The Crunchy Bunch (#3) vs Playground Tactics (#4)
http://i.imgur.com/pTOyYX5.png
I can't say I was expecting this upper-round final whatsoever, but it should be a good match nonetheless. Playground Tactics should be in high spirits, coming into this match off a big upset on the top seed indust we trust, mauling them 5-1 on Granary. That being said, I expect Playground Tactics to continue their run into the Open finals. On Gullywash, demomen are key, so I think Rikachu will tilt this in Tactics' favor; while Rex may be one of the best demos in open, I'll go on record and say that I think Rikachu is better. If Rekuso can pull out some big plays then The Crunchy Bunch might have a shot at this, but on Gullywash I just don't see it happening. Playground Tactics wins 5-2.
Players to watch: insom, rikachu, rekuso, bosh
The Peppercock Family (#13) vs The 20-20 Experience (#15)
http://i.imgur.com/D5vqCgJ.png
Both of these teams are coming into this match off of convincing wins in their Granary matches. The Peppercock Family managed to pull off a minor upset and make me look stupid by predicting against them, and 20-20 (formerly known as New Faith Church Gaming) worked Rent-a-Homies with a 5-1 win. Reiterating what I said in the Crunch vs Playground prediction, Gullywash is a really demo dependent map, and the Peppercocks are missing the demo dominance that many of the other playoff contenders at this point have. I'm expecting clorg to run these mids, but as always the zalfy factor can come into play and can/probably will really mess things up. Assuming kev and crypt don't poop their pants and let zalfy get away with doing whatever he wants, 20-20 Experience wins 5-3.
Players to watch: zalfy, clorg, cprice
Hanky Panky (#2) vs slippin with slipz v2 (#12)
http://i.imgur.com/W8TYKZH.png
I spent all day thinking about it, but in the end I still think this could go either way. On one hand, Hanky Panky stepped up their game up last week by managing to beat gettin cozy. On the other hand, slippin with slipz fell short by dropping 4 rounds to Toon Gang. Class-wise, I think that their demomen are about even, slipz has the better soldiers, and Hanky Panky has the better scouts. On Gullywash the soldiers should theoretically have more of an impact on the game, but in the end I just said screw it and ended up flipping a coin. My quarter tells me that slippin with slipz is going to win, I'll guess 5-3.
Players to watch: Hugh Laurie, Fan of Angels, bsc, tooth