We’re finally in the good part of playoffs. Last week, Janitors did exactly what everyone expected and turned Nemesis into a cautionary tale. Now, the spotlight shifts. This match decides who gets the unenviable task of facing them in the Winner’s Finals.

But this isn’t just any other game. This is a televised grudge match. A redemption arc wrapped in trauma and baldness.

+F: Built From a LAN Loss and Bad Decisions

Plus Forward comes into this match looking like a team built entirely out of the Dallas LAN defeat. They pinpointed what they lacked and tried to solve it in the worst way possible: by putting Panther at the center of it all.

He’s bald, he’s banished, and he’s back. Somehow, he slithered his way onto +F by using the shotgun as a Trojan Horse. Panther pretends he’s taken control. He is the at-home version of Jesus Take the Wheel, if Jesus was bald and a liar. And Jesus was not bald and is not a liar.

Shellshock is the certified League MVP, and more importantly, not insane. Kosmo scopes like he’s trying to hit flicks for a TikTok montage. Zack still exists. And Brisk’s comms are the duct tape holding this emotional rollercoaster of a team together.

They’re balanced now. They’re more consistent. And who knows if that’ll be enough to take out the juggernaut in Bricked UP.

Bricked UP: Confident, Deranged, Dangerous

After a close series with X6 in the previous round, Bricked UP are coming in ridiculously confident, more than usual, which is a worrying thought in and of itself.

1Shot is the shotgun player from hell. DirtyGerman is either topfragging or actively griefing. Polo is just another highlight reel waiting to happen at every turn.

As is tradition, the fate of Bricked UP rests on Mylo’s ability to completely take over a game on his own. And then there’s Dougski. He’s still holding the team together with the illusion of structure and pure menace. When he’s on, he’s a problem. And he’s rarely off. Unless you’re on LAN.

For Bricked UP, it’s just another match. For Plus Forward, it’s something else entirely. It’s a playoff game rooted in a pool of bitterness, revenge, and whatever’s still festering inside Panther’s empty bald head.

cruizer pov:

Here is my totally unbiased prediction. I think this is a preview of the Grand Finals so lock in everyone. Both teams come into this series splitting their regular season matchups. +F beat a Doug-less Bricked team on Breakout and Bricked beat up a Brisk-less +F team on Matmata. A match in which I still have PTSD from. I think there is a chance we see 1 of those maps again, if not both. Whatever the maps are, there is no doubt it will be an old fashioned slugfest and will definitely come down to a 3rd map. Carentan anyone? Like any match, it’s going to come down to winning those 3v2s and 2v2s. This is when the top players have to shine brightest. I have no doubt league MVP Shell will frag out but that supporting cast needs to contribute. I see the prep work first hand from +F and Im fully confident they can win this BO3. Bricked is still THEE team to beat though, let’s not forget how they can just show up and beat you down. It’s a complete toss up but what kind of teammate would I be if I didn’t pick +F to win this. +F wins Matmata, Bricked wins Dawnville, +F wins Carentan. Players to watch: Polo on Mat, Shell on Dawn, Panther on Carentan. Let’s fucking go. “Make your shots, win your 1v1s, study your set nades” – Doug”