Season 8 of Pro League produced a very intriguing storyline for the European scene. Ghassan “Milosh” Finge takes us through the paths that each EU team had to take to reach the Pro League finals, as well as give his thoughts on what it will take for each EU team to make it to the Grand Final.
The Path to Victory
G2, a squad that has won two Pro League titles, the Six Invitational 2018, and the latest Six Major in Paris, qualified for the Rio finals after a brutal yet effective campaign in Europe, going undefeated until their qualification. They ended the season with 11 wins, two ties against Mock-It Esports and the now relegated Team Vitality, and, in an ironic twist of fate, one singular loss against their old organization PENTA Sports.
To no one’s surprise, G2 soared to the top of the scoreboard and was the first team to secure their spot in Rio. Fabian, Pengu, Goga, Joonas, and Kantoraketti return to Brazil, where last year the former four members failed to get past Black Dragons (the current NiP Gaming lineup) in the semi-finals. As for Kantoraketti, he returns as the champion of Pro League Season 6 from a year ago in Sao Paulo.
While the first seat in Pro League was secured with ease, the second did not come easily.
Team Secret, Millenium, and Mock-it esports, were all in the running, vying for the last coveted LAN spot in Europe. A three way standoff, akin to the good, the bad, and the ugly, pit these three against one another.
During Week 12 we saw a breakthrough in the competition, with G2 having just been dealt their second tie at the hands of Mock-it on Clubhouse. In addition, Secret, the top contender at the time, tied against the new PENTA Sports, pushing Mock-it and Millenium higher up in the standings. Week 13 gave us, what is in my humble opinion, the best online season match we’ve had all year, with Secret vs Mock-it, that match ending in a tie on consulate with both teams using up all of their reserves in a last ditch effort to grab the spot for Rio. Millenium secured yet another win, beating the Swedish lineup of CHAOS earlier in the day. The Secret vs. Mock-it tie kept Team Secret in the running for Rio, as they hoped for a tie between Millenium and Mock-it in Week 14, the only way they could still qualify.
Alas, that dream did not come true, as after the eighth round Mock-it finally delivered the finishing blow that confirmed their spot for Rio, with KS, ripz, Vale, Korey & BakaBryan becoming the first German-speaking lineup to qualify for a Pro League Finals.
The bracket for the finals places the two European teams at either side of the tree, which means the only way for them to meet is at the Grand Final. As the second seeded EU team, Mock-it esports will have to take down the top team in LATAM Pro League, FaZe Clan. As for G2 esports, they’ll be facing off against 2nd place LATAM team, Immortals.
FaZe vs. Mock-it:
They faced off against one another at the Six Major in Paris three months ago (Mock-it playing as Orgless) in Group D. FaZe took the win 2-0 on Villa (7-6) and Border (6-3), then went on to lose against Team Secret in the final match on Clubhouse (4-6) and Consulate (6-1). At the Major, FaZe ran with the lineup of Astro, Cameraman, Namuringa, Mav, and Gohan (the latter being replaced by Yoona, a very experienced and popular player from PaiN Gaming after the Major).
It was clear during the Six Major that Mock-it had some major communication problems, as it was their first time exploring new territory with this lineup. However, they proved during the online season that they were able to iron out these issues. Now, this new team will have to keep their cool in an Olympic stadium filled with other 10,000 live spectators and fans.
In terms of pure LAN experience, FaZe Clan comes out on top, having many local and international tournaments under their belts. Plus, they have a massive hometown advantage, which is just as important in esports as it is for traditional sports.
FaZe maintains a strategy of calculated aggression, using this strategy to pick off opponents one by one. However, that may not work as effectively against a team like Mock-it, who have changed their playstyle to a more teamwork-based setup, with players watching each other’s backs, able to rotate effectively to counter default peeks and utilizing excellent Yokai drone positioning (courtesy of BakaBryan’s Echo) to support their advances.
It’s my opinion that this best of three could be won or lost in the map ban phase. Villa, Consulate and Coastline all favor Mock-it. FaZe played Coastline a total of three times in one entire year since the Pro League Season 6 Finals in Sao Paulo (including BR6 & all PL circuit tournaments) of which they won once and lost twice.
FaZe’s strength, however, lies in maps like Bank, Border, and Oregon, maps that are much less technical compared to Mock-it’s favorites. For Mock-it to win however, they will need more than just their favorite maps… it’ll require on-point play and a correct map order to advance further than the quarterfinals. To me, Border, Consulate & Villa would be the likely maps we’ll see in their matchup.. in that order, it could mean an exciting map 3!
The winner of this match will face the winner of Nora-Rengo vs. Rogue, the Japanese-American rematch from the Season 7 finals in Atlantic City, definitely one of the most surprising and exciting matchups we’ve had so far at offline events. Comparing play styles however, I don’t see Mock-it taking down either of those teams. Their path to the Grand Finals is no easy one, having to face the highly technical team of Rogue or the purely reactive and ambush-based strategies of Nora-Rengo.
Immortals vs. G2 Esports
Going to the second half of the bracket, Evil Geniuses play Fnatic, which could in-theory present us with a G2 vs EG semi-final, a gift many of us will be looking forward to.
But the big question here is: will Immortals stand a chance against the world champions? TL;DR? I don’t think so. Long answer? Let’s explore:
Immortals might have seeded second place in the LATAM region, but they achieved this milestone by a hair... much to the sadness of Team Liquid, the current reigning Pro League Champions. In addition, their most recent matches have been unimpressive, losing to Ninjas in Pyjamas, Bootkamp Gaming, and Team Liquid. They’ve also tied against Pain Gaming, the 7th place team that saved their Pro League spot in the region’s relegations match vs Guidance Gaming.
When you face the best team in the world, you cannot simply rely on individual plays and a roaring crowd; team cohesion, plus correct and efficient shot calling is a must.
For the sake of comparison, let’s display what G2 has to offer:
- Consistent performance: they have not been placed at less than top 4 in any event since May of 2017 - Winning four of the seven offline tournaments they participated in.
- Consistent lineup: Two major roster moves since their formation under PENTA Sports in March of 2017; the latest being Kantoraketti at Season 7 finals.
- Flexibility: G2 has shown time and time again that their players are ready and willing to run any operator necessary for victory, leaving behind the ancient thinking of binding players to a certain specific role, allowing them to dodge potential operator target bans in the lead up to any map they wish to play on.
- Map pool advantage: They possess a deep map pool, allowing them to go to any map and any site with strategies already planned, thanks to their coaching staff of Shas and Ferral.
- Goga, the man can do it all. Need an angle held? Done. Need a Glaz? Done. Need a Valkyrie? Done. Need a clutch play? Done. Need a couple dozen diffuser plants? Si si si, done & done.
You can tell by the numbers that Immortals have a mountain to climb here, no easy feat. Therefore, in the lower quarterfinals bracket, I see both EG & G2 clashing again in the semi-finals. In this scenario, it’s all up to EG to prove that they can finally defeat G2. Introducing Geo to their lineup with Gotcha as coach has helped them secure a solid spot in NA. However, will these weeks of preparation be enough for the North-American squad to overcome their bitter rivals? Only time will tell.
But, if we are doomed to repeat history, then G2 is getting set for yet another Grand Final appearance. If I had to call it now, I’d say G2 Esports faces FaZe Clan in the Grand Final, with G2 coming out on top. EG & G2 are the two of the most difficult teams for anyone to read. No matter which of the two make it to the final match, I believe that the real Grand Final, the one that decides the winner of the whole show, is that dreaded yet highly anticipated lower-bracket semi-final.
A Final Statement
However, numbers have been wrong, and in sports as in esports a mere second can separate the Champions from the runners up.
One thing is sure, however, that on a scale of 1 to 10, this event will turn the heat up to 11 and yank off the dial… You better be watching!
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