Written by: Cal "Deathanchor" Gruhlke
Round 4 is Gullywash time. I am not expecting many upsets this round, likewise I don't foresee any 5-0 rolls. Almost all the forfeiting teams are out now, so we should get a full six matches. Apologies to any team that experienced a forfeit due to scheduling problems. I know ESEA is pretty picky with scheduling playoff matches. I am just pissed with teams that decided to drop out. I'm looking at you Binary.
Round Three Upper Bracket
Team Bad v2 vs egyptian flamingos · cp_gullywash_pro · Fri, Sep 16th at 1:30pm
Prediction: BAD > egypt 5-3 by Deathanchor I was surprised to see that these two teams had not played before. It must have been due to the downfall Jabronies had around mid-season. This has been a very anticipated match-up for me, and I think Jabronies will do a lot better than people are expecting. Especially if TeamBad underestimates them. Zclipse from Jabronies is quickly becoming a contender for top scout in Open. He has been scoring big frags in his last two matches, and I expect him to keep up with if not surpass the likes of Jiao and dchow. Team Bad's advantage will lie in their medic as well as their overall map knowledge. Both of Bad's previous Gullywash wins were against weaker teams, but I still think they know the map well enough to come out on top. Both of Jabronies Gullywash matches were also wins, but they were against even weaker teams.
Round Three Lower Bracket
90lg vs xensity · cp_gullywash_pro · Fri, Sep 16th at 1:00pm
Prediction: 90lg > xen 5-3 by Deathanchor Despite Xensity steamrolling their last opponents, Monsters will present a much harder challenge. Xensity has several things going against them right now. Jmk left their roster a week ago, leaving no room for error when it comes to getting six players. Having a giant 13-man roster like Monsters certainly comes in handy. Second, they already have a losing record against Monsters. Monsters beat them on Warmfront 5-3. In this match Xensity was actually using a stronger roster imo. They had teto and thr4sher, who are both now absent. Granted they gained virulent, who could arguably be one of the best medics in open, I still think they currently have a weaker roster. Xensity's advantage will be their combo. If your specking a Monsters player, I would watch Goldy on scout, or dr.cameltoe on demo.
craig and friends vs slap yo momma tf2 gaming · cp_gullywash_pro · Fri, Sep 16th at 12:00pm
Prediction: smGG > SLAPYO 5-4 by Deathanchor My prediction of Casuals winning doesn't include the chance of them not showing up with six. Otherwise I would predict Yo Momma winning for sure. Casual's team issues caused them their last lost when they ended up having to play with only five players against Jabronies. I actually think Yo Momma is an underrated team. They didn't enter playoffs with a great record, but they consistently are able to score rounds off of top ten teams. If Casuals do bring six players, they will be in for a close match. My favorite player on Yo Momma would have to be Cprice. Gullywash is pretty friendly towards soldiers, so he should do well. It Should also be noted that neither of these teams have ever won a Gullywash match this season.
Death Rattle vs Businessmen · cp_gullywash_pro · Fri, Sep 16th at 12:30pm
Prediction: isdead > organic 5-3 by Deathanchor Man Mode enters this match with some momentum. Coming off an impressive win over Abortion Clinic, they should be feeling pretty pumped up for this match. They will need it, as they will now play a legit team. Giffyndor has had good results with Gullywash in the past and seem to be more comfortable with it than Man Mode who awkwardly lost both of their Gullywash matches. Hopefully Giffyndor will shake off their recent loss to bring their best game to this match. These teams have played before, but it was on GPit. And we can't really trust GPit results now can we? Despite that, just having that win in their head might give them the edge they need.
Vector Gaming vs Heinys Harem · cp_gullywash_pro · Fri, Sep 16th at 1:00pm
Prediction: vec > DEAD:3 5-2 by Deathanchor I have to say I was impressed with iCarly when I watched their match against Fruit and eHarmony. However an organized team like Vector is likely to end their playoff run. iCarly's win over Fruit was probably their better match. Despite Tiger being the obvious carry, I thought the rest of the team proved they can handle upper level Open play. The eHarmony match was pretty ugly though. With Robotic gone, they had to turn to none other than...cash50. Now cash on med wouldn't have been a huge deal, but put him on soldier?!? I don't even.... Well anyway, iCarly will be out classed in scout spots for sure. Vector's scouts will likely have a field day with snailboat and bottay. iCarly may get a round or two, but I don't expect an upset here.
I hope you enjoyed this installment of predictions and read my next one. Next round we will be down to only six teams! As usual best of luck to the remaining teams.
Originally published on ESEA on 9/16/2011, 1:02 PM by Deathanchor.
Archived from ESEA TF2 Open Playoff Predictions - Round 4 as part of tf2esports.com's preservation of ESEA's TF2 coverage. All rights remain with the original author and ESEA; reposted for historical reference.