Hello all! The first match of the Open playoffs were played last night, and not a moment too soon. I would have had these up yesterday before the matches but unfortunately the site went down again, sorry about that. In other news, Conductor will be stepping away from writing the Open predictions and instead is taking over the IM articles, so Ques and I will continue writing about Open. Best of luck to all the teams!

undefated at rastlemnaia vs we kings now
by London

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

• Lydiaxa
• DrDuke
• Lamb
• Dan
• GrieVe
• jerr0

The first match for our undefeated number one seed will be against we kings now, who started their season well enough and then had a rougher time towards the end. Just from seeing how we kings now was playing at the end of the regular season, it would be a stretch of the imagination to say they'll put up much of a fight. The last time these teams met was actually on gullywash, with a 5-2 result in raslemnaia's favor, and the score shouldn't change too much. Hopefully we kings now gets an easier opponent in the lower bracket. I'll give this a 5-1 in favor of pot and the boys.
Players to watch: Arctic Joe, Pot, Wrech, GrieVe

Fried Green Tomatoes vs The Flying Circus
by conductor

Fried Green Tomatoes get a pretty easy first round of playoffs, being matched up against the flying circus who were supposedly dead until a recent turn of events. Given that the opposition would have had a tough time even before their internal issues, I really don't see them taking more than maybe a round. Fgt has an advantage in the dm department with just about everything except their demo now that the flying circus has seen the departure of vortex and bsc, and that alone should really be enough to carry them through this match. Fried Green Tomatoes wins 5-1.

Hopscotch Toss vs Lzuruha Pandamonium
by Ques

• Dable
• Noble
• Hollow
• Pine-Beetle
• Jordan
• Phaze

• OmnisEverae
• SocialistFish
• DZKK
• Hippopotamus
• BenFrank
• NateRivers

Being a relative unknowns in the high open bracket, Hopscotch Toss represents the best of the mid-open bubble rising above their peers and making it into playoffs. Featuring a variety of players, be them fresh blood from highlander to returning veterans in pine_beetle, this team r epresents untested talent. Whether they will crumble or succeed comes down to how well they honed their cohesion and deathmatching during the lengthy regular season. In their first playoff match, they will be going up against Pandamonium, a team hobbled together mostly for the entertainment of playing in open that did better than even they expected. NateRivers and Hippo being the dominant players on the team, they have effectively carried the rest of the team on their back with the help of their returning medic in Omnis for the regular season. What we see in every playoffs, however, is that teams featuring strong veteran players always collapse unless their supporting cast is able to step up to the plate and begin to carry their weight. We will see this in their match against Hopscotch, where there is a strong chance for an upset in Toss's favor unless the supporting cast on Pandamonium is able to step up their game. 5-1 to Pandamonium.

Players to watch: NateRivers, Hippo, Pine-Beetle

Animus Victoria vs Har0zone
by London

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

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

To be honest, it would be easy to dismiss har0zone with their 3 forfeit wins as a real contender in the race for $600, but after watching a few of their matches from the end of the season, I have to say Delpo is pretty good. Deer also seems to have the positioning game down at least, and did a decent job staying alive during their viaduct matches against Satori Six and Immortal Six. Unfortunately, the Animus scouts might prove to be a little too much for har0zone and while Delpo and Deer may be a strong combo, I doubt it will be enough to really come away with a win unless Animus completely beefs it. Going with a 5-3 victory for Animus Victoria.

Players to watch: Noko, Kraka, Delpo

Dang Daikazoku vs Bretty Bueno 5 out of 5
by Ques

• Screws
• Ducky
• Testify
• DifferentColors
• Ictus
• Dango

• SoggyPancake
• Aim
• Hle
• Eddeh
• Antwan
• Vkr

Dango Daikazoku, having crept up on open, are ready to take playoffs by storm. Now that they finally have their solid six, they have been scrimming consistently and putting in the hours towards improving their game. Although having ducky fill in for the past two weeks might seem good on paper, in reality the team's starting roamer, Sneaky, was integral to the team's success due to the presence his calls provide. With him back in the chair, expect Dango do well. On the other side of the battlefield we have Bueno, who have been riddled by roster problems toward the end of the season, what with the supposed benching of Antwan, and then the possible disappearance of their medic, Soggypancakes. All of this has led to the team only having started scrimming Monday, only giving them three days of prep before their match. Luckily for them the foundation is still there, and with their carry demoman having such an impact on a map like Gullywash, they will definitely be able to stand a chance against Daiko. Regardless, I expect Daikazoku to be able to take the map, 5-2.
Players to watch: Ictus, Ducky, Antwan, Eddeh

Street Hoops eSports vs Will I Ever Dance Again
by Ques

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

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

These are two of the teams that crept up from the the mid-open bubble, and riding the easier games the seeding provided them were able to slingshot themselves into playoffs. This isn't to say that they don't belong there however, as they both have been performing well in scrims. While no one really stands out on Street Hoops -- except maybe Deadbolt -- what the team lacks in star power they make up for in chemistry. The team is truly that, a team, and works together which will be vital when playing against the bigger dogs in the top of open. On the other side of the map, we have Will I Ever Dance Again, a team that no one really took much note of for most of the season, who came out of the regular season with an solid record. Since both teams are relatively untested, this match should be both close but also a chance for both teams to catch their breath and build stamina. Whoever wins this will go on to face a much harder challenge in the later match, against more seasoned teams. 5-3 to Street Hoops eSports.

Players to watch: Paragon, Deadbolt, Pamphlet

Bubble Buddies vs Rice Guys Finish Last
by London

• Braz
• Peyton
• Tophu
• Crux
• Sr Alberto
• Djinn

• Caboose
• Not_Matlock
• Pickles
• James.Shocka
• Everlast
• Nevdawg88

This match will be one of the more even ones of all the first round matches, and should make for a close game. Rice Guys have come out on top of a lot of really close games at the end of the regular season, but I'm not sure they will achieve the same level of play with the recent departure of their roamer, Pickles. Bubble Buddies had a bunch of good games in the second half of the regular season and for the most part, is pretty consistent in their play. Crux has had a good season and there is no reason to believe he will throw up a bad performance any time soon, while his buddy Ghostac (Sr. Alberto) continues to be the sleeper carry of his team. Rice Guys might have the DM that gave them unlikely victories in the past, but with an abrupt roster change and some questionable plays by their combo I don't think they can hack it this time. Still should be a great match to watch though, giving Bubble Buddies a first round win 5-4.
Players to watch: Sr. Alberto, Crux, James.Shocka, Not_Matlock

Manly Maws vs Get Wrecked
by Ques

• one upper
• gummy
• Sincostan
• STAY VAN
• an_idiot
• setab_werdna

• creeep
• Tiger
• Ninjitsu
• kingrab
• Egarn
• Nimble

There isn't much to say for Manly Maws at the moment, as they were one of the few mid open teams able to make the cut, due to a combination of an unfortunate early seeding leading to easier seeding and collecting a few timely forfeit wins. In their first match they will be going up against Get Wrecked, a dark horse in the open playoff race. Coming out of no where in the middle of the season, they've been playing better and better as they hit their stride. Featuring incredibly strong DMers in ex-invite players such as Tiger, this team features the raw skills and only needs the cohesion to bring it together. Whether that has happened yet has yet to be seen, as this match most likely won't showcase Get Wrecked's abilities. I expect this to in the favor of Wrecked 5-0, and we'll have to wait till they face one of the very top teams to see how they fare.
Players to watch: Tiger, Sincostan, setab_werdna