Rd 1 Matchups
#1 l3lack_jesus vs #16 l3_lvl_x - Here we have what will surely go down in history as being called the battle of the fake capital B's. Timm earned the top seed in the playoffs through some great play in the group stage, beating last seasons's top playoff seed en route to a 4-1 record in a challenging group. With that top seed he'll definitely get the benefit of an easier route through the playoff bracket so it will be key to take advantage. His opponent David is competing in div A for the first time and also posted some good results to qualify for these playoffs. I don't know if Timm is the calibre of #1 seed that we're used to seeing here so he might have a chance for the upset. I think David will keep it close but in the end Timm is playing too well now.
7-4 Timm Result - 7-5 David
#8 _waybetter_then_ vs #9 R_ook - This is a pretty interesting matchup. Wasn't really too sure what to expect from Dante in the group stage but he came through fairly well. Able to put away the weaker competition and hang in with the better players. JT is in the playoffs for the first time after 3 attempts and it wasn't really too much of a surprise. He has always competed well in the competition and should have a chance to make a run here in the playoffs. If JT is running well I think he'll take this set but Dante's conservative style could give him trouble if the shots aren't falling.
8-6 JT Result - 7-5 Dante
#4 dx.fanatic vs #13 xxl_stud_lxx - No this is not a misprint. Jack is actually the higher seed in this matchup. If you think that's hard to believe then I would point your direction to the group stage where Jack beat TJ 7-2. Jack earned the group win by winning some sets against some fairly quality opponents but those opponents will only get tougher in the elimination portion of the competition. I don't think that Jack is a better player than TJ but he's at least proven that he can possibly beat him. TJ should emerge as the winner in this set and it could be a blowout but I think Jack will fight to keep it close.
7-5 TJ Result - DQ win for Jack
#5 mvp_n00b vs #12 aka_hero - This is definitely my favourite matchup of the first round. On one side we have Kevin in his second time through the competition. His group stage wasn't complete but it was undefeated so the seed is definitely deceptive. Last season he took a high seed all the way to the finals. Steve, his opponent had an even less complete group stage that was also undefeated, gaining the higher seed through placing first in his inactive group. So having said that we can pretty much throw the seeding out the window. I think overall Kevin is the stronger player because of his use of many styles but Steve has definitely shown in the past that he can knock off top players. Should be an entertaining set full of great shots and the winner should have a chance to go all the way.
7-5 Kevin Result - 7-0 Kevin
#2 win-win-win vs #15 dwaechte - Not really the most even matchup here. We have Matt who is always a threat to make a deep run in the playoffs coming off another great performance in the group stage including a set win against last year's winner Ant. On the other side we have Dan who is a first timer in the competition proving his group stage prediction wrong by finishing in the top 3 of a fairly inactive group. Dan did have a couple of notable victories to make it this far but Matt's game should be a step up from what he'd faced in those wins. While he proved that he definitely belongs in div A Dan probably won't have a place in the quarter finals unless Matt can't play this set.
7-3 Matt Result - DQ win for Dan
#7 ant8br vs #10 lx_mike_lx -It's always a lot of fun writing about Ant and trying to find something new to say. He's definitely the person who I've written about the most probably in these predictions. Reason being he doesn't lose very often. Ant is a finalist in the competition in the last two seasons and also happens to be the defending champ. Facing him is Mike who is a first timer in the competition who had a pretty good group stage to make it this far. I think Mike is definitely a player who plays a style that has a chance against Ant but actually putting it all together for this set won't be easy. Mike will have to play near perfect to keep it close and hope for a little luck if he's going to advance.
7-4 Ant Result - 7-4 Ant
#3 safdarbandali vs #14 l0osteekyo0l - Here we have what could turn out to be an interesting matchup. Safdar is back in the playoffs for his 3rd consecutive season this time with a high seed after his best group stage yet. Steven is a newcomer to the competition and managed to squeak into the field surviving an inactive group. He won't be going into this with a lack of confidence after posting good results against strong players in the previous stage. Safdar however, is probably a stronger player and if focuses on this set and doesn't get distracted looking ahead to who the next opponent might be he should be able to get past this test comfortably.
7-4 Safdar Result - 7-3 Safdar
#6 Cocky_Guy vs #11 crazy_cananuck - Should be an interesting match, always is when these two players are involved in a set seperately, and now together in a set.. well.. gonna see alot of strategic play for awhile. Until the one who has been losing these 50/50 games decides to take over and bang out some runs. Personally I consider Craig the favourite, tho he says when he doesn't play for a week he's 'rusty'. Jon on the other hand seems to be pretty hit or miss, if he's hitting watch out, if he's missing well, div b players could potentially upset him. If both players are on top for I'll still have to take Craig for the win here, played some great sets lately.
7-4 Craig Result - 7-2 Jon
Rd 2 Matchups
#16 l3_lvl_x vs #8 _waybetter_then_ - Well I said Timm wasn't the best top seed we've had but David must be doing something well because that's still a good upset. Definitely the strongest playoff win we've seen from him in this competition and on to round 2 with hope to go further. The opponent in this match is Dante and he managed to come out on top vs JT in the previous round without having to play overly well. I think more times than not Dante would come out on top in this matchup because he plays a little more under control. David is definitely showing us something here though so it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see his run continue. Dante doesn't overwhelm David by any means but comes out on top in this set.
8-6 Dante Result - 7-3 David
#4 dx.fanatic vs #12 aka_hero - If Jack vs TJ was a mismatch in favour of TJ then Jack vs Kevin is a gigantic mismatch. Jack was fortunate to advance past the first round after TJ's DQ for not being eligible to play. Jack is a fringe div A player at best and I wouldn't be surprised to see him fall out of playoff contention for the following season. Kevin on the other hand was our finalist in this competition losing a close set in those finals to Ant and is coming off a 7-0 distruction of Steve, another good opponent. Having played against both of these guys Kevin kinda scares me with the shots he can hit, while Jack makes me relax a little too much because I know there are mistakes coming. As long as Kevin doesn't relax too much and plays anywhere near his potential this is a guaranteed easy win.
7-2 Kevin Result - DQ win for Jack
#15 dwaechte vs #7 ant8br - Would it be rude to say that I feel bad for Dan in this match? Dan advanced to round 2 due to an unluckily timed vacation by Matt, who was unavailable to play. His reward for taking over the slot belonging to the #2 seed is a second round date with last year's champ Ant. As I said in the previous prediction Dan has shown us very little up until now with some decent results qualifying out of an inactive group. On the other side we have Ant who disposed of Mike in his first round with a fairly comfortable margin of victory. Until Ant faces someone with some kind of a reputation for big set wins I think he's got clear sailing. In this particular match if Dan able to keep it close... like within 4 that would be a victory. He might even be able to learn a thing or two.
7-3 Ant Result - 7-4 Ant
#3 safdarbandali vs #11 crazy_cananuck - So we reach the quarter finals of sscam div a where Safdarbandali takes on the crazy_canauck jon .Well here's my view on both of them is they are good alrounders. Saf always plays for the stacked teams in inters and when I am playing those teams I always hope to be against him .When I look at this playoff quarter finals id def say jon got off lightly with playin saf. Jon on the other hand I reckon is better player makes less mistakes and shud be able to over come this obsticle on his way to what looks like a semi final pairing with ant gl there ...lol.
7-4 Jon (by Stevie) Result - 8-6 SafdarSemi-Finals
#16 l3_lvl_x vs #4 dx.fanatic - Well I don't think I'd be the only one to say that I'm surprised that these two players have come this far to have a shot at the finals. David was the last player to qualify into the playoffs and somehow didn't have the hardest route to get here. Jack on the other hasn't even had to play a set yet in the playoffs to advance this far. These two players have matched up twice in the past two seasons with David being the victor on both occasions including a win in the div B playoffs last season. It'll be interesting to see which player gets affected moreso by having an opportunity to play in the finals. This set could really go either way but I feel like David plays a little more under control and looks ahead into his runs a little better than Jack and that should provide the difference here.
9-7 David Result - 9-3 David
#7 ant8br vs #3 safdarbandali - We have arrived into the final 4 and have a matchup that could probably be compared to David v Goliath. Safdar is making his deepest run into the competition posting two great results so far in the playoff round. On the other side it's business as usual for Ant who is looking to make a run at back to back titles. Safdar definitely has the skill to run some tables and win some games in this matchup but he'll definitely be the underdog here. Ant hasn't really been tested up until this round and I'm not sure that this test from Safdar will be more than feeble. Over the course of the race to 9 I think one player's skill advantage will standout quite a bit here. Any time Safdar falters which can happen quite a bit, Ant will be there to clear the table. Pretty good run this season earning an invite to the prize tourney for Safdar but it should end here.
9-5 Ant Result - 9-1 Ant
Finals
#16 l3_lvl_x vs #7 ant8br_ - Ok so at the start of the season some people might have predicted one of these players to be in position to win at this point. The other player was actually predicted to miss the playoffs all together. Not too sure if I've used a David vs Goliath reference yet in these predictions but hopefully not because that's truly what we have here. David's run to the finals has been pretty impressive culminating with the 9-3 destruction of Jack in the semi-finals. While none of the opponents were very proven players, the fact is he's been able to come out on top and with wide margins in the previous two rounds. Ant is in his 3rd sscam season with this being his 3rd consecutive finals appearance. In his previous two finals he's had to face top notch players in Chris and Kevin... not too sure if David is really in that class. Can't ignore that David has been in this position before with a cam comp title on the line in mcc and he's showing that he's definitely got real ambitions to win one some day just not quite sure that step will be taken here. Would definitely be David's biggest upset here over Ant but if Ant takes the set seriously it might not be close.
9-4 Ant
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