Colorednaem predicts (in depth edition):
Braindamagehaver vs Terracotta - Since it is getting to the final rounds in the tour im going to go a bit more in depth for these.
Throughout the tour Brain has shown themself to be competent but flawed. There strongest suit tierwise is LC going 3-0 so far and showing good meta knowledge. There is also DOU which is another one of his strong tiers even through he went 2-2 he still played well. As for his other tiers there hasnt been a sample size more then a single game but they seems average in ou and bad at the rest. Something ive noticed is that Brain's playstyle is suited to quick paced offense vs offense games and they has struggled in games where they has had to game plan long term. Linked to this they seem to exhaust tera early, and often in dumb places where a double the turn prior or just a good predict could have let you conserve tera.
Now for Terracotta there main tier is ubers going a great 4-1 and showing his prowess in the tier. As for other tiers they have shown to be a all around player, being decent to good in most tiers with some ones that pop out to me being pu and ou. In terms of gameplay they seems good at all the fudementals, and has also shown that there methodical, slow and safe playstyle is solid and can get results. Terra sometimes can struggle with making good reads, but thats a problem most players in the pool have. My main problem with them is that they seem to consistantly apply there slow, methodical approach to offense games. This has worked out for them in the most part, but against someone as offensively leaning as brain i could see that being a problem.
As for tiers being played, looking at the tiers ( Dou, Uber , Pu, Nu, Ou) I feel like Terra is favored in all the tiers other then dou, and i don't really get why Brain wouldn't pick LC as that's his strongest tier. Ubers seems like it will be heavily in Terra's favor and i feel the same about pu. As for Nu i think this could be close, since there's plenty of great techs and ideas you can slot on offense in that tier and Brain has shown to have some good
ripped built teams. Ou is looking like it will be a tera win, but i wouldn't really be surprised if Brain makes it close.
In terms of in the game, i think if Terra's slow methodical is applied to solid balance teams with a good defensive backbone he will likely be able to outplay Brain and win. I think that Brain will end up being forced to play very aggresive and make bold strong reads, which doesnt really seem to be a skill he has and will probably fold. In the case of Terra bringing a more offensively leaning team whether for scout or metagame reasoning, if he sticks with his current playstyle/isnt able to play that aggressively i feel like brain will be able to take those games and they could be pretty dominant.
Prediction:
Terracotta Wins 3-1
Uber Dou
Pu Ou
Tempo di anguria vs PolloAriosto - This is looking like it will shape up to be a great series.
Tempo di anguria has shown themself to be a great player in this tour so far going 3-1 in ubers ( Only losing to
The Wesh Papillion). As for the other tiers they have shown they be great in uu and ou, and good in the other tiers with his only weak tiers being lc and dou. Through there games they have shown to have a solid dynamic playstyle and are able to play aggresive, reactive and slow as well as all in-between. They also have good long term gameplanning and a propensity to manage pieces very well with
this game being a great example. My main flaw ive found in gameplay is that they fail to distinguish between how a team should be played in theory and how they need to be played in a matchup, which can lead to a situation where they miss a crucial read or play at the wrong pace for the mu and lose like in
this game. Overall there playing skill and other skills let them win most of the games, but against a great player that can be exploited.
Pollo has shown themself to be an amazing player in recent rounds going 5-0 since round 5 in a semi-dominant fashion. There main tier is LC at 3-1, but them is also a strong player all around but they do seem average at ubers from his one game played. In the recent games pollo has played they have showed a great grip on the fundamentals, and a flexiable playstyle that is able to change depending on game states, matchup and team. A perfect example is
this game in which they understands on preview that they need to play aggressively given there bad matchup and relative lack of bulk. Then once they has established an advantage by playing aggressively and making great reads, they shift and play more passive to conserve there winning position and later into the game when hellray starts to get desperate they read that and secure the win. They have also brought great creative teams that are good into the scout most of the time which is another skill in its self. My main flaw with Pollo would be there inconsistent gameplans where it will seems they are going to go a certain route to win but they end up switching it for a worse route whether thats for unnecessary luck or an out. They havent been punished for this much but a player like Tempo could exploit it.
For tiers, they haven't picked yet but it will likely end up looking something like (LC, Ubers, Ru, Nu, Ou). I feel like for LC and Ubers they are both one sided, for Pollo and Tempo respectively. Ru is looking like it would turn out to be an amazing close game, but i think Pollo would probably edge it out. As for Ou i would probably lean Tempo as they are more proven in the tier but pollo has a good chance. As for Nu i would lean Pollo for his amazing metagame knowledge of this tier he showed in but if Tempo gets a good mu he could win.
In terms of the game, outside of each players respective main tier i think each games will be tense back and forth spectacles. I do think Pollo's better skill and flexibility will shine thru and he will end up putting Tempo on the back foot in most games. Tempo definitely isn't one to count out and he will very likely be able to win at least one game outside of Ubers and could even win the whole set. Overall i think that Pollo's amazing flexibility will allow him to take the set but it will be close and a great series.
Prediction:
PolloAriosto Wins 3-2
Lc Uber
Ru Ou
Nu
Tldr: Terracotta better and Pollo Shiest
Note: this took 3 hours
