Easykiller vs. Speedo

 

 Easykiller has won all their matches in their group (Group 1), and also only lost 2 rounds in total.  Speedo on the other hand had a much tougher time in their group (Group 3) where they just barely managed to get 2nd with 1 point ahead of Project Gaming Germany and Insects.

Easykiller are definitely the big favorites coming into this match and Speedo will most likely have a tough time giving much resistance.

 

Prediction: 2-0 to Easykiller.

 

Fanatics! vs. eSuba

 

 Fanatics! was ahead of Speedo in Group 3, and while they did win all their matches, they still lost 32 rounds in total and even 1 map against Speedo. The Spanish team do have some good players in their line-up but they're gonna have a tough time aganist  eSuba who - atleast on paper - is a very strong team lead by players like  tween and  hakkiJunior. However, they did not finish 1st in their Group (Group 1, same as Easykiller) and in total lost 35 rounds. They even left a walk-over against Easykiller in the last group-stage round, which isn't a good sign and might indicate some motivational-problems.

Based on that, Fanatics! might have a slim chance if they prepare well, but I'm still gonna give eSuba the upper-hand.

 

Prediction: 2-1 to eSuba.

 

Team Acer vs. noop 

 

 Team Acer who are the defending champions of TmT (and have still not lost a single match in TmT's history) are naturally the big favourites for this match. However,  noop is not a bad team, and only lost against BX3 in their group (Group 2) which they also managed to win 9 rounds against which is pretty impressive.

But despite that, Team Acer needs to be looked upon as most likely winning this match. Although don't be surprised if noop wins a couple of rounds against them as well.

 

Prediction: 2-0 to Team Acer.

Druidz vs. QuiD 

 

 Druidz quite possibly had the toughest group (Group 11) with teams like Natur Viecher (formerly known as @), Impact and minipeace. But they showed immense strength by going undefeated in the group, with only losing 14 rounds in total.

For  QuiD, their group-experience was much different. They were placed in Group 8 (same group as Team Acer) and they could only secure their playoffs-spot in the very last round when they won against Ravage 3-0. This meant they got 3rd in the group and were one of the eight best to get a spot in the playoffs.

Druidz are big favourites for this match and will probably win it rather easily, seeing as they have many players already in the top dedi-records.

 

Prediction: 2-0 to Druidz.

 

 

 

Fureur vs. Core | iGn 

 

  Fureur won their group after a close battle with Tera and looks to be really strong, lead by their ace-player  EpiK.

As for  Core | iGn they managed to qualify as 3rd place in group 1, where they lost against both Easykillers and eSuba. They certainly have good players in their team such as  Klaas or old-school player  SiS who returns for TmT, but it's going to be a uphill battle vs Fureur, and while they might win some rounds, they're probably not going to win any maps.

 

Prediction: 2-0 to Fureur.

 

 

enthuse vs. insects fun squad 

 

 enthuse had a very tough group (Group 4) vs. teams like THC, Gamersleague and eSportsUnited. But despite the tough competition, enthuse was able to not lose a single map (although they did lose 28 rounds in total). They are undeniably a good team, and vs.  insects fun squad who finished 2nd in group 8 with 2 losses and 59 lost rounds, they shouldn't have much problems to be fair.

 

Prediction: 2-0 to enthuse.

 

 

BX3 vs. impact 

 

In my opinion, this is the best looking match on paper for the first playoffs round.  BX3 obviously has been showing lately that they are to be considered top 3 in the world with placing 2nd in the previous major team tournament ESL Competition Premiership. Granted they did not have a smooth group-stage in this tournament, but despite losing 33 rounds in total they still went undefeated, and are likely more motivated now that the playoffs are going to start.

For  Impact (whose line-up consists of players from many other French teams), they had a hard way to the playoffs as they were placed in the same group as Druidz, Natur Viecher and minipeace who all gave a good performance. But they still managed to sneak in to the playoffs as 3rd place, and if you look at their line-up they have many good players who if they trained enough could give BX3 a run for its money, atleast for 1 map.

 

Prediction: 2-1 to BX3. 

 

 

Dignitas vs. TRTeam 

 

 Dignitas surprisingly had to see themselves be defeated in their group (Group 7) against THE (Trackmania Heroes Europe) with a 2-1 score and had to settle for 2nd place. But for the playoffs they seem to practice a bit more and could go far again (although if they win this match, they will probably play against BX3 in Round 2 which may be their stopping point just as it was in ESL CPS 11).

However  TRTeam shouldn't be much trouble to defeat. They also finished 2nd in their group (Group 6) behind Rule them All which they even won 1 map against. So they have some skills and could possibly win some rounds against Dignitas if they're lucky. But this is looking to be a piece of cake for the British organization.

 

Prediction: 2-0 to Dignitas.

 

 

 

HOT vs. Natur Viecher 

 

This is a hard match to call.  HOT won their group with only losing 4 rounds in total, but one could argue that they had a pretty easy group. In comparision to  Natur Viecher (formerly known as @) who finished 2nd in a very hard group consisting of teams like Druidz, Impact and minipeace.

On paper I would say Natur Viecher has the better players overall, but HOT seems to have more motivation and perhaps taking it a bit more "serious" which might help them. And for TmT they also have leant  Flyer from BX3 who is a very good player and should help them out a great deal in this match.

 

Prediction: 2-1 to HOT.

 

 

Trackmania Heroes Europe vs. Cream | iGn

 

 Trackmania Heroes Europe (THE) won Group 7 where they very surprisingly beat top-dog Dignitas with a 2-1 score. They seem very eager to do well this TmT, and  iGn's B-team (who were one of the lucky eight 3rd placed teams to qualify for the playoffs) will probably not stand much in the way for the young Germans.

 

Prediction: 2-0 to THE.

 

 

 

Sex Alcohol & Weed vs. THC 

 

The battle of the drug-teams.  Sex Alcohol & Weed (SAW) qualified as 2nd place in group 10, only behind Vination which was their only loss, and they didn't have much trouble qualifying for the playoffs.

 THC had a much tougher time in group 4 where they had a close battle with GamersLeague and eSportsUnited for the last spots behind enthuse. In the end they could qualify in the last round where they did lost vs GamersLeague with 2-1, but that 1 map-victory made them still finish 2nd place.

So THC has a lot of experience that could possible give them the victory in this match. But I have strange feeling SAW won't be an easy task.

 

Prediction: 2-1 to THC. 

 

Rule them All vs. iDream 

 

 Rule them All won Group 6, but in total lost 3 maps and seems to continue showing weak form compared to in the past where they often finished high in the tournaments and always was looked upon as a strong contender. But they still have pretty much the same line-up as back then, so the potential is still there. The question is only if they can find the will to succeed once again. If they do, then they might even reach the final, seeing as most other big favorites are located in the upper-half of the bracket.

Their opponents  iDream finished 3rd in Group 12 where they got defeated by both Iconic and VSP, so even if Rule them All might not be in form, this should still be an easy match to win.

 

Prediction: 2-0 to Rule them All.

 

 

Very Short Players vs. Team United 

 

 Very Short Players (VSP) only lost against Iconic in Group 12 with a 2-1 score, but otherwise looked pretty good and won their other matches pretty easily.

 Team United who were located in Group 10, barely qualified by finishing 3rd behind Vination and SAW which they both lost against heavily.

I will give VSP the advantage in this match, although admittedly I don't know much about either teams.

 

Prediction: 2-0 to VSP.

 

 

 

Team Iconic vs. Dac-SP & Artex 

 

 Iconic only had a tough time defeating Very Short Players in Group 12 as they finished 1st with 28 lost rounds. While the mix-team  Dac-SP & Artex managed to finish 2nd in Group 9 with only losing against HOT. But they did lose 50 rounds in total and almost even lost against Cream | iGn, so I think Iconic will win this one.

 

Prediction: 2-0 to Iconic.

 

 

Tera vs. Team Happy 

 

 Tera lost against Fureur in Group 5 with a close 2-1 score, but in total lost rounds they had 10 less rounds lost than Fureur showing that they were just as deserving to qualify for the playoffs. They have a pretty good line-up and should defeat  Team Happy which besides  Kronos don't really have the line-up depth required to challenge a team like Tera.

 

Prediction: 2-0 to Tera.