Another season of UGC Platinum slowly draws to a close, as eight teams slowly diminish into two, your Highlander Season 14 Finalists. Many teams vied for the position, but in the end only two stood standing, the rest having taken more than one loss during the playoffs, resulting in their elimination.

In the upper bracket, with not a single map loss in the playoffs, stands Kids Next Door. Perhaps not the favorites to take the third seed and remain in the upper bracket for so long, they've no doubt proven themselves worthy of that distinction. Perhaps sized up as a sleeper team that could take rounds and maps off of teams perhaps better then them, thereby disrupting playoffs, they exceeded those assumptions, never touching the lower bracket, sending anyone they faced to play for their continued survival.

In the lower bracket, a team formed to win Platinum, Ginyu Force intends to show Kids Next Door that just making it to the finals isn't where the bus ends. At the beginning of the season, when people talked about the teams likely to win it all, Ginyu was always present in that discussion. Despite some bumps in the road, Ginyu had done little to change that perception, heading into the playoffs as the first seed. While a nail-biter of a game against Kids Next Door sent them into the lower bracket, it did not disturb them as they locked their position in the finals.

Teams

Kids Next Door

Auzzie Etney Katsy Jarrett Kresnik Enderp Nursey Scizor Storm Erion

Kids Next Door has definitely proved themselves to be a distinct threat in Platinum, achieving a second place position in Season 14 at the very least. They sat in a very nice third seed, only losing to Electric Temptations and, interestingly enough, Ginyu Force, in the main season. While their game on Steel against ET was fairly close, ending in a 2-1 loss for KND, the loss against Ginyu on Gullywash was significantly more lopsided, as Ginyu took 4 rounds easily, before finding themselves unable to crack into KND's last point. Max! using the Huntsman may have contributed to the problem, but its hard to dispute that Ginyu force had control during the majority, if not the entirety of that map. Outside of that, KND have been fairly dominant, losing no other games. They haven't lost a map since Week 5 in the game against Ginyu, although it's arguable that their road to playoffs past that point wasn't the most difficult. Even then, sending Ginyu, Electric Temptations and Dunning Kruger all into the lower bracket.

A glance at their team roster may not cause too many bells to go off, as aside Scizor and Katsy, none of them had made splashes in the top levels of Highlander. Auzzie is no doubt an amazing Scout, having played with Budsquad a while back. Jarrett and Kresnik are probably not given enough credit for what they do, as both are amazing at their classes, Demo and Heavy respectively. Nursey, Etney and Storm Erion aren't out of place either, showing they have the skills and abilities to compete with their peers in high Platinum.

Ginyu Force

Paddie Ma3la fathom b4nny Dill sigafoo Overseer stones stabbystabby

Ginyu Force was probably the favorite to win the whole season when it started, and many would say that there's been little to change that assumption. A total of 11 rounds were dropped by Ginyu Force, mostly due to a nail-biter 4-3 victory on Ramjam to Dunning Kruger, and the regrettable Week 1 game on Viaduct against ET, where they suffered a 1-4 loss, sending shockwaves through their fans. However, aside the Week 1 and Upper Bracket Finals loss, and the close game versus DK, Ginyu has dispatched of all contenders with relative ease, facing eight teams over the regular season that were certainly no pushovers. Their match with Kids Next Door, although discussed in KND's section, must be mentioned, as a 5-0 success on a staple HL map like Gullywash will no doubt set the tone going into the Grand Finals.

A look at Ginyu's roster certainly sends shivers down the spines of anyone facing them. Ma3la and b4nny are household names in competitive TF2 for a good reason, and Paddie deserves that distinction as well. sigafoo, stabbystabby, Overseer, Dill, and fathom have been playing Highlander for the longest of times, leaving no room to perhaps criticize a lack of experience and Highlander-based skill that may plague some other teams. stones, while perhaps only just now coming into the spotlight with the retirement of Max!, has proven himself able to step into the former Sniper's shoes, not letting himself be pushed over by the various Snipers in Platinum.

Maps

Highlander finals are played over three maps, with the winner being the one that takes both. However, due to time constraints, only one half is played for each map - three KOTH rounds, first-to-4 on 5CP, and a single Attack/Defense round for PL and Steel.

To save you from the rule-quoting, the basic jist of it is that Ginyu will pick the first map, and KND pick the color. Then, KND pick the map and Ginyu pick the color. Should it go to a third map, which defaults to Viaduct, Ginyu picks the color due to being the Home Team.

Given the comments of Ginyu following their victory last Thursday, and the scrims KND have played, it is safe to assume that the maps picked were Upward and Gullywash, which one can only assume were respectively KND and Ginyu's choices.

cpgullywashfinal1 [Ginyu's Choice]

No disrespect to KND meant, but it's looking really hard for Ginyu to lose this map. The two teams have played before on this map, with disasterous results for Kids Next Door. Gullywash is no doubt a map that flank classes find attractive, resulting in Ma3la, sigafoo, paddie and stabby all taking advantage of the nature of 5CP, overpowering Auzzie and Etney and making the plays for Ginyu's combo to come in and take area. That's not to say the combo could use a lesson in how to play 5CP, it's practically blasphemous to imply that b4nny could use some lessons in Gullywash Demoman. Kids Next Door should be able to take a round at some point during the game, but Ginyu is no doubt confident, and will probably commit everything to the mids, playing a hyper-aggressive strategy and having it pay off in divedends. This map should go heavily in Ginyu's favor, but Kids Next Door will remind everyone that they are no slouches. 4-1 in favor of Ginyu Force.

pl_upward [KND's Choice]

Payload is no doubt the most lopsided gamemode when put in the Grand Finals, as not playing a single round changes the dynamic of the game. Some people may have been guessing Badwater would be the map KND would opt for, but perhaps seeing Ginyu's full roster play Badwater in the lower bracket finals, and also chalking their victory last week due to Ginyu not having b4nny, KND chose the other PL map of the season, Upward. While it's difficult to predict against Ginyu, I think KND have a large chance to take this map, especially if Scizor plays like he did on Badwater, rarely letting stones get a shot in edgewise. Enderp is also no pushover when it comes to being an Engineer, and despite sigafoo being the Engineer for Ginyu, I think Enderp may have the edge when it comes to playing defensively, as sigafoo plays a far more aggressive game, which may come to bite him in the end. Etney also has the potential to make great use of the Beggar's Bazooka, a potent weapon on Upward. I think a lot of it will come down to Scizor's ability to hold down stones, and the general effect of players like Etney, Storm Erion, and Enderp. Assuming none of them have computer issues or something outlandish like that, or perhaps get called over Steam, I think KND will probably take Upward in a close game. 1-0 in favor of Kids Next Door.

kothproviaduct_rc4 [Default Tiebreaker]

If this matchup was presented at the beginning of the season, I think few would have bet against Ginyu. And while Ginyu is still being predicted to win this map, at least in this article, it's perhaps a bit closer then what might have been imagined weeks ago. You instantly have to favor Ginyu, as if there is one thing b4nny knows how to do well, it's to deal damage. In the end, it will be a lot closer then otherwise guessed just by a glance at the roster, as players from both sides, like Scizor, stabby, Etney and Ma3la, Katsy and Jarrett, and of course b4nny, all hold potential to be key parts of a victory for either side. If Scizor can mess up stones, it will allow himself and Jarrett to be more offensive, matching what will no doubt be Ginyu's default strategy on Viaduct. Etney and Ma3la both have the potential to either shut down parts of the map, as Etney has mentioned is his preferred style on Viaduct, or to play a high-risk/high-reward Roamer-inspired strategy, as Ma3la likely will find to come to him naturally. Katsy and Jarrett, and to a lesser extent Kresnik, will need to cause some serious disruptions in the combo of Ginyu, either by reflecting b4nny's damage, or equaling it. Ma3la also may find himself frustrated if Katsy can protect Nursey. In the end, Ginyu likely has the cohesion and experience necessary to outplay KND ever so slightly, and win in what will hopefully be a good game. 3-2 in favor of Ginyu Force.

Of course, should the end form of the predictions come true, with Ginyu taking two of the maps, a second Best of Three will be played Thursday to decide on the final winner of UGC Platinum Highlander Season 14.