Note: Could easily be wrong if upsets happen in EMEA/Americas and certain teams don’t qualify to Shanghai.
EMEA:
FUT is looking SCARY. These guys are so good that they can play shit comps and outduel everyone. The mid rounding and defaults are on point too. Probably the most mechanically skilled team individually outside of PRX and potentially some of China.
When Navi show up, they win. That’s it. They consistently win bonuses to an insane degree, enabling strong snowballs. When Angel is fragging out, they just can’t lose. That being said, they’re not the most consistent. There is a decent chance they lose to heretics (another great team) and don’t make it.
Emea is strong overall, and has a ton of competitive top teams, but the viper nerf is gonna hit them hard.
Americas:
Lev are on top. They have the aimers, they have the midrounding, and recently their microplays and comps have been on point as well. Expect the viper nerf to hurt them slightly, but with Kingg and Aspas on the team, and Mazino, C0m, and Tex taking turns stepping up, they’re set in terms of firepower. Seeing all 5 of these guys perform at their peak level is terrifying. Worldbeaters for sure.
Kru are only slightly behind. In this unprecedented run of South American dominance, Keznit and Heat have shit on nearly every team they faced. These guys are genuinely good, and their proactive rapid space clearing style is potent in the current meta, especially with Klaus and Melser making the most perfect calls round after round. These guys are scary.
Pacific:
PRX PRX PRX PRX. This is their chance more than ever before. Individually they look better than their champs run last year. Davai and mindfreak have stepped up their games and are capable of carrying just as hard as the vaunted Jingg/Forsaken pair. The viper nerf favors them as they’ve already switched over to breach on a few maps. Their cohesion, mechanics, and game plans are on point. W gaming deserves to take it all at Shanghai.
GenG still cannot be counted out. These guys got second last event for a reason. Texture is possibly the greatest duelist in the game right now, and when Meteor, Karon, or Munchkin take over, this team dominates. Lakia has stepped up his fragging as well this split, we’ll see if he carries that over to Shanghai.
China:
Yeah you already know it’s EDG and FPX. These teams are good, but they’re not at the level of the best of the other regions yet. With time though, they can definitely punch upward. We’ll just have to see how far these teams can go.
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