After hack’s amazing recovery from Group C, the second-place teams from each group will be playing in a miniature round robin format bracket to select a winner that will join the top seeds in the semifinals. Here is the schedule for Thursday’s games.
This format will be quite different than what we’re used to, as it’s basically a mini tournament with two teams being eliminated in one three-game event. I’m going to run over the matchups as we get our first taste of cross-group action!
Invincible Armada vs Beyond
If I tried to pick a winner using logic, it would be easy to say that Invincible Armada beat Gankstars, Gankstars beat Beyond, and so Invincible Armada should also beat Beyond. My argument against this quick assumption is the beast from Beyond, ForgottenWar.
I am not comfortable betting against Beyond due to ForgottenWar’s level of play when given the chance to scale. The only time that ForgottenWar lost a game in this tournament was against Gankstars, and Gankstars had a composition that perfectly countered Skaarf, with two abilities that needed a Reflex Block to answer them. I think some would say that it’s risky for me to predict Beyond as the winner of this first game, but I want to believe.
Invincible Armada vs hack
Assuming Beyond wins the first game, our second matchup will not be as close of a game. While hack did have a great series of games to get into this wild card round, I don’t feel they are competing at the same level as Invincible Armada. Also, I don’t see Invincible Armada going quietly into the night without a fight.
Hack did have some key players step up big in their win, with Phone getting a great catch against KnightRay, showing that Phone has potential to make big plays. Galaxy was the true terror, single-handedly beating WILD to force the tie-breaker. If Galaxy has a big game, then I’d be nervous for Invincible Armada, otherwise they are the favorite.
Beyond vs hack
If hack won in game two, then they will potentially close out this wild card group with a win in their third game. If hack lost in game two, then they will need to win to force a potential tie and another round robin be created. The entire weight of the semifinal rests on this game.
Once again, I’m leaning towards Beyond winning this round. That being said, the lane matchup will be the pinnacle of this series of games. ForgottenWar and Galaxy, two competitors who heavily favor Skaarf, will be matched in lane. This flame-flinging fiasco will be a battle you won’t want to miss!
These games will be aired live on OGN’s Global Twitch channel at http://twitch.tv/OGNGlobal. Coverage starts at 5 AM PDT / 2 PM CEST on Thursday, September 10th. Let us know who you think will win and why!
1 Comment
Thommy8
Sep 08, 2015 6:51 pmI also don’t expect Hack to be able to win, so it seems like the first game is key for determining who advances to the semifinal. The Group C tiebreaker was fun, but it didn’t seem like any of those Group C teams could compete against the likes of INV and Beyond. We’ll see though; it so often comes down to one player or another surviving a late team fight with a sliver of health, so you never know.