Skyride — While those of in Europe are having fun in our mumble channels and “PCW” servers, 4 teams of brave nerds are making their way from all 4 corners of the land of the Red, White and Blue to Dallas, TX. Starting at 5pm CET on Saturday, they will be playing an incredible series of video games to decide who will take home the lions share of a massive $10,800 prize pool. Yes, its ESEA LAN!
The tournament format is Double Elimination, and will be covered on the ESEA Orange stream by a group of fine gentlemen from TeamFortress.TV, namely cbear, Slin, Bloodsire and bl4nk with truktruk riding the Camera all weekend. The winner of this LAN will Represent NA at i49, more details can be found at http://i49.tf/.
Enjoy the team previews below, courtesy of Mr. Slin after the break .
Teams:
Summary: HRG is technically the team to beat in the Postseason with their undefeated record. They have never lost a map in regulated play, but I expect that to change come LAN. When matched up to the other LAN teams, their strongest assets are their Demo, Medic, and Roamer. Their biggest liabilities are their Scouts. It’s all on Cyzer to show that he can put up big numbers and for Shrugger to prove that he’s just as good on LAN as he is online. In addition, Lansky cannot afford to choke at this LAN, but if online scrims are any indication of things to come, Lansky will out-damage B4nny and exceed expectations. If things get dicey, B4nny can activate what I think of as his “next” level play, where he literally does everything for everyone. But going Super Saiyan might not be enough. While their conservative playstyle worked well for them in the regular season, they purposely didn’t take advantage of some key opportunities, opting to wait for the opposing team to make a mistake. That playstyle isn’t going to cut it in the Postseason. I want to see a team go all out in order to win LAN, and I am not sure that HRG is going into LAN with the mindset that they are going to win. After “breaking up” with Tyrone, B4nny put together this team of young players with the idea that they will stay together for many seasons. While they may win LAN in Season 14,I don’t think that it will happen this season. I predict HRG to finish in 3rd Place.
Summary: Classic Mixup aren’t the same team that they were last season, but they’re close. They’ve retained most of their roster, and with a bit of shuffling they look like they will have a strong team for LAN. They could use some practice and polishing, but they are still the favorites to win and have plenty of time to prepare. Classic Mixup have the most LAN wins, the most LAN veterans, and the most experience out of any other team. Even if any team could match up to Classic Mixup in a class-to-class comparison, Mixup would still win because they are the only LAN team to live from Season 12. It is also important to keep in mind that the i49 fundraiser has started and at this point it looks like North America will be sending one team to the largest TF2 tournament in the world in August. Classic Mixup won’t want to miss out on a free trip to Europe, and I expect them to put their trypants on to make it happen. The Chess Club and HRG will probably put up some good rounds and may even take a map or two, but I expect Classic Mixup’s super team prowess to shine through and prove to everyone why North Americans are the best TF2ers in the world. I predict Classic Mixup to finish in 1st Place.
** Chess Club**
Summary: After shuffling their roster a bit, the Chess Club now looks stronger than ever. Clockwork and Boomer are both among the top four scouts in Invite this season, and if you combine that with the strong combo and unpredictability of Visitor, the Chess Club are now a threat to every team at LAN. These guys have really solidified their chemistry over the last few weeks, and it will continue to get stronger as LAN draws nearer. Their weaknesses are their two ESEA LAN virgins Alfa and Visitor, who have attended other TF2 LANs but have never been to Dallas. I still expect them to hold down the fort, however, as they do not need to perform above and beyond in order for their team to do well. If they do play well, it will ensure The Chess Club the victory in many of their matches. Lastly, Tri and Clockwork will only get better when playing on LAN and Kbk will make minimal mistakes under pressure. The Chess Club will have no problem dealing with Fully Torqued, and after warming up, they should move to take out HRG late in Day 1. I don’t think that they can beat Classic Mixup, but they will put in a good effort on Day 2. I expect The Chess Club to finish in 2nd Place.
Fully Torqued
PYYYOUR
Scouts: Justin + Seanbud
Summary: Despite a drama-filled season, Fully Torqued have come away with the LAN spot that they wanted, and from the fourth seed they will have an easier matchup against HRG. Unfortunately for them, in a class-to-class comparison they have many of the weakest players in the playoffs on their team, and despite their best attempts I don’t think that this is the season for them. Their best chances of winning lie in A Seagull and Zbryan, but they can’t carry hard enough for them to take LAN. I expect Fully Torqued to finish in 4th Place.
Originally published on VanillaTV (vanillatf2.org) on 2013-04-21 by skyride.
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.