With two more weeks left in the Spring Split, this is an important week for Team Coast CyberPowerPC. The top six teams make the Spring Split playoffs, and we are well positioned to move forward. Here’s why:
- We are currently sixth in the standings with six games to go in the Split. We play XDG and EG this weekend, both teams one game behind us in the standings. By winning both games, we would be guaranteed to be at least two games ahead of both EG and XDG going into the final week of the Split. And if those teams lose their other game this weekend (XDG plays CLG and EG plays DIG), we would be three clear. In either of these scenarios, it would be very difficult for either team to make up the deficit in the last week.
- We have a 3-0 season record against EG, and a 2-1 season record against XDG. Should there be a tie at the end of the Split, the first tie breaker is head-to-head record. So we have the tie breaker secured with EG, and also over XDG with a win this weekend. The best XDG can have is a 2-2 season record with us, producing a one-game playoff should a tie occur.
Bottom line: take care of business this weekend with teams we have had good success against, and it looks good for Team Coast. How about the teams immediately above us so we can move up in the standings for the playoffs? Curse is two games ahead of us in the standings tied with DIG. But Curse plays Cloud 9 and TSM this weekend. We have a 1-2 season record against Curse, and play them in the last week of the Split. DIG plays Cloud 9 and XDG this weekend with their new line-up without Scarra. While we probably prefer for DIG to win against XDG, if they lose to XDG (and C9), this moves them closer to us. So either scenario isn’t bad.
All the teams fighting for these playoff positions have similar strength of schedule for the last week. So the teams ahead will likely stay there, unless someone manages an upset over a top tier team like TSM, Cloud 9, or CLG. So tune in Saturday, at 2 PM Pacific Time for our first match this weekend against XDG.
Let’s move on to our strategy going into these important games. While not overconfident by any means, we like our match-ups for this weekend. We believe our individual players present problems for both XDG and EG, and that we can take advantage of some of the recent patch changes. XDG has improved significantly since moving Xmithie back to Jungler. But we have some special strategies planned for them. We are paying careful attention to our positioning during team fights and executing proper rotations during the mid and late game.
This is also a big week for Team Coast CyberPowerPC’s EU Sister Teams. Team Coast Blue, our EU Smite Team has travelled from Europe to Atlanta to compete in the $200K Smite Tournament this weekend. The tournament pits the top four EU Smite Teams against the top four NA Smite Teams. Matches begin on Thursday, March 27 at noon Eastern Time, and continue through the weekend. Here is the link with the full schedule and instructions on how to watch the stream. https://www.hirezstudios.com/smite/nav/launch-info/launch-details
Team Coast Gold, our EU Challenger Team, is also playing Thursday against Reason Gaming on the main Riot EU stream, immediately following the last EU LCS match. This best two out of three match will determine who finishes third and fourth in the EU Challenger Series #2. We have already qualified top six, and will compete next week for a spot in the EU Promotion Tournament. But the points earned will determine our seeding.
We’re particularly grateful to CyberPowerPC for the new Zeus Mini computers delivered to the Team Coast Gaming House this week. They are compact, powerful, and REALLY cool looking. Comparing the new Zeus Minis to our old models, ZionSpartan said, “They are half the size, but pack twice the punch!” Watch for the un-boxing video soon.