(GotFrag) Badland's first round went by without too many surprises. Whether some teams deny it or not, CEVO-P is starting to consistently mold three different classes of skill. With that said, Badland's last round in the regular season is only showing one close bout between Veneration and Dynamic.



Northern Resistance (0-8-0) v Check-Six (6-2-0)

Should NR show up for this one - it will be fast and painless.
NR [ 0 : 5 ] x6

Xensity (3-5-0) v start the Reactor! (3-5-0)


The scores of each team aren't going to fool anyone who's been following the CEVO scene even moderately..while Xen has fallen quite a bit from being a near-top team in the past to middle calibre, they still outclass sR. However, normally I'd give sR a fighting a chance but they currently have roster issues which isn't going to help. This is all assuming sR even shows up..
Xen [ 5 : 0 ] sR

Team Dynamic (4-4-0) v Veneration(3-5-0) MOTW

The only even-classed match this week, therefore this is the match of the week. There's more to it though. Both teams are coming off a tough loss from 5-1. Dynamic easily had the tougher match vs former Eximius and managed to pull off a round - congratulations. Veneration played a lesser-better team, Sway and stole 2 rounds. I look at these teams as "surviving" CEVO-P. Had I chosen the teams for the Pro division, I may have overlooked these two, yet both managed to stay alive and even surprise a few critics. The vast majority are probably predicting a win by Team Dynamic for their more impressive win history. I disagree though- given this map's tendency to cause teams to "thin-out" and get disoriented grants Veneration an edge. While this won't be easy, Veneration should be able to pull the win - as long as they know when to adapt and use swing classes.
Dyn [ 4 : 5 ] Ven

LOOKING FOR SPONSOR (7-0-0) v Apoplexy Industries (3-4-0)

AI proved they deserve to be in the Pro division after their last performance with Pandemic. But given this map, LFS should dominate AI. Badlands will make full use of LFS's scout-team which AI simply won't be able to handle. Whenever AI gets a distinct edge I'd expect their medic to fold from surprise attacks or backcaps from Eximius. If AI is going to take more than a round, they will need to use a unique lineup and some unique strats.
LFS [ 5 : 1 ] AI

Pandemic (9-0-0) v Sway Gaming (4-4-0)

This being Sway's second match with Pandemic and already playing x6 and LFS, Sway has had the toughest schedule thus far. While I love hearing about Pandemic losing I'm definitely not expecting that to happen here. The Badlands is not a map I see Sway performing well on, when challenged.

Pan [5 : 1 ] Sway

Go Phillies.