Team Liquid vs Evil Geniuses

For our first match of the day we have a rather fascinating clash between the defending champions Team Liquid and a strange albeit dangerous challenger in Evil Geniuses. Now, no one's quite sure what to think of this one, and with good reason. Both teams looked both fantastic but also abysmal throughout the last four weeks of play, which means predicting this one match with confidence is next to impossible.

Team Liquid finally have their full line-up but, of course, two weeks of play and just one a half week of scrims isn't enough to actually build synergy, no matter how talented they might be. These things take time so no one should be expecting a top-tier showing from the defending champions this time around either. They should, however, look at least slightly more cohesive and, therefore, stand a better chance of finding success.

Their last week's games were both hot and cold, and for every good move they made there was always an abysmal one right around the corner. Still, they looked better. Most of the team stepped up (at least as much as they could given the circumstances) and Broxah didn't need much time to slot in (if we ignore his abysmal start against Immortals' Xmithie on Saturday). They were able to put on a clinic against Counter Logic Gaming but, then again, who hasn't? That one win isn't indicative of their current strength, as dominant as it was. It did, however, instil TL fans with hope. They drafted better, and were able to play to their strengths, much like the Liquid of old. They're still a bit rough around the edges, but no one should be overly surprised if they start dominating in a couple of weeks.

Evil Geniuses, on the other hand, are an even bigger enigma. We sort of know what's wrong with Liquid -- there's no confusion. With EG, however, there's just absolute, resounding chaos. You're never quite sure what's going on, who's going for what, and so on. There's just not much synergy to speak of and they all want to play the game in a different way. Bang, for example, wants to eke out an advantage "by the book." After building his own small lead, he wants to then snowball that over to his team and transition into the mid game. Simple stuff, really. Jiizuke, on the other hand, just wants to engage and throw himself at the opposing team and wish for the best.

Sometimes this pans out, but rarely so. Other times he just starts feeding like an absolute scrum. That's the Jiizuke way, and it's a problem -- now more evident than ever because he doesn't have equally insane teammates to back up his frivolous play. Even Svenskeren's patented aggression and playmaking ability aren't working as well as everyone expected. He's every bit as "in your face" as Jiizuke but even their styles of play (and sheer aggression) diverge to a certain degree. There's a lot to like with EG, that's for sure, but much of it is untapped potential. Will they be able to realize it? The odds are certainly in their favor, but we might not see it happen that quickly.

Getting on the same page is one thing, and EG need something else entirely. They need to even out their own understandings of the game and only then can they actually synergize. We're talking about the core fundamentals, here -- when to attack, what to prioritize, when to rotate, which side of the map to play through, and so on. These are insanely important aspects of play and yet the five-man line-up from EG has diverging philosophies on how the game should be played. Sometimes that's a big more evident than others, but the point still stands. Once they're faced against the very best teams in the region, their decision-making and tendency to make egregious mistakes become a bit evident which, in turn, lowers their odds of finding success.

Both teams are sitting on the exact same record, although that shouldn't be that big of an indicator at the moment. Team Liquid has wins over FlyQuest and Team SoloMid but also dropped games to the Golden Guardians, 100 Thieves, and Immortals. That's not such a stellar record overall. By the same token, Evil Geniuses' record so far is a baffling mash-up of unexpected wins and losses. They're certainly improving overall, but whether or not that'll be enough against Team Liquid remains to be seen.

In the end, we're going to side with the defending champions on this one but not with full confidence. They're still the Team Liquid of yesteryear -- they just need a bit of time to get back to their winning ways. That said, this will not be a one-sided clash, that's for sure.