With the first two matches of the Summer Pro League wrapped up, let’s look ahead to Week Two and the third set of matches. Week Two is also going to give us a bit of a grudge match, as we will see Jess “bubu dubu” Moeller and Carlos “Cratos” Ayala face off once again.
Week 2, Match 1: Evil Geniuses vs. Team EnVyUs
EG: Justin “Roy” Brown, Jason “Lunchbox” Brown, Michael “Falcated” Garcia, Josbe “Tapping Buttons” Valadez
nV: Justin “iGotUrPistola” Deese, Austin “Mikwen” McCleary, Eric “Snip3down” Wrona, Cuyler “Huke” Garland
EG came out during Week One to show that they were once again looking to be a reckoning force. They lost a close series to Splyce, falling 2-3, but rebounded in their 2nd match against Luminosity. This series showed that acquiring Tapping Buttons was a good call, as EG took the match 3-1, with only one close game. Week Two, however, will show how they compete with the top caliber.
nV started their season against Luminosity as well and picked up an easy 3-0 victory with LG not putting up much of a fight. nV’s second match however, was not so simple. In a re-match of the Daytona Grand Finals, nV was put up against OpTic Gaming. After going up 2-0 against OpTic, nV was reverse-swept and left with a 2-3 defeat.
It’s hard to bet against nV, especially when EG is yet to be proven against the top two. Despite close games with Splyce, showing their potential, they haven’t had the experience together to be able to contend here for a win.
Prediction: Team EnVyUs 3-0 Evil Geniuses
Fantasy Picks (Fantasy HCS): Mikwen, Huke
Week 2, Match 2: Luminosity Gaming vs. Team Liquid
LG: Cameron “Victory X” Thorlakson, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, Joe “TriPPPeY” Taylor, Tommy “Saiyan” Wilson
TL: Zane “SubZero” Hearon, Braedon “StelluR” Boettcher, Timothy “Rayne” Tinkler, Kevin “Eco” Smith
LG has had a very rough start to the season. Despite many believing that the squad could break into the top four, they have so far fallen short, both at Daytona and during Week One. A blowout loss against nV followed by another distant loss to EG has put them at the bottom of the standings at the conclusion of the first week. Unfortunately for them, Week Two will not be getting any easier.
Liquid, surprisingly, also fell short of many people’s expectations. In their first match of the season, Splyce sent them packing 0-3, despite having several back-and-forth series at Daytona. Liquid was able to recover going into their 2nd match, defeating Str8 Rippin 3-1, despite two very close games.
Things just don’t seem to be going in the favor of LG. Liquid was able to rebound from their loss while LG lost both of their matches. It is also possible, even somewhat likely, that Liquid just had a bad week, especially when considering their past performances.
Prediction: Team Liquid 3-1 Luminosity Gaming
Fantasy Picks (Fantasy HCS): Saiyan, StelluR, Eco
Week 2, Match 3: Str8 Rippin vs. OpTic Gaming
Str8: Aaron “Ace” Elam, Bradley “APG” Laws, Richie “Heinz” Heinz, Dan “Danoxide” Terlizzi
OG: Tony “LethuL” Campbell, Jr, Paul “SnakeBite” Duarte, Mathew “Royal2” Fiorante, Bradley “Frosty” Bergstrom
Str8, similarly to LG, started off this season 0-2. A heartbreaking 2-3 loss to Ronin put them in a bad position going into their second match against Liquid. Against TL, Str8 did manage to put up some close games but fell short with a 1-3 loss. Week Two will only worsen their standings, as beating OpTic takes a miracle for all but the very best.
Speaking of OpTic, they’re riding high going into Week Two. Their season started with a 3-0 victory over Ronin, although Ronin did put up a good fight in game three. Their second match was the eClassico, OpTic Gaming vs Team EnVyUs. Despite starting the series 0-2, OG rallied back to take the win.
With the OpTic squad only being more hungry and driven after their loss at Daytona, they’ve already shown they’re playing at their best. With Str8 faltering, the won’t be much of an entertaining series.
Prediction: OpTic Gaming 3-0 Str8 Rippin
Fantasy Picks (Fantasy HCS): SnakeBite, Royal2, Frosty
Week 2, Match 4: Ronin Esports vs. Splyce
RE: Carlos “Cratos” Ayala, Cory “Str8 SicK” Sloss, Tyler “Spartan” Ganza and Ayden “Suspector” Hill
SPY: Jesse “bubu dubu” Moeller, Ryan “Shooter” Sondhi, Jonathan “Renegade” Willette and Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro
Ronin opened up their season with a quick 0-3 defeat at the hands of OpTic Gaming. The roster was able to recover
though and eked out a narrow 3-2 victory over Str8. Herein lies the issue. Ronin was dominated in their first match, granted it was by the #1 team. However, their second match, despite being a win, was not at all convincing. Splyce is a tier above Str8, so Ronin has their work cut out for them.
Splyce has started their season quite well. Despite a close 3-2 victory over EG, Splyce only returned stronger for their second match and took down Liquid with a resounding 3-0. This squad’s slaying talent is through the roof, arguably in the same tier as that of nV.
Ronin has not yet shown that they have the ability to contend with any of the top four teams. Even at Daytona, they struggled to make the top eight, despite having a relatively easy bracket. Once again, this one likely won’t be close.
Prediction: Splyce 3-0 Ronin Esports
Fantasy Picks (Fantasy HCS): Shotzzy, Renegade, bubu dubu
This week looks to be full of some pretty clear-cut victories. Do you disagree with any of the predictions? What matches do you think will be close and be the best to watch? Be sure to participate in the discussion!
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Header image by ESL Halo.
