The stage is set for the playoffs of the Berlin Major. This has been a great Major so far, with some excellent matches and an obscene amount of overtime rounds. Astralis played both a 59-round and a 60-round match, setting the record for longest match at a major. This is the most wide-open Major playoff we've had in years, as the two presumptive favorites have looked shaky while other contenders have shown great form. But before we dive any deeper into the playoffs, let's look back at the Pick'Em Predictions from last week.
Seven correct picks means that the Diamond coin dream is still alive! I did manage to brave the waters of matchmaking to get ten rounds on all the maps, despite my reservations about Dust2. For the two incorrect predictions above, mousesports can make excuses about the tough matchups they drew but they ultimately didn't win when it counted. G2 meanwhile had all the chances in the world, playing Renegades and AVANGAR in potential qualification matches. They lost against them both. G2 can only blame themselves for not taking advantage of a golden opportunity to become Legends.
No disrespect to Vitality, ENCE, Renegades, or AVANGAR, but there is clearly one side of the bracket that is weaker than the other. ENCE are a team ready to replace their IGL, Vitality looked abysmal in the Main Qualifier before slowly recovering into slightly better form, and Renegades and AVANGAR simply aren't in the topmost echelon of CS talent. The other half of the bracket has the two best teams in the world, the best player in the world, and the best team in the group stage that isn't about to replace their play caller. Whichever team makes the Grand Finals from the top half of the bracket will surely be underdogs.
Whoever wins this matchup will be the favorites to win the Major. It's a shame this match has to happen in the quarterfinals. These are the two biggest favorites to win the entire tournament, even if they both looked a little rusty in reaching this stage. Astralis were always going to be a little rusty coming into the Major, as they've only playing on LAN sparingly over the past few months. For Liquid, these cracks are showing for the first time in their reign of dominance. They looked absolutely unbeatable before the player break but seem to have lost some of their coordination in tense moments. CS is a game of millimeters and milliseconds, so even the slightest drop in form from Liquid could be the difference that keeps them from lifting the Trophy.
A lot of teams have struggled with consistency recently. Liquid and Astralis' woes have already been mentioned, as well as Vitality's. NaVi are another team that you can never truly count on to play their best. S1mple hasn't been on top form, but if he can play at his best this weekend, he only needs so much help to lift the trophy. NRG looked amazing last weekend, but can they keep that form up on LAN on the biggest stage? ENCE also performed great, but will they stick together under pressure? For all these teams, the ultimate question comes down to consistency.
ENCE are simply much better than Renegades. They should be able to get a favorable veto and handle Renegades with relative ease.
AVANGAR are a dangerous team, and Vitality are a team that is set up to be upset. All it takes is for Zywoo to have an off day, and they look pedestrian. The Frenchmen have the experience advantage, and should be able to eke out a win.
NaVi do have S1mple, but NaVi also have Zeus... Stanislaw is a good enough IGL to exploit NaVi’s weak points and set up good strats to prevent S1mple from bulldozing them. CeRq and Brehze both had incredible weekends in the group stage and will look to continue that form.
This matchup is impossible to predict, so I'm following my heart on this one. I'm an NA homer. It's as simple as that.
This could be where the wheels fall off for ENCE. I don't think they will be capable of keeping it all together mentally against top opposition. Once a few of the strats stop working and they have to eco, a lot of the resentment, anger, and disfunction that led to the roster swap in the first place will come up again.
Liquid at their very best can beat NRG handily. Liquid will have to be at their very best to beat Astralis and get to this stage. Ergo, Liquid will beat NRG.
Team Liquid are the best team in the world, and they will cement their place in CS:GO history with a Major win. Vitality are tough opposition, but Elige and co. will feel comfortable taking them down after getting past Astralis and NRG or NaVi.