Playoff decisions - Who’s making ESEA Advanced?
Topic: CS:GO ESEA Main Playoffs
ESEA Main is the middle ground of the ESEA leagues. It's where players find their style, it's where some quit, and others put in that extra effort to make it to the next level. In the article below you will find my thoughts and predictions around the Main playoffs.
ESEAs post season rankings
- 1. RUNnGUN
- 2. The Mud Slingers
- 3. TRAP-HOUSE
- 4. DankerMemerson
- 5. All Gas No Brakes
- 6. reign
- 7. Inward
- 8. Peekers Advantage
- 9. Imperial
- 10. PreGaming
- 11. 99 eSports
- 12. IMBA FORCE
- 13. Flashy
- 14. Vexo White
- 15. Northern Forces
- 16. CLIPPING4CHRIST
- 17. grogu
- 18. CLG RED
- 19. Acacia Gaming
- 20. PNEUMA
- 21. Holly Molly
- 22. StrikeX
- 23. Standing Dudeside
- 24. Boathouse
- 25. Akave Esports
- 26. Agema
- 27. Cookies and Cream
- 28. glizzy gladiateurs
- 29. Hole Smokers
- 30. Last Picks
- 31. Team Clarity
- 32. Lil Poggers
32-25 - The Bottom Feeders
Boat House coasted into playoffs after a horrible 2-4 start to the season. The team qualified for their spot off of two forfeit wins and close matches against teams battling relegation. Boat House is not looking like they will be a threat to anyone in playoffs.
31. glizzy gladiateurs
The Gladiateurs are coming into this season off promotion from Open, and their performances in the regular season are nothing to get excited about. Making playoffs off the back of two forfeit wins, this team is unlikely to do much winning – if any at all.
30. Cookies and Cream
The Cookies are another team that just barely made playoffs. Despite their playoff qualification, this team is not looking very strong, but they could subvert expectations. The roster is coming into playoffs after qualifying for Main last season through Intermediate. This team could do some damage and are not to be underestimated, but as long as the team plays their game, they shouldn’t be a tough opponent.
29. Team clarity
Clarity got their playoff spot after a win in their last game of the season against "Dead or Alive". Clarity comes in after a middling performance in Main last season finishing 7-7. Expectations are low for this roster, but they might be able to surprise some teams with their talented fraggers. However, with the roster's lack of experience and poor performances during the regular season, it would be a long shot to say this team will go far.
28. Standing Dudeside
Dudeside rolls into playoffs with this being their first playoff berth since making Main four seasons ago. The roster has shown steady improvement since their first season but comes in looking shaky after losing their last 3 matches of the regular season. The core of Dudeside has been together for a long time, with that: Their chemistry might allow them to best some teams in playoffs.
27. Holly Molly
Holly Molly is a team that goes against the typical story of most NA teams because they don’t make roster changes every season. Molly's core has been together since Season 29. Therefore, although their team play and chemistry should be superior, the team has major flaws. Mollys' inconsistent form against playoff teams in the regular season is a telling sign of their lack of talent against top teams in the division. With that being said, they may struggle.
26. Akave Esports
The team, Akave, comes in at the 25th spot where they belong. This is due to their inconsistent performances. This is the roster's 6th season in Main and first playoff appearance. With that being said, not much is to be expected. However, with the star power in their lineup, they might be able to go the distance.
25. Lil Poggers
Lil Poggers barely scraped into playoffs; however, don’t let their seeding fool you. Lil Poggers is a good team who finished last season of main with a 12-2 record, as well as starting the season with a dominant 8-2 start. This team can surely turn some heads, as all of their losses in the latter half of the regular season were close matches against other playoff teams.
24-17 The Middle Of The Pack
The roster whose bio claims all 5 starters to be “shroud”, might just be on to something. Agema came into playoffs after narrowly missing it last season, and will be an underdog in the postseason. After starting their season hot with a 9-1 record, the team eventually lost out to other playoff contenders–ending 9-5. However, this record is not a proper estimate of their skill. Agema can win against good teams but have shown inconsistencies when losing against weaker rosters.
23. Acacia Gaming
Acacia is fairly similar to Boat House because they had an easy road to playoffs. Starting the season 2-2, the team set their path with lowly teams, which ended up still being a challenge for them. This roster is looking like they will struggle in playoffs. However, they have some great players that can frag hard. Therefore, if the pieces all come together, Acacia can put together a good run.
22. StrikeX
StrikeX is one of the few teams coming in after being relegated from Advanced the previous season. This team is looking to reclaim their spot! The Roster has been mostly remade, only maintaining two of the previous Advanced players, and picking up three exciting young players. With their experience at the helm of their team, and if the leadership can steer them in the right direction, StrikeX could go far.
21. IMBA FORCE
Imba is yet another team who started the season badly, then won out against not-so-great teams. IMBA has shown through their 0-2 record against playoff teams, that they might not be able to hang with the best in the division.
20. Northern Forces
Northern Forces battled relegation in their previous season, and have seemingly improved considerably. However, despite their improvement, the team has not shown that they can compete with the best in the division. In the regular season, they were only able to beat one team that has made playoffs.
19. Hole Smokers
Similar to Clarity, Hole Smokers finished last season poorly. However, they have turned their teams around, making them look like a real threat. This is especially the case for the Smokers. The team had a great season, only losing to top teams, and with close finishes that could have gone in their favor. This team isn’t just expected to surprise teams, it is a certainty that they will.
18. CLG RED
CLG is a good team, who were recently in Advanced. Moreover, they have shown some good improvement from last season, making them look better than ever. This team is capable of possibly beating just about anyone in the division; however, they've shown some signs of weakness against the higher caliber teams in the division.
17. grogu
After starting the season out strong with a record of 4-1, Grogu was able to maintain good form throughout the rest of the regular season. The roster was able to maintain consistent results but struggled against teams in the top 16. Grogu could break through and be a standout among the lower seeds.
16-9 The Contenders
We have seen time and time again, a roster that starts the season off poorly then works their way into playoffs. However, the team, Flashy, had it a bit different. This roster played 5 total playoff teams in the regular season, and held a record of 2-3 against them. These performances reflect the expectations of how this team will do. They are by no means a top contender, but they – for sure – can put up a good fight.
15. PNEUMA
PNEUMA is a scary roster for any team to go up against because they have three ex-ECL players–one of which being Valens (Coach of 2018 Cloud9). Although their team's history is impressive, they haven’t shown the best results. Finishing the regular season 9-5, losing only to other playoff teams – most of which were close games – we should expect some upsets coming from this roster.
14. Peekers Advantage
The most controversial team in Advanced last season has come back through main to reclaim that position. With that being said, although this team is full of talent, the roster hasn’t truly impressed. The team holds an 11-3 record and is heading into playoffs as the eighth seed. Peekers Advantage has had below-average results against the other playoff teams, but with David “DAVEY” Stafford at the helm, this team is to be feared.
13. Imperial
Imperial, similarly to Pregaming, is full of great players. However, they had to battle their way to make playoffs. Facing off against 5 total playoff teams, Imperial holds a record of 3-2 against the best in the division. Their record is nothing to scoff at, and it shows that they’ve played these teams already and can win these matches.
12. 99 eSports
99 eSports is a strong team. They showed themselves as a consistent team throughout the season with no major flaws in their game plan. The team lacks firepower, but will be able to make up for that with good execution and well-played rounds.
11. Vexo White
Vexo is a team that can – for sure – make things happen for themselves. Vexo was one of only two teams that were able to defeat TRAP-HOUSE. The team also put up good performances against other top 16 teams in the division. This team is extremely capable of taking down any of their opponents looking forward!
10. PreGaming
The formerly Advanced roster looks deadly. Although, despite that, the team has not been challenged much in the regular season. Even though their team hasn’t played many of the other top teams in the division, the roster is full of heavy hitters that can frag with the best of them.
9. Last Picks
Last Picks, similarly to last season, finished 9-5 making playoffs with a low seed. What's different this season though is that their roster got revamped. With three new players on the team and some impressive wins against other playoff teams throughout the season, they can win some tough matches. This is a dark horse team that will certainly make some waves. (Yes, this is my team. Yes, I am Biased.)
8-1 The Crème de la Crème
Inward are another strong team that can feasibly be considered contenders to win main. The roster currently holds a 2-2 record against other teams in the top eight, showing themselves as both capable of winning, and able to be beaten.
7. Reign
Reign is a scary team filled with ex-Advanced players, and have already beaten two top eight teams in the regular season. Therefore, expectations for this team should be high. After the rosters' addition of James “Jachro” Brooks, they look as if they will break back into Advanced once again.
6. CLIPPING4CHRIST
Clipping is certainly a team deserving of a higher seed. C4C is a team made up of ex-Advanced players that were all great fraggers. This team definitely proved themselves throughout the season. This roster has beaten some of the best teams in the league, and they have cemented themselves as a serious contender in the division.
5. TRAP-HOUSE
TRAP-HOUSE stands firmly as the only team in Main to win against the number one seed: RUNnGUN. This team has an impressive record of 12-2, and you would be hard-pressed to find them lose a match in the early stages of playoffs.
4. DankerMemerson
DankerMemerson has come as close to a perfect season as possible while having three losses. In all three of their losses, they have either gone into overtime or lost 16-14, which has made them the team with the most rounds won in Main. With Memersons inability to get blown out, and their knack for keeping games close, DankerMemerson will be a team to beat.
3. The Mud Slingers
Mud Slingers are the team that has played the most playoff teams throughout the regular season. With a 7-2 record against other playoff contenders, their path to the postseason was not easy, and it showed as they were able to hold only three of their opponents to single-digit rounds. Along with their rocky path, Mud Slingers were defeated by both TRAP-HOUSE and RUNnGUN, but regardless of this, if their impressive team focuses up, they can win it all.
2. All Gas No Brakes
AGNB is truthfully a team that shouldn’t be in Main. After narrowly missing out on Advanced last season, AGNB looks incredibly strong and is a force to be reckoned with. This team is a serious contender to win the whole division.
1.RUNnGUN
There isn’t much to say about these guys, they have dominated the division the whole season. Ending the regular season with a 13-1 record, topped with their insanely talented roster, this is the team to beat!
Conclusion
All these rankings are my personal opinion, I would highly enjoy to see yours below in the comments on our Social Media! Would also love to see some teams proving me wrong with their performances! We hope you had a good read on today's article and wish you a great week, see you next Monday with a NA-article.
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