Well they've certainly gotten lots of practice doing it :-<

B4nny w/ the 440 dpm, 32/8 K/D. Absolutely dominating.

Can they be beaten??

Wow, Froyo coming out really strong... very impressive. If Reason can't beat them, who can?

H Y P E
Y
P
E

While we wait for i55 group stages to start, I thought I would post a short analysis of a poll I made earlier this week to gather the community's view of the top teams at i55.

https://i.imgur.com/05fQmgB.png

Thoughts:

1. Froyotech or Reason were (combined) the pick for #1 in about 85% of responses. Reason got pushed back to #3 in far more responses, which nudged their ranking above 2.
2. Dogs.tf had a huge standard deviation in their rank; most ranked them at #6, but many ranked them at #1 (thanks for taking this seriously, guys).
3. Ascent slid comfortably into third; they were often ranked below nerdRage, but in many others (NA fanboys) were ranked #2 behind only Froyotech.
4. It's pretty clear that expectations for nerdRage are extremely mixed with several EU fans ranking them at #2 or #3. But more often than not, they're ranked at #4 or #5 behind even TLR.
5. TLR were usually ranked at #5, but many have high hopes for the first top intercontinental team at an Insomnia LAN. Their second most common ranking was #4, usually ahead of nerdRage.

If there's a consensus to be gained from the results of the poll: it's that Froyotech and Reason look to be a step ahead of the competition... B4nny and Knoxxx have been part of the top echelon of NA and EU TF2, respectively, for a looong time. But their perennial challengers, Ascent and nerdRage, both have real potential to make the finals or at least be the top team from their region. As for TLR and Dogs: they have a lot to prove, but they could surprise everyone.

One thing's for sure: we're about to see some amazing TF2. So tune into twitch.tv/teamfortresstv and enjoy the ride!

So looks like right now there's definitely server delays and internet problems, not just TF2 but event-wide. I wouldn't expect an 11:00 EST start, but hopefully within the next 30 minutes.

https://twitter.com/GrantVincent27/status/637267498618908672
https://twitter.com/GrantVincent27/status/637273431096979456

Not everyone has a twitter account, and even then there are a lot of people at i55 you probably haven't followed. So, I whipped up a list of Twitter accounts belonging to people at i55.

#i55TF2 search results: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23i55tf2&src=typd

https://twitter.com/GrantVincent27
https://twitter.com/froyotech
https://twitter.com/4g_ash
https://twitter.com/4Gclockwork
https://twitter.com/duwatna
https://twitter.com/blazetf2

https://twitter.com/raanndo
https://twitter.com/TheFragileTF2
https://twitter.com/shruggerung
https://twitter.com/Ma3la_

https://twitter.com/alfatf2
https://twitter.com/WARHURYEAH

https://twitter.com/ondkaja

https://twitter.com/apylyshyn
https://twitter.com/DavidTheWin
https://twitter.com/ThatGuyTagg
https://twitter.com/teamfortresstv
https://twitter.com/anthmizz
https://twitter.com/MFSTATE
https://twitter.com/AironT
https://twitter.com/uberchain
https://twitter.com/SideshowGaming
https://twitter.com/Suyo_

There's no way I've gotten all of them (especially EU gamers), so post more below!

People at i55: be sure to use #i55TF2

That would be ideal.

Although who wins this match won't matter a huge amount, it's going to be awesome starting with what are generally considered to be the two best teams. And with this 6-team format, it's going to be non-stop amazing TF2. IM SO HYPED

"alfa from the United States" :-<

;( nope

Yes, he switched with Ash because Ash wasn't maincalling strongly enough (certainly compared to the lansky days) which really left their combo lacking. Ash is a solid scout so B4nny and him switched, and (most likely) because of it they were able to beat Ascent and win S19 playoffs.

https://twitter.com/froyotech/status/636772413229932544

I'm getting flashbacks to plat at i52 already.

1st place is now $7400 USD, holy shit. That's $1200+ a player, a serious chunk of change and more than any ESEA first prize ever. Bobsplosion, you are an amazing guy.

https://twitter.com/alfatf2/status/636537651022008320

savage