With the current vlr.gg ranking system the top 10 would be (obviously these are just comparing the teams regionally, I'm just making a list of their ratings per region and acting like it means something overall, and is also not my opinion just so that it's clear):

1. 1999 Vision Strikers (KR)
2. 1992 G2 Esports (EU)
3. 1933 Team Heretics (EU)
4. 1932 Sentinels (NA)
5. 1918 Gamelanders (BR)
6. 1898 FunPlus Phoenix (EU)
7. 1892 ex-EXO Clan (AU)
8. 1867 Envy (NA)
9. 1856 TSM (NA)
10. 1848 Absolute JUPITER (JP)

I'm sure we could have some fun with this thread for making power rankings and theorizing though!

Well the main problem would be ping. You can't have a North American team play a European team all online and have it be equal footing. I'm sure you could find some server where they would have even ping, but it would take a lot of work to figure out for each region for each match. So, the matches would have to be against each other in person, which is very hard to do with the current state of the world.

It's funny how some fans are saying "they're Sen's kryptonite" after saying "there's no chance they win, we won 7-0 of our matches so far".

I guess a possible alternative to the map advantage is Envy being able to choose all 5 map order.. but it wouldn't be as effective and maybe even ends up being more unfair.

Reminds you of someone else...

Greatest post ever

In addition, if there was no game disadvantage, do you think it would've been a closer match?

Ok well, my counter is that in a normal single elimination tournament without a loser's bracket they would've already won.

when was this?

Well I guess aproto plays raze on a couple of the maps, but he still counts as a support player in my eyes. However, I'd say Shot Up (plays breach occasionally) doesn't fit that bill.

Seeding could be the difference between winning and losing. Example, as Sentinels I'd much rather play NRG or GenG than 100T.

I think in terms of clutch factor Hiko and crashies should be considered as well

I'd like the first comment to talk about TSM, so that's what I'll do. I think that TSM is in need of a roster change, and as much as I value Subroza and Drone, and as much as they may synergize, someone needs to be replaced. I think between Subroza and Drone someone should be changed because of their conflicting personalities. I think both players do their best work on duelists, and this team doesn't have enough room for both of them. I think dropping one of them, maybe cutler too, and finding someone for those support roles would be a good move. Maybe letting go of hazed too as much as I don't like it. Good idea? Bad? Let me know.

It could be in terms of ability usage, or in terms of aim, but I'd be interesting to hear any thoughts! My instincts say that aproto, crashies, and nitr0 are definitely up there.

As much as I think DIG is underrated, I think Version 1 are the better team as of right now.

and Shawn from GenG

roca's good too

Not 100%, but I'm fairly certain both Wardell and Subroza are better aimers than Drone, he's just a god at phoenix

This statistical analysis is flawed by a little bit -- you have to look at the maps comparatively. I'd say there's about a 75-25 chance for SEN to win Haven and NV to win Bind. Icebox is like 60-40 for SEN and Ascent is like 60-40 for NV, but Split is around 50-50 for this matchup I'd say. Now this means because of the map disadvantage, Sentinels would have to win either Bind or Ascent, Split, Icebox, Haven. I'd say it'll be challenging for them to win, but they definitely stand a chance, especially on Ascent. We'll see though. Assuming SEN get first map pick, the maps should go: Icebox, Ascent, Split, Bind. So also assuming Bind is a no-go for Sentinels, they'd have to win Icebox, then Ascent, then Split back to back to back which is challenging for any team, especially against the best of the best.

Just because these players don't look as pretty on the scoreboard at the end of the game doesn't mean they aren't having as much of an impact. If it ain't broke don't fix it. There are many other teams that could add brax or azk, maybe you should make a thread about them more generally. Sentinels are maybe like 10th on a list of teams that could use them.

I think teams like 100T and TSM will be a lot better when they start moving in together and they will benefit off of the energy and the proximity will allow them to improve at a higher rate. So I don't think either of these teams will drop players until that can happen.

Yeah I just didn't want to pretend like I knew about Europe so I said specifically for NA. It's hard to compare regions in general right now before any international matches happen anyways.

They have to overlap to weekdays anyways, I don't get what the difference between thursday/friday and monday/tuesday is. Also they pushed it back 48hr.

Also, what exactly is wrong with a monday? College Football finals are on a Monday and no one is complaining about that...

Upper final, not grand final. And they did it for a good reason. Fact check before rage posting, clown.

Never thought I'd see both of these teams meeting each other so soon, and in the loser's bracket too. Should be as entertaining as ever and I hope to see some twitter banter.

Just because NA isn't as disciplined, doesn't mean we aren't as good.

Rip this comment

I can speak at least a little on NA - players to watch (currently in the scene) are aproto, asuna, sinatraa, nitr0, Subroza, Shawn, Shot Up, food, Wardell. If you're talking a single best player? I'd definitely have to say it's one of aproto, nitr0, and sinatraa.

NV/SEN

I think both NV and Sentinels are very challenging opponents. However, if Asuna and Hiko played like they did on Icebox against GenG and dicey keeps fragging out, I think this is one of if not the best team in NA.

I think maybe something relatively fair is that he makes no noise coming out of ult and his teleport can't be seen at all, only heard.

NV has been highly dominant as of late, and are the only team to not drop a game so far in CH2. As much as I want to say they don't have an X-factor, they've shown they definitely do. And it's not crashies, it's food. food has been on fire as of late averaging nearly 300 combat score and topfragging nearly every match. In CH1, NV loved to put food on Sage, a decision that I have now come to question after seeing his performances on Phoenix and Raze. Now will they continue their streak against Sentinels? Possibly. Last time they met was the Winter Championship, they were experimenting putting food on Omen and having kaboose be their duelist. Now that they've gone back to food on duelist, it should be a different story. Icebox was heavily in favor of Sentinels, but Ascent was heavily in favor of Envy. Split was the third map and it was very even. Should be a close one, since both teams thrive on preparation and I'd assume both teams will be very ready for this matchup. Both teams have progressed since then, but I'm definitely on the NV bandwagon now. 2-1 NV

This match is a rematch of the upper finals of CH1, which certainly was an interesting series. For one, both teams lost on their map pick. LG picked Bind, and truly, they got their asses kicked in by all of Immortals. It wasn't a good showing from anyone except moose on sova. My take? If the bans are the same, this map is going to be a lot closer considering their performance against 100T on perhaps 100T's best map. However, I think Immortals might still edge them out purely on caliber of player. Next map was ascent, which was definitely the aproto show, 353 combat score on an agent that not many people use on Ascent, and not even a duelist. Now, as much as I value aproto, there's no way he gets that kind of performance again, which in my eyes makes this another very close map. I might have to give the edge again to Immortals though, so we'll see the map order. If LG can get Icebox before they can get Ascent, I think this series will go to map 3. 2-1 IMT

Dicey picked up Asuna's slack in their first win on Luminosity but from that game on it's just been completely rough for 100T. Only nitr0 seems like he knows what's going on anymore.

Yoru feels absolutely useless right now, I suggest some sort of buff so that he can actually outplay you and isn't so predictable. His flash feels very easy to dodge, his teleport is predictable and it feels like all you can use it for is to bait, his footsteps aren't bad but it feels like you should be able to control them more. His ult isn't bad but feels too risky to use a lot of the time and it's hard to get away even with your teleport. All it's good for is info right now.

It's a weird match of confidence, G2 think they can win on a map that NiP traditionally wins (Ascent), but NiP asserts that they can win on one of G2's better maps (Haven). Second map should be an interesting watch!

All the matches will be streamed on nerdstgamers or nerdstgamers2 we just don't know which for each game yet (but it's pretty safe to assume XSETvsNV and 100TvsLG will both be on the main channels).

Another note, it seems in their previous encounters, GenG has struggled on the defense side of the maps, even on (slightly) CT sided maps like Bind or Ascent. They did a decent job against TSM, but TSM is nowhere near as explosive as Immortals. We'll see if they can adapt.

Thanks, I try :3.

Sentinels are a team that thrive in preparation, take the Immortals series for an example. FaZe, however, are a team that thrives in unpredictability and quick decision-making. This one could be closer than some make it out to be, however, I don't think Sentinels are going to underestimate FaZe as other teams sometimes do. I'm predicting a clean sweep, but both maps are going to be fairly close. 2-0 SEN

Fnatic definitely have a lot of work to do in their off-day before this game.

This matchup is overall going to come down to aproto's and thief's performances. If nitr0, asuna, and the rest of the gang shut them down, it'll be easy for them. However, aproto and thief are fairly consistent and I'd say that makes these games close. Statistically, Bind and Ascent are gonna be hard for any team to beat 100 Thieves on, but LG probably will put on a decent showing on Icebox, Split, or Haven. I'm guessing 100T is gonna win Ascent and Haven but LG will win Icebox. 2-1 100T

This gives a whole new meaning to that "Press 4 to Defuse" show or whatever. I guess some players actually need that guideline.

I think part of the reason Immortals is so successful is their aggressiveness, unpredictability, and set-up for fraggers. Shot up is one of the better aimers in NA with very aggressive habits to boot. A team with enough preparation can quench Immortals, which might be their downfall in this tournament. On the other side, GenG is definitely the underdog in this series, coming off of an intense victory over TSM. They're a much slower-paced team than immortals. This match will come down to who will control the pace of the game and cool-headedness from GenG. It's not going to be a close series either way imo. 2-0 IMT

I think XSET is a highly underrated team. Realistically, with their current squad with practice, they've only lost to Sentinels and Immortals. Envy seems better than they were in their previous matchup, but to me Envy doesn't have that high potential like XSET does. BcJ is a beast. Envy doesn't create enough upsets for them to triumph in this one imho. 2-0 XSET

Didn't FNATIC pick bind?