EVL Gaming are about to be tested. Are they truly a member of the elite Invite teams, or did they fluke their way into the company of froyotech and Ascent? Earlier in the season they upset froyotech and Street Hoops to put themselves at their current 8-1 record, but both of those results seemed to be due to poor performances from EVL's opponents rather than an excellent performance from the upcoming side. These teams have since gathered themselves and the next few weeks could see a large shift in the placement of the top five teams. -bird noises- are also hanging on to the fourth place spot at the moment, above Street Hoops, and are the only team with a decent chance of upsetting the obvious top four for playoffs.
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ESEA Invite Season 21
Week 6: Granary
EVL Gaming vs. Street Hoops eSports
Ascent vs. The Grime
Street Hoops eSports vs. The Bugs
The Bugs vs. Running with Scizors
The Grime vs. EVL Gaming
-bird noises- vs. Ascent
-bird noises- vs. Ascent
It's Granary week in ESEA. A polarising map in the upper echelons of Invite; it's often the better teams that dislike it the most. Committing hard on mid is regularly the best course of action, but it leaves teams completely locked in if things go south and makes Granary midfights even more important than usual. If teams can't figure out how to deal with aggressive soldiers, or their own aggression is denied by scouts on top of the crates, it can snowball into a huge lead in a matter of minutes. Equally, this map has the potential to be a slow grind to the finish if the mids are not decisive.
This is showstopper and co.'s chance for revenge. The first week of Season 21 saw EVL storm to an early upset on Snakewater, taking the first half 3-1 before 20b (then TSU) could react, and then stalling out the second half for a tight 4-3 victory. Street Hoops have since changed their roster, hopefully allowing them to fix issues which hampered their ability to play earlier in the season. They'll be looking to take this map and regain the fourth place spot, but another victory for EVL would push them further into contention for a top seed finish.
Roster Showdown
Nursey 
cozen
cozen
Hassassin 
duwatna
duwatna
aim 
showstopper
showstopper
botmode ash
ash
slemnish 
alec
alec
arekk cyzer
cyzer
Map Analysis
Street Hoops played against Getawhale Fanclub (now EVL) at the end of last season on Granary. The rosters only vaguely resemble their counterparts this week, as the core three players remain the same but the teams have replaced those around them. All of the other games that Street Hoops played on Granary last season started incredibly slowly; this was caused by patient play in the first half which decayed by the second half, opening the map up. In the games that Hoops were able to keep slow, they came out on top overall. They famously knocked out froyotech last season from the ESEA playoffs on Granary, after froyotech were forced to use sub seymour. Slowing the game down to a grind allowed Street Hoops to drive it to overtime against a superior team on their worst map, and the same strategy will probably be applied this week. On the other hand, EVL have no experience playing Granary in matches outside their game against TSU last season, but consider it one of their better maps.
Predictions
Although these teams are around the same level, EVL seem to have cooler heads. They lack the tendency of 20b to throw pushes away by rushing opportunities, and are able to support each other better to ensure their issues don't snowball into a loss. If Street Hoops are unable to play their patient game for the full time (and this game may well go to 60 minutes) then rushing pushes on Granary will certainly cause them to lose. On the other hand, perhaps the natural chokey nature of Granary will encourage them to play a safer style and grind out a win. This match has large repercussions for the playoff run, and how we view EVL's season. They have to prove that their run so far has not been a product of froyotech and Street Hoops throwing, and Hoops have to pull away from -bird noises-. My prediction is a victory for EVL Gaming, as I don't think Street Hoops will be able to play a structured, safe game for the full time.
The Grime are up against two top teams this week after changing their roster (-sezco -phlps -unf), and look to be an improved team. Moving dingo and corsa into these roles should allow them to perform against the better teams in Invite, and although they cannot make playoffs at this point, they can certainly change the landscape of the top four. I can't see them taking the game against Ascent which is why I have not included it in my preview of this week, but against EVL they have a reasonable chance of an upset. They definitely go into this map as the underdogs, but this is another test for EVL. They have to keep up their ability to take maps consistently from the lower Invite teams in order to stay at the top of the field.
Roster Showdown
kig Nursey
Nursey
dingo Hassassin
Hassassin
farnsworth aim
aim
Dagger botmode
botmode
highfive slemnish
slemnish
corsa arekk
arekk
Map Analysis
Granary tends to naturally enforce more structure on teams, due to the segmented layout of the map. With the added yard area compared to other maps, bookended by choke points but without a control point, it stops teams bleeding in transitional fights between mid and second. This could pay off for The Grime, who have had considerably less time to build teamwork compared to EVL. EVL will be happy to play The Grime on Granary though, with the aim/botmode combo and Hassassin's almost omniscient sticky-trap usage amplified on this map.
Predictions
Although The Grime have a small chance of upsetting EVL here and creating ripples in how the playoff teams stack up, they certainly aren't the favourites. If they can build up some momentum through dominant midfights, controlling the crates with highfive and corsa, they may be able to roll it into a few rounds. I'm expecting EVL to take the map, but it should be one of the more difficult games they'll face against lower Invite teams this season.
-bird noises- were promoted from IM this season, and started off with an incredibly rough few weeks. Their schedule pit them against froyotech, Ascent, and EVL within the first two weeks, and they also had a surprisingly bad performance against Hands Off on Snakewater. They have proved their worth after that beginning though with excellent performances against other low-mid Invite teams, even upsetting Street Hoops eSports on Sunshine. They sit in fourth place at 5-5 currently, with two top Invite teams left to fight. This game against Ascent is one they shouldn't expect to win, but will give us an insight into whether this team can put up any sort of fight against top Invite teams.
Roster Showdown
indust Phorofor
Phorofor
sighguy bdonski
bdonski
Voll rando
rando
Hellbent Ma3la
Ma3la
Linkuser shrugger
shrugger
Vand yomps
yomps
Map Analysis
Ascent are regularly favourites in ESEA to win Granary games, but that can mostly be attributed to (old) froyotech's incompetence on that map. On the intercontinental stage they have average performances on the map, but it's definitely not a weak point for Ascent. They have an excellent soldier combo in Ma3la and rando, which should outperform Voll and Hellbent on this often soldier-centric map. They are completely comfortable playing a patient game and allowing their opponents to make mistakes, which should create opportunities for them against less experienced -bird noises-.
Predictions
-bird noises- previously faced Ascent on Product, where they got crushed 4-0. They've also had poor performances against froyotech on Snakewater and Badlands, 5-0 both maps. While they have been able to hang with the teams slightly below that level (upset vs Hoops Sunshine, 3-4 against EVL Product), against the top two they seem to crumble fairly reliably. Although this is technically two playoff-spot teams playing against each other, it seems ludicrous to suggest -bird noises- have a good chance at an upset here. If they can it will rock Invite, but I'm not holding my breath.
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