TLDR: THE GUARD VS C9 FOR 1ST SEED. LUM VS XSET FOR 3RD SEED. 100T VS EG FOR A SINGLE WIN
After four weeks of intense games, impressive newcomers, and complete disappointments, Group A in NA has seemed to reach a state of clarity that cannot be said for Group B. With only one week of games left in the group, let's break down the playoff scenarios for all six teams.
Already Qualified (seeds 1/2)
These teams are some of the top contenders to make it to Masters: Iceland.
After three weeks, in which the guard has surprised almost everybody, including themselves, with the domination that they have put on display. This team has certainly made themselves a team to be feared, and respected. Week four saw the 3-0 Guard play the 0-3 Evil Geniuses, and the end result was anticipated, with The Guard winning 2-0. This result sets up The Guard with a clean 4-0 record. While boasting a dominant +42 round differential, it's no surprise that The Guard are seen as one of the three main contenders to make it to Iceland. While The Guard is already Qualified for the playoffs, they still have something to play for in the group stage. Next week, The Guard take on fellow 4-0 team Cloud9 in search of a win, and consequently, the number 1 seed.
Cloud9 has had arguably the least surprising record out of any team in the group stage, other than Evil Geniuses sitting at 0-4. In contrast to the struggling Potter team, Cloud9 has carried over their momentum as NA LCQ winners into 2022. This week [Cloud9 played Luminosity](), and Cloud9 were able to win the first map in comfortable fashion,13-3, and scrape by with the second map 15-13 . This sets Cloud9 at 4-0, and gives them a chance to play The Guard next week for the number 1 seed in what has been the most anticipated matchup since week two.
Already Qualified (seeds 3/4)
These teams are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, but only at the lower seeds.
XSET:
XSET came into the group stage and were expected to finish 3rd. So far, XSET have done just that. Going into their week four match, XSET were sitting at 1-2 and were facing a 100 Thieves team that had been underwhelming. 100 Thieves still had a path to the playoffs if they could get a win in this match against XSET. XSET and 100T both won their map picks fairly easily with XSET picking up Breeze 13-8 and dropping Fracture 9-13. The last map was Split, and was expected to be a very competitive map. That changed very quickly. After dropping the pistol and bonus round, XSET won every single round in the rest of the half, finishing up 10-2. This vast lead made it very easy for XSET to finish the map, and 100T’s playoff hopes after winning map 3 13-4. That win puts XSET at 2-2 and gives them a chance to get the 3rd seed in the Group A match vs Luminosity next week.
After a 2021 season that ended in consecutive losses and an early departure in the NA LCQ, it must feel great for Luminosity to be back in the playoffs. Luminosity sat at 2-1 last week, with an upcoming match against Cloud9. Luminosity, unsurprisingly, lost 2-0. Luminosity showed promise though, only losing in double overtime on Bind. Despite not winning, Luminosity were able to guarantee themselves a playoff spot as both Evil Geniuses and 100 Thieves lost. If Luminosity doesn't want to play the winner of V1 or Sentinels in the first round of the playoffs, they will need to beat XSET next week to get themselves the number three seed.
Eliminated:
These teams will probably be next seen in the newest Nerd Street Gamers Tournament competing against TSM.
Despite starting off at 0-3, 100 Thieves still had a legitimate chance to make it to the playoffs. All they needed to do was win their next two matches, which was certainly doable for a team that finished in the [semi finals in masters: Berlin](). Things started off well in their week 4 match against XSET for 100 Thieves, as they won map two and forced a map three. Strangely enough, 100 Thieves opted to pick split, where they have a 42% win rate, over Icebox, where they have a 69% win rate. This mistake proved fatal for the 100 Thieves squad in which they lost map 3 13-4. The loss vs XSET set 100 Thieves to 0-4 and officially eliminated them from playoffs contention. With map wins against both Luminosity and XSET, some may wonder if 100 Thieves had kept their roster from week 2, things might have played out differently for them. Next week, 100 Thieves have an ego match to not finish without a single win against fellow 0-4 team, Evil Geniuses.
For a team that nobody expected to qualify to the group stage, Evil Geniuses definitely played like a team that was an outsider. Unlike 100 Thieves, Evil Geniuses had no expectations upon entering the group stage, even getting this far was a massive win for the Potter led team. Entering their match 0-3, Evil Geniuses were unable to get a map, losing 0-2 against a better team in The Guard. It's safe to say that this roster has developed tremendously in this tournament, going from a team that lost 0-2 against XSET to a team that won a map against Cloud9. It's safe to say that we will be seeing this team making a deep run in the stage two open qualifiers, and can dominate in the T2 scene. Next week, Evil Geniuses have a golden opportunity to net their first win against a struggling 100 Thieves. Good luck to Potter and friends.
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