The top teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack as we head into week 7. Mug 'N Mouse leads their division by 3 points over second place with a perfect 6-0 record. United 5 is the only perfect team in their division, with Dropouts and IceNine right on their tails. All 4 of these teams have built a large gap from the rest of the field. Due to the nature of SF Sandstorm, upsets are quite common on this map. It's a map which requires good teamwork, strat calling, and adjustments. Rounds are often won or lost in the last 5-10 seconds.

IceNine vs Conviction

It may not be obvious by their records, but this match should be a very close one. Conviction has beat some great teams in the past on SS, like overRated. IceNine was once a great SS team, but haven't faired as well recently. I think these factors will play into this match and Conviction will pull off the big upset.
Prediction: 8-4 con > i9

Dropouts vs That's Dope

Both these teams have very similar styles, Aggressive! I can see this match being played in record time with many central objective battles. Whoever comes out losing in these battles after the first few rounds may very well adjust to be more passive. Based on how dropouts have played recently I don't see That's Dope giving them much trouble, but I often underestimate tD.
Prediction: 9-3 drp > tD

Ice Cold Gaming vs Even Flow

Unless the ringers show up for Ice, they will lose by forfeit yet again no doubt. Even Flow may not too great on SS, but they got this one.
Prediction: FFW EFlow > ic3

Ataxia vs United 5

Well Ataxia turned it on last week with their 12-0 sweep. After going 10-0 last Inter season, this season has been a let down for Ataxia. United 5 have won all their matches, so they should be favorites here. I'll go with my usual trend of picking Ataxia to jinx them and picking against United 5 to make snapo mad :)
Prediction: 7-5 u5 < atx

Mug ‘N Mouse vs 160th Soar

MNM is flying high with a 6-0 record. 160th Soar tends to put up a fight with every team they face. Thanks to a couple of forfeits and an upset last week 160th is 3-1-2 which is far better than usual for them. MNM can't take this one for granted, unless someone goes rabbid and does what he does best. Since they will be more focused on CEVO I think MNM will only win close.
Prediction: MNM > 160th 7-5

Unknown Factor vs Unreasonable Ownage

Although I wouldn't consider this MOTW, it will definitely be a tight one as long as uF has a decent roster. 2nd place in the division is on the line in this one as 1 point separates these 2 teams. There should be some great battles between alkali and donmai which will be crucial to each team's success. Since uF tends to be streaky I'll pick them to lose their second in a row.
Prediction: U > uF 7-5

Notorious Gaming vs FightClub

Even with a couple of vI guys merging with fc, they always only know last minute if they'll have 4 to start. This is one of fc's best match maps, and one of nG's worst so fc should be the heavy favorites here. At the end of the day the past means nothing compared to the present, so nothing can be taken for granted, especially on Sandstorm. To be fair I will still make a prediction for my own match, and say FightClub gets their 2nd win of the season.Result: fc > nG 8-4

Knights of the Round Table vs epiC

With epiC coming off a nice win in week 6 and Knights coming off a devastating shutout loss momentum may play into this one. I can see the Knights rebounding and having a much better match this week, plus epiC isn't too strong on SS. This be neck and neck all the way right to the finish line with many close rounds won in the dying seconds. I'm going with the draw on this one.
Prediction: Knights = epiC 6-6

I'll try to improve on my 4-5 record from that week, but it's pretty much a crap shoot.
Tune in late Monday night for the updated scores.

TWL Inters Week 7 on SF Sandstorm