Like why the fuck is Ascent still in after four whole years but we don't get Fracture back when it's an actually interesting and fun map

And then in 2025 after the games happen you'll be saying the exact same thing about the champs teams from this year.

The map has hardly been out. In stage 2 playoffs interviews most teams were saying they've only been practicing Abyss for a week or two (as evidenced by all the default Ascent comps).

Give it at least till the end of champs till we can claim anything as meta.

It'd also be funny for them to always bomb out of groups so NRG just looks worse

They need to take a page from KRÜ's book and push out of one site as four and retake the other site.

1. G2
2. FPX
3. GEN
4. EDG

Calling it now it's gonna be EDG and G2 making it out

They would've been better off losing the rematch to Trace and getting that free asf Group C...

That's intentionally how the seeding works. They put one team from each region per group.

Wait nvm I see what you mean. It's unlikely but like not impossible.

didn't they fire him

FPX, EDG, GenG, maybe G2. They're cool and they all deserve it.

icy

Wanna try explaining to a corporate sponsor what tea bagging is?

Heretics is third seed. A team that fails to get first seed would place second seed and could face them.

1st seed is absolutely better wtf are you on? Every single team would rather face the likes of BLG, SEN, TLN, and FUT than risk getting TH or PRX.

Sure they look like shit but I mean there's a reason KRÜ fought their way to top 3. I wouldn't be surprised if they bilibili a frontrunner team.

I thought they were boring in stage 1, and tbf it was that passive and slow playstyle that got them counterstratted so hard by 100T and Heretics.

In playoffs now though they look a lot more proactive and scrappy which is more entertaining, especially since they can be trusted not to throw fights (unlike KRÜ and PRX)

Thanks y'all

Is it at the end of Americas grand finals? Or whichever is last idk

Let's not play lmao every team would rather face SEN or BLG than GenG or G2

Absolutely not. It's a competitive game. You gotta improve at what you're worst at, not block it forever

SEN's first match is against a top seed though

They can tilt Vitality into losing for sure

genuinely loud would be a better rep atp

Don't worry bro loud is looking hot with tuyz on perma duelist if he just gets more practice. Next year they'll stomp.

Billy victim talking

idk icy seems fine to me. Their playstyle might not work with a hyper aggro OXY/keznit type of duelist who wouldn't get traded out as easily.

Crazy how things can change and teams can rapidly improve

title

sorry I doubted

People on this site lack creativity. Like you're just putting LEV with FUT and G2 with Heretics again and assuming the outcome will be the same as last time.

Nobody wants to be in the same group as Gen G.

I know a place that will break you into a thousand pieces.

But they were top seed and lost 1-2 against LEV, whereas now they had to win single elim just to get stomped 0-2 by LEV.

If they make it, I'm not sure it's because they're playing better but because 100T is playing worse.

tbh his shot-calling and fragging are still fine despite that, but the vibes have definitely taken a hit without Klaus

Yeah FPX is like GenG in that they perform well internationally and under pressure but troll in their regional matchups which makes doubters think they're struggling more than they actually are.

Yeah the other four are cracked enough that they can get away with a Boaster type igl especially since their biggest problems are getting tilted and counter-stratted

It's moreso that they don't seem to have any weaknesses. I thought about putting G2 in the same tier but it's hard to tell yet if they've improved on their stamina in Bo5s.

Yup. They'll win the rematch.

In tiers, not ordered

1. GenG
2. G2, FNC, FPX
3. LEV, EDG, Heretics
4. PRX, DRX
5. TLN, VIT, SEN, Trace
6. FUT, BLG, KRÜ

Smokes take 30s to recharge wym

Their utility is too strong, yes. Though not really Jett now but that's besides the point.

I don't know what to say other than that I disagree. We're just talking opinions and anecdotes here and my experience has not been the same as yours.

Keep nerfing the dominant agents, and only buff the weakest of the others (Harbor, Deadlock, maybe Phoenix, Astra, and Chamber)

BLG in the same group as Americas top seed aware

Commits the breach ult at 12-8 knowing he'll just win the 1v2 what a fucking gigachad

Bo5s are so mentally taxing by the 5th game. We saw shit like this with Lev vs G2 and they're both undeniably good teams.

They had to get the throwing out of their system

No the balancing team is right for the most part. There was a patch a year or two ago (around when initiators got 2 flashes instead of 3) that just nerfed utility across the board and it was definitely the best choice.

As the playerbase gets better at the game, utility becomes more and more oppressive to deal with. Look at pro games and how often players who are alone just get util dumped with no hope of fighting back. Even in ranked it can be like that sometimes.

Where the balancing team falls short is estimating the value of particular niches that underpowered agents are in. They expected Harbor would be more valuable than he is for being the only agent who can continuously and flexibly carve up space mid round, but then didn't realize Omen simply being more versatile and comfortable to play is better. Same with the entire sentinel class.

But sometimes they get it right, like with the recent duelist changes. They saw Neon wasn't getting enough use as a pseudo-dive/debuffer combo, so they went all in on her gap-closing niche. And now what do we see? Neon gets picked for her strength in quickly following up off initiator util to cut off enemy escape, something that is now a unique strength to her.

tldr let the balancing team cook

Controversial maybe but:

• Omen smokes should have the same duration as Clove smokes (12s instead of 14s)
• Astra should get the 5th star back and reduced activation time on stars
• Harbor should gain the ability to offset the beginning of his signature wall by 30 meters or so with an alt fire, allowing him both to be more flexible with its placement and have much larger effective smoke range

I have overdosed on hopium and I apologize ✌️😔

FPX vs Heretics at Shanghai I was going feral during that Icebox OT

Well he's a bit excessive in triple smokes comp. Now that they're back to double smokes I could see it