Literally all they need to do is stop being stubborn and learn the intiators that are good. When they won they thrived because the only initiators you really had to know where kayo and fade, which shao and zyppan are number one in the world on in each. Now they're too stubborn to actually commit to having shao learn breach and skye and for zyppan and cned to expand their agent pools. Don't change up the roster, but cned needs to let zyppan play raze in favor of him either doing the demon1 brim thing.

beyn
buzz
xeta
stax
mak0
Eraser HC

well no one is claiming dgzin or heat are better than aspas and derke after less than 10 international games, and he played in the weakest region and he's a great player of course he'd look good.

You're basing this off of three games?

All I'm saying is Zest still performs better than RB has at LAN and he's been their oldest member bar stax yet they haven't won with him at any international event

Their new Lotus comp is undefeated and Loud outplayed them on bind. Their current form is much higher on Lotus, especially when Navi is 33% WR and doesn't have a set comp yet

NAVI Ban Haven (perma)
NRG ban Ascent (their worst, NAVI best map)

Navi pick Pearl
NRG pick Lotus

Navi ban Bind
NRG ban Fracture

Split Remains

This pool likely favors NRG but we also really don't know what NAVI will play on split or Lotus. Have played 9 different comps on the two maps but I think Lotus will likely be fade jett vs skye neon, IMO favoring NRG on their map pick. NRG does have strength on Pearl but have been shakier on it recently. It will be the true test of harbors strength, as them beating NAVI on their likely map pick while they don't run it would probably convince the world of Harbor's strength.

Split is where it is interesting because I think NRG win if NAVI doesn't match their double duelist comp. Victor + Ardiis on duelist will just overwhelm the solo Jett IMO, and not running Zyppan Raze would be troll. That, IMO, is the decider, and if Zyppan doesn't come out as Raze on Split I think NRG takes this 2-1(

I'm pretty sure I could name 15 better Raze players than cNed at this event.

after a year and a half of IGLing on and off what does he have to show for that?

he's not that good of an IGL and that's what they need rn

His KJ is for sure the best in the T2 scene and I'd argue he's probably the best of all NA players ATM

I mean look at their playoff stats rn Tex would for sure be favored

They have two Jett players in a meta that only has one viable double duelist map, and Penny has failed to learn the flex role in time(IMO he's by far the worst flex of the playoff teams.) Dapr can't play KJ even though it's 2023, Shaz is a good not great IGL and they don't enable Oxy at all since the MSFO.

is Tex the weak link? Isn't he like top 3 among jett players in rating and acs?

TSM are trolling if they dont get him or Penny

mak0
qw1
Saadhak
cauanzin
nukkye

How is leaf not there?

FNS
Leaf
Crashies

Should be locks

IMO from there you go s0m or marved and then victor/ethan/demon/zekken based on what roles and what form you most care about for the other 4 players.

I just noticed I said a year ago instead of start of they year I'm a goober

DRX's first games

it doesnt help that his IGL picked reyna instead of skye and Yay has died like 3 times where having long form flashes would've helped him get a multikill or at worst survive

There's a reason a lot of these teams are struggling. Literally just biting the bullet and learning how to play harbor and spamming viper on most maps would help so many of these struggling teams. No reason a team like OR shouldn't be playing optimal comps

Sova was meta on pearl a year ago LMFAO

Turkey is up there

I'd argue this is the best supporting cast we've seen on TSM since the OG roster. Nature is insane and kanpeki,even when his fragging isn't at the level you like, knows how to play flash characters very well. If N4rrate can look this good with trick and blackheart I feel like he could excel on TSM

-corey +n4rrate

Corey has consistently been pretty much a raze one trick and no matter if he's tried to be put on jett, chamber, sova, skye or even gekko it just doesn't work. When he's on raze he's one of the best in NA, but you can't keep a guy around who will only be solid on 3 maps max(if the map pool even favors that). N4rrate is by far the best player in the relegation map and is one of the brightest prospects in T2, and TSM's main downsides this past year have been 2 things.

1. consistent IGLing and
   2. a star fragger.

gMd can work on the IGLing in the break and I think he, Kanpeki, Nature, and Seven(who I used to be very critical of) can create a very solid lineup with no obvious agent pool or fragging weaknesses, we just need to see them bring in a fragger that can contend with babybay, tex, koala, sym, etc and n4rrate is just that.

On paper a roster of
N4rrate duelist
Kanpeki flashes+sage
Nature sova viper flex(similar to the way runi does it)
gMd igl and controller(learning harbor)
seven sentinel with a bit of jett flexibility for a map like split
Engh as head coach
Could be one of the top 3-4 in NA next year.

C9
MEGA TIER BREAK
SEN
Furia
LEV
100T
(in that order)
Tier break
MIBR
KRU

Yes they're probably number 3 if Something can play.

Every player to ever play with FNS got substantially better after joining his team(I guess ardiis being the one exception) but guys he's just really lucky

Feels like 7 teams all have a really good chance to win

Zander>Skuba>thief>>>>wippie/valyn/v1c

zyppan

They're all good not great players and Bonecold is a good not great IGL. They seem like they'll be a perpetually mid team but I also don't think any singular player deserves dropping.

I have gotten downvoted for saying he's not a top 5 flex ITW and have had multiple people put him in the top 3 convo he's disgustingly overrated.

I just think he got really overrated from the S1 run. He definitely didn't carry as Sugarz3ro was by far their best player, and though he was a good chamber the only people that played chamber back then were all better than him. Since then he's kind of had this icon status because of the Japanese popularity(I see it similar to early mixwell where he was just extremely popular but hasn't backed it up much) but hasn't actually been good since that stage. In s2 when they didn't qual he got chamber diffed by 2 different NTH players, and since 2023 started he's just been good not great. I personally just see him as an average player but because of his popularity and one tournament where he stole the spotlight from a more deserving teammate I feel like people still think of him as some top tier player.

I disagree I personally think NZR has had the better Sova and Skye for a while but I think Mazino is better in a flex role where he was playing fade and kayo and viper. I think he definitely gets hurt by Kingg being such a good flex player but I still just don't rate him that high.

I've personally been more impressed by NZR throughout the season but the argument is there. In general LEV's roster is a bit dysfunctional atm.

I say Rb because we do this every time with him. The Rb circle starts in open quals when DRX shits on teams and looks amazing, he looks good but the level of competition is bad. Then they get to LAN and his group stage is good as they get easily through bad teams. Once playoffs get around, however, he's statistically one of the worst players at every single playoff and frags at the level of an IGL. The problem is that he does that for 2 games, they get bounced, and people forget. Then group stages come around, he looks good for 10 games, and everyone calls him a top 3 flex ITW. It's just a boring cycle and I hate that he gets called top 3 ITW as a flex when he is consistently the worst playoff performer of all time.

I'd argue d4v4i is one of the most underrated players ITW atm

C9
GIA/BBL if FUT doesn't qual, NAVI/TL if they do
Zeta or GES

Where do u rank him among sentinel players? I feel like the consensus is he's top 3-4 and I really don't see an argument any other way. I do think he skips by criticism for being not great on KJ too much but apart from that, and especially after playoffs, there's no way in my mind he's not top 4.

Nukkye
Cloud
Hoody
qw1
Bonecold

current or all time?

Unpopular opinions and hot takes preferred

I'll go out and say
Mazino(pre playoffs but that's not unpopular anymore IG)
Rb
Laz

I'm willing to elaborate if people are interested but that's my personal overrated list.

Realistically the only guys I see getting changed in NA are:
Sacy and Pancada to BR teams
Stellar
maybes on jawgemo c0m and derrek(but much less likely than the other two)

I think M80 makes it into franchising so the most likely pickups are
flyuh and valyn to IGL 100T and SEN
Trent to wherever Valyn goes
possibly Verno over one of the intiiators listed
possibly skuba over Jawgemo

Apart from that all the duelist slots are filled unless Tenz retires or ardiis goes back to EU(don't know why he would) and there's no reason for c9 NRG or really even EG to make changes atm.

sure, but he wasn't good in league play which all drx duelists have historically done, and buzz outperformed him at every point. Maybe he has a d3ffo like turn up but that's usually the opposite of what happens to drx players, mostly rb. Either way that's 2/5 starters being questionable fraggers compared to competition (as in the most elite teams, players like derke aspas crashies leo shao)

I know abt their shortcomings, this is just one of them. I still rate stax mako buzz very highly, and I think termi has usually done a good job but probably needs a shake up at an analyst spot. Either way I stand by the fact that of the top 5 teams their individuals, especially zest foxy9 and rb, are much behind especially in big games

like I didn't say any of the things u said I said lol

I'm arguing that it isn't stax's fault. They are always well prepped, well coached, and well igled, they just don't have the players to get over the hump. They can win big games here or there but you and I both know their expectation would've been to have at least gotten to one final by now which they've failed to do. I think its a great team but its hard for me to pick them over abt 4-5 teams rn when they individually are behind those teams.

I mean he was worse than Demon1 and Aspas who are the main comparisons but I still don't see him being a bad player lol. I'd rank him dead in the middle of duelists coming into Tokyo behind aspas derke sayf something and jingg off the top of my head.

Americas top 4>any other top 4
Americas top 2>APAC top 2 but <EU
Americas top 1>=APAC but < EU

I'd also say they're 7-8th best teams are so much better than that of EMEA and APAC. 100T or SEN would likely be much better than BBL, TH, RRQ and GES.

So they are definitely in debate for the number one team