We had quite a blast last Sunday. We were able to watch the best teams in the scene fighting against each other for real for first time. We were even surprised with some performances and results. But this is a brand new week that involves a new event: It's Gosu Montly Madness, which will bring us a lot of best-of-three matches and the possibility to see some teams that didn't have many official matches in a while. Here's our preview ladies and gentlemen.
TPL:
compLexity Gaming vs 
Quantic Gaming A big and important match for both parties. They want a bite of TPL's cash while they welcome the opportunity to fight against a top-team. coL is in a hard spot for first time after losing for second time in their history against the mighty Na'Vi but the result is not what worries me: it's their gameplay, that it's not the superb one we were used to see during the last month. That being said, since they proved to be a consistent top-team (something extraordinaire in this scene), we should trust in them to come back. This match is a great chance for them to recover some confidence back.
Quantic, as opposite to coL, is carrying as much momentum as they can possible get. They dominated EG in The Defense's Consolation Final, getting their revenge and moving to the Grand Final. They are performing great, showing a deep comprehension of the current meta-game and a almost perfect execution of their strategies. But this may not be enough against the ever threatening Na'Vi: they should harness this chance to test themselves against a top-team. As you should harness the chance to watch this hell of a best-of-two tomorrow at 18:00 CET.
IG MM:
Absolute Legends vs Water The Americans should be unknown for a big part of the community but that doesn't mean that they are not a good team. They fought their way through the first qualifier, eventually facing and defeating Infused in the finals 2:1. They have an interesting game-play involving heroes like Tiny and Bounty Hunter, what bring us intensive ganks (aka action). They should know how to play against the Aussies since they know each other from SECS. This challenge should be epic material and will most likely decide Water's future in the scene.
aL was having some serious troubles last month but they are getting in shape once again with the addition of the skilled bLeek, who gives them a lot of new possibilities. They need to get used to their new roles but their recent results shows that they are liking this change. The match will take place at 18:00 CET which means that you must decide between this game and the one above. I'm sure that the American scene will have troubles deciding which game to watch.
IG MM:
It's GoSu vs 
Western Wolves The host team didn't have much action since DRB's fourth qualifier so we don't know what to expect from them except a motivated play to make their organization proud. It will be interesting to see what strategies are they going to use against the team that put their dream to an end in Infused Cup. Revenge is sweet, but revenge in your own tournament is sweeter.
WW is still getting used to Leaf's addition but they are on the right track. They left a good impression in The Defense and their recent practice games were positive. This match should not be missed tomorrow at 21:00 CET.
TPL:
Counter Logic Gaming vs Absolute Legends Another interesting best-of-two of TPL. CLG was defeated badly by mouz in DRB and they need to raise their spirits before IG MM. They are a very good team but they still commit too many mistakes and their execution (specially in late-game) is sometimes sloppy, dis-coordinated. They are improving inch by inch with time tho but they need something more to take their place as an indisputed top-team. Some new strategies may help their case since they seem to rely too much in Chen/Enchantress, Naix and Furion.
aL will have a really though time if this is played on an European host but CLG presents some troubles that favors their playstyle: aL punishes the opponent's mistakes with a hammer. This will be their key to win the series but they must not underrate CLG's ganks and global presence. I have a hunch that this match will have tons of action so I will definitively watch it at Sunday's 14:00 CET.
The Defense:
Natus Vincere vs Quantic Gaming Over three months of competition. More than ten matches. That's how hard this teams fought to get here, to the Grand Finals of the first big online event in Dota 2, to the first best-of-five match since The International's Finals. We have Na'Vi in one hand: the most dominant team in the scene since Dota 2's first game in The International. They showed us how much practice meant, how far ahead can you go with pushing and constant pressure, choking the rival to give you more and more advantage as the game progresses. It's true that they under-performed for a while when they weren't practicing at all but it's water under the bridge. They started to bootcamp again and the Ukrainians featured a scary gameplay last Sunday. They are waiting, patiently, to fight Quantic since they are already leading one-to-cero.
We have Quantic in the other hand, who seems to be the only one who can fight them at the moment. They are seasoned players that already played a lot together. Their picks are great, they have a solid teamwork and an enviably execution. Summing-up things: the Danes are in their finest hour and they are going to face the biggest foe of the game. If they can't take down Na'Vi now, nobody can. You better clear your schedule and grab popcorn at 18:00 CET. You can't get a more epic match.
IG MM:
Darer vs compLexity Gaming Probably the most interesting game of the first round of IG MM. The newly formed Darer under ArtStyle's leadership will have their first real challenge. They managed to get here after a rough first qualifier where they lost to an unknown team but they showed strength in the second by defeating BFB (a mix of known Amercan players such as PowerNet and Hai_Lua). It's time for them to show that they are a team to fear.
It will be interesting to see how coL will do against an opponent they are not familiar with. They reached the finals of every tournament that they signed-in so let's see if IG MM is the exception. We will have a really exciting USA vs Russia war at 21:00 CET. I'm certainly hoping for the clash between G and 'TC' in the middle lane.
This was our preview for this weekend folks. I didn't include mouz vs CLG because it's being re-scheduled at the moment but I will add the match as soon as it's settled. Enjoy.
Links
GosuBets - Place your bet!
It's GoSu - Tournament Schedule
