The Groups are out. Zyk’s Power Rankings are out. With just days away from the action beginning in Columbus, Ohio, we asked the community how they felt the afternoon group day 1 would go.

I predict afternoon group won’t be tired but most teams will struggle with too much smoke on their screen after the Nvidia changes ban. Bricked will be able to freely run through it and win groups -athn

Birdman

Top heavy like Panthers mom…Will more competition and new teams be enough to knock Bricked up off their perch and finally shut Doug up?

Bricked UP

myLo, Dougski, 1Sh0t, polo, dirty_german

Lan 1 champs are back with an unchanged roster, but can they repeat the magic from Texas? With the dominant performance from LAN they were favorites to take S1 online but fell just short, losing to Janitors in the finals. With some concerning cup and tournament finishes you may be worried that they have fallen off or maybe everyone else is just catching up? This roster runs on pure hate, hatred for the competition and for each other. With all of that said, they still have to be the favorite to top group B. Easily one of the most skilled teams on paper they have the experience and individual talent to beat anyone. They are one of the only teams that have fluid roles. Depending on the map and side, you could see Doug on the scope, shotty or flying off a roof with a bolt. Their time conquering Europe may just be their main advantage. Their big test in the groups comes at 7pm when they face off with X6. I expect the bricked up boys to live up to their name and dick down the competition to finish the group 6-0.

PTW-Mylo 

If Mylo goes off with the scope, they are a scary team for anyone.

X6

telly, wiLLzki, zondo, LeX, tanaKa

After a strong showing at LAN 1 and some cup success, a disappointing S1 led to a late roster change. Replacing Eric with Tanaka has brought this team some early success in online cups but will it be enough to get them back to the finals? Adding Tanaka against his will, shifts up the roles and allows Will to drop the scope and go back to bolting idiots. With some of the biggest names in the community and a dick ton of experience this team will always be a contender. With their unique, more team focused game play I expect them to make it out of the group relatively easily. Only time will tell if the roster change is enough to go from perennial 2nd place to taking home the chip.

PTW-Willzki

Will being freed up to bolt, has given him more freedom to frag out and carry this team.

Awakening

tipzy, veRb, neo, nilla, xlzghost

One of the more polarizing teams in this group are the boys from Awakening. Put together from the ashes of Highnoon’s disastrous LAN 1, household names Xlz and Neo round out this roster. With mixed results online, they truly are a wildcard in this group. This roster started S1 with an impressive win over +Forward, but some disappointing results online have left some doubts about the ability of this team. On paper this team has all the pieces required for a top team. Strong scope and shotgun play from Nilla and Verb, paired with the leadership and experience of Xlz. Throw in Neo’s ability to frag and the absolute virgin level set nades from Tipzy, this team can absolutely make some waves. Unfortunately inconsistent play has been their achilles heel online. Hopefully we see the best version of this team and they cause some upsets after getting out of groups.

PTW-Nilla

Another scope, but his ability to open up the map and shut down lanes is crucial for Awakening.

Nemesis

everestt, berry, zyk, reflex, broa

One of the most interesting rosters in group B is Nemesis. After a surprising S1 playoff run, the team went through a pretty hefty rebuild. Adding Lewis and Broa, certainly makes them stronger on paper but does it come at the cost of the chemistry that made this team tick? The stunning mid season reveal that Yamato was actually disgraced former Janitors member Zyk, put a bad taste in a lot of players’ mouths for this team. For some, the addition of Lewis didn’t help the situation and they are certainly living up to their name. This team has a secret weapon in the form of veteran Berry’s set nade arsenal. He may miss the smoke but while you are trying to figure out what the fuck they are trying to smoke, he will be set nading you. This team will need to be firing on all cylinders to make it out of this group and have a playoff push.

PTW-Broa

Community favorite Broa had a great Lan 1 and will be crucial if this team is to have any success.

Empyrean

tox, trauma, redz, kevlar, roflcakes

This is a tough team to form an opinion on. After dying mid-season and losing Brian, all hope was lost. With some stand-in’s they were able to make a decent showing in S1. This is where the rebuild started. They were able to get Trauma back from his sabbatical traveling the world and brought back Kevlar from the bench to solidify their core. They added the last piece in Rofl and have been grinding. While this roster may seem to be built to play COD 4 not 2, they have the talent to challenge Nemesis for that last play-in spot. Inconsistent online results have them fall just short of play-ins.

PTW-Kevlar

Going with a bit of a darkhorse here, but Kev has been putting in work and fragging out. If he can keep the strong play up, this team just may have a chance.

Nephilm

Magnum, ashen,c4rve, stiffy, kimble

The retirement home suits up for one last ride. After a rough S1 online the neph boys look to prove themselves on LAN. With an abundance of experience and old names and some fresh blood in C4rve they look to shake up the middle of this group. A team very capable of taking some rounds off the teams around them. Coming from COD 1 proved difficult at first for this group but with the time and practice they are looking like a fresh squad. Unfortunately I don’t think it will be enough to see them on Sunday.

PTW-Magnum

The swap to scope has seen America’s favorite admin reinvent his gameplay and prove you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Strokers

LOOSE, Hero, Forsaken, abk, warboy

America’s favorite team rounds out the group. Spearheaded by the President of the Shotgunner’s union Loose, Strokers are here to shake things up and create some upsets. After Loose and Hero initially had trouble putting together 5, they were able to snatch Forsaken from retirement and bring in some fresh blood in Warboy and Abk. The boys have been putting in work and with some help from Coach Doug, hope to surprise some people. While the entire world wants them to win, it may not be enough for them to get out of this group.

PTW-Loose

Shotgun extraordinaire and fearless leader will need to whip these degens into shape if they are going to get anything out of this group.

redz

IMO top seed in this group doesn’t matter all too much. Check6 and Bricked Up are on a crash course to meet in the finals once again. Only teams that stand in their way are Janitorz and +Forward from group A. Higher seed makes that road easier potentially, but these teams are poised and will be prepared for bo3 action whomever the opponent. This leaves 3 teams battling it out for the 3-5 seeds, where seeding will matter a great deal. Awakening, Nemesis, and my Empyrean boys will have their hands full and certainly most prep will be spent focusing on those matches. Pending no upsets, those 3 seeds could go either way, with Awakening being the favorites to take the 3 seed. GLHF.

Standings:

check6: 6-0

Bricked Up: 5-1

Awakening: 3-3

Nemesis: 3-3

EMP: 3-3

NPH: 1-5

Strokers: 0-5

tripel

1. Bricked

2. x6

3. Awakening

4. Nemesis

5. EMP

6. Neph

7. Strokers

adept

7. strokers their best player is forsaken come on now

6. nph – stiffy is awful online and even worse on lan makes bust videos that make no sense

5. emp – redz will get drunk and choke again

4. nemesis – zyk may be able to carry these guys into at least a play in spot

3. awake – they have a good squad but tipzy will be their downfall

2. x6 As second place finishers last lan they downgrade with adding tanaka without smoke config

1. bricked up – nothing changes theyre the favorites to win it all