It's the overcorrection (of the TE hype) due to their Bangkok performance. All the hype they built up died when they bombed out there and performed badly at the start of Stage 1.

EDG!Kai would let them play double senti AND double duelist, ngl. Wont happen but fun to think.

Randomly hating the best fragging IGL at the moment, sure XD

2G barely had a week with a new member and they look better than EG. Yes, they aren't good, but they aren't the "worst tem of the league" now either IMO.

Even in Pearl, where they got smoked, it seemed more like they didn't practice the map enough. Overall, they have some nice protocols and were able to execute them well enough. The next step should be to grind more and gain experience fast.

And okay, maybe I am on a bit of a copium right now (lmao), but it seems like they can realistically target Stage 2 now after spikeziN starts playing in Tier 1.

About LOUD; yes, I would bet on them too, but entirely because lukxo. The others did not look better than their performance against 2G.

Seriously. I don't think this roster is losing against EG if they played again. (Their first map was already close.)

GENG. He could fill the "Meteor" shaped hole quite well. (This is ignoring the coms issue though.)

Smoggy was named MVP. I know Chichoo also had insane cluctches but Smoggy was ultra awake today.

You only missed more of the same insane Smoggy and Chichoo clutches. Not much.

They were doing some crazy shit on Pearl against Loud, no? I can't remember who rn but one of those three almost got the most insane 1v3 clutch in the middle of the site iirc. Mad confidence is sure something.

A very "Molly Yourself" moment XD

The context here is TH choking a 10-2 (and 11-4) lead to GIANTX.

Throwing a 10-0 lead against what looked like the worst team in EMEA is infinitely worse.
To think Westside was 0/10 at one point.

Here's a hot fix: practice more with meta comps.

Team synergy is still just as important. If the comms are uncomfortable or trust between teammate calls are tested too frequently, it might be better to go with another option; for both parties.

Though it is unfortunate that we have seen enough to think they could have started their Stage 1 stronger if these issues didn't happen.

BBL had a no senti comp on Ascent as well.

Not really, there were also people who complained about the EU times being bad for them in Asia and Americas regions.

It's impossible to find a time that works for every viewer. I also find it ridiculous to force Asian and American pro players always on EU time zone for the major events. Surely it's better that every region get to support their players in person, sometimes?

And they're already rotating the events around the globe, with the next one being in Toronto (Americas) and Paris (Europe). That's the best solution in short term.

(Madrid was during school hours)

Tokyo was at 9pm for me so why is every other event on Asia at 2am.

As you grow up, you will learn that the world doesn't revolve around you.

It might have been down to which agent he's more comfortable with. They just changed their comp, after all. Keiko on Iso was what they really wanted, probably.

The only universe in which G2 loses against NRG is if they test out unorthodox comps and they just don't click, for some reason. Even then, it's hard to imagine. G2 simply has the better players in all the corresponding roles. And I am saying this even though I love watching s0m play more; valyn simply has the better synergy with his teammates.

I don't think TL's run was a fluke. Their Haven loss against Gentle Mates was a bit unfortunate, but it seemed like a fixable situation as they get their comms in order and Serial gets more comfortable in his new role.

TL vs BBL are on more equal footing in my eyes, actually. It might come down to map vetoes. TL bans Pearl and BBL bans Split, probably. Both teams ban Lotus and doesn't have an impressive Icebox, so it might come down to who has the better Ascent. And I am kinda favoring TL here, because TL might just run a double sentinel comp since Serial is a sentinel main originally. At least, I hope they do, because we have seen how strong it could be in the right hands.

Zap might have self-reported, too, somehow. Not willingly, of course, but I can't help but think about what kind of mental state an IGL must be in to leave the team while having scrims and on pretty bad terms with management, too. Do we think it's out of the realm of possibilities that he messed up even further by leaking his situation? Perhaps he talked too loudly in an unfortunate location, or maybe someone with connections to journalists happened to hear it all.

Zap, or any one of the remaining roster or the management, could have talked to someone, who would in return talk to someone else.

I don't think 2G had any reason to feel pressure about Zap's situation, to be honest. While most people saw this as an immature action from Zap especially, I doubt many would have blamed 2G if they had at least let him play in the match against Loud. Because honestly, that match had disaster written all over it, probably even more than most initially thought because they had to bring in a guy who didn't play initiators before and had barely more than 1 day of practice with them.

Or I might be talking out of my azz, because we truly don't really know what went really wrong during those scrims.

SOME YAPPING ABOUT 2G UNRELATED TO THE THREAD:

Interestingly, I do think 2G looked okay against EG, especially in the first map. But Zap threw almost as many rounds as he won with overeager micro decisions, if I recall correctly. And the difference between lz's performance against EG and Loud seems like night and day. Not just him, but all 2G players hit some crazy shots in that match. People are a bit meme-ing with statements like "Was Zap the problem?" and I don't really take this too seriously at the moment, but I am actually looking forward to seeing how they perform individually, at least, even if they don't win the rest of their matches.

It's a bit of a shame that they are playing against the top team of their group after such a monumental win, though.

He crashed out in scrims so that his teammates would get fired up XD

S1mon played initiator only. If Jieni7 can flex into more roles, I can understand why they wanted an addition into roster.

Well, they can't change their comp too much on Icebox. And KK just farmed on Jett/Icebox. The real question is how they are gonna utilize the new guy on Ascent etc. Will be interesting because they lost Ascent to Nova last week. I really wonder if he's gonna play Yoru or any kind of double duelist comp.

Did EDG get to this level with just raw aim alone?

It was a bad showing today, but I think they will bounce back from this.

Who knows how Derke vs Chichooo would go?

Didn't EDG win 4 of the 5 rounds before that last tech pause, especially the one that led to a timeout & pause by T1? It's a bold comment to make that they would have the momentum.

Did they deliver in the last two rounds to the OT?

It's just my luck that when I have enough time to engage in discussions, all threads are about non-trivial stuff. XD

No, you should definitely not ignore criminals, especially pedophiles.

What a weird example in opposition to my post. Posting a fanart does not hurt anyone. If Zellsis were bothered by it, he would have said something. If he didn't, why are you offended on his behalf?

And if you choose not to ignore this, are you also fine with people calling out sensitive jokes or potentially offensive actions? You clearly aren't, which is why you opened another thread about it.

Posting such a fanart is not worse than a professional gamer/streamer making a sensitive/controversial joke. I just find it weird that you are okay with one thing but not the other.

That's why he body-blocked KangKang on Fracture :D

I just noticed that you also started another thred in which you said:

todays society and cancel culture, make it impossible for people say things and express their opinion/emotions, without being judged if you even remotely said something offensive, i miss before covid time, when nobody gaf about this woke shit

Surely you are aware of how hypocritical your messages are, right? How is that fanart different from the opinions/emotions you mentioned there?

Fanarts are a part of every fandom culture. Not just kpop, not just video games. Literally every popular thing will have a fan community, and there will be fanarts and fanfics you won't like. No one is trying to force you to like them or consume them. And I doubt the artists are exactly looking forward to the attention of people judging them for their posts.

If you don't like something, don't engage with it.

Or you are projecting your own feelings and speculating about a hidden meaning behind Zellsis' tweets. If I remember correctly, that fan said she would draw it if SEN lost. Maybe he really thought it was funny. (And did the fan even tag him?)

I personally don't like any of such fanart/fanfic and similar media, but complaining about it or shaming is just as cringey and "soft" as the complaint about the existence of fanarts and "kpopfication" that has been going on lately, if note moreso. Let people enjoy the game however they want and thrive within their communities. We might not like the fanart but it doesn't cause any harm.

If KK didn't pop off in such a fashion during the grand finals, you could make the exact same argument in Seoul too. The same could happen again if the script gods decide to make is a KK vs Derke show in the grand finals. The event is even highlighting the duelists, so the aura is there.

Though I bet Chichoo will be extra fired up by the vintage nAts play he's been watching for the past two days :) So I am relatively sure he'll continue to do impressive stuff and lead the MVP race for EDG for a while. And on a personal note, I do want it for him. He's a beast.

Different tournament, same script. EDG vs. EMEA favorites.

VLR threads are being flooded by the baiters who are jealous that their team doesn't have a nAts.

The salt from yesterday is strong in this thread 😅

You have a point, but after the disappointing results, don't you have to think if they fit into the team as well as you hoped & try something else?

While reading your post, I was thinking about how EDG transformed into a championship-winning team with the addition of S1mon and changing their IGL to Nobody, all within a month.

Bang and Narrate are great players but SEN needs to find ways to meshing them into the roles that will elevate their teamwork. Team synergy isn't the only problem, in my opinion.

It's a fair opinion to have G2 as still your favorite, but a statement like "G2 winning Bangkok fairly easily" is outrageous, especially after today's game. Not when all #1 seeds are looking insane.

This was my dream grand finals match-up. My heart wants EDG to win it all, of course, but I am sure it will be a great match tomorrow.