I MEANT TO TITLE THIS GROUP B. THIS THREAD IS ABOUT NA GROUP B
TLDR: V1, SEN IN, WILL FIGHT FOR 1 SEED. KNIGHTS IN, WILL BE 3/4 SEED. OpTic IN WITH A WIN. RISE IN WITH A WIN+ OpTic L. NRG OUT
Week 4 has come and gone and we are starting to see some clarity in the group, officially eliminating one team, and qualifying three. That's not to say that the matches weren't unexpected or exciting, all three matches went the full three maps and certainly provided more entertainment than the Group A matches for a neutral viewer like myself. Four teams have their fate sealed, and two still hang in the playoff bubble balance. Let's break it down.
Already Qualified:
Nomatter next week's result, these teams will be in the playoffs. All they have to play for is seeding.
After looking fairly weak in a 2-1 win vs NRG V1 looked like they had finally met their match against a seemingly better OpTic team after a 2-13 loss on ascent. After the first map, V1 looked like they were going to lose map two in similar fashion, quickly falling behind 1-5 on Haven. After that, V1 completely switched gears and went on an absolute tear. Led by penny and effys, V1 won 12 rounds in a row to put map 2 away 13-5. This win seemingly shattered OpTic Gaming’s confidence, as V1 were able to take map three in clean fashion, 13-5. This is the fourth win in a row for V1 and the first win against a team that was seen as a true contender for Masters at the start of the tournament. Sitting at 4-0, V1 has qualified for the playoffs and next week's match against Sentinels will decide the group winner and number 1 seed.
After a loss against an on and off OpTic Gaming team, Sentinels bounced back with an important 2-1 win against Rise. After dropping the first map 13-9, Sentinels were able to win the next two 13-11 and 13-8. Despite a strong 3-1 record, Sentinels have yet to beat any team convincingly, as all four matches have gone to map three. Sentinels have been doing well, even if they dont look like the team that was known in 2021 for domination in the NA region, the team that won every regional final. Next week Sentinels get the chance to re-establish themselves as a true Masters contender when they take on the 4-0 Version1. With a win, Sentinels get the top seed going into the playoffs.
After starting off 0-2, Knights have done all that they needed to do to make it into the playoffs. In week three, Knights beat Rise 2-0, which gave them control over Rise in the head-to-head tiebreaker. This past Sunday, Knights ended any fading hope that NRG had to make it to the playoffs themselves with a 2-1 win over NRG. This included a comfortable 13-6 on Breeze and a 13-5 on Haven. Next week, Knights take on fellow 2-2 team OpTic Gaming, who desperately need the win as Rise have the tiebreaker over them. If the Knights win, they will advance in the 3rd seed, if Knights lose to OpTic, they will advance in the fourth seed while simultaneously eliminating Rise from playoff contention.
Self Sufficient:
While these teams aren't in yet, all they need to be in the playoffs is a win.
Last week, OpTic seemingly establishing themselves as a true Masters contender last week with a 2-1 win over Sentinels. This week, With a 13-2 map one win over V1 and a 5-1 start on map two, it seemed that OpTic would be able to put V1 away and play for the number 2 seed next week. Unfortunately for OpTic, effys and the rest of V1 had other ideas, screaming back 12 rounds in a row to take map two 13-5 and dominating map three 13-5 to hand OpTic a very bitter L to hold. The week one loss to Rise has come back to bite OpTic in the butt, since Rise holds the tiebreaker over OpTic, that means that OpTic is not in the playoffs yet. All OpTic needs to do to qualify for the playoffs is either beat Knights, which would give them the third seed (and possible second seed with a sentinels loss vs V1), or hope Rise loses to NRG, which paired with an OpTic loss, would qualify OpTic in the fourth seed.
Needs Help:
To qualify, this team needs a win and other favorable results
Rise:
Rise only has one win, but it was the most important game for Rise to win. Their sole win over OpTic back in week one is the only reason that Rise is still in playoff contention. After losing 2-0 against Knights, Rise played significantly better against Sentinels, claiming map one 13-9 before dropping the next two in a 1-2 loss. Fortunately for Rise, their next opponent is 0-4 NRG, who shouldn’t be taken for granted, but if Rise plays as well as they did this week against Sentinels, they should be able to take down NRG. Unfortunately for Rise, a win against NRG is not all that they need to have happen to sneak into the playoffs. To qualify, Rise also needs OpTic to lose against Knights during the last match of group B.
Eliminated:
See you in stage 2 qualifiers!
NRG:
The first VCT main event NRG has been a part of since April of 2021 is one that NRG will want to forget. Going into week four, NRG still had a chance sitting at 0-3 to make it to the playoffs with an easier schedule infront of them, playing their last two games against Knights and Rise. NRG still had believers to qualify, myself included. Unfortunately for NRG, they came up short, losing 1-2 against Knights. That loss officially eliminates NRG from playoff contention. NRG will have to wait until stage 2 to get a chance at Masters. Next week, NRG still has the chance to play spoiler in their match against Rise, where a win over Rise would eliminate Rise from playoff contention and send off NRG with their only win. No matter the result next week, the current roster doesn't seem to be enough to get NRG over the hurdle, and roster changes might be imminent. The main target for replacement currently seems to be tex, and not without fair reason. In the 11 maps NRG has played in this event, tex has not gone positive in KD a single time. While kills aren't everything, they are certainly an important factor, especially on the three maps where tex played as a secondary dualist.
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