How the heck are the playoffs here already? Only yesterday the season was getting off to a roaring start in New York City and Dallas respectively. It has been a long road. One that no one could have seen coming. Playoffs are here. For the Vancouver Titans, the playoffs are not unfamiliar yet with their current squad it’s a whole new world. The team has had a lot of lows, but some remarkable highs since the restructuring. Bringing to light some superstars on the rise, while giving veterans of the scene a chance to shine on the big stage at last. Despite all the warm and fuzzies just mentioned, it’s time to get serious. For the Vancouver Titan’s first playoff game, they will need to level up in order to show their worth. As to prove people wrong they will need to get past a Washington Justice that just got a major shot of adrenaline.
Vancouver Titans vs. Washington Justice (11/3)
Prior to August 12, 2020 some would have thought that in this game the favorites would have been the scrappy Titans. The DPS duo of Niclas “Shockwave” Jensen and Dalton “Dalton” Bennyhoff give the team a mighty edge here outside of a Genji meta. Really the Genji meta was the only time this season that the Justice has been a real threat. Sure they have put up decent showings outside of it but always seemed to come up short. Then the Justice dropped a bomb. Enter: Gui-Un “Decay” Jang. Even on a struggling Dallas Fuel, this man was a monster. Putting forth MVP caliber play each game. Suddenly this team is seen as a real threat. Decay is someone who can completely take over a game if given the chance. Picking a winner between the two teams became much more difficult after this signing. So the key to victory for the Titans becomes not letting him get that chance.
Limiting Decay’s impact gives them a notable advantage. As the rest of the team has been really hot and cold all season. Of course the same could be said for the rest of the Titans outside of their DPS and Off-Tank. Which is what makes this game rather interesting. At each other position, it is a rather close matchup. The Tank battle swings towards the Titans at the main tank, yet back the other way at offtank. The same is true for support, where flex support is won by the Justice but main support by the Titans. One side needs to step up, in order for their team to take home the W. Really though, the patch that the playoffs will be played on is bananas. So depending on what sees playtime will decide that battle. Similar records, similar strengths, somethings gotta give between these teams.
Prediction: Titans 3-2 Justice
Even with the inclusion of Decay, the Titans have played better in recent weeks. Shockwave and Dalton have been showing up each game, and there is little to suggest they won’t do the same. The game will come down to which team can better give their DPS the tools needed to pop off. Whichever side performs better in this will take the win. The game should be close though as the Justice has now had more time to better integrate Decay into the roster; yet in the end, it looks more like they will be better prepared for 2021 than the 2020 postseason.
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