And so, we are here. Just one more game, and Insomnia43 will have breathed its last. Yes Ladies and Gentlemen, the grand final is upon us.
It is the final most people expected to see, but that does mean they are disappointed. In a repeat of the Upperbracket final, we will be seeing the top 2 seeds fight out a bitter rematch to determine who will take the top prize of £1500. TCM-Gaming, qualifying from the Upperbracket, only need one map to win. Infused, who were knocked out by TCM in the upperbracket final into the lower bracket, will have to win not one but 2 maps to take the title. The best way to conceive of it is as a standard Bo3 game, but TCM automatically win the first map because they qualified from the Upperbracket.
Infused had a tough time at the hands of FragMasters to reach the grand final, pulling through over 96 rounds with an overall score of 49-47. It was just about the closest CoD4 game many people here had ever witnessed. Both sides, while incredibly talented, could just not make the other one budge. Flashes of brilliance from both teams went unnoticed as the other had an answer to them. It was a spectacular game, and Infused are well deserving of reaching the grand final.
So to the matter at hand. Infused have come through this tournament so far with the help of excellent teamwork, relying on smooth comms to adapt and out-game their opponents. This is not to say that they aren't individually talented - they are. Two men in particular, alpha and kex, have been on great form this whole event, and without them playing as well as they are they would have finished a lot lower than they did. Their opponents have been powering through with brite force and devastating aim. Their teamplay is not yet up to scratch, it seems that the players are acting much more on individual instinct than working together as a cohesive unit. But this has not yet proven to be a problem for them. Each of them has stepped up where necessary to win them the rounds. Froz has been on fire, sweeping all before him with his trusty AK. His positioning is excellent, and he seems to have the eyes of a hawk, seeing heads and picking them off before anyone else has even noticed they are there. Blackmane is as sharp as ever with his scope, while Mumma quietly gets his job done, racking up crucial frags and holding on to key positions. The other two, skkiNN and azeo, have settled in well and are both performing admirably.
TCM have not yet lost with their full lineup here, but they have come close. Their games against FragMasters and Infused previously have showed that they are not invincible. The question is - has anything changed since then? And what effect will the pressure of playing on stage have on the teams? Infused have just come through a 3 hour marathon game, perhaps one of the toughest of their entire CoD4 careers. They had to persevere to make it through, and that they did. They will have learnt something from that game, on top of what they learnt from their earlier defeat at the hands of TCM. This will be a stronger Infused side: wiser, better practiced and motivated by the occasion before them. TCM will also have to up their game if they want to win again. But they too are better rested, more confident and better motivated than before. They are a new team, and want to impress the scene with a LAN win on their first outing. Blackmane has never lost a LAN final, a reputation that he is rather proud of and will not want to lose.
It will be close. Both teams have the capacity to win it, and both have the capacity to perform over and above that which they have done already. TCM are now the favourites, having beaten Infused already this tournament and proven themselves a side to be reckoned with. All that can be said now is that you should make sure to tune in to the final stream, you wouldn't want to miss this one for the world.
Adam "Mumma" Timle-Händel
Roe "froz" Langaas
Michele "skkiNN" Mancini
Chris "blackmane" Kinnair
9mm
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