean performance through these two rounds.
Daffa is just going to buy time.
45 seconds remain in the round.
Again, prolonging the inevitable dressing.
If you have the diffuse kit and they didn't know where it was, maybe he's got a good
chance, but Kit is downed outside of reading, he has no way to pick that up.
It'll be watched like a hawk by Team Liquid Alienware, and they are reading his every movement.
He's just trying to catch them off guard.
There's one!
Right on the plate box.
Give us a little bit of hope.
Missing some shots here though, and it will be KZ, who locks it down.
7 and 0 now, with a starfrager of Team Liquid Alienware.
Foxy said he was expecting a 20 bomb from KZ, and he did to this game,
and he's already through two rounds, more than a quarter of the way there.
I, uh, I fear our analyst may have gotten the prediction right on the...
Hit the nail right on the head right on the money, Jesse
Right on the money. Thank you right on the money. It's okay. Sometimes the idioms they they take a little bit longer to show up
There are a couple players within reach of hitting 100 kills before we get to the playoffs
You know, you and I got picked fun of a little bit me in particular for talking about case and hitting 100 kills with 100 thieves
But hates 12 away KZ 13 away
Gabu 15 away
Perez 19 away unlikely that we're gonna see 19 kills dropped but for both hates
and KZ 12 and 13 kills respectively that is definitely doable especially if
KZ starts off 7 and 0 he needs six more kills to be the first player in Brazil
to clips the 100 kill mark and it's very possible especially against with the
way this low steam has been playing the kills have been coming pretty easy for
key lock. KZ on fire at the moment looking red hot here on cafe. They go to a 2-0 lead.
They'll be coughing in this first quarter no matter what, knowing that it cannot be a
loss. For Los, they've just really lost some unfortunate predicaments. You use a couple
of close gunfights in round one, then you get eaten by, well, two nitrous cells, three
deaths in round number two. I mean, this team has really been struggling to catch a break.
They will also lose a drone now to KZ, who has caught one here on red stairs, so can
start to get a little bit more active with this information.
Question is for Lois, what do you do to respond to this?
You know there are more nitrous cells, four of them, this time being brought by Team Liquid
Alienware, combined not with information from both KZ and Maya, and it's going to be really
difficult to creep through this top floor.
They have to find some way to disrupt this information before they just take it top.
If they rappel into the piano and sit around and wait for these nitrous cells to come, it's
not going to be winning strategy, so something else has to come around.
Paisy's averaging one kill per round at this current point in time, which is, again, really
quite terrific for people who don't follow Siege.
I remember when Shiko was the only player over a kill per round and people were agog
at how well he was doing.
Typically, you're going to average somewhere around 0.75 to 0.8 kills per round.
If you're a Starfrager, anything above that is terrific.
KZ has been exceptional, we come to expect that from him.
And this matchup is no exception whatsoever.
So, close up their hands, full through these two rounds,
still plenty of time to turn it around here
as we're early in the cafe.
Everybody drops on Team Liquid Alienware,
they don't want that smoke clearing to the top floor.
Again, they know they can just play down here
with their C4s, Parker.
They'd be happy to let the attackers
take that top floor space.
Now it's about landing them.
Three still left in the pocket, KZs did not land,
so they've got an opportunity here.
With the fact that there's a kaid claw even on this hatch, it might not entirely prevent
this hatch from being opened, but it will slow them down, and that could be a big deal
when you're fishing for C4s, because the liquid alienware will be throughout the rest of this
round.
Final minute now, this is a retake on to the top floor that is now thought otherwise by
KZ.
Immortal so far, just as Nade finds himself in the same position, Dark and Perez yet
to get a kill for Perez. That means to change in a hurry again. He's the player that they
rely on the most to get kills. Tough competition here as we fast approach the execute.
35 seconds now. Everybody's still alive. It's a crazy spot to be in the Dreadmine's
obscuring division for next step. They've got full bird control. They haven't been able to land
any of these utilities. Perez gets the first one in a JV92 though and we're off to the races.
his name and he shall appear. Time running out for Los, but they got the first pick.
The flank comes in. A bit of sloppiness from KZ. He manages to stick the landing nose. The
site control is gone in favor of the Monty of Nuxka and surrounding cast. Time running
out, but the guns will find their marks. Picking away at T-Li, it's all up to Filippox to clutch.
Diffuse kit getting planted. Blobs up the nitro cell. He finds one, but the round prolonged
for 40 more seconds and three players remain might be out of reach.
Unless Filippox can pull off a miracle here, his first task getting up the stairs,
and Gakko says no thank you.
Loose on the board.
A really good response to come out there, Parker.
They wasted so much time.
They weren't able to get into those gunfights, but that's OK.
They understood that Team Liquid Alienware would have some of those advantages.
They did try to get in the building.
They ate some of those nitrous cells.
They burned a lot of utility as they were wasting that clock down.
And eventually, Nesley just found his way in. He didn't bother trying to clear that top floor too much.
He was up there, but even when he did, he would stick on that hard floor so he couldn't get C forward.
Waxing straight through Pillar finds his way into the site, gets that diffuse get in on the ground.
It's a really well put together push from Loast. They don't overextend. They take the map control
that is given to them. They don't die to anything crazy, and they get on the board 2-1, happy with that result.
Yeah, I mean, you gotta break the rotation, right? And when you get a tertiary bomb site,
that's usually where you see teams lose it, which is that middle floor. We're going to
immediately go down to the kitchen now, which is where T-Law started this match off, avoiding
that top floor bombsite for the time being. No cocktail to be played. It's been very interesting
watching the ebb and flow of this map, Jesse, because that cocktail bombsite up top was very
popular and quite highly prioritized by a lot of teams, particularly North America.
Brazil is not particularly liked it very much and with it its pick rate has steadily fallen.
It's the middle floor bomb sites that are often argued over whether you want to go to
fireplace mining or whether you want to go to reading. You have to pick your poison. In this
case fireplace mining is for a lot of teams considered one of the weaker sites and funny
enough that's the one that T-Law just lost. So if you end up going back there at any point the
site is open you can go there if you choose but T-Law is going to hang their hat on the bomb site
that showed some success back in round one.
Yeah, probably we'll continue the rotation through rounds four and five.
If we get to round, or we'll get to round six, but when we do,
I kind of expect them to repeat the bomb site anyways,
just because again, that this Ramban and without Popflare
is falling out of rotation for a lot of teams. Oh, hello!
That's gonna be pretty tough to, uh, to hold onto.
A perfect little toxic bay from KZ will get the final finish off onto Dash.
So an early frag going the way of Team Liquid Alienware,
open and pick that will go their way so far all three opening hits have been
converted to round wins so a massive one to get if you're too in liquid
Alienware.
Knocked off your stride, unideal. Good round from Perez previously, picked up two
kills and again he just needs to warm up and the rest of this team can almost
see. This is a bit of a fall off from Perez down the rest of the standings. You
We got to go down to 11th to get to Daffo, so.
There's a small drop.
I was hoping he'd laugh, and he didn't laugh, so it really hurts my feelings.
But then it's a big drop all the way to the bottom.
Dash, Dark, and Nuxka are all in the bottom 40.
So 40th place for Dash, 43rd for Dark, 47th for Nuxka, out of 50 players.
That's quite detrimental, and yet Los are still in a playoff spot, and a lot of that
Thanks to Perez and lesser so to Daffos of these two players again can shop a presby in the big one
They do have a fighting chance and so far they've shown that they can easily match up against the aggression of teal off from the last round
They do it again down a man
Not a more KZ goes for a flank. It's really risky. You're a 5v4 they catch him on a drone walking up brown
I think that's just a I'm nine and one. I'm gonna do them a little bit
That's kind of what that feels like from KZ. He was low HP anyway, so fair enough now
Now they got to turn towards his execute. There's a player still inside of VIP that got to worry about it's JV92 who's playing close to the shield of Nuxka.
Not sure exactly where he's at. He's not down to the left. He is inside of VIP. Maybe backed off a little bit too.
Over on the brown stairs actually is where he's playing. So that mate will start to root him out and the vert pressure remains strong from lows, but they have to convert.
We're on fishing, hunting for kills from above Maya on the board, Perez will tear through
Filippox.
Perez?
Big player over the last two rounds, nothing against a huge kick down, Yokai drone unsuccessful,
T-Law bit of a sleep at the wheel here.
Get your mental as you bring an echo to scout, get information and maybe knock them off the
plant.
Not able to do that as Nade was focused elsewhere.
He's putting the grave.
Perez carrying ample body bags through this round.
I and JV92 both under fire, Nuxka, and dark the final two kills.
And with dark getting that one, nobody on loss,
held off the score sheet so far.
Loose, pushing T-Lot through two rounds now.
We've got a tie game.
A little bit tough there at the end of the,
Yo-Kai wasn't able to deny that.
Plant Parker, you mentioned it, sleep at the wheel,
and it certainly felt that way a little bit from Nade.
No doubt one of the best support players in the world,
but a little bit lacking in that moment.
His twin brother, Handy, just fell in a big upset loss
our previous matchup. Now he could be maybe on the same path as we're tied at two after
four rounds of cafe, but even still it comes down to a close round once again. Really good
execute from Loos altogether. The fact that they got a trade pack on the KZ is kind of
blessed but they take those picks when they get them and then it's the Stenswall to protect
that drop in through Freezer. It makes JV92's position completely irrelevant. He's not able
to do anything from VIP. He hasn't been able to do anything throughout this game. Now
0-4 from, I'll call him the loudest player on Team Liquid Alienware, the one who's most likely to talk some snack and text chat, but
he's been quiet as you've expected because you haven't really been able to find his place on the board. Usually it's him, Maya, and KZ, who have the three big
fraggers on this team. It's just KZ so far, you'll be able to hold that mantle.
Yeah, six kills if you're not named KZ, nine kills if you are named KZ, JB92, and Nade yet to find any frags,
And again, you have to imagine how at this first two rounds go, if KZ gets shut down early, he's certainly cooled off, and as we said, still in pursuit of a hundred kills when he entered the day with 87, he needed 13, he's four away.
I mean, it's 2-2.
You have to imagine he's gonna pick up four kills between now and the end of this matchup
It really just depends on if it continues to be as lopsided for Los as it has been over the last two rounds if kilo can
manage to
Get back into this and stop the bleeding here
especially with some assistance from the supporting cast
In case he will be in prime position to do that, but of course there's more to it and just a hundred frags
He'll all want to lock in a top four spot
Still some C4s to play with, JV92 and KZ locking those down below as their three teammates play above.
This is going to be the game plan for Team Liquid Alienware.
Can you make sure that you don't lose up above the bomb site to hold on to that first pressure?
They tossed a couple of nades in the side of those, but they haven't really taken that map control just yet.
So I'm waiting for them to find their moments to find the gap and to get that pick.
creep up. Maya, the leadoff frag, down goes Perez. Perez has been a huge part of this
team throughout the entire stage. Last two rounds were one in large part because of him.
A 10th kill will now come in for KZ as the nitro cell gets expended. Maya, ego checking.
That spotlight with Los. Right now, shoved back to just three players. I suppose you
can start to play a little bit looser. Flepox dies, KZ dies, Nesca finds two before being
and settled down by JV92, Nate on the board as well.
That's both the juice eggs broken on the side of T-Law.
And Dash will look around and assess the situation.
Three players from T-Law to five,
and they seem a little bit more interested
in taking those engagements.
Scared away by a nitro cell.
It's been a great two rounds for Lois,
but it looks like the journey has ended for the time being.
He takes down Nate, no response.
This is where things begin to get a bit scary
for this Team Liquid Alienware team.
You need to play farther back
because if you peek and you lose your 50-50,
you put Dash in a 1v1 with case and plenty of time.
That is not an ideal situation to be in.
Dash just plodding along them,
sees the default cam above him,
bulletproof camera as well.
All this information being funneled
to the last few players on Team Liquid Alienware
and Dash's job gets a little bit harder
because of that f-mine.
Walks in disoriented, walks right back out.
Jesse, this is a valiant effort,
But unless T-Law commit a huge mistake,
they should absolutely be able to hold this one.
They cross him, they both check,
and Maya gets him on the response.
Well played by T-Law, and they regain.
Very well played by Dash.
I mean, of course didn't have a great chance there,
a great opportunity.
I think Team Liquid Alienware played that perfect,
but Dash did as much as he could in that 1v3
to try to make the clutch happen.
Shows that experience that of course he has earned
from years of high level teams that he's played on,
course wildcard lads season w7m the big one previously as well that he would
play on one a major with them in Montreal so has plenty of experience
leading on top teams now here on most bit of a pet project for him to get these
younger players kind of up to speed and to get them on the same level that he's
used to playing that down three to two team liquid alien where it's not a bad
spot to be starting the attack at all they should be feeling pretty confident
at this but for me Parker it's been the same story as what we started this game
talking about it's the C4s which you can get in constant use usage under these
vert plays coming through and it's KZ and Maya the two players who have just
been finding those frags they find them in the early game they find them sometimes
in the late game but just the amount of impact they're able to have always
starting their team on the right foot even if then you know KZ walks up
ground stairs and guy's doing something stupid like he's still giving his team
the advantage he's still finding that opening frag you're not seeing these
players die with no value in any of these rounds. It is constantly a threat and it's
constantly a problem that most don't have a good answer to. It was almost a team ace in the previous
round. By the way, Filippox was the only member of the squad who didn't pick up a kill. Maya got two.
The rest spread out quite evenly. This was also something that we both agreed upon. It cannot
just be the KZ show. You need more depth if they can show that depth here again in their position
very well and these players have woken up. Maybe 92 and Nate in particular held off
the score sheet until the previous round. So this is a very frustrating angle to combat
if you are an attacker and something where the defender is usually good enough for a single kill
and then that's about it. KZ is going to gamble his life in that position. He gets
drowned out and immediately the pivot from loss. They do not want to contest that skylight. They
will instead go for safer passage by starting at top red.
He's not alone, don't forget.
Of course, he's got his captain, Filippo,
just the side of cigar too.
They haven't drone him out just yet,
but they should do that soon.
Of course, this two-man roam up above
is just wasting some time.
KZ will fall off now,
leaving just Filippo's up on this tall floor.
They will enter a red,
and they will start to work their way down
towards this bomb site.
So, loads of utility used on the side of Los.
Four candels from Dash will likely be safe
the rescue for getting enough scope above with this box. It's so important too.
Burke was hoping to fly by and not be seen, but Filippox has his number and there he goes.
Lois suffering through their very first casualty. If Dark had been able to get in under careful watch
by T-Law, they would have been in great shape. It does not come to pass.
Perez now dealing some damage to KZ's. They understand the Fenrir's down on the bottom floor.
are all of these things being taken into consideration by Los as they try to count bodies for the final minute.
This gets so annoying. You're just trying to open this hatch up, Parker.
You've got to explode all on all four sides to find this electric claw.
They will finally clear the claw, but you can see just how many X-Pyrus it took.
They will get it open without any issues, but it's wasted so much time.
And in a manned disadvantage, that's time you can't afford to be wasting for Los.
He right now is about potentially bottoming out as we hit the final 40 seconds.
There goes JV92 Perez with an opening pick that could end up snowballing into something greater.
Love's chasing the tie. That would happen if they win this round.
They're not able to win the first half, but salvaging it by drawing either with Q-Ball would be a huge accomplishment.
They're losing control of the clock though.
20 seconds now elapsed since that kill and all hell is going to break loose.
to smile grabs next case the drop comes in almost gets another gaffo lives a
little bit longer fully pox on the board he was all without a kill in the
previous round he's got two boys troubles made with one and it's kz with
the exit frag in round six key law take the first half for two liquid here with
those four rounds on the board and especially in those first things what
we saw there incredible of reverse days bonk from kz really stepping on
up. I mean, round two as well. What can you do if you're
lost and three of your teammates have died to a C4 in the first
round? That seems really rough. It seems really difficult to
solve with such a situation. I do think that kind of lets you
sort of over aggression, over confidence, maybe of liquid
because we definitely saw that in round three, you know, maybe
getting a little bit of a head of themselves with certain gun
fights, round four, maybe not being too sure of what was
going on with the attack on site and the plant going down as
well. But it's good to see liquid lock back in KZ again,
getting a lot of kills. I mean, you said at Foxy, you can't really always expect KZ to pop off
the way that they did, but it seems like he's just doing it once again.
Yeah, all of the warning signs were there from the start, and we all predicted it. We predicted
every single one of them. I mean, the only people that can be Team Liquid Alienware really is themselves
in Round 2, you know, they just get overconfident and then allow Loos to be able to take advantage
of them. Yes, a great playmaking from Loos. I mean, on Round 4, them being able to get the bomb
down essentially with TLA, just not understanding that was happening.
I mean, it's smart play from Lowe's to identify these situations.
But again, it's just the TLA Alienware noticing these issues because of over
confidence or allowing these issues because of overconfidence.
And they regroup it and follow it all together.
That's what we were talking about, you know, again, Lowe's banning border
to go to this map because they want to avoid gunfights, but then they're
bringing Cafe, which is arguably one of Team Liquid Alienware's best gunfight heavy map.
KZ, again, it's one of the maps that he thrives in. He revolutionizes. They didn't ban the Izami.
It was just something where everything that Team Liquid Alienware needed to be able to get a good
start, they were allowed. And yes, it is a defender side of maps. So there's two rounds that
Loos was able to get, could be good. We're going on to their fair share of attacks.
But then that brings into the bigger issue is Los is only gotten one opening kill in that whole half. So that being said, it's it might not get an easier when you have KZ and Maya that are just on a hot streak right now and being able to find those opening kills.
So that'll be the biggest challenge is playing slow for Los and limiting the amount of opening kills that they're able to give away.
Maybe relying more on the utility would be their best friend in this scenario to be able to slow down
TLA and focus make them focus on going for executes as opposed to just being able to slay their way through the rest of this series
Yeah, and as a defender, of course, you can make time work as a six defender as well for the side of lows
But let us reiterate the stakes here going into the second half lows
They need a regulation win to get themselves safe and locked in for playoffs anything in overtime means that are still
all to play for Fluxo W7M in the matchup after this loss, you're going to need to put in a hell
of a shift to get those five rounds on the board. Thank you very much guys and I mean you're absolutely
right this is do or die for loss they have to be able to get as good of a result as possible
certainly a regulation win would lock it down. An overtime win is still better than a loss or an
overtime loss that they need every point they can get the more points they get the better round if
If they get the harder it will be for flexor w7m to take that spot away from them when they play later today, but yes regulation win
Is absolutely the goal. I'm also glad that box a brought up that opening picks at parker only one entry through the first half is
Brutal for Los it's always the challenge when you go up against team look at alienware
They have the highest entry rate of any team here in the South America League winning 60% of their opening duels
That has only expanded after the first half of cafe and they'll be looking to keep that up now as they move to the attack
KZ at this point in time is let's do some math here Jesse. Two kills away from
being the first player in SAL this stage to break a hundred kills so we are
we are again going to keep watch of that. Everybody else is sitting around the
70 kill mark of course a hundred kills is a is a high water mark especially to
accomplish that during a group stage without best of threes being done as
we've seen in other regions if you end up in the lower bracket if you end up in
the higher bracket in the upper bracket you lose your best of three and then you go down
to the lower bracket and you win that and continue to run. 200 kills is within reach
of some of these high performing fraggers. Obviously we are going to be getting well
ahead of ourselves but we'll see over the next seven days or so as this region comes
to a conclusion how that works out. JB92 starts off the kill and Casey also on the board.
Nuxka the only one so far from low is able to deal with this. This is a breakneck pasting
set by T-Law and the blitz of Nate having some issues. Myon the board he's
traded out immediately by Dash. Three still remain for T-Law. Two on the side of Lowes.
Dash and Daffo. The two members holding outside the bomb site. Still alive.
JB92 taking a beating in the process and maybe a brief pause as your rush strat
did not ultimately work out. The Aurora being used to cut off the line of sight
over towards whiskey. Now it's just a small rotate that can be done. They'll find it
KZ, Mr. 100, looking for 101, Daffo just out of reach for the time being, buying time for
JV92 to get the diffuse kick down. Daffo now attempting to get back to the bomb site. His
job gets much harder and his entryway guided by these players from T-Law. Last kill goes
in favor of Nade and Team Liquid Alienware. Go up 5-2. Just a beautiful rush to start this
second half Parker. I know we don't have
Telstraation gave bullies here in the
South America League, but if we did top
down of that round would be absolutely
brilliant to watch back. You had all
angles being covered by Team Liquid
Alienware with everybody having a
really important role to play. JV92
shutting down some of those lines of
sight with that Aurora making sure that
nobody can flank in through small bake.
At the same time you've got these smokes
being thrown out by Maya on the
Glasnades charging through on the Blitz,
the Blackbeard from the Leapox. It was
It's all so well coordinated, focused on Bakery, but also pressure towards Front Door, also a little bit of pressure, I believe, kind of coming in towards that base, towards the restaurant side as well, so it just felt like all across that bottom floor, it was a flood of players coming in from Team Liquid Alienware, and it's not like it was a heavy roam game from Lowes, it's not like there was a huge commitment above the site that gave them that gap, they were just confident that like there was no thorn, there was nothing that was going to dramatically slow them down that push.
They could go for that execute, and they have the team play to make it happen through the goyos, through the Aruny and through the Fenrir.
Lots of opportunities there for this low squad.
Pace again set by Team Liquid, just a bit too much for them to muster.
100 kills hit by KZ right on the dots, so congratulations to him, the first player in Brazil to do so at this stage.
You will have a lot of company over the next week as teams continue to do well through the final day of groups and then beyond because all the players that are within striking distance of that so far have clinched a spot in the playoffs except for Perez.
So Los is obviously very hopeful that a victory over Tila will be enough irrespective of what happens in that fluke's W7M loud matchup later today.
But Los does need a victory here three points for Los in regulation
Which means preventing teal off and getting one more round
And you're in good shape doesn't matter what that happens in that loud flukes a W7m game
But most obviously a lot on the line here and a loss in regulation to liquid and fluks a W7m getting
Three points or more means close ultimately end up on the outside looking in
They've lost this bomb site on attack the last three times they've played at the
Flux of W7M and the Black Dragon.
So this is a bomb site where they've known some struggles in the past.
All right, Lose have kind of shown their hand here, Parker.
They're not willing to commit to this top floor defense.
After 60 seconds, they give it up and they will reinforce their site after conceding that space.
You've brought some good soft reaching on the side of Team Liquid Alienware.
Of course, for Leapox, bringing this ledge will start to work the floorboards in and above train.
and above train but really it's gonna be about how you can collapse down with your
utility. Getting some of the space with the ace managing to use these grimby's to
spot players out trying to work this vertical as much as you can. That's the
name of the game for Team Liquid Alienware for Loos. You've got three nice
yourselves of their own. They were so deadly for TLA. Let's see if it can happen again.
It's deadly and she closer to the first point of contact. KZ has a good read on
on dark takes him down. Perez, the first one to draw blood though, it's Paley Pox gone.
Paley Pox dying quite early in a number of these rounds, maybe somewhat concerning for
the roles that he plays. Perez gets another, Nade trades him out. So two for the high flying
performer on the side of Los who currently is tied with Nuxka for most kills. Nuxka,
the third lowest rated player as of the start of today and he is well overperforming. That
as good news for Los.
They need all the help they can get
as they have their hands full with this T-Law squad.
3V3 with 30 seconds to go, just a little bit less.
Very winnable for both teams.
No real clear win condition for either of these squads.
Los, ever so patient, holding these crosses
far back from the bomb site, a burst in.
Nexka has a big moment, takes one, gets the other down
and it leaves Nade in a 1v2.
He pops up and dash will get the final kill.
A big round from Nuxka, a big round from Loos, and the gap shrinks to two.
It's a huge round from Nuxka, Parker. Again, this guy enters the game not just as a third lowest rate of player, but with the fewest kills of anybody in the South America League.
You're talking about KZ chasing 100 kills, Nuxka entered this game chasing 50.
He will accomplish that goal, but even still it shows the difference in dragging output that these two players have put throughout this stage.
But not that has been just as incredible in those tight moments
The fact that he gets a couple of early kills is great
But it's that rat spot just inside of dining after reinforcing the wall that completely catches Team Liquid Alienware
Off-guard in the midst of that push. It had a couple Grimby's still to use and as they were shooting those bees out
They didn't find anybody they were getting no information and that maybe should have been a tip to Team Liquid Alienware that these guys are playing kind of
They might be somewhere we don't expect whatever the case was they had no clue about Nuxx's position
He completely shuts down that push in 3v3 and deserves all the flowers for keeping Los alive
Don't forget. This is a team that is desperate for a regulation win
They have to go perfect to accomplish that goal. So their back is essentially against the wall in this moment
Time kills for Nuxx today is huge like you scored 50 kills was what he was chasing and he's about a fifth of the way there
and just a single match. You see this with these support and more auxiliary level players
where they can have a really good game. If the Fraggers are not doing well, let's say
for example Perez and Daffa are your main Fraggers stacking up and getting the hardest
minutes against T-Law. And you're trading each other out effectively. As long as Nuxka
is positioned well, the map and the site works in your favor. You can pick up a couple kills
in what is often referred to as garbage time in other sports. These don't need to be kills
that directly impact the results of the round, but in Nuxka's case, a lot of his kills have been
very critical. So he's not just stat padding, those nine kills are working very well for Los
and are a big part of why he's been able to have such an impact on this scoreline. If he keeps up
this level of play, even with some struggles from guys like Gaffo and Perez or Dark who's sitting at
two and eight now and is the first casualty of this round at the hands of KZ, Nuxka's play can be a
big contributing factor towards a loss win, which right now looks unlikely, but
it's still very possible. Very very popular side Parker. And again, some of
these outside angles are exactly why it's not really favored, but Perez steps up
and finds the head of KZ. That equalizes the numbers back to a four on four. And
you have to imagine that trade favors loss, taking down the menace that is KZ.
Now here inside of cigar, it's a big problem. They've got a player very
tucked in close. It's going to be Dapo. He's hitting the shots, though he loses
his shield finally goes down but honestly that's a great defense round coming up from him.
Two-law with the upper hand now. A little bit over a minute to go they've yet to flush Nuxka and
Perez out of their positions. Nuxka finds a tenth kill continuing his terrific play.
Now Perez will confront Philippa. That leaves JV92 somewhere else on the map to deal with one of
them. Perez spots and he's got a line of sight on both of these players. He finds one, turns on
the JV 92 adorning his gun is the team liquid skin and it doesn't matter at all.
Nuxka gets another kill and Loos are one round away from tying things up.
Oh they're making this game messy and that's exactly how they need to win it. Loos a massive
round to come out once again keeping their regulation dreams alive. Really nice holding
that tall floor. They instantly lose their cigar player to the drone hole and that's a really awkward
fight to take but what happens it's an immediate response you see the swing out to take KZ off
the window and then you see the castle jumping up definitely retaking that position he's in such
a bad spot it feels like the Monty staring at him they blow up the castle barricade and the shield
they're surrounding him but he still escaped by finding a head in the midst of that it's just
those little one picks that are coming out from players in really difficult spots that's making
the difference for Los here on this defense side really nice late round as
well I thought Paris and and of course Nuxka played that absolutely
phenomenally in the 2v3 what are you doing you're up against a Monty Parker
you make sure you have a crossfire on him and ended up just being some
beautiful shots from Paris that took down three blocks on the shield but even
still they had the really good coordination the positioning was
perfect for them in that round and now only one will separate them from time
and team with the only way.
Just as we saw in the phase Black Dragons game,
the underdog still has some bite behind them.
And I mean, besides going the way it is,
defenders seemingly having the advantage on this map
with the way these teams are playing
and with the operator bands lined up the way they are.
I mean, losing the mirror now
as your next wave of bands here,
I think this greatly benefits the defenders.
I don't think Mira is as big of a part of this defensive setup, though Loos to their
credit did play her twice in the previous two rounds and was instrumental in those round
victories, but there's still other options.
Alright, Perez!
Breaks the window, takes care of JV92, JV92 plays some of the hardest minutes on T-Law
and attacking this bottom floor bomb site without a ram is going to be such a challenge
for T-Law.
They still have the buck, but you're right, that is brutal to be able to lose that one operator.
There is still another roamer, don't forget, Dash is all the way on the top floor,
and despite KZ being on this dope and Maya being on the demos, he's sitting on a meat chamber,
so they won't be able to track him and give him a call.
Dash is playing really aggressive right now, gets droned out, and they do catch him on the cross,
a really good teamwork coming out from Team Liquid Alienware,
but even still, they're constantly worried about who might still be lurking on these top couple of floors.
Still a 4v4, 16 kills now for KZ as they've got this full top floor control, but without the soft breach of the ram, without GAB92 able to open these floorboards, it's going to be awkward to force these defenders out of their positions.
I think the craziness of the bottom floor of cafe is now gone, I think we're going to see face around slow down a bit Parker as they start to work on the soft breaching, but you have to be feeling bad about losing GAB92 on the ram, that's such an important operator gone.
It's brutal stuff, it's just very fortunate that you do have other options.
You know, there are operators that can do soft destruction in a pinch, certainly not
believe that a boogie drone can, and usually not with the level of security and noise that
a boogie drone provides as well.
I mean, even the secondary, the sidearm of gamOs can easily tear through the floors quite
effectively.
You've got a box two, the skeleton key's about to run out, and you can see just how effective
even one boogie drone can be in comparison to the 20-some-odd bullets that Nade used on that floor
for the skeleton key. Little concerning with the time management right now for T-Lon, no doubt
caused by the loss of that ram. They're okay for now with the timing, the important thing are these
defense positions. They've got Nuxka behind the bar, they've got Davido inside of VIP. The push is
going to rotate over the bakery actually, so those players might not be what's relevant. It's going to
It's gonna be Perez and Dark who have to stop this push as it starts to come and bake.
There goes KZ with the hands of Dark, Maya trades it back, but Lois in really good shape, Nuxka, Nuxka, Nuxka.
He is doing so, so well. Perez also heating up, challenging Nuxka for top frag.
Dark will get the final kill, and Lois has tied the game!
Oh, Parker, we're starting to see the famous Team Liquid Alienware mental shutdown, I fear.
This is exactly what they did not want to see.
And a tactical timeout will finally come through from Igor
to try to slow this game from spiraling out of control.
For me, Parker, obviously it's not seven pairs, right?
Like these guys have been incredible,
but it's not just their individual aim.
It's how they're playing together.
When things are getting scrappy,
when the comms are no doubt getting cluttered,
when the push is coming in from Team Liquid Alienware,
it's those two who have been able to keep their cool,
trade their teammates,
and always be aware of like where the pressure is,
what they have to look at.
There's so much going on in these late rounds
because it's getting very chaotic,
very panicked to see Liquid Alien
where go for those executes.
But it always seems like Lois are able
to keep their heads on straight
and not panic it to what's happening for them.
They're doing a really good job of reading these pushes
and responding to them.
Even in that round,
we all thought it was going to be a freezer drop.
That's usually what happens when you take top floor control.
I was watching the VIP guy.
I was waiting for the, excuse me,
for the restaurant player to find some impact.
But instead, it's a pivot straight towards Bakery.
And it could have caught Lester teams off guard,
but Loos immediately read into that.
They immediately said, yes, we're going to find that response
and be able to shut you down with it.
I just think it's really good coordination
coming from these guys on Loos.
They've earned themselves this 5-5 score,
and now just two rounds separate them
from a spot in the SAO playoffs.
O-Site, thank you, Deployed.
The performance, it's been by Loos,
and it's been a little bit, as you just mentioned,
it's been a little bit of column A
a little bit of column B, right? The old Team Liquid Alienware, the organization, not the players.
Old habits die hard, and it seems like history is slowly starting to repeat itself. And to their
credit, Los has been playing very well. The information game has been good for Los. They've
been fragging effectively. Again, there are just times where you have a good strategic element,
and if you can't hit your shots, it's over. Look no further than the phase clan game we just
witness there were a couple times where both handy and cyber missed what seemed to be relatively easy
fights. Some days it's just recoils I guess a little too tough or you get surprised by your
opponent you're not fully prepared and ready to deal with it. So in this particular instance
sometimes if you just can't shoot that's it. Good news for Team Liquid Alienware is they
have qualified for the playoffs where they end up is they will remain to be seen.
Bully Pox trying to keep his team very much in this takes out Dash. That's the very first casual becoming early in the round and
Boy, oh boy. That must be a sigh early for T-Law
Yeah, I believe that was a spawn peek attempt coming through from Dash
So they shut that down the spawn peeks have been brutal for low
So they've been really good to shut down the early pressure from Team Liquid Alienware
JV92 is quite aware of that fact. I'm sure so
Making sure that you don't die to that is absolutely critical here in this defense or in this attack half
So three players remain on the top floor. It's Nuxka, Daphne, and Perez. These guys have been so critical winning these last couple of rounds for Los.
Their team Liquid Alienware will take their time on this. Start to use some of their Grimby's.
JB92 revenge on the spawnpick. Takes down Perez in another aggressive position. Here's the jump out bone.
No, Daphne on the angle. Plans the head back on to Nade, and this game is really scrappy on the top floor.
But finally, it's Team Liquid Alienware who are slowing things down and getting themselves into advantage.
We were the way that they've been playing so far today, Jesse, I even with a 4v3 advantage
that you gotta you gotta wonder if Team Liquid Alienware are gonna be able to capitalize.
One of the final bosses for Los has been NuxxGuns, taught by KZ who hits 17 kills in incredible
runs.
He eclips the 100 kill mark so far this stage, just a few rounds ago, Daffo and Dark now.
Now both of them have had relatively quiet games, though Dark did save the round previously.
They're gonna have their work cut out for them.
2v4 with a minute to go and this allows plenty of time for Tealot to settle in.
Absolutely, this is lots of time to hunt for these last couple of players.
They should have a couple of drones to drive around still too on the set of Team Liquid
Alienware so information can go their way.
They've got time to play with.
Daffodil has lost his phone.
It's already been blown up by the dopedy.
That means he can't get called again.
Down at the bottom of Brown Stairs.
He needs to be that surprise factor that catches Team Liquid Alienware off guard.
If they're pushing white, that seems to be where they're going.
And he just immediately gets caught.
He's not going to have any impact.
New kills, raining in KV92 and KZ.
The final knockout blows as T-Law moved to match point.
Now, again, what does this mean when we talk about the playoffs?
Well, Lois can no longer get three points from this matchup.
best that Los can muster is they call a timeout here Jesse is two points in
overtime now team liquid is also trying to lock in top four it's all like
they're playing for nothing and team liquid is the last team currently in
the top four they sit in fourth tied with loud so for liquid all three points
still available they win they get those three points they end up in a three-way
tie with nip and furia for 17 points meaning that loud will need to win
their match up to potentially get into the top four, but again tiebreakers might prevent them from doing that as
For Los they are one point ahead of Fluxer W7M if they get two points and Fluxer W7M
Wins quite well and does so with all three points
There is potential that Los can still end up outside of the playoffs. That's just us theory-crafting
you being the numbers guy will have a better handle on this than I will but
this obviously is not the result that Los wanted they needed all three points
in regulation. Yeah I think the key takeaway here Parker is that no matter
what later today Fluxor W7M will have the opportunity to take the last plus spot
away from Los but Los still want to do as well as possible in this game to make
that difficult for Fluxor W7M so even if they get an overtime win here that's
better than an overtime loss, which is better than a regulation loss. Like, as many points as you can get for Lowe's should be the goal.
You would have liked a regulation win to lock it down and know that you were confirmed in playoffs.
That's no longer possible, but take your tack time out.
Make sure you've got your head on straight because this next round is also critically important and could end up making the difference
as to who make playoffs or not. This defense from Lowe's on the court floor is absolutely everything.
You or Dye is a pretty fair statement to make here.
Well, Lois?
I mean like, you start to ask the question, how aggressive do you want to be?
Because they went on their winning streak by playing very aggressive on their defense,
going for spawn peeks, making some aggro moves,
but then you just tried that on the previous round and after that time our Team Liquid Alien worked shut it down dramatically.
Do you try that again?
I think with Nuxka on the echo, it seems like they certainly are,
But Team Liquid Alienware are ready for it and they're expecting it, so that could have
made all the difference as to how they can counter some of these aggressive roamers.
Hunting down Dark quite incessantly.
He's got Meat Jammer's abound to keep him safe.
Nox got sitting on a Meat Jammer as well.
You saw that when Echo was played by T-Law, Nade was not able to use that Yokai Drone effectively
to stop the plant from going down.
If not so you can stay safe, you can provide a men's value there and work to stop T-Law.
Dash, the first casualty goes the way of the Godot.
Fully pox, the very first kill, and there's four more bodies to be found for T-Law as they look for all three points.
Yeah, still everybody up above. You've cleared up this bottom floor, and now you've got this good control.
JV92, it reduces death marks from down below.
KZ down here as well. You can push up the white stairs. It's a flank though.
Drop from Perez, and it doesn't pay off.
Around KZ to go, takes care of Nuxka, 20 kills for KZ, a 20 bomb in front of our very eyes.
Unmoved to a big victory, 14 liquid alienware, and they'll get them.
Fleepox and Nade landing the last two strikes on Lose, and now Lose's fate is out of their hands.
Three big points for the horseman, Lose, will await the result of loud flukesaw W7M to see.
just see if they made the playoffs hoping to qualify for UWC. Huge congrats to Team Liquid Alienware
and a bit of a congrats to FoxLane as well for correctly predicting the KZ20 bomb. That's kind
of insane. Regardless, a devastating result for Lois. They came so close to their goal of a regulation
win and then not only do all three points slip out of your fingers, but any points at all were
wasted in this game. They'll have to get very lucky to make playoffs at this point. Now I'm in your
your fingers completely out of your hands. Fluxer W7M in loud is going to be one hell
of a matchup. It's up next and loud is going to be competing for one of those top four
spots as well. So it's all going to be a cakewalk for Fluxer W7M. But before we get there,
let's break down what just happened in this match.
Thank you so much. And yeah, whilst it's a negative point for Loos not getting any points
from this matchup, we can spin that very positively for the likes of Liquid Irregulation. Win,
gives them the opportunity to lock in a matchup with anybody else then face in this case
We get to speak to the winners
We have Igor on the line after this victory here for Liquid to ask him a few questions about their final best of one in
The group stage Igor joining us. Congratulations on the victory. The big smile is back. How are you feeling?
Hello guys. Thank you so much. I'm feeling very very well because we got to the top four
It was our main priority for this group stage.
And right now we will have the chances to get this spot for the WC.
Yeah, I mean, congratulations.
You guys were able to secure yourself in top four.
Big win for today.
I mean, something that we've been seeing is,
and then we've been talking about is Team Liquid Alienware.
You guys have so much talent on this roster.
At some rounds it feels like you don't need to worry too much
about the strategy of it.
you just have players that go out and get kills like today, you know,
Daisy had an amazing game.
Is that something that has made you guys maybe look at some teams as not a serious contender?
You think, oh, we just have the better players.
So we're just going to out shoot them or do you go into every match preparing for the team ahead?
I don't think so because right now, we have a lot of broken operators in the attack.
So basically you don't need to be the best to win some rounds because you have Snake,
Green, Ingy, Shields, a lot of good operators to use. So basically we look to ourselves and we
need to be in our best because sometimes we don't feel we lose for our opponents, you know.
Basically we lose for ourselves because we want more than we need to do or sometimes we'll play
very bad, so we are more focusing ourselves than our opponents to be honest.
Okay, also we'll equalize six weeks in total for you guys here in the stage.
Which release was your favorite and which one do you think back of with the fondest memories?
This is Paige, let me see. Made against an IP because it was some crazy game.
We played one more time with them at 19th and labs, and we won the T side, so because we played very bad in the defensive side, but we could reset for the attack side, and we get the control of the game one more time, so for me it was the best moment of the stage.
Depending on the results later today, there is a serious challenge that you get a rematch against NIP.
If you guys stay in second and NIP in third, swap some points around.
Anything you learned from that game that you could take against NIP in a future game?
We know NIP, they are a very good team. We know he and Brazil, they play better than they play in Majors or AWC.
But here in Brazil, they play really, really, really well.
So Brazil has tough opponents, you know.
So basically, for their phase in IP, we don't know.
We know it's going to be difficult, but we need to be prepared.
And right now, I think we are in our best shape for the BL3s
because we won night-handy laps, we won Café dos Toyaves.
So our net pool is improving and our confidence, too.
So, I think we will get these parts for the WC.
Awesome. I love the confidence. That sounds very good.
Igor once again, congratulations on the victory here and good luck next week in playoffs.
Thanks so much, guys. Bye-bye.
Good to speak to Igor and Kynahevis thoughts about not just only that game,
but also the whole of the group stage for Liquid and they finish it off here pretty well.
I mean, on the side of those, we already said during the halftime break,
But what can you do when KZ drops another 20 bomb on your head?
So this Parker already alluded to, you know, the first play,
it's got 100 kills this stage in just nine games.
You know, great maths.
That's a lot of kills per game.
So making sure you get the double digits every single game.
For me, the main question is, who's going to stop this guy?
If somebody has to stop him at some point?
Yes, someone doesn't have to stop him eventually.
I mean, it seems like the team that was able to stop
I believe was loud so I mean it just goes to show like what we were saying and I'm glad that we had Igor to confirm it is
The only people that are really losing team liquid Alienware games is to themselves in situations where they'll get a little too overconfident or
They make the wrong play or they rely too much on individual guns
Go so it was nice to hear him say it as well that you know
sometimes we just get too caught up in the fact that we have good players, but we still prepare for each individual opponent and
and I mean when they really need to lock in that's when we see them lock in and
they're able to win so that being said it also it does help when you have KZ in
their last two matches that has also gotten a 20 kill we also predicted that
you know I did say that giving KZ cafe is just a situation I've played against
this guy on cafe I know exactly what he's bringing to the table he's so hard to
be able to stop and to put down he's able to make positions like piano like
bakery just areas that are very small very claustrophobic he's able to just
stay alive in them and just consistently to farm kills so it's so
difficult to go up against them and that's in this map specifically so if
anything for the teams that are going to be playing against team liquid
Alienware and playoffs maybe don't go to cafe
maybe don't go to cafe or basically like a zombie or anything that makes this guy
unable to play in the tiny spots here but as he goes already saying as well they
truly believe they are in the strongest form that they could be on going
into play, especially with that map, improving with the maps that they've shown us in these last
two matches here, but just in regulation, they close it out and surprise, oh my god, big shocker,
the MVP for this matchup, A is KZ. I mean, we talked about the 20 bomb, but if you talk about
consistency and the fact that he did hit those 100 kills, 100% cost as well, given that this
went full regulation round, that's probably even more impressive. Yeah, very impressive. I mean,
Now he's at 107 total kills throughout the stage.
He just took after this game the number one spot in the SAL for rating of all players.
So he's been so consistent and every player on Liquid has the potential to do it.
I mean, we always talk about JV92, Maya.
I think there's a lot of pressure that we put on these players and this team specifically because
they are the WSLNM Dynasty, the Furia team, you know, the team that has now become Team Liquid Alienware.
So we always look to them to be that roster that's going to stomp and everything but at the end of the day
You know, they have picked up Maya. It's still learning progress and
Igor being able to set shed some light that yeah, we're still working on map pulls. We're getting it down
I think it says a lot from the team's humility and the way that they're slowly trying to approach everything
They're not just taking it for granted
They're not the team that thinks oh we're the best because we have the best players like KZ that's dropping 20 kills every other day
So it's good to see them still be humble in that factor. That being said, they know what little things they need to be able to correct.
And I'd say that's a really good statement piece game for them to go into playoffs with.
And as you mentioned, of course, as well, one of the strengths of Team Liquid is when they get that time to go into a matchup very well prepared with specific counter prep.
And guess what? They get a whole week to do that now. Going into playoffs, going into best of threes.
of threes but the matches will continue from here on just two more rest of ons in our group stage
and because of the result from the last game this has fully opened the door for flukeshow w7m
to capitalize on the mistakes that loach are making overtake them in ascending and lock in
playoffs their final chance to do so is up against laura after the break
Hahaha
Go, go, what's up?
Hahaha
Pussy
Pussy
Can you do it?
I'll do it
I'll do it
Hahaha
Hahaha
Just a little
Just a little
Just a little
Just a little
I'm not sure what I'm doing here.
I'm not sure what I'm doing here.
I'm not sure what I'm doing here.
2, 3, 2, 1, go!
2, 3, 2, 1, go!
2, 3, 2, 1, go!
What's yours?
Yours.
Yours.
Yours.
You got it all?
Mine!
Mine!
Mine!
Mine!
Mine!
Nananani!
Yes!
Success!
Ha! Ha ha!
Ha! Ha!
All too well!
Sons!
Sons!
Sons!
I don't like it without it!
They ask in logic.
Which team was the Walla picked?
What did you have in the game?
Ha! Ha! Ha!
Why?
Hey guys, I have a little fish here, let's see what comes out of this fish
Look, number 6 here, if there was an election of the worst player in the world, who would win? Why?
I can't answer this one, I have to answer it
Besides number 1, why? Look, look
I have a 7 here
What a question on the agenda
What was the purchase of the team you already had in the game? Why?
Bro, I think the worst is the Darkman, the worst, for me, because he didn't teach me anything.
I didn't have any will to do that, but it's not a problem, but today he's fine, he's fine, but he didn't kill me there.
Choose a sincere nickname for a player from Sao and justify your response.
Oh, bro, I think it's Pauluzão. Pauluzão, when he played in Liquid, he was out of the water.
Can I hit you?
You can't hit me with your head.
There you go.
What the hell are you doing?
There you go.
Damn it, where is he?
He's not here.
I don't understand what you're saying.
This one is...
Tell me what's here.
How many? How many kills?
Come here, come here.
Here's the guy.
Come here.
He formed aura, haha, he made a major, 16 kills in 4 maps.
Jimmy.
He's a guy, he's a guy.
And if it wasn't for him, he'd be f**king dead.
And someone from Fofuria.
How do you have all the enemies there?
Like, you can't...
You have to stay a lot, right?
Ah, I don't know what to do, bro.
Ah, come on, come on, come on!
Damn.
Hahaha.
I don't remember.
Thank you for taking the major to do that shit there.
I'm still selling two Juans.
Tio, what did you sell?
He made me play with them, but he made me buy two Juans.
I bet it's a car.
Thanks, you're a good player.
I don't want to tell everyone I won anything.
You have to be honest.
I don't understand the letter.
Good afternoon, Mr. Aura.
Be careful I'll get you on the base.
I want to see it. It's easy.
You are a good ballon.
Zagheiro, rival of training.
I don't even know where I found this one.
I don't even know where I found this one.
I've been training for 6 years.
I don't know who it is.
Thank you for the message.
If I find out who you are,
there will be more chat in the training.
So good luck.
I wanted to highlight.
You are a great team.
I would like to think about playing a Forza.
This is a fact.
This is a talusão.
A gigantic focus.
Fluxo W7M. This is the prime opportunity for Fluxo W7M to lock in the playoffs.
Because Lowe's lost that matchup earlier, any kind of win is going to be good enough now for Fluxo W7M to go into play-offs and have a shot at making it to EWC.
I mean, thinking about what these players must be feeling right now, Foxy, you've been a player yourself before as well.
This must be feeling good because you still have that opportunity, but there must be so much stress as well.
Of course the dominoes have lined up for FW7M. I mean with Los Luzinger puts them in a situation where they just need any type of win
overtime win
regulation win and
FW7M is able to clinch that six spot if they lose at all
Even if it's an overtime loss, they will be stuck at seventh and nobody wants to be going out that way when you're so close
you have everything in your hands to be able to paint the picture of getting two playoffs and
And, you know, they've been putting on a good performance individually in their last week.
That being said, for Loud as well, I mean, they're still playing for top four potential
if they're able to win based on the Furia matchup, round count and everything.
Loud can also be able to clinch upper bracket.
So at the end of the day, it matters for both of these teams just as much.
Nobody wants to be able to go out with a loss here because they could significantly increase
their individual positions with a big win.
That being said, yeah, the pressure for Flexor W7N.
But their team, in my opinion, they thrive under that pressure.
If anything, Laos is one of those teams that struggles when pressure is on their shoulders.
Exactly.
And of course, you know, Laot have a little bit more of a say to that going into this
one, because playoffs are already locked in for them.
And they did that last Sunday.
I mean, they were the first team to take down FaZe, and that is an incredible way to lock
yourself in for going into playoffs.
Especially, guys, in top four is the possibility, which would be great, but at least they have
have a shock a little of making it to yet another individual event.
And one player I want to highlight on this roster is Gabi.
He is just a rookie, but he got his flowers from me in the interview as well, saying that
he is one of the best players in SAO that we currently have.
He got an ace as well, just one of his team in the most.
And I think that is just one way to help your team get over the line here.
I mean, in general as well.
Great reads, what was going on in phase, you know, what they were doing with 3-Place,
C4s and everything.
And it was really impressive to see how they were able to pressure on multiple, like,
kind of sides really on the attack against a
Faser. Yeah, I mean, I'm glad that you mentioned it
I mean being a rookie young player to the scene also being the fifth way to play right now
Rating wise. I mean he is what they needed and it was a big week for them last week
I mean being able to beat black dragons and then sharing their spot by beating phase. That's a big task
That's a big task loud as a underdog team for sure
But that being said it feels like some of these games when they should be winning
I mean, they're one of the teams that the only team that inferior was actually able to beat
So when it's a game that they should be closing out and winning
That's when the pressure gets to them and they slip a little bit
So that being said today now that they've already secured their spot
They're going to get big against 4 to W7M. There's not a lot of pressure on their shoulders
It could be a situation where it does slip again
For Flux W7 they got one step over the line right big victory last week against Fiora on Sunday
And now again, this pressure has to create diamonds for them. I do really like the interview that we have with lobin last week
I think he was explaining a lot to us about the things that they were fixing internally to try and get things right
They just talked about how cones was the the IGL before that is now back with dots dots was having an incredible game
Got MVP despite being on the IGL role and and things seem to click a lot more for this roster
The fact that this happens in the eighth matchup out of nine
Um, it gives should get them confidence, right? You know, they have these internal issues solved and sorted out now
And this is the most important message that they have to go into
Yeah, of course and like we said the dominoes are lining up. They're going up against loud
It's probably the best team within this top six that you could have picked to have an opportunity to make it into the top six
And get a wind under I think a lot of it comes down to maps as well if
If Fluxor W7N can get a comfortable map, I mean, ideally they probably want to ban out something like Labs, take away any type of strong suit for Loud, just to be able to have the best scenario for Fluxor W7N.
I think, if anything, they're in the driver's seat right now, before seeing the map, so we'll have to see them first.
Yeah, we can roll in the maps as well, because contrary to what you said, Fox2W7 actually
won Night Haven Lapse 7-2 against Lowes in kickoff, against Lowes, sorry, in kickoff
in this situation.
So far, it still seems a possibility, but Lowed ended up banning away in Night Haven Lapse
7-2, close-posses that were Lowed on the defense.
Interesting.
Yeah, it's very interesting.
I didn't expect Lowed to ban it, even though, yes, Fox2W7 did beat them on it.
I mean loud look amazing in their matchup against phase they dominated them on that. So that being said
I mean phase also
You know lost on a map like there today
So maybe it's just the bigger maps that teams are able to
Break phase apart on and it is a weaker map against flexor w7m. I mean clubhouse though
It's a good map in my opinion that benefits flexor w7m because this is one of those maps
We always talk about it. You don't take a team you're worse than but both of these teams that's here in the same ballpark
And you're giving a good roaming map. There's not a lot of diversity that you can do on it
so a lot of the X factor comes from roving roaming and
A big person to look at that for on the side of flexor W7 is lobin
He's the best player on his team so far
he's been having an exceptional stage at being able to find those picks and even though that they've had their difficulties with
I yelling and being able to focus they're kind of eliminating that by going to clubhouse
So regardless that dots is now I yelling it doesn't really matter too much because clubhouse is such a cookie cutter map
It's just straight step one two three and it allows the individual players to be able to step up and have big rounds
Have big games and I would say right now looking at player-to-player
Flux it'll be something in my opinion just has the better individual roster when it comes to gunfights
Of course, there's some big big names on that roster as well
why you expect to play it like Paul into the making every single international event. So for
Fluxo W7M you have all to play for but it is also your final shot at making players. Loud can be
big gatekeepers here to benefit with the top possible top four finish for themselves as well.
It all goes down on Clubhouse. Thank you very much. Jesse four matches so far today and all of them
have been on different maps. What a treat that is. Clubhouse is a very foundational map.
Fox, they were talking about defaults, all that jazz. This is going to be a tough one for Fluxo
W7M. They have not looked quite like the old Fluxo or W7M over the last couple of years. They
have their work cut out for them today against Loud with a playoff spot on the line. The big
winner of this matchup might not even be in the server. It could end up being Lowes who are clinging
to life as that final playoff team. Yeah, no doubt about it. This will determine the
final playoff team no matter what. So the last game it could have determined it might not have.
It didn't end up determining that this one will if Flux of W7M win there in playoffs if loud win
then it is low so get that final spot. Much like the desk I'm a little surprised to see that we're
gonna end up here on the clubhouse of the eight group stage games that loud have played so far
this stage in the SA-L, half of them, four out of eight maps have been played on Clubhouse,
and they didn't have great results. They lost to NIP, then they lost to Los, they beat INTZ,
which great, but not a top team in the league, and then they lost to Imperial. Again, Imperial
have not won any game on any map other than that single match versus Laud. They have lost every
other competition they've played, every other match that they've played here in Tier 1. So,
for allowed to be coming back to this for now a fifth time to play more than a half of all group stage games on the same map
To me, it's a bit of a question mark to me
It might suggest that they don't have as deep of a map pool as they maybe should at this level
But at the same time you're already locked into playoffs. Maybe they are just thinking let's save some strats
Let's keep some maps in our back pockets that we can pull them out during playoffs when things really matter
And the flux with W7N they're probably thrilled but that their head is this map
They've got so much bod so much footage to look back on from loud playing on this map
So I'm really interested to see if loud try to change things up today
Or how this first first couple rounds are gonna look with loud in the defense on paper
There isn't a ton separating these teams loud score line is for regulation victories
Then two losses in OT and two losses in regulation fluks us three in
regulation and then for
Regulation losses with one OT loss four points separate them and there are only eight rounds in terms of round differential
Separating them to loud as a plus three
Luke's or W7m is a minus five all of the other teams above loud have a double digit
Positive round differential so there is a bit of a drop off from fourth to fifth
Which is where loud sits loud have clinched a spot so Los who as we said are in that final and sixth spot
looking to qualify for the playoffs is very helpful that loud have a good day
today. All right this is gonna be a pretty direct site in through dirt tunnel.
Get the Black Fury taking space. They've had to burn through these goyos. This
wastes a lot of time and makes it very obvious what Fluxes W7m are doing at
the moment. Loud will be aware of that but there's also so much time still on the
clock that they could always pivot. They don't have to actually push dirt tunnel.
The fact that they're clearing this utility means that it will always be an option for them.
though that impact trick doesn't go the way they were hoping so hoping for and it seems like that kitchen hatch
Will now be open so flash stream falls back to play deep inside of Armory. This course is taking shape Parker
They clearly want to go in through this dirt tunnel if you skip play that kitchen hatch
Have Paulu solo pressure and towards blue the time-tested strategy, but they have to execute it well
This clubhouse it takes a while to drone this out
you know that when you're attacking downstairs there are going to be a
bevy of players in the bomb site and that's where they are lined up right
now for loud not all of them but four silhouettes right now visible 35 seconds
remain still stuck inside of his dirt tunnel for Fluxow W7M and flash is
gonna be the first one knocked over by that air jab not taken out of his
position fighting away towards dirt tunnel that's a big kill for Fluxow W7M
But we'll fire back on the side of loud live and resets putting in some serious work two more for resets and stem
We'll get the exit kill as looks at W7M shoved out of round one
Yeah, not the most inspiring push that we've ever seen from fluxo W7M Parker
It really is telegraphed what they're trying to do in that execute, right?
They're spending the entire round in dirt tunnels showing off with the shield what their goal is where they're trying to bring that diffuse get in
And so a lot were able to set up for a really nice crossfire on that dirt tunnel entry
They had stent playing just
Kind of under the kitchen hatch despite the fact that it was open on the Azami
He was staying alive that entire round
We got the final frag and then while it looked like the blue push was going their way it instantly gets traded out
We see resets finding some big pill big kills live in that position as well taking black back blue control
Was so critical for loud fuel to win that round. So a nice little defense start here on clubhouse
They did get the side's decision start too, so they chose to start on this defense, you'd expect them to go up early, but again, Flux W7M should have a read that was not a new strategy from Loud, so you'd like to see some better attacking strats coming out from the team that is expected to win.
to win. Absolutely looks like W7M have a lot of weapons it's just I don't know
this I I am not I am not knowledgeable enough with the way that this team plays
in this region to point directly at their problems right. Fragging is obviously a
big issue with this team they're best rated player so far this stage has been
lobin all the way down in 18th which is obviously not ideal when that's your
best performing player. Even some of these teams towards the basement have somebody in the top 15.
Loud, for example, has Gabu right now at fourth, then Flastry at fourth team. Both of those players
are ahead of Loven, and that's just team. This set isn't that far behind either. So Loud is
top at. A lot of these teams are. And again, you have one fragger who can really dominate.
Fluxer W7M has good fraggers on the team. It kind of beggars belief that they've not been able to
do as well as they can,
especially a guy like Paul
who I kind of look at who's
all the way down in 37th.
He is the worst rated player on
this team, which is quite a fall
from grace when you look at his previous stats.
So whether they make playoffs or not,
this team has some soul searching
to do in the offseason.
But around it's been already flashed.
We get this opening pick straight on to
Lobans playing this rafters position.
They've had a lot of pressure his way
with the Selma Chargers going to
open up that wall and also some
smokes being thrown his way but so far he's staying alive flashed out now it's
an air jab this is misery from Flastree and finally cleaned up by Dodez but it's
good time waste to come through from him and he trades one for one that's not bad
to come through from his army in that position rafters can often be really
difficult to hold in this day and age like the meta just makes it really tough
sometimes teams have gotten very good at taking this position so going one for one
not bad from Flastree now there's about 80 seconds still here on the cost of
Western W7M to make an execute happen.
No more Roura either to try to walk off some of those
doorways, so they're going to have to find another way
to stop these defenders from retaking into the site,
a thorn trap from resets, and two toxic bays from live,
plus a nitro from the gallery,
gives you lots of plant that I'll over the defense.
And not that we would say Raptors is played out,
but the amount of tools that attackers have now
to cut through this, especially if a zombie is banned,
it just means that defenders cannot play
as freely up here as they want.
flashtree dies in the very typical spot so you have to surrender that part of the map to the attackers
flukesaww7m's advance we'll continue to find stand at the top of red that is a very important
pick it's opened up so much of this site now and they don't need to worry immediately about that spot
dots dealt with by live but with red cleared out here comes flukesaww7m and resets will have to
retake the bomb site and fail at doing so. Dodez shuts him out and it's a tie game.
Love that round coming through from Flex, uh, from, yeah, from Flex with W7M Parker. I was worried
about getting that plant down, but it doesn't matter if Dodez is able to just hit some brilliant
shots in the midst of it. Keep in mind, Dodez at one point in time was considered the hottest young
player inside of South America. Up for debate is maybe the best player in the region. Certainly
when they were winning that major, I think people were starting to have that conversation.
has fallen off a little bit this stage, enters this game at a plus 4kd, 59 or 55,
not bad by any means, but certainly a big step down from I think where the hype was when this guy
came in and the hype that was delivered on, I want to say as well back a couple years ago,
when this team was consistently making deep runs at majors, where champions in Montreal,
when a really big kind of swings across the CG sport seemed to surprise a lot of people with
with how deep they went.
Seeing Goad has been active here now for a big 3K,
using that AK on the Nomad is really impressive.
Absolutely.
And some swap ins now coming as the entire lineup
on the side of Fluxer W7M has been blown up.
Snake, the only operator that is remaining as a consistent
on this team.
Here's a little fun fact for you.
Out of the top 10 players in terms of ratings,
seven of them have solid snake as one of their most played operators. That is an eye-watering
amount. Technically five of those ten have snake as their most played attacker. Two of
them have him in their top three. Shout out to KZ, Gaboo, and Vivaking as the only three
players who don't regularly play snake. So he's a very strong attacker right now. He's
He's a great entry fragger, he provides good value, he can be played as entry, or he can
be played as a secondary or support follow-up.
How Dodez chooses to use him remains to be seen.
He's got three kills to his name though, and while the Blitz is going to be the main entry
at the moment, Dodez!
The stay gets the very first kill!
Blitz traded out by Stem, that's a devastating loss for FX!
Dots goes down, Pauleau will join, and Stem somehow gets out of there alive!
That's brutal, they need you to catch him.
He's just rolling for him now, but I think he barely missed him.
He's checking down the blue stairs.
He doesn't realize that Stem has touched so close just beside the corner.
If they have intel on Stem, like, like,
Logan could instantly just wallbang, and he's on the other side of that garage soft wall,
but they don't have this information.
So instead, Stem continues to be a problem.
And even if he gets out here, I like this call, Parker.
He's surviving to get back to his teammates.
Give yourself a 4v3 advantage for the execute.
That's exactly what he had to do.
the early game didn't go to plan for Flushed W7M, so now they have to make something happen
with this information from the Snake and very little utile other than that.
But as Harry and Ding was cross with the F2, this is such a tough fight to make for a defender.
You'll get a bit more active now as time starts to run down.
That hit the one minute mark and it will double up on this smoke, both Dota's unloaded, hoping
to flush out Flastry, neither of them being successful so far, but it has cost loud all
of those gas canisters. The no denial to be had here on the ground. Logan will now inch together.
They make it work. Flastry drags one down with him. An incredible gamble from Flastry and one
that Fx really should not have allowed to happen. Now it's cons and Dodez of 45 seconds remaining
in the round. The swing from the shotgun comes in. Dodez is gone. Loud. In position to regain the
lead unless cons can pull off a miracle but there are shotguns pointed at the
door frames and he's on low HP so even a few of those pellets grazing his skin
will send him to the afterlife you know exactly where he's coming from as he
toys with that door frame now getting a little bit more active in anticipation
of his entry resets we'll get the final kill to give loud believe some nice
attempts coming through from flocks of W7M on his clears Parker they're really
trying to work together but they're still not able to hold on to that man
advantage. It starts with that cash clear that comes in really really quick.
It's a great shot with the F2 from Dodez, but the shield play just doesn't quite
get there in the way that it needs to. I thought it was quite creative, like coming
in through the con signal to pinch the guy inside of cash. You just don't see
that very often, even at a high level. It was really nice to see that come
through, but the fact that Stem gets out makes it so brutal. You had to be able to
secure that kill. Then in the 3v4, it's not unwinnable. They try to group up. You
You see Logan playing beside Dodez, but again, Logan goes down, Dodez gets left all by himself.
You get the fuse cut across the map because you're trying to find a different dimension
to his push.
You know you can't just stack up in a three-person death ball, you lose that fight every day.
So nice attempts coming out with reflection, I think they're making the right decisions.
The general game plan here is really good, but the execution when they're trying to actually
go in, secure these kills, get themselves an advantage, that's where things have been
falling apart a little bit for this team.
Here to hear what Anne and Fox have to say about this when we get to the
halftime report, because it has been relatively even balanced match so far.
And I mean, again, clubhouse does tend to resort to default teams tend to push
in very similar ways when they're attacking that gym, bedroom, bomb set
upstairs holding construction is very important.
Defenders can obviously branch out and take control of cash and CCTV, which we
don't see as regularly when there are electrification bands.
I mean, you take a look at the top right of your screen, and Kaid and Bandit are both removed.
They are terrific bands here on Clubhouse.
It makes life quite miserable for the defenders, and they have to pivot, right?
You can't just hunker down and rely on EMPs or some form of anti-gadget denial.
Now you have to be, I'd argue, a bit more active in your defenses.
Having Kaid and Bandit up allows for more of a passive defense here.
So not so much on this bottom floor, Jesse.
Kain obviously will be missed, but as you can see from loud, a very active set of defenders at the moment, only Flastry is in the bomb site.
Yeah, with this roam game, it really makes rushing a very appealing strategy. They will just start to try to clear at these top floors, throw some candles, but it's actually just a bit of a bait parker.
They've got a couple players getting into kitchen, getting into the bomb site. Here's Kahn's drop. The kitchen hatch immediately and can go for a plant.
This might be a quick one here.
Kons has found the all clear, Diffuse Kid gets to the half way points, two minutes shortened
to 45 seconds.
There goes half of the round as Kons finds a pick on the line guarding over top of that
case.
Mother hemming it so to speak, you'll get another on the step, but Loud comes out swinging
Gabu with two flastery also on the board.
Logan and Dodez will need to hold this together as loud out members them by one
Dodez and a bit of a precarious spot inside a kitchen, but the position for Gabu's been given away
I don't think he was aware of that spot
Blastry is suddenly last alive as lobin gets his licks in as well and Dodez will seal the deal a quick round goes in favor
Vuxen W7M
Just perfect opportunity seeking coming out from the Bulls Parker
They do lose a couple of fights in that post plant, but it's all okay because they've got that coverage
Dodez and Lobin playing so smart in that 2vx to go back up above. Lobin was getting burned out inside a dirt tunnel
Dirt's not a bad place to be but when everybody knows that you're there you have to give it up
You don't want to be so predictable. He went up upstairs and tried to just deny that plant
I think it's a really good move from Lobin and of course Dodez like you see it in the stats
This guy has just been immaculate per flexor W7M today has a huge part in that post-clint coming through
But it's everybody that makes that rush happen as successfully as it did
Dots chucking in some of those can bella's up towards the top floor
Of course the plant being put down by cons as well less than 60 seconds into the round
All of it comes together beautifully around number four and it's that rush that will tie us back up once again
Well, you can't say this isn't an entertaining matchup.
So far up to CCTV and cash, loud will go.
This was the first domino, I suppose, fell.
It's been a big back and forth matchup to this point in time.
Neither team yet to win back-to-back rounds.
This was where Fuxer W7M started their successful set of attacks, and now they've been able
to conquer one set on top floor and now on the bottom floor.
It sets them up well for how they maneuver around this map and know how to play these bombsites.
But that said, this round could be anybody's game.
These teams seem quite evenly matched so far.
I did say that in round number one that even though one's in the play-off set right now
and the other is still on the outside looking in that I expected this to be far closer than
some people might anticipate, you seem to say the same and because of that, it's always
nice to feel vindicated.
looking to regain the lead, Fuxa W7M yet to lead so far through four rounds.
Yeah, similar-ish push, but there's really not the tools that you'd want to
hear rafters, Parker, which makes you think this might end up being a
construction-focused take from Fuxa W7M. If stood up this Ying from Dots that was
so effective the last time around, so they could try to use that to take some
of these roamers down over on the con side, it's exactly what Polly was getting
good information for as well. Spots two players, Roman Rivercourt, master, so if they
can find an angle to get these players down, that would be so big.
and it's Fluxer W7M rushing in right away.
First pick answered back by live, but Kahnz will trade it too.
As long as Fluxer W7M can keep trading, they will win.
Gabbard trying his best, he shut down.
Loven finds yet another nitro cell from Stemp goes out.
Jesse not just back and forth when it comes to round counts,
but back and forth when it comes to kill counts.
These teams are unable to shake each other.
Dota isn't Loven now against Flastry and Stemp.
will give the leads a loud and Fluxer W7M will hang their hat on Dodez who's technically in the bomb site
but without the defuse kit. The bomb's just really nice ornaments and decorations for him to stare at as he will have to attempt a
retrieval or more likely go for kills in the process and they've read this very effectively a swing from stem to give information
Fluxer looks for the follow-up. He'll get it with the TCSG
looks at W7M will not win this first half nor will they lead it three rounds for
loud means loud is incapable of losing the first half there in good shape for
this final round of the first half for me once shame on you fool me twice
something about can't get fooled again I think it's how it goes this is the song
pretty sure that's it you don't get caught twice by a rush game at least
loud certainly don't they're falling to it back in round number four but as
another very fast push comes out from flexor W7N,
allowed to adapt to it really well.
It's not like they completely stop it.
They might not know exactly where the push is gonna come
from, but as soon as they start seeing those snake pings
over towards the master side, they kinda get a good idea
that, hey, there's gonna be some people inside
Jacuzzi and Lodgy very, very shortly,
and they traded out really, really nicely.
You know, that was the biggest thing for me, Parker.
You can't stop that pushing its entirety,
but trade things out.
There's yings and blackbeards running through your,
running through your roam game,
but at least trade it out, keep those numbers close.
It's exactly what they did.
And then late round, of course,
Flashery on the go-yo, by far,
his most picked operator on this map.
He plays it basically nonstop,
and we've got a huge sample size again.
Fifth-time lot of playing this map this stage,
but just really impressed to see
how they were able to react to that rush game.
They now try to go back down towards this basement,
and will have an opportunity to extend their lead 4-2,
and maybe force the bulls out of playoffs.
I mean, a lot of times when teams are really confident on a map,
they're just going to keep playing it over and over and over again.
You don't really risk being overexposed if you feel you have full confidence
that they're just stylistically a better team than whoever your adversary might be.
In this case, you're absolutely right.
There is tons of opportunity to scout out this loud team
and prepare for what they're going to bring.
Right now, if they've done their homework,
it's not immediately clear for Fluxer W7M
because they should have somewhat of an advantage here
With that information right now, this is a very comfortable map for loud and it's showing and being reflected in the score
The influxo is all three of their pushes are really revolved around this dirt tunnel
I think maybe that's just kind of a product of the bands, you know
We've banned some hard bridge we've banned the ground they've kept most of these aggressive shields up
So you can still kind of pressure this side of the map
But you have to imagine loud have ran into it at this point
For the third time they will start to feel this pressure the go-to canisters will get burned out
But what I'd like to see Flux to do here, Parker,
is I'd like to see them just leave.
Create this pressure dirt tunnel,
maybe leave one guy lurking there,
but I don't want to see the diffuse kick
come through dirt for the third straight time
on this basement.
Cons is down there at the moment,
he has the opportunity to rotate back out
if he wants it to.
If they try to go through this once again,
they have to make sure that they don't get
a blue control and or control here under this kitchen hatch,
because if somebody exists in this position,
they'll have a crossfire army
trying to get out of that dirt tunnel.
and there's just no way even with a shield,
you're gonna be able to take that space.
Glad you clarified, I thought I was a little bit rude
when you said that Fluxer W7M should just leave
as in like what, they're just done playing?
You don't wanna see what happens?
Just trying to get out of work for the day, maybe, I guess.
I don't know, spend more time with your life or something.
No, I think you're spot on and I think
if you're gonna go for a dirt tunnel execute,
you've either gotta go quickly
or you've gotta do the job around it
to flush the defenders out.
Taking control of the kitchen as you assessed is perfect.
Hasn't really been done by Fluxo W7M and Jesse.
It looks like that escape tunnel is going to be
where they put all the bodies from this team,
but hold on!
Fluxo W7M finds two very quickly, resets,
levels things off, settles down FX's assault.
Now a drop from Paulu through the hatch.
He manages to survive for a few seconds
before Stemps shuts him down full control
at the present point in time
of the bomb site for the defenders.
They've allowed Khan's entry, but he's on limited HP,
dead at the hands of Resets who's having a great round.
Lobin, lobin, lobin, what can you do?
20 seconds left, a death drop,
fighting against the zombie takes down Stemp,
hoping for one more onto Resets, a seventh kill for Resets.
No, Gabby will steal it away and Loud takes the first half,
four or two.
Very impressive stuff from Loud here
with four rounds on the board
for Fluxer W7M on their attack.
feel like seeing some some questionable stuff, arguably you could say like oh they
have the right idea here, they're going for these explosive executes to really
try and spot a gap, but then when push comes to shove, I don't think they're
winning their gunfights or just getting, they're creating the space with these
pushes that they want to get essentially with them. After that, Dots is having a
very rough game. That makes things look really rough for Fluxer W7M. Granted, it
is the attack and as the cast are talking about, of course, you know, many of the
operators that Flux-RW7 and like to use and can use, especially for these downstairs attacks,
the operators are banned away from them. But ideally, Flux, if you're Flux-RW7 and in this,
and you have the right idea, you want to also see them get more rounds on the boards with these ideas.
Yeah, of course. And since we highlighted Doc's performance so much now that he is having a rough
go at it, it's not a good look, like you said. But I think the biggest issue for Flux-RW7 is
not bringing enough utility, forcing the shield play a little bit too much. I mean, when we look at
Flex.W7's bands, they were really trying to just stop denial, make sure that they can get walls open,
but Loud is adapting very well to it, and they're playing almost as if like it's a bunker setup,
you know, a lot of WMI, a lot of Izami, a lot of utility denial to create angles in the bomb site,
so that they can just play, post it up, and force Flex.W7 to go for these executes, and that's where
they're getting caught in the crossfire. We can see that Flux of WCNM has just been dominating
when it comes to the open and kills. I believe they had five out of the last six rounds and
they're still losing four to two. So that just goes to show that Loud's game plan was working very
well. They're forcing them maybe stalling time early, forcing them to have to go for an objective
base play and then boom, that's where they have all of the Azamis, everything set up,
and Flux of WCNM because they're forcing these shields, they don't have the utility to deal with it.
They can't clear these angles, they can't clear these corners.
They're not bringing ying, they're not bringing glass to be able to get into that bomb site to get past that initial hurdle.
So that was the biggest issue.
Now with side swaps, though, the one caveat for flexor WCNM to have the edge here is the fact that they
arguably are one of the better roaming teams, one of the better aggressive defensive teams,
and one of the best defensive teams statistically.
So that can be their edge.
If they can maintain getting that opening kill and be able to just keep that aggression on,
that's where we'll see you loud start to slip up because early game so far has been flexored at B7Ms.
Yeah, let's just say that besides the early game, the regression and the gap-spotting has not been
working out for them, but as Nobun told us in the interview last week, they worked a lot on some
confidence issues that they had. Things could be going much better now and they need all the confidence
that they can get as well. Five rounds ideally or an overtime victory is what they need to walk in
in playoffs. Last week, we saw Fluxo W7M struggling and loud doing the impossible, beating the
world champions to secure their spot in playoffs. Now they have the opportunity to deny a playoff spot
to the team sitting across from them. 4-2 at the half. If they can win just three more rounds in
the next six Parker, that'll be Fluxo W7M out of the playoffs and it'll be Los in for that final spot
instead. This team has way higher expectations than seventh place in South America. This has to
be where they come alive on the defense. Absolutely. Just again, this team has been such an enigma.
You know, they started off with a match that a team of their caliber probably should have
walked away with more than a single point from, which was Black Dragons. They lost that in overtime.
time. Then they beat Imperial two weeks later. They got blown out by a bunch of the top tier
teams. They beat Los before losing to INTZ and then beat Furia yesterday, or last week,
which was a bit of a shocker. Because how do you lose to INTZ and beat Furia? That doesn't
really make any sense. And again, I really admire our analysts and the more analytical
minds as well of the viewers in the community because I just simply cannot pinpoint what
is going wrong with this FX team so far this stage and to have Paul Lou be the lowest rated
player right now competing for that spot in the lobby. But the lowest rated player on
the team seems like either he's being mismanaged or maybe he's got something going on. But
Either way, the weapons on Fluxor W7M should have them in competition for a playoff spot,
and yet they're not.
Again, something needs to happen in this offseason to change that.
Well, I think Boxed the Nail on the head.
They were trying to force shields in that first half.
They will do it again with the flash going through, but instead it's the roam game that
goes poorly for Fluxor W7M.
It's an early death, but he's not alone.
Bodez was in the same room as Lobin, and he is just hiding in the closet, hiding in the
corner.
But they already killed the guy inside of Lodgy Parker so they now are just assuming that it is clear.
Dodez may have lost a teammate Parker but he's gained something so much more valuable and that is the element of surprise.
They have no idea that he's lurking inside of Lodgy. There's only three people in the bomb site.
They will not be able to stop this push all by themselves so it is going to be entirely on Dodez to come alive and save this game.
And what did you say, Jesse?
You like to repeat yourself?
Just so you can show your ball,
just so you can show your ball knowledge to the audience.
He has to be the one they didn't know he was up there.
And now he has defused it in the palm of his hand.
This is such a good position for the castle.
The following up now.
In stride, loud, nicking to capitalize off of that.
Dodez gets resets before Stem can trade that one out.
Great damage that's been done by FX.
Go to as in particular you said his name and boy oh boy did he live up to the billing you gave him
Final 30 seconds and it's anybody's round
Clash still up for flexor w7m
That's the thing that would concern me the most if I was one of these attackers still got candela still got death mark still got
Nades so tools they are for loud, but they need to use them quickly
Before they run out of time and that shield is slowing them down
out by flashtrees, got the
sidearm out, also gets rid of
dots. Diffuse keep going down
and Paul Lou finished off by
Gabu. Loud stretch their lead.
And it's just a disaster Parker.
They had all the opportunity to
win that round. Godes did so much,
but unfortunately nobody else is
able to find a frag and you know,
I keep going back to what
Fox was saying because I think
everything that he was spitting
on the desk in the halftime was
absolutely correct. What was the
one thing that we said was
missing sometime for those
from Foxo W7M. It was the Ying. It was using those candels to get into the bomb site. That was
specifically called out by Foxe. And now on the very first attack, it's loud with a Ying in the
3v3. That makes all the difference. Flash tree is getting zapped by a clash, but he doesn't care
at all because nobody can see inside that site. He's the only one taking that space and gets two
miraculous kills just because of that good utoplay. Loud. In a dominating position now,
5 Q versus flux. So W7N.
I was really hopeful Parker was just going to be the attacks that were their issues. You know, their attacks didn't look good, but maybe on the defense, that's where this team comes alive. But after losing your primary bombsite in round seven, this game just got so much harder.
The walk is going to be really, really challenging now for this looks at W7M team. Obviously, we're not going to write them off early. There is a good chance that they could come back under the right circumstances.
but so far there's circumstances through seven rounds Jesse have not really materialized and
Well, if that round is any indication that just preceded this then things are gonna be a real struggle again
The kills are the big issue for this FX team
And the dots plays those auxiliary roles and no Pauline has not been at the forefront
He usually plays that lurk backstab role. So his kills are largely contingent upon his team doing well
He doesn't usually have full agency. It's the team that decides whether or not he's in position to strike
But I'm looking at Lobin who's usually better than 6-6. That's a big one.
Dota has been doing okay, but Dota should be performing better. This whole team is
having issues countering the aggression of Loud and if Loud have read this
correctly, which they did in the previous round, I'm sure W7M might just be,
might not be fit enough to scale this mountain. It's crazy, Park, because I
genuinely think Dota has played the best team of seeder of all 10 players in
lobby and yet it doesn't matter because nobody else on his team is able to find much of an impact
and it's not just about the kills it's the impact that he's having you back to that last round
down to the fuse kit playing it with his life he sacrifices lobin to do that right of course you
don't get that if lobin doesn't die there they probably drone it a little bit better but even
still nobody in sight able to do anything with that previous round they need somebody else to come
alive to be able to find the victory that they're looking for jim bedroom of course is going to be
their second bomb site will start to clear up this cash side of the map. Parker, it's really
important that Flush would probably be seven and don't walk away with a man disadvantage here.
Yeah, first kill is going to be very, very important. And right now the player you said
was having the best goal of it. Dodez being watched by Stemp lined up multiple players on
top red. He's living on borrowed time. A good flush out from loud and Dodez is in the grave.
The star performer on FX is no more. The job gets even harder, Jesse.
You've got over 60 seconds. You've got cash control at this point. Everybody else has fallen back to at least construction.
So the map control is really good from loud.
Timing's pretty good as well. Lots of utsos too.
I mean, you've still got three Grimby's coming through from live. Some smokes on the side of resets too.
So there's so much utsos that you can play around with to make this execute happen.
My one concern, Parker, is going to be the utsos that the defense has.
We're looking at a clash. We're looking at a nitrocell from Loben and still three toxic bids from cons.
If they try to go for a plant strat, there's a good chance Fluxer W7M can stall it out.
I want to see Lauer go in and try to get some kills and play with their guns.
Loading new magazine!
Final 30 seconds and you have the upper hand. The clash was not as much of an impediment as we had wondered it would be.
Thought allowed rather in the previous round. They were able to navigate that quite well.
Flastry was the one creditedly dealing with that.
Stem now making his presence known as he marches up the stairs and unceremonious end to him as he suffers through it.
Con Swatts in the way, Loeb and also on the board.
The guidance on the side of loud quiet for the time being and they are completely lost.
Fluxo W7M might give up the first kill but they get every single one after that.
They're still in this. They'll have to wait on the side of loud for match point.
Nice try coming out there Parker. They do go for the kills and I'm trying to force a plant up against
all that utility that was the right decision but unfortunately there was more utility didn't deal
with there was the barbed wire on those main stairs which made that fight from the demo was
really difficult to go through there was still the clash of being a bit of an issue inside the
bomb site as well it just felt like they didn't have enough time on the clock and it felt like
they maybe should have like they cleared out that cash control at about a minute 15 left on the clock
that should be enough to try to put together a good execute with a man counter advantage but
Ultimately, I think the clock just got away from them a little bit.
They stalled out maybe a tad more than they should have.
And Fluxo W7M now will be able to continue their live here in this matchup five to three.
Again, an overtime win or a regulation win would be fine for Fluxo W7M to qualify to play us.
It doesn't matter how it happens, they just need to win.
You got two teams this evenly matched, as they are despite their place
in the standings. We expect a scrappy game. We've got a couple scrappy games today. We use that word a
few times, but I think what really highlights it here is that through up to this point,
almost half of the rounds, only two players have survived. That's it. Eight casualties in almost
half of the rounds. These are bitter struggles where they are fighting tooth and nail for space
and these teams have been giving up first blood quite evenly or for loud for
for Fluxo W7M objective play only one diffuser has been planted it was
Fluxo doing that back in round number four so this has just been an all-out
brawl violence has defined every single round and bloodshed has been
relatively even when the teams go on to win the round now as you can see from
the bottom of your screen it's loud who are coming away with far more kills and
And the scoreline should tell you that, but yeah, I mean, if you're basically winning
around and there's only one or two people left on either side, time or kill be damned,
you know that you're in for a good game.
So Fluxer W7M fans, don't despair.
This is the bomb side I've been waiting for Parker.
You banned out Nomad and Cavitão.
That's going to make rafters basically impossible to clear for the attackers, so they're forced
to go for this construction side push.
Fluxer W7M will know this.
They should have a lot of their resources focused over towards that master side of the
Certainly they've got Loven playing down below there. They've got Dots in the clash inside of construction waiting for that
There are some loud players that are getting some intel around rafters
Maybe they will still try to take this but you have to imagine this will be an
Impossible task just given all the resources that the defense have here. Oh
It's gonna be hard to play rafters as every mate on the planet lands on the head of Dodas and yet Jesse
He survives and gets Gabu for his trouble.
A wildly unsuccessful clear from Loud.
They will try to make the best out of a bad situation.
As Loeb and Dots now take up space over on the side of Blue.
Godez and Gabu both in the ground.
So back to a 4v4, we go with one minute left.
I said it would be hard to take rafters Parker,
which frankly, they actually did quite a good job at it.
They go one for one, they'll take that.
Oh, that's a gross shot from Flashry.
That just shouldn't be allowed.
I'm sorry, that's ridiculous.
Jesse, the problem is I don't listen to you.
Yeah, clearly.
Sorry, what'd you say?
Final 35 seconds now.
Look, so W7M with their backs against the wall
on the score line and with numbers as well.
Live allows one player from FX to get into the bomb site.
He's being tracked by those death marks.
Palu takes down resets another for Palu, and it's a 2v2 as Palu bites the dust, loud in
control for the time being, said how little objective play has happened.
This time it's huge.
What is Dot's doing?
He has his back completely turned to stomp.
He dies, and the run out from Kahn's also doesn't work.
Flastry mere inches from where he got that incredible kill will do it again, and loud
What a mess Parker from top to bottom I mean sure congratulations Paulie for doubling his
kill count but letting that guy cross the breach to get into a plant position was absolutely brutal
the clash play a little bit lost in that post plant as well Parker it just feels like again
the general macro idea is not bad for Flux with W7M but when it comes to actually executing the
strategy this team is making so many blunders there's so many issues with how
they're trying to hold on to these sites with how they were trying to push
forcing the shields out onto the attack top to bottom this team is just not the
same squad that I remember casting winning the grand finals of the Montreal
Major this team has taken it feels like such a significant step back and I don't
know exactly what the issues are for them maybe it's the roster moves right
cons is a new addition to the team this season Paulie was a relatively newer
were addition to the squad as well.
They lost Volts, their IGL,
and now Dots have been doing some more of this.
Like without being in the team,
it's hard to specifically diagnose what's causing the issues,
but the problems are clear for anybody with eyes to see them.
They're just not able to lock down
some of these really critical sites.
Some of the very basics that Louder going for
are just working with,
without any U2 like enabling some of the space
that they're taking.
A tactical timer will be called by Norris,
to get the train back on the tracks, but at this point it just feels like it might be too far gone.
It's fully derailed and they will have to be perfect through his final quarter just to force
overtime, which they then must win as well. All the players on Los in action in our match that
went on right before this, staring intently at that score line as their fate is no longer in
their hands as of the these words leaving my mouth. Los is still in a playoff spot.
If Fluxo W7M make it to overtime they guarantee themselves a single point that will tie them
with Los. Now you again will know the tie break situation better than I will and I'll let you
fill that in but two points for Fluxo W7M gives them that sixth and final spot where
they will go into the lower bracket a reminder that loud has clinched a playoff spot.
And despite them sitting in match point right now,
Louder is still eager to get all three points in regulation
because they want to try to climb up into a top four berth,
which will again hinge on tiebreakers
with Furia and ninjas and pajamas,
who just so happen to be going head to head
in our final matchup of the day.
So a lot on the line here for the playoffs,
the only thing we do know is FaZe Clan and Team Liquid
have guaranteed their spot in the top four.
FaZe Clan in particular will be the best team
in Brazil, irrespective of what happens in the remaining games.
I don't know how Dabu is alive right now.
I died first stop because I was watching what was happening.
I was sure he was dead. There's a player on the corner and he's getting wall banged
through the wall, but he is okay.
Still playing here on the sledge over towards Strip.
It's a very heavy roam game, just by the way.
There is, of course, the bombsite down in the basement,
but you've got Dota's here and Rafter's with the opportunity for a quick retreat down to site,
I'm sure lobin up inside of logi playing on that visual as well
It was Dota's and lobin playing together
That was such a problem for loud the last time that they attacked on this bomb site now
They're both still roaming but they're much more separated which will make it somewhat harder to clear them out
But if you do find that frag it means that there is no trade potential to come back
Blue now assessing that dirt tunnel on space very familiar with this fx team is
you wagged your finger at the many a time for trying to usher the diffuse kit
through that part of the map it did not end up working out for them as much as
they'd wanted once. I guess that's true, but do you think they want it once? Or do you think they want it more?
Jesse, I was very clear with my words, okay? I probably wanted it three times to work.
So that's more than once. You are, you got a major in numbers. You should know this.
We've drowned out much of this top floor.
Not been able to find anything from it as they're in the building now.
Gabber taking quite a bit of damage is really all loud has to their name.
They managed to find low bend and resets is on a tear too for his trouble.
Jesse just a little bit less than a minute to go and loud to look poised to send this
one away.
It's perfect for resets.
It's exactly what he was hoping for.
Now you're putting so much pressure on these three anchors.
They're all inside the bomb site.
They can come from a million different angles on the attack good to keep the kitchen hatch closed
But this push through dirt tunnel is still going to be a menace to get past cons in a great position though
If they can get across fire onto this
Shield coming in through dirt that could be devastating
Cons now on the run as he and stemp will be in a isolated 1v1
But realizing that there's still other players spread around this map loud with five players still upright in 50 seconds to go
It's surely must favor them to close this one out
FX will hang on to their hats 10 seconds ago. Dota is the very first pick he finds another it's Paul Lu on the board all of a sudden
What is going on? How is everybody dying? Why is loud getting bailed out by live?
He won't survive the affair. No, no, no, it's him in a 1v2 and FX somehow comes out ahead
What the hell did we just watch?
How do they keep getting away with it?
This team survives by the skin of their teeth and you gotta put so much credit in for Paul.
You might have been having a rough game up until that point Parker, but a brilliant flick
to get that second kill in the midst of that chaos.
This is again the issue with pushing in through the dirt tunnel.
It's very telegraphed. It's very obvious what you're trying to go for.
Paul, the one that is on me, was keeping dirt tunnel closed for so long and it made that push really, really late.
late when it came down. Yes it was 5v3, yes they had the man advantage, but the clock was that
extra man favoring the defenders and it was worth more than those two dead players combined.
Dude such a great job of making that end of round chaotic. Paulu again hit some ridiculous shots
through like get that man count even. Dodez did as well through the midst of that earlier on in
that defense so just really good stuff all around stopping that push as it comes in.
And I don't know, man, I feel like we need to start seeing a little bit more variety on these basing pushes every time barring once it seems like that if you could just come in through dirt tunnel and that's 25% success rate so far for those keeping track.
an unbelievable round just just defying the odds right here and this is the
this is the hope and dreams of this Fluxer W7M team now on the line round
after round two more to go they will again need to be perfect through
regulation to get us to overtime or else that's quite loud takes all three
points and whether they hope to climb up the standings that would lock in
as the last team to qualify for the playoffs.
The team not even competing in this matchup.
And yet they could end up being the biggest victors
of them all.
Confidence inspiring rounds for folks at W7M are so important.
One of the things that a couple of these players
on the side of FX have been talked about somewhat
derisively is the way that they can mentally boom
in big matches is a criticism about that team liquid roster
when Palu was on it for a long period of time.
If you can center yourself mentally
And you know, again, the fundamentals of this map,
you'll be in relatively even footing with a team
that through the entire stage
has looked to be very close in skill to you.
But again, it's a tough task.
You've got to win three in a row.
Flixer W7M's got one, now it's time for the next two.
They're on the easier side in theory, right?
This defense should be exactly what they need
to lock this down.
And they won this bomb site last they were here,
gym and bedroom.
Despite the fact that that task extension
didn't really go their way,
They lost an early man can advantage didn't matter. They were able to lock things down in the site even in the 4v5
This time the pushes and as concerned with clearing cash instead. It's all on logi, but it's still an opening pick regardless
Fox would be 7m converted the 4v5 on this bomb site previously
They will have another one and these roamers they're very far extended Parker, Logan and Dota's are across the map for the rest of their team. Oh
Oh, Khan's going down so early in the round, Jesse, that could be the fatal blow for this
team as they cling to the hopes of the playoffs.
They lose the warden as well.
I mean, I guess not the end of the world giving the gadgetry that's being brought from
loud.
There goes Lobin.
You said Dodez was the best player in the lobby.
Well, just like some of our ranked games, Jesse, just because you're the best player
in the lobby doesn't mean your team is going to win.
The number of shots as a few strips torn out of him, the numbers for FX continue to worsen with half of the round to go.
This is the problem. That was a must win fight for Logan Parker. Now the man disadvantage is even greater.
We've seen them clutch up in a 3v5 before, but they've got good isolated info here on the dots.
He falls all the way back, so he retreats back towards his teammate.
It's now three players inside the site for Foixot W7M, but even still, you don't have the same utility you had last time.
nitrocells but no more toxic babes, no more Keebas to be thrown up, Dota start to use all of those.
If they're going to stall things out like they did previously, they have people to rely on their
utility. Feeling like that might not be the play, Dota takes a rat spot instead.
He can pop out and get a timely kill or two, it'll throw all of loud into a tailspin and there
goes the round. That goes Fluxor W7M, that second round makes her desperately covet. Again playoffs
on the line here for the team on the right side of your screen, they are outnumbered,
they are outmaned, they are outgunned, but their hopes and dreams still very much alive.
They need to wait out loud.
They can just sit pretty inside the site.
Flastry's been picked back up so loud, they'll be fighting 5v3, Pallu with one, but they
come to blows with the Blackbeard, Dota's down, Dot's down, Pallu will need to win
and he doesn't get the job done.
sets with the final kill. Loud take it a new walk, low sin for the playoffs.
What a performance these last few play days. Loud get their third straight win here to end
up the group stage feeding face clan the other day and now up versus Kluxow W7M. What a performance
this team has been on. This loud squad had so much hype behind them when they first got signed a few
years ago, but when they were known as the Rosla Company Academy, now they're starting to live
up to that hype. They are of course still in for playoffs and will be fighting for a top four
berth as well. Now tied with three other teams at 17 points. So we'll see how that all plays out.
But what a performance from from loud and flex with W7M. A massive disappointment. Things might
need to change for that team. Obviously a very frustrating situation for them and their fans.
you said it yourself, not far removed from winning a major under that W7M banner and
successes just not found them the way that they are used to. So back to the drawing board as they
await stage two. Congratulations to Loose for locking in the playoffs and even though the match
is done, we got two beautiful people wanting to talk about it. Thank you so much. Well incredible
victory for Loud here. They get the job done. Three important points go their way and it sort of
of keeps them alive in the fight for the subformable.
We'll talk about that a little bit later.
I think when it came down to the first half,
we talked about, okay, Fluxer W7 seemed to have
the right idea, they want a problem, fix,
they want to spot these gaps and make good use of them.
But I feel like on the second half,
the effects that we saw from loud,
kind of was what I wanted to see from Fluxer W7.
When it comes to the pressure that they were taking,
the way they were dealing with these high pressure areas
as well, like Refters, for example, so efficient.
When it comes to downstairs states,
They don't just take the dirt tunnel as well.
They use multiple different areas.
I feel like they allowed to take a page out of
Fuchsia W Center's book and just improve it
and fix it with their attacks here.
Yeah, I agree.
I mean, I think loud, their...
What's the word I'm looking for?
Their wind condition essentially was those hard gaps.
And that's what we saw in defense
was just them being able to make sure, like,
okay, rafters, basement, B3, Armory area,
these very death spot positions, they were putting their whole focus on being able to
hold on their defenses on attack. They were focusing on being able to get those gunfights
and find those opening picks there. Funny enough, Flux of W7M was still managing to
maintain opening pick aggression for a majority of this game, which is why it's very disheartening
to see them lose the way that they did because they were doing the hard part first. They
were getting the opening kill, but Loud was just playing their trades and off of each
other way better and being able to focus on the objective game I feel like there
was also a couple of besides that one Paula round to keep them into the game
a little bit longer there was a lot of rounds prior that it felt like the
retakes from flexor W7 was very questionable it seemed very individualized
not necessarily oh let's 3-2-1 this or let's push this together was somebody
making a big play and the rest of the team all running around you scurrying
around trying to find some type of kill back into it and Lada was ready for it, they'd
just be holding onto their angles and that's what carried them through the rest of their
attacks.
I feel like we could talk about this game forever and over-analyze every single bit,
but let's get an expert in there, let's get somebody in who's part of this game as we
get to speak to Resets and ask them a few questions about this game.
Good afternoon Resets, congratulations on the victory here.
Now I know the players will always say, you know, we play our own game and we care about
own things but does it play anywhere in the back of your mind that with this game you have an
opportunity to deny Fluxer W7M of playoffs? Of course I played with Paolo before so of course
I want to win against him and we had no pressure in this game the pressure was on them so they
choked so they wasn't shooting back so very easy today to be honest very easy game. Yeah it seemed
pretty straightforward even in the rounds where you guys were losing the man advantage what was
the main focus for loud as a whole when you guys would lose that opening kill to be able
to bring those rounds back. What do you guys say to each other? Is it just following the
strats to get post plant down? Well, what's the win condition for you guys?
Saying like on the ATACs, we knew they are very aggressive. They sometimes can get a kill, but
we we are like getting gaps on the other side of the map. And on defense, they was executing
like in the late-hand very bad so we just keep the crosshair we just hold the angles and they are
like dying for us for nothing so all right then speaking of your potential finishing spot I mean
we have we have five teams right now sorry four teams right now on 17 points this means that for
you guys it could go anywhere you can have many different opponents going in into players how do
How do you feel about that?
To be honest, I think we don't care too much because if you want to qualify to the WC, we don't choose the open.
We are just doing our game. If we are better, we are going to qualify. So it's fine.
Alright, and then before we let you go, Rich,
any moment this group stage that was maybe your favorite that you looked back on?
I think beating Liquid and FaZe probably because they are a very great team and that's like give us some confidence.
And bye, live bandeau.
Well, the confidence.
Very important as well.
Yeah, sure, we got the media training on the board here.
Thank you so much for your time, Resets.
And good luck next week with playoffs.
Thank you, bye bye.
Glad he got to sneak that little promotion in there in the end.
But honestly, loud. I mean, we were talking about it already, right?
They took a page out of the book from FluxioW7M, perfected it,
and showed us some really good attacks here as well.
You know, the confidence that Resets was talking about,
about taking down two really big teams inside of SAL.
Most have really helped them here as well.
And, you know, we were analyzing this game a lot,
but Resets came to the conclusion that Fluxer W7M
just weren't shooting back today.
Yeah, I mean, I hate to say it, but I agree completely.
I mean, we talked about it before the game started
with the IGL swapping from cons to gods
within this last week or two.
And I was telling it to you while we were watching the game
It's just, to me, it screams a lack of confidence.
Being able to swap your IGLs, yes, you know,
it's all like City, they had a good run,
I believe Dots was the IGL during then,
and at this stage, they had cons IGLing
for the first half of the stage,
and it wasn't looking the best,
but it wasn't looking bad, but to swap it in the middle,
I mean, you've been practicing with cons
on your IGL rule for some time now,
and to swap it within the last two weeks of the stage,
hoping that you can get back to your former success,
it's very difficult because your practice has not been that
in the last month
of the stage so
it just seems like they weren't confident in cons ability with i g l
but to swap it all it just throws everything off and i think that
really shook things up especially when it matters most because that's what
looks like happened in a lot of these clutch scenarios is
there's not necessarily one voice there's not one trusted system on how
we're gonna focus on a retake what's the angle here
and everybody had their own ideas because
they didn't really have one specific way for listening to anything that goes a lot
of confusion
from the side of flexor that despite them getting
the opening kills
and that was the biggest downfall we heard it from resets even though
they were losing the opening kills they knew if we just play safely play
together were finding the gaps because they're all running around they're all
leaving openings everywhere
that first kill doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things
and unfortunately flexor that we send them
will not be making it to playoffs due to this loss.
It's very unfortunate for them here without being their final matchup essentially of the
stage here.
We'll see them back in stage two, of course, depending on what's going to happen with the
roster.
You already mentioned the IGL issuing, what's going to happen with that going into stage
two.
Of course, there's a little bit of time for them to decide on what they want to do with
that, though.
Now, it's being on the side of Lout.
There's a lot of positives we can mention, of course.
one and being their MVP. Stemp may be a player that we don't always talk about too much in
regards of the one player that really needs to step up right. We really gave Gabu his flowers,
you know, Risa is always a big talking point as well. Legendary play in regards of like everything
he's been through inside of Siege and the ecosystem, but for the entries, I mean Stemp was doing a
really good job on that as well, but the minor downside that I can call for this game, if I
I have to bring up something negative that clutch that
Moussey Dores and Paul who got there might come to bite back loud in in the end there because the round difference for them right now
And it was parts of hoping for a top four finish with your ass now looking that good
Now it's all looking great because I believe how the round count looks is
Loud is at plus six and furious at plus 12. Oh, so I believe if my math is correct. Fury would have to lose
about seven, they'd have to lose one to seven.
So they'd have to lose essentially at least six rounds
to tie loud to bring it into a head-to-head tiebreaker.
That being said, Feria is going up against NIP.
So I mean, it makes a lot of sense.
But quickly, just to commend Stemp
for today's performance, I mean, great game for him.
He definitely showed up.
And it's good to see him also find success
because he has not had the best run on this roster so far.
probably been the most inconsistent player on the team, but he has shown a lot of life throughout
his career in the SAL. So now to be able to have games or he's able to pop off specifically for him
and loud as a whole. Big wins against FaZe, big win today. They're going into playoffs. Every player
is firing on all cylinders. It has big hopes for loud going into the playoffs. And like Reset said,
they just have to be the best team on the day if they want to make it to UWC.
Yeah, on the sideline as well though, NIP have one more game to play and due to the results from this matchup and the matchups from earlier today, they have also locked in that top four position together with Liquid here.
They find themselves in a very favorable position going into playouts the upper bracket and that extra alive is definitely going their way.
However, there's one more spot inside the top four that is to be decided.
There's a very slight chance that it goes a large way, but Furia have all to play for in our final game of the day after this break.
I've already trained a lot with her, I won't miss anything
6 bullets for you, no chance
to accept these 3 goals
fuck
fuck
fuck
fuck
fuck
I'm going to try to make it easier for him to do it, but it's not going to be easy for him to do it.
I'm going to try to make it easier for him to do it.
I have a question.
I think it's a little bit more difficult than the first one.
But it's really hard to stay still.
It's the first one, it was a test.
Hit!
But it's...
Wow, the ball is doing a curve?
The ball is doing a curve?
It's the last one.
I'll check it.
It's really hard to use the weapons.
But it's a chance that the first one doesn't work.
The good thing is that the situation of the coach is bad, I would mark it, but the result of the result is not good, I would mark it, it would be a good coach
So, let's see what the coach is losing, bro, it's bad.
And the suicide strategy, who doesn't like it, right?
There are many, there are many.
You can mark it, bro.
The strength of the hole there, it's a suicide strategy.
I'm going to kill you.
I'm going to kill you.
Just a phase, this is the bad guy here.
Let's see what she does to us.
We have 3 players from the hall that are mono-operators and justifying their respawns.
You are Jizz, he is Jizz.
You are Fox, he is Shield.
Now he has become a mono-blinded.
And you are also...
Mono-operators, today is fucking Mono-operators, they are all flexing.
You are me, I am just a harmonium player, just a good player, that's it.
Which player of the hall is the most faithful of all?
I think it's all because...
Damn, it's so heavy, bro.
Man, the guy is too heavy, man.
We have a lot of guys that are heavy, man.
I think it's like a fast drive, man.
It was a bad fast drive, man.
You can even get it fixed, man.
I don't know why I thought it was a fast drive, man.
Which is the most boring player in the team?
The most boring is heavy, man.
It's like a fake, man.
I think it's playing like that, man.
I think it's a striker.
simply because they have one better round difference by once. It's very slim margins.
And assuming this is not a 7-0 for NIP, we already talked about it in the break with
Jesse and he gave us the stat that the loser of this match, so Foxy has to go up against
face. That is not an easy match for your first one going into playoffs.
Yeah, nobody wants to find themselves in the fourth spot. Although you're in upper brackets.
the end of the day you do get an opportunity and hey we've seen teams beat phase before
that being one of them loud which if furia do get 7-0ed they would bump down into round count
loud but take that fourth spot and they have beat phase before so it is possible and you are in
that upper bracket so it's comfortable but at the end of the day for nip and furia one of them
want to be able to win so that they can just secure themselves from the third seed and they
they have a little bit of an easier road because they don't have to go against FaZe.
Exactly, let's dive in these teams and get the matchup going as quickly as possible because
well, these teams have a little bit of a curious form going into this one, right?
I mean, we look at Furia, two losses in a row, we look at NIP, two over times in a row as
well, but NIP, they do move over Furia as we can currently see in the settings of course
as well.
It's just that they couldn't stop KZ when they played against Liquid from getting as
as many multi-cos as he was doing today as well.
One strong point for NIP really seems to be their entries.
They show some expression sometimes
and it comes with that even if their opponent
takes a difficult timeout, they dial it up further and off.
But the main question is for NIP,
can they break their decision now
with having to overtime losses?
I mean, you look to hope so.
You know, overtime losses,
they did look fairly better last week
even though they were overtime losses
compared to Furia's just regular losses.
that being said their entries are their strong shoe I mean they got fantasy
they're able to be able to just get very into your face very aggressive but
something that I P has been doing this whole stage is just playing amazing
together hates is arguably my opinion the best player on an IP right now he on
the shield has been so monumental I take the position with fantasy and be able to
follow him up which has always been something that I peers a whole
struggled into our hates join this roster so them together as a whole they've
They've been working very good in coaching 7M. They've also been playing a lot slower, which is something we've never really seen from an IP up until this last couple of months from now.
That's good to see that though, but for the other side from Fiora, I don't know if this is a moment to start worrying a little bit.
I mean, we speak about two losses in a row now for them. The loss against FaZe, obviously it makes sense.
You know, FaZe being the number one team in the league, but then they also lost against Flux with W7M, who, as we just saw, didn't even make it into playoffs.
That was such an important game for them, right?
It's more important for Furia as well,
but should they really allow these losses
to potentially knock them down in a lower bracket here?
You don't want to be in that situation.
You don't want to be losing if you're Furia.
There's a lot of legacy when it comes to some of these players,
but it just comes down to the day.
But I mean, they have arguably one of the best IGLs in SAL
with Volts, but a lot of the pressure
is usually on his shoulders to be putting up
an insane amount of numbers for his roster.
And what we saw against W7M is him just having an off day.
And when he has an off day,
the rest of the team has an off day as well.
And so that's the biggest downfall is
it doesn't necessarily look like there is a player
that is able to lead the charge if Volps is not there.
Very good player, very good roster,
but they're working collectively behind Volps.
So players like Lure, players like Herds,
these players on previous rosters
that would usually be the X factor,
the trendsetter for their team leading that charge,
They haven't necessarily been too loud.
They've been very quiet when it comes to the stage.
And it says good things for Furia,
playing more team-oriented.
But at the end of the day,
if the teamwork is not working or gelling as well,
who's going to be able to step up
and just be able to open up the gate with some opening kills?
Just get everybody in the right momentum.
Yeah, top four is on the line.
So one more time, let's take a look at the Vita.
And the final must be one that we get
inside the group stage here.
The last time these two players were in 7-4 for Furia on Caffe and they also played in
the upper bracket of a kickoff.
Again, Furia took them down 2-0 on Bank and on Fortress.
Bank is on a vacation today, but Fortress is a good map for A.T. today.
Yes, it is a great map for them.
I mean, it's one of those maps that allows a lot of roaming, especially from the side
of Furia.
It's a very, I still want to say it's a very newer map when it comes to play styles and
how it's going to play out.
They have great players on it, and I feel like bigger maps usually end to favor Phyria just because
the individual players are able to manage the space a lot better. NIP have been learning how to play
slow, so that's the dangerous part about going up against them on a map like Fortress is they
are able to get in your face, start that early aggression, and then they fall back and watching
them play this new style of siege has really been enjoyable from a viewer perspective because it's
something NIP hasn't really been able to do in the past. That is great that they are showing
this enjoyable gameplay but the top four eventually is on the line here to avoid a matchup with Faze
as well for one more time with today and Tara and Jesse. It is all yours. Well greatly appreciated
Ann and greatly appreciated Foxy as well. Let's work with you again Davide. Good to see you there
and good to see you doing well in what looks to be a very cozy bedroom. I think he still lives in
in Los Angeles, a bedroom in LAX. That's quite the expense, isn't it? I mean, it's no Edmonton Jesse,
but it's still a nice place. Today's game that we see unfolding in front of our very eyes,
Nip and Fury and Nip have locked in top four. So now it is incumbent upon Fury to do well enough
that they take the tiebreaker away from loud grain analysis from both of these smart minds,
and we get underway five different matches, five different maps. What a treat it is today.
Yeah, the headline storyline here is that Furia need one round to secure upper bracket in the playoffs once they get that one round.
We'll stop talking about it, but just in case, until we get to that point, NIP 70, that would be the goal for any loud fans tonight who want to get that upper bracket spot for themselves.
So plenty to play for in terms of seeding beyond that one implication as well, which we can dive into through this game.
Interesting operator bands. I mean, Benek, Haid, Monty, all very standard, but the Twitch band from Fyria is kind of interesting.
We see Bissetto play it from time to time on this map when he's not playing on a shield.
He'll jump on the Haban or start things off.
And also the sight rotation, a little bit interesting here.
Fyria like to do this. They don't always start on the primary site and will actually start downstairs in waiting room and cafeteria for their opening bomb site, which could catch an IP off guard.
He's single round. So here's what we should, here's what should happen, Jesse.
Furia wins round number one and we just cancel the rest of the match and then you
get to go back to playing with your cat. Now there's still plenty of implications
after this, exactly. No, just a single round. That's all we need. Just one round.
Okay, well we could be two minutes away from such a result that Furia can
lock down this defense and they certainly have a bit of a map control here
that I don't know if NIP will be good to deal with. Fantasy on this snake is so deadly he's
really good with this operator but of course it's not going to gadget for clearing out players on
staircases so he has to find another way around. As we talked about the players also in pursuit of
some numbers hates his 12 kills away from breaking 100 kills with nip guaranteed for playoffs
you know that he's going to break it at some point unless he drops multiple donuts from this
this point onward. And it's a good beginning for Nip so far. Volp's and
Loyra both in the ground to early aggression from this Nip squad. Half
of the round to go and they already find themselves with quite an advantage.
Yeah and this is a scary operator lineup. They will go for another swing. This has
to pay off but he's being tracked by the death marks. The wizard who will be
in advantage for this fight can call for some teammates. Everybody else is falling
around him though and might not have the read on it. Still has the ping now.
No shotgun up close will of course win that battle.
Good play from her as it has all of his teammates find kills as well Parker.
It's somehow Bacetta with a 1v3.
I don't really, I just kind of closed my eyes and suddenly it was all over and now I open
my eyes and I'm like okay and it's fully over, all right match cancelled, good job
they got their one round Furia locked in for the top 4 and we can all go home, okay goodbye.
Still plenty to play for Parker, don't get ahead of yourself.
will be upper bracket secured for Fiora, but now it comes down to that first round matchup.
The loser of this game will be guaranteed to face FaZe Clan in the very first round of playoffs.
It is upper bracket, so you'll get a second chance even if you lose to FaZe as Fox was
staying on the desk. But still, it's a bit of a scary proposition, isn't it? Going up against the
two-time world champion in your first match to try to qualify to the Esports World Cup,
the winner of this game will be going up against Team Liquid Alienware instead
has a first round matchup and while you might debate which team would be
preferred to go up against I think most people would agree that there's really nobody you'd
rather go up against uh there's no way that you would go up against less than phase clan right
like you want to avoid the middle costs well I I like casting them so I cast I try not to avoid
them from a casting perspective but Jesse if you said to me Parker would you like
like to play in a rainbow six match against phase clan I would say no that
sounds terrible and then I would go do something else with my life because
that's anything is better I'd rather dive into a vat of spiders and play
against face playing in rainbow six it would be gruesome it would be grotesque
so again this they play against face clan quite regularly like all these
seems to. Brazil knows each other very effectively, and FaZe Clan tend to do very well inter-regionally,
especially as of late.
Yes. Yeah, there's no doubt about how good FaZe Clan have been at running their own region.
They've been very dominant domestically. Dominance domestically is something that we
can also say about Furia here on Fortress. They're 4-0 against domestic competition on
this map this season. They've been really dominant. There are only two losses both coming
at the Salt Lake City Major against international opponents. So you might think that gives them
a bit of an edge here with the Matfido as well. NIP have a bit of a mountain to climb,
starting in the attack too.
Oh, with that, it seals the fate of these teams. So even though we are, we want to say a little
bit behind the other regions, because I don't want to make it seem like Brazil's taking its
sweet time, but SAL does tend to run a bit behind most of the other regions. APAC, because of it
being three regions in a trench coat can take a little bit of time too but in Brazil does what
Brazil does and they're producing winners so let them not let them steep I think is is the the
phrase to go here. Nick for the second round in a row Jesse has got first blood and yet they were
not able to convert that into a successful round. Furia took round number one Loira flying a bit
too close to the Sun through both rounds and now finds himself on the bench. Volts will also die
that was the one two punch that Nick landed back in round one and it will emerge again in round two.
Big round from Fantasy, one of my favorite players to watch as I often say he's got the
sniper rifle in hand and is hitting some heads with it.
Good start here to get that man advantage and they're just going to try to force a plant
in here, Parker, but Seto can easily now move into that plant position.
He'll start holding F on the ground and his teammates are in really good position to cover.
Seto gets the defuse kit down.
As much as we thought it looked really grim for Fury and the previous round, they managed
to pull it out.
round. It does not appear that Nip will allow them to have the same level of success. Bissetto
with three kills and a flawless round to end things off. Nip, eager to make up for lost time
after a devastating first round and they've tied the game. Big round from Bissetto. You know,
most show players would be content in a 5v expo's plant just to feed information to your
teammates and to call positions while everybody else gets the kills. But Bissetto says,
No, I'm gonna get a triple kill instead and close out this round as soon as possible
Really good again to get that plant down a little bit slow on that toss of babes
So they couldn't get the denial that they were looking for on the side of furia
And then again, it just comes down to losing a couple of swings to fantasy playing so good with that glass
The desk highlighted the entry below on nip fantasy and hates probably the two best players on nip certainly the most mechanically talented
That we see on this roster
It's going to be exciting to see them play here up against a team like Furia who themselves are stacked with star power who could win almost any gunfight depending on what you put them in.
But when the attackers have the better tools when fancy and hates are able to work around one another, they just feel so unstoppable as they start to charge through the buildings.
It's been a good look for this new NIPP team, quote unquote, as they've managed to qualify
for Salt Lake City, and even though Brazil as a whole didn't do a ton of damage, fury
in particular was a standout at SLC, but not in the way that you'd think.
There's been growth from this Brazil region through stage one.
When we watch NAL, the desk does it a little bit more than you and I, Jesse, because we
are not shameless sellouts for our region but the desk is obviously very happy with how North America
is doing right now and I do think on paper they are the favorite region to win EWC and continue
their trend dominance that began in Salt Lake. It's a bit puzzling how Brazil fell apart in Salt
Lake City and they've got to make up for it. They've got to show up at EWC and then set their sites
for Osaka as that's the location of the next major that'll be happening this fall. Brazil
Surely will not be held down for too long.
Bissetto after getting three kills in the previous round is the first casualty.
He gets swatted away by Furia pretty early on and we still got two minutes to go
with Furia having an advantage.
Yeah, that's the arch nemesis of every shield player.
A staircase, and it will give a welcoming man advantage.
Over to Furia. Now he can play quite comfortable here on white stairs.
Walks off, disappears on the player, walking up towards him.
It's the Nameless with the track, but loses the battle even with the shock
and a massive kill coming through from Fantasy.
fantasy and he's got good space for his teammates now once another why not this guy shooting today but he
barely loses the gunfight to herds and man count goes back in favor of furia.
Well it's taking down Pino, Jesse, Staircase is not just the arch nemesis of shield operators but
after I've eaten all you can eat sushi also Staircase is my nemesis as well so try to avoid any
kind of physical labor at that point in time as I just become a ball and roll myself into bed.
Fiora with a great advantage right now.
Lawyer and Volks were early casualties in round one and two, and Volks has already made his presence known.
Now it's heard snagging at the hands of hates to the exploding phone.
They don't see that every day.
Nip on their back foot.
Fiora is still in prime position to close this one out.
We'll give a call over to Volks this time around.
The boy risk phone has already blown up.
Volps will not let his go.
Feels it's safe enough to turn that phone call off.
Wizard just got hit by a thorn trap, by the way.
So this 2v3 just got even more difficult
to be slowed temporarily inside a big tower
and who positioned, of course, no.
And he'd kill by hate, but here comes a swing back.
And still 1v2 now.
Wizard a lot to do.
Close quarters, that Scorpion really does a lot of damage
and then characters people like nobody's business.
Still close quarter engagements for Volps moving forward.
Wizards last man standing and he'll work his way from tower stairs all the way through
the bombsite.
Volps and Loira first two to die through rounds one and two.
Now the last two standing in round number three and Volps will make them pay for not
getting rid of him earlier on.
I think he was running the Team Liquid Alienware skin too.
So, good for Volpe, Sympheria will regain the lead.
Again, felt like they just had a really strong defense
up towards White Parker.
Even when they were losing bodies,
the trades came very nicely.
The Util was good from NIP,
and I think it paints the picture
of how they wanna take some of these attacks.
A lot of these pushes have been focused around Dokeby.
They've been focused around Snake.
They've been focused around Deimos and Grimm.
It's these intel gathering operators on the attack,
which have come to really define the meta
that we're in today,
alongside shields and displacement operators
capital and grim it just feels like nip are loading up on information so they
can try to win some of these fights and those fights don't go their way sometimes
the trades a little bit tough because you've got players that are separated
around the map maybe they're in big tower maybe they're outside the museum
window maybe they're elsewhere around but it's just kind of hard to get some of
those trade backs you've got some incredibly talented players here on nip
again fantasy and hate known as maybe the best entry duo in South America but
up against a team like furio and everybody is firing it's a very difficult
photo to take down. The doggie will get banned out, so no more exploding phones to result
in kills for NIP, but even still, they've got so many good tools available with the
damels and the snake. Always throws me for a loop, even though it's been... I'm still
for a U now, since Siege X now just called Siege. I got launched, but still throws me
for a loop when I see smokes in the prep phase. Mentally I have to be like oh yeah that's the
fire extinguishers but I'm just there's still always I'll look up every now and then and be like
clean holes. Reminds me of when they talked about having Blitz's special ability be that he spawned
in in the prep phase. Oh my god. I would love to see that for what it's worth. Imagine all the
attackers are drones and then Blitz is just off to the races. I feel like it'd be so bad like
Like you're completely by yourself, you have no teammates, like any sports to do.
Maybe you could stop some sight set up or something, I don't know.
Interesting.
I'd love it. I think it would be so annoying.
Because you'd have somebody on your team who would do it, and then they would do it three rounds on their own.
They would just die every time, and you'd be like, come on man.
But then it would happen to you where you'd be on defense, and a blitz would run in,
run in and three people who are born without mouths would not say anything
and then they all die to a blitz and you haven't even the other team hasn't
spawned in yet. I feel like you're talking from personal experience Parker. I'm
unfortunately to the detriment of many around me was born with a mouth so one
of my greatest weaknesses. Rocking the new anime skin from Elevate Bissetto is
hoping to find somebody, theory of dying immediately fantasy and wizard on the
board your favorite player getting a kill,
Borgzera answers back, but the damage has been done
at this point, nip with an advantage with half a round
to go.
That's a great early game coming out here from NIP.
The Roan Clear goes exactly as promised.
Again, with the Snake Scanner,
Phantasy gives so much information
that he can then feed to the rest of his teammates,
and of course himself, he's not even
to do a whole lot on the splits,
other than just be a distraction, be the vocal points.
Make sure everybody's looking at him,
but now you've got to make this execute happen.
Not a ton of soft reach, some shotguns from Pino, that's what he's using right now to get a little bit of vert play, but they know what the task is here Parker, they have to clear it internally, they want this frag and they will get it, big pick from Panacea.
So they need, and those F2s, they sing, they swear, they're everywhere.
Back and forth contests now, obviously still more on the line, I know we did joke about Fury needing a single round to secure their spot in the top four, they've done that.
Now it's about posterity and all the rest that comes with it. Fox talked about it on the desk. I don't need to repeat what he said
He has one kill herds with another and suddenly this round has tightened up
Nip has had some big struggles hanging on to their leads and Diaz with an easy read
It leaves Bissetto the point man. He was first involved minutes ago
He's been empty-handed so far and he's finished off by Diaz from Brazil to NA back to Brazil Diaz
makes his presence felt and it's a big round from Furia.
That's Mr. Diaz Lucas BR for anybody watching after a play like that. A huge
3k in the 2v4 and around that NIP had no business losing and yet they do. It's the
utility in the site for me Parker that makes all the difference. It's the
surrogate from the Aruni and it most importantly it's the mirror windows. No
counter to that whatsoever and you see NIP wandering into the site somewhat
isolated, not by themselves, just completely falling to that position that was being played by D.S.
A huge round to come out from D.S. and that one, the 24 year old second oldest player here on
Furia, alongside Herds, whom he clutched that 2v4 up with. So the old dogs still got some fight
left in them. It's a really nice round that forces a tactical timeout to come through from NIP.
Their coach Dan, having some words with the squad now to get him back on track. They know how
important these attacks are on Fortress. NIP, one of the best attacking teams that we have in South America with a 60% overall
offense, they have to be better on this half.
Undeniably so.
All of these teams have, I don't want to say a long history, but both of these teams do have a history of unfortunately struggling in tough matches.
Fyria in particular, the big one with Salt Lake City, they came in near the top of everybody's depth charts, and many had them easily making playoffs
and then potentially making a deep run because of all the talent and the
fragging power on this squad.
Whether there was just because too many, it was because too many cooks were in
the kitchen or maybe they were still trying to get the hang of things.
But Furia made it to Salt Lake City and got bounced really, really quickly.
This Nip team has had struggles for, I want to say a couple of years now,
Jesse, with their fraggers going quiet.
Amnesty and Hades have been terrific throughout much of their career,
whether they played for Vivo Keats stars, whether it was MIBR, whatever
teams it was, but it's just, again, I don't know. Sometimes they fall off and the support
cast isn't there. I do like the addition of Bissetto to this roster and with it, Nip's
stock has continued to rise and of course they clinched its spot in the top four before
this matchup had even begun. So Nip is on the ascendancy. They've just really got to
struggle with these advantages and figure them out. Hopefully we're able to do that
moving forward or else this one will be over in a hurry for Firiya.
Yeah, I mean, you talk about fantasy and a guy who's maybe had a career of inconsistencies,
but like, he made his career as being the star player for Fury.
You go back four or five years ago, and it was this organization that he was representing
at all the biggest tournaments in the world, took a bit of a backseat.
He really wasn't picked up by any top teams for a while after that team blew up.
Now has found new life here in NIP, and I think, honestly, I know they've had some
struggles over the last couple of years, but like this to me does look like one of the
best versions of an IP that we've seen in quite some time, especially with these
engine fuel and paints and fantasy, so I want to see them getting more active in
this game, finding a little bit more success. It's been the execute, it's been
the issue, to be honest. I mean the early game has gone their way. We'll see if it
does again as this Bissetto Blitz is desperate to drop in and take some
flights. And I know the observers can't hear me, but I don't like anime in this
lightest. And Stathon and the crew over on the NAL took great delight in
and constantly spectating this anime shield to torture me.
And we have now watched Becedo for about 45 seconds straight.
So this is the greatest day of my life, Jesse.
Yes, I have the uncanny ability to make this about myself.
Wizards slaughtering, wolves and herds,
nipping very familiar territory,
a huge early advantage,
and yet they've been unable to capitalize twice so far.
From below the site, that's a crazy angle
for him to get those two picks.
Basetto will easily be picked back up as he's outside the building.
There's still over 60 seconds on the clock.
This is the best round we've seen from NIP in a little bit, Parker.
They're feeling so confident in this one to close it down
that they've lost 3v5 clutches before,
and it just feels like somebody on N'Furia could be due for a big moment.
Could be Lawyer and Alice. He looks for kill number one.
Fantasy goes down. That's a huge pick.
On to the glass. The Blitz and Basetto still in position.
final 40 seconds now. Hunkered down in the bomb site is Furia. No gas canisters
remaining. Smart glasses for Boxer and one key to barriers. All she wrote for
Furia. So very limited utility and that's bad news for them. They're gonna
continue to fall by the wayside as Nip seems unlikely to repeat past mistakes.
Diaz will need to clutch out the round. He was so good previously. He'll find
hate but he's got the blitz and hot pursuit. No opportunity to pull out the
shotgun hold on a moment no he gets finished off by nip that was far too
close for comfort nip almost bottles it again but at the 11th hour they stick
the landing and close the gap between themselves inferior Diaz makes literally
any round look winnable I swear to God this guy has a secret sense that just
makes him unbeatable in some of these moments perhaps he could have clutched
that one out if only a team have gotten a couple of kills earlier and I hate to
call out players Parker, but this has been an unusually quiet game for a lawyer.
The former Samurai and player for G2 has been really quiet so far to take on his
first kill in that last round, but even that frag, it took quite a few bullets and
it felt like he could have been good for a couple of more in that round.
Enter's this game as the highest rated player on Furious 78 and 64 KD, but has
not been able to replicate that success up against NIP. It's not a critical game
for him it's not a critical must win for either of these teams but if you want to
give yourselves the best opportunity the best seed heading into playoffs and this
is a must win game 3-2 currently on the scoreboard if NIP tie this up could be
feeling good 4-2 for Fury would be fine as well it's still anybody's game but you
have to feel like Fury has maybe a bit of a momentum at this point I don't know
It's close
Truth be told, I think it's it's called a challenge to read into this matchup so far
It's been unpredictable nip is I would argue nip has been the better team so far and yet the score line doesn't show that so
It's yeah, it's I know people with interremic
Well, obviously nip's not the better team because they're not leading and it's like what you don't you need to think a little bit more
critically about this kind of stuff.
Nip has looked like a very well structured team.
They've just fallen apart at the last minute.
And I mean, they've also allowed Fury
to pull off some remarkable stuff.
Bissetta's in this exact same spot again, by the way.
It honestly just feels like we are rewatching
the previous round.
So many teams love this just small tower drop,
especially with the smokes and the shields.
Herds dies elsewhere over to Pino.
He's still outside the building,
but this could be a disaster.
This warden play can be really good
to counter the small tower drop.
Last time they had a warden here, he had brought the deployable shield rather than the Nitro, so there wasn't much he could do against the Blitz.
They're so patient on the side of the NRP, but I mean this makes all the difference.
Nitro's cell will go out, it can shut away at immediately, looks unable to do too much.
He's killed the hands of Bacetto, who charges in his direction, they knew the shield was in the vicinity.
What is this, the fifth round where Nip has received the first two opening kills?
This is an incredible stat line and yet Nip's only been able to convert that twice.
Something they have to get better at of course, it's something that they've maybe struggled
with at current times throughout their past as well. Now in a two-man lead though, this feels
like a good spot for them once again. Closing this out, they were successful back in round number five.
Nip 10 on the clock and all of these site players just heading back towards their bomb site. They
don't want to go for any aggressive flanks. They're confident in their stall potential.
and maybe some toxic babes as well could stall this out for a bit three.
And another pick as Nip is closing this gap in a hurry, Furia should probably not have
believed at this point in time, but they do and that's the reality of the situation.
A flawless round on deck unless he asks him to get something, seven kills to his name shot
from the back fantasy with two kills to send away the first half.
Nip will only be able to convert all that success into three rounds, but they will take it
Feel like that's the big thing right all that success
They had so many of these rounds starting so well for them and then there's these attacks downstairs as well in the cafeteria
Where they have the men advantage and things seem to be going well
And then somehow some bigger player movement on the side of Huria takes it back though three rounds
I guess what I'm up like fortress
I mean, folks, would you say that's enough for the likes of NIP going into defense or do you think they should have come away with more here?
I think I think there's a great split for how they've been playing. I mean, NIP, I agree that what everyone has said so far, they have looked like the better, more formidable team.
And them being able to swap sides and go on to defense, I mean, they look like to be in the comfortable position of fortress is more defender side of math.
As for the side of Fury, I mean, we were asking the question beforehand, if Phulps is not having a big game, if he is not leading the charge, who's going to be the player that's able to follow up, especially against such a front heavy aggressive NIP Rosser.
And so far that's been Diaz. He has been there just getting the trades always being put into positions where he needs to step up in these man down scenarios and he's been showing up for the occasion.
Now you're going to come to a side like on a map where you're going to be attacking.
And here's the difficult thing is Furia has never really had the best shield player.
I mean, I know we might see Boxer, we might see Volts on the shield, but that will be
the biggest question is how they're going to be able to make moves into the bomb site
and put pressure when they don't have such a pivotal shield player against an aggressive.
I'm imagining NIP will be in your face at the start of these defensive rounds.
it'll be very interesting to see how Fury is going to be able to adapt to that.
But again, I think NIP still it's their game at the end of the day.
They 3-3 split on their attacks is very good,
and it's just going to be the same defaults that we're going to see on their defense.
I don't think they have to stray too far away from what their normal is because
they have been playing better. They are getting the opening kills.
Now this defensive side is going to force them to play off of each other and play more passive.
So I'm expecting them to honestly run away with it here.
Yeah, objective is already secured, of course, for NIP. They avoid that matchup with FaZe, which is really important here.
And as you already mentioned as well, NIP on their attacks, they were playing a lot with the shields, right?
Really trying to create the space with that, have the information on the side as well with a sword snake, for example.
But for Lycephiria, they won't have that mounting to their axes at least for this one.
They themselves will burn out some of the counter breach stuff, but a shield ban?
a shield ban and a Daemons ban as well, kind of dipping into two sides here when it comes
to information and the shields as well.
Furia, what can you really show us going into the second half?
What can they show us indeed?
That's the question for Furia Parker and you can wind back the clock a little bit to mid-March
when this roster was initially revealed.
It had been picked apart from different teams.
They took five players without much history together and threw them all under one banner,
being furia and when they played their very first game of the south american league their first match
ever as a professional team they met nip on the very first day of groups of the sal kickoff and
they delivered a swift seven four victory taking down the ninjas they would not meet nip again until
the grand finals of the sal kickoff where they would again go head to head and furia again
Kind of dismantled the ninjas with a 7-2 win on bank and then a 7-5 win on Fortress
Today feels something different. I don't know if you can sense it in the air
But it just seems like this NIT team
NIT team have a little bit more gusto behind them
It feels like they're starting to play with their food and they're starting to develop
I think with their entries in a way that we haven't seen from them in the past
Here you have to be good on the stacking side
They need to find good entries and find ways to break these events as a part because if they don't it'll be a match with
face plan in the playoffs.
What a reward that is having to deal with face plan.
This joke, it's not a it's not a reward. It's that's punishment.
Oh, yeah. Humor will one day make its way to Alberta and boy, oh boy, it
will be a great day for everybody.
I don't know. I don't know if it's my
You should build pipelines for humor. What do you think about that?
Jesse, to get to get some to your house or you know, in Quebec, they
of just for laughs we should we should export that put in a pipeline send over
and maybe as people will find humor I think they'd be kind of nice this looks
like it might be a quick one there Jesse fury and knocking at the door already
of this extended defense by Nip but it has fallen away now and fire from that
Goyer canister will remain 20 long seconds as Blackbeard does his best
Captain America impression to shield charges way through the wall also Captain
America's made it to Alberta. So you know what that is. Okay, good. That's I'm glad we're making progress here.
Love the information that's being gathered again. This snake was so critical for NIPS attacks. They got so much good information off of it.
Now we're starting to see Fury do just the same. It's not a surprise to see Volps on the block beard.
Foxy was critical of this shield play. He does play it a lot. It's not the most successful shield player.
I definitely agree with that, but Volps can still do great work here with the shield in front of his face.
you will take this space for his teammates, but an already set up just as that of course will
make things difficult and that will be even tougher as GX is the first of all.
Birds takes down Wizards and the brawl will continue both of these teams looking for the
upper hand. Furia has a lead here in this for quite some time. Nip is hoping for their very
first round victory and again it's only a matter of time until Nip finds their footing.
We both agree that they have been the better team despite this score line and yet they've
they've still come up short on a number of rounds, largely self-inflicted for what it's worth.
But they lead the way in opening duels so far through these seven rounds.
They have all but one.
The conversions have just been the tricky part.
Final 40 seconds now and it's a 4v4 brawl.
They're waiting to try to catch Pino on a rotate.
Out goes the Nade, Becena will take down Bogzera.
And Furia will now be on their back foot.
Volps is gone next.
Herds is just standing in this position, holding the angle as he's supposed to.
all the rest of his team dies and falls by the wayside.
Shirley and Hick don't bottle this one, right?
They've had opportunities
where they've been able to close out rounds
with Sibyl's four lines.
No, no, no, no, no, please don't say,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
It's not gonna happen again, Jesse.
It's not gonna happen again.
Promise me, it's not gonna happen again.
Herds with four, but he runs out of time,
Nip giving him every single advantage possible.
They almost throw it again.
What is going on?
but they win the round.
Oh my word!
Are you not entertained?
Nice try, if I heard.
It's the former world champion for W7M,
but can't quite find that final kill.
Doesn't have the time for it.
It should have been completely unwinnable, to be honest.
They gave him a lot of swings that NIP maybe shouldn't have,
but they did play the clock correctly.
Finally, Bissetta was able to lock things down
in the 1v1 and say,
I am not gonna swing this man. He is way too hot
Some of the best players and teams in the world have found that out the hard way and NIP almost just did as well
But still a really strong defense. They have them in a massive advantage. Frankly Parker theory had really good
Utility coming through with of course the black beer
But also the ying that was being brought onto that attack
And you didn't feel like they got great value out of those tools that they were bringing instead
ended up being relatively fair gunfights, relatively even 50-50s, and with NIP just having the advantage on the defense,
hunkered up in some power positions, it felt like they were able to work that man count just all the way down for Furia.
Still, you can't shake off that performance, and a herd speeds up on this attack, even if you're throwing them in a thermite, right?
I mean, it's a far cry from his previous day as an entry fragger, but like, if you can get herds active like that, this Furia team will be scary.
And the Furia team still is scary, but again, the underlying numbers are the greatest issue
here.
Herds and Diaz combining for 15 kills.
The rest of the team don't even have half of that.
They're sitting at seven.
So very top-heavy.
Diaz won multiple rounds with his heroics, and again, four of those kills from Herds
came in the previous round, and they were entirely impactless.
They had no bearing whatsoever on the round.
If you eliminate those and you just look at everything else beyond that the kill tallies are really quite poor for furia
Despite how close this has been on the scoreboard and I hate to sound like a broken record
But it really does come down to nip throwing a few of those rounds when they had such decided advantages
Here you Jesse will be quick to address now though as herds has taken a bit of damage hates his moonwalking his way away from harm
And they capitalize off of this and can fury I do something they've only done once and that's strike first
Well I like the space they've taken so far Parker with this double shield combo and the snake it makes it really fast to
Take the space and watch how everybody in NIP is forced to just group up in towards the site
We're not even halfway through the round and already Bissetto is putting down that final reinforcement on the bomb site
It's this onion strategy where you're layering backwards and that's a good strap
But I just feel like they've not wasted very much time with it
Over 90 seconds and fury will have a 5v5 to look in towards this bomb site
Now they don't have a great execute utility, but they have two shields that can try to get a plant down
They've got loads of smokes to obscure the vision. There's no warden being brought
There's no more nitrosols to be played either
So it's really gonna kind of come down to this execute Parker a full chaos
5b5 push in towards the bomb site if you're a can really come from any angle that they want to
My crash out about to keep seeing the shield skin by the way, I'm just
Is there like a rule that everybody has to run?
Well, that's the best skin in the game, so I have to like,
It's not even close to the best skin in the game.
I hate anime.
That's it?
We set out first one to die.
Herds on the board.
That 4k did not amount to much,
but you still know that he's a threat no matter what.
Diaz is gone, so Herds will have to carry even greater weight.
There goes Loira.
It ends to get some on Nip though,
as it's all up to Pino in a 1v2 box.
Boxer, a room low on HP.
Herds is the big threat that you need to take care of.
Pino sees the shield.
Trying to play this pixel angle,
but it's also giving info to Herds,
who's been spotted on a camera.
Who goes those fire in the flames?
Boxer is able to get out of dodge.
Herds buying time now as the diffuse kit gets planted,
running out of room to land this thing,
and there's the shield.
You know that Pino has to regress?
Missed opportunity!
It was there for the taking!
the Pinot doesn't grab it, and Furio wins the round.
The kid from Furitiba in the south of Brazil, Herds, has been on fire two rounds in a row
now, Parker. Seven kills and a plant for good measure, just over the last two rounds of
the second half on their own. It's been a miraculous performance, but it comes off
the back of his teammates as well. Everybody taking that space. Again, it was the shields
plus the snake that got them that early round advantage. Maybe not a man counts advantage,
It's certainly a position advantage where they had full control of breathing with really
good time still on the clock.
They stall a little bit.
They start to use that clock.
They definitely take full advantage of the time that they have in their pocket, but eventually
they're able to put together a good execute.
They trade out really nicely.
Heard just kind of that backstab pressure that nobody's really looking for.
So after he does the hard work of using those exothermic charges and getting the hard breach
out of the way, that's when he then pulls his gun up and gets to work shooting heads
as well.
the lead big rounds come through from him and now Furia continuing to keep this
game tight for a piece. It is anybody's game here for the final matchup of the
group stage.
Then both of these teams have secured their spots in the playoffs and both of
them have secured spots in the top four. FaZe Clan will sit atop Brazil. We know
that much. They are not able to be caught. There's a logjam right now at 17
points. FaZe Clan sitting four over them, so that's more than you can get in a single game.
Good for FaZe Clan defending world champs. Yeah, they should probably be the best,
they were the only Brazil team to make it to the playoffs at the Salt Lake City Major,
ultimately finishing in the top four. Team Liquid Alienware, Nip, Furia, and Loud all sit at 17
points. So as was talked about on the desk, and you've mentioned a couple times, there's a tiebreaker
in the top four, but still more to be played as loud and
low will wait to see who they play in the lower bracket later
this week. Again, early aggression from fury of Jesse and it
gets nipped on the run. Yeah, three players caught on a snake
scan. So that information is absolutely critical. The shields can now take this
space because everybody has to fall back. It's so quick that they take this map control and it makes all the difference.
It's so quick that they take this map control and it makes all the difference
I was love hearing that telltale sound from Solid Snake when they get alerted to it
Hates and Diaz on the board Diaz finds the second base will get his second before volts chases him down and
Fyria showing how formidable they can be these attacks have been great very punishing
Four ninjas in pajamas that leaves wizard and Pino on the side of Nip
Here he's taken a bit of a beating. Yes, in particular now, Volps has gone at the hands of Pino.
He had a bit of problems dealing with that Blitz in the previous round. He will not make that mistake yet again.
All of this is happening, by the way, Jesse, while Loira is sitting at 1-8, a far cry from what he is capable of.
If he comes online, that can be a major difference maker for Fury, and right now, they're going to need that difference maker in some capacity.
Capacity box era now left all on his own as the two remaining players from nip have both picked up a single kill
Looks there's in the site with the diffuse kid well
He's not on the side, but he's a single wall away and you can walk into the site whenever he wants there
He goes he finds the opportunity
45 seconds seconds still remaining in this round and
That's funny if users 45 seconds and it went down with 45 seconds to go
So the round will be the exact same length as usual box era finding wizard. There's no way
nip up. It happened again. Again, it's an NIP man advantage that gets tossed at the last moment.
And this time it's at the hands of box era. One of the best young players that we have here in
South America, hyped up as maybe the rookie of the year last year, if not for Stompens inclusion
into the league. Box Zera has been making waves down here in South America and he absolutely
puts in the work in the 1v2. It's messy. It's not clean. These are not the rounds that
Fioria expect to be winning in the fashion that they expect to be winning them. But regardless,
they take the lead now up five to four. I'm glad you brought up Loira. I mean, we mentioned him
earlier on, but the fact that he's consistently playing these critical roles of information
gathering means that when he goes down especially when he goes down early on an operator like the
solid snake it feels like a lot of that information just falls apart for furia and you're seeing little
rat spots work out for nip where maybe they go down in the initial map clear maybe they can see
some space but then they're getting these kills back and things have to get really messy for furia
again they're thriving in the mess they're up five four they aren't too much to be upset about here
but the way this game has been going, it still feels like it is anybody's map to take control of.
And I'm just waiting for one team to finally click and to just dominate their opponent for a clean round.
Attackers have discovered the location of a bomb.
I feel like if this happens again, I honestly think my brain is just going to fly out of the front of my skull.
I think at that point it just forcefully ejects itself, like a pilot from a fighter jet,
Just and then you'll just hear a crashing noise is my life. Of course. It's the ground because I
How many times are we gonna watch this Jesse? How many times are we gonna watch this team?
Ultimately joke these leads. I just I
Words tell me which is very rare for me as as you probably know, so I just it's
Exasperating and I imagine Nick fans are particularly frustrated by this because there's really no good reason for it
Nip should have won this game by now for crying out loud.
But the message here from McCannell is the shotgun from Bob Zara.
He did so good in the last round, Parker, to give his team the win,
but now he's got to be even bigger, finding Pino in the war,
and he loses that duel.
You can't blind those glasses, and all of a sudden, everybody is dead.
Six bodies still remain inside the server,
but four have fallen, and Herds and Diaz are once again in a man count disadvantage.
But Parker, based on how this game is going,
that might mean that they're favorite to win this round.
Do you have a lead?
Yes I do.
Is there still over two minutes left?
Yes there is.
Do you feel like winning the round?
No we don't.
And it's Diaz and Herds too, like these are the guys who have consistently been
finding big moments other than Boxerra in the last round.
He's would be the two to do it. The two before
21 kills between the two of them
12 kills between the remaining players on the team to search the numbers it looks close enough. It's like the
Chobhiemaguire spider-man gif where things are blurry and he puts on the glasses
They got a freebie on the pinot. No, it's gonna happen again. It's gonna happen again and you're gonna hear my brain go flying out of my head
It's just
They're still swinging Parker, they're still swinging.
If Herds could control that F2 recoil a little bit better, it'd be a 2v2.
This is just like, I...
He should have had that.
That would maybe not so much.
But,
but Nip is giving you opportunities to get back into this game.
It's like they're actively sabotaging themselves.
They're both gonna march in together now.
Here you're looking for a dance here on that shotgun blast.
He has one.
And the Herds goes for an interesting pick on Newish Shotgun, I will say that much.
And Fantasy is the trade, all right, it did not happen again.
So Nip managed to secure a victory based off of a number's advantage, which is something
that is rare, it's rare today, which is odd again.
We're going to go all the way, of course, this is our final matchup of the regular season.
Fury will call a timeout.
What do you even, what do you say, what do you say, hey guys, we got here because, not
really because of what we did over here. What do you say?
Well, attack time out is what will get said by fury of park after they go five to five
here, not able to clutch out that man disadvantage spot that they were in. You
really got to give credit. I think the setto for being kind of the adult in the
room and not going for those swings. He is the hard support player for this team.
He's the one who has to sometimes put his brain on and win these rounds where
They should be winning them.
He does just that alongside fantasy
when things get down into the 2v2.
That's a nice little play to come out there from NIP.
Five to five.
This one certainly feels like it's spiraling towards overtime.
But don't forget the history.
It was a 7-5 regulation win for Fury.
The last time these two teams met on Fortress,
that was the final map of the SAL kickoff in the grand finals.
So a rematch here at the end of the group stage.
It's almost poetic the way that this game has been going down.
And even if every round hasn't gone exactly as we expected,
if you told me it was gonna be a 5-5 game
to start at this best of one,
I wouldn't have been surprised.
Swapping next!
Nice and a razor blue.
Chippin' over ourselves to try and say nice things about...
The absurd, I suppose, is the correct way of putting it.
It is then a very entertaining match.
I would go so far as to say this has been
the most entertaining match of the day.
Maybe not for the right reasons,
but it has still been quite unpredictable.
And I mean, again, this is our last match, the group stage.
We're gonna get into the playoffs.
We're gonna start playing best of threes.
We're gonna see who's the best in Brazil.
Both of these teams will be in action in the playoffs.
We're gonna get to see them again.
And it will be entertaining, no doubt.
But again, what a spectacle it is
to close out the group stages with this game.
And we're guaranteed two more rounds,
but with the way they're playing,
I think over time is probably more likely than not.
So expect this one to go even longer.
We do know we're coming to a conclusion at some point though.
And the better question that needs to be answered, Jesse,
is will Nick be able to just stick the landing?
Because that's been the story so far this entire match.
Well, Parker, it's one thing to stick the landing.
It's another to stick it on the worst bomb site in the game.
We are at Hammam and sitting room.
Personally, I don't believe we have ever casted this site. So let's see how it goes
Immediately the candles come through and the push begins with the shield
Or not or not who's a false start out goes the nitro cell lots of it's why I think that's
Both nitro cells were just tossed out one remains in pocket for fantasy it cleared out a lot of gadgetry
It actually looks like they might have destroyed a bunch of their own gadgets if that thatcher EMP reader is to be believed
also quite rare to see a Thatcher in these days. From a casual perspective, I think the change was
excellent. I think he's a very fun operator to play and I think it's great for newer players.
Though I did like this simplistic aspect of the previous one. Just rare to see him at this point
in time. Quiero, what a shot. Only two kills, but that one was a thing of beauty. And he's picked
apart in the midst of the smoke. The target was Volts, the intended target, of course, but they'll
They'll take a lawyer for their troubles.
Nip in an advantageous spot as Diaz sits over top of that case.
Vanity tearing through all of Fury at 15 seconds off of the diffuse get.
There's still plenty of time for Nip to get ever closer.
Borgzera and Diaz need to deal with these remaining players.
There's a shotgun there, takes him down.
Where's Borgzera with a shotgun of his own around the corner?
He goes, sad to see with a quad kill and Nip take match point.
right out for the kid against his formal organization,
a huge round win on the least played bomb set
in all of siege, Hamam and sitting room,
a really nice defense where,
I don't know if they let the plant go down,
but certainly that rush attempt from Fyria
was well put together.
They were using that EMP,
I think both to maybe blind a warden
if one existed in the site,
but also to stop those nitrous cells
if there was gonna be some plant that I'll have to come through
and stop that fusion getting kicked on the ground.
Ultimately, they were successful in planting.
Fury had that success straight in through the window,
but just lost a couple of bodies
elsewhere on the site and fantasy a huge step up
through the whole bat window,
cover for his teammate to stick the disable,
get a couple of kills in the chaos
and not lose their head
of what was a very fast paced round by Fury.
Now NIP have the advantage.
They have the opportunity to do what Fury did to them
back during kickoff and win this game on Fortress 75.
Now watch Feria win this round and Nick not only drops rounds but also drops the lead.
Probably. There's almost no doubt in my mind this is going 15 rounds. It feels like that's exactly where we're headed.
I know I say that a lot but this game in particular just feels destined to go the distance. Does it not?
Yeah, I mean it really does we uh we got all 15 rounds in our very first match of the day imperial versus
I and DZ it was
Let's use the cast of trip. It was an interesting game
And of course we will end if that comes to pass going to overtime
It will be a nice bookend here on the group stage, but it really isn't coming upon nip
Closing this out something they have failed to do so many times
So far so many advantages and yet they just either don't drone or they misuse utility and
All hell breaks loose and fury to their credit takes advantage of it every time we've wagged our fingers at ninjas and pajamas a
Lot of times you got to give praise to fury for being able to pounce upon those weaknesses
bad things does not punish nip for some of the transgressions that they found so
Now, who knows to Furia for doing that?
They've been doing it essentially 4v5, by the way.
Lawyer is 2 and 11 at this point in time
and has been one of the first casualties,
if not the first casualty for Furia
for almost half of the game.
That is way below what we expected of him.
And again, it's been a bit of a handicap so far
for this Furia team having to play down a man,
especially with it being a glass this round.
Yeah, this is a miserable plus for Furia as well, Parker.
going up against toxic bids, to trunk a fire, Keeba barriers, nitro cells, like
everything you could fear when you're going in for a side execute, they're
fearing here. Hates getting very aggressive inside of horse but he barely
missed times, it bulbs a bit of an itchy trigger finger though and he will just
with his shots, doesn't even get an opportunity out, saw him in the midst of that.
So Hates uses that, Keeba gets out, no harm, no foul, and that'll be everybody
back safely in towards the site for NIP. This is gonna be a messy execute.
theory that they don't have the numbers but they do have good map control they
can start to work your way in towards briefing. The reinforcements will go
out. The time is going to be the biggest issue for them Parker. Going up against
all of this utility most notably the Tashanka will make things really slow to
go for a plant. With a doka bee and a blitz and a snake they might just rush in
for the frags though and that might be their best play. To think how much this
execute also hinged upon the chaos that would be caused by a glass you saw how
effective lawyer was in the previous round as he picked up kill number two and
ultimately Nick did win the round but without that opening pick without that
concealment in the smoke there's no universe in which Wolpes gets that
diffuse kick down so lawyer did have his uses there fantasy with 15 kills is
removed from the equation it's been a great game for him hates is very close
to 100 kills but he's gonna have to wait a little bit longer is his tenor now
Now in the ground, Fury are finding their footing with 5 seconds to go.
Boxer are getting confused.
Get down Herds on the cross.
15 for Herds.
Could there be more to be had?
Target acquired.
He sees the Tachanka.
4 kills for Herds.
Another quad kill, but this time it wins him the round.
And we're going overtime.
Herds is one hell of a player, Matt.
I don't know what else to say about this guy.
He clearly made his fame on that W7M roster.
He won the greatest grand finals of all time, back in Sao Paulo when they took down FaZe
Clan in the SI finals.
There's no doubt that will be his legacy, almost regardless of how this new Furia core goes.
But a 4k in around 7, a 3k in around 8, a 4k in around 12, even just on this bombsite
of dorms and games.
He's gotten 7 kills the last two times they've attacked it.
It's crazy how this brand new map that wasn't even in the pool when Herds was peaking as
a player has now become maybe his best map on this Fury Accord.
16 and 7, they thrive in this chaos, they didn't have numbers, the time was getting
low, the plant denial seemed strong from NIP but because there's so many dimensions to
that push, these NIP aren't able to hold really any map control other than just inside the
site and there's too much to look at, Fury are able to pick them apart piece by piece
one after another. I do not expect to see NIP back on that bomb site again because it
feels like consistently they are headed there, they are giving up map control and then they
are just getting slammed by our herds multi-kill.
This has really been quite great to get. And of course, we like casting Brazil. Large
start because you're wedding
around dates. This is our
play day. And then I think
something like that coming
maybe three, maybe my numbe
for sure two or three. E
playoffs because the NAL
ongoing, even though teams
EWC, you still have the r
go deeper and then you al
champions for stage one.
removed from Brazil and their six teams all now locked in starting to play in the playoffs.
Fantasy, 16 kills by the way, he was somebody who's killed totals we weren't talking about
because he was pretty far outside of the range of a hundred kills, that's not the case anymore.
Fantasy needed 21 before starting today and he's at 16 so it's within reach but I suspect
You're gonna need him to go have a pop-off moment and miss to go all three rounds in OT still within striking distance hates this to away from a hundred
To away from under two kills total for Loira two and twelve is his current stat line
He's got to be so frustrated with his performance so far today Parker. I'll reiterate myself. It's not just that he's going down
It's not just that he's dying early
But he's dying early on really important operators and not getting traded as soon as lawyer dies
you lose that scanner from the snake so finding these next couple of kills is
gonna be all the more difficult because you don't have the free
information that that scanner provides to you. It makes things a little bit
awkward here they still have good information to play around with the
volps on the shield and herds on the grim but every time you lose this snake
and it's happened a lot here in this attacking half or fury it just makes the
job so much more difficult.
7th highest rated player is Loira heading into today's matchup 78 kills 64 deaths
So pretty decent plus 14 in terms of KD
Herds is the one fragging out of his mind here though as he does the Anzapino
Volpe's trades that one right back. It is a bit belated the damage is still done at this point in time by nip
Who now look to hang on they do not have a man advantage that seems to be the Achilles heel of the ninjas so far today
30 seconds to go. Volts sitting next to the wall now opened up as that projector wall taken apart by the ex-Kairost.
Yuria cannot get bogged down in there 20 seconds. 10 seconds already. Eclipse gas canisters out. Volts with potential Volts on over, but there's a SMG-11 on the other side, fantasy punished.
I get it again Parker, it just feels like despite having this stronger position, NiP
are just floundering in these late rounds. That wasn't as lopsided. That was pretty even
going into the final 10 seconds. But even still, you find yourself in a position on
NIP where you've got two toxic babes in pocket. There's less than 20 seconds on the clock.
There's a blackbeard trying to get into your site, but like most of that pressure is coming
from the same direction. In through the bathroom wall and maybe one player pushing in through
master, it gets really messy with the blackbeard vaulting over. And then even in the 1v2,
That seemed like it was for sure going to be winnable to be clutched up there in the end by NIP, but
Wizard I think just a bad decision at the end there instead of taking the 1v1 duel
He over commits to try to stop that plant from going down and it doesn't go his way
He just wins the 1v1 if he focuses that way. It's a free kill onto the planter at that point. So
Just chaotic in these last dying seconds
I think some poor decision-making in the chaos from NIP and because of it now
They will fall seven to six to Furia a team that they have yet to beat with the current iteration of this roster
It looks so good for them in regulation and now here they are facing up against two match points
Could have jumped from Furia who were the team that of these two hadn't clinched a top four birth before
first round was played. Here is first round victory was a I guess a taste of
things to come. They've really seriously been given a leg up here by some of
Nip's troubles. Again this really should be over. Nip should not have even
allowed this matchup to go to overtime and yet here we are. I don't want to say
that Nip is the better team still because all of these mistakes have added
up to the point where I just don't think in good faith you can say they were
objectively better. I think Fury is the best team at the moment and that's because again the way they
capitalized off of the constant throws that Nip have done. It's always hard right because there
are teams who lose rounds because of their own actions and there are times when teams lose rounds
because of their opponents actions. In this case it's been a little bit of both but Nip has been
a pretty big enemy of their own success and this is definitely going to be an
action that haunts them at some point if they lose of course. Well we're back down to this
bottom floor site, and this is the primary site for Fury. Not just in this game, but the previous
time they played Fortress as well. They're really the only team in the world that believes that
Sitting Room and Cavalteria is the best bomb site on this map rather than playing up above,
and they're 2-0 defending it so far up against NIP. So the job will be to adapt for the ninjas.
They have to find a way to break through on a site that they haven't been successful in so far.
They've got full top floor control, but they've had this before. Clearing infirmary is such a tough
task box there is playing it right now on the Azami it'll be the first step to
making his execute even possible and then beyond that you've still got mirror
windows in the site you've still got surrogates and castle barricades
stopping your entries it's going to be really difficult to make this push
travesty of hates is not able to hit that one under kill mark fantasy getting
closer hates is one away down goes two players on theory a very winnable now
for Nip but don't don't count Fury out too much because Nip have the advantage
and that means bad things so far today. The greater issue now for Fury is that
lawyer is usually one of the first to die. He's still very much alive. You'll
need a big moment from Diaz to win this. Lawyer with one, Lawyer with two. The
demon has awoken and Wizard and Fantasy go into the ground. They'll lose
Volts on the side of Furia. So Diaz and Lawyer will have to make some magic happen. Hates will break
a hundred kills, but it might be a pure victory. Diaz in a 1v2. Surely they don't throw this one,
right? They've spent all game throwing it. You just have to find Diaz and isolate him. Oh no,
what? You know, gets taken down. Not enough coverage. Nitro Cell goes out. Diaz walking away,
Stopping Bacetto from getting the defuse kid down shot gun out right into the chest of Bacetto
What a calamity for ninjas in pajamas
The area takes full advantage and wins eight six and o.t.
Genuinely unbelievable that around Parker that a whole game
They're the whole game! It's an advantage for NIP. They're in the man count lead, they have everything they need, and then it's always something, right?
It's always some craziness going on the NIP side, and then there's somebody on Furia ready to step up and demolish them.
Even the one guy who we've been talking about non-stop as being impactless for Furia, effectively a 4v5 for most of that game,
steps up big time in the end. It's Lawyer who gets a couple of kills, doubles his kill total for that win, but yes, who else?
Who else would it be to clutch things out like that a ridiculous game from Furia?
They will secure the better seed and will play team liquid Alienware in the first round of playoffs
That's just a dumb founding game to close out the group stages and frankly I wouldn't have had it any other way as
Confused as we were. I'm almost certain there are two other people who are quite confused and frankly
There might be a player who's quite confused too. So let's add it to the desk fear from them in our interview
I guess we can just all be confused together here. Honestly, that's a very common response from this matchup here, because what have we just witnessed?
What was going on there? So many times we see a team have a big influence going into the round, and then there's some incredible heroics, especially from the side of Heria, to clutch these rounds around.
But we get to speak to one of the players as well as we have Diaz on the line talking to him after a
Rather intense game here inside the SAL as the final matchup
Hopefully we can get him in soon to to ask him a few questions
Before that though, Foxy initial reactions from this game
Well Diaz is here, but I was just gonna say I mean the initial reactions crazy NIP
Had the opening kill almost every round but two and still managed to lose
So incredible stuff that we're seeing here, but Diaz, I'm glad we get to speak to you.
That was a rather intense game, and it still decided for you to move up a spot actually
in Play of Shoe of Order matchup with FaZe.
How are you feeling after this?
Ups and downs, but the shooting game, and one.
I mean, yeah, we sure saw that.
I was just mentioning.
I mean, you guys only got two opening kills, yet still managed to win the rounds, bring it back.
What is the communication like?
How do you guys consistently are able to do it in the series where you lose the opening kill, but you understand,
okay, whoa, it's a trade for the round one in the end.
Like, what's the end goal when you guys lose that opening advantage?
I think we don't really think about it, to be honest.
We understand that we can still win and do our plans in a 4v5.
And like I said, it's a shooting game. All it takes is one kill to the B-4-4, so it's a...
You don't really think about it and keep doing the play and then it's...
Alright, well it is a shooting game eventually, and it helped you win out the game here today, but
due to the result the issue, you're actually going to have to have a rematch against NIP as your best of three to determine who makes it to EWC.
How are you going to make sure that it's a little bit less tense next week?
Same thing we did this week. We're going to work a lot. We're going to reveal their maps, our maps, and hopefully we'll beat them if we did the last stage.
I see, I see. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time, Diaz, and best of luck going into playoffs next week.
Thank you, thank you.
get to hear from him as well and also speaking about you know what is ahead of
him because as the results of this matchup gives both teams points it means
that they move into second and third spot and it really matches all the people
for them next week. I sure hope that you know Interra is gonna be around because
I've really enjoyed all the chaos that was coming out and his brain potentially
launching forward from the front side of his head as he was talking about in this
game because honestly chaos all across the board as well your DSS and it's
just a shooting game they're gonna be the better ones and that's a day here but
This round in particular as well, right? I mean, there's rounds where NIP come in with the mana advantage, and then somehow, somewhere, Fiora turned it around.
Yeah, it was such a chaotic game, but I agree with the statement of it just being a shooting game, because a lot of these rounds, it's big 2Ks, big 3Ks from individual players to be able to bring it back.
I mean, in the last round, Diaz had clutches up a big 1v2, that all got started off because Lera was able to even the mana advantage by getting two big kills of his own, so it was just consistent big plays after big plays.
plays and just putting these Furia players in positions to where they can capitalize on it.
It's a little bit of a scary situation because there's a little bit of a curse where if you beat
a team the next time you go up against them they usually beat you. So the fact that they have to
play up against each other in playoffs in the first round, Furia versus Nip, hopefully it's not a
double-edged sword where NIPA ends up winning that one because that's the playoffs is where you
are going to want to be able to close it out. That being said, honestly, I hate to say it.
Furia maybe had the better players, but NIP looked like the better team. They just let it slip out
in the last few seconds. They're making sure they're playing the men advantage. And something
that I was saying was it's not necessarily their strong suit to play slow, play trades, and close
out rounds. They are very chaotic and aggressive teams, and it looked like today they fell back
into that better nature that being said they look like they were the better team so very easy fixes
for nip going into playoffs and if they can really get a grip on that then the outcome of this
matchup in playoffs may be completely different that's what's gonna be the question right you
learned so much more from when you get beaten especially in the situation for nip right i feel
like the the general consensus from everybody here on the disc but also in the cast was that they
they had the better ideas, the better strategies, the better plans going into this matchup.
But then Fiora come away with the majority of the points.
We have a look at our MVP as well because they're going to have to pull off a similar
situation next week.
I mean, we're looking at pretty intense, we're looking at a 4k from Fancy as well.
You know, there's just big rounds.
We talked about Laura having a rough game, but there are always such incredible players
on the side of Fiora to really back that up.
the the star power that they really have on this roster it is it is exciting
actually to see a revenge between these two yeah it will be I mean herds is
gonna end up the VIP MVP for today's matchup but yeah individually I mean we
said it if Vulp's is not necessarily leading the charge who is and everybody
really stepped the purds Diaz yes lawyer didn't have the best game but when it
mattered most in that final round he did get those two kills to equalize into a
3v3 which was really all that you needed sometimes you don't need those
consolation kills throughout the series but when it matters most he showed up I
do want to give a little bit of a commendation to fantasy because he had a
hell of a game and honestly you could argue that he should have been the the
MVP five opening kills to himself and tying to KD that Hertz had but at the
end of the day I mean the winning team winning MVP it's got to be Hertz for the
rest of fury. I mean, they definitely wanted it to be a bloodbath. They wanted to be a
gunfight match and they were able to win out on that front and it just goes to show that
NIP still has a little bit of things to work on.
Looking at the updated settings though, as we finished the group stage of the SL, all
the best of ones are now played. We had 14, 17 points at some point in today's game. But
of course, with Fiora and I be going into overtime, Fiora winning that one means they
They get 2 points and IP get 1, and they both push themselves over Team Liquid Alien, where
now that is going to be huge talking about what comes up next week, because we'll be
starting our playoffs as they'll actually be in one of the later regions to start their
playoffs.
Many other regions have already sent teams to EWC, qualified teams, but for SAL things
only kick off next week, and that means we get L. Classico as a best of 3 to either send
phase or Team Liquid Alien where it's EWC on the other side, the rematch that we just talked about,
but the El Custico thought that's a pretty hype game going into playoffs.
Yeah, sure will. I mean, and the downside to it is all these teams that are made into the top six,
besides maybe Loves, are all very difficult contenders and there could be a very real situation
like we saw in the NAL where either Liquid, Team Liquid, Alienware, or FaceTime, one of those two
teams has to go up against another Titan like loud. And then unfortunately, they just aren't able to
qualify for UWC. They're not able to make it to the lower semis and attempt to qualify. It's just
one of those downsides on how the bracket plays out and why it's so important to be able to get
the best seating possible because at the end of the day, you do have to be the best and whoever
you go up against in this bracket, you have to be able to be and sometimes some teams just have
have a better matchup than others.
And it's just if you're, let's say, phase and you lose,
I mean, one of the only teams that they've lost to
throughout the regular stage was loud.
So imagine phase getting eliminated
because they have to go up against loud again.
It's just so many possibilities.
And I'm so excited for us to get into playoffs.
Exactly.
Team Liquid also lost against loud in group stage as well.
So the path seems to be quite rough for them.
Should they not win against Faze
are in that first matchup.
But as it stands, next week,
Especially for the folks over at the center European summertime my time's in as well
There's something a bit of a rough one for us
You're gonna have to tune in for a little bit of a night shift
It's gonna be an 11 p.m. Start for the first game of the day and then moving all the way until 2 a.m
Supposed start time obviously should this go to a two-web or three-web or that might change
That's gonna be a late one though. Plus you're on that you're on for some of these games
Yes, yes. Yes, me and Leo Althamo will be sharing them. I'm doing this day. So I'll be watching FaZe vs Team Liquid Alienware and NIP vs Fury.
Very excited to have you there as well. We'll be having some good games ahead of ourselves here for the playoffs.
That is it though from us here as the SAO group stage now has finally concluded. We'll be moving into best of threes next week.
week, very excited for that of course. Next week in all the regions a lot of
play days will continue as well especially with the playoffs and SI points
to be determined in our other regions. For now we thank you so much for watching
and we hope to see you again next week when the playoffs start.