can we please put c0m on sentinel idk how much longer I can watch him lurk on an info agent while aspas dives into site blind

2 for 2 :DDD

crashies is more expendable, but imo crashies shouldve been the igl from the beginning

bump :)

:(

hellooooo back with more takes

today we talk about NRG

I believe that NRG would be better off with a different IGL from the team rather than Ethan

1) Ethan does not seem very comfortable as the IGL. Taking the SEN series as an example, we see that Ethan struggled heavily on Sunset and Split, two maps where SEN is very deep in starts, while doing very well on Ascent, a map where SEN isn't as deep on. It's clear that going deep in Ethan's igling bag takes a toll on his performance, especially when up against deep tactics. Ethan is too good of a player to let something else hinder his game, I would say for NRG to win they need Ethan to always be at top performance. Additionally, when back on EG, Ethan was nowhere near the main caller role and, to me, probably more as the third option maximum. Boostio was the main caller and both COM and Jawgemo seemed to be more proactive with callouts, thus, being that IGL is not fully natural for him.

2) Ethan doesn't have the same rapport with Chet as other members. Ethan has just joined the team and haven't has as much experience running Chet's system as other members on the team, who have been together for years. This kind of chemistry is necessary to a degree just because those two people are the ones who work together the most and really need to be synced in to understand each other. More experience together = a better run system. See both Boaster and mini for Fnatic and JohnQT and Kaplan for SEN as examples. I will say it's not as big a factor as others, but for a win-now team, I think going from one system to IGLing another completely different system without having a dropoff in team performance is a very big stretch.

3) Ethan's skill isn't getting showcased as much as the IGL. See point 1 with his decreasing stats in more difficult games; I think that Ethan, as a world-class initiator/support player, is being wasted on the initiator. NRG has two world-class initiators in crashies and Ethan, but as a support role I think Ethan edges him out. NRG is losing a lot of value by having Ethan IGL. To me, Ethan has been more of Sacy/Chronicle type player, quiet but very supportive in every move. Knows how to make the instinctive right play without needing to communicate. That's not exactly what an IGL is though.

4) (don't take this point too seriously) Ethan doesn't have that IGL swagger. Look at the top IGL's now. Saadhak, Boostio, king, JohnQT, Boaster, etc, they have have some time of swagger and confidence that I want my IGL to have. Ethan acts too proper when compared to those top IGLS.

Now, who would replace him.

For me, its crashies/victor

Crashies because he is the other support/initiator on the team, his gameplay can take a little fall because they would have Ethan to fill in. He has a longer understanding of Chet's system to run it more smoothly. I also remember the play against SEN where he ran away with bomb when Zellsis was in garage on Split and FNS said that Crashies made the "too correct" play. I want my IGL always to make the too correct call. Has that swagger too.

Victor has take more of a backseat now with Demon1 taking the entry role so he might be a good option to IGL. Good understanding of Chet's system and was a very smart entry back in Optic days by always setting up Yay for success

If those two say no or have already said no, then Marved. Had decent success with Sentinels.

Of course, maybe I'm completely wrong and all Ethan needs is time and experience

let me know what you think :)

this is my personal take, can agree or disagree :)

to me it looked like this KC run from EMEA was like lightning in a bottle and the team doesn't look sustainable.

The shift of three duelists to two becoming flex roles have worked now because they seem to play their new roles in a more crude/simple way than someone who mains the role. You can say experience will play a major factor into the development of their roles, but as they learn more about the intricacies of their respective roles, I think their play will decrease from 1) worrying too much about what the right play is and 2) becoming more readable because they are trying to make the right play

marteen sort of reminds me of 2021 tenz on Jett, and tenz struggled with controlling aggression early on, so it's a toss-up on whether or not marteen will adjust as a main carry or shoot down the path of someone like asuna

I also don't completely trust MAGNUM as an IGL, but that might be more of a personal bias. He did look like he was outcalled at times (SEN), and his midrounding looked a bit suspicious at times. Add the fact that he's not the most fragging of IGLs, and it provides reason for concern.

The team swept through EMEA and even beat FNATIC. I don't think FNATIC loses twice, and TH has looked better this tournament (from aim to strategy, and it looks like they have more room to improve). So this leaves KC fighting with the rest of EMEA for the third Shanghai spot.

It all comes down to ENGH and his ability to bring the team together.

let me know your thoughts !!!

yea i think the lack of exp is one of the major reasons for why TH lost today, looked pretty bad in the second half of their games. TH can be a pretty dangerous team this year but I want to see how they react to when their neon strats get anti-ed and also how woot(never seen him play) fits in

i don't think he's 100% wrong as an NA fan

I think EMEA is a three-team region for FNC/TH/KC, but I can see teams sliding in (someone like FUT will make it once)

TL - I don't trust the core of Enzo/Mistic and I personally don't believe in Keiko as a main duelist

NAVI to me looks like they are running outdated comps, so I'm going to assume they play very similar to last year (could be wrong I don't watch EMEA)

I don't have a good grasp of the other teams in EMEA but even without those that's a good 4-5 team rotation

For NA, obv LEV and NRG will be better, but as a SEN fan idk how long they can keep this form up, if something like Omen gets nerfed hard idk how they will adapt

So NA is like a 3-4 team region as well, IMO pretty equal to EMEA

mmm i think saadhak is pretty set on qck being his duelist

does tuyz play duelist ??

100t pancada

right, thats why i think 100t might lowk be a good fit because he wouldn't need to talk w asuna and boostio, similar to how sacy is rn letting zellsis do most of the talking. he's also a direct upgrade to bang and i think it would make them more competitive.

do you think loud would drop tuyz for pancada

i just hate the fit for furia

where do you think pancada would fit in best + where do you think he would realistically go

IMO realistically its mibr because of the coach connection, but I think 100t could be an interesting option to replace bang, comms wouldn't be an issue because of asuna + boostio lol

i hate the furia fit just cause of how mwzera-centric they are and how all resources go to him, would be a waste of pancada's skill

eg would be a pipedream but i would love to see how potter would use him

looking for other opinions on this