Last time these two met, Bricked Up turned the Dallas finals into a two-map crime scene, sending Check 6 home in record time, saving the community from overpaying an extra two hours. Now they meet again, on equal footing, in the playoffs, with a best-of-three and no ‘loser’s bracket advantage’. No one is certain on how this one ended up getting scheduled, but enlightened minds can take a hint.

Check 6, by contrast, had a much gentler schedule in Group B and locked playoffs early. Then they hit cruise control, sagged off, and lost to Nemesis and UP like they were allergic to effort. We won’t even mention the sad finality of the South American League. But just to keep things spicy, they also beat Janitorz, Group B’s #1 seed, on Matmata, to close off their season. So they’re either sandbagging or just wildly unstable. Either way, they clearly remember what Bricked Up did to them at LAN. And they’re here for icy, cold-cut revenge.

Bricked Up comes in as the #3 seed out of Group A, which seems very out of place, until you remember they got throttled 13-1 by Awakening on Burgundy and disassembled by Plus Forward on Breakout. Very unbecoming of our Dallas champs, but they’re still arguably the most terrifying monster you could face in the first round of GOTN Season 1 playoffs. You just never know if they’re showing up as LAN demi-gods, or a team that can only mimic the Euros they so deeply despise.

The Key Players:

Willzki – Your favourite team’s worst nightmare. If this man is on, and honestly, he doesn’t seem to miss a beat in any match, you can pencil him in at the top of the scoreboard. Apparently, the man has recently found how easy rifling is in CoD2, and he’ll be here to show that his discord banter was actually prophecy.

Telly – The man lives his dog avatar life. Happy-go-lucky, shotgun in hand, good vibes only, and equipped with an anti-tilt brain. Check 6‘s life and soul. If this man can wrangle control off of 1Shot’s terrifying W-key routes, this match will be the heater that the CoD2 NA community won’t soon forget.

Mylo – As is tradition, the rock. Mylo has a heavy burden to carry, and no one can blame the man for shitting himself once a year. He will face off against Will in early-round duels, and if he wins those, his team will easily dismantle the well-oiled Check 6 machine.

Dougski – The strategic core behind Bricked Up. Sure, everyone gets their word in between rounds, but Doug is the charismatic dictator who’s mid game adjustments fix holes. Look for him to keep his team loose and focused by berating each and every one of them equally.

Map Analysis

Toujane – Bricked Up thrives on chaos. This is their playground. And if this map is as a knife fight in a phone booth, Check 6 unfortunately comes to battle with a butter knife. This writer predicts Toujane being the first ban.

Dawnville – The neutral ground. Expect it to show up unless Check 6 developed trauma from Dallas.

Burgundy – After both teams were embarrassed on this PUG map, neither will want to touch it. The big question is: which team bans this first?

Matmata – Bricked Up should ban this map. But they won’t. That might be the first domino in their downfall. Check 6 is extremely well-drilled here, even though their play style matched weirdly against UP.

Gl4d’s Barber Shop: Real Talk

The best time of any league begins: playoffs. We immediately jump into the match of the week in the first round. x6 finished second, and their reward is a first-round match up with the LAN champions — a rematch of the LAN finals. Bricked enter the playoffs looking more like mortal men, despite previously appearing sharp. I imagine they’ll iron out the details and be ready for this match up against x6. x6, however, have been very consistent this season and recently pulled off an impressive comeback win against Janitorz, who were undefeated up to that point. The player to watch for Bricked may come as a surprise to some, but I see it being Dirty German. When he’s on (like he was at LAN), they are extremely hard to beat, and I think he’ll be ready. On the x6 side, I know what to expect from Willzki, but the player to watch is Lex. If his Bolt is hitting, he could flip my prediction and make me look like an idiot. My prediction for this match up is a very close 13–10 result, with Bricked winning the series 2–1.

This is a high-stakes coin toss between two volatile giants. Whoever loses drops into the Lower Bracket with vengeance in their veins, and bitter discord excuses, with some poor team meeting them down in the slums to deal with that fallout. Neither squad deserves an early exit from the Upper Bracket, but one of them will, and it’s going to be messy. Whoever takes this will fly on to a possible Plus Forward match up with all the momentum.

Check 6 will win if they play clean and collected. Bricked Up will win if they play unhinged and confident. The rest of us win regardless.