1 Sen
2 NV
3 C9
4 XSet
5 V1
6 100T
7 NRG
8 Rise
9 Guard
10 T1
That's fair but at Berlin every match they played was super tight, they played super well, and I'd rate their opponents there (Liquid + Kru) far above the Guard (said as a Guard fan), Akrew, and the new 100T. I think there was definitely a world where Sen won all their maps and at least made it to playoffs.
Before watching Rise vs NRG, I'd say Guard vs NRG would've been even and Guard vs Rise would've been slightly tilted in Rise's favor. After that match, I'd say I can't properly judge guard vs either, so I'm keeping it like this. Also what're you talking about having the easeist path? They had LG, Knights, Akrew, and XSet. Sure they didn't face V1, Rise, or NRG (the other teams that had a good shot at beating them) but they still had some good opponents.