would be hilarious tbh

Aussie and friends with no australian is goofy

lineups are something that pretty much all players learn, you gotta know lineups to play viper, kj, cypher, etc. as well.

Yes the debate between him or Yoru depends on the team and if they have a capable 2nd duelist, or its map dependent.

Like yeah you got a point but to say stop playing KAYO like KAYO is the issue when he really isnt and it ultimately comes down to preference as it always has with the initiator class, and the same thing with tech and strats.. Maps and team roles are mainly the reason at the end of the day when teams pick Yoru/Kayo/whoever else as theres still many very good options for initiator class right now.

double init and kayo are good, breach obviously not

Kayo will always be good to negate abilities and having good flashes, just need a coordinated team (pros are great at this)

I didn't say shit about Leo, he'd be fine when he comes back but will probably be rusty at first, Babybay is ofc gonna be rusty after not playing anything but probably ranked since 2022/23. Yeah they are playing against a caster sure, but G2 also has 4 really good players besides that. Yay still doing well against the rest of G2.

ultimately 4-1 doesn't mean anything though if we don't show up in playoffs when it matters. Thats what I'm more concerned about is can we win enough to make champs

I hope 4-1, but probably 3-2. Mibr and Kru if they are on a good day probably win, but if their current forms prior to this week MIBR then I can see NRG winning out.

Honestly really glad to see them in a good form again.

babybay is a former pro though, he was always in the convos for a top 5 duelist in NA pre franchising with FaZe. Never made it to any LANs but they were super close in 2022 on more than one occasion, he used to diff alot of the guys that you see nowadays in NA too.

Thats true I remember that atleast about the PRX guys.

i lowkey forgot steel existed

Yeah I had heard that too back at the time.

In terms of success across both games, probably someone like Ethan or ScreaM for NA and EMEA respectively. TenZ, Shroud, Tarik, Nitr0, FNS are all kinda HMs atleast in terms of the NA scene, I can't speak on EMEA or APAC players.

thats fair. I haven't been paying much attention post Toronto between EWC and what not so you got a point.

he's always been a very underrated player imo. Been a fan of his since he was on Knights in 2022. Was really glad we picked him up and he's had the chem with Brawk, Mada, and Bonkar from OXG in T2.

He also has the capabilities to IGL iirc, surprised we didnt give him that duty over Ethan at first.

TH top tier gotta be bait right?? They've been underperforming all year

furia wasnt this bad in the open circuit era, when brazil would get 2 slots furia was usually one of them other than loud or vivo keyd

so probably 2023 dfm v 2023 kc v franchising furia all give runs for worst teams

okeanos the girl kissers goat

bump

Been watching since the start, and its easily the 2020-21 era. Alot of teams still didn't know the game super well and it was very random in terms of teams that made it outside of a small handful which were miles ahead of others. 2022 Was when we started to see stability and a good amount of teams in the open circuit era understanding, as well as some amazing Masters events like Reykjavik and Copenhagen that to this day hold up as some of the better ones.

So I wouldn't consider anything in '22 as a plumber era as the majority of players, orgs, coaches, etc. from that era are still very active in Tier 1 valo, the same cannot be said about 2021.

nerfing his smokes will literally make it the astra meta again, that buff was the best thing that happened to the controller class, that shit used to take ages and was very annoying at times. I'm guessing you didn't play during that time if you think thats a good idea.

Omen don't need a nerf, most maps are 50/50 with Omen v Astra and thats ultimately a pro team preference call. Just buff Harbor and Brim to be competitive beyond Bind

Omen doesn't need another nerf, just buff Brim and Harbor. And the map pool ultimately comes down to Omen v Astra by mainly preference as Astra getting any further buffs would probably put us back to 2021/22 Astra meta.

Thats a map pool/preference thing ultimately.

Meteor i can definitely see being on there over him, he would be my #6

https://www.vlr.gg/508515/alfajer-or-less
#17

Recency bias goes crazy. Both are close but if we're talking strictly in terms of sentinel play, its Less. He's also diff'd Alfa almost everytime theyve played

1. Nats
2. Less
3. Alfajer
4. Chichoo
5. Leaf

Less but not by much, both are insane players with really similar accomplishments but Less has done more and also diff'd Alfa almost everytime they've played eachother.

Less is more of a senti-viper player (like nats) whereas Alfa is a flex, we've seen him be duelist/senti. So theyre not exact 1:1 players that can be compared

they deserve it, been to nearly every LAN and never got it until today

memea moment

wtf was that

they'll downvote the truth

Idk are they? I havent been keeping up with points

Nah I'll agree with that atleast.

You're clearly misunderstanding what I was saying bruh.

FNC has been the only consistently good team to come out of Europe since 2023, TH are chokers. Liquid ever since theyve been in valo have been lucky to even make international playoffs. VIT Imploded.

EMEA and CN have been equally below AMER/APAC for most of 24-25 excluding FNC/EDG as a whole, despite fielding 2 of the top 5 teams ITW in that period.

Honestly up to this point yeah, although he's never quite been the best on his team at any point. But he's still been consistently the 2nd/3rd best player so its the only knock against him but when you look at it from purely trophy wins, yes.

Recency bias always goes crazy on this platform

G2
SEN
MIBR
NRG

FNC
TL
BBL
KC

EDG
BLG
WOL
XLG/FPX

PRX
GENG
T1
DRX

Champs 2023, Madrid 2024 ring a bell to you?

0/8 bait

FNC wasnt the worst, but EMEA as a region BESIDES them has been on par with China excluding EDG

recency bias goes crazy

EU frogs been waiting for like over a year to talk their shit like they havent been the worst region since 2023 Tokyo, and even then it was just FNC.

APAC has trophies now and theyre arguably the best around region.

Bad tournaments/games happen Champs will be different.

FNC beats WOL barring a major upset

PRX beats FNC

its not, BR was always its own region.

Why LATAM is catching strays here is beyond me

APAC > AMER > EMEA >= CH

Thats fair, personally I've always liked PRX despite being an NRG/Optic/TGRD/G2 fan and PRX having been rivals with them. I'd honestly root for them over FNC. or Honestly Wolves because who cares if TMV is happy or not? That shouldnt stop you from liking a team

one team region talking

Regions as a whole its definitely
APAC > AMER > CH > EMEA

APAC and Americas are very top heavy with realistically 3-5/12 teams being international contenders, where China has 1 superteam and 3-4 really solid teams that flip flop on who makes it to internationals that dont have enough experience yet to be serious contenders (beyond WOL cinderella run which is basically Zeta 2022 Reykjavik over again)

EMEA has FNC which would be a top 3 in any region and then like 5-6 middle of pack teams with some major shitters near the bottom

Real shit.

Why do you dislike PRX/FNC?

nah, one bad tournament and the eu frogs gonna overreact as they always do, they been dying to say Nearest Airport for a long time.