NRG has so much potential to be a Tier 1 team but they seem to fall short. I feel like they have a couple of problems they need to fix:

Firstly, NRG is a momentum-based team. Once they got to a hot start it is hard to stop them, however, once they start losing it seems like they give up; their tactics, planning, and overall strategy becomes predictable and relatable to a regular comp match. I am not entirely sure if it is an igl issue or a coaching issue but it seems like they do not have much depth in their strategies.

Second, I think the players are not playing the correct agents. For example, we have ANDROID playing Viper, KJ, and sometimes Chamber. Don't forget when ANDROID was on ANDBOX that he was an exceptional duelist. Although Phoenix is not in meta, I think he should have been playing Raze or Reyna on specific maps over tex. Putting him on a sentinel-like KJ limits him in my opinion.
Tex, on the other hand, I think would be better specifically on Chamber, Kayo, and possibly learning how to play Viper and or KJ. His performances against Tier 1 teams when playing duelist have not been very good and even then his performances on KAYO have been extremely underwhelming. Maybe it is time for rotation, just like how they made 100T hiko play sentinels.

Finally, the comp selections are questionable on specific maps. NRG makes tex play Skye on Bind instead of Raze which puts them at a disadvantage on the attack side of Bind (based on their performance against Sentinels (1-11 on attack)). Hazed should be playing as viper on icebox while ANDROID should be playing Sage. Even then both ANDROID and hazed haven't been good on viper recently. They definitely need to rework their comp selection and who plays who.

Overall, eeiu or som are NOT a problem. I do think the issue resides in both ANDROID and tex. They are very good players, don't get that wrong but they play similar agent pools (they were mainly duelists when on other pro teams and even share chamber on NRG) but their performances have not been the greatest when having to play other agents like KAYO (tex) or Viper and KJ (ANDROID). How I see it is that either one or the other needs to find another team where they can play a more offensive role. I think there is a conflict of interest when they both play together. Not only that, but I think the style of play at NRG doesn't suit both of them either.

Let me know what you think :)

Filling benefits you because it shows how diverse your agent pool is. One of the biggest issues in the pro scene is that teams have to play around their players that can only play duelist, which makes their comp limited (i.e, Tenz, Som, Kelogz, Babybay, and many more). However, not everyone in comp is like these players that were mentioned.

You probably have experienced games where your duelist(s) are bottom-fragging and completely useless. That can ruin the game experience and decrease your chances of winning. Since you are filling, most of the time you would be probably playing a controller, an initiator, or sentinel. Their impact may not be as significant as a duelist and that is because your filling can be equivalent to playing as a supporting character; it may not be your specialty but you will play it because the TEAM needs it. When you solo and are filling you are strictly relying on duelist to consistently perform, unless you are the duelist. But in your case, having a duo who understands how you play makes it easier to play comp. Unfortunately, there is no 5 stacking in Immortal and Radiant lobbies but at least the players are somewhat better and use their mics. Sometimes you need to be selfish and auto-lock a duelist if the duelist you have been playing with hasn't been performing well.

Overall, it is a hit or miss when queuing up for comp because you either get a very good team that can carry their own and play with the team or an incompetent team that plays like individuals. Everyone experiences this, it is whether you are consistent or not in games.

I can definitely read, just did not see the "NA" part. I misinterpreted the context as best sova in the world that's all, so I made my statement regarding that. Even then I still said crashies is probably the best sova in NA. I did mention that Trent has the potential to reach the top 5 in the world. Overall, Trent is definitely top 3 in NA for sure as of 2022.

I would say it is still uncertain. A lot of people said that Optic would farm X10 just to lose to them at VCT Champions. We will just have to wait until masters to determine if those outcomes will be true or not.

That is true. I forgot to mention yay as well.

GAMBIT
GUILD
C9
TGRD
DRX
DWG
OPTIC
ACEND
XERXIA
SEN

Currently, Chronicle is the best sova, if not the best intiator in the game right now. Trent if he's consistent can be top 5 for sure but don't forget sacy, crashies, Leo.

you must be joking right??

Exactly lmao

I recommend trying to get a 5 stack at lower ranks and a duo if immortal. If you are not a duelist you will have a harder time promoting unless you are dropping 30 consistently and even then that doesn't guarantee anything.

Hear me out, if we are talking about Jetts at their peak form, then Tenz at the first Masters has to be top 3 however, if we were to talk about consistent Jett players, I would not have Tenz in my top 3 (especially with how he has been playing in 2022).

Heat at both Masters Berlin and VCT Champions has ranked 1st and 2nd in ACS as a Jett. The only controversy would be that he hasn't played enough rounds or matches because his team has never made playoffs (Top 8).

cNed (in my opinion) has been the most consistent Jett in the world. When he is on Jett it is very rare to see him have a bad game.

Derke has been very consistent as well in big matches. He did rank 3rd in ACS in masters Reykjavik and 1st in VCT Champions even though he has played more rounds than the majority of players.

Overall, I haven't been too focused on the other regions but there probably are jett players I have missed that could be up there for best jett players.

V1 and C9 look great while SEN and Optic are becoming more inconsistent. What you say is true. However, I never expected XSet to get dominated by The Guard, and XSet looked really good going into the group stages. Looking forward to the C9 and TGRD match as well as the playoffs. I wouldn't be surprised if TGRD play sentinels or optic first round if the TGRD place 2nd in their group.

Chronicle is in a league of his own.
Trent has so much potential but I think he needs to make an international competition first to determine how well he can perform against worldwide competition.
Sacy is definitely in the top 3 sova in the world. I am looking forward to LOUD at masters, they have the potential to upset many big teams; they might be the first team to make playoffs in the BR region.
Leo is extremely underrated in my opinion, I'm glad he is getting his recognition. I hope guild can make masters see how he performs.
Crashies (I believe) is top 5 for sure

The guard reminds me of V1 when they surprisingly made it to masters Reykjavik and no one expected it. I wouldn't be surprised if a miraculous run happens for the guard

WTF

1. I agree he is really underrated however you mention that cNed is a one-trick ... isn't Wardell the same?

2. First of all, if you look at the recent matches that Tenz has played in (VCT Champions and VCT Challengers), he has only played Jett. Looking further back, the only other characters that he has played Reyna and Raze (duelist in particular); his Reyna is good however his Raze has not been, especially at the international tournaments. To say that cNed is a one-trick is hypocritical because both Cned and Tenz play mostly Jett with the exception that cNed plays sage. It also seems like he has been playing more of chamber recently as well.

In my opinion, cNed is far more diverse than Tenz because he can play something other than duelist while accommodating to help his team in other ways and as a result helped Acend accomplish a lot. With Tenz on the other hand, his ability is limited to only duelists. However, we cannot take away from what Tenz has done, especially at Masters Iceland. Statistically, cNed has been far more consistent in 2021 than Tenz. You barely ever see cNed go negative in a game no matter who they play against. Also, cNed's stats on Jett are better than Tenz.

Now I am not going to say cNed or Tenz is the best in the world because what Nats and Chronicle did in 2021 is far more valuable in my opinion. For those two to put of the numbers they do as a sentinel, controller, or initiator says a lot on its own. Therefore, I would say either Nats or Chronicle is the best player in the world, and based on how 2022 has been going, probably Chronicle.

3. It is a tough one because it is between C9 and Sens. C9 has been amazing so I think the only way to find out who is better is when they meet in the playoffs.

4. I agree with this statement a lot. There need to be some changes within that organization. Although a lot of people like Hiko, I don't think he has been performing well. The Babyj pickup (I think) was pretty good however he has cost 100t a few rounds on defense due to his aggressiveness. E1cs is a weird pickup for me. Based on what I watched yesterday vs The Guard, it wasn't impressive. That ascent map had to have been one of the worse matches by 100t I have ever witnessed. Ethan only plays Skye which provides limited options to their comp selections. Asuna either needs to stay on Jett or find another team that will utilize his skills to the max.

5. I 100% agree with this statement.

6. This one is hard to debate because the competition in the EU is insane. I think they are close however, not exactly at the same level yet. Maybe eventually but as of right now, not yet.

7. I agree that they are the most structured team in NA for sure. Remember mitch plays a lot of agents and he has done very well in that aspect. Even if you were to replace mitch who would you recommend? You don't need a duelist so who is the next best option?

8. There does seem to be a problem with ascend but to say that they fell off is still too early to predict. If they don't qualify for masters we could make that assumption.
   I agree that the Gambit loss was a fluke.

9. I can somewhat agree to an extent.

10. lol

I would like to hear what you think :)

Sova, KJ, and Cypher
Haven

Congrats to all the teams! Looking forward to more upsets.

The man dropped 50 kills in 2 games and only won 11 rounds... wow