for me it just feels like ange1 + d00mbros vs the rest of the team

you cannot be trolling comps like that in lcq. "saving strats" my ass

oops i forgot -- that just makes it even worse

and remember, if it weren't for fnatic they wouldn'tve even been at tokyo...

a team with 3 4 masters winners and one champs winner and not only were they just squeaking by to go to a masters, they're tied with a team that was in total shambles midseason

just embarrassing

mistic if they find a way to fix his tendency to hard choke at big events

edit: i realized right after i sent this mistic doesn't igl in apeks whoops

ngl even if they win ange1 needs to go. he's actively holding the team back

based on the cinematics, it'd be pheonix. the cocky overconfident guy whose primary arc is to become more humble without losing his flashiness -- it'd be a good fit!

my girlfriend loves rina lol, my favorite song of hers is lucid

if only falcons made it far in ascension sadge

it'll be closer if navi doesn't look like they were matchfixing like against koi. that showing was actually just horrid. but knowing navi their mental is just so boomed now that they get 2-0d

i never heard of this, is this some new up and coming indie guy

damn this is good -- do you know if they releasing anything this year?

thanks owen <3

This is an idea I had for a while just for shits and giggles. Hopefully it hasn't been done before (or at least, not very recently. Let me know if it has).

I'm going to make a Spotify playlist using songs y'all put in the comments. However, the point of this playlist is to show hidden gems that you really want others to hear. This means an obscure song or a song from an obscure artist that you think is great and underappreciated.

My example of this: Moon Chamber by Embracer (not virus link) -- the song has 1.5 million listens, but the artist itself only has about 30k listeners. I found it through my Discover Weekly some time back and thought it was fantastic, despite not being my usual genre. Some other examples are Play My Favorite Song by Tigercub, I Suppose by Maudlin Strangers, or Sisyphus by Quadeca

So, a basic rule: whatever song you pick should EITHER

• have fewer than 3 million listens, AND/OR
• come from an artist with fewer than 5 million monthly listeners.

So, a song with 50 million streams from an artist with 600k listeners (aka their one hit wonder) is fair game. Similarly, a song with 600k streams from an artist with 15 million listeners is also fair game. These rules have some leeway to them obviously -- the really concrete rule is no mainstream songs/artists that everyone knows, since that's not the point of this playlist.

Bonus points if you recommend people with fewer than 100k streams or listeners -- some of them put out some really good shit, but they're hard to find since they're so small.

I will compile this playlist by the end of Champions (so ~ a month). I will necro this post a couple of times a week so more people can see and send their recs.

Have fun! (also inb4 allat)

nothing but thieves

honorary mention to tyler though, i've been binging his music despite not usually liking rap much

that's ok man. it's ok to try again, as many tries at it takes!

25% -- based on how they're performing I could swear they want Shao to leave for greener pastures. feels intentional even.

fans are a good 80-90% though

smartest kc fan

a bo7 sweep is a 4-0

kru making a run
koi making a run
lev possibly making americas lcq a latam grand final

la comunidad hispana/latina celebra esta semana

aylez is a rare navi fan that doesn't make navi her whole personality so she gets a pass

ange1 and d00mbros more than anyone

facts, unless it's a final the only teams apeks loses to are fnc and liquid

na na navi
na na navi
hey hey hey
goodbye

based on that performance i wouldn't be surprised if botvi gets caught for matchfixing

nah prx's comps are strange but they're not this bad. brim on lotus is just a hard throw

W

saving strats for champs 2027

they are handily beating fnc/2022 loud as the most annoying fans to ever touch this website

the team is fine, i like shao

🫵🏼🤡

he literally left coaching because he didn't like it my guy. he was definitely what 100t needed but you can't force a guy back into a job he doesn't want

tbh i didn't even know the original i like men thread existed lmao, i was going off the i like women one

right when i posted it the original was necro'd

so many new threads by the second rn, hope this one gets buried fast

i guess that's true. if kru's big improvement was just clearing their mental hurdle of not closing out matches then edg deserves to be in that same tier. all credit to kru nevertheless -- going 0-9 and now potentially going to champs is still a huge improvement

my argument is that SEN hasn't had the time to really show their improvement...as of now, at least. it still felt like a clear upgrade after getting marved, so they're at least showing a little potential there

liquid was one of the few teams i lacked a bit of familiarity with. were they really that bad in lock//in? i just always expected them to be top 3 in emea in regular season regardless and they did fine in masters from what i saw

i had them there initially, i just thought the improvements seen from KRU and especially EG were larger atm. if they do well in champs then they totally deserve the "most improved" spot

i knew i could get your support on this aylez, just a hunch

-skrossi (no pajamas)
+skrossi (with pajamas)

instant champs winning roster

-dephh +marved was a big upgrade

no bias obviously?

Original thread here

*my points of comparison are Lock-in / the start of the regular season vs the end of Masters/current LCQ. Since LCQ is ongoing that can obviously change stuff for the LCQ teams.

image here (not virus link i promise)

some notes on why i placed certain teams in certain tiers:

• Vitality isn't included because it's not fair to them after what happened.
• PRX in "clear improvement" post-Something (they were rocky pre-Something).
• LOUD in "got worse" after crashing out in Masters, but if you exclude that they're in "remained mostly the same." same with NAVI
• RRQ and BBL weren't expected to do very well but they almost snatched a playoff spot in their respective leagues, so they have potential.
• EDG + KangKang went much further than anyone expected, so "clear improvement."
• BLG and ASE weren't included in the list I used. BLG go in "clear improvement" after qualifying for Champs, ASE remained mostly the same (not very good)
• I AM NOT COMPARING TEAMS AGAINST EACH OTHER, JUST HOW THEY PERFORMED. FNATIC IS IN THE MIDDLE TIER BECAUSE THEY REMAINED THE SAME (GOOD)

i welcome thoughts and opinions. i may edit the list today and provide a new link after i see people's comments. i obviously couldn't watch every match in every league so some more input is appreciated. might also make a list after Champs just to see how much each team changed post-lockin

EDITS FOR THE LATER LIST:

• EDG to most improved (owen has convinced me)
• Liquid to "clear improvement" (i didn't realize they were really bad in lock in, but I expected them to be top 3 emea anyway. dolphin has enlightened me there)

OWL was dead for years sadly, this is just making the funeral faster

Had a discussion about this with some friends after their loss yesterday -- the big concern was that despite having 4 int'l champions and a young talent in zekken, they weren't able to make it work. That being said, the current roster only existed for since May (so just over 2 months), so the question becomes whether the team can gel in the offseason.

Let's say they do and they perform much better next season -- perhaps qualify for Masters. Then no changes are needed. But, let's say they don't, and they go 4-5 or worse again. What might happen? JUST TO MAKE IT CLEAR -- THIS ASSUMES NO ROSTER CHANGES UNTIL AFTER LCQ NEXT YEAR. With this org administration who tf knows if they'll suddenly drop someone for no reason. If they do this post is immediately moot.

Scenario 1: kaplan is dropped
SEN and coaching -- a relationship that has never worked sadly. They drop Sykko mid-season to some mixed results. Honestly, SEN is suffering the same problem I keep saying for 100T: a star-studded roster that just isn't working, and a likely culprit is the coach if they don't improve. Again, it might be too early to tell since this roster is two months old. But, he might be first on the chopping block based on this org's previous behavior if SEN don't make playoffs next season.

What I hope actually happens: kaplan and drewspark cook something up in the offseason and SEN improves off that alone
What might happen if the scenario becomes true: I have no idea bro, I just hope they'd bring in a solid coach and not some old CS player (looking at DFM)

Scenario 2: either Pancada or Marved are benched/transferred elsewhere
I really like both Pancada and Marved, and I do remember Pancada saying in an interview (maybe?) that he doesn't like playing controller. But, it's felt clear to me that his sentinel play pales in comparison to the powerhouse he was as an Astra player in 2022. Statistically he's done better when he played Viper than when he played KJ since the start of the season. (Cypher is an outlier since he's only done two maps with him.) There's no denying that both Pan and Marved were two of the top 5, maybe even top 3 controllers itw in 2022, and while they've tried to make it work the org might want to drop one of them to make way for a stronger sentinel player.

What I hope actually happens: role switches depending on map -- Pancada takes the Astra on Astra maps, Marved takes the other controllers on the other maps. No one dropped. Pancada viper + Marved second smokes whenever icebox and breeze return to the pool.
What likely happens if the scenario becomes true: Pancada is benched and would likely return to Loud unless Tuyz drastically improves. Marved solo controller + igl is hard to replace already.

Scenario 3: TenZ retires from pro play
Since Masters 2021 TenZ has had a very, very rocky road in his pro career, including his fiancee's diagnosis, which hurts more because he and Kyedae are around my age. I don't know why, but I can't get the idea out of my head that TenZ could retire by the end of 2024 if SEN doesn't go to Champs. I can understand if he does, though. He's had a lucrative career, is a known name in the Valorant scene and forever will be, and he could spend more time focusing on Kyedae if her condition were to get worse (god forbid) with a more flexible streaming schedule. I know SEN themselves will never drop him on their own accord because of how integral he is to the brand and fanbase, so the only way TenZ would leave is if he leaves on his own.

What I hope actually happens: TenZ becomes a very strong initiator as implied with his kayo play in LCQ, eliminating another role clash and helping the team for another two+ years
What might happen if this scenario becomes true: SEN Verno. He'll be of age to join VCT and has shown some huge potential in OXG as a main initiator.

As it stands Sacy and zekken should be safe no matter what unless they hard throw next year. If Pancada leaves Sacy might as well if they consider themselves a package deal like Victor+crashies. zekken just needs to stay off raze whenever he can, his jett is pretty strong.

I welcome any thoughts, opinions, and other scenarios you might've thought of. these were just scenarios I made up in my head while I was bored at work

(also inb4 allat. some light formatting edits too)

ah hell nah not patricius

i fear that dicey is one of the few players that unironically got carried by chamber meta. he won't be good

also i wouldn't change the roster except maybe stellar, but i really think a coach change is more necessary. maybe move derrek to 6th and bring in someone from m80 because i think derrek's mental is a bit shot atm

i'm seemingly the only one in my online friend group that's been playing on 60 lol. those friends have been saying that once i start playing on the new monitor i'll jump from diamond to ascendant pretty quick. hope that's true :)

my game runs at 160, so from what you're saying it'll indeed make things feel very different. i'm stoked. i've never had another monitor apart from the one i have rn and i just thought most people played on 60. i guess i was still in the mindset of many years ago when 144hz monitors were more novel and more expensive than they are now

240 is my eventual goal, i just didn't have the money for it lol. once i get a job i plan on getting a 240 and offloading my old 60 to my little sister who's been wanting one for her ps5

the monitor i got was an HP, and i've yet to have a bad experience with HP hardware. let's hope it stays that way

i saw some 165hz monitors on sale (i got mine because of prime day) but they were mostly from some dubious chinese brands that i had never heard from

i imagine 60 --> 144 is a must upgrade and everything else is more like a bonus?

i've been playing on a 60hz monitor my whole life but i bought a 144hz monitor last week and sent it to my house (won't be back until august, my brother received it)

is it really such a huge upgrade as they say? would my gameplay instantly improve assuming i don't need to readjust anything?

i'm currently diamond and my friends call me crazy for being that rank on 60 and i thought that was normal... turns out i was the only one on 60

soy patriota pero realista

that being said i hope kru proves me wrong and surprises everyone -- i said they were a sleeper pick