Abo on TEC

this game is going to be the foundation for the masterclass BLG is gonna pull to group NRG again

nah being real I think this is all on after. I'm 99% sure they're only putting trust in him because of his seniority, not entirely because they're overlooking & agree with him. it's more negligence than anything and honestly I wouldn't put it past them, since the team has done nothing BUT do well domestically and internationally the past 2 years straight

There are probably 3 outcomes that'll happen after Seoul:

1. EDG keep After and blow up the roster (unlikely)
2. A core is kept with minor changes (most likely option)
3. They run it back with a coaching change (will say it's more likely than #1)

Regardless this will only happen after they bomb out of champs

you'd think there would've been a full on internal investigation by now from EDG, but I'm assuming management is choosing to trust After's word for the moment and see how it goes, which sucks for the players but what can you do?

the sad part is that unless management steps in it'll probably keep going like this til the end of the season. I honestly do not see a world where EDG get their shit straight & do decently at champs

yeah i speculated the igl restriction a while ago because it was such a huge shift in their strategies. there is no possible way that Haodong--probably one of the best igls last year, mind you--is suddenly plunging in quality at the drop of a hat

he's incapable of seeing their gameplay from a 3rd person perspective. if every other team is rapidly improving and you're not with the most amount of international experience, what the actual fuck are you doing?

I can really only watch a few games a week with the free time I have, and i chose CN soooooo

1. NathanD: not a debate
2. Destroyer: at no point has Trace looked definitively bad. 90% of their problems were mental
3. Ego: he clearly knows what he's doing
4. Bail: as soon as they got a competent igl they looked 500x better & they were executing their ideas more cleanly
5. Anaks: JDG look a lot better under him atm
6. 24K: honestly he cooks some pretty cool shit
7. LT: not bad set plays but he needs some more experienced staff working with him
8. Naint: the language barrier with wolves gives him some slack. he was clearly a big help at the beginning
9. 3water: TEC not being at least middle of the pack with this roster is a crime
10. After: mega fraud
11. shuaishuai/sunshine: both were/are equally shit

I'm going to choose to blind myself with optimism and say that AG 1-2 with one loss being close. They've been on an upward trajectory that I don't think is going to stop anytime soon, and regardless of the outcome this series will prove to be a good test & reference point for further improvement.

i know the method what can i say

after EDG inevitably get 2-0'd they will be cemented as the worst team of today

the worst CN team in history vs. the worst CN team of today 🔥🔥🔥

i'd say it is. they were clearly shaken in the first map & first half of lotus, but after they won the bonus they were visibly different. was FPX playing 'great'? no not really, but Trace did a great job after the first lotus half & actually looked like the top 3 team people expected them to be

Trace started swinging in 2nd half, OT turned into a slugfest, and they rode the momentum to win sunset pretty convincingly

gotta wait for their game to see how they're dealing with it rn

i'm not counting on it! if they did tho i would be so happy for them

FPX had it too good for too long 👿

make yourselves known before the rise of China's next kings

"embarrass" as if it's not common knowledge in the CN league that protocols & sensible strategies are the biggest things they're lacking. going from 0 to 10 is more impressive than EMEA teams just staying the same level of mid throughout the year

m8 has been consistently a bottom barrel team in EMEA. I'm not a china glazer but to say DRG wouldn't beat them or even make the game remotely competitive is stupid lmfao

giving m8 too much credit imo

my bad 🐐

stole it from nip 🥱

yup https://liquipedia.net/valorant/China_National_Competition/Season_2/Circuit_Points
the vods are admittedly hard to find unless you know who's gonna be co-streaming. i've only watched a few series of the 2nd half of the season

they have been. maybe they'll pull a mongolz and turn up

nice to see a Fennel believer! at most they repeat last year and get 3rd

who knows maybe GE will poach 4 koreans and give LightningFast competent teammates

they will somehow turn every roster they have mid don't give them ideas

he's fucking crazy. their util usage is also so good. they swing and scale off of literally everything

pretty sure it's persia yeah

freeing is good but i'm ashamed to admit that I've been skipping Dplus' games 😔

Margaret's cypher is different. wins literally every fight on his site istg

jp: Riddle Order redeeming their split 1 qual fumble & sweeping the regular season apart from a SCARZ upset
hk/tw: Oblivion Force & ONE both showcasing pretty dominant performances. Don't see a world where the ascension representative isn't between one of them
kr: Sun Prisa is the obvious favorite (similar story to Riddle Order minus the one loss)
cn: very competitive mechanic-heavy league. atm the CCG and RA have generally been the most consistent, but Kulin Esports has been outpacing with their lineup aim diffing literally everyone (they also play surprisingly decent fundamental valorant)

Sentinels, eg, loud, blg, prx, fnatic, cgrs, cove, aspas, potter, shorty whiff, ardiis double agent, judge, fnatic, 100T, LEV 13-4 x2

yeah but they left after all of them didn't make partnership

The only 3 relevant teams outside of val are Keepbest, CCG, and RA. The others are the cn equivalent of YFP or TurtleTroop.

i mean i would put CCG over RA but I just personally like them more

amer: MXS or OXG
emea: MOUZ
pac: Riddle Order
china: rare atom (Kulin Esports would do better though)

they're not even gonna be in vct in 2 years

also means that the losing team was most likely destroying them on buy rounds, too

both pistols lost = convincing
1 pistol won = comfortable
both pistols won = way closer than the score shows

it goes so hard

wolves being that high is crazy

looking back in hindsight their close games were mostly from their opponents underestimating them and not preparing for the aim diff (life was going nuclear). I love the ASE boys but it cannot be understated how much DelB, Spitfires, and Sword9 all contribute to the core with their overall more sensible approach to the game

outside of Trace every other org just had more clout and following in other games & platforms ngl. also without life they probably wouldn't have done as well as AG are doing rn

aspas & texture clear unfortunately

the one topic of discussion that makes me wish there was a keyword mute option. holy fuck everything around this debate is so braindead

https://www.vlr.gg/vct-2024/standings