Bacillus' Week 6 Predictions!

The inconsistend performances in the league have created an interesting setup for this week. Saunamen, Gardeners and Team Fantasy all still have a relatively good chance of getting to the finals. What's even better is that this week Team Fantasy and Gardeners face each other in an exciting match that might decide the finalists. Don't miss this one!

Team Fantasy - The Gardeners

This should be very interesting. Team Fantasy needs most likely a 3 - 1 to reach the finals in div1. In case of 2 - 2 they'll have to sit back and hope Quaxy steals a round from the Gardeners on the next week's match.

Team Fantasy won iPwn 4 - 0 yesterday. Fantasy looked solid as usual. Nothing spectacular, but their experience and good coordination turned the even rounds into their favour. ZH did a good job on fading and Kuitmo's marine performance was devastating here and there.

The Gardeners, you are the most unpredictable clan I've seen so far on the seasons I've predicted. Results varying from 3 - 1 victory against Saunamen to a draw against iPwn and a losing a marine round to TTS. The round lost to TTS was even more bizarre as it was a relatively standard gameplay. Is this really the same team that secured both marine rounds against Saunamen only a week earlier? Obiviously they weren't fielding the top lineup against TTS, but still losing a valuable point is quite bad on their part.

If both teams play this to their maximum level The Gardeners should be able to manage a draw at least. However, they've been inconsistent as ever and Team Fantasy is in no way an easy opponent. As both teams play the standard NS, it boils down to the usual node pressure and 2nd hive denial gameplay. Both teams also variate their openings quite a bit, so I can't predict any specific tactics. Expect anything from DCs to MCs and from LMG pressure to dual SG pushes.

The maps, ns_eclipse and ns_origin add a little bit of spice to the game.

NS_ORIGIN: The Gardeners played way below their level on Origin last week, so repeating the map this week isn't probably going to give them any advantage. The Finnish NS on the other hand has traditionally been good on Origin. I think we are going to see a lot of early attacks to ventilation area and possibly an early PG cutting the map into half. There's also some potential for 2-hives vs proto gameplay because of the industrial area chokepoint. I think that Fantasy has a little stronger lategame teamwork due to ZH's ability to organise the gameplay into his advantage. The Gardeners on the other hand are able to field a more skilled late game players as individuals.

NS_ECLIPSE: Eclipse is a little tricky. The ramps in the CC area cause some difficulties for aliens once they slip marines in, but on the other hand marines are often forced to cap nasty nodes like Triad and South loop early on in the game. Both the features can cause some crucial trouble once the momentum is lost. I feel that slightly favours Team Fantasy as they are a slight underdog on this match and yet they need those 3 rounds to secure the spot in the finals. Maint hive may also cause trouble for the alien team. I think we are going to see some pre-emptive 2 SG pushes as the DC is always a possibility in Eclipse. In general, I feel eclipse is one of the maps where Enigmatic's shotgun style really gets to shine. His style of wandering around the nodes and picking out targets one by one is quite effecitve on Eclipse and CC hive proximities.

Biggest Impacts:
The Gardeners: GibbZ (Marine/Fade), Handschuch (Skulk), Enigmatic (SG/Lerk)
Team Fantasy: ZH (Mastermind), Kuitmo, Aleksi

My prediction is 2 - 2, but the Gardeners have the potential to make it 3 - 1 or 4 - 0 if they manage to get their game back to the full speed.

Team Russia - Saunamen

Saunamen pulled off a 4 - 0 against Squad-6. The rounds were relatively even, but in the end Sauna's routine turned the rounds for them. All in all they played quite well, although the alien teamwork still needs a bit of routine practise now that Tane commands the alien rounds.

Team Russia took all rounds from Quaxy in last week's match. The Russian team has been quite consistent all season long. They've been quite good on aliens and far less convincing on marines. Morvie hasn't been performing to his level, but otherwise it's pretty much what can be expected from the lineup they've got.

Sauna should have this one. They need at least 6 rounds from the remaining 2 matches to secure their spot in the Finals, so it shouldn't be much of a challenge to motivate for these games. The biggest battles will be Tane or Zharp's shotgunning vs MP's lerking and Peach's response to Morvie's fading. On aliens Sauna should be able to get 2 points relatively easily unless Ru has managed to improve their play quite a bit.

I'll call this a 3 - 1 for Sauna. Ru takes Eclipse aliens.

Biggest Impacts:
Saunamen: Peach (Comm), Tane, Zharp
Russia: Morvie (Fade), Macpersil (Marine/Lerk)