We bid farewell to the first of the teams to get eliminated. To We Kings Now, Bretty Bueno 5 out of 5, Hopscotch Toss, and the Flying Circus: good luck next season, its been real. We will see the dreams of four more playoff teams get squashed in these next matches, and the melee of the lower bracket draws closer to seeing who comes out on top of the pile. Rastlemania continues to roll through playoffs, but will be playing both teams that are currently in the running to meet them in the final (knock on wood) in the next two matches. Thanks for reading, good luck to everyone!

UPPER ROUND 3

undefated at rastlemnaia vs Dango Daikazoku

• Dingo
• Wrech
• Coconut
• Pot
• Slinky
• Arctic Joe

• Screwah
• SneakyPolarBear
• Testify
• DifferentColors
• Ictus
• Dango

Rastlemania's train doesn't appear to have any breaks, as they've been chugging through playoffs. They've been scrimming IM teams for most of the season, and throughout playoffs, and it shows in their gameplay. Even with their latest roster adjustment of Dingo on medic, their play has been excellent. They are the clear favorites to take both this game and the entire playoffs, so it's up to their opponents to dethrone them from their lofty perch. Their opponents in the upper bracket semi final will be Dango Daikazoku, one of the two teams in open that I would say have a strong chance of taking down rastle. Coming in hot off of a decisive win over Animus Victoria on metalworks, Dango are definitely feeling strong going into this match. In scrims they have been performing at a similar level to Rastle, taking not just rounds but games off of solid IM teams. This match will definitely be a preview to what we will most likely see in the Grand Finals, and I think it will be telling to see if Rastlemania can hold up to what might just be their strongest opponent. I think that Rastlemania will take it 5-3, but that we'll see cracks in the armor.
Players to watch: Arctic Joe, Pot, Slinky, SneakyPolarBear, Ictus

• Crespi
• Vacationer
• ash_
• Skyrolla
• Paragon
• Deadbolt

• OMZ
• tshirts
• Buckweet
• mASTER
• north^star
• Bape

Street Hoops is coming off what I consider to be an upset win, handing Pandamonium their faces with an impressive 5-1 victory. Street Hoops has some great momentum that doesn't seem to be slowing down, and they'll definitely need it going into this match against Fried Green Tomatoes. FGT had a solid 5-3 win over Bubble Buddies, stopping Crux and Sr Alberto from almost taking the game away from them in the second half. Granary is going to be a good opportunity for FGT's soldiers to shine, though both Buckweet and Synchro have had solid games so far in the post-season already. On the flip side, I haven't been too impressed with the soldiers for Street Hoops, but even if they have trouble winning midfights I fully expect them to make it up during the transitions. Earlier this week I underestimated Street Hoops and readily gave Pandamonium the win, and while I'm worried I might not give them enough credit, I really think Fried Green Tomatoes will have a good game as long as they scrim at least once beforehand. I'll give the higher seed the benefit of the doubt and say FGT will win 5-3, but won't be terribly surprised to see Street Hoops making a show of it first.

Players to Watch: Bape, north^star, Buckweet, Paragon, Deadbolt

LOWER ROUND 2

• Deer
• Delpo
• Fog
• Morin
• HighFive
• Mud and Groove

• OmnisEverae
• LiterallyaPanda
• SocialistFish
• Hippopotamus
• GraveGun
• NateRivers

HarOzone are definitely feeling pumped coming off of an upset victory last week against Bretty Bueno 5/5, deftly taking them out playoffs with a well placed 5-4 victory on metalworks. Going into their next match however, they will be facing stiff competition in Lzuruha Pandamonium, and based on their latest scrims results they aren't feeling too confident. On the other side of the map, Panda are attempting to rebound from devastating 1-5 against Street Hoops eSports, a solid playoff team, and are fighting for that breath of air to keep them in playoff contention. Nate has been performing well as always, but the rest of his team has been slacking. They do have solid experience in Hippo and Omnis, but it just isn't coming through yet. Either the new blood needs to step up to the plate, or the dust needs to come off. I predict HarOzone to take it 5-4.

Players to watch: NateRivers, Hippo, Delpo, Morin

• Cheeris
• Blew
• Kraka
• Ragorism
• Buttnose
• Noko

• Bereth
• Scorp
• kewlkat
• Pamphlet
• Kost
• PokemonAdventure

Will I ever dance again has been flying under the radar all season, and with hidden talent like Kost and pamphlet I don't expect them to stay there for long. If they can keep working on their cohesion as a team, and stop dropping rounds needlessly, I think they have a chance to win both this match and a few others. In their second lower bracket game, they will be going up against Animus Victoria, a team brimming with washed up ex-invite and IM talent. After being handily defeated last week by Dango, Animus will be reeling, and the mumble atmosphere for Dance will most likely give them the edge as far as morale goes heading into this match. Blew's pocketing took a nose dive last match,