VCT Americas 1st stage is about to begin tomorrow, so I decided to make a prediction based on maps for all the matches. There are two new maps in the pool and there's been a lot of time to fix bad maps for a lot of teams so a lot of map veto and predictions are based on last years and kickoff results. So here it is:
1) C9 vs NRG
This match's result depends entirely on what kind of NRG show up because we kind of know what kind of C9 we will get. C9 are contacty, brawly and very proactive team, you need to be ready to stop them from pushing and punish contacting like G2, or just outaim them like MIBR did against C9. 2nd option is highly unlikely for NRG tho, because you might argue verno is a better fragger than brawk but NRG were still getting outaimed in kickoff game.
Maps:
C9 ban Haven
NRG ban Icebox
C9 pick Lotus
NRG pick Pearl (maybe Ascent?)
C9 ban Ascent
NRG ban Split
Fracture remains
This match is either 2-0 for C9 or 2-1 for NRG, because I dont think NRG can win Icebox or Lotus but C9 are not that stable in other maps historically.
Prediction: 55/45 in favour of NRG
2) KRU vs LOUD
Map veto for this match is hard to predict because both of these teams dont like fracture and historically liked to play Icebox. Kru also have a bad Haven and maybe even Pearl because they 2nd banned it in every match at kickoff. I think Pearl and Fracture will get banned by both teams eventually in the draft. All the other maps are tossup, but only advantage I can give to any team is Haven to LOUD.
So my pred is: 51/49 in favour of LOUD
3) G2 vs Furia
This match is not dire for Furia as some people think because I think Furia should be able win Icebox if G2 dont ban it. If Furia are smart they should hard prep for 2 of Fracture, Ascent and Icebox because Fracture has been the worst map for G2 so far this year and they only had 1 week to prep for Ascent and Icebox. With all that being said:
G2 ban Icebox
FUR ban Pearl
G2 pick Lotus
FUR pick Ascent
G2 ban Fracture
FUR ban Split
Haven remains
This series should be an easy win for G2 no matter what because Furia doesnt have a good Haven but I am expecting hard prep win from Furia on Icebox or Ascent. Final pred: 70/30 for G2.
4) MIBR vs LEV
MIBR ban Haven
LEV ban Pearl
MIBR pick Split
LEV pick Lotus
MIBR ban Fracture
LEV ban Ascent
Icebox remains
Both of these teams have similar map pool, they both like slow played maps due to playstyle of the Aspas and Demon1. I think the match will be decided on who is better jett on Icebox but I just think Aspas is better. So my pred: 55/45 for MIBR
5) 2G vs EG
I dont know how to do a map veto for this because 2G looked bad on every map they played and I dont know if they will be able to hang aimwise regardless of the map. They had some cool stuff on Split, Haven and Lotus but their aim let them down regardless of how good their set stuff looked. One thing is for sure tho, EG 1st bans Haven as its a tradition for Potter lead teams. Good luck to 2G, I hope they can find the believe and confidence in them. Pred: 80/20 for EG
6) 100T vs SEN
Sen ban Ascent
100T ban Pearl
Sen pick Split
100T pick Icebox
Sen ban Fracture
100T ban Haven
Lotus remains.
100T should be able beat Sen in Icebox, Ascent and Fracture. But there is a big question mark for 100T on other maps tho, who will be a true sentinel/duelist on this team and will they play any yoru? If so, who is gonna play yoru? I fear Sen might just outclass them on yoru maps like Split, Lotus, Pearl and Haven regardless of who plays yoru because either Cryo or Boostio would have to play uncomfortable role. So my final pred: 55/45 for Sen.
What are your predictions? Will Furia be smart and be able to take a map from potentially unprepared G2? What are your map predictions for Kru vs Loud, because I couldnt come up with reasonable map veto. Who is gonna be surprisingly good team that challenges G2 this stage?
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