The ETF2L Nations cup has now reached its Semi-Final stage. With only 4 teams remaining, the crowning of the champion is only a couple of weeks away.
Finland
The reigning champions have had a fairly easy tournament so far, not having lost a single map. Both Lithuania and Netherlands gave Finland a default win in the group stage. Finland played their first game in the playoffs against Russia, winning it 2-0, with quite a close score on Turbine. Their 2nd game was against Israel, who didn't turn out to be much of a challenge. Finland won Freight 5-2 and Gravelpit 2-1. Their 3rd game shouldn't prove to be a huge challenge either, seeing as they are up against Norway, who are clearly the underdogs of the 4 teams left standing.
Roster:
hocz
paavi
snap
växjö
Norway
Norway's journey through the competition hasn't been a walk in the park. Their group stage was fairly easy, winning 2 games against Spain and Belarus quite convincingly, and getting a default win from Romania. Things got a little tougher for the fishermen when they reached playoffs. Their first game was against Denmark, which was expected to be quite a close game. It turned out to be just that, the final result being 2-1. All 3 maps were even, the first one, badlands ending 3-1 in favor of Norway. The 2nd map, turbine, was won by Denmark in an epic struggle that ended 2-1. The 3rd decider map was fastlane, and it was once again a close game, although in the end it ended in Norway's favor, making them progress to the 2nd round of the playoffs. Their next game was against Poland, which was an equally close game, ending 2-1 for Norway. The first map, freight, was won by Norway 3-0. Poland managed to make a comeback after this, taking home gravelpit 2-1. The tiebreaker was to be well and it turned out to be a really close spectacle. In the end, Norway took it home 4-3 and proceeded to the next round, and are now up against Finland, the one whale Norway are going to have a really tough time catching.
Roster:
Onlock
BERSERKER
Dr.LeoN
complx-
1mpuls
Iggy
wer
England
England is the only non-Nordic team in the semi-finals. Their roster holds players from teams such as TCM (R.I.P), YYT and idk. Last season they ended up disappointing everyone in the semi-finals by losing against team Belgium. Now they are back with a vengeance, and Sweden is the last team standing in their way before reaching the finals. Team England has had a REALLY easy way all the way to the semi-finals. So far they have given away only 5 captures in CP maps, having also won all of their games 2-0. They are on a roll, but Zlatan is here to put a stop to their steamrolling. England – Sweden is the game of the cup so far, there is no question about that. The question is, which team is better?
Roster:
Shintaz
byte
Fragga
Sweden
Sweden, the Scandinavian powerhouse. Their players need no introduction, all of them either have played or are currently playing in top-quality division 1 teams, 3 of their players currently playing in Number 1 European team, Dignitas. Sweden has had an equally easy way through the competition as England has, having walked through all of their games without giving up a single map. Their skill is undeniable, as they have already proven themselves as a strong nation, having won the ESL nations cup 1 year ago. It is now up to them to secure the title as winners of the ETF2L nations cup, but first things first, they have to get through England first.
Roster:
appe
bybben
ryb
We asked 4 players from the 4 national teams that dropped out of the competition in the quarter finals for predictions and comments about both of the semi-finals.
Predz said this:
For Norway, there are 2 players that really stand out. Having played with torden in wotr before, I know what he's capable of. He is a good caller armed with a pretty damn good game sense, and add to that, he uses kritzkrieg really well. Although I hate to admit it, Berserker is a great asset to Norway, being one of the better snipers around.
The teamwork of Finland might be rusty seeing as they have only played 2 games in the competition so far. But there are loads of talented individuals in Finland, such as kyynel and Darn, who will easily turn the game in favor of Finland.
We played against England in the quarter finals so I'm fairly well aware of what they are capable of. Their heavy class setup is excellent, featuring Fragga and evil as soldiers, numlocked as demo and dunc as medic. With dunc handling the calling for these 3, they're bound to be damn good. The scout duo of England suffers from inactivity issues, mainly Shintaz not having played as much lately. Fisshu not having enough experience against top division 1 teams is also problematic.
The only problem I see with Sweden is that they're lacking a really good soldier to pair up with appe, other than that their team is solid.”
Finland will beat Norway, Sweden will beat England.
pbl said this:
Darn, Hymzi and Moose are all brilliant players, Moose being able to provide Finland with the best calling this game has to offer.
Sweden possesses a really strong lineup, with ryb, bybben and appe. Wltrs has also become a really strong scout.
Finland and Sweden are unmatched, both of them will go through to the finals.
Nor said this:
Sweden and Finland, it's just that simple
Retsh0ck said this:
The Final will probably be Finland versus Sweden, although England may be able to surprise.
Finland has a great team with great individual skill, they play very aggressive, their soldiers enjoy suiciding on the other team's medic.
England versus Sweden is going to be a nice match to watch, since both of the teams are great and it'll finally be a match between 2 teams that are actually mid / top div1 level.
Originally published on Resupply.eu on 31.10.2009 by Perry.
Archived from ETF2L Nations Cup Semi-Finals as part of tf2esports.com's preservation of Resupply.eu's TF2 coverage. All rights remain with the original author and Resupply.eu; reposted for historical reference.