Matchup Overview

Libalent Calamari vs GG BoyZ

The Libalent Calamari vs GG BoyZ matchup is a very good representation of the general top Japanese teams matchups. Every single game comes down to the wire with close pushes and tense moments. Both teams approach the Inkjet compositions in different way — Calamari is very pickoff-focused thanks to Pyon’s role as anchor while GG BoyZ relies on the aggression of Yamamicchi and Taiji to make space for their backline.

One thing that does slightly tip this matchup in Calamari’s favor, however, is Pyon’s positioning and map sense. When Calamari does have the numbers advantage, suddenly the line draws forward as Pyon attempts to get as aggressive a positioning as possible. When the opponent tries to gain on his position, he instantly responds with a retreat to ensure that they don’t lose numbers on the battlefield.

For GG BoyZ, however, their backline versatility may be the key to victory. Dynamon and Etona’s weapon range combined is massive, allowing them to cover specific roles between lockdown and turfing to address any map or mode combination.

The key matchup in this will be Dynamon vs Pyon. Dynamon plays a more traditional backliner role with his weapon repertoire, allowing him to challenge Pyon in the battle of map control. However, this is also a matchup Pyon is very practiced in, meaning Dynamon could find himself in a spot of trouble if he’s unable to pin Pyon down.

SetToDestroyX vs Ghost Gaming

For the western scene, the sight of SetToDestroyX and Ghost Gaming playing together is a common sight in tournaments when they do enter the same. The story is a little more irksome for Ghost as twice now they lost to StDx in major tournaments: twice at Genesis 5 and against at Inkstorm Cup.

What will be interesting in this matchup, however, is the addition of Brian to the team. This marks the first time the team has had a dedicated Charger main since their brief stint with Pokefan earlier in the year, and even before when Nikeyy became a dedicated Sloshing Machine main.

Brian may be the key to beating StDx, as seen in their amazingly close matches and StDx’s trouncing earlier against Ftwin, who 3–0'd the team with the help of Charger main, Ice. However, StDx definitely has the clutch factor going their way. Many times before Penguitt and Kiver overturned situations in which they score key kills in unfavorable moments.

There are two interesting matchups to watch. First is the Kiver vs Erza, both French players that are very well familiar with each other’s playstyle and often face off against each other. The battle of hyper aggressive frontliners will be a sight to behold.

The second matchup to watch for will be Penguitt vs Sendou, both dedicated Blaster mains for their respective teams. This matchup is important as they will be both responsible for locking down key positions in an effort to gain map control. While not as flashy as frontliner scrambles, the careful duel between two anchors is always something to behold.

East vs West

There is very little doubt that everyone expects a Japanese team to take the event. Outside of historical precedence of Japanese teams dominating Western teams, there are two key reasons as to why a Japanese team will win Platinum Cup 4.

The first very noticeable point is how each region approach teamwork. For Japan, there is a strong emphasis on map control and positioning. By focusing on these two aspects, many Japanese teams are not as worried about losing the objective temporarily, even allowing the enemy to take objective to force out Special usage and to put them in a disadvantaged position. This approach leans heavily on teamwork, leading to some spectacular coordinated pushes led by Special combinations (Inkjet/Bubble, Inkjet/Inkstorm).

For Western teams, there is a much larger emphasis on individual play. The many key moments in a lot of Western victories often revolved around a single play by a player, either a clutch multikill from the frontliner or careful sniping from the back. However, this individual approach often means that whenever the team is surrounded or have numbers disadvantage, they will be pushed out of position and may even be more apt to be locked in spawn.

The second point of contention is that Japan is very experimental with weapon compositions, especially when in service of beating the popular options. This is one of the reasons for the rapid adoption of the Explosher, Custom Dualie Squelchers and even Neo Splash-o-Matic. Furthermore, most weapon compositions are rather unique to specific map/mode combinations. This in turn reflects a high need for flexibility in the Japanese scene, or complete mastery of a weapon.

For the Western scene, this often results in a strange lag behind the Japanese meta. When looking back in the last year, trends in the Japanese scene would only catch on months later in the West. From the Heavy Splatling/Custom Jet Squelcher duos to the current Inkjet meta, Japan always seems to be one step ahead of the curve. This means that they are very practiced against the Western meta as they have already learned to deal with it.

There is contention with this flexibility in recent months. Frontliner compositions have become very static across teams with the Enperry/Tentatek duo thanks to the dominance of the Inkjet. Much of lineup variance still comes from their mid/backliners, but compared to previous seasons, Japanese compositions do feel relatively more predictable.

The Western scene, in comparison, often plays a lot more static compositions, with certain teams rarely switching off their weapons for different maps or modes. Granted, this does not necessarily mean that static compositions are bad. But a large aspect to top level play revolves around adapting to the enemy as well, making teams with the same lineups vulnerable to flex picks.

Now, despite all of the things said above, it is still possible for either Western team to take the upset. Rather than the West being deficient, it is more that the Japanese scene feels much more vast and stronger. But this perception is rather skewed, due to much higher population of the Japanese scene compared to the rest of the world’s. What will determine victory is a team’s ability to recognize faults and immediately adapt to the enemy strategies. If either Western team is able to achieve this, then expect a very exciting 3rd-place match and Finals to occur.

Platinum Cup 4 will be streamed on EndGameTV for the English broadcast on Friday 9pm PT August 3rd (Saturday 1pm JST August 4th).