CommunityFortress

Week 3

Week 2 of ESEA was played on cp_follower, a map plagued by stalemates and backcaps and is agreed by most to be boring to play as well as to watch. Week 3 presents ctf_turbine, a map that was tried early on in the life of competitive tf2 but was taken off the lineup in NA because most believed ctf didn’t work as great in TF2 as it did in its predecessor, TFC. Yet, Euro’s continue to play on the map and it’s considered one of their favorites. After the success of the koth gametype in week 1, hopefully ctf can be revived, adding depth to competitive tf2.

Snipers and engineers are situational on turbine, yet I feel most teams will see that 2 scouts are better than 1 scout + 1 engy/sniper. Therefore for many teams, the basic lineup will be played for the majority of the match. Kritz is also run from time to time to mix things up and keep opponents on their heels, but uber remains the default choice.

Complexity v Loaded
Coming with the name Loaded, some who haven’t watched TF2 in a while expect a dominant team who is considered unbeatable by most. Yet, that team is now Complexity, and the new Loaded is ex-VG who barely missed the playoff spot last season. Not much can be stated about Loaded yet; because of delays and busy schedules they’ve only played 2 matches; one they lost to the 3rd ranked team (Pandemic) and the other they won against the only winless team in esea-i (Dynamic). Turbine is a map that is controlled by demomen as they place sticky traps and spam turbine’s small corridors with relative ease. Complexity probably won’t scrim much but will come out with a win; because of dominating performances from Solid Snake and Jaegar…also Pure’s European experience involving maps like turbine won’t hurt matters either.
Complexity>Loaded

EG v Complexity
EG has always struggled against Complexity mainly due to Complexity’s dominating scout pair in carnage and enigma. Yet, if there’s any map that EG should be able to beat this team on, it’s turbine. Turbine is all about close-quarter spam, and teamwork. This fits in EG’s hand, as they have arguably the best combo (Reptile +Destro) in ESEA-I and they’ve also scrim far more than coL this season, allowing this map to play to their advantage. Scouts will have less of an influence, which will play the biggest role in this game, making it the first real test for coL’s heavy classes who have always been overshadowed by their stellar scouts. I’ll go with the upset in this match; expect Destro and Reptile to be the stars of the show.
EG>Complexity

Pandemic v Dynamic
Dynamic never had much of a chance this season, as they were still attempting to scramble a roster together at season start. Their players are solid, yet they don’t seem to have any motivation or cohesion as a team. Last match, Paladin (as medic) constantly went AFK to chat to the opposing team instead of focusing on heals and getting to mid quickly, and Chupa was busy trying to stay on top in pipe frags instead of focusing on being a team player. As soon as this squad decides to act like a team, I feel they will win games, but nobody but them can make that change happen. With that said, Pandemic should beat the only winless team in esea-I, and continue with their undefeated record.
Pandemic>Dynamic

Loaded v MoB
This will actually be a really good game. Both of these teams have 1 win against, Dynamic, and have lost to the stronger teams in the division. I’d give this the secondary match of the week, because the teams are relatively even in terms of skill and experience. The key in this match will be in how each demoman plays. Both of these demomen are known for inconsistencies, and whichever plays better will help their team pull the win. In terms of scouts, I’d give Loaded the upper hand, but on a map that isn’t scout-focused, the combo will make the difference. Sureshot was without a doubt the most under-rated soldier in ESEA-I last season, and I expect him to slyly help his team pull another win.
MoB>Loaded

Blight v EG
This is a really important game for Blight, after losing to a team ranked 8th by Oplaid last week on cp_follower, Blight is looking to show why they were part of the ‘Big 3’. Blight won ESEA 2 seasons ago, but seemingly has been on the downhill ever since. The addition of 2 new scouts has been a big question mark for this team. Oplaid hasn’t helped the team much as he consistently bottom-frags, while Brenden has been impressive thus far, fragging well as both sniper and scout. Blight’s focus on healing Seagull won’t help on a demo-focused map like this. Alexwut has quietly played well thus-far this season, but Destro will be the game winner. Destro is a great captain, an extremely consistent player, and knows the best situations for pipes and sticky usage. Blight has been concentrating on this match for a long time, but this map just wasn’t made for their play style. It’ll still be interesting to see which medic Blight plays with… There’s Grieve, who’s a huge unknown, making the jump from a mid/low team to an Invite team… and Blackstar, who did fantastic in the game v Pandemic, but was part of the close loss.
EG>Blight

MoB v i7
This is my match of the week. These 2 teams are almost mirror-images of one another, in almost every regard. Yet, when it comes down to it, the way i7 will lose is by beating their selves. It’s important to know which soldier they’ll be bringing out and how well Ducky will do as demoman. Ducky is a really good demoman in scrims, but come match time, he fails to play at the same level, hurting the team. Warped will also need to play far better if he plays, although I think if i7 really wants to win they’d start Fastfire and Cbear. So if Ducky plays well, and those 2 soldiers show up, I think i7 has this match in the bag. Yet, if that doesn’t happen, I expect MoB to win. I7 knows how important this match is in showing they shouldn’t be looked at as a bottom-tier team, and therefore I expect them to bring their A-game. 
I7>MoB

Blight v Dynamic
This is going to be a tough week for Dynamic… they had an easy schedule at the beginning of the season but they failed to execute on it, and now they have a REALLY rough road for the next 2 ½ weeks (playing the top 4 teams exclusively). Again, I feel Dynamic will play well as soon as they gain some motivation and play more like a team. They also will need a consistent medic so their combo can gain chemistry, and paladin can go back to his scout position. Regardless of all that, winning any games in the next 2 ½ weeks will be a shocker, and would definitely show their commitment level. Yet, playing two heavy stacked teams this week will cripple them. Hopefully they can stick together and not split, an inevitable blight in competitive tf2.
Blight>Dynamic

Pandemic v i7
Pandemic was a team originally ranked last in ESEA-I, and are now attempting to prove they’re a force to be reckoned with. On their first match of Viaduct, Justin proved his worth and showed why he’s arguably the best sniper in tf2. The 2nd match verified that the unknowns (Kermit and TLR) can play at the invite level and ended up being the main factors in their win over Blight. Yet, with only two matches on their belt, we can’t hype this team up too much. They are probably the least active team alongside coL in terms of scrimming, and Turbine is a map that I’m sure they’re unfamiliar with. As has been pressed the whole time, the heavy classes will have a major influence in who wins on this map. This provides another test for Kermit and TLR, as they continue to prove their consistency and that they’re top players at their respective class. If these two play well then this should be an easy win, yet if they struggle, this will make out for a good game. As stated in the previous i7 pred, ducky MUST play better then he has for i7 to have a chance, and i7 must play their best players.
Pandemic>i7

Be sure to check out esportsea.com for source tv info/downloads as well as stats for each match. Also, don’t forget to check out all of the postponed matches from Viaduct as well as Follower!

-Shampooed