The NGL-One playoffs

Out of nine participating teams in the last NGL-One season, which ended about a month ago, four of them qualified for the offline playoffs. The players of 4Kings, MeetYourMakers, mouseSports and SK Gaming (replacing NoA) will attend the well known computer and gaming event Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany where the playoffs are to be held.

What is the NGL-One?

The King of the Hill System

Each team starts with a lineup of four players. After every game the losing player is eliminated from the match. The match ends when one of the teams runs out of players. This has proved to be a very entertaining and exciting match mode where one player sometimes can decide the outcome of the match all by himself.

After three season's the NGL-One league has established itself as one of the top Warcraft III leagues, challenging the good ol' WC3L for supremacy. One of the main reason's the league has become so popular, obviously besides being well funded, is it's revolutionary match systems where opposing teams battle eachother in a so called "King of the Hill" mode. This season started out badly when the reigning champions World Elite decided not to participate. Regardless of that, the season has turned out well and the upcoming playoffs will surely be as exciting as ever.

The playoffs

Prize Money

1st place: $ 10,000

2nd place: $ 4,000

3rd place: $ 2,000

As mentioned the four teams 4Kings, MeetYourMakers, mouseSports and SK Gaming are the ones who will battle it out for money and glory in the NGL-One playoffs. Since NoA decided to drop out of the playoffs just one day before it starts, fifth placed SK Gaming was abe to replace them on short notice. They are all very strong sides, allthough 4K and MYM are to be considered as the two favorites. With a $16,000 cash prize to be distrubuted to the top three teams there will be shown no mercy in the city of Leipzig.

The playoffs will be played in Double Elimination mode, which means that there will be a Losers and a Winners bracket. This will give the two teams who lose their first match a second chance in the Losers bracket. In the first round, which will be played on Thursday, 4Kings will tackle mouz while MYM takes on the replacements SK Gaming. Both games start at 15.00 CET.

Schedule

Thursday (23 August) - First Round

4Kings

vs.

mouseSports

@ 15.00 CET

MeetYourMakers

vs.

SK Gaming

@ 15.00 CET

Friday (24 August)

Loser Brackets Final

@ 10.00 CET

Winner Brackets Final

@ 17.00 CET

Saturday (25 August)

Consolation Final

@ 12.30 CET

Sunday (26 August)

Overall Final

@ 11.00 CET

Participating Teams

4Kings

4K^ToD 4K^Grubby 4K^FuRy 4K^Zeus19
4Kings dominated the regular season, ending six points clear of MYM in second place. Although one of their star players - Creolophus - retired recently, they are still to be considered as favorites. As usual, Grubby and ToD will have to carry alot of the weight if the Kings wish to claim the title. Zeus is known to be a strong offline player and might prove to be a valuable asset.
MeetYourMakers

MYM]Susiria MYM]FoCuS MYM]Lucifer MYM]Moon MYM]EVE
Last season's runner up MeetYourMakers boasts an incredibly strong Korean lineup. Their brightest star is without a doubt Moon, who is by many considered as the greatest player in the world, but all of their other players are more than capable of winning against anyone. Lucifer's been in a bit of a slump lately, will he be up to the task when the pressure is on?
mouseSports

mouz.Fly100% mouz.SaSe mouz.Happy mouz.HasuObs
As usual, mouz had visa related problems with their two Russian players. Therefore they will have to do without their Night Elf player TitaN. Their other Russian, Happy, was granted permission to travel to Germany and will attend the event with the rest of his team. With their two stars, SaSe and Fly100%, they have a solid lineup and might be able to stir it up a notch.
SK Gaming

SK.Insomnia SK.Fire_de SK.XlorD SK.miou
This team is lucky to be in the playoffs as they replaced NoA in the last minute. With their star player HoT unable to receive a visa in order to travel to the event, it will most likely be up to the experienced duo Insomnia and miou if SK wishes to reach some measure of success. It will indeed be very hard for SK to keep up with the other teams, especially now when they weren't preparing for this.

SteniS' Thoughts and Predictions

There is no doubt that all four of the participating teams are very strong, but I must say that I'll be extremely surprised if neither MYM or 4K wins this in the end. Their lineups are exceptionally strong with stars like Moon and Grubby and I find it hard to beleive that any of the other teams will be able to match them without any sort of divine intervention.

So, who will win? My money's on 4Kings. The NGL match system fits them perfectly, where I predict Grubby and ToD will do most of the scoring. If they are to succeed in winning the title, there is one big obstacle they must pass - Moon. As I see it, if and when the teams play eachother it will come down to if Moon can beat atleast one of 4K's two key players. This will be a very deciding factor in the outcome of these playoffs.

SK and especially mouz might be able to disturb 4K and MYM, but as I see it they'll be fighting for the third place. This could be anyone's game, both SaSe and Fly100% have shown some good results for mouz lately, but will the experience of Insomnia and miou play to SK's advantage in these intense best-of-1 knockout games?

Finally, I must say I was sad to hear NoA dropped out of the finals. I think they'd stand a much better chance against the top teams than SK, seeing as they beat MYM recently in the WC3L. This will none the less be a very exiting event and I can barely wait to watch the live videostream tomorrow.

More Warcraft at the Games Convention!

GosuGamers will bring you full coverage and news updates from the NGL-One playoffs as well as the other Warcraft III happenings at the Games Convention in Germany. Apart from the playoffs, we are also looking forward to the European Nations Cup, the WC3L match between MYM and 4K and the Extreme Masters Supercup which will all be held at the GC.

Links to more information & sources

NGL-One.com/Finals - NGL-One Finals Website. Will provide Live Videostream, results and replays.

SteniS' Guide to the NGL-One Finals