Spoiler
Finally the long anticipated playoff finals has come, where the best 8 current NW gf teams face each other for a grand total prize pool of 1000 euros!! In the first round we’ve got Snappers(5th) vs CCCP(8th) and NSS (6th) vs Legends(7th). Snappers vs CCCP will likely be a pretty close match, however I think Snappers will come through, as they have been much more consistent this season, achieving top 8 in all 6 tournaments, while also getting a bit better over time, especially with the addition of Ivan. Last tournament especially was probably Snappers’ best tournament this season, just barely missing the bronze medal, losing 7-6 vs Poosy. CCCP of course is still a force to be reckoned with, with experienced players such as Wursti and Marxeil, but if these guys do not bring their A-game it will be hard for the rest of the team to make up for this. The NSS vs Legends match will likely be less close, seeing as NSS’s members are for the most part outmatched, while a big chunk of NSS’s important core, such as Fenton and Snikkel, has been MIA for a while now. However, NSS has had its fair share of good tournaments too, also achieving a 4th place in an early tournament, and still having some competent forces to reckon with, such as Cody and Maskman. The winners of the CCCP/Snappers battle will be in for a treat, facing Enigma, who in all honesty have had some very inconsistent performances this season, which in part could be do to the very mixed activity/attendance by key players such as Gerher. Still, I do feel in a FT10 format, Enigma will likely prevail versus either opponent, as I feel they play a bit less chunkily and more competently as a whole line. Enigma’s carries have basically varied much from tournament to tournament, however in these big matches I do think Wolpi, Igel and Blacktham will likely be the 3 to look out for most today, but the other members are very close behind them, making them definitely a force to be reckoned with. Virgins, though 3rd place ahead of Enigma in 4th, definitely got the short end of the stick, having to likely fight Legends in the quarter finals already, having a much harder journey. Virgins is currently missing some key players such as Quenouille and Vortx. Last tournament Virgins put up a decent fight against Legends in the quarter finals, however that was with a very strong emergency sub, Louis, making a win here even less likely against the likes of Elsse, Extaz, Shadey and more. I feel the versatility of Legends alone would be a major problem for Virgins who can show a somewhat linear approach to groupfights, despite the experienced players such as Golden and Janne. The semis in the upper bracket will I think likely be Amaterasu vs Enigma, in which likely Zeyden and his Amaterasu gang will prevail and will advance to the finals. Now the other semis will likely be closer with Legends and Poosy being very dangerous competitors. Last tournament the final score was 7-5 to Legends, however that was definitely a weaker Poosy roster. Wait one second, phone is ringing.. . Ok, I just got off the call with the Flying Squirrels and they did in fact tell me that both Python and Bagins will be present tonight for Poosy, while Shadey will be absent for Legends. Knowing this, I would give Poosy the slight edge, if the rust of Bagins and Python isn’t too great, and especially other players like DOMI and Troister are on fire.
Now we’ve finally arrived at the finals (and the bronze match), and the real “fun” begins. Assuming Amaterasu gets to the finals they will most likely be fighting a competitor they’ve faced a few times in the finals, and have usually bested. Just based on their overall consistency, I would give the edge to Amaterasu, having phenomenal performances by many of their members such as Zeyden, Achilles, Jakob, Higen etc. . However, perhaps the recent news of Zeyden quitting NW/disbanding the team after this season has led to some chaos and tumult, leaving Amaterasu a bit weakened. This is hard to tell however, and I think we should all just wait and see as to what exactly goes down. In the bronze match I think (PROBABLY) Legends/Poosy will very likely win vs. Enigma. These top 4 teams will of course all receive a cut of the prize money.
Let’s hope this turns out to be a great tournament with maybe some nice surprises!
