The biggest point I take issue with is that Ascent is very clearly not OpTic's best map, idk where he's getting that from

OpTic is strong on that map, sure, but it's not their best. Bind is probably their best map, they just don't get to play it because everyone bans it against them.

Not sure how this guy even tried to claim Ascent is OpTic's best map when it's literally the only map they lost in the matches that took place this same exact day.

Makes zero sense

same for me, though I'll insert "NA team" after favorite team

usually that's just because of the rivalry between regions, but this time it's because that's best case scenario for Envy if we lose early

Envy vs VK feels like a back and forth 2-1 with a lot of insane individual plays between Heat and yay. Plus Heat will probably make it interesting with his energy and trash talk.

A: 1. Acend 2. VS
B: 1. Envy 2. VK
C: 1. 100T 2. GMB
D: 1. SEN 2. G2

Only upset I have is VS over SMB. I think Acend takes the rematch (in a very close series) against SMB after they've had the opportunity to learn, and VS brings a style that answers SMB's aggression. SMB goes out after suffering a couple nail-biting losses to two very good squads.

Everything else goes pretty much exactly as expected (100T finishes as one seed over GMB, which might be considered an upset, but both still make it out).

is this a troll? that wasn't my rebuttal at all lmao

Agree on the best rifler part. Whatever game ScreaM plays, he's probably the best pure rifler in it.

I also think he could do that flex. It's just that, for the most part, he hasn't recently. That's the only reason I didn't include him. I initially had him in there until I double checked his recent agent pool.

Jett by a wide margin here lately, I thought it was closer with Reyna and Sage.

as if TenZ hasn't gone on stretches of whiffing?

the gap isn't huge, if you think it is then you haven't been paying attention

statistically yay is the best Jett NA. im not a statistics only kind of guy, which is why i still think TenZ is better, but you can't ignore what yay has been doing on the basis of "he missed his right clicks against SEN"

Since I did the "one player per team" thing, he didn't show up. I think he's the best player NA, but the gap isn't huge between him and someone like yay.

So for a player from SEN, I chose Sick, who I think has a bigger gap to the next closest player in his role.

Also I felt the gap between Crashies and BcJ was substantial enough to force that pick. Definite chance for bias there. But once Crashies is locked in, you can see why I made some of the choices i did.

I also have Steel as slightly better than FNS personally. Love them both as IGLs, but I favor Steel's mechanics by a little bit.

Granted, I don't necessarily disagree. I think Wardell - Sick - Nitro - BcJ - FNS vs Wardell - Sick - Dephh - Crashies - Steel is splitting hairs.

Shahz was in a tough spot because of the one player per team thing that I decided to do. If not for that, he'd definitely be in there.

Scream was a tough choice. I just didn't think he fit much as a flex seeing as he primarily plays Jett. And for players that are primarily on Jett, I'll take Cned.

Taking a stab at BR:

Jett - Heat (VK)
Flex - Shion (HL)
Smoke - Pancada (SH)
Initiator - Sacy (VKS)
Sentinel - Less (JGG)

Those don't work if you follow the "no more than 1 player per team" rule. But good shouts nonetheless, all were players worth considering.

If you had to build a superteam from each region, what would the team look like? Also, just to make this more fun, let's say no more than 1 player from any team. So no "TenZ, Sick, Shahz, Dapr, Zombs". You get the idea

I'll start with my takes on NA and EMEA

NA:

Jett - Wardell (TSM)
Flex - Sick (SEN)
Smoke - Dephh (XSET)
Initiator - Crashies (NV)
Sentinel - Steel (100T)

EMEA:

Jett - Cned (ACE)
Flex - Nukkye (G2)
Smoke - DavidP (VGIA)
Initiator - Russ (SMB)
Sentinel - Nats (GMB)

this is probably the best answer

Best: outside of my bias to Envy, I think xset and fpx are solid from a user standpoint

Worst: again from a user standpoint, it's pretty much the largest fanbases, like 100T, Liquid, Sentinels, and TSM

shammy

A couple bits of reading then...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-05/ccp-patriotic-education-young-people-in-australia/100260298

The long-term propaganda campaign pushed by the Chinese government, used to instill a widespread populous holding embedded nationalistic/patriotic views. Also, anecdotally, the Chinese people are typically very proud (understandably so, given their history) and this lends itself to a sense of superiority and loyalty to their nation.

As for a bit of scholarly data, from a respected publication...

https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/05/05/5-national-pride-and-shame/

The US is not as patriotic these days as many people think (on average, it is less proud than Germany, the UK, and France). Patriotism is on the decline in the states. And a bit of quick research shows that the opposite can be said for China; that is, patriotism is on the rise in the PRC.

If you're referring to primarily on these forums, it's simply the NA vs EU argument. But where EU is a multitude of countries all taken as one entity, NA is primarily the US. So it's natural, in these debates, for the NA side to sound very patriotic and "as one" as compared to a much more diversified EU.

In real life? I'd say the US is more patriotic than average but definitely not the most. China comes to mind as a place that's definitely more patriotic than the US. But two things make the US seem worse.

1) Americans, as we all know, are a loud and brash group. Our form of patriotism is often very loud and in your face. That can make the patriotism seem like a lot.
2) There's a lot of Americans. It's a big country. The sheer volume of people voicing patriotic stances online can make it seem like we are the most patriotic people on earth.

I think there's also just a sensitivity, amongst Americans, about foreign people shitting on us. This is a country full of proud people, and a lot of us tend to get overly defensive when we feel disrespected. We're not all like that (I've never been particularly patriotic) but this is just my view from within the borders.

China, specifically, is insanely patriotic.

This is the weirdest take. Half the fun in being a fan is being fanatic and super attached to your team. That's the point. Competition is hardly any fun without a rooting interest. And that rooting interest is amplified if you, as a fan, feel like you're part of the thing that's happening.

Also why do people give a shit about this? You're just looking for something to nitpick at that point.

takes a brave man to say that on this forum

it's literally a copy and paste from reddit

This is the one of the most realistic or likely predictions - besides maybe 100T over Xset or Envy - but there's almost always a surprise. I'd bet that only two of the top four (SEN, 100T, Xset, Envy) get through.

I don't think Furia wins twice against GL in one event. Furia is not great. I could see a 1-1 split though.

I don't think yay is getting overhyped (I think the guy is just that good) but I still have TSM taking this one for two reasons:

1) TSM is on fire right now
2) Even though yay plays a role that should slot right in, the chemistry won't be perfect for Envy yet

https://www.vlr.gg/pickem/6e2dbdfa

I wouldn't bet on Faze pulling this off personally, but I always have some upsets and surprise runs in my pick em's, cause the scene is just never 100% predictable.

So Faze is who I chose as my unexpected variable. Had to be either them or LG, and I just like Faze a bit more.

NA: SEN, Envy, Faze
EMEA: Acend, Giants, G2, Gambit
Brazil: Vikings, Stars Horizon
LATAM: KRU
JP: CR, Zeta Division

No idea for OCE

Yep, just realized that they don't have a core 3 anymore so of course not

I understood that part, I was curious about VCT LCQ in particular

But I just realized that I'm an idiot and they can't do VCT LCQ anyways cause they don't have a core 3 anymore

well it wouldn't be a hot take if everyone agreed with me

Nah coopercsgo is a fake account

Can they play for LCQ? I can't remember

Might be correct but it's so boring

3 of NA's top 4 teams going to Berlin? No fun. Throw some upsets in there!

I think they'd be a lot of fun to watch on LAN. I dont really think that it'll happen, but at least one underdog almost always shows up in these type of things, so why not Faze?

The scenes would be insane with them going to Berlin

https://www.vlr.gg/pickem/6e2dbdfa

Before we get into playoffs and masters, who do you all think are the top 4 teams in the world? Hot takes encouraged

In order I've got: 1. Sen 2. Acend 3. Vision Strikers 4. Envy (no bias detected)

Agree. Their performance is probably the most interesting storyline of the EMEA playoffs imo.

I have them beating FPX (sorry) then losing to G2 and Gambit in my bracket. I also have both G2 and Gambit qualifying, so those aren't bad losses imo.

I see at least one non-EU team qualifying through the EMEA playoffs - but SMB and Gambit are the only two that I think can do it. Personally just trust Gambit slightly more due to the greater experience as a team.

I'm a big fan of SMB, but I do think that they need a bit more time before they catch Gambit. Love their long term potential though

Edit: i have SMB finishing 5/6th in my bracket, Gambit in 4th, so i don't think the gap is huge at the moment

you gotta link your own pick em, it's in the top-left of the bracket screen

you just linked everyone to their own pick em

Agree. This is almost exactly the way I look at it.

Yeah love Leviathan as a player, don't want people thinking I'm hating on the kid. Just gotta keep performing like he is as the competition gets tougher, that's all.

I feel like this is the way most competitive scenes eventually go. All the talent inevitably congregates under a few powerful brands.

But I'm hoping KCP and V1 remain relevant. They both should have the necessary funds (V1 is owned by the parent company of the Minnesota Vikings, and KCP has gotten some pretty massive sponsorships) but it's a matter of if they choose to continue investing heavily.

bro are you good?

Proven track record over a long span of time as one of the best performing Sova's in NA. Great mechanics, great support, and has been very clutch. This is against teams like 100T, Sen, XSET, and so on for months now. A good portion of Leviathan's games still include all the lower tier competition from before. He's got to do more at the top.

But it's not a slight on Leviathan. I thought he was one of the best AMs to pick up when TSM snagged him (I would've taken Levi before Bang tbh). I would've been pounding the table for Envy to pick up Levi if they didn't already have Crashies. I just don't think he's done enough in the top tier to be put over Crashies yet. The kid is insane, like best Sova NA potential, but it's too soon to crown him imo.

I keep seeing Levi over Crashies and I just don't get it.

Crashies is pretty widely considered best Sova NA, top 2 at the very least. Levi is insane, but I'll take Crashies at the moment

yeah, 100T is definitely just fine with Asuna

Envy was the team that could benefit the most by getting yay, and they got him

not a great take, he's far from the only one on 8 ping and nobody else on that ping is putting up his numbers

was that legit? i heard that too but wasn't sure