Yeah black metal I don't see the appeal for either, but death metal I think is in a different sort of ballpark

Beyond the hurdle of getting used to the vocals, I think death metal is in the same kinda area as thrash where it's fast, technical, aggressive and energetic, which I fuckin love

For me it's Sleep Token, their music is just fuckin boring to me. They're a fusion of rap, pop and metal but they do all 3 elements incredibly generic and mid and they're music is like 50% ambience and buildup for a payoff that's realistically not hype/heavy enough to warrant it, and their vocalists voice is really grating/annoying to me

Bro had a good start, it may not be completely joever

Giga Chad Acend mogs them all

sign a random ahhh team in 2021
win Champions
immediately fall off a cliff
refuse to elaborate
leave the esport

I have zero expectations

I know if I genuinely believe in my heart they'll win they'd get 13-0'd 13-2'd, if I abandon all hope completely Wo0t would drop 90 across the series

TH masters of being unreliable

Hold up, maybe this guy can cook after all

Wait hold up yeah they haven't played Abyss at all so far

Ok we might have a chance

I just got home from work bruh we have to play PRX

Third times the charm right?

PRX massively favoured on Sunset, Bind and Abyss, TH favoured on Haven, Ascent and Corrode, imo it all comes down to Lotus decider

Please for the love of God we can't be fighting G2 for title of most disappointing team of the year

Maybe most disappointing Champs I could see for TL but considering they had zero expectations at the start of the year, were 3rd seed at Toronto and had all the nAts visa issues whilst still just barely missing playoffs and then winning Stage 2, I think TL's year was fine compared to their expectations. They just majorly underdelivered at Champs.

G2 had people unironically thinking they could go 3 for 3 for internationals and they made 1 finals all year which they lost

Most disappointing team of the year?

To not win a single international and only make one final after shit stomping regionally all year has to sting

VIT probably had equal expectations but they at least crumbled early, G2 kept hope alive all year only to progressively get worse and worse international placements

The issue is they have zero upgrades they can make regionally, so it really is just a run it back and fuckin pray kinda deal

I will still stand by the fact that they hyper trolled all year by refusing to run double duellist

0% TH

Coinflip ass team, if people give up on them they look like world beaters but then the second people have expectations they play like SEN against non Chinese or Brazilian teams

Blud was NOT cooking with this one

Ngl tho I think they just sold their whole year by never playing double duelist

It's not like no one else on the team can do it, leaf used to be a top 3 duelist in Americas when he was last playing it, the Jonah can fill senti

I am Lisan Al Gaib

They're a pretty technical band and their mixing is fucking sick, give Magma and The Heaviest Matter In the Universe a listen

Nah let's be fr for a sec it was a signature RieNs carry job last time

MiniBoo still played well in that series tho

Masters Swansea
Masters Pembrey and Burry Port
Champions Newport (in Pill ofc)

Incredibly based taste

You might also enjoy Motionless In White, Ice Nine Kills, Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet For My Valentine or Linkin Park

Whilst they're not very similar Slayer, Megadeth, Slipknot, Pantera, Sepultura and Gojira are also insanely good if you like more traditional metal

Metallica is ofc Metallica

Death and Necrophagist are also insanely good if you like death metal

TH MIBR

TH ban Abyss
MIBR ban Lotus
TH pick Sunset
MIBR pick Corrode
TH ban Bind
MIBR ban Ascent
Haven Decider

GX NRG

GX ban Corrode
NRG ban Sunset
GX pick Ascent
NRG pick Abyss
GX ban Bind
NRG ban Haven
Lotus Decider

True but I imagine GX will probably ban Corrode

If PRX win then imo they make a case for best overall year for a team OAT

If FNC win then Boaster Chronicle Alfajer becomes the objectively best core of players OAT

If aspas wins then he probably does cement goat status

If TH wins I become immune to ragebait for approximately 3 months before the coin they flip before every game inevitably lands on shit violently on the stage again

Ik which one I want

Real

The game entirely depends on the 3rd map since GX will get one of Ascent or Sunset through which they're massively favoured on while NRG will guarantee one of Corrode or Lotus which they're massively favoured on

Both are SEN father

False, they will place 5th/6th instead

It's the XLG effect of turn up to knock out Brazil merchants and do absolutely nothing else

TH have an exactly 50/50 rate of bombing out last or making finals

We did not in fact bomb out last

Cinema incoming

5th/6thRX gonna touch G2 to get their fated placement before completely giving up and exiting the tournament in their signature 5th/6th

PRX 2022-mid 2024
TH since EMEA stage 1 last year

If TL did manage to get a hold of Chronicle I could see Derke being willing to follow suit on a new super team with a former team mate

Tho in that scenario I could see them keeping paTiTek and swapping trexx out for Chronicle because pati being a weak shooter really wouldn't matter on a team with Derke Chronicle nAts and Keiko and in that scenario a vibes guy/second caller like pati is probably more valuable than keeping trexx

Ngl if they dropped even more oil money to get Derke then -trexx is also deffo a shout

-paTiTek EU Zellsis
-kamo CounterBlox

+LewN Jamppi and PROFEK are gone so his team is probably getting worse, he'd probably be willing to change to a trophy contender team
+Chronicle his contract ends this year so TL can send big daddy EWC money his way

So the team is Chronicle, nAts, Keiko, LewN and trexx

NAVI could have a team of Cloud, SUYGETSU, Shao, Ruxic and cNed

If G2, FNC or PRX win Champs then easily one of those 2

TH or DRX could maybe make a case if they win Champs but it's not a particularly good case over PRX imo cuz it'd be one deep event run vs 2

MIBR NRG and GX I don't think can count regardless of how well they do in playoffs

It feels like this year there hasn't really been a super consistent team. TL SEN and G2 are the only teams to make every event, and TL haven't made one playoffs, SEN have only beat China this year and if G2 don't win Champs they can't be in the running as a trophyless team internationally. Every other team has had one part of the year where they look kinda ass

Average NA smokes player at the time could've done everything he did for SEN

zombs
d3ffo
Kiles
Zellsis

I swear BuZz stood up and yelled across the stage nearly every other round won at Bangkok

Tho maybe I'm under the Mandela effect. The only thing I vividly remember about Bangkok is SEN getting 13-1'd on Bind

I feel like the CN/Pacific players are still willing to shit talk on stage tho

PRX are the prime example, but I remember XLG talking a lot of shit during the SEN match (tho most of it was probably NoMan tbf) and T1 doing a lot of shit talking during their Bangkok run

Is it just me or does it feel like barely actual players or especially orgs from NA or EMEA are willing to shit talking anyone outside of each other's region

Whenever there's an NA vs EU team at an international the orgs social media teams are constantly spamming Nearest Airport or MEMEA and the players will constantly be standing up and giving it to each other on stage, or NA teams will do it to other NA teams or EMEA teams to other EMEA teams

But the picosecond either region goes against a team from South America, Pacific or China it stops

SEN are the perfect example. When they play against other NA teams or EMEA teams the social media guy goes crazy. But the rest of the time it constantly feels like they're walking on eggshells, especially with how desperate they are to appeal to Brazilian fans, or FNC doing the same thing with Chinese fans

G2, whatever team Boostio's on and then the occasional EMEA dark horse/rookie team like GX or KC and TH at Madrid specifically are the only teams that come to mind that are willing to shit talk outside of NA and EMEA

I may be talking absolute wank tho idk

1. Rust In Peace - Megadeth
2. Master of Puppets - Metallica
3. Reign In Blood - Slayer
4. Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden
5. Paranoid - Black Sabbath
6. Iowa - Slipknot
7. Vulgar Display of Power - Pantera
8. Toxicity - System of a Down
9. Symbolic - Death
10. British Steel - Judas Priest

EMEA

Team Heretics

RieNs - 1.31
Wo0t - 1.07
MiniBoo - 1.06
Boo - 1.05
benjyfishy - 1.02

Average player rating - 1.102

FNATIC

Chronicle - 1.24
Alfajer - 1.14
Boaster - 1.09
crashies - 0.96
kaajak - 0.88

Average player rating - 1.062

GIANTX

ara - 1.15
Cloud - 1.09
westside - 0.99
Flickless - 0.93
grubinho - 0.83

Average player rating - 0.998

Team Liquid

nAts - 1.02
Keiko 1.00
kamo - 0.93
trexx - 0.87
paTiTek - 0.81

Average player rating - 0.926

Americas

NRG

skuba - 1.10
brawk - 1.03
mada - 1.02
s0m - 1.00
Ethan - 0.96

Average player rating - 1.022

G2

leaf - 1.15
valyn - 1.05
trent - 0.98
jawgemo - 0.97
JonahP - 0.85

Average player rating - 1.00

MIBR

aspas - 1.26
Verno 1.12
artzin - 0.97
cortezia - 0.93
xenom - 0.91

Average player rating - 1.038

Sentinels

johnqt - 1.14
zekken - 0.98
N4RRATE - 0.95
Zellsis - 0.80
bang - 0.79

Average player rating - 0.932

Pacific

Paper Rex

something - 1.39
Jinggg - 1.26
f0rsakeN - 1.04
d4v41 - 1.00
PatMen - 0.84

Average player rating - 1.106

DRX

Flashback - 1.27
HYUNMIN - 1.06
MaKo - 1.05
BeYN - 0.99
free1ng - 0.85

Average player rating - 1.044

RRQ

Kushy - 1.03
Jemkin - 1.02
Monyet - 0.95
crazyguy - 0.89
xffero - 0.87

Average player rating - 0.952

T1

DH - 1.10
Meteor - 1.10
iZu - 1.02
BuZz - 0.96
stax - 0.74

Average player rating - 0.984

China

XLG

NoMan - 1.08
happywei - 1.03
Viva - 1.01
Rarga - 0.96
coconut - 0.77

Average player rating - 0.97

EDG

Smoggy - 1.13
Zmjjkk - 1.04
nobody - 0.99
CHICHOO - 0.89
Jieni7 - 0.82

Average player rating - 0.974

BLG

Knight - 1.10
nephh - 0.94
Levius - 0.93
rushia - 0.72
whzy - 0.63

Average player rating - 0.864

DRG

SpiritZ1 - 1.08
Demon1 - 1.00
Nicc - 0.91
Akeman - 0.84
Flex1n - 0.84

Average player rating - 0.934

Teams ranked by rating

1. PRX
2. TH
3. FNC
4. DRX
5. MIBR
6. NRG
7. G2
8. GX
9. T1
10. EDG
11. XLG
12. RRQ
13. DRG
14. SEN
15. TL
16. BLG

God vo0kashu in EMEA I'm creaming in my jorts just thinking about it

Bruh how we rating FNC 3rd and MIBR 4th

NRG, TH, DRX and GX looked way better imo

Win EMEA only to end up as the only team to get grouped

I forgor

Team Heretics Sunset 7-0 (Ended by EDG at Champions Seoul 2024)

Nocturnum mogs icl

I'm kinda struggling on which team to root for tbh, I used to be a bit of a GX hater cuz I thought they were boring but they've really grown on me, but at the same time XLG are China's last hope and I fuckin love NoMan (goat of Wales)

As absolutely fraudulent as T1 are...

It'd be REALLY funny

All time it's probably Amen by Bring Me the Horizon but rn it's Raining Blood by Slayer

I mean the 2 most glaring issues with SEN this year were a lack of midround adjustments and being too scared to take risks/be aggressive besides zekken

So imo they should get an initiator known for good midrounding and an aggro controller in order to actually properly try and replace TenZ and Sacy 1 to 1

OR transition N4RRATE to playing Omen on more maps and then replace bang with like Rossy or C0M or someone who can try and bring the Sacy effect

Kaplan convinced his ahh that they grew at all this year despite having the exact same issues since Kickoff

https://youtu.be/biimtdyZB9c?si=tz47y4YJsLKP2sGP

Zellsis also called themselves a young team despite bang, zekken and Zellsis having attended events since before franchising as if they're inexperienced

Just worse than every team in their group along with one of the worst map pools in the tourney