The first map was mp_strike. TCM looked very strong from the word go, going 5-2 up and making it clear that they were not going to simply roll over for Infused.Tt. TCM played well, froz and blackmane leading the charge with some amazing individual play combining to win then round after round. Before the game had really felt like it had gotten underway TCM had one in the bag and the map was changing to crossfire.
Crossfire turned out to be a much more even affair. Despite the best efforts of TCM to claim this map like they had the first, infused remained dogged and never let TCM pull more than a few rounds ahead. The game was all tied up at 11-11. All the players were performing at their best. Mumma was wreaking havoc from top a, while kex's scope got Infused out of a few sticky situations. But in the end, it was the mixed european team that came out on top, making one last desperate push and taking the final 2 rounds to close out the map 13-11.
So TCM have earnt themselves their place in the final, and as such a minimun of 2nd place in the competition overall. Infused, meanwhile, will be relegated to the consolidation final. Here they will meet either FragMasters or OTR, who are set to fight it out in the Lowerbracket final. This game will likely end in FragMasters victory, and so we should see Infused go head to head with the FM lads in the consolidation final. Both teams lost narrowly to TCM to be put into the lowerbracket, and so both have a real desire to get to the final and get their revenge on the mixed european side. Interestingly, this is not a match up we have seen so far in this competition. Both sides have done very well and are extremely talented, both have relied on their teamwork and discipline to get them out of some sticky situations. On the cards, they do look very evenly matched and it should be an interesting game.
On the other hand, OTR could come through against FM!, which would give us an entirely different Consolidation final. If this is the case, Infused will have to cope yet again with the unpredictable play of a mix team. However, as implied previously, Infused have had to do a lot of that today, and showed they are more than a match for the majority of new teams. If we see an Infused vs OTR match up it would seem likely that Infused would be the team reaching the grand final.
But, alas, all of this is speculation. All we really know is that TCM are in the final, and will be playing one of Infused, FragMasters or OTR.
Adam "Mumma" Timle-Händel
Roe "froz" Langaas
Michele "skkiNN" Mancini
Chris "blackmane" Kinnair
edited 2011-08-27 23:37:30
AT 16