Notes

-- GAMBIT VS NORTH --

Gambit bans nuke, North bans dust2, Gambit bans mirage, North bans train, Gambit bans cache - overpass/cbblestone

- Imo this is a scary matchup especially if it comes down to cbblestone, If thats the case I would give a slight advantage for Gambit cause of their experience as a team on it and I think cbblestone is a map that favours their methodical style of playing
With that said, im aiming for a super close match decided on the very last rounds. If it comes down to overpass, I think its a great map for North and their players, Magiskboy always put up good numbers on that map and they shouldnt have problems to win comfortably

-- FNATIC VS G2 --

Fnatic bans nuke, G2 bans mirage, Fnatic bans cbblestone, G2 bans cache, Fnatic bans train - overpass/dust2

- Another scary match up considering the map vetoes I choose, I think G2 has a lot of experience playing overpass and I think that shoxie`s way of calling/lurk on that map and the way he controls his team especially on their T side is very effective, smithz used to be pretty good on it cause its a pretty open map with a lot of opportunities for him to work with his awp, so I dont see them having issues to have a comfortable win here.

Now if we have dust2, this will be much closer and the map favours both teams cause of their styles, imo its gonna come down to the team that starts with more momentum and wins more opening duels, personally I love to see G2 way of playing on that map by mixing strategies with simple executions and relying on their skill. I also think this time and especially cause G2 lost last time they met not too long ago, they will be much more prepared.

-- SK VS HR --

SK bans cbblestone, HR bans dust2, SK bans cache, HR bans train, SK bans nuke - overpass/mirage

- I think that SK`s map pool is way better and even tho HR plays train I dont think they have the balls to leave it open against SK, so in that case they are forced to play either mirage which is a map they usually ban even against weaker opponents, and even tho SK was kinda sloppy on it im sure their bootcamp in EU helped them a lot to fix whatever was needed cos it used to be one of their strongest maps back in the days.

About overpass, it used to be the best map for SK together with train, TACO always shows up huge together with cold and unless a miracle happens I dont see HR having experience enough to beat SK on any of those maps.

-- VP vs OPTIC --

VP bans dust2, OpTic bans mirage, VP bans overpass, OpTic bans nuke, VP bans cache - train/cbblestone

- Im confident on VP for this matchup especially because they always show up strong after recent bad performances and their fail at WESG will definitely be an extra factor for them to start super strong at this event. If it comes down to train, I expect a close match because it used to be a great map for both teams but I just dont see OpTic`s way of playing this map working against VP.

Now if it comes down to cbblestone, then its even worse, VP`s play book on this map is insane and they know perfectly how to mix things between developing map control and working on their defaults, then surprise with hard executions and fakes out of it, .. so honestly I would be very surprised if OpTic is able to handle it.

-- NAVI vs MOUZ --

NAVI bans cache, MOUZ bans overpass, NAVI bans dust2, MOUZ ban nuke, NAVI bans cbblestone - train/mirage

- Will NaVi risk playing one of the best mousesports maps (mirage) or will they gamble leaving dust2/cbble open? Has navi fixed the issues they had on cbble and would they risk playin it against mousesports?

Anyway this is my guess and if it comes down to mirage, it can go either way, navi used to be very strong on their T side but kinda sloppy on their CT side, in the other hand, mouz used to be pretty weak on their T side and very strong w their CT side.. so If Mouz shuts down NAVI as CT this can be a massacre, im just very confident on navi`s bootcamp and im sure starix will prepare a lot to make use of mouz weaknesses on mirage.

if it comes down to train, NAVI has all the keys to completely destroy mousesports, they`re more experienced and way better overwall than them on this map, if navi starts T side win the pistol and get some momentum going, mouz better be ready cause Navi`s ct defense is insanely hard to break.

-- Liquid vs ENVYUS --

Liquid bans nuke, EnVyUs bans mirage, Liquid bans dust2, EnVyUs bans overpass, Liquid bans cache - cbblestone/train

- Hard xD on this matchup, I am sure Liquid got some tricks upon their sleeves and they might try and surprise some ppl about their vetoes/map pool especially with the addition of zews, in the other hand envy us didnt have much time to prepare cause of their trip to China.

So I noticed that Envy played mirage recently and even tho im not sure if they are actually practicing on that map and saving it for the major, would they play mirage vs Liquid if needed? Dont think so and thats why imo they`d rather leave train open and heres where Liquid
can surprise, cause recently they havent played any train matches but I hardly doubt they havent practiced on it, so if it comes down to train I really think Liquid have really good chances of caughting envy offguard.

If we have cbblestone, I think that`s one of envy`s best maps and they have a lot of experience playing it offline even against Liquid, plus they just won WESG and are probably super confident. Slight advantage for them here but its gonna be close :D

What im gonna do? ill just follow my old liquid coach heart and cheer for them here :D

-- Astralis vs GODSENT --

Astralis bans cbblestone, GODSENT bans nuke, Astralis bans cache, GODSENT bans overpass, Astralis ban dust2 - mirage/train

- Best match of the day imo, I dont see the vetoes going much different than this, maybe Astralis surprising and getting rid of train to leave dust2 open? but if they do that they`d give GODSENT a very random map where they could potentially upset relying on their individual skills, is it worth it?

So if it comes down to mirage I think GodSent looked kinda sloppy on it based on their recent matches online and Astralis is just much better as a team on that map in every aspect.

Now if it comes down to train, then thats where things can get scary, yes Astralis looks very strong on train recently but thats one of the best maps for GodSent and the old fnatic roster (w pronax calling) in the past and together with that, I think that GodSent players are more experienced playing on this map so... who knows.. if they have a chance its on train but still I favour Astralis cos they`re in a better shape as a team nowdays.

-- Flipsid3 vs FaZe --

Flipsid3 bans dust2, FaZe bans overpass, Flipsid3 bans mirage, FaZe bans cache, Flipsid3 bans nuke - cbblestone/train

- Worst match of the night imo but the vetoes here are very complicated, both teams have pretty similar map weaknesses, Flipside havent played cbble in the past 3 months but at the same time FaZe have been banning this map permanently, still, I dont see Flipsid3 gambling a bo1 on nuke vs FaZe where FaZe would potentially start CT side and plus I am sure one of those two teams have been practicing their cbblestones and are ready to play it, so ima gamble here that this could be a trap :D

If it comes down to cbblestone I honestly have no idea what could happen but Id still favour FaZe cos of their recent performances overall.

Obviously makes no sense for any of them to get rid of train, this is by far Flipsid3`s favourite map for a long time, and thats a very confortable map for FaZe aswell, so I dont think they`re afraid of each other. The reason why I slightly favour FaZe is because I dont think Flipside have the firepower to beat FaZe in their actual form but, if FaZe doesnt know how to play against F3`s style, which means very slow, developing map control and punishing any mistakes u do, FaZe can be caught offguard and fail to adapt.