We all know that when things look played out and easy, this is exactly the moment where the unexpected happens and you are forced to adapt.
Maybe you forgot to walk your date back to the door, or to get the steak out of the pan on time, there is always the possibility that a last minute mistake wrecks all your plans. Something we may see happening in the North-American DPC as well, as some results look certain, but some games are still to be played.
Repeating the past
Last season’s North-American DPC almost saw a very surprising result. But just like “The Return of Skywalker” eliminated any hype surrounding Star Wars, so did the tiebreakers of that season eliminate any hope of Quincy Crew rising above Evil Geniuses. This season we might actually see something similar take place.
It’s time for another Money Plays, brought to you by @Coinbase! Check out the highlights from #NADPC week 4! #LIVEEVIL pic.twitter.com/yesKgZKyio
— Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) May 12, 2021
After taking down Evil Geniuses in a thrilling series last weekend it is once again Quincy Crew who seems to be taking the top spot. However, while EG quite literally tossed the game away last weekend, Quincy Crew now needs to avoid throwing it away themselves against Team Undying. Since last season this is exactly what happened, resulting in tiebreakers where Quincy Crew couldn’t come out on top.
Korean Resilience
One could, however, try to look at this whole ordeal from another perspective. Just like Anakin said “From my point of view, the Jedi are evil”, looking from Team Undying’s point of view Quincy Crew is evil. With only two slots available in North-America that allow teams to qualify for the major, beating Quincy Crew is Team Undying’s only shot at getting themselves to Kyiv. A very hard challenge that will require the full effort of Kim “DuBu” Doo-young and the rest of his teammates. Their chances however, do look a little slim.
BOTH teams undefeated in series during Season 2 of #NADPC…
But that changes today 😱@talflyaizik and @bryledota give us insight on how they’re feeling going into the @EvilGeniuses vs. @TeamUndying matchup! pic.twitter.com/g1oMFO8P8r
— NA DPC League (@NADPCLeague) May 13, 2021
Their matchup against Evil Geniuses earlier looked even worse than the CGI in the Star Wars prequels. While against lower rated teams their four-protect-one strats work marvelously, up against better teams like EG their weakness gets horrendously exploited. It seems that when Enzo “Timado” Gianoli O’Connor receives some proper pressure, he falls over quicker than the millennium falcon doing the kessel run. For Team Undying this means they will need to quickly find themselves a new way to approach the game, or they might be forced once again to sit at home and watch Star Wars instead of attending the major.
Going down the list
While the top portion of the North-American bracket still has some possible surprises to come from it. The middle and lower parts of the bracket seem to be more settled than a couple celebrating the 25th anniversary. 4 Zoomers, simply TOOBASED and Black N Yellow might switch around a bit between the fourth, fifth and sixth places. But apart from some small differences in DPC points and a few thousand dollars, nothing will really come from it. All these teams seem to simultaneously close to reaching the top, but also a galaxy far far away. They often show glimpses of greatness, when some raw individual skills shine through, getting them some surprising victories.
It seems like simply TOOBASED were simply ERASED as the Zoomers take this #NAPDC Upper Division series 2-0!
ggwp, your boy Gunnar will be in for the inteview, so stay tuned for that one. We’ll be back for our final match of this season on Tuesday, so we’ll see you then #justZOOM pic.twitter.com/L3evVkZGIz
— 4Zoomers (@4Zoomers) May 16, 2021
But performing consistently enough that they can take series from the big three just doesn’t seem to be in the cards for them. Is it a lack of experience or a lack of discipline? Only time will tell. And let’s be honest, this probably differs from team to team as well. For if the answers were simple, the teams themselves would have probably figured it out already.
Living up to their name
The two teams on the bottom of the bracket might not be happy with their performance, but are definitely living up to their names. Sadboys will surely be saddened by their lackluster performance resulting in relegation to the lower division, while The Cut indeed did not make the cut, and have gone on to lose every single game this season. Finding themselves in last place and once again being relegated back to the lower division. With both teams already having played all their games there is no possible way back for them any longer.
Looking at the bigger picture we can see places four to eight are pretty much played out. But the top three is still unstable. Nonetheless, the rule of two is something that governs this bracket with an iron fist. And while Evil Geniuses, Quincy Crew, and Team Undying are all formidable teams. The law of qualifying for a major is very simple. Like Yoda said: “Always two there are, no more, no less”.
Also read:
What are your final expectations for the DPC NA? Join the discussion on social media or our Discord!
You can also help improve our website by submitting direct feedback!
