The long awaited ESL Season VII has finally begun, with 10 of the best European teams taking part, playing under a vanilla (+ medic) unlock ruleset. The festivities begin with Badlands and Gravelpit, two maps that will really test the teams. Badlands, is of course, a favourite amongst everyone, but Gravelpit will be a test for the multitude of new lineups. Interestingly, the only teams that return with the same lineup from ETF2L’s last season are Team Dignitas and Button Bashers. Gravelpit should certainly provide these teams with an advantage.
*Read more for the predictions – Honeymustard *
| Team 1 | Score | Comments | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Dignitas | Badlands 5 Gravelpit 2 | This really should be an easy ride for Dignitas, across both maps. K1ck were not even initially seeded in the premier division, until the group expanded from 8 to 10 teams. K1ck proved that Gravelpit is not their best map, not even managing to take a round from TCM in week 2 of ETF2L. Matchlink | Badlands 0 Gravelpit 0 | K1ck eSports |
| Button Bashers | Badlands 4 Gravelpit 2 | bAdmirable are a brand new team, a mixture of old YoYotech, Epsilon and Mister players. It sounded like a crazy idea on paper, from team captain Admirable, but they proved themselves in the Multiplay i42 online cup, winnning the whole thing. That said, though, ButtonBashers were conspicuous by their abscence from said tournament, and if they had played, would the result have been the same? bAdmirable have proved that they are solid on Badlands, but they are yet to play an official on Gravelpit. With that in mind, I'll give bAdmirable the edge on Badlands, with ButtonBashers taking Gravelpit. Matchlink | Badlands 6 Gravelpit 1 | bAdmirable |
| Power Gaming | Badlands 3 Gravelpit 1 | The new TCM team actually hold a two map win over Power Gaming in Granary and Gullywash (4-1, 4-3). Of course, neither of these maps are being played this week, so it could go either way. TCM are currently undefeated in officials, with three wins on Badlands (Blame, Tt and redCode), and a victory over K1ck on Gravelpit. Power's wealth of experience goes without saying, and I wouldn't expect their recent switching of Kyynel for Dajackal in the medic position to have any ill-effect on the team. Expect this one to be very tight, with TCM repeating history here with another win over Power. Matchlink | Badlands 5 Gravelpit 2 | TCM-Gaming |
| Epsilon eSports | Badlands 3 Gravelpit 1 | Epsilon look to be a shell of their former selves, losing both F2 and Cube. Cook seems to be a lack-luster of a replacement in my book, and the team have yet to find a suitable soldier to fit Cube's shoes. Monster Munch, on the other hand, seem to be stronger than ever, making an example out of Crack Clan in ETF2L, and very narrowly losing out to redCode and Power Gaming in recent cups. If Epsilon can't get themselves in shape by this match, expect to see Monster Munch steal it. Matchlink | Badlands 6 Gravelpit 2 | Monster Munch |
| Team Thermaltake | Badlands 5 Gravelpit 2 | The new lineup of redCode raised some eyebrows, but their showing in the i42 online cup certainly did them some favours. They still lack a soldier, however, which will cause them problems in ESL (no mercs allowed, of course). Thermaltake have been strong, reaching the finals in the ESH cup. This could go either way, and much like the Epsilon/Monster Munch game, could likely be decided by that elusive soldier. Expect to see ViQun go balls out here, to prove that Tt made the wrong decision of picking Dorkan over him, only to fail miserably. Matchlink | Badlands 2 Gravelpit 0 | redCode |
Originally published on VanillaTV (vanillatf2.org) on 2011-04-08 by honeymustard.
Recovered from the Internet Archive (archived copy) as part of tf2esports.com's preservation of VanillaTV's TF2 coverage. The original site is no longer online. All rights remain with the original author; reposted for historical reference.