Smite Oceanic Pro League Week 2 Preview and Predictions

By HughZ

Hello and welcome back to my weekly Smite Oceanic Pro League Preview and Prediction’s series. Here I will (hopefully) be providing you with some up to date information on all the teams as they head into their Week 2 matches, as well as giving my own personal prediction for how I believe those matches will go. If you have any comments are opinions, please feel free to send them to @MrHughZ on twitter. So without further ado, let’s dive into Week 2.

Saturday 1st of August

Game 1

V

Quick Take

The Dire Wolves started their campaign off strong with a 2 – 0 victory against Lore Gaming. An overhauled roster that saw only 2 of the 5 members of the Invitational Ladder team in their starting positions came out strong in Week 1 and showed that they were still a team to contend with. By comparison, Team Kamikaze seemed unable to find their groove against the Chiefs, going down 0 – 2. Team Kamikaze will need to pull out all the stops this week to avoid starting their season 0 – 4.

How Team Kamikaze Can Win

TKAM will need to dominate the map in order to suppress El Chuckles’ influence on their game plan. Ganking mid lane early and often will prevent much of Dire Wolves’ ability to move around and control the jungle. Kikiomeo, whilst playing very well last week is still new to the mid lane role and should be the focal point for Team Kamikaze’s plays.

How Dire Wolves Can Win

The Dire Wolves are handling their roster changes with remarkable equanimity and composure, showing none of the expected growing pains from such a recently changed roster. Only giving up 1 kill in their first game and winning their second one comfortably, the wolf pack will need to be on their toes against a hungry TKAM roster. Playing without any silly mistakes and allowing El Chuckles to farm and gank at will should be enough to ensure this team another 2 – 0 victory.

Final Prediction

Team Kamikaze 0 – The Dire Wolves 2

Game 2

V

Quick Take

Last week I predicted an upset by Team Kamikaze over the Chiefs but the boys in silver and blue proved too strong for TKAM. Dominating performances by Maxen and the rest of the Chiefs have put this team on the map as a serious contender for the spot at the SWC. Ivory was the dominant team in their series, going 1 – 1 due to an inability to close out their first game and some misplays. The Chiefs are the stronger of the two teams in this series but Ivory should make the matches competitive.

How The Chiefs Can Win

The Chiefs boast a talented roster across the board but have several contentious match ups. Gruff going up against Robdigidy and Elkeiro v Syncro will be lanes to watch. However, Maxen is the main difference maker in this series and if he plays like he usually does then he will snowball hard and prevent Ivory from doing anything.

How Ivory Can Win

Ivory will need to not give up any easy kills to the Chiefs in order to stay contentious in this match. Getting Robdigidy fed and preventing Oenamaus from being killed too much will be the main focus for Ivory. Jak47 got a few good early kills last week but became almost a non-factor later in the games. If the pieces continue to mesh for Ivory then they could take a game off of Chiefs in this one.

Final Prediction

Chiefs eSports Club 2 – Ivory Gaming 0

Sunday 2nd of August

Game 1

V

Quick Take

Perhaps the most one sided match of the week sees Lore Gaming taking on top dogs Avant Garde. An almost perfect performance by Avant in Week 1 demonstrated to the rest of the scene why they are seen as favorites for representing Oceania at the SWC. By comparison, Lore looked outclassed against the Dire Wolves and will struggle mightily against Avant.

How Lore Can Win

Lore will need to play a perfect game to get anything from Avant. Rotations, lane control, jungle control and shot calling will need to be absolutely on point if Lore wishes to challenge Avant. Preventing Rowe from getting early kills and farm will also be key to Lore’s game plan.

How Avant Can Win

Avant simply needs to perform on the same level at which they have been competing at for a long time. Map control is central to the Avant strategy and maintaining that control will keep them on the path to worlds.

Final Prediction

Lore Gaming 0 – Avant Garde 2

Game 2

V

Quick Take

If Sunday’s first game is the most mismatched match of the week, this series should prove to be the closest. Both teams did not look to be at their strongest last week and will need to step it up in order to be competitive later in the season.

How Synapse Can Win

Synapse will need to win their lane match ups as well as control map objectives. In their first game last week Synapse did not get a speed buff for a good 30 minutes, preventing Faunkeh from contributing much around the map. As well as control, preventing JustRogue from getting to late game where he tends to do a lot of damage will be important for Synapse.

How InVidious Can Win

InVidious showed guts in their first game last week to stick around long enough to force a misplay and take the win. Showing similar fortitude will be necessary against Synapse, but if they have a better early game it will allow them to take the matches via plays rather than misplays.

Final Prediction

Synapse Gaming 0 – InVidious 2

All of the OPL games will be broadcast on twitch.tv/teamdowntv2 at 6PM AEST every Saturday and Sunday.

For more details on Oceanic Smite, check out the CybgerGamer and eSportspedia pages.

CyberGamer: http://au.cybergamer.com/smite

eSportspedia: http://smite.esportspedia.com/wiki/Main_Page



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