Thunder - Every year these guys manage to make it deep into the playoffs after a slightly above mediocre season plagued with inactivity. Last year was no different than this year, except most people expected them to make it past Heavy in the semifinals then lose to Quake in the finals. Say what you will about Mad not showing their best line, but b4 showed some signs of life that werent there previously and Burnt did much better than his game against Fatal. The question mark for this squad is the 5th starting spot. Versus opponents like theyre up against this week, a 5-10 or 6-10 just isnt going to cut it, especially if that player dies out quickly as chuckle tends to do. The lineup will most likely be Ease, Raspi, b4, Burnt, chuckle/yakuza/obi/misled/take your pick.
Quicksand - The starting line for QS at the start of the year was Izor, RaCka, Geio, and 2 of the following: kid kaos, SwimKid, a2m, Kyou, Weak, killah. RaCka not showing up a few games and Geio showing his true colors under the big stage led to a few upset losses (wolf, sage) and some less than reassuring victories against squads like shinobi. Besides a 1v2 win where RaCka dominated chuckle and Burnt, it looked like this group just wasnt going to beat any of the other top squads since they lacked a solid 4th/5th starter. Toward the end of the season, it turned around just like for Thunder when people like a2m and Kyou started getting active, Weak showed that he is among the games elite warbirds, and the teamwork that was previously lacking started clicking. The main strength here is that in 3 tough rounds against Epidemic, no one on Quicksand went worse than -3. The line will be Izor, RaCka, Weak, Kyou, kid kaos with subs a2m and Kthx.
The game itself - No doubt Quicksand will be trying to put pressure on Thunders starting birds, ideally sending Burnt scattering while they pick at the other 4. Thunder is very good at defending this just like Epidemic, but Burnt and chuckle are liabilities if the match turns out this way since chuckle will die out early and Burnt will not cover his teammates. Theres potential for this to be a good game depending on who really shows up for Thunder and how much better they get this week, but Quicksand is the better all around unit and should take this fairly easily 50-37 and 50-41.
Quicksand - The starting line for QS at the start of the year was Izor, RaCka, Geio, and 2 of the following: kid kaos, SwimKid, a2m, Kyou, Weak, killah. RaCka not showing up a few games and Geio showing his true colors under the big stage led to a few upset losses (wolf, sage) and some less than reassuring victories against squads like shinobi. Besides a 1v2 win where RaCka dominated chuckle and Burnt, it looked like this group just wasnt going to beat any of the other top squads since they lacked a solid 4th/5th starter. Toward the end of the season, it turned around just like for Thunder when people like a2m and Kyou started getting active, Weak showed that he is among the games elite warbirds, and the teamwork that was previously lacking started clicking. The main strength here is that in 3 tough rounds against Epidemic, no one on Quicksand went worse than -3. The line will be Izor, RaCka, Weak, Kyou, kid kaos with subs a2m and Kthx.
The game itself - No doubt Quicksand will be trying to put pressure on Thunders starting birds, ideally sending Burnt scattering while they pick at the other 4. Thunder is very good at defending this just like Epidemic, but Burnt and chuckle are liabilities if the match turns out this way since chuckle will die out early and Burnt will not cover his teammates. Theres potential for this to be a good game depending on who really shows up for Thunder and how much better they get this week, but Quicksand is the better all around unit and should take this fairly easily 50-37 and 50-41.
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