Se7en barely manage to brush past SVIFT NA in the Upper Round of 6, taking their first Playoffs series 2-0 (3-2 Sunshine, 2-1 Badlands)

Se7en come into Rewind II representing Europe, being the undisputed best team in the region. After a tie against Ascent in the Group Stage, Se7en face off against SVIFT NA in their first playoffs matchup. SVIFT NA, currently standing in 4th place in the Invite Regular Season, created a name for themselves as a team capable of upsets, taking down Ascent in the Invite Season 26 Lower Bracket Finals. While the roster has changed since that upset, SVIFT NA still remain one of the top teams in the North American scene.

Sunshine

Starting off on Sunshine, Se7en started on a high note, taking the first mid point from SVIFT NA. After six minutes of inactivity, Se7en and SVIFT NA traded ubers in SVIFT NA’s valley. With Raymon going immediately down, Se7en were taken apart by SVIFT NA and SVIFT NA took the middle point for themselves. After trades and stalemates between the teams, SVIFT NA eventually pulled through, taking the first round off of Se7en after ten grueling minutes. Going into the second round, SVIFT NA rolled through mid and onto Se7en’s last, taking the second round almost unscathled and bringing the match 2-0 in favor of SVIFT NA. Se7en retaliated in the third round, taking the mid point and pushing onto SVIFT NA’s last successfully, bringing Se7en into the match, but still at a one round deficit. The next round was once again successful for Se7en, rolling onto SVIFT NA’s second point, but failing to push onto their last point. After five minutes of sniper duels and trades, Se7en successfully pushed onto SVIFT NA’s last, thanks in part to a drop onto skeez by Thalash, tying up the map 2-2. The two teams fell into a gridlock for the last ten minutes of regulation, pushing the game into overtime. Going into golden cap, Se7en were able to capture the mid point from SVIFT NA. SVIFT NA exchanged ubers with Se7en in an attempt to take the point back, but it ultimately failed and Se7en subsequently pushed into SVIFT NA’s last with little resistance, taking the first map 3-2.

Badlands

The second map of Badlands followed, with Se7en taking the first point after five minutes. Se7en successfully won the second mid, nearly rolling onto SVIFT NA’s last, but were unable to convert their uber into a successful push due to a sentry and a pyro on SVIFT NA. SVIFT NA traded its second point with Se7en, eventually pushing all the way to Se7en’s last. A spy play from AMS would drop skeez with SVIFT NA, but SVIFT NA were able to hold their ground on in Se7en’s lobby. After several minutes of stalemates, a headshot onto AMS from highfive would initiate an uber push from SVIFT NA. SVIFT NA were unable to convert the uber into a point capture, retreating back to middle as Se7en took back control of their spire. Both teams failed to convert any pushes into points for the following fifteen minutes, with the score remaining 1-0 for much of the time. On SVIFT NA’s second, a force onto skeez would open the window of opportunity for Se7en to put another point on the board. After trades and repushes onto their own second, SVIFT NA’s last would fall to Se7en, leaving the score 2-0 in favor of Se7en. With four minutes to go and two points down, SVIFT NA were in crunch time if they wanted to bring the game back in their favor. After a victory at mid, SVIFT NA were able to edge out a point victory over Se7en, bringing the score up 2-1, still in the favor of Se7en. With three minutes to go, SVIFT NA had the opportunity to pull the game back in their favor, even if that required pushing the game into overtime. But a mid victory by Se7en would halt those plans, pushing SVIFT NA back to their own spire. With one minute left, SVIFT NA took the mid back and nearly captured Se7en’s spire. But with only ten seconds remaining, SVIFT NA had no time to repush against Se7en’s defenses, losing the second map in a nailbiting 2-1 scoreline.

Se7en progress to the Upper Bracket Finals, where they will face off against their intercontinental rival, froyotech. SVIFT NA drop down to the lower bracket, where they will fight the winner of black swan vs King’s Crew.