We're back, and the headliner match of the first part of playoffs has concluded, with a rather surprising result. Kids Next Door took a straight 4-0 victory, with Hateful Eight not picking up a single round. Most of the rounds were close, of course, but even after a halftime to readjust and talk it over, h8 couldn't find themselves with their clock at 0:00. Perhaps being unable to play with b4nny caused it, but this no doubt sets the tone for potential future games between the two. Elsewhere, mTs took a 4-1 victory over bote, arguably expected but only further forced by the fact that bote had to have vacationer play Demoman instead of their normal starter.

Just Kidding! head into the Week 2 lower bracket due to Chill Penguins finally throwing in the towel, while A Million Ways and Tree Forest 2 threw eachother around for a while with ·aMw· taking the victory 4-2. We bid farewell to Chill Penguins and Tree Forest 2, and hope to see some of the players, or perhaps the teams themselves back in Platinum next season!

We head on to Upward, the Payload map of playoffs. Upward has been played in every season since Season 7, and is a map comparable to Badlands in the 6v6 metagame - if you don't know how to play Upward, you'll find yourself in a tough place. The playoffs are in that beautiful spot where every match night has one or two excellent games, and the next few are no exceptions. Just Kidding! will have an excellent chance to take down a Hateful Eight who might not have all their wits about them, while A Million Ways will gear up to give bote a good fight.

mTs vs knd.

In one corner, we have mTs, who stuffed Hateful Eight in the first week on Upward. In the other corner, Kids Next Door, the team that picked Upward in last season's Grand Finals against the superteam Ginyu Force. While each team is terrifying in their own right, from the pick classes to the combo and everyone in between, only one team can come out victorious.

The last time the two faced, it was on Process, and the victory of knd. was a bit glossed over as everyone watched Dead Ringer Storage crumble after a loss against A Million Ways. Looking past mustardoverlord quitting Highlander yet again, a win against mTs on a 5CP arguably means a fair bit, even though mTs's roster back when they played knd. was different then their current roster.

The sniper matchup will be the most telling, as m4risa and S C I Z O R are both terrifying Snipers with a fair bit of hype behind them, and the superiour between the two will be a telling indicator of the stronger team overall. m4risa didn't play in their game on Process, but was a part of mTs vs h8 on Upward. Scizor needs little introduction, as he's arguably one of the top three Snipers in Platinum right now, and has his fair share (and then some) of fans.

Overall, each team has signifigant points in their favor, but it's really telling that knd. pulled out this map in the Grand Finals, as well as their victory on Process earlier in the season. 2-1 in favor of Kids Next Door.

There will be another MoTW edited in after today's matches, sometime on Sunday. (no there won't sorry!)