Day 1 Analysis (Predictions)

Matches:

My Picks:

: All Day 1 matches are BO1's (best of ones) so any team has a high chance at upsetting. If there is any pick I made for the BO1 matches that you strongly disagree with, you might be better sticking with your gut. Good Luck.OK, so the Day 1 matches are in and we have an exciting event to look forward to. Here's what we're looking at:-----------------------------------------------------------------------Gambit vs North(aka Dignitas)--------------------------------------------------------- NorthFnatic vs G2--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- G2(?)*SK vs HellRaisers--------------------------------------------------------------------------- SKVP vs Optic---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Optic(?)NAVI vs Mouse------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NAVILiquid vs EnvyUs--------------------------------------------------------------------------- LiquidAstralis vs Godsent------------------------------------------------------------------------- AstralisFlipside vs Faze------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FazeGambit vs North seems straight forward for the most part. North has in my opinion superior players skill wise and the roster seems to be more consistent. Gambit have been pulling impressive results (2-0 vs Renegades and 2-1 vs GODSENT, etc.) however, I do not believe they are a team that will make it far into this tournament.Fnatic vs G2 is a match I would be willing to put money on. Fnatic have been all over the place since the GODSENT trade and I just can't see them doing anything to great anymore. Not to take away from Fnatic (they are still a world class team), but G2 have just been proving to be more and more of a threat. I think this match will be decided entirely by what map is played but even then I would still give the edge to G2. *(1/12/17) Fnatics win over G2 on 1/9/17 has made be somewhat reconsider this matchup. Please check back here before you enter your final picks as I may change my pick. For those wondering Fnatic won 2-0 and the scores were 16-4 and 16-9.*SK vs HellRaisers is interesting because HR managed to knock out C9 from the major and proved to be a worthy competitor. SK have been struggling to regain their prior "unstoppable" form from early 2016. They recently gained a new player (Fox) and the new roster has yet to really prove themselves. When it comes to majors, SK aren't exactly a pushover. I think that they will come out of Day 1 strong and knock HR down a peg.VP vs Optic will be one of the most exciting games to watch of Day 1. VP, the legendary roster that is never to be doubted. And Optic, the NA dream team that has been firing up over the past few months. This is truly anyone's game and I would not blame you if you took VP over Optic. I do have some NA bias in me but I don't let that blind me. This is going to be a crazy match, most likely coming down to what map gets played.NAVI vs Mouse is another game that seems very straight forward to me. Mouse is a team that never seems to find much success in majors and NAVI is a team that we rarely ever see miss out on a semi-final. S1mples addition to their lineup has done nothing but bring them more success and I think that pattern will continue here in this game.Liquid vs Envy is probably the other most exciting game for Day 1. No, I didn't just take the two NA games and say they were going to be the best, they just happen to be the most interesting games to me. Liquid have been struggling here and there (cough cough the choke) which is sad because they have the potential to really be a top 5 team. And Envy finally got rid of their bot (Devil - No offense to him but he was just not working out on the team) and picked up Sixer who has been going nuts for them. A good base team means that Kenny gets back into his form and we see the return of the legend. I think that this match is between two teams that have a lot to prove and they will both be giving it their all.Astralis vs GODSENT is another hard one to predict. Once again if you feel like GODSENT will win this then you might want to stick with your gut. Astralis have been performing out of their minds lately. They have picked up wins such as 2-0 v Optic, 1-0 v Optic, 2-0 v SK, 1-0 v Faze, 2-1 v NIP, and 1-0 v GODSENT (2). They have been outperforming many teams and have shown little weakness. GODSENT have been very inconsistent like Fnatic and I have many doubts about their success.Flipside vs Faze is actually one game I am almost positive about. Flipside are only in the major because they are legends and didn't have to qualify. They have been having little success and Faze on the other hand have been fairly consistent and shown that they are still capable of taking on top tier teams. There's always a chance of an upset in a BO1 but I think that this is a fairly one sided match. Not to discredit Flipside but they really need to show something for me to have faith in them.