Week 3 - Product
With Generations down 0-2 on the season, this game starts to look like a must-win if they want a chance at favorable seeding come playoff time. Unforuntately for them, they'll be going up a very strong team in dK.
Undoubtedly, the advantage is in dK's court, but whether or not that means they come out with a victory depends on their power classes. Jarrett vs exile is going to be an interesting Demo vs Demo matchup, and I think on an even playing field, exile could really go off, but with Karl likely on Heavy for dK, he should be able to support and protect Jarrett enough to keep him alive and aggressive. Can zuchima do the same for Generations? Assuming he plays the class, he could, but maybe not as effectively as Karl.
What will be interesting to me is seeing if Generations opts to use Shotaway on Spy, or just forego the class entirely and having a perma-Engie while banning everything under the sun for dK's Deaft to use. The most important classes however will probably be the Scout and Sniper, as is the norm. I can attest to syath's DM when it comes to Highlander, but I'm out of my element when it comes to saying how he'll match up with Shamoo. Either way, even if the Scout vs Scout fights go one way, each player will still dominate.
The Sniper v Sniper battle, in my opinion is always the most fun to watch. Fallen Lord has been making waves in UGC this season, while bo4r is conditioned with being at the top. It would not surprise me one bit to see Fallen come out and shock dK, but I've seen bo4r do crazy things on this map and if Deaft does run Spy full time, it could really keep Fallen off balance.
I'm feeling a 4-1, maybe 4-2 for dK with close rounds throughout. I'm just not sure if Generations will be able to close out many rounds, despite remaining competitive from start to finish.
So Froyotech has not proven to be infallible this season, losing a round to Generations last week, but I still don't see them taking an L in this match. Class by class they bring impressive talent to the table that Cat Noises just can't stack up to.
What I'm really hoping for is Cat Noises to frustrate the hell out of Froyo by running Spamfest on perma-Engie. Most players on Froyotech are used to 6v6 meta, with sentries only coming to play on last points for 5CP. How often have you seen a level 3 on cliff during a 6s match? Exactly. I gotta give huge props to Froyo for recognizing this and banning 3 straight Engie items. That's a big brain play.
This definitely won't be a roll, but there's only so much I can see Cat Noises doing. Habib should outplay Campy, and Andrew can only be so effective if Froyo manages a forward hold on Product. b4nny has played this map internationally and won, if that gives you any indication on his ability to strat call on the map.
I do like Cat Noises' saves/bans- ensuring that arekk won't be abusing the Bonk!, Crit-a-Cola, or Atomizer, but perhaps they didn't get the memo that blaze will probably be on Shotgun, as he was during i58. Their saves of the Machina and Jarate will help Andrew, but could also just play right into corsa's hands if he chooses to perma-snipe.
Cat Noises is going to have to rely on Andrew, Slemnish, and a little bit of cheese to take this. I think a few rounds will be close, but this should be a 4-0 for Froyo.