The Greatest Kickoff Ever! — Plat Chat VALORANT Ep. 253

We're live. Welcome to Pilatechap Valorant Episode 253. If you we are watching this video, you survived the VCT kickoff 2026. We somehow survived the VCT 2026. Well, I know only for myself, I'm assuming for you, Sligg, as well, Friday and Saturday, there were some fun days. They were some long fun days. They were, there was some long days. First day was so long, and then I went to bed, two hours sleep, got off a paper X and I was like, I can do this, and then we got to literally halfway through the second half of the paper X and I was like, I can't do this. I need to, I need to sleep at one point now. It wasn't too bad though. It could be, it could be organized a little better. I thought you were a robot though. Sliggie, like, I thought you could just stream. Honestly, I thought I could do it as long until I can, yeah, we learn this weekend. I, I fall went to that paper and, yeah, prioritized the sleep. And I was praying. I was like, come on, DFM, give it a game. Like, you know, give me a bit extra sleep. Like, you make a mess of three and I'll be there for the best of my day. They did not. We'll get into that in a second. But before we dive into all of kickoff, of course, we'll talk about Pacific, then EMEA, then America's, the usual go over all the games as we tend to do. First, let's talk about how you can support the show. And hopefully, I mean, yeah, support the people who come onto this show regularly, you know, like myself and Sliggie. Maybe some of the initial, you know, flat chat members. Where are they? They cannot be seen. They cannot be seen. But Kurt's still here. He's still doing all the work. So help support Kurt, I guess. Where are we on the subscribers then, Kurt? Where is the flat chat channel on subscribers right now? That's members. They've taken a break. Okay, Kurt's, Kurt's finished. Oh, I thought you had members, I think we're at like, we're really close to 100,000. So if you're really trying to find 99.4k is what's showing 99.4k. I mean, there probably will be 600 people who watch this who are not subscribed. So Kurt needs that silver, silver play button, get in the silver play button as well. But anyway, become a member as well. Support the show even more, if you're a diehard. Let's talk about some of the benefits you can get if you become a member. One of them, the most important one, of course, is to ask a question. Now, I think last week, we dismissed the question as bad. But this week, we got a good one. An interesting one, I think. Sliggie kind of already brought this up, which is, is the format bad? After watching all the regions and seeing two teams fail to win three back to back best of five. So the question has to be asked, was this triple elimination poorly managed or set up? Let's start with you, Seth, thoughts. I mean, I'd say like, yeah, obviously it could be better. Same could be said for every tournament in any esport. Like there's always something you could do slightly better. And I think the big thing would be just having a wider gap to, you know, between those, those matches. But then you're incurring things like venue costs and, you know, having to get all the staff back to do, like, operate another day of, you know, broadcasts and gadi adiata. So I think for what it is, it's a, out as good as it could be. And at the end of the day, it's just, well, you know, when you're first best of five and then you don't have to run this plot, you don't have to go through all of this stuff. Like, you know, every team is in the same position. And, you know, can avoid things similarly. So I do think it is brutal, but I also think that it is laid out pretty fairly. Yeah, I can get them by that. I would just say that the four months good, but the scheduling could be better, kind of thing. Just, I think the day when you had like a best of three into a best of five was probably too much. I felt like the Sunday when it was best of fives across the board was kind of fine to be honest. I think for the teams that go best of five, then best of five, that sucks. But at the same time, the teams that playing only ended up getting like three to five hours head start because they would just watch the best of five that they were playing. So it's not like too bad, but it's, um, yeah, you can be pretty tired going in. It could do us some tweaking, but that's pretty, that's pretty legit. I feel like we got, we got a pretty extreme example of this because of course, all of the upper finals went to the full five. If man, of course, like, there could just be three O's and like, just basically by the best of three, you know, anyway, so we got an extreme example, I would say of this, but I'm definitely, definitely an agreement that, yeah, the best of three is into best of fives as a day when we did get, I think, was it America's went full eight maps, eight map day? That, I mean, that's, that's pretty rough. And also you do get the thing as well where, you know, we were running over, you know, to the other regions as well. So if you wanted to watch both, it's a little, little awkward as well. So I think there is definitely some things to be done to be done. I think what you could do is just kind of read it like a super week because like we did, we usually have a super week, you know, once per year, where you would start it instead of starting on like Thursday, maybe started on Tuesday or Wednesday, and then just have some off days. I know that you're like ease of schedule and like visibility that can be tougher and they like to stick to a very, you know, similarly schedule. So everyone knows like, okay, this is the, these are the days that matches are on, but you could just kind of do that and then have like right a be a dark day or something. And then those teams get like that little bit of added time to try to prepare. I think they could even move the first double final back a week and just play that in the second week, rather than the final third week. Because I spent like I would say in general format, the America schedule, I'm not happy with. I don't think it was fair that G2 got six days off and M and B are got 12 days off. Then I had to play back to back best of fives. Like I don't see why G2 I don't know why America's because they're the regions you played in middle because the Super Bowl. Yeah. Yeah. I guess not allowed to say that or have to call it the big game or whatever. I don't think you have to call it the big game. Super foul. Okay. But yeah, I do think that that maybe wasn't wasn't ideal for M.I.B.R. Because G2 did have like, I know they couldn't know that they were going to play against M.I.B.R. But they still had a lot of time to know probably what the map was. Are you still anti-bove teams? Yeah. You still don't. Yeah. That probably needs a fix. But I would say in general to be fair to Riot, I would say we've had I mean, we've had some scheduling problems in the past as I'm sure anyone who's watched VCT is aware they gen I would say each year the schedule does get a bit better. Right. Each year they do tweak it and we get improvements each year. So hopefully that will be the case for next year. But in general triple elimination, I think it's the or make. Yeah, it's and having best of fives be for qualifying games. Please. So all the time. Please. Please. I do think as well like, I know some of the teams that like came at the top words kind of complain. I also think within those two weeks, you know, we had the two weeks before your first game, you start looking at some of the other games below you. I would personally, if you have like a coaching stuff that's pretty big set someone to start antiing them like I know you don't want to prep for losing a game, but you should be doing that anyway to be honest. So maybe some of the teams want to get used to the format. If it is like this can use their time a bit better. I would say. Yeah. For sure. Okay, let's talk now about Pacific. Let's dive into it. Shall we? And we're actually going to start with one of the teams that did end up losing all three of their best of fives. And what's interesting about our occupies, they managed to do it in different ways. They managed to play a close best of five first and you know, narrowly lose the nuncheon. They then got absolutely destroyed by T1 apart from map three maybe in the second one and then played like yeah, kind of a kind of a disappointing three on some hope in there, but ultimately a loss to pay for it as well. So with that said, let's start with our our queue. We will kind of talk, you know, we can go through the games if you want from start to finish in a way. But let's start with our queue. Hey, Ethan. How's this feel? Were you expecting this to happen? No, not really. They look so good to start the year. They look so clean with like their protocols and like their decision making and their trading. Like it looked like they really had kind of put together the complete package. You know, they had all used all that experience kept the same roster. You know, yes, there's a change in the coaching, but that didn't really seem to affect much in some ways. It maybe looked better or they were just clapping people coming out the gate and then they ran into nuncheon. They lose two three. It's close. I mean, you know, going up against Donbys, you know, just insane space creating and some really solid play behind them. They barely lose. Okay, whatever. And then it just starts to crumble man. Like as those matches all go on, it's just like in particular like the way they're trading and some of their individual decision making just starts to crumble. Like it's just piece by piece by piece. Things just start to kind of fall apart. They pick it up a little bit against paper X again, but against T1, they were completely outplayed in just about every aspect of the game. So I'm it's definitely concerning and clearly like, you know, it took its toll on them. This format did and the scheduling, I guess, is the bigger thing took its toll on them. Yeah, I mean, that's pretty violent. I watched the, because I was sleeping during the RRQ T1. So watch that this morning. So it's like pretty fresh in my head. I mean, obviously they lost all the pistols. But like my my main takeaway from this was that I think they're they look a lot better when Gemkin is on the chamber, but I also feel it has to be like chamber op a majority of the times. And when they're losing all the pistols like this, they don't tend to get the op out until the 4 for 5 rounds. And then when they do that, normally they're up against a team of ults. So then the team just has ults to overpower you. And then it's pretty hard to get value out of their op as well. So it'll be interesting to see what they do with the time off. Maybe going through the lower bracket they might have like realized that they should start doing what 100 feet used to do. Just take a look. the head of someone not buying all the way up in pistols, you could get that up out early. I think it really would have saved him in some of these. I think they were also just like. They were happy, they were just like, got burned out by it for sure. They're very. they're one of the best teams for anti. We normally talk about them for anti, so I feel like when you're doing the best of five, best of five, maybe your game plan is going to be like, as refined. I also feel like the team to went up against kind of played like Nongshin played the kind of similar level, he won't really step to up, paperworks really stepped it up against them. So it was like, they got a little unlucky that everyone had like learned from their losses. And well, maybe not even T1, I don't actually like Vodreview didn't go to their alt skit, which is like my main criticism for them. They literally just like every big round, they're like, they're using all the alt and I was like, "Well, this wasn't what I was seeing before, so it felt like a little bit of a crumble from some of the rounds that I saw, but also it felt like other people were just peaking as they went to play them." Yeah, that was that was certainly tough for RRQ. It should be said, and I do think particularly when we talk about the burnout side of it, like from the first loss that they had, we saw all of the teams who lost in the upper final lost the first two maps in their next game as well. So I do think it probably did have a little bit of an impact, because it was interesting like RRQ and MIBR, the two teams that lost their second best of three, they both got destroyed the second day. They got obliterated by in the middle final. Then in the lower final they kind of showed back up a bit more, but yeah, it was rough. Do we want to go to this Jemkin thing? Let's just get out of the way. So I've kind of, I mean, you, I kill you with some paper then, you'll be more aware of this than perhaps me and Slee because you're there. What is Jemkin? Are these concerns valid for those of you don't know? Jemkin, I was it made a tweet or was it in an interview like calling out Pacific, the PCs, all of that. Is he right? He want to smoke in the bathroom? He can't smoke, but they can. I don't know about any of that stuff. And frankly, I didn't know about any of this stuff until is Cicart like it like literally like after the games had wrapped up. I didn't know that there was these concerns because I'd never heard about it personally. I had never heard from other teams saying that there was issues with like PC, frame rate, etc. That kind of stuff. The smoke in the bathroom no idea. Like which players are doing that or not. By the time we get to the bathroom when we throw it over to the analyst, that's the players are basically already out of there. So never seen it. Yeah, who's doing that? Like, yeah, I haven't witnessed it myself. I can't be in a school, isn't it? Yeah, smoking in the boys room. But yeah, like, I don't know. I feel like this should have been raised sooner. And if it was and then they were ignored, then obviously that's that's a I think a bigger issue. But if this is the first time that this is really like being put out there, I guess I feel like I would have heard other people talking about this. I also feel like if it was that like clear to hear the casters and whatnot. I feel like Frost would have jumped on this way earlier and he would have been so vocal about it. So I, yeah, I've got questions around that stuff. I mean, obviously like when you lose a game like that, you have to play this many matches back to back to back. You're going to be frustrated and you know, but you're willing to speak about some of these things. But I just need to know like if this had been discussed previously. Because if this was the first time that it was raised, this should have been done, you know, day one. This should have been like before the tournament even started because everyone goes in, they do tech checks. They, you know, they test the audio when they're playing music and everything in the venue, you know, going for, you know, game, you know, as close to game realism as you're going to get. And that all happens like days before the first match starts. So it feels like that stuff should have been seen early enough in advance. I, I, I, I've widely agree here with this. I don't, I've never seen or heard really anything. I've heard people say that they thought it might be possible that you could hear the Korean casters in the players microphones. But I've never heard anybody actually say one way or another, whether it was true or whether you could distinguish what they were saying or anything like that. So beyond that, I've never seen any of the other issues going back just quickly on that point. But like you're you're on a they're on a delay, right? So even if you could hear. Yeah, it's like what the well, it's not very long though. It's not that long. No, it's a couple seconds. Oh, okay. It's not very long. Like we like you'll see around be over like the players will get up and then it's like two beats and then it's and then it's like, well, then we see it. So it's not that long. So I could see where it definitely could be a problem if it is being heard. But as far as I know, it's no one's ever said anything to me about it. Correct. At least Korean scream mafia tactics go deep. Yeah. From from my point of view, we've had something similar in CS. They banned like headwear and stuff because you used to be able to have a gap where you could hear for your headset. I will say I'm not going to name any names. I'm not going to do anyone's dirty work for them. But if you go watch some of the player camps, I do see a couple of that where you can see the bottom of people's ears. So do you think it's something that should probably be looked into for sure. And then also I do think that maybe we should be increasing the like a white noise that is played. So I think that I think the concerns about it. I think obviously he's angry. He's angry. He's lost a lot of bad of like free specifies in a row. But there is there is some there is some stuff out there where you look at it and you're like, doesn't look great. Doesn't look great. And like the thing he said about the team being late, I think the coach, one of the coaches for Nungshim tried to clarify that they thought they were going to be late, but then they weren't or something. So there's like all these kind of question marks about the exact like timeline and how everything shook out. So I'm I mean, I think yeah, they're valid concerns and they need to be addressed it especially if you can hear the casters like that has to be fixed. That is absolutely unacceptable period in the story that that's got to be taken. Okay. Well, wonderful. Let's let's move on. The company man of Achilles and Payton who are trying not to get fired whilst addressing the concerns. They have they have said what they needed to say. Let's let's let's talk positive though. Let's let's get onto Nungshim. Let's let's talk happy. Nungshim. They may I mean, unfortunately, Chau isn't here. He's going to die. His hair read apparently because of this. I said if they won the upper final, he should shave his eyebrows. I don't think he's going to do that. Unfortunately, but that would be funny if he did. And put pressure on him to do that, by the way. Make sure it's right. I was really right. I want him to look like the the main character at the end of Squid Game. But a walk on that plane. Go out the Santiago and his hair just looks ridiculous. Yes. I really, really do. But Nungshim, they managed to do it. And they managed to do it in Nungshim fashion. Let's be real. They just they play their style. They play the Dambi neon. In fact, on the one map, I thought that they didn't play was it one map where he didn't play? It was on a business. He played wale. Yeah. Yeah. They they lost that map. And I was just thinking, just put this guy on the. I don't care. Just put him on neon the whole time because and that's the thing that just that I mean, they're a very fun team, but they're a very unique team. In fact, quite a few of the teams, I feel like we're going to talk about in this episode are quite unique and have their own style. And it works for them. And they've managed to do it. I mean, I don't think many people would have predicted them winning the upper final here. But they've managed to do it. Seth, what impressed you most about Nungshim? I mean, yeah, just the I mean, the fact that they that they did it that they made this run and they stuck to their guns because Francis had told Chobra before the tournament began that they were going to go to Santiago and they're going to do it all the way through the upper bracket that he said, like, we're going to win every single game. And then he managed to pull that off. I really thought that, you know, RQ with prep time would be able to come in and beat this team. I thought that they were going to have solid anti. I thought that the chamber coming up for Jimkin was really going to be able to control the double duelist and especially slow down down B. But he just didn't really care and he just kept running at them and killing people down B. I guess just cannot be dissuaded. I was watching the majority of this second monitor because I was casting overwatch that day. So I actually didn't even get to like fully deep dive into it too heavily. But every time I'd get to a break and overwatch and look over and be like, oh, they're still they're doing it. My god, they're actually pulling it off. So yeah, I think just showing that they they have the chops to prep the way that they did to be able to close at the series. Grand so close. But I said, I would have favorite RQ. I think that gives me a lot more hope for Nongshim in their first international appearance because this is I think a lot of times when you see a team qualify to, you know, their first Masters event. I mean, RQ, I think a good example of this with Toronto last year, you know, they got to get their asses beat on stage, you know, once or twice and then they can really start to lock it and start leveling up your performances. I feel like Nongshim might have like a pretty decent goal of it, you know, for their first ever international. I actually am less concerned about them having those those little woes. Yeah, I can get on board. I think my main thing was this X-ross. How good he was playing as well. That was like a big standout for me. If anything, you watch their games before this, you know, like all the jewelers are doing so much here. And this was like whether jewelers kind of struggled a little bit. I would actually say Nongshin made this whole, that's a five a little bit harder than they need to for themselves as well. You know, E-code, a hell of a hell of a lot of times on this they really, really did. - I continued with the Piper X series as well. - Yes, yeah. It's just a common feeling that got E-code quite a lot. But yeah, I mean, X-RUS RB is like such a big step up. And I think that X-RUS has kind of been the new kid as well, such a good confidence game to have. And I keep them thinking like who is the favour going into Santiago? And I kind of keep coming back to Nongshin being like, "Do they're at least in my top three at the moment?" I think from just performance. Because again, I don't think they had the best best of five here. And they still managed to win. I think Francis, especially maybe, wasn't at the top of his game from what we've seen offseason and most recent as well. So it's impressive for them. And I still think they have way more to give. And this is a great example of leaning into comfort. And yeah, just doing the own version of their meta, for sure. - Yeah, I mean, for me, this is just a shining example of, I think, what you're seeing be successful widely across the, you know, egosphere is that like, if you play to your strengths, play to what, you know, your players are best at, play their agents at their best at that kind of thing, that it's generally working out for you across the board. Like, those are the teams that I feel like are having the most success. And I think this team's going to give people fits. I think one of the biggest things is now they've learned how to dial back the aggression when they need to, when to take their, like, kind of strategic pauses. Like, especially on Haven, I really like the way that they'll take a site. And then they'll kind of take a pause. They won't just keep coming at you. They'll wait to see what your response is. They'll throw up some smokes to try to buy some time to set up for an anti-retake or they'll throw some flashes through. So throw the neon relay boat through, you know, and then smother the other team as they're trying to go for their retake. Stuff like that where they're getting really good with their patience, with their timings, with their coordinations. You know, they're starting to get, you know, the ideas, well, situated behind what RB wants to do as an IGL. He talked about that a lot in his post-match interview here, where he said that, you know, their struggles really amounted to him as an IGL, as the way he kind of sees the game and the way that the players have been playing the game for so long together, weren't fully vibing yet, and having that offseason to work all that through has really started to come to fruition. And you can see it because they're not always just go at your face, go crazy, like they pick their moments to explode, and they pick them really well for the most part. Yeah, his, his column is really good. And you're starting to see teams like copy their style as well. That's when you know you've susped him on. When you're watching other teams from other regions copy your stuff. Yeah, I mean, I think I think so. You brought up a good point because I think most of the talk for Nongshim in their previous games would have been, well, look at Downbeat's Neon and Francis on Euro as well as popping off, especially with scopes and stuff like, you know, it's going really well. But in this game, you've actually looked at the scoreboard as well. And what it felt like like Ivy's lurks, constant value, extra, as you said, like stepped up massively. I think that this, this was like, because I think when if you were going to think like, why would Nongshim struggle at Santiago, it probably would have been had Downbeat and Francis just popped off. It'll be like, oh, well, they'll get there and then maybe, you know, a better team will like, you know, kind of counter that double-jewelist. And then what do they do? But I think that this game does give you hope that like, well, the others could still step up and, you know, they can still potentially win games against, you know, some of the best teams in the world. So I'm, I'm excited for this team. I mean, I love the way that they play as well. And I think. That's so fun. Yeah, they're so fun. Look, everybody's tried to shut them down with different stuff. Like a lot of teams have thrown different looks at them to shut them down. Like T1 try to shock out and just the Odin ciphers. Like everybody's brought a lot of the kind of, you know, kind of standard thoughts to shutting down the neon and the disability to create space. No one's been 100% successful. Yeah. The Odin is like pretty good. The Odin Stephanie. I think the Odin's a good, yeah. Holding some of those tight angles worked really well with the Odin. Yeah. Oh, they don't run into Nogie then. I don't know. Just the name of the Nogie. That's the one team that scares me. That in G2 maybe. But yeah. Just realized I was muted. I was just going to say like, I feel like it might even come down to needing a meta change to really have people be able to shut them down with consistency. Because some of the big tools and agents that would do well in the past to slow down the neon and just kind of out of the meta right now. Like no one's playing deadlock. Like she's just not in a super strong state at the moment. And maybe it, you know, it might take some buffs and whatnot to her kind of control or cipher getting, you know, rebuffed up as well to really start to curb this where the Nogie has to even think if they want to play the neon anymore. But for now, I think they just have so much free ran. I think the meta isn't a good spot. I think that their read is really good. And they've just like paper they were talking about kind of figured out how to, you know, how they want the identity for this team to be in game alongside RRBs call it. I think you also bought up a good point that they're actually in a really safe spot right now. Like if you think of the duelist that are fast on the chopping block in terms of like actual nerfs, like it's deadlock and yoru, then they can go over towards the neon, which is still strong. You can go solo neon at the moment. You can do that. They can be other duelists that you can pop with it as well. Like in terms of leaning heavy on a neon at the moment, I would feel incredibly safe as a team. You're not counting down the days of like, all this could happen at any point and then we'll have to change everything up. It should be a relatively easy pivot if that day does come. And we get the way they're you're enough. And I mean, well, we've seen other teams look at the them later on as well that have maybe pivoted towards the neon and it finds some success. It's interesting. I remember from last year like going through the stats of like, last year at kickoff was when everyone like started playing yoru, like everyone started playing yoru for the first time. I was obviously teams that did do it before, but like everyone's playing yoru. But you always win right at the start of the year. It was atrocious to start the year. And it got very good by the end. But to start off, you know, people weren't that good at playing yoru. And I think we're getting a similar sort of thing with the way they were. If you've got someone you can pull it off. You've got Timatino. Yeah, go for it. But if you don't, like you might as well just stick with some of the jolars that, you know, people can actually play because as we see, neon is still very, very strong. And if you've got a good neon, then play neon. So non-shim, I mean, I cannot wait to see the plant chat power rankings for this event. By the way, I'm ready to say that. I'm ready to say that. I'm not doing that. I'm not doing that. What the hell is going on? Because normally like, you know, the bottom teams and the top two, like, you know, normally the top two are like, "Ah, that's pretty easy. The bottom two are pretty easy." Like, this one is going to be, what the hell are we going to do? Anyway, let's move on. Let's talk about the team that I would say did have a big step up in their performance for their middle final. And that was T1 who basically just slapped down RQ. And I think that they showed, they kind of showed the T1 that I think we we hoped for. We dreamed of at the start. This was the T1 that was kind of promised that they hadn't really shown up until these kind of final couple games they played. It's Liggy. You did mention that, Alts and stuff, but was there anything else that you particularly enjoyed from T1? It's general calling. I think as well. I think Munchkin got a little comfy. I honestly, I think he just simplified it at the end as well. Because especially when I watch this, I know every team is pretty good at snowballing. So maybe it's not the best example. But it did just feel like he had kind of susted out when they got buzz on the neon as well. I think they're very good at just being like, "May you just need to send it in." Like we don't care about just score even though he's kind of doing damn-be stuff. So I think my main takeaway was every single game, they look better and better and better. But like the whole thing was just like, they're so bad with Alts that I didn't think they would get too far. And then literally this RRQ game was like so good for Alts. Like actually like really good. It's like, "Here's a big round. You got two Alts." The other T1 games, they wouldn't use those two Alts. They would wait like three. Maybe next map, next half. But for this, they were like using them on all the big rounds. It looked horrible to be Jemkin in this. It really did. So that was my main takeaway. I was just like, "Damn, they're winning pistols and the calling is so much better right now, so much better." And they played with a lot of confidence, especially EZO. EZO is very confident right now. And this map, the final map of a bis might get lost in the shuffle because of so much of the valiant. This was one of the most unbelievable OTs I think I've seen. There was so many incredible like clutch moments. I mean, if you just show the end, you could show the end of the game. You could show real quick. The way it ended is unbelievable. But there was so many crazy moments. I mean, this was actually, there were 9-3 up and kind of one more thing going on. It was crazy. But then it got to say. But I didn't, I was kind of frustrated with both teams during this over time. I mean, completely honest. Because they weren't like, it was just like, go A, plant 5v5. The other team tries to retake. You can't do it. Shocker because you're both running like really heavy post plant comps with the asteristhoba and then a brimstone on one side and a Tejo on the other. And like, they weren't getting deep into each other's post plant positions and spawns and mains and stuff. So I was actually maulting a bit because I was like, we're just going to keep doing this over and over again. Yeah, so we were. But it was kind of, well, yes, I was also molding alongside you. But I was kind of like, it led to a lot of crazy, 1v3s and clutches and random stuff going on that I was like, well, at least it's fun, even if, you know, macro wise, we've kind of lost the ball a little bit. Yeah, it was definitely a bit more silly rather than like, this is the, it wasn't unbelievable. Yeah, yeah, it was an unbelievable game play. Like both teams are just operating on such a different plane. Like, too drunk. There was some, there was some idiocy on display here. But also, I think one of the, one of the big things that that stood out to me, especially in the series, for T1 is just finding these little gaps in the armor of our RRQ that they can exploit and just doing it perfectly. Like Ezu's top-site lurk on this A side, when he's just tucked into a smoke and then he gets that drop down and he's able to spray and kill three people, moments like that were just insane. And then you get into, I think it was around part of this, but stacks, you know, disrespecting the Molly, just walking through, finding a timing, cleaning up the kill on the full HP member and then just able to kill Kushy, who is down to what like 33 HP. Just being able to choose those moments and find them with like regularity was really, really impressive for T1. 'Cause every time I started seeing them get into that spot, it's like holy shit, they're gonna be good for this. Like they're not gonna beef this, whereas you know, for RRQ, this was a very important thing. - Watching him plant that spike, I'm like an interstitial. - I was, no! They had a Molly and everything. That a smoke for heaven as well still. They plant there and, oh, what a terrible end. But unlucky for our RRQ, T1. T1, go into Master's, go on, take the, - Yeah, I actually, I was rewatching the T1RRQ series today and I kinda disagree with Sliggie a little bit that they simplified it. I think they actually opened up the playbook a little bit in terms of like their macro decisioning, so one thing I was noticed was a lot of misdirection for T1 in terms of who's gonna be the solo player in a one-four split, or are they gonna do like a one-one-three split, especially on their attacker side? Like I saw rounds where they're selling fakes with stacks, they're selling fakes with E-Zoo, they're selling fakes with Buzz, they're selling fakes with Meteor on this map. The opening pistol of a BIS is Meteor dashing into B site that immediately pivoting over in towards Link, getting a kill while three players are going into B and stacks is watching the mid for Lurk. And like I really was actually pretty impressed with the way that they were changing up, like if there is a Lurk, is it one player, is it two players? Like they were really keeping RRQ off balance in a lot of these rounds, like there was that breeze round where Buzz had the op and Munchkin's pushing with them, they're trying to retake over towards A and you know, Munchkin gets killed and Buzz there with an op comes up behind it and kills the, I think it was X-Fero on RRQ unexpectedly, 'cause he's like, it's just Munchkin, but I am self probably. So I think actually they're getting a lot more comfortable in terms of being able to open up the playbook, at least that's kinda how I felt when I was rewashing it today. - Yeah, I mean, I might have missed that, at least from the pile and the breeze, it looked very, it looks like Jemkin has a lot of. - It really has a rush to do anything there. - No, I mean, it's still good to just like making sure the Jemkin can have no success. Like it's not the craziest thing, but it's like shutting down a player that's been carrying a team is like still huge. - Yeah, yeah. - Okay, let's move on to the team that Sliggie's desperate to talk about, I'm sure, which is paper rex. - First, before we go into what actually happened, Sliggie is another train happening. - I mean, surely already, surely it's already going, surely it's still going. - You think the train is on its way? - I mean, that has to be made, it's a lower bracket run. Oh, it's ready, it's ready, it's ready, it's ready. - Okay, surely. But like are you saying this is a full, would you put your career on the line right now to say that paper rex? I'm going to win the Masasante. - I said at the beginning of this year, they win two trophies. - Okay, okay. Well, you put your career on the line, I've just done it for you. - Just kick off counter the trophy, they didn't lift it, but that's another thing to talk about with kick off. The three trophies, the participation trophies were getting here, woke valorant strikes again. - Yeah. (laughing) Anyway, let's talk about that run. They actually played three games in this, since we lasted a platch up. They managed to beat DRX, so let's go and order that games, right? Honestly, so much fun, it's happened. The only thing I remember about the DRX game was being annoyed at DRX, and I can't even remember why I didn't write notes. And so I can't remember why I was annoyed at DRX. - I was. - Was the third map breeze? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - So this was a famous one. - This was when KELMEN was just like turbo fucking them with an outlaw, and then every single game you got. - Oh, he couldn't hit an option. - An off-the-cooking, and an off-shock. - Anybody. And they kept buying it, they kept going for the operator, and they got zero value from it. It was ridiculous, but anytime you had an outlaw, oh, so much impact. He's killing four in the round, and then just operator couldn't buy a kill. - Only time an op has ever been bad on breeze. - It was ridiculous. - Oh, yes, that now all comes flooding back. Yes, I was getting quite annoyed at DRX, 'cause they couldn't hit an off-shock. - That's still quickly about DRX though. - Sorry, Seth, I know. - Well, let's go to you, 'cause you love DRX. So let's see, where are you on this performance from DRX? Like, is this okay? Would you expecting more for them overall in this tournament? - I mean, I predicted them to win this, but it was, I called it pretty 50/50 between them and PaperRex. I think it was really just gonna come down to who, manages to continue to improve a little bit faster. And we started seeing just more consistent performances out of, like Envy, who had some very big struggles early on in kickoff. So it felt like PaperRex were just kind of not pacing them a little bit as far as the growth was concerned. But I'm not at all worried for DRX as far as the future. I think that this is still going to be a team that is contending, they're gonna be, looking at me deeper ones, it'd play off, be able to win the stages here in Pacific and then continue to go and have strong performances internationally. They're a very tough group. You think like group alpha is stacked to hell. So-- - Antipetra. - That could, wasn't even gonna mention it. That could maybe bite them. If everybody is so contentious, which is kind of what I expect. But yeah, I didn't come out of this series and be like, oh man, this team is coach for the season or anything like that. I think that they looked also improved compared to their first outings. - Yeah, yeah. I think they felt pretty good. Like honestly, they should have realistically two knelters, I feel like their haven was nice, man. If you get a better start on one of these halves and then I think you win that, to be honest, so. I came out of this again, just thinking, especially with the changes that they had and the amount of comp changes that they do and different agents and different roles that they play and they're doing it on hard mode again. But I came out of this feeling fine about DRX. It's just PaperRex. PaperRex once they get the demos just become so much better. And this was already like two losses in, well, maybe I think they had to loss some maps as well where they kind of just had the footage so they'd get better at it. I came out of this feeling pretty good about DRX to be honest with you. - I liked the comps and I think I said it on the broadcast that it felt like all division strikers as far as the comp. Like looking at it, but the soul wasn't there yet. Like they were still clearly developing this, the breach way, like, tail type stuff where you have these massive alt combos that you can just completely screw whoever's on this side of the map with them. It felt like the idea is good. It just didn't quite get there in practice yet. And I think that with just, you know, some more time it's gonna be better and better. - I really thought Hermes looked comfortable as hell on the KO. He was in some nasty, leaning into that was great for them. - Yeah, 'cause he started off a little bit rough but it definitely got better as time went on. - And so that's the RX? - He's gonna play a bit of everything, man. He's got a rough role, dude. It's like, "Key, go, man, you're welcome to the team. "His three different roles for you to play. "I'm gonna play all these different agents." - They know you're with them for stage one. Then the KO, he'll be in the spot for the KO. - The KO was already popping off on some maps. But let's move on and I'm gonna come to you here, if I think 'cause I saw you on the DFM amazing jacket that you were wearing. I don't know if you were a fan of you, or if it was a part of the broadcast. - No, that's a commas jacket, actually. - Oh, is it? - Let me borrow it, yeah, for the little bit. - Yeah, I was gonna say, we didn't get those last year. - I tried to steal it, but they weren't, yeah, they wouldn't let me. - Anyway, you were wearing the jacket, you were looking hella fine, but. - Thank you. - DFM would not look in hella fine. - No. - No. - No. - No. - I mean, it's sad Captain Noise is over here. I feel like this came down to mental. I think the T1 series kind of broke them a little bit when they flubbed three pistol rounds that they literally lost to like 1vx clutches to stacks and one of them was Munchkin. I think that kind of started to break them a little bit 'cause I think they came out of that T1 series feeling like they should have at least taken it to three maps and they probably should have, but they didn't. And they made some big mistakes in key moments where they weren't swinging together. They weren't kind of calming properly in those moments. And I think that kind of started to snowball after they lost the first map here against paper X where again, probably feeling like they have a really good chance here on Haven. And then some of the protocols start to break down like nobody swings there. You're just trying to let Yatsika do his thing and then for Sagan kills you. And then Yatsika started to lose confidence very quickly. Like that was another big thing is he really fell apart there especially on split. He had a really rough goal of it. So that really hurts them as kind of like having that extra layer of firepower behind May to challenge some of these bigger name teams. Overall, I think this felt like they ran out of ideas as well. It felt very basic, very simple, especially in the paper X match. I didn't feel like they were employing some of the trickery and kind of interesting tactics. I don't know, you know, what, you know. Now, maybe they need to drill some new ideas into their macro assesses, the IGL, but it just all just came crumbling out and then that split was just tragic. I mean, that 1v2 against something made me just die inside. [laughter] This felt to me like it was just textbook, like we just narrowly lost a very close map and then we can't recover for the second one. And just not having too much time to try to like, you know, turn around, come up with anything new for the split, which they had just played the day prior versus T1. It just felt like, yeah, they had just kind of run out of steam. But I think, you know, similar situation, like I'm still very hopeful for DFM. They very much are kind of like the guiding star of Japanese Valorant at the moment. And this is, I think without a doubt, the strongest roster that the audience ever had. And I think that I don't think that this is going to be a flash in the pan type situation where it's like, oh, well, they're just never going to be able to, you know, make it that close to qualifying for the rest of the year. Like I think that they absolutely could. But when we got to split, it just felt like players were, you know, all honestly a little bit. They just weren't focused in. And I also think they flubbed the map draft real quick against T1. They had a bis open and they didn't pick it. That was. Mm-hmm. They were worried about the triple dualist. [laughter] Well, as long as they could defend it, they probably would have been fine. But anyway, DFM, they're gone. I mean, they finished fifth in this tournament. Obviously, you need to finish top three or four if it's champs to make it. Ape then will DFM make an international this year? Yes. He says we're confident. Very confident. Mm-hmm. I feel like they should have learned a lot from all of this. And I think, you know, actually Seth, you said something on the cast the other day that actually made me think of what happened with this team after this. You mentioned that after EZU lost that one kickoff and he was crying on stage because of how much it hurt him. We saw that with Yatsuka here where he really took this loss, you know, very hard. And so I hope that that kind of gives him, you know, because he showed tons of promise this stage, that it gives him and the team like that confidence that they can get the stuff done. Fifth or best finish ever, right? In Pacific, you know, so this is, it's still trending up, but still trending better. You've still got better players. You got a better coach. Like everything looks like it has the potential to be better. Like you could be a four through a third place team. So I think, yeah, I think I think they could do it. I really do. Okay. I mean, to be fair to you, you've been on this, you've been on this ship for a while. They've been finished on 11 hours. Yeah, I'm like, this is as good as it's been. Coming around the bottom of Chile now, but I think he should, and I think he should go down with the ship, which means that I get the cast with somebody else. No, no, no, you're stuck when they get eliminated. I get to just carry over somebody else. Yeah, maybe it's something that Mary ought to trench. I would say there's so many positives though for this team. It's like the only, the only negative is just the Pacific is stacked. That's it. That's like the only reason why it's, it's the best they've looked. It's the best Japanese team we've probably had since 20, 20, who run? Yeah. Yeah, maybe, maybe some maybe 20, 20, 20. Yeah, I was going to say beginning of 23, this until last one. Yeah, that's basically the last it's been rough. But I would be feeling good, man, firepower is good. Game plans, you've shown enough that you can adapt. They have enough firepower to compete. That's, that's an improvement over previous years, and all the same division, maybe now. So that's, that's a start. You've got to start and then they're pretty good. They're pretty good. Yeah, this is the first time that I've been able to say those words about the FM. Yeah, they're in experience. For consistent time, at least. We've already talked about the final team, the paper X beat. That was our Q, sad for them, unlucky. But paper X managed to be all these three teams. And well, I've gone for Seth. You talked about the RX first. Paper then you talked about your boys, the FM first, sliggy, your boys, everyone's boys, paper X. They managed to make it to another international. What do you think was the driving force behind? Because they had plates and shockers. No, I've been that that was the driving force. So they played some shockers. I think this team has to like go, they have to do the lower bracket run. They're a little, they're like the not a fair comparison, but similar storylines where it's like they have to go to lower bracket like liquid. I think they need to learn from the losses or like losing maps to be like guys. We can't do this because they do so much stuff that isn't fundamentally correct that you only learn unless they get punished. And then you watch it so much that they get away with this so often that like you don't really flag it. I think they had to like lose these won't be freeze. Had to not use the odds. Had to force by the light armors all the time to kind of learn. No guys, we do have to eco here. Oh, it is a free V5. Maybe we shouldn't peak. Like, let's do everything together. So I think it was just, I think it was all the losses they had to go through and just be like, oh yeah, this is this is what we did last year. They didn't work and then just slowly just remember it all, but I guess experience it again. This was a generational performance, by the way, from forsaken. First time ever on an agent dropping 55 is unheard of because I actually unheard of. If it went to five, he definitely just he beats Martin's record from the day before. Like he would have been insane. If he would have broken the record one day at the martyne. Yeah, he was playing like crazy, but pretty much everybody was. I mean, some just immediately stand up, go take his bow and then just come on everybody. He was feeling it in a way that like he has maybe never felt it before, maybe not since, you know, winning Toronto. Um, he was just absolutely on one, but I said it during the cast like this team is more heroes than the god damn justice league. The, the, the, the plays they were able to pull out of their asses at times when they are, you know, backs up against the wall should be losing, should be giving over key advantages to RQ. They just pull another one out. I mean, the envy, the one V three spray transfer for him, all of this stuff that forsaken was dealing, uh, there was just so many wild moments. And. What they really need to do, and I'm sure this is one of the big things that Alex is going to be focusing on is playing fucking anti-eco out cleanly because good God, the number of thrifty surrendered in this not even just in that last map, but in this series was ridiculous. Uh, and that is something that they cannot be doing at Santiago. If they're going to do that, there's going to be teams that are absolutely going to run over them. They shouldn't very be pretty good with it, like something with an outlaw should be having they should be. They should be able to not do a lot of stuff they're doing. I will say one like really big shining light that I saw, um, just, uh, just from like isolating this best of five was the pistols as well. Pistols are really good. They're coming up with brand new pistols that are fucking crazy. Like the pole pistol where they're four pass and walking down mid over towards spawn. That's mental. And then they did something similar where they are. They be split on haven, but like through garage, maybe that was a game before, but dude, I'm watching some of the pistols thinking or someone's taken over their pistols here because we're not doing the normal four one that everyone knows about where RQ just, it's three had spawn and just wait for them. Like they're actually like learning on the fly and it's just, it's just right at the right time. And honestly, I think going to Santiago, not being fast even having those games extra is just way better for them. They're a team that they need to lose to learn this stuff. Yeah, this is the pistol. We've never seen this stuff. If it's smoked behind it and you've got the Vito trip behind it, I always say this was some of the better Vito theory. More so when they started watching at the beginning and I was like, I don't really like the Vito at the moment. And they called the time out and they started being really proactive over towards B and then they would push B put the trip down and then have a TP back and then they were stacking like the right side. Then I was like, okay, like I get it now. Like I can see. Like the first time visually that I could feel when there's just impact in the game like their assistant coach. So I thought this was, I think this was really cool to see. Yeah, it's a lot of, it's a lot of individuals. You know when you have those close games, I always talk about in the close games like, oh, it's one of those. It's so close to everyone's going to think about the round that lost them. We pay for it because it's like, I was going to think about that one round where they made that hero play and won it. So it's pretty cool, man. I'm excited to see them just grow and get better and better. But when there's through the ringer now with this one because like you watch the, they put up the, they had the columns for the NV1 V3 and he's just losing his fucking mind. You can tell that he's just, he's got to be thinking like, how the hell is Alex been doing this for this? He's also impressive like how fast they clean up their maps. Like they'll have a bad map next time they play. It's a good map. You can visibly see what they're putting the majority of their time after each game into. Um, really cool, really cool. And they're willing to change who plays what if need be like, you know, putting for sake and back on the your on breeze works a tree. You know, this change on Pearl was absolutely a great call. I mean, one of the things I noticed was for sake and got tons of value out of the Vito Walt. Like he countered so many all it's like in that last round. He counters the tail wall. Like he's just doing a great job with it. One thing I noticed I was going back and watching their bind is that they have some really cool like attacker side TPs on these like set executes like they'll use like the orbital strike and then they'll TP like right as it's finishing like into a smoke and then like they've got all these cool little setups that they're running on bind when something was playing the Vito even though they didn't win the map. I saw some of them. some really good stuff on the attacker side there. So I assume a lot of that would potentially be even further implemented on here on Pearl as well, despite just a generationally great performance from forsaken. I mean, it was one of the best games I've ever seen. He was on. Yeah. Yeah, that was a cool round actually. These spoke about the the brimble back of B round for the T P for that was yeah, that was really that was so sick. That was cool. I do think if paper X are going to win Santiago, I do think something was maybe a little underwhelming, you know, considering like this, you know, when we were going into champs or whatever, he was like consensus best player in the world. Do you think he's been a little bit quieter? Obviously, it hasn't cost them that much because they still made it overall. But I think if they're going to win Santiago, they might need him, you know, really start. So I'm locking in. Oh, absolutely. It's an it's an opera. It's a scoped manner. Yeah. So should should. So he's yeah, he should be should be near the top. And I do think he steps up a little bit, but it's not anywhere near the levels. We see your expect. That would say, okay, before before we end with Pacific, I'm going to ask you three. A tough question, I think. And that is I want you to rate the order in terms of likelihood to win master Santiago of the three Pacific teams. Obviously, Nongshim are starting in the playoffs. But then you've also got T1 and paper rex who are both quite good. So how would you rank those three teams in terms of likelihood to win Santiago? I'd put T1 first in power really. Wow. I mean, they won. They won a trophy last year when it felt like they had no business doing it. Then the rosters just gotten stronger because now they have munchkin who has lifted a trophy before as well. And you've got meteor who's got two wins. Now look at better than they did going into the like masters. Yeah, like they, it felt like we were kind of getting the development that we saw from them at Bangkok throughout this like kickoff. Because they started off, they looked really rough. They dropped their opening series versus Nongshim. They can't win pistols to save their fucking lives. And then by the end of it, they're winning every single pistol, which was one of the big, you know, curves in that they're trend upward back at Bangkok. It was that they started just winning every single pistol round. So I'd go for them just because the the veterans he is there, they know what it's like to win on a stage like that. So I'd say them and I think that they do look for the moment, just lightly ahead of paper, X for paper X could also fucking show up and go crazy. But it's close, honestly, but I would say T1. You know, no, no, no, no. I don't want to, but I crazy hard questions. It is because I feel like one of these three teams is winning the event. And I'm not convinced which one we would say that we're going to have like next segment. It's going to be many. He's going, yeah, I think PBL are going to great. And then in America, yeah, no one's being. I would, I would probably go T1 paper X, no, Xium that order. Top of the law. Leggy. And you've got to go paper. I mean, you literally said they're winning too. I mean, I've been there in two. It's just I would go paper X. The thing is if I take away T1, T1, I know they can snowball, but I haven't really seen what they would be like if they lose loads of pistols, I would go to paper X, no, Xium. You all. Okay. I'm just saying T1 disbelieve him. I even went to bed going, oh, we know T1 aren't going to be a woke up to a free nail. I was like, oh, okay. And if Chobro here, it was here, of course, he would be raging. I'm sure with his red hair. No, he'd probably, he wouldn't want to curse them or anything. He wouldn't say no on the ship. He'd absolutely be like, oh, he won. He won. Okay. Well, I think I think I think I just bet so with his hair. It'll it'll work for T1. So if Nongshin bombs out once they start playing in the playoff round, he could just work T1 the whole way. Yeah. You think it would be better for Nongshin to play the, to not be first to him and play the others. Would you? Yes. Yes. That is probably my biggest concern for them is that they were because we saw it all last year, just how these, you know, teams that had the advantage of being seated forward just got body, happened to RQ, happened to XLG. Like I, I'm a bit concerned about that for Nongshin, but I still have, I think a decent amount of faith in them being able to come out the gates and be prepared. I mean, one argument against paper rex, by the way, is that their first game is against G2. That should could very well lose. But then again, I'll call out my violence. Why he's a team T1 hater. Look at, look what shirt he's wearing. He thinks T1, I got no chance in their first game against Likki. Yeah, dude, Likki, they, they, they, they, they beat teams with no practice. They're long. That's first. That's, that could be so good. I could feed generations. That's the games will be good. Yeah. Okay. He doesn't have an easy target. Like he did with the Natic. You can't just be like, oh, we just go for media over. Oh, Stax has got old guys. Stax has started a little bit five years. Like, yeah, I guess you could try to go for Stax, but he's been doing all right. He's been playing better. Yeah. He's getting better. He's using his old. Okay. He's got to share if I wouldn't fuck with him. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Well, thank you both, Payton and the Kilios for being here. Me and Sleege going to stay on for EMIA where we're going to bring in a Mr. Mini who could be anywhere in the world at this point, maybe in a different prison. We'll find out and shy away. Joe. Bye. Bye. Goodbye. Oh, he's the paper. Vinty. The paper. Vinty pictures pretty good. Hello, Mini. Hello, Shio. Hello. Hello. Is my mind working? It is very talented. It's loud at this time. You come in confident. It's just it's just me. It's just me. I'm just I'm just more confident in the majority of the chest. He's out of prison. He's got new bed. Got new bed. New bed. New bed. Yeah. Very nice. Oh, my camera moves still. That's an interesting. You see that? Oh, wow. I'm not going to shout. It's a bit weird. It shouldn't be doing that. I don't. Anything new on your anything new that you want to show off in your bedroom from last week. That's his rug. That is the same thing. That's something nothing I would have shoved to you if I bet troops you would be. We're not like that. Okay. I'm not sure if the situation. Okay. Shio, you okay? Yeah, bro. I just went to sleep for like 20,000 hours yesterday. After that whole weekend, the block will turn a stream. Everything didn't survive like so you did for two and RQ. But past that was really fun. Kick off his leg. Glitter with draw right now. I need more games, man. Where am I 17 hours of hour in the day? It's good. I did. I had that yesterday. I was like, oh, it was weird. No games today. That's really weird. We're in my games. I son though on the long days. I don't know if you get this league. Like when you get to like the America's final day, the Pacific first day, like first games, it feels like a different day. Like it feels like an actual day has gone past you and like that. It's not today. So much has happened. It's actually insane. You do look good, dude, but I'm like, I'm like, oh, we saw something similar to that. And I was like, what the hell was it? I was 70 games. I could be. Yeah. Well, good thing that we're here. We've all, you know, many of you are going to have to carry this because apparently we can't remember what happened. Why did we? I didn't work broadcast. So I don't have as many of those. So we're kind of doing the show. I was here to carry. I think. Okay, baby. How do I want everyone on this, on this panel, I'm the one carrying this is going to be crazy. Holy fuck. Let's dive into it. We're going to start with the team that made it through the uppers. BBO made it to their first international partnership. Has they been to one before partnership? I miss remembering international. They they missed out on chairs while like one game. It's massive. Blaze is I think who I'm thinking of, isn't it? Who like had similar players to Berlin? Yeah. So there you go. BBL first internet. I mean, just been quite a few teams that are making their first international for this one. But BBL are one of them. And BBL is funny. I'm looking at the show notes here, many. And I was I was going to talk about BBL the same thing, but I'm going to let you start with this. Because the way BBL play Valorant is. I don't know if I've seen anything like it. Yeah, I mean, I don't I don't want to meme it completely because I don't think it's like every round is insane. But there are there's there's a specific like when I used to talk about Turkish Valorant, but I can't let me just talk about this round. So basically we're going to see you can't see on the mini map, but basically, oh, there we go. Thanks. Thanks. That's fucking production. A and B. Look here. Both sides at once. Both team that they got your own one side of them up and where they was in on the other side of the map. And then at the same time they have complete mid control. Like this is two seconds of the round. They got full B site. They had four way site and they have top middle. I don't know if I've ever seen that before. Even in my rank games, it's not that quick. I've never seen a rank game this quick. So I don't think it's obviously I don't want to like meme it to the point where they do this every round or like, but there's a very specific. They must have a keyword because I was watching Vod today. And they they they know when they're doing this. It's not like they're just randomly doing it. Like it is a structured like we're going to create pressure here. We're going to create pressure here. And I think it's to do a way they too. Like obviously the way they can do that and get out and it's fine. Yeah. But they just have this like they must have a keyword for like we're going to go crazy on two sides of the map at once. Because it's very it feels like paper X but with paper X, I know it's a bit more intuitive with BBR. It feels like they've actually planned that we're going to be really stupid. But like it's not stupid because they planned it and they kind of understand. I was going to work. The only time it's stupid is when. then takes the spike and doesn't know which way to go. And he runs one way and they did it again and that gave it. It's the same against fatality. They took the whole of the left side side, a B site and then just ran all the way back to A for no reason. It was like, wait, one sec. You did have the whole site. So yeah, the funniest thing is that maybe planting the spike is their like biggest weakness. But getting onto sites is apparently like very easy for them. But yeah, no, I just really impressed. Like I think back when me and Buster used to talk about Turkish while in like 2021, we had a joke that they had like the Sync with a Turkish default, which was basically they would go to every choke on the map and shoot you from that choke on a tax site. And it was like kind of funny because like we're getting battled everywhere. But now it's like they're even just executing multiple places at the same time, which would way lay specifically seems kind of interesting to me that you can push and pull at the same time. Like traditionally, you would take one part of the map and fake it and then go the other side of the map with numbers. But it's like they just trust lovers rock and low rock at the same time to do it. And then yeah, there's loads of different things they do. Even lovers, even lovers rock himself. They're using him very well. It's just like a kind of lurking aggressive yoreal all the time where like he's just sent off to go do his thing. What's they create pressure elsewhere? And they can kind of back and forth off of him because he's got a TP. Like it's I think they have really interesting ideas in this meta in in in terms of like the aggressiveness and styles of play that I've never seen before. I think paperbacks are the closest but paperbacks I think again, it's more intuitive than yeah, structured anyway. Yeah, yeah, I'm just being really having a lot of fun watching a lot of like there's ideas that I've thought about in the past that never really had to kind of dig into because it's like the matters that I've coached in were the kind of styles that we had never really meant that we had to do anything like that. And so to me, they're making me actually think about the game differently, which I think is you know, hats off, I guess. Yeah, I did this. I mean, speaking of having fun, this best of five is the best best of five out of the whole weekend. It was so good. Like the fast best of five, the BBR gentleman's. So the first I mean the first three maps of this game are unbelievable. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was so, so fun to watch. I do have like a bit of an issue with some of the EME teams that are going. I feel like all three EME teams that we're sending have a bad map. Yep, that's like my worry at the moment. Liquid, I don't know exactly where it stands, I haven't seen it for a while. They're poem. Obviously, they maybe fixed or like did a fast fix in the others. We got BBR split and then gentle mates. Corrode. Corrode, yeah, that's it. The issue is they also have a band map too. So it's like to me with mates, it's like I would rather go to their bar map of breeze than Corrode because I just watched it and it wasn't very good. Yeah. And then BBR, it's some very simple things to fix on split, but I don't know if they know they watched the ball I just did. I think they actually fix it to be honest. But I think they, I think it's because they have their cipher main on Viper, right? So it doesn't feel natural. They like have to be more proactive and they're not proactive enough. Their defense is, I mean truthfully, the defense of split is that she didn't have to be main control in this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's surprising to me for a team that's so aggressive usually on their defense on split, they don't really understand when or where, you know. Yeah, that one before like honestly, mate should have won this map, I think. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, they don't win that. Mates, mates, mates. Also, mates, mates had a really bad run where they had Waleo in like 11 11. It's like really close deep into the game. They have Waleo and they just push a main with the Waleo and Waleo dies. I'm like, you have a Waleo. Yeah. There's still some little things I'm seeing in the teams from like, okay, there's still some valorant left to be improved here. But ultimately, both teams were perfect for this match. So I'm perfect kind of to watch for this map honestly. When I, when I saw the one before on a base and gentleman's lost this, I was like, oh man, all I could think about was them losing all the best of fives and then just going out and then everyone just click, clipping that one before. It's such a brew one before, we didn't see as beepos right POV. Yeah. Dude, the, the EMEA replay guys are savages, even they didn't have the hard to show it. So great. It must have been crazy, bro. I'm, I'm glad for his sake that he, uh, that they managed to go through. There were some crazy like, like, like, mates really needed a dig deep to handle what maybe I was doing as well. A lot of the times, like, I feel like it's any other team, like, the way mates anchors is really cool, especially on even attack sides, like, when they get on the side, there's like a haven around where like, using cipher one-way cages on top of like, only one way smokes as well. Yeah, it stops beyond. They still almost win a glif has to get like an insane three or four K to win that round. Like the amount of times that like, mates have to come out with like the most bolster strat plus on top of that, like, Martine popping off and someone else like many are glyph doing well too. Like the, the scores are really close because I think of a lot of clutch strong superhero performances from the side of mates. I feel like BBL with their facing like liquid who are trying to do their whole like, uh-huh. Let's just dive as a good for friends or like, you know, um, and any other team that doesn't have that X factor, it's stuff. Yeah, this round, like it was insane. We're going to do a cipher cage. It's like, you know, tripped as well. Like, it's the one way with the trip. And then like, there's more one reason around after that blips thing around in the smokes. And like, they're just kind of, uh, like cutting off so many of your connected like two man takes. It's, it's crazy. And even then it's still hard. Like glif has to land some pretty crazy shots. It's almost every round is like that, which is crazy when you're facing reveal. Now, mini, you have spoken about BBL and their confidence. And now that they're the most confident people, uh, you've ever met. And they essentially have been rewarded for that. And there is no pushback because they have not lost a game yet. And they go through the uppers. So do you think, let's say, you know, they're starting in the playoffs. Let's say they get a really hard game, you know, a hot NRGG2 paper, whoever it is, right? Like you're playing a difficult first game. If they lost that game, would you then worry for them or would you think, because they haven't lost a game? Yeah. Would you be like, would you worry? I'm not, I'm not worried about their, um, attitude, I don't think like their confidence. I would be more worried that they didn't have reps in that point. If that makes sense. Like I think the bracket thing is going to be a bit like rough for them because their first game is going to be a hard game. And probably a style they've never had to play against before because ultimately they've never played against anyone at CDMEA, bar or some champs practice. Um, so I think that I'm more worried on that side. I think I think that at this point, the way that they carry themselves as individuals and as a team, I don't think it's going to be shaken. And I don't think even the biggest stage is going to shake that. Like it just seems too ingrained into them. Um, so yeah, I think absolutely that they could lose that first game. And they could even just lose the second game. But I think that the narrative outside of that, even if that happens, I don't think I would believe that it's like, oh, they lost the first game. Therefore, they're going to lose the second game. And it was just the confidence, whatever. I think that that might just be the fact that it's going to be a really tough tournament. And that's just going to happen sometimes. You know, I don't expect them to go zero to or anything from, you know, playoffs. But yeah, it's funny. I talk about the feeling with styles that people aren't used to. I mean, whoever they play is going to have to deal with the style that, you know, they're probably going to be fair. Everyone is playing pretty much the same style right now to be honest. But there are going to be little things that every region that have a little take something things, you know, so there could be something there. But honestly, yeah, I don't think the stylistic thing is actually as big as what I'm saying, because genuinely, I mean, to be fair, like what you said, like they probably have more of their own style when it comes to this matter. But most teams just play the same thing. And it is, I don't know, I don't know, there's a conversation about how boring it might get soon, but it is a little bit of the same for everyone, I think. Okay, well, I mean, BBL will maybe talk about them a little bit later as well. But let's let's talk about a team that I cannot tell you. I mean, I have nothing against fanatic, you know, I'm perfectly happy for fanatic. I think they're good representatives of the MA. I kind of wanted them to go, but I was rooting so hard for mates exactly for the reason he said, it's like, that if they had lost and then lost again and lost again in this fashion, it would have been brutal. It would have been so brutal. And of course, I mean, that's the thing we didn't even bring this up in that first game against mates. But Martin almost breaks the kill record. I mean, if you count the first three maps of this game, he did break the best of three kill record. If you count that, it's like just three maps. Then he has like two quieter maps. Well, the maps aren't even super close in the first one. So he doesn't end up breaking the kill record, but he does break the EMA record. Then he comes back the next day and breaks it by a mile. I mean, this is unbelievable. I mean, there's a two day performance. Let's start with Martin. This is, what did he eat? What the hell's he been eating, Shio? The same thing in on day one, right? Just more of it. Just some of the stuff, not even like three Ks and whatnot or the multi-gills. Some of the solo frags, like always getting value out of a Yoru ult with like a double shorty. Like the things this guy is doing, it's crazy because some of it is like very composed. Like, oh, not Boomer aim, but like, wow, very smart angles, very like, you know, cerebral, nonefights taken, like, even garage and like just open sides of the map. Then other times, he's the Zuber like Timo do list. Like, how are you thinking of this one niche play that just gets a kill on some of the guys who, if you give it two seconds to shoot you, should be shooting you in the head. Like, this guy is like, you know, you could talk about two-way players and roles. He's like a two-way player on the same role. He only played Yoru the entire time too, right? Onmates, like, didn't get him to play anything else. Like, this feels like comp- I'm just a pound interest man, like this guy's bank account on your who is the richest in the world, like it's crazy. It's money spreading on us, like it's wild. - You reminded me of something else as well, which is almost as unbelievable I think, which is despite getting so many kills and 200 and whatever kills it was, you know, they had two four cases. I mean, it was like, it was unbelievable to have got so many kills so consistently, like just every round I am good for one or two. Like completely throughout the game. I mean, it's, and he didn't get a single A, Z either. So he's breaking the kill record, but just every round having impact. I don't think I've ever seen anything alike. I mean, I haven't. - Is literally the question that you asked, like when you're on board watching, like a foot match somewhere because there's never really that interesting. Like it's, it's, it's, it's, it's gonna be the guy. - It's gonna be the guy. - It's gonna be the guy who gets a 2K every round. Or like the guy who will like always like win a clutch or a good A's. This is the example of the guy who can get a 2K, like every single round or a kill every round. We're seeing it happen in real time and sometimes you lose the best of five. But other times in case of this one, you're the reason the team kind of, you know, could push themselves across the line. And there's the insane performance from Monday day. - He's got, he's got some of the best decision making I've seen just like in the moment. Like his, his Euro, or obviously been practicing like the Euro Astro since 2024. K-Cop that was like the main thing that they actually like took a lot of them a lot of big rounds. So here's the experience of that. But sometimes he's just using it different sides of the Astro for every single time. - Your or two. - So good. Like so, so good. I think he has the best instant decision making. I've seen, and I saw a tweet today. I have no idea who did it. So I'm sorry to like still your point. But if you made a valid point, they're like Fortnite pros, right? And it's like a lot of building like instant decision making. - Me too. - Yeah, my, it might have been male. Yeah, it might have been male. And it's like that, you can see that with him. Like you really can see it where it's just like, this has happened. I've seen this person. My oral is about to end up. I've obviously got a shorty. And then you can even go in the corner where you know that someone's going to go in the corner. You go the other side, then you like jump in and pre-fire the corner or he goes on the other side where they can't get the sound then go instantly through. Like he's, when the astro always up, I think he's got, and he's got a URL. I think it is some of like back to back multiple times some of the best, yeah, some of the best decision making. I think this is the tweet I saw, yeah. It's so, it's so impressive. It's his decision making. It's always like, there's no hesitation. And it's always like really smart. It just looks so comfy. - So looking at this shy, what went wrong for you? - I mean, it's things are going like this. - It's like, it's the video right now. Things are going right sometimes it's time. Sometimes, you know, like you get 11 won on a best and you gotta come back to make champs a five-mapper. It's funny, someone sent me a clip of like me casting over Martin like in like a EUF and CS and I'm like, oh, he has like a blue skin on. It's kind of foreshadowing. And like he's playing around these walls like it is and astro, like hmm. And just kind of crazy. Hey, so a lot of the time just like Fortnite plumber allegations. But this guy was playing against like goats inside that scene too. Like he was playing in prime time Europe. Like it's gotten better. But man, I'm looking at some of these names. I'm like, damn, Martin was kind of ragging back then. This is crazy. And now he's here to do the same shit. It's nice. - I wish we had replays for pro games after like having two back to back like record kind of level games and having a replay to actually analyze things from his POV and see the kind of decisions he's making. But honestly, they should just release it right now and just let us just watch Martin. Like it'd be the perfect way to come. - Yeah, it's the beta test. He has Martin's bots. (laughing) - He has like no consent on this by the way. He has no say. Like they just released the fonts. He's like what? - Sorry, man. - He got that in history. Like surely, surely he'd want it. Like even though like people be like, he might be a bit like, oh, they might steal some stuff. It's like, bro, like you got down in history as like, you know, the vodka, you know? - Yeah, it would be unreal. And it was an unreal performance. Let's talk about mates more generally though. 'Cause obviously it wasn't just Martin. The rest was team. We're in the server and played, I mean, played two unbelievable games. Look, you said the first one, which you know, one of the best best of fives or you know, that you'd seen. But the second one was also a banger. Like the second one was also incredibly close and tight and a lot of fun. So, taught me through both games if you want of like how, what impressed you most about mates outside of Martin. - I mean, I thought they were done on the second one, man. I did like, when we got over towards the split, I was just like, I think they got equaled maybe on their like, after they won the pistol. And I was just like, oh boy, it's so, so done on the third map. You know, I've been there really well. I think stock, so the thing is I actually think stock so and glyph had like, rather tithly lower performances from what we've seen overall to like get them to the stage. We'll see that Mini is just like an absolute rocket. It's insane, like the impact that he can have. But yeah, I'm just impressed, man. I feel like different pistols. They're big pistol winners at the moment as well. Like, I think that's definitely something we have to talk about. Their win rate is very, very high with pistols at the moment. Yeah, I just think Epo, I'm like most impressed with, especially is like that one before rounds could destroy players. Like you're really would. And he's essentially just doing, especially when he's on the neon as well as just doing the fearless, I mean, he's got to make the space for Martin. He's like, we can talk about Martin as much as we want, but like, there has to be someone that clears all of that space for him to be able to do a lot of that. And it is a lot of people. So I think he was like a big standup for me after the first best of five. I just thought it was such a good bounce back because dude, mentally that would double crush that work. And like mentally to think of it like this, like you've lost a gut wrenching best of five. Next day you play against fanatic, like the EMEA Kings of all time. You start 2-0 down. You start 2-0 down. And then you reverse sweep fanatic. I mean, that is like, poetic, like, when last year everything was about that mental game and about how bad it was. And then this year it's like one series dying. And then you go into the second beat, be it a 5-0, your 2-0 down. And like, you know down after losing OT on Coroad as well. And you're like-- - Oh, that was. And they went like 4-2 down already on a split. And it just looked like for Nike, we're gonna do split things. And it was gonna go, you know, 3-0 or something. Like I think that like, you have to give so much credit to the leadership. That also I think is the obvious one here. In terms of like keeping the troops rallied. And, you know, he-- I think I said it before. Like I wrote down on my notes before this split. And I had that mates as my diet course team. And like one of the big things was just that. So like, he, I think, was underrated completely as a leader coming into this year. Like he suits the vibe completely. And this meta suits him in terms of like, he's not about push and pull and doing five layer defaults is about being direct and very good. And he knows how to be direct. And also that next little layer of like doing a little fake or doing a little bit of an opener and then grouping up and going, like he's really good at that stuff. So I think that a lot of credit goes to him. And also the coaching staff like Kandi Kandi is an assistant coach. He's been around in EMEA for like five years grinding. Like this guy doesn't have valorant. And like every time he seems to be like, hoppin' off and has like lots to say it seems. Like, I don't know what he's saying, but it seems like it's working quite well. And Paco I believe is the head coach. I don't know him too much about him, but like KC Blue last year were looking good. Like the academy team for KC, like he was doing good there. So I think there's a lot of praise. The leadership of rule has to be had as well as obviously individuals. They have like a lot going for them right now. - Yeah, so yeah. - You reminded me of Starkso. There was a time when I was, I just I think signed for a send. And a send at that point like made a roster move. And so Starkso became the IGL for like a brief period of time. And I remember like, you remember how a send, you know, used to play bind, but used to be really good at bind. And Starkso was IGLing in this game and they were just running it down hooker every round pretty much. And I remember feeling like, what on earth is going on? Like this guy, this guy's not an IGL, you can't do this. And so to see him now from like my first experience of Starkso IGL and you know, maybe the meta has come to him a little bit as well. But like just to see it, to see it go well. And it was so, like you saw with it. I think there was multiple examples. Callin' who was a good one for Fury when they won as well. Like it really matters. You know, like these guys, like you could see that how much it actually meant to them in these games. And also, I'll say like what made some of these best of fives I would say so good as well. Was one of the crowds in both of the fanatic, of the BBL and mates games. Like the crowds were amazing in EME. I thought with the chance and people popping off. And the players would, I mean it felt personal at times. Like the players were popping off at each other. Like and fanatic, like I thought it was a bit strange. I don't think I'd ever seen like, both to like, like he was really screaming as opponents. Like and I thought that was quite interesting as well because you might, you think of both the dancing, but you don't think of him necessarily, you know, telling, you know, like with more anger than usual. No, he's doing it kind of, I'm, I'm boi, I'm boi, you know. Oh my god. But this was like, no, like, sit down then. Go on, you know, he's trying to flex and like, you know, do his little thing. It's like, he's threatening. It's the least threatening thing of all time. Mr. Pintastic, W, what are you talking about? It's like a fridge. But dude, that's what he does. It's, it's amazing because I think that came over. But my, my head can't afford is that like that mates, BBL games, because there's so much history between like, starts so versus like, you know, off and like TLA and stuff from like the offices and the extension, first of all, glad that that's coming to Santiago because we have a chance for like, somehow, got it some way. Yeah. Oh my god. It'd be so sick. The mates crowd in general too, like they can take over arenas and like it's so cool to see like another big force coming through because like, sometimes you need a fanatic in a grand final. Get that effect. You combined those two in this game. It was amazing. And then on top of all of it, I think mates got really like angered themselves and hyped up against BBL. That like they took that energy. the fanatic in the beginning, and fanatic, who the fuck are these guys? We're gonna get fucking angry through this. And now it's just like a warrant stuff type of situation going on. Well, we'll talk about it later for the TL stuff, because the Nax Beach was hilarious. But I feel like just usually in EMEA, there's a bit more respect and the ha-hanus and things might be a bit campy. But this, every single series was, I just felt like, personal, we're trying to psychoanalyze, we're running like chemical warfare mentally, if it was a thing, if that was possible, like doing whatever you can to get the edge, it was wild. Yeah, it's cool that we have Jensomane's, just a crowd, man. The crowds, they bring a lot of viewers for the, kind of the storylines as well, they're just so sick to see them. This was the most, this is actually the first time in EMEA, where I've been like, man, the crowds, crowds good right now. This is nice, like fill you back and forth, just two kind of guys giving it. So I like it. My chat was missing. My chat was meaming a lot, then like, oh, times like these are making Miss Koi. I was like, oh, I was going to say, I was like, I'm so happy that Nates is so good. I don't see any of that, like few. Like, you can't say anything about this decision really. Nates are both like, on both levels, like the quality of game play is very high, and also the fact that like they got the fan base there, and like the arena feels like, like I think I was there for some of the games that were just like even on the games the week before, I think that like the fans were there and all chatting and stuff. So it's some nice to see, you know. It's dangerous still right now because like online things are tense between mates and BBL. I mean, like a tweet about like, like, mates, wow, they're like, kind of the people's champs almost because like champions are the ones that are in first place. And then the people's champs are like, oh, who are like, you know, the crowd favorite, like the ones making the best games? I didn't say BBL at all. And then the comments, there's just like BBL fans like, fuck this guy. He likes mates. BBL are the true champions. There's no way. All right, how are you here? First of all, don't follow me. Plus, I didn't mention BBL. These guys are typing in mates just looking for any positive real person and just coming in as a brigade, man. It's crazy. But the Turkish clip farmers are out there. Like anytime I say anything about BBL or for anyone that like, positive or negative, immediately there's a tweet translated in Turkish with the worst foot of me ever and then just like, [LAUGHTER] That's so amazing. If it's a good tweet, if it's a nice one, because I'm usually quite positive about the Turkish teams. I've always had a soft spot. Like our region is better because of these players and because of this country. Like, after league is literally Turkish right now. And so it's hard for me to not be positive. So most of the times it is a nicer picture, but sometimes you know, I might-- Oh, that's so funny. I think you need to find these pictures. Find like, if many make you point you put up good mini. And if many make you point you don't like that. It's going to be mostly good. I'm mostly joking. It's mostly good because I'm usually quite positive. So I think there's a pretty good relationship there. But I think if Shayo might have to look at it as well, I'm saying. Yeah. I worked out so nice when I roasted foot. Like I already said that, but it's where people's champ. If I'm right here next episode, you know what? I'm right up next. [LAUGHTER] OK. OK. Well, gentle mates, let's just-- I mean, let's just quickly. I know. We'll talk about this. I'm sure next week. Whatever. Vibe check. First game against EDG. Where's the vibe at Femates going into that one? You know the one where Hulk is like, you know, that I'm always angry. And he just hits that big ass thing that's flying in. That big ass thing is EDG, bro. Like, oh, I'm con-con-con. Find through the air. Boom. Done. I'm going to say 2-0. Easily. It's these guys are insane right now. [LAUGHTER] OK. They've always been angry, man. You think they're-- I love stars though. Fortnite, Fortnite, Fortnite. I'm not going to stream right now. I'm going to save it, but Holy shit. I see it as it goes crazy. I'm going to act myself a little bit. I haven't watched China until we-- You don't need it, man. You don't need to. Just say they're going to Hulk smash them. I mean, yeah, sure. But I was just interested where you see them lining. Like, at least all gamers' team, people that's members about how good-- the EDG went through lower bracket and scraped through. Like, how good are they? I think out of all of the third seed, this is what you want to ensure. Like, out of all of the third seed, surely this is the best you could have gone. Again, I haven't watched either. But-- I watched them. You could have got paper ex energy or EDG. I'll take my chance to be sure. Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure. Yeah. There's a big compositional issue happening in China right now. Like, Ross was like DRG just in general. I think people just trying to find their way or people trying to strange things and sticking old stuff and not really assimilating to the same type of stuff that EME and America's on right now. And in those moments, EDG is still scraping by. So I feel like the games, the Astro rim stuff, on a bus. And some more things were like, you know, I have some German postplant and the approach that these teams are coming with, how mates are in equivalents of being able to play against fanatic. And they're slow style and BBL and some of their faster and slower rounds. A lot of the times, I feel like China relies on some of those thrifties and tripping up the competition when it comes to how good they can be. And you're not ready for that. You might not have the best aunties. I feel like as a region right now, compositionally, they're behind mates, I think are doing some amazing things. You might not be a fan of the brim stuff with Astro. You might prefer something else, but I really like that combination. I feel like it's just from a raw game three standpoint. There's already a gap. But the last time I said there was a gap, it was between Furia and G2. And here we are with Furia. And I mean, like again, with M maybe you're in Furia. So I think in terms of, I mean, that's what we didn't really, I think we picked up on it before, as like you were saying that like China mates have some of the better reads. Like they thought that they play Astro as much they do. And I think they prefer fade over so unallotly instances. And then they have generally, like I think Euroway is the obvious one for most maps. And they don't do that every month, but they have the Euro on my team. Like I think in terms of like, it's kind of hard to, like everyone's been double drew it. So it's hard to e-cat that advantage compositionally. But I think they do e-cat. So I agree with that. I just don't think that it's going to be the narrative. Unfortunately, at this tournament. But I mean, we've talked about other teams, like Nongshin, for instance, they just play, they just lean heavy on neon. It works for them. But I think mates are like the team where the ideal perfect meta suits what they've got as well. Like that is probably what is the strongest thing, but it also suits exactly who they've got in their team. And if you're wondering about EDG, I mean, one of the funniest maps I watched during this entire kickoff was them picking bind into Tai Lu. Sluggy, you're going to love that. Yeah, with that with the harbor Phoenix, the harbor Phoenix. Oh, well, the harbor, I think is buffed. So maybe this is that time, but they picked this map. They'd already played this map in one a game, but I watched this game. And like, they played the same comp. And yeah, it didn't go well. They ended up winning this game though. But I just thought this game was fun. Yeah, I went back to watch it. They just prepping, man. They knew the harbor buff was coming in. They got it down. I think both of these teams ban the same map as well. So I'm going to be interested to see if with the time off, if any of them just go and pick it, because it's been they both palm of the freeze. I think general mates need to prioritize. Like I think corrode is one of the areas. I think EMEA are not very good at corrode personally. And I think it makes a better at parol than any other team. What I'm saying is-- Bebe, I'm a bit better. OK, I'd skip that for a bit. It was so long I just wanted to skip that one. I just wanted to skip that one. So you can watch any of the best of fives that mate played then, I suppose. No, I watch mates best of fives. I watch that one. Oh, they went too long for you? I haven't finished the second one yet. Honestly, I wasn't on broadcast this week. So I was watching-- I basically did the second one on Amazon. Anytime I wasn't watching long enough, I was focused too much on TFT. I say, "Anders, give me the TL, the other map." And he'd say, "And then any take today I have is probably just Anders' take from that process." I am a very smart person when it comes to looking smart. Ritiancy. So for your game plans. You have to go to the vibes that Tom TFT has well, the last thing I want to just put out in the ethos is I think I'm going to do all my preads this year on who has the shortest plane flight to Santiago. Between-- Mace is good. And EDG, who actually has the shorter plane flight? Can we get a quant on that? Is there like a quant in the business that-- Yeah, is it because the altitude thing-- There you go there. The altitude theory is another one. I mean, that's oxygen levels, and I've got to do some humans' body study. I'm like, blood, glucose and whatnot. But damn, bro. I was trying to explain it to someone who said it in my chat, like, is altitude going to be an issue? Genuinely asking my opinion, like as if it was a serious thing. And I was like, "Lafth." But then I was like, "There is this thing in UFC where there's a fight," I called, "Cain Velasquez," who he basically would win every fight. But he lost the fight in high altitude. And then people started calling him "C-level Cane," because every time he fought on C-level, he would just bang everyone out. And so I do like the idea that this event, there might be someone who just can't adjust the altitude. We go like, "People just space it out." How high is that, yo? Because I know in football, in Bolivia, when they play in Bolit, like the Bolivian national team stadium is like, fucking up there. And it's like really high altitude. I don't know what Santiago is, but like, maybe Masters-- The Masters of High Fathers is gonna fucking pop off. There's a game for people who are like, "You know, it's completely just air pressure." Is it air pressure or poison? I don't even know what it is, but that'd be crazy. It's a thing to consider, though. You never know. Okay. Rising Dasts, maybe. EDG are like lower than the middle of my higher desk. Why if you can't-- They're like leaning back and down. Trying to get as low as they can. Anyway, let's move on from mates. Let's talk about fanatic. We're gonna talk about fanatic before we get to liquid, so we're gonna be on a bit of a downer here for a second. Many I always go to you first whenever we talk about fanatic. So I'm gonna stick with that plan and Talk about fanatic who lost very close game as we saw to mates just there Yeah, and then loss a three oh and I think most people would have said hates fanatic They're not gonna suffer from you know the problems that other teams have had were playing back back to back best of five You know that they're experienced all that and you lose three out of liquids. So what what went so wrong for them? I think so Yeah, I'm not sure in terms of like the gentleman's game like exactly again like I didn't fall reviews one It wasn't like a deep one, but like the the the lower bracket one. I'm not as Surprised by an weird way like I do think that For some reason when I think about fanatic it's also endurance I always think that because they put so much hard work in I Feel like they're more susceptible and because the expectations are so high They are naturally more susceptible to this kind of thing I think it's better to be the team that isn't expected or better to be the team that doesn't actually put in as much work And just turns up on the day and just shoots and like to be honest like I talking about I have more to say about that lower bracket game where like Equip basically play some new stuff and you know they're gonna grow aggressive and for that I just look like they didn't handle some basic aggression and That's probably the perfect time to pack in that kind of strategy when it comes from liquid because it's like Then I could probably weren't on it in terms of like the discipline the kind of like Air pit tie ups, you know, they wouldn't do well at Santiago with that altitude is what I'm saying So yeah, I feel kind of like is vilified the right word Justified in the some of my analysis on Deskrot. It's like okay for an hour when in games, but I still want to see alpha On other stuff. I know he's still had good games. I'm gonna still stick to my guns that I still think they're not playing the stuff that would be You know optimal. I think alpha at this point is like I was saying it on stream the day where it's like with chamber matter happened I went to dark hours. I look you've carried the fuck out of us for the past year and a half like you get to choose you tell me what you think is best Like you play chamber or raise what you want to do and he said you want to play chamber I think at this point for alpha is kind of the same just like he's He's kind of deserves I think at this point like crons left like you've got alpha left is the longest and a member who's carried you for the last four years or three years or whatever I think I would ask him like what what he wants to do I think as well when people are coming up with game plans where they're purposely dodging you like at least if you're gonna do that you can at least go aggro take a lot of space so that you are a sight can be Maybe a little bit stronger than it was even though a lot of times when I watch liquid They were just hitting the three persons say anyway But I think like having him as a chamberman see that he can just hold one spot and then you can have like basically four over towards a strong side I do agree. I think Combswise they were I mean they were little they did pivot a little bit from the double joules like add in Is in like from their single joules to a double joules Like they started getting that but I don't think they did the full pivot. I think um Yeah, I kind of agree it cost them. I'm not I'm not super sold on the vise and and I just think after this first map They were just so tilted like I don't know how alpha wouldn't be tilted I don't know too much about him But I at least from the cams that I saw playing a defense half where you have to retake eight rounds and a row Yeah, what you meant to do. There's a good example of this. I think I think I think it's round 29 on a bus So this is this is a map again This is when Alpha is already dropping 30 or whatever and if you can get that roundup to just show because again liquid this whole game Basically did just go wouldn't we're gonna let anyone else be us but not him and if you just show the map So you can see that like They haven't exact his sight in the first couple seconds. Look at he's already fully rotating Straight away like straight away and then if you show the actual game now He just runs all the way and gets he gets a couple kills. He was just so fed up. I was pissed Like he literally just instantly. Here's my cell bombie. I know they're not going to be I'm running all the way across the other map straight away as soon as I haven't heard noise in the first second It was unbelievable how like pissed off he was getting there's actually a moment if you go back to the star of the round Good show the map. There's a moment where like they're a little unsure of like exactly what's going on And I think it's kayaks starts rotating back to mid and Alpha's already fully pushing B like he's already fully going Be even though like clearly the team as a whole doesn't know what's fully got she she's going back to spawn there Kaisa. Oh no, they all gonna be Alpha's already halfway there. He's already made the choice. I mean, it's just like He was it was clearly so annoyed and you would be annoyed because he's constantly in 1v4's 1v3's if they were losing around Why didn't they just throw us like okay, I'm going strategy, which is probably what I was probably just throwing The ruins on both sides. Yeah, yeah, I know I can't believe they don't do that. They don't do that on this map walker road It's really meant it doesn't really make sense. Alpha's setup. It was always on B apart from the pistol on this game Yeah, and on the crowder having the same the same questions couldn't be asked on on both of the vice maps It's just like first of all Where's the time out to change anything and second of all why do we not just have a protocol where The most effective vice out of spoof all the north was having phones on either side anyway We probably should have that or at least have some rounds way where we throw that so it feels it feels so weird But I mean it was nicely dumb from liquid Yeah, I just felt like there's no adaptions here. I just felt like when I was watching fanatic everyone's just till it Yeah, it did feel like that then because from the start of the game like you know liquid words just just like Like we're playing an aggressive comp and we're just gonna run at you and Normally you would think like fanatic and their style would be able to you know count that pretty easily But they couldn't for whatever reason and that from the rest of the game. It was like Yeah, just a little a little sloppy from From their side, I suppose and I think this was a big surprise, you know, this was I think oh I don't know what the percentage would have been but had we been predicting this game on plan chat I reckon it might have been a guarantee maybe many you were you had some doubts but I definitely would have got it this like I think I'm Was very low on liquid honestly like I think that they almost lost to off to start that run so I was like I don't know like I I think that the neon like I think it sums up really that they swapped I know this more team liquid, but they they swapped their comps and never practice with it and can beat you is like A worrying sign Honestly like I know we've been really positive so far, but like there is a little bit of worries for me about AMA if like that's the kind of Calibrate site where like we just want comps and win you know like I'm so worried for AMA They're not good at like two maps. Yeah, go going That gets counteracted by one net speech Yeah, yeah, what we what AMA need is they just need to bring nets in for mates and BBL before their games Just getting to say whatever he's gonna say and apparently you'll just It doesn't matter. You don't need practice There's also I mean I ask all of you a question many when it comes to these you know agents They're in these comps at the moment neon waylay your room. Would you say they have a lot of projectiles like like brim as well sky Projectiles like projectile based style Yes, no, yes, no, yes, I gotta I'm gonna say yes is that the answer? C.M.B. C.M.B. You just you just pointed out with that many map that alpha really wanted to hit those rotates that they're avoiding him Would you say rotating fast is really important in this meta like if you're a central player? Get on with your spiel. I'm not into things. Get on with it. At the very last thing. That's what the board three minutes in the Turkish teams the Turkish players They love aiming a lot and sometimes even if alpha makes it onto a site there's flashes mollies Armageddon's and iolations man. Is that a problem for someone that wants to aim slugging? Yeah, I could be Oh, here's the agent veto man. Just play the veto have to set up don't think you have to tilt yourself putting your thorns down Anyways, you know why he's not lining up bones cross map because it's a look in the sky and then look at god And ask why why am I in the situation seven rounds on row retake? What is going on? Forget that throw the interceptor up with the trip down TP cross the map that you team play with it. Oh, oh They're the wrote that they're avoiding you can avoid these cross cuts can avoid this fade I'm about to give you on this next site when I'm there before you in it Hey, the veto we're all talking about it when this agent came out crawls under the last veto Wait, who's the other guy on phonetic? Oh, yeah, I'll fair. He could also play veto if you wanted to one out There's only alpha rock the veto man like I feel like you'd be so good on it in situations for this is one But I'm gonna I'm gonna hock second to agree. I think the playing vice there is better the thorns cross map is a better like the your argument I think is on the tp's it's a lot of value. I'd prefer the vice thorns. Yeah, let's add them up the way that most people are playing Vita right now is extremely bunkered and I think that we're starting to see last week the way that paper X G2 and then a little bit vitality but we'll get some later hopefully because This is a confining as well They they play aggressively they play the intercept aggressively this passive intercept usage I would just rather play veto advice at that point I'd rather just have the ball have the flash and have the thorns Um, I think Vita just been playing very poorly, but this last week just honestly like Hopefully you get to see it with vitality because they do it good, but we'll say do it the worst possible at the same time um Because you can't you can't play aggressive by yourself basically, but yeah, I think the solution is just The newest alpha-judice throw alpha. Oh, I would go alpha chamber. I think for sure. I do Yeah, I do think if they had done the veto it would have just looked like uh like how they played the vice or just on one site Like oh, this is how you play a Sentinel like I wouldn't have they would have the pass free man veto free man reactive talent Witting in the middle of spawn and in bind to see what sites hitting hit tp of that site veto Which is very valuable which has its own problems I've left some weird ass fucking head fantasy of veto just being anywhere on the map possible and alpha you're running it I wanted to mention shyo has uh done this happened to uh sap to blend with vice as well when vice came out where he just Spams it in ranked a bunch learns all the good selves and then watches programs where they don't do those setups and then gets annoyed that they're playing their agent badly. I've honestly got shy of Bren because Bren had a better read on vice than almost any pro team did for the first six months. Like in that first shot with vice, I said to Bren, I was like, Bren, look, like what are you seeing at how you see it? He's like, I asked him, I was like, are you seeing like, extremity control and like deeper of rules and stuff. He's like, yeah, absolutely. You need to put the rules more. You don't put it on the site as much. You put it aggressively. It wasn't until G2 and Anders were like doing aggressive vice rules like how Vito is now doing aggressive stuff a little bit. Like that is how, yeah. But honestly, yeah, Vito I think has vice has more bunkered capabilities than. I'm happy. Man, but I still have yet to see a team put an interceptor on one site and ult on the other and have that like with a double op setup or just a judge op setup where it says it's unbreakable. How do you, how do you approach that? I mean, there's so many defensive. Anyways, complete tension. CMV. Yeah. Let's get back on track. Let's talk about team liquids. Liggies were in the shirt. He's feeling good. Somehow they've managed to do it again. Somehow, some way we again just thought there's no fucking way they're going to do anything here. I remember we might have been last episode, might have been the episode before. It was like the early lower rounds and Kurt has the question like, oh, which of these lower teams is going to go on a run? I were like, all these fucking lower teams, me and me are dog shit. No one's going to do fucking shit. And then liquid here they are. They do go on a run and they managed to make it all the way to Master Santiago. Slicky, you work for team liquid. When did you actually start to believe that they would actually do this? When I started believing or in the fanatic game. So it took me a while. It took me a while. It took me a while. No, no, no. When I started having belief, I started having belief, but then my main thing was against fanatic. They're going to lose power if it's there. They're going to lose corrods. And then I thought they were best. Obviously they got a little bit better, but I kind of thought they were going to lose that as well. But as soon as I saw the change of comp on corrode, I started believing. So I did start believing at the beginning of the best of five. That makes you feel any better. Because I would have given them a 10% if they'd done their normal comp. But as soon as I saw the change of comp, I was like, oh, okay, especially as a sage, first time going against it, you can switch it up so much. And then you just have sage on one side, the labor on the other. You can see a theory just with the actual comp itself. And then when you started to watch them on attack, I was like, oh shit, they're cooking. They're actually cooking. They're really gone for it. And I think this is just another backup that naps on the coaches as a core. There's a three core and obviously cameras in there as well. Just so strong. They're so, so strong, proven different teams, different matters. These two coaches and that's idealing as well. Just for sure proven up there with the best. Look what they're doing. They want two maps here. And at the end of it, they're saying that they had no practice. Just pure theory on the two maps that they thought they were like, they realized like I thought that they were going to lose. They just do new theory. And the whole team's believing just in the new theory, not even playing a prank. It's like, I think that's unheard of. I really do. I think this is like a generational game. I think this is one of the most fun best of fives I've ever watched from like a nerd POV. And it's crazy that it's a free now. And this first map was just the sickest to watch. I think having this first map is so sick to watch. It's such an underrated map. It really is because it's just, it's like coach, coach, individuals and theory. That's it. That's all it is. It's just like pure prep event. And the game plan is just so, so good and execute so, so well. I think I've gone forward that they continue to abuse the way they neon, but then round out the compositions to be like, I think that the sage was like the amatic gimmick value they got was really high and really good. And like, obviously this game plan of just rushing defense and just catching a team of God isn't going to fully work it since the hour ago. So I hope that they kind of round it out now to, you know, do we see the way they're in neon for them? It's like really, really strong. It makes a perfect sense. Now let's like round it out in the back pocket. If we get a map at Santiago that sucks, we go gimmick again and do something. Because yeah, like absolutely like the sage wall, I think it was sage wall like on the round. I don't remember what round it was a pistol. But like they just sage walled on. I got a name in. They mean I think. Oh, yes. Yeah, I grow a over the top to see. Yeah. And they just immediately got a pick. It was like, okay, well, they don't cook it already. They really got the value from sage on a pistol round. Like, and the wall was good itself. But then you get the kill. Like, yeah. Yeah, I have to echo though, absolutely like the coaching stuff. Like I was really trying to set the standards on the desk that like, I don't expect this team liquid teams to be as good as last year. Like and I remember talking to Tom about Tom was like, yeah, but isn't that what we said about liquid every year? It's like, yeah, but I think it's like, I have to be real like I think that if they do this, like we have to give them the credit that they've done it with a more difficult roster to do it with in my opinion. Like I think that last year they had more vocal players and probably players with higher ceilings in terms of like tracks and you go, I mean, key code for fact, like, and yeah, they've done it again. They've qualified to a global. This time around is probably going to be that least expectations in terms of like doing well at that global. And I know that historically, there's their global events haven't been amazing, but I think this time around and two we will be there. I think it's like, it's tough because like obviously they're going to have that in the back of their heads, I guess, but like I don't think they're expected to do what the other team was expected. Like they didn't win this. They kind of cruised the lower bracket five games like they're kind of in a, they should just be having fun at Santiago and seeing how far they can go kind of thing. Yeah, I can get them bored of that. I feel like when every team is playing the same, you know, system and composition at the moment, like we're not the system, but at least these columns with the dive, like it's pretty easy to latch onto and having that type of fun. And the biggest difference, I think, on this stage in Santiago will be, I think, teams mentals more importantly than like the crazy amount of prep. I feel like just in the way the meta is at the moment, unless there's like some crazy Harvard tech, there's something you don't know about, you know, some agent compositions or. Get go buff. Oh, yeah, dude, the get go Molly thing is crazy, by the way, like the fact you just start with a lineup, have a second Molly available and maybe just even a third because it's a 20 second cooldown, like what? It's not going to be available for Santiago. I don't know. The Harvard one should be at the top, probably well. Yeah, it's I would get messy. Yeah, that would get messy. That that that speech, like if you guys have seen the key in peel sketch of like two, you mentioned the UFC, you know, the the the weight, the air thing, right? But there's another one where they're like, you know, the pre press conferences is like one guy was like, I'm going knock him out round one. Is that a be a fast fight? You go to the next guy. God has chosen me for this fight. My body is the instrument and my enemy is the canvas. It's like folks are like guys, we got this and that's like I won his last five years of valor. To be questioned, I want this guy to go to sleep today thinking, why do I choose to do what I do during the day and wings like, okay. Do you want to see what I have it? Yeah, let's go. Yeah, let's get up and then speak. The only thing I want. I want from us for this game. I was watching the game yesterday and every time they struggle. I see the poster face nothing fully cool. I want to see today, even worse. I want to see how we nothing grand up down and this guy thinks why he plays Valorant. I want to see I want to see his face. So nothing he thinks that I don't even know why I started that. Let him nothing forget about five years he played the game. So he will remember that day, okay. Oh, I was talking to the team, the quiz old manager about it because I were watching and I remember talking to him and I'm being like, the only way you can make that speech I think is if you've been in that position. Like that's can only do that speech because he's been there. Like I've been there too where you're like, why the fuck do I even do this at all? And you know that feeling where you just feel completely nihilistic about what you're doing completely. And so like it's kind of nice. Like it's the poetic thing for me is that like it's come from someone who's been in that place and thought those things and able to grasp onto it and use that against like his opponent. And so like, I think that detail was like really nice to see. It's like I do also think it's just the best one he's done by far. Like I think usually his speech is like he's trying and he's like trying to get there and like sometimes I'm like, yeah. But like I think like that's like perfect. Like the content of that one was like, if he can keep getting that level of content for them, then they'll just fucking move in every game. That's just. It's awesome how he like, dude, there was like a later on he had like a 1v1 or something or he killed bolster and he's like, there he's like, ah, I'm not going to face you. I'm not going to let what happened on fracture happen again. And I was like, bro, there's a fracture. And then my poor friend is like a year ago. And I think this is what's the name of Grudge from a year ago. Aemum was saying it became a meme in the team that they would meme on him for losing the 1v1 against bolster. Okay. Yeah. So it's like always like it's become a thing, you know. Wow. That's crazy. But it's just like to like add on to all of this. Yeah, is this the sky all round? Dude, look at this. So EEG 2023 used to have a protocol of sky and you go over towards Mid-Over, towards Lotus and you would follow the one because that's the weak side. They're avoiding Alpha so much double seeker goes over towards the strong side and they're like, yeah, there we go. And we know where bolster is. We go in for him and it was just so funny that every single time they're just going for the weak side, they're going for the strong side even and they're just hunting him down. No, it is the weak side because Alpha wasn't there. I mean, yeah, that's essentially their theory. So I just thought this was like the best round to just kind of showcase it just following the double and then being like, we know where he is. Let's go for him and just dodging Alpha for the seven rounds in a row is insane. And again, just I don't think I don't know many you've come from a team. Would you ever would you ever feel confident enough to change your comp on a map and and just play it about any practice, just pure theory. Would you have a team that would not and lower bracket final? - Yeah, yeah. I'd have to be so confident that we're so shit. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Like with the other way, right? It wouldn't be that like, yeah, I'm confident the boys can do this, yeah, we're way layin' on is gonna be great. It's gonna be like, no, we're so bad. - We're so bad. - We're so bad. - Yeah, this is not only where we're in them. - Yeah, pretty much. - It was so sick. And then someone else wanna speak about the best stuff 'cause over time, in a base was just the sickest thing ever is all man. They're just so confident, bro. Like the Nats outlaw. - Yes, dude, dude. - I think like, I saw it happen. I'm like, why does Nats even have an outlaw? And then, you know, clicking the mental cause went in that, oh yeah, op can't have armor. And then like instantly swings in that moment, one shot to the, I think it was a double head shot. So it kills the op guy anyway. - But he shot into head shot. - Well, body shot in a head shot. And then he gets a second and then T and V's arguing with me over the fact that he's like, "No, I need to see the bat in every situation." He could have done that with a martial tool and had a rifle later. I'm like, no, no, he couldn't know. Like, you don't get the second shot off last enough. - I wasn't arguing in this situation. This was fucking crazy. I was just bringing up. - No, no, no, no, it's just 'cause I'm on it. No, no, no, no. The tech, anti-optech and OT, by a rifle lights in a marshal. And you kill, kill the opera and then just go pick up your rifle. I mean, it was a matter to be negative because I was watching Under Stream. And under this could be very critical. But smart. Was it worth buying yet? The whatever buying and up. I mean, just in case they're gonna pick you. Well, like four of the players is gonna shoot, but it probably should be head shot out. You know, you know, but that's how confident these is the, the opposite towards middle, like if you know where the op is, I think it's better to buy an outlaw. And the outlaw wins against the op because it scopes faster and moves faster per game rules. Oh, my gosh. I was going to try to score that one. It's a joy in that moment. I'm like, I swear to God, this gun feels like it's faster all the time when I said, that's what I was thinking was maybe it was because the like I, I, I, I would, I would could see it on that ground. I was like, doesn't it feel nicer to buy the outlaw in that situation? But yeah, so, so yeah. Uh, yeah, Anders can, uh, Anders could be me in a district, I'll be, I'll be nice on patch. The double caveat too is that like say things go wrong and like he misses or no one's made by the time he gets to site again, like there's probably a gun for him to pick up. And he has four armor. If there's like enough time, but it's a good gun in by runs and give a fuck. It puts people down to 10 HP. The chances of someone's taken some chip damage at one point. If you're late, there is, right? It's sort of good, dude. I'm seeing people have good value from the end by runs. I really am. I think it's broken gun. But this was just also insanely bauzy to do it. Like this, this is insane. I think it's the head shot. Like the head shot is like, yeah, no, it's insane. It's you can't get a better clip to warrant. No, like you really can't. This team won in a sense, I'll go to like mental wise. It's going to be sick because like if you're ever put in this type of situation again, where like, you know, uh, you're facing like impossible odds. If you're at home like to relate to it, like to be able to get like, like rookies on the roster, people who are like in the situation and grand finals on to the same boat and having fun. It's like when you're facing that smurfing ranked or like a cheater and like, you're trying to make everyone focus on just the one objective, which is in this, in this case, it's till boaster. And, and, you know, in Santiago, you just be like, I want Hong Kong to die every round. Like if they're up against EDG or like, I don't want G2 to be able to rush a single moment. Let's just stock on the site and have fun. Like the way Nats can just bolster everybody. Like, there's just a single idea. It's really, really cool. And I feel like that is something that'll help out a lot of these guys. So might just be over a cut of call on their own gameplay or like coming in with completely new feelings. So ignore them and focus on something really good that everybody can be on the same page for. I think also they benefit. It's so much going through the lower bracket and just like having losses. Is that the kind of, especially where like, if you think of where liquid started off at the beginning of this, they were playing like, Papa dualist and camera initiator as well for a lot of this as well. So they managed to really pivot it. And I think like they don't know if it's stumbled across, but they at least kind of worked out that like mini boon neon is insane at the moment. Again, if you have a guy that's impossible to dodge, she's essentially your initiator getting you past corners and not matter. They're kind of distilling the non-shim stuff. And I think, I personally think Papa who looks way come for you on initiator, especially the sky. And I'm not I'm not massive sky fan at the moment, but I'm watching him on sky being like, guys pretty good at feels comfy on sky. Like I think they got everything they pretty much worked out there. Identity like with all of the with all the games that kind of works for them. Yeah, absolutely. But team liquid did have to beat some teams. Kurt, you've put in here about vitality. We will get to vitality. I do just want to quickly as well though. We talk about team heretics last week. Why was that last week? Because that the week before. Say we did that. Say we didn't. We didn't. We didn't. Did we? That was the sweet. No, no, that was this week as well. Oh, the first day. Yes. So we should talk about the lyrics quickly. We should talk about team heretics quickly because they went out with a bit of a whimper here. It must be said they played on a bus. Which team they could pick. And it was fairly close. And then on their map pick of bind. I mean, they learnt first hand. Do not cross nets on bind, which then others also found out. What do we feel about team heretics, many? I like that last time I said I'm touched. I have no idea how to analyse this team anymore. Anytime we think they're good, they're bad. And every time we think they're bad, they're good. They had a really, really good game against Navi in which they stomped. And so they look good. And therefore we were kind of like, yeah, they're going to be good. And then they go into the next game and they're not very good. I don't I really like genuine. They're the hardest team for me to analyse. I don't know what to say about them. I don't know. I need help. But honestly, I need. In multiple ways I need help, but here I need help because I don't know what to. What should they do? I don't know. Like I feel like at this point, it's like, I don't care what they do going forward. I don't care what's going wrong. It's like they just need to win. And like I don't, it's like one of those situations. And I don't know what the answers are. I don't think that booze is particularly comfortable. I was yelling this matter at the moment. And that's probably what the only thing I was saying. That's what they. Are you against nerfed? I mean, they could do neon melee though. That's like the new like I think I think that's just as good as the euro stuff right now. Like and they can do that with this team. Like come back and just play neon. It's not that big a deal. Maybe that maybe he's being misused. Maybe I'm talking myself into the idea that come back to being misused in that way. Yeah, it doesn't feel like they fully solved how to play double jurors comfortably. In terms of both like individual comfort and overall comfort in terms of. I think that's his thing I'm thinking about a lot right now, which is like individual comforts one thing. But I think people really missed this idea that the team comfort and mostly that comes from like the coaching staff and the IGL is very important like styles evolve mostly hopefully from them and not so much the player comfort. But if you got the ambience on your team, then you're going to run the on like you know that by it. But it's like a mixture of those things. I think heretics are struggling on both of those fronts a little bit right now in terms of being it being historically a double info kind of team that is coming to a matter that doesn't allow for that. They have played some of the double jurors last year, but I wasn't like super on board with like everything they're doing. And now it feels like everyone's playing high pace, high aggression, I figured out that little things and I don't know maybe they haven't. So whilst I'm but I'm saying this after saying I don't know how to talk about them. So it's like I always have a lot that I'm thinking about them, but I just don't know if that's true. Is anything I'm saying they're true. I don't know like I really don't know anymore. Yeah, it's no, it's hard because even if I was on the team on try and walk out what like what I would do. I think I think I would probably just go come back. Pama neon. Especially what you was like what is going on with it. We're even like, I mean, how are we? How in the server is he? Where like what are expectations for heretics going forward? What are expectations for the individuals? Like do we think this team are these five players good enough to make deep runs globally? Are we still at that level? Yeah, they're good enough, but they don't look. I wouldn't say I wouldn't say have any worry about their skill. Possibly. They just say me no mother. Who as well? Honestly, my my my take. My take. I want to see them having fun again. I fucked the wind. Fuck the losses like and honestly, fuck the game through for me because if I start to get into it, like I want to not see get going more on reans on on buying at least. I don't care about the buff still. Like I sort of got the fuck this agent. But like I just want to see the team happy and more confident kind of like again, like this whole not speech thing like just working towards a similar goal and being on the same page and having a good day consistently. Even in loss, like at least having a good time with some good ideas of certain rounds consistently. I think one of the best things I saw from the scene was Benji, but like against Casey and the Navi game with some like we're like re-envigored craziness, man. Did he pop the not not as Annie? I guess he popped something pregame where like he's just screaming and we're just like, what the fuck is this guy with the whole game like Benji? What do you think about that? I think that's been a like I've been a bit critical of Benji recently, but I think that has been one of the areas in which he has improved on. And it wasn't just this year. So like to me though, if we just says about having fun, I think that they're already in that place where they they are better than they used to be. The only difference is they're not winning anymore. So it's a lot harder to do that when you're losing like what happened? But they are they look like they look like they are in a lot of the games where they're losing. They're still Benji still doing his thing and I still doing it. Like I don't I don't. think they're any more emote of age when they're losing than any other team. And if anything, they look probably slightly happier. I think I just, so I don't think they is that I think that it is has to be something game related. Yeah. I mean, yeah, that's where I can work. But do you feel like they're not going to bounce back? Sorry to keep going on this. But you're like confident they're going to be fine. They've got five weeks in today playing, you know, you actually like worried. Yeah, I'm worried. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. I don't know what to say. Like this team. I don't know. I don't know. Because you have the solution though. You have the solution. You're your immediate first preamble was every time we say that they're going to do garbage. They're not going to do it. They are so old. Like they're like tenth in the league now, eleventh maybe. That's the sort of route that just awful. They are really bad. Clip this, ship it. And then we'll see how it's translated to Turkish ship. Yeah, do that. Get one of those bad photos at me now. That's the truth. I don't think they care about heretics as well. So despite the Turkish, that's how org related. So we need a different org for this to work. All right. BBR, BBR, BBR, BBR, BBR, Heretics, you're ass. You're ass. There we go. Now we're good. Heretics are a little bit of bail. They came up with a game, stay liquid, who had changed on the two maps. So it's like, I think it looks worse than it is. But I still think the whole identity crisis is there where they're changing everything up and trying to see what stinks. But it's not this game though. It's like, it's the whole racket. It's the whole-- Oh yeah, I mean, they changed it all the time. Even last year, I don't even know. Like last year, were we too expecting too much? For them, I know Mini-Boot put the two in the gold. I mean, last year, they were coming off finished second in two back-to-back international. I think last year, we were all expecting the world because they were literally one of the best teams in the world. What's last year? It's more of a question. It was last year, a successful year. Yes. Well, I think it depends if you can't either. EWC. Well, I think as a team, you would say yes because you would call CWC as big. It's a lot of money. If you count that, then yeah, it was a success. Sure, but I feel like the timeline in that tournament is mental. Oh, trust me. Trust me. But let's move on from Marit. We gave them too much time here for how they played. Let's talk about Team Vitality, who given how they played. We shouldn't give them too much time for them either. Vinnie, you wanted to pop up by the end. Yeah, that's the right one. I'm going to give you a little bit. So I've been very praising this idea of this new, I think Anders again, I really can credit. He's very publicly and openly took about VTOP being this agent where interception should be used more aggressively. Teams aren't doing it very well. He's a very nice video about it. And then we see some teams doing it. And Vitality started doing it in this game. And I was like, but wait, you can't do it with Chronicle solo A main push. This is their game plan against Fanag, the first two rounds. You can't even see it there because it's called for the right. But he's got an interception in front of him and he's playing with it. And he can't do anything with it. I've been in the middle. I'm not being funny. The whole idea with the aggressive interception is to have people to play around it and you fight off of each other with it. He's playing it like a chamber, but he doesn't have instant access to TP. He can't even activate the interception with Julian Gunn. Is he-- Honestly, for a team in which I really like-- I'm high on how good their coaching stuff is. I was a bit like, bro, this is the game plan. It's like this. I wouldn't do this in ranked. I know I'm dead. I don't really get it. So I stopped watching after the first two rounds. And I just didn't know what to watch. Because I was like, well, they've lost. I'm not being mean. They've lost. That was it. They picked that map, I think, right? Yes. I think they did pick that map. It's not a deep pick. Oh. No, this is against Fanatic. No, this is a fanatic game. I'm sorry. If I tell the striker, I'm really-- I tell the striker, they pick a base. They go down nine, three, but-- That was their strongest map and the game plan on their strongest map. It was pretty bad. The interesting thing to see after the game was Scott took responsibility for some of the game plans being built. And then Cron also tweeted out, which was a bit like, oh god. He was like, yeah, we lost because I made game plans with that. I'm not just like, I think he might be referring to the fact that he had to play solo A main with a Vita and not being able to do anything. But his reaction could be better then, no? I shouldn't you be playing closer to the edge, you drop off, take your TP. Sure, you could do that. But also-- Oh, I mean, I like-- I agree. But that should be your reaction. You get blind, you fall off your TP out. And that's why you play a Vita. I don't even know if he's blind. Because you have to look at him. I still think in that moment it's going to be hard-- like a good team swing in New York. So it's going to be pretty close. And to do it solo with an inter-- Like, it feels very strange. I know, it's dumb. Yeah, it's not that smart. I understand that you can play it better if you-- It's to me, like, half of this is interesting, because we're seeing a meta-develop. But it's like not a good example of it. But it's like, you could see the thinking about the intercept of kind of developing a little bit, which is kind of cool. But at the same time, it was just like, oh, wait, that's not quite-- [LAUGHS] Yeah. I think for me, like, passing on the bigger scale, I think some of the comps are a little weird, and it's probably because they're trying to give unfake some comfort. And it will make more sense when Sionara comes back in. It's like the main hope thing. Sionara-- Do we still feel good about Vitality for Sionara? Yeah, because of that. Because Sionara? Yeah, yeah. And especially when I look at Breeze, and I don't want to put a lot of it on one player, but I do feel like unfake really had a rough one on Breeze against Fanatic-- sorry, against Liquid. I do feel like once the roles make more sense, and you can go back to what he's actually normally playing. And then you get Sionara in. I think it will make and look a lot better. I'm not like crazy worried for them here, because it's a standing, but it's not like a one-for-one standing. It's a one-for-one plus roles. All swabs here. I'm a little worried. Because Sionara, I think, Sionara, it would have been great to have Sionara for kickoff. I think the whole Sionara thing has been a little bit of a mistake for Vitality. He thinks that I'm too much pressure. I think that we haven't-- I'm a bit worried in the same respect I've seen come back to this, where I thought come back was the next thing, and then he kind of was OK. And we haven't seen him at that level. And I think the same for Sionara. I was like, we thought he might be that next thing. And every time he has played into a one, even off season stuff, it was a bit like, OK, he's all right. But it's not like he's literally going to carry the team right now. It's the way I see it. And so a kickoff for him would have been nice to ease into stuff. And now he's coming into a team that has to win almost every single game going forward. Yeah. Yeah, I get you. But I don't think he has to go crazy in this team. It doesn't have to go crazy, but if they're-- it doesn't have to go crazy, no. But I don't see-- What the fuck is Sionara me for? It's getting dark here. It's not crazy. I guess at the same time, he has to be good. He can't be bad. Because I don't think if I tell you we're super close here to qualify. Like-- Oh. Yeah. Oh. There he is. Now too, right? Triple mega in the MIA. Yeah, one of them stacked is that the-- How are you omega? Because there's better potential for people to rise up in how good they are, like Ulfkitz or Sub's back. Pacific is just, I think, doing better and better things, even though they were in the lower lowers. And then you have fanatic vitality, BBL. Giants also is anomaly in terms of-- could they quality an actual? Absolutely. Could they be-- Not doing that, but still giving you a tough time? Yeah. So I think a terribly terrifying group. Yeah. OK. Well, I'm going to quickly ask you the same question we asked in Pacific, which is, who's the most likely to win Santiago of the three EMIA teams liquid mates or BBL? I think this one is actually in order. Like BBL mates liquid? So maybe liquid you could argue. Maybe that I'm wrong. No, I think that it's-- I probably agree with that. I think the only reason that, again, liquid do great with time and stuff like that. But the only thing is, I mean, it's a fast fix. It was a fast fix to get them here. So I feel like they still have a lot to work on. That's like my only thing. Because Karod-- Karod, you're not going to be able to run this twice. And then Paul, they only mid default. So that's already two maps. And one of them's probably going to get picked. I don't see the problem I still see with team liquid. And it's like, who would dominate? Who's going to dominate that event in team liquid? I mean, probably Nats if you're going in. Yeah, probably Nats. Camo has been pretty good. Camo has been decent. But I've never said that. I mean, Neon has been pretty good. Yeah, Mini-Boo. Neon. I think they discovered a good thing. They do have potential there. That's true. My issue is that the other regions play against that a lot. Well, maybe not America's. America's maybe starting to get a bit of joy. But their first game is against T1. They're going to be quite used to it. Yeah, they play against every single team that plays a Neon. But Mini-Boo is up there. No, Mini-Boo definitely has the potential, for sure. I just, it's just for some reason, it's just always for him. I just don't see him in that place. But he definitely can go there, if that makes sense. I think people don't remember that he was literally like second highest player at one point last year or something. But he needs to be there for this to happen. He has to do that, I think. Yeah, yeah. It's Matt's all right. You got to look at all the first seeds. You have like what? BBL, AG. and long-shim, and I think BBL is really strong up there already. And I think they have a really good chance. They have to also, like, what, fix two maps. They're scary, man. I think no matter who's coming in out of, like, the other regions facing BBL, BBL is not going to have a problem in that first game. I don't think they get jitters on that stage. Like, they're a strong, strong team. They have a really good read on the meta. Like, everyone's going to adapt into the way they're kind of playing overall. I think the strongest chance in the world at the moment, I think, is either BBL, or non-shim. I'm leading in words, BBL, even worldwide, at best chance at winning Santiago. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's a fair day. I mean, statistically, they are starting in the playoffs. And so, yeah, they statistically have the best chance, even though I'm sure other people are. Do you, if I do wish. That someone coming from the Swiss will get hot, like, they tend to do. But, yeah, I think of the four-one seeds, I think most people would probably pick BBL, maybe, as the most likely. No, no, wait, we need to start putting pressure on A-Paxes. I guess unfair that Achelios is the only thing that's going to be. Achelios comes to my tweet and says, "Oh, I'm just going to do the A-Pax thing." And they're going to. Like, every single year, what happens is, in EMIA, in America, it says it's like, "Bit of beef off between each other and a bit of ego." And then we let A-Pac over there just be all whimsical on the side and have no pressure on them and no expectations. They've been training for this meta for five years. If they don't win this event, then something wrong. So, that's part of that level of pressure on. I do agree on that as well. And the West, we need something going on in the. Well, we need something in EMIA, for sure. So, this is the best show in the world. That's true. Right off the West, he's going fucking. I mean, it is legal edge at this point. Imagine losing in EMIA. Not even a full stop, not even half a tour. Just a full stop. That's crazy. Yeah, well, you should've done by that guy. He's the wrong, though, to be fair. No, they're in a good spot, yeah. I mean, yeah, many of you are the ones saying, "Oh, EMIA, I wish I had to travel." But I want us to win, so I need to. For some reason, I feel a bit more like I want us to. Because it's nice to have these new teams, like Bibi and me, specifically, like it's nice to see us doing. Like, even what you said earlier about the crowds and stuff, like we got two teams here that have a lot of fans behind them. They're both playing. EMIA feels different right now. I know it's kick off, but I genuinely think that EMIA feels like a different region now. Okay, well, with that in mind, hopeful message for EMIA, Natsesk, speech there for Mini, and all. Let's move on to America's, Shio, Mini. Thank you for joining us. We're going to bring in Mimi for Mini and Dryad for Shio. Thank you, Gengi, for breaking up. Is that what we're doing? Yeah, we're going to take a break. They're not here just yet, so. Take it, bring it back in here later. Join up. Did you sell some water? No problem. Have any nice music for us, Kurt? You. You want so much for me, man. What's the thing about to get out? Hold on. You don't have the little pipes playing and stuff? Pipes? Oh, yeah. The little. I got you. I got you. Super loud. Like medieval, faulty pipes. What about this? No, that's fine. We're going to the club. All right, this is a classic. Oh, there we go. All right. Where the hell are these people? [laughs] Hey, everyone. Subscribe to the channel. Now's your chance. You could be here before we get 100,000 subscribers. Imagine that. This is the song. Oh, I pressed the wrong button, but they're not here. No one's here, everybody. Just checking in. [laughs] [laughs] [laughs] Who might have the extent to this break of it? [laughs] Oh, no. I actually showed the screen. No one is here. Including you. Now you're back. Oh, no. Oh, accidentally. No wrong thing is there. [laughs] Classic America's tech pose is. Oh, thank you. Classic America's tech pose is. Oh, they both joined at the same time. Wow, that's crazy. They're like insane. It's not a tech pose before 20 seconds early. No, this is actual, actual America's. Oh, I need to get my water once. Roll play. Oh, guys, I gotta go to the toilet. Oh, you guys have so much momentum. I really need to pee. Oh, god, I'm desperate. Yeah. Mimi has seven seconds. How do we break this momentum? If only I need to go pee. What a fucking polish sense, by the way. Hello. Hello. Hello. You got the cat on deck, Dan? I forgot to close my door. So now she's here. Yeah, I got the cat on deck, too. Look at this. Oh, shit. What you doing back there? She is kind of chill, though. She's sitting there. Hello, America's. We're here. You guys have been. Why did my camera just move itself? I thought you were on that mini. What? Are you doing that, Kurt? Yes. I'm getting it. The DAI is tracking. They're following my every move. What is happening? Does anyone else smell burnt host in the video? Do you call right now? Or is that just a mean thing? No. No. Oh, okay. That's good. I'm sure. Welcome back to America's Kurt. I just subscribed to the channel. I'm sure you guys have been watching this. I just subscribed to America's Kurt. I just subscribed with all 3,000 of my accounts. We're now at 100,000 followers after you. Oh, we did it? Yeah. Last show. Let's talk about America's. And start off by talking about what happened, which was funny. They said, you laugh. You go to the theory of rebuild. Five players laughed. And now they're the number one seed going to Masters Santiago. They win a five map close series against MIVR to make it there. Let's start by just talking about this team in general. And I want to ask this, what was the moment for each of you that you believed that this team was actually legit and they were going to make it? They were going to make it. I mean, I thought they were going to win one of the best of five. So I just thought it would be the next one. Yeah. I'm totally with singing. Obviously, we didn't know that at the time. We did see multiple teams lose three best of fives. But going into it, I was like, well, chances are, you know, a win one. Maybe there'll be one team that doesn't do it. But I was like, chances are they will make it. But you didn't think they would have against them. During this game, though, like, you know, I'm sure a lot of people after they lost 12 nil on breeze on the first half. I probably thought, it's not this one. And then is it. I mean, for me, this team, it's a great story. It is truly a great story to be feel like the fury of a masha. Obviously, it's completely different team, but just the org where they were to this. I mean, they were arguably, if not the worst team of all time last year. I mean, if you consider the only one again with the subs, it was it was rough as it could get to get to this point. Whether winning the upper finals and like, you're like, it was funny watching the trophy lift. Like, Koalanoob was so desperate to lift that trophy. He was fucking loved. He was fucking loving it. He was like, his teammates are all like, you know, like, slow it down. He's like grabbing that fucking trophy. He's like, let me lift this trophy. Let me lift this. I mean, the narrative for him is so sick because he has been waiting so long to do that. This is the guy who lost two back to back, B.O. 5s in ascension in a road and not make it. Finally, it's a tear one opportunity. Look at him. He's so desperate. And he's on fucking Navi. And that team is a disaster. And then his only America's chance is fury. The worst organization, VCT America's, I'm not talking about in terms of organization, but performance that we have in the league. And suddenly they fucking turn the ship around. And in the first several event, Qualify, it is really just a ridiculous story to make it there. I felt like he was out of everyone that won. He was the most excited out of every trophy lift that I saw. He was for sure the most excited. And dude, he had like a insanely valid reaction to how he played as well. I felt like he carried pretty heavy on the lot of the game, especially like a lot of fast kills from him. But he's kind of meant to do that in his role as well with Adam just again just making a lot of space. So that's what is essentially needed from him, but I just thought it was. It's insane to do what he did so consistently as well, I would say, like the big takeaway. Because you can't have a couple of these games where you're like, "Ah, damn, he's doing like his top frag and really heavy, he's like carrying a lot." Surely he can't do this all the time and then like next game he says done it next game after that he's done it as well So yeah, it's just such a nice team EU still kind of just Rocking the boat is one of the most underrated initiators probably in the game at the moment Oh and and has been for a long long time so water pickup from them and Dude it was just so nice as soon as I was saw them on double pistol on the last map. I was like oh shit It's gonna happen like it's gonna they're gonna do it. There's awesome to watch Is it it was a good but I was so tired for this bit at the same time I was like I'm so glad I stayed up for this It was so sick. I really liked them too because I mean I know you guys are saying that You knew they were gonna win one of the best of five but maybe not this one against my VR But I think this one was the most winnable and I know we think about you know My VR and the players that they have but I I feel like what fury has as well is they have the right read on how the team should be playing And they are flexible enough to make it happen So like it is just you compare about you compare the things that my VR is doing and they're pretty simple They're not you know doing anything different but fury yet just you know the flexibility between the two dolers that they have and also Everything that artsin is willing to play and on top of that how vocal they are which is something that I mentioned before when I listen to them is like It's just a it's just a team that clicks together everything and everything is working the way that they want to and I know you just mentioned EU as well I think he's just the most impressive player as well. I mean he talks so much he communicates so much the team is like I feel like Um working so well because of how good he is at communicating especially with these newer players and kind of Diding them through through the rounds Uh, it's just I think it's so deserved so impressive and also they just have they're like in the right time right place to make it happen Yeah, and to the they like really smart as well Okay, if you watch how like drilled there and especially like all wise and stuff like that They're like really on it with their all just good understanding that big grounds and out to snowball Like everything that you want from them is there you actually just watch them And you're like This isn't a fluke. There's like a legit team that has good understanding and they're all very good on their agents Oh, it's um good. It's so nice to watch my storylines for this event coming up. It's so good I think this is probably the best one to be honest The fury of one Yeah, the the the whole fury of Lore is is is really crazy, but I think also the way that they played and I think they abused all the right things in the meta What it what impressed me especially was Was a limb and just the way he was playing this this way like I think it's like the exact right way to be playing it Like the amount of bucky rounds at the team is winning every pistol round He is buying a shorty and he is diving on someone doing some bullshit And I swear his consistency rate with getting a pick with a shorty on with dash your fracked on a pistol run Has got to be higher than like practically any other Waylay player out there right now. They're they're getting ridiculous value out of him The the team is all stepping up individually in such big ways like you brought up you but I felt like he was playing so well Even like he was good on previous seems, but he was playing incredibly in this whole playoff run The util usage was on point. I don't know. It just felt like a Confluence of like everything working in such a great way and having a style that that works just right into into this meta Yeah, I think um it was also hard When I was watching them at least when I was watching them play against m.i.b.r That won on double joulist as well. I think they definitely took advantage of like some of the players from m.i.b.r Looking a little uncomfortable as well. Yeah, I think that was a big part of it, but Yeah, I definitely I also want to see Alan maybe play a little more neon. I'm pretty neon-pelled from watching Yeah from watching a lot of Pacific. So I think he looks the comfiest on the neon as well So I wonder if they're going to play that a little more going forward Yeah, it would be it would be interesting um to see if they picked that up a little bit more How are our expectations for this team then going into san yoga? Because there is there is always the history of obviously every Every region had a team that at least if you're like looking like bigger picture like At the very beginning of the offseason who you would expect to be good was at least somewhat of a of a surprise to win out It's all new organizations lifting the trophy and and kind of getting that that that number one spot That means they're going to get a buy when they go to master san yoga historically teams have you know Not done too well when they come into their first event and they they're playing against the really good teams Who had time to to warm up in the group stage? Do we expect them to to perform at san yoga? How far does The the heightened expectations go for fury? I think the problem for them and all of the teams that are the one seed teams Is I reckon we're likely going to see two of them I would say just kind of Lob because of the things that you've mentioned like we've seen it historically you know first land Gittys whatever it might be you know an international or and or just you know teams that go straight to the playoffs not being warm like a combination of those two Generally doesn't go so well now. There's four teams doing that so I mean if all four like go out almost straight away Then we'll know there's probably a bit of a problem here But I would expect probably it to be a two two split because you are like these teams are probably that first game is gonna be against you know G2 and or g paper wrecks whoever else right like teams that are already done very well in the Swiss so It's not gonna be easy, but I think that they also like Probably everyone at some point has gone well this team's not gonna win this game and they did and we've all we've all you know I mean we literally just said like we know that probably not gonna win this first one It's only a and then they did they they've kind of consistently shown and I think just because They're like so solid and I think so many of the teams like we've talked about other teams like have been changing a lot of stuff through kickoff You know kind of finding themselves if I like fury are just new who they were almost instantly and kind of like we're in that group Like from the very start and so Depending on how teams you know, I'll go it like it's possible that some teams go into kickoff And they're still sorry into into masters and they still do need like for instance like team liquid You know they can't play their corrode comp again, right? They're probably gonna have to change that they're probably gonna have to change some stuff You know that won't work, you know That's they're not gonna be able to just avoid alpha. You know some teams have five shoes like they're gonna You know you can't go with that strategy and hope to win every game. So if teams are still figuring stuff out I back fury the problem for them is that they're starting in the playoffs And so probably the teams that they come up against Won't be won't need to figure out that as much if you know what I mean unless they play other one seed teams Especially if you look at the teams who did qualify Worldwide throughout it you basically have Majority legacy teams that have always had success at global events who are in those lower spots You got your your g2s your energy's or your your paper x's your liquids all these teams that have tons of experience at that level And just seems like they need a little more time to figure it out and we'll get that opportunity if they make it out of groups Yeah, I think it's true what you're saying that they will have the experience in the lower bracket I think a lot of these seed one teams would actually probably be a lot better Yeah prefer going kind of through it Where normally I'm not on board with that but it was also say that I feel like fury but one of those teams with time They've I didn't quite a lot of new stuff and they have like a lot of options of where they go So I do think they should be able to come up with pretty good stuff Um, so yeah, we'll see it might be one of those weather I say this every time the teams are like miss the Swiss and it's like oh they should come out with loads of new stuff And then they play relatively similar but actually have faith that fury will come up with loads of new stuff And they should at least um, I don't know expectations maybe like a I'm not saying well win but like top four Like third fourth. Yeah, okay. I think it's possible Yeah, that's that's interesting Yeah, I think just some other Just kind of round out like interesting stuff with this team It is partially also that the way that it works that it's um two people who have first of all been through the absolute drags In America's even artsin was with the MIBR team who won absolutely nothing and she always with the fury Last year their coach who just didn't win a match and then come out into this setup where Where the coach speaks English but during timeout is like speaking in Portuguese to artsin And then he's like translating to the rest of the team. It's very interesting dynamic And it's it's cool to see that they managed to make that working that's yeah That's the most impressive thing because I feel like There's not a lot of teams I feel like we've heard of maybe one team having issues with translation before like maybe just a few It never really works the fact that this is working for them is the most I mean, it's the craziest thing we talked about it last time and it just does It just doesn't seem like they need that much it just seems like They've never been in the situation where that would be a point of concern, but I feel like It could be eventually Sure I want to talk now about my beer and I want to I want to talk through the the story of their nightmare weekend sequentially By starting with this game Against Surya and then we can kind of work our way down as we we get to the rest of the I have I have something to say before we start Wait Kurt, I'm sending you something I want to explain. I want to explain what really happened Because I don't think you I don't think you guys are understanding what really happened Kurt To M.I.B.R. Yes, okay, let me explain to you You see this this was opposed in May but Masino He's saying like rest wingman. I'm going to do everything to take you to Master Santiago That's what it says and this is a wingman sleeping in a bed in the tweet that he's posted Right. Okay. And why did he tweet this? This is a meme that has been going on for a while and it was a Chilean soccer player that made this tweet. It was the same format. It was with his two Zons He's through children sleeping on the bed and saying don't worry. Go to bed Rest well because your dad is going to make it to the world cup. This was 2017 and His name is Arturo Vidal ever since Chile has never made a workup ever since he made that He had one game to make it He made that tweet and then ever since Nothing nothing to perspective Chile were like good. They were good like before that as well. Yeah I mean they were so They were very good and now it's been kind of like a disaster And so why did missino just to make it so yeah, why would he tweet and that's what we all want to know I just don't understand. I mean he had to be so confident. He was going to win one of the best of five I mean it would be that is a crazy tweet to make he deleted it after by the way. That's why it's a scream I mean it already worked in magic. He's not helping anyone now Insane and that's why they didn't make it down That's why yeah, that's the only reason No, I think looking now we're going to your flip aflame Yeah, I mean so okay, we're just focusing on the Fury game. Let's start the first match. They they they're playing solid. They stomp on breeze. We go into split. They lose a map five What were your what were your thoughts after this match? My thoughts were Okay, I had two thoughts. I was like First of all, they should just be playing double joules first of all. I'm really tired. I've been cheering for 17 hours Yeah, that was my first one but I thought double joules looks incredible Then everyone else this when they play solo Solo joules this looks doesn't look good And I felt like one of the only reason they kind of lost play was because they didn't win a pistol So I was actually looking at thinking it's not that bad if you look at the score But then I was also just thinking they don't have enough time to change so they're actually kind of just rap on Green maps And when you play best of five says that's not good They don't have the time to like fix it So that time I was in feeling like too bad. That was like my main worry and like People in my childhood talking about vibe stuff and like having bad starts But I was like well, I don't think it looks that bad in until The second game that's when I was like oh, okay now if they don't get like the good starts It looks like they can't kind of pick it up on top of the factor. They might be pretty bad on three maps And also up to this point this first verse of five they were winning every single double dualism app until I think it was only that They only lost split yeah, I wish they would have made changes I understand there's really not they don't have any time But I feel like you just have to take the risk because nothing was working their maps. We're just not looking good They're very limited in terms of how flexible they can get especially if they're going to put second on smokes I just I just wish they would have taken the risk. I think that would have been But they didn't they didn't know because so it's like um we just spoke about like liquid and paper access Essentially like getting better and learning the mistakes like from the losses, but because it hadn't been punished They didn't yeah know it was Wrong, I guess or like failed as wrong as it won sure and then that's why I was concerned about whichever team lost this upper funnel I mean, I went on a whole spielplatch I last week on the desk this week that whoever loses this upper final was not going to qualify in America's and the main reason I was really pushing that was because you look at my br going into this game. They had played Five maps total and that's only like four distinct maps only five maps of all learn across the board They barely played even furia. They beat a sub roster. They beat sentinels who was in Obviously not playing particularly well in that game and then the the g2 match like I only felt like both of these teams had like One legit match to go off of before they went into this first b of five Yeah, yeah Totally fair. I think I think that's I mean that's a fair shout because obviously not and it has happened so Mimi congrats Happy to pat yourself on the back. That's a wonderful I can't I don't know if I'm particularly happy about it, but Definitely happened. Well of the regions. I think you could obviously we didn't know how the other games were going to go But I think if you said it was going to be g2 and nrg There were waiting for you in those finals. Yeah, just scary. What are you doing? You're right You're right in the cameras But yeah, I think if you said they were they were waiting for them. It was gonna be tough and also g2 were given more time for some reason Yeah, I got um I got one clip because we speak we speak about in my beyond super was shipped by the way as well Wasn't even worth not watching the game. Maybe we would have watched that fucking game. You could have put on during the super bowl But dog shit game Anyway, speak it speaking a dog shit cut. You got to you got to run this round. So I'm so quiet Okay, 28 seconds They're rotating with the spank this bike is on mazino one second two seconds. Oh god Four second five seconds six seconds basic seven seconds for him to do it then decides to all doesn't throw it to aspast We have double satchel He's super like I'll say take it by the way when he's throwing the smoke he's standing still of course So it's not it's not like seven seconds while he's moving he's decided to sit there and then get spotted And calm plan it's actually worse than the original melons It actually is it's insanity what I'm watching and this is just one probably the best demonstration of just people looking Little uncomfortable on their roles on this one. They again would have benefited from going to a low bracket and then maybe having some stuff but I don't know When he gets a smoke up dude, it's mental. He's holding it. He's holding it here. Here we go now dude. It's seven seconds I had to look it back seven seconds This is the still the point where they're absolutely dominating this game like they win this half now This is one of the three rounds that they lose in this half and they're too low and they were destroying I mean yeah the star of this game from my VR like I would say the G2 We kind of saw a similar thing happen to our IQ where you play against the team was playing well in the middle final You've come off an exhausting best of five and you just get fucking slapped around and you know You go next and we saw from our IQ and my VR. It's definitely for my VR in the third final They turn up a bit more and mrb are at the start of this game. We're shooting unbelievably yeah I mean it was incredible some of the plays that they were making in this nrg game to the point where I mean it looked like it was gonna be a three-o stomp on nrg and we were gonna be coming into this flat check going like what the hell happens to nrg And we were gonna say oh my be are they just played incredibly. I mean they lose but they was pistol bonus on corrode and then win 35. I mean it was incredible and obviously then from split Second half through the rest of the way. I mean I would say nrg Like remember remembered who they were, you know, it was like they finally got into into into gear essentially but I mean the I mean the Haven was depressing. I think at one point joshin side show said this felt worse than the 13 oh like it felt like I was saying on my stream this feels like a 24-o the way this is And joshin side show said that on the cast. Oh sorry. You're sorry. I meant I meant brand and was it wired to is there as well? But yeah, they felt like a 24-o. I mean look like nrg were playing peak were back to nrg And they were playing as the ranked team by the time we got to Haven attacks. I it was a hard watch man I was thinking to my chair just every time the text was getting killed from a spam. Oh my god It happened like my words. Yeah, yeah, it was so sick to watch. Yeah I think that also I feel like we we had this question at the beginning of the year of who the vibes guy was gonna be and how much he was going to play a part in it and I feel like Going it's showing. I mean they're like When they're down What 10 to 111 whatever it is they're making jokes Texas saying, you know We're back or is that kind of saying it but I just don't think that's ever going to be enough I mean they had everything to close out the series I mean even on a base like they're down like 10 to whatever going to defense side and as far as like saying oh well It comes the best defense side because they've won like Four out of like This one three rounds in their last two four 12 round defensive sides You're averaging a round and a half Yeah, that's rough, but we had spoken about something similar to this whereas just like um essentially vibes with the old left right 2024 and they go through the same play and I think it is worth bringing up the comparison because it does feel Shockingly similar not just in the way that they they play in some ways But also in the in the way in the way that they've failed we can get into that but make you make your point first I mean that was my point. I'm just saying that it's a we just yeah, you can't know that we just actually like just done We've done the comparison before and that's what it reminded me of I was just like oh dude I remember I was talking about this like two years ago when we had three of the call Yeah, it feels the same whether just bad start and it's just silence Like dry dry jokes. This is why fucking System is not real do not listen to Marcus Aurelius He was literally the fucking emperor of Rome this this rich guy of course of course He could ignore everything else that was going on when you're losing a game and no one's bringing positivity You can't just ignore you cannot control every feeling anyways um I was a complete discretion I think what another thing about this team is that is similar to levieton is the way that they play on on their attack sides In a in a meadow where there is a lot of there is a lot of shotgun abuse There's a lot of teams that have some really creative like fast plays around the double-dose the one you think they've asked about say a second they're gonna have some of that stuff ready but they're they're their attack sides are almost all extremely slow mid-rounding spread default sitting around for a while and I think especially in the the first game against um if you're in also in the gg2 game something both teams did really well was having ideas of how to be aggressive on extremities and pick off one of these players that you know is just gonna be sitting on an extremity literally every every single round like I wanted to see this mibb are show us some depth in terms of the the strategy and have some fast strategies and at least be able to threaten that so when they go back and play super slow it's not completely telegraphed but I felt like it it was in basically this this this whole run and um that's something that I feel like has been a theme on on other mibb rs and um I do wonder if it is something with with frauds coaching style to have really liking that kind of slow macro heavy game of really trying to get the right read in the mid-round but valorant right now I mean it's still important to have good macro but more than ever you're seeing even the most macro focused teams your g2s playing double duly scolps and fucking running it down and doing crazy shit and I think if you cannot at least match that in some rounds and threaten that you can have that that same level of aggression and productivity seems just just don't need to respect how you're playing really good you're insane we got aspas in second on the team why are we not doing that more well I think I think what one of the big things for me with this team as like a regret that we haven't been able to see it is I feel like if aspas could play and I maybe he can play your or whatever whatever reason he doesn't play your who that is I'm not saying it's his fault maybe scotish whatever like if he could play your it just seems so set up the second to be his little fling him in an aspas go clean up all our we've seen you know for people like martin or or even koala new bright for fiora as well like just that is such a good structure to have right now in terms of having a fling and someone then to get the kill second jewelest in afterwards and you would think like you got second and aspas I mean you literally perhaps couldn't get two better players for those roles right yeah and I don't know like obviously yoru suits that pretty well and and aspas doesn't say it doesn't play your even so you would think like that surely has to be our system right that has to be you know that's what so many teams of finding success with even if it is without your whatever right it just seems like it's so you're so set up for that you've got literally these two players who fit it perfectly I mean I feel like that's just a regret of him as a player in general when everyone switched over from jet you can have people that did your he missed the bone and yeah he did and I do think it is costing them a lot of it because yeah we got the space maker into the yoru that farms who we've seen it work perfectly martins and then we can open as well he can just go and dominate last year I remember he was playing a lot of yoru in his rank games and everybody thought he was just going to start playing yoru only but yeah I think he did it what like one game and that's it I don't know it could be a comfort thing it could be just the idea the fraud has because it seems like initially as well he was not even planning on having them play double duelist so I don't know yeah I think that's true as well I really worries me when I watch them play smokes especially when the second was like fast going to go smokes that this in my pick comes to how I'm not making not making the first master because I was like pick so long to learn smokes that there's so much that goes into it even look at like the ones that turned into the bass like tens and stuff it takes a long time the beginning of the beginning when tens went into smokes looking insanely rough and it's the same with zacken here like there is so much that goes into it so it's not surprising but when they start paying the double duelist I thought they were gonna they were gonna succeed to be honest and scrape it but yeah it's gonna be interesting to see what direction they go I don't know what direct well I know what direction I would go I would honestly put aspas mainly on neon I think that's my fix of most teams at the moment to be honest and then go neon jet rays and just kind of heed that plays those three and then maybe zacken more waylay to send it if he's good at the waylay they're already not I mean we're in a situation right now where like in the in the meta teams are teams are picking way like more than half of the time she's one of the most played agents in the game and my br is picking here in 16% of the games they basically are never are never abusing this agent that is in such a good place they're not putting their their player who as we're talking about could probably be so good on your if if he could learn it and like put in the time and be put in these positions and they're not doing that and instead they're just playing the same slow style that they've been playing with different iterations of the team with different aspas teams in the past I think that they need to really rework their focus going going into the future and commit to double duelists commit to zacken on the hard dive and and let us bus play that second spot let them all on defense do the do the stuff that you know is going to be good for him and that feels like a path forward but they they just were not we're not there in this event again I think they needed the early losses like I think they would have I think they probably would have made it if they had lost one of the early you think it would have like woke them up a little yeah it would have been so obviously you had to change it and then I think when it was obvious it still suit like so risky to change up yeah well let's talk then a little further about their opponents if they lost to in those latter two finals the first of whom was g2 we hyped them up so much in their flip of styles in their previous game going into this going into this weekend flying the double duelist being hyper aggressive putting on the paper ex-mask and they continued it in droves in this final showed us even more new compositions and I think showed the perfect style matchup to completely destroy my br here yeah I think they would have destroyed most teams to be honest I just feel like yeah I just feel like I mean yeah you highlight violin that I mean he was fucking unbelievable and you know like violin was absolutely insane last year and he'd been I think a little bit quieter you know to start off this kickoff but this game was unreal and G2 yeah as a whole like this new style like I think again it's going to be very interesting how we do this power power rankings going into Santiago but I've got to feel in the G2 are going to be pretty high I was watching I was watching the first map and I was like I'm going to do that thing again where I put G2 at the top I've been in before I was looking how they play I'm like damn they look good bro and I was just thinking I can't put them fast yeah maybe I can does I have no argument myself I love this playstyle for them they look so good Jorgomo on the honest is so so sick his movement so good the mechanics are so good he makes so much space balance just playing absolutely insane he's going for iGL control over the year they got robbed a little bit for someone wants so I feel like he's he's got a vendetta he's all wanted to prove that he's the best at the moment they know they kind of even is like calls and stuff look really good it's not even just fragging like you're looking at the minimapone's thinking he's making no mistakes here like he's doing everything so so well looks like a complete player um yeah it's a scary scary team we get to see leaf on a bit of euro as well that was like a big one yeah that's cool for one map that's a big thing yeah like the there um also it's like I think again they lost this help them right to kind of realize they were big wrong read of the matter and then pivot midway through that actually kind of walked out a little better for them because teams got caught off by it so shout out shout out to the coaching stuff for identifying it so early and changing it up because the good thing about this team like leaf is insanely good on anything and then Jorgomo's insanely good on all the joinists but flexible yeah they they really did just just look ridiculous I want to ask them is we look ahead to them going to master san iago they've shown us all these new compositions some of which are like pretty off meta with the playing playing the uh at least in terms of like playing the like phoenix stuff on on their pearl and on their havin now as well do you think that they're gonna come in applying this like same stuff these these same ideas they came through or do you think they're gonna have even more retooled and and and ready or maybe even more comp changes for for san iago i think some comp changes on some maps i i think they're gonna struggle the problem is they're playing a lot of paper x comps and they play paper x fast yeah i need to see your phoenix against paper x on pearl i gotta see it just just for the old time sake see what paper x do the havin will be fun to watch because they both play the same comps as you just store the stuff he's so good i love that match up dude it's so good it always is such a good matchup it's so funny though because we always sell that matchup it's like it's the ultimate style clash it's valorance most aggressive team versus valorance like most slow defaulty macro team and now it's just fucking pulls the scumidoo mask off it's also paper x like it's it's gonna be so entertaining to watch that that new edition of it and also like i know we've talked a lot about it on the show but it is it is wild to me that that baby bay 30 year old phenom comes back in after having not payload for like a year and a half and they're putting him on like all sorts of all sorts of different duelist roles they're putting them on the chamber and then he's like second fraggin in the finals and just like destroying players like second and arse pass any smart though like this round here where he it this like a brine game from him and vano just holding the same angle they kind of know he just each other's there even though they haven't made any sound keys for it. And then violin discolinds up everything doesn't have to worry about behind. It's so sick. My baby bay is really good, dude. He's impressed me so much. Again, it's not just the fragging ability, which is like really up there. He's like out-opping a lot of the big offers we see. It's just like house-modious a lot of the time as well. It's just super impressed, man. He's doing it for the old guys. It's kind of sick. It is diabolical that Valon won a 1v4 in basically the same circumstance two maps in a row in the final. I think he did it first on breeze and then on Haven as well, or M.I.B.R. just not playing together at all and just giving up these clutches. It was pretty brutal. But G2, very, very exciting. M.I.B.R. we were not excited about them at all after this game. They go into the final against NRG, the final final. We were already talking about some of the trolling at the end that led to this failing. But I want to take a crack at this from the NRG perspective in that they were playing really off-kilter for the first two and a half maps. From there, turning around its split, only give away one round on split, only give away four rounds on a bis, five rounds on Haven to close out the final and qualify instead of losing out to M.I.B.R. here. How are we feeling about NRG now going into Santiago? Is it a similar theme to NRG where we felt like or rather G2 where we felt like they had their wake-up call locked it in and are in a better place now because of the losses or where do we see them? I was so, I was ready to make conspiracy theories and map one, map two because they looked so off. I mean, that was, I was like, they hate each other. They're fighting each other. They can't be. It's just, there were so many things that I feel like we're going wrong. It was so on-characteristic as well for NRG, even when they were losing. At least you see them be able to execute their game plan a little bit. But for the first two, it was like, they were not treating each other. I know a bunker was calling timeouts. Both of the timeouts after round seven. Everything felt like things were really going wrong. There was a round as well from Ethan looking super frustrated from something that was going on in the round. Not even going for the attempt to win the round, going into that second half. I mean, there were so many that was on Corot as well. There were so many things as well that were going wrong. But once you see the last team maps, it's like, no, they're fine. They're the same energy they've always been. They're fine. Yeah. And it wasn't even like most of the other games in like, oh, bad start. They're not getting any pistols. They were like winning pistols. They're having a good start into the half as well. They were just like really off. I felt it was like a lot of individuals missing a lot. I was watching Kiko Ethan. I was just like, Jesus, we're missing a lot of easy things. We're not doing stuff on this the same page. Yeah, basically as soon as they just won the was it split was the second was the third? Yeah, split. Yeah. As soon as they won that pistol into the bonus, I was like, oh, okay. They're going to have full belief right now. And then just by the end of Haven, I was like, holy shit, this team looks incredible. It was the weird, it was one of the weirdest best of fives to watch to be honest. It was just it was just like the complete flip reverse of a team within the space of like four maps. Three. We want seven pistols as well. Yeah. It's like a fight though in this split bonus round when they went on the attack side. And I can't remember who it is, but someone takes a 1v1 versus Aspast in Heaven to like start the round early. And they just like insta dome Aspast. At that point, I actually got a little bit worried for him. I'd be all straight away because it's like that's what wasn't happening before. They weren't winning that fight before. And maybe I was sitting them down every single fight. And so then as soon as they won that bonus, it was like, oh, you know, maybe they're back. And then it's really started to feel like, you know, they started like warming up trading really well again, kind of getting into it. And then I do think that they were helped. The next map was a bis. Right. So the M.I.B.R. just like they aren't very good at a bis. And so it was kind of like a N.R.G. probably already felt like they were going to win that game that map no matter what. And so that was just like an extra like, oh yeah, we're falling back. And then Haven was one of the most one-sided first 11 rounds. The attack side on Haven M.I.B.R.s kills. They are like minus 33 or something. I'd just on that side. Like if you go to attack, yeah, Kurt, I think it's something minus 33 like it was a giga stump. I mean an absolute destruction on Haven, which was yeah, just like it was like an N.R.G. from champs had come back. We'd read like they just got back into the server all of a sudden. And you know, dogs killing everyone with a node and again. And it's like, why is no one else doing this? I don't know. But yeah, he's just the master of it. And yeah, I'm not worried about. I'm not worried about them at all. I think that they almost like they almost got maybe a bit fortunate that you know, this happened in a way because it's like it's out of your system now. Like I'd be surprised if I see them play that bad again. You know, that they were on those first couple maps or at least I hope not because you'd feel like with this team what we saw in champs was they'll at least like you're kind of saying dry it. They'll at least like give you a certain level. It's like their plans and stuff like between everything that aim, you know, the individual talent plus like the plans that they come into like something will work and they will at least make the game close and you've got to play very well to beat them. Check just it just felt like nothing was going that way on the on the first couple of maps. But that I don't think will happen again. I mean, even when I saw that, oh, surely. When I saw the surely, surely. The maps and I saw that Abyss and Haven were lost and Abyss for M.I.V.R. it was never never looking good even when they switched to the Astra. It was just like you said, I mean, it was energy would be pretty confident that they were going to win that and in Haven it is the one map where I feel like M.I.V.R. is very uncomfortable in the agents that they're playing specifically. I mean, the only ones that are more than the roles that they're used to playing is Vernal and Tex. But everybody else is like, yes, sure they can play it, but it is a map where they're comfortable, especially as a last map when they just lost to you. They know they're going to be reverse whip. Like nobody is bringing the vibe. So it was a it was a perfect mix for energy to have success here. There are not that I know the Chinese teams too well, but I think they're the only team going in Santiago that don't play double dualist that we are up on that. I don't really know where to sit with as well. It might actually work well for them. I don't know. I feel like they've just they they play so well with that style. And to me when I watch their non double dualist maps, I think I can always see what they're gaining in giving up a second dualist. I think like the the Abyss is a is a good example where they're not playing. They're not playing that they're obviously that's also a pretty common like double smoke's map, but it's like they're playing this double drone comp and on their defense side, they're so proactive with like reclurring space with the drones and constantly having great info and they have one of the best defensive abysses in in my opinion. I think you you even go to to other maps like they're like they're bind and I feel like I can also see like kind of a similar theory there with like how they're getting value out of it. And what really makes it is that Mata is still just so good at playing solo way like and getting value out of it and knowing when to when to play for the the hinder knowing when to you know go in and actually hard commit and it's just a style that works for them and at least in my opinion I don't feel like it's going to be a limiting factor even if they can't you know go on to to make some crazy run here. Any dissent? No. Okay. Well I'll let you know if they lose to someone playing double jouers since antiago. I'll let you know they guess I disagree but okay if they win the event no that was so right. I mean they're just really good at mixing up their their pace like they're even if they're not playing the double duelist they they know how to play some of the fastest rounds I mean compared to it might be our for example even when they were playing double duelists you don't see them doing the same things that energy was doing. So I think they're fine they I don't think there's been a point where you're watching energy and thinking oh yeah they should be playing double duelist here. Sure. I think if they if they wanted to shift on some maps like you were saying they always have like the fast set they actually do more than the most teams the the preset rounds would bury it down yeah like they could if they wanted to like fix one of their maps relatively fast I think they could lean on it and they would work well like they would have such good theory with bonko there that they would at least win the fast game on it. Yeah I don't know if he goes also really good at it so yeah that's what I mean and neon wave. And you know matter. Mm-hmm. Eco yeah we're probably cooking a little bit. I think that is actually an awesome thing for them to be able to show that they're very good playing a similar style to what they played at champions but have that threat that you know they have the players to make it happen and like uh switch up. Yeah. This fucking round was ridiculous by the way. So the amount of time Mata spent in this corner just sitting waiting this is the one the round they they won the match on too wasn't it? I mean yeah the the media game was already over. I mean yeah it was it was over a long ago. It was over as the maps landed. There he goes. Last question for NRG after having reflected on a full offseason full kickoff for them. Where where where we standing on on on Kiko. It's quick review. Taken some time. It's taken some time. Yeah he hasn't been probably as good as Oh, people probably would have thought of the rip. I do. Then again, maybe if he was, but in more of a double-dose position to carry, maybe you would have it more, right? So, I'm not particularly super worried. He had some rough maps in this game, but. I will say that in his defense a lot of time, his role is to send it also with when it is solo-jolus. So it's not like all the time. He's looking not up to his standard, but I do think overall. In waiting, it's crazy. He's got way more to get. Did he ever play Astra? I know, but he smokes, but did he actually play Astra on Liquid? I can't remember. I feel like he changed it for a little bit. He changed it for a little bit. I'm trying to think. I want to say I'm a factory, did, but other than that. I think the only map we've seen Kiko look the way that we expected, maybe in the team, was Abyss on that last series. He was insane as well, winning him so many rounds as well, with that he was playing on A side as well, or B. But outside of that, I just think he's doing his job, you know? Cool. And you know what? Sometimes that's good enough. He's clocking. It is clocking out. No, he's good. He's good, but I think people were expecting. I don't know, like more, but I mean they're fine. It's fine. They made it. They made it. It's fine. They bomb out and Santiago will panic. Great. That sounds like a plan. Let's quickly talk about the other two teams that played this weekend in America's neither of whom are going to be making it to Master San Diego. What has got you saying, "Oh my God." Because this 100th-EVS card 9 game, I don't think I've been more angry. I was like, "I obviously were doing these streams that last for a fucking day and a half. I'm having to end my stream because YouTube vods don't, if it's 12 hours, it doesn't save. So I'm having to end my stream, restart them." And then I'm watching 100th-EVS card 9. I'm just begging. Whoever wins this game, whoever wins map 1, please win map 2. That's all I'm begging them to win map 2 in this game, so that we can get to the next map. We get to map 1, I would actually say, "Cloud 9, I think should have edged this map and probably one this map." Then we get to map 2. It's 100th-EVS card 1. It's cool. Let's go 100th-EVS. Let's close this out. And Cloud 9, of course, win double pistol and a bonus. And then we get to round, I think is it round 22 or 23? I can't remember. It's 100th-EVS card 2. It's 22, right? Is it 22? I mean, it's 22. You don't want the Zalcis 1v3. Yes. And I'm losing my fucking shit, man. I'm losing my shit. I'm pleased just to win so I can watch the other game and not be so tired. And of course this fucking team decides to waste my time, giga waste my time by losing this round. Because then of course they go into the next map and absolutely stump. And that map is the biggest waste of my life I've ever seen. And then, because of course this was going to happen, whoever won this game was going to play against energy, get absolutely fucking slapped and it was all the wasted time. We got to email this game. We got to play this off screen and got to the best of five and I could have slept. And instead they do this. So I was fucking pissed off. I bought these teams. It's, yeah, it's valid, man. I remember watching this and I was like, look at this shit, slagy. This trapped in a mime with spit and down shore. He doesn't even have the spine. What the fuck are they doing? It's one of the ways one v3's have ever seen. Yeah, it has to be this. No, really, really. It's just turns around. There's just a player there knife out to it. Nothing is so fucking ridiculous. Oh. Oh. Yeah, that was an out of my life. I didn't get back. Oh my god. Zelsi says the most readable thing in the world. It should be, it should be a checkmate. He has the exact right idea. Bang. Perfect. He's about to kill the viper walking around the corner. Oh my god. It's a big night. Oh my god. Oh my god. Yeah. Let's, let's, let's reset from the circumstances of what this, this, this match was and talk about what the, the, the future of these, these teams are obviously hundred thieves. They're absolutely eaten alive by NRG, NRG at a perfect game plan. They prepped against them super well. They stomped the hell out of them. However, hundred thieves still technically off of that, the, the, what, fifth place team out of America's did. It was a squad that met expectations, exceeded it. Where do we see them looking, looking ahead? Does this team have a chance to make an international this year? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I still felt, still felt pretty good. It's about 100, 100 thieves, right? Yeah. They're sure. Yeah. Yeah. I think 100 fees is a good one. They got, they got proven good coaching staff. They can maybe, maybe, maybe some of their meta stuff is. Could go a little more mainstream, but it kind of works with them. They got pretty good theory on like this age and the chamber and stuff like that. I think there's a lot of good from this. I think they just need to, on the bigger games, win some pistols. I think they're really, that would probably help them out as well. I'm just like, I think they look better than I thought they were going to look. So I can only be positive about them. I would lean into cryo chamber a little like as much as you want less free-to-more chamber. Well, more, yeah, or more chamber. I think he's one of the best chambers, man. I think I would lean just pretty heavy into that. Yeah, I like them. I think they look good. I think Tim Matino's like really, really good as well. I don't know too much about him, but again, my fix at the moment, I'll be putting everyone on a neon if he can play it on some maps as well. So I'm telling you, it's so good right now. Oh, I'm sorry with you, Slogan. It's so, so good. Just everything that isn't watching me and I'm like, "Ah man, you missing out." You can just abuse. You can abuse just constantly. Yeah. I think it would also be so nice with, it'd be so nice with having a perma-chave or player as well. It's just, time is a flat circle. It's Champions 2022. Victor, run in there, buddy. You gotta get some space for yay. You gotta get some space for him. I guess it was, it was, it was, it was second for, for, for, for, for cryo. Anyways. Yeah. The last thing I'll say about 100 Feases, again, I think they're coaching stuff like, really good. They kind of set up for the, the future of this one. I really thought though after watching NRG Struggle against G-Tube, like changing their stuff, I really thought, Doombrows historically, at least when I used to coach against him, would change up every single time we play them. To the point where we didn't use to anti them, we knew they would just change it up, we just saved the time because normally you would just anti-in and throw it in the bin. I really thought here because it felt like when I was in NRG and they changed it up without a game plan, they didn't know what they were doing. So I thought, I'll do this a perfect time for 100 Fees to do that. So I kind of wanted them to be a little riskier here. Sometimes you're going to have the players leaving in it. I don't know too much about the dynamics, but I would like to see them take more risks to be honest. It's a good starting point for them. They go a really strong team and they got some of the best coaches. Okay. Let's then riff quickly on Cloud9 as well. No? You don't want to talk about Cloud9, Tim? Dan, give me a paragraph about Cloud9. A paragraph? Anything of your choice. This is your assignment because your homework for today. It doesn't matter when or why Cloud9 will not make it. They are the only team now. They all know. Yeah. The coach, the coach is a boss of once. I used to be number one Cloud9 fund for the past three years. I always believed even when nobody else did, but now I just can't do it anymore. It's really sad because this time around, it seems like they figure it out. They're like, "Wait, we have Penny. We have Oxey and the team." Wait, we can play double duelers. It just seems like they were almost there, but it just can never happen. I don't know. I don't know anymore. I can't. I think in terms of positives, I think the salesist Igealing actually got pretty decent. I can see the vision. I think Penny does a lot of the selfless stuff. So my god, this team gets e-code a lot. They're up there with the paper Xs and the EDGs. They get them friftied all the time. I think I've sold that out. Cloud9, global jersey for sale. Never worn. That's my saddest seven word poem for this team. Anything else to add on, sweetheart? Do we expect them to make any changes going into stage one? Or do you think this is the worst thing to make? If you were going to make changes, you would have made it when Demon 1 was available. Yeah. They didn't. Well, that's the three teams then. Yeah, they are Cloud9. They are Cloud9. They're right where they want to be. Sixth. Yeah. They did the exact Cloud9 thing where it felt like they figured it out and then they didn't do it. They did it every time. Yeah, they got us every time. They got me flashback to, "Oh, this is yours going to be different. I'm putting fifth in the power rankings, got?" Same shit. Same shit every time. When will we learn? Well, that wraps it up for the main America's segments here and for all the rest of the games we had to talk about today and brings us, of course, the most important segment of the week, the White's Weekly Award. What? Is it? And I'm going to fix this. (laughs) He's a professional fixer man. I wanna ask any nominations for why it's weekly award this week from the panel. - Just him. - He heard out a nomination. - Well, I would give it to the Furia coach. - You would give it to Sean? - Yeah, I'd give it to Sean. - Whose name you know? That's crazy, actually. - Of course. - Yeah, we're both. - Yeah. - Martine, maybe? Martine. - Oh, that's a good idea. - That's a good one. - That's a good one. - We gotta give it to Martine. You can't just do that. - Yeah, I'm not gonna do that. - He nearly broke it and then he did break it. Like, yeah. - What was it? - 126 kills in that final from Martine. He dropped over 100 in the game before as well that they lost to BBL. I mean, just a ridiculous weekend from him as a whole. And this is from a guy who was there for the lows of KC. He didn't had a tier one opportunity before that to now get this complete breakout year and come out and perform like that. So yeah, great nomination. Why Tweekly Award? It goes to Martine from GenoWay. It's congratulations to him. Super excited to watch that team play in the middle bracket. Well, that's why did I just say in the middle bracket? - That game happened. - What do you mean by that? - In Santiago. - In Santiago. - In Santiago. Where they will be going into the playoff run. Yeah, that was a really well delivered award. But congratulations to Martine. - All right, next week we will have our top 10 masters, Santiago players and let you know everything that we need to know. But to do our top 10 lists, we need your top 10 players. Check the description and vote for the community top 10 from which all our takes will be judged. Do good work. Make a good top 10 and you can do that. Well, you're down in the description. Well, you're doing that. And if you're interested to subscribe and become a member, maybe your question can get featured on next week's episode. Well, that's all for episode 253 next week. 254, everything you need to know ahead of Master Saloniogo. We'll see you there. [MUSIC]