6 Team LAN

For those who don't know, there's currently a 6 team LAN going on between TD, Str8, FB, Dynasty, Instinct and BtH. It's been going all weekend, but tbh I haven't been watching the results as closely as I should have and only just remembered to make this thread. On Friday and Saturday they played a round-robin (11 game series) to determine seeding, then today they're running a double-elimination mini tourney using those seedings. If you're interested you can follow it on Towey's thread on MLG.

Long story short:

-FB are playing incredibly well, they got the highest w/l ratio for the first two days which put them at first seed for today's mini tourney. LOVING this and sincerely hope it carries over to Raleigh this weekend.

-Instinct are really struggling. I don't think anyone expected this, but their w/l ratio for days 1 and 2 wasn't good, apparently they're arguing alot etc. and in today's tourney they got 3-1'd in R1 by TD, they now have to play Str8 in the losers bracket. Though even with their current troubles this shouldn't be a problem because...

-Str8 are still sucking. Big time. They didn't win a single series in the first 2 days, apparently they're arguing too, I honestly don't know what's gonna happen with them if Raleigh doesn't go well, and if it does then it really would be a miracle at this point.

-TD are looking very solid though, they're finally starting to bounce back from the whole post '09 debacle by the looks of things. Many seem to have counted them out, myself included till I saw what this new lineup was doing, they could honestly be contenders again if they can keep this up.

-BtH are also looking very strong based on the first two days, though they got beaten in R1 by Str8 which I just can't account for, wish I'd seen that. Apparently T2 was one death away from a perfection against them, maybe Str8 are starting to bounce back and work it out? I guess we'll see in Str8 vs Instinct which apparently should be happening any time now.

-Dynasty were looking very strong in the first 2 days of the LAN, they were 6-1 w/l in series just like FB, but got beaten to first seed on match w/l ratio. However, they got knocked to the LB in R2 by TD, and apparently just lost to BtH in the LB so they're out. However, I think their performance over the whole weekend hints at a very strong showing come Raleigh, which will be interesting.

Ok, so it wasn't that short, but the thread is 115 pages so you've still saved some time. I'll update with results as I see them, but might not have the finals results up until tomorrow cause it's pretty late here already.

Also, does anyone have a subscription to The LAN Network (the guys who organise and stream these LANs)? I'd be interested to hear from someone who's been watching, apparently the trash has been great .

EDIT: TD just 3-0'd FB in the WBF, epic sad face. FB now have to play either BtH or the winner of the currently in progress Instinct vs. Str8 LBSemis (apparently the score for that is 1-1 atm).

 

True enough, but Instinct looked so dominant for the first two events that I just didn't expect them to struggle so much at this. I don't think this necessarily indicates that their placings will drop come Raleigh, it's just the first time I've really seen them struggling since they formed. They had a close series in the LB with Str8, though this seems fair enough as it sounds like Str8 really picked it up on Sunday. I guess every player is human and is gonna have off days, I just hope they can rally P) back this weekend and play to potential.

But FB doing well isn't unexpected for me. They played so well after picking up Pistola, considering that it was a choice both parties were pretty much lumbered with at the last minute, I only expected them to get better as they solidified as a team. I have high hopes for them at Raleigh, and couldn't be happier if they took the event.

I kind of agree, but after Str8 apparently playing very well during the mini tourney on Sunday I don't know. The potential is definitely there on paper, maybe they just needed to find their groove? One day of playing better but still not to potential isn't enough to convince me, but I can see why they'd be reluctant to give up on this lineup without giving it a chance.

Though I can see why it could be weird, especially for T2. Technically he's made 3 pickups, but in practicality it's basically been Classic picking him up (putting the onus to adjust much more on him), they even hold the Classic seed if I'm not mistaken.

Idk, I guess we'll see after Raleigh since I can't see any team changes now (I'd guess the roster lock has been and gone since it's this weekend). He needs options to replace them though, so it may be a case of seeing how the top 16 scene looks after Raleigh (if Str8 don't place well, of course). But with how transient the top teams have been this season I could see some more notable shakeups after this weekend.

 

Yeah, I can see your point, him being on fire at Cbus really helped Instinct imo, but conversely he's a link that can't afford to be weak. I've always liked LBX, he's the kind of player I'd like to be, hopefully he's playing better this weekend, Cloud too since he sounded kind of sketchy at the LAN from what I heard. He definitely needs to be playing well for Instinct to place properly, I just wish I'd shelled out for TLN and watched this so all of the above wasn't such wild conjecture.

As for TD, I definitely think they have the potential for top 2 which I wouldn't have said for either of the events so far this season, but you're right that it's not just a case of being good enough. With so many teams having the same top 2 potential, and teams like SQ providing a real hurdle even for the placings below top 2, TD are still gonna have to play their socks off to have a shot at it.

I can't say I know as much about Robbie B as I'd like to so can't really comment, but with only 3 events left including Raleigh I can see why T2 may have been reluctant to try a new and untested formula, especially with Robbie B having no real top 8 credentials in terms of experience. I also don't know how much a different result at Cbus would have affected Legit's decision to retire, which would have left T2 in a similar situation (having 3 new players and no one left with whom he had the Str8 chemistry).

I gotta agree, this did seem a little underpowered as a roster on paper, but tbh I still think they could have been doing a lot better than the T2/Legit/Ghost/Soldier lineup looked to be performing online/LAN. It really seemed like it just wasn't meshing, though again this is arguably uninformed conjecture considering how we didn't really get to see that lineup tested properly at an event. I kinda think Ghost was a solid pickup in terms of what Str8 had lost in Elamite, though, and he carried a mandate of bringing Solider on board too.

But Chig looked like a solid pickup in this context. Apart from the downside of leaving T2 with no long term team mates left and thus negating any established chemistry, Chig filled the slaying role nicely and should have been comfortable in what was essentially his old team but with T2. This is what leads me to further believe that the real problem here is not meshing well

I haven't seen nearly enough shining play from Solider to counter what you're saying, so despite Ghost's massive praise of him I'd be inclined to agree right now. But then it very much sounds like if Solider got dropped then Ghost would follow him, based on how he said he wouldn't have joined Str8 if they hadn't picked up Solider as well.