I haven’t really spent much time writing these past few months, which is partially due to the quiet LAN scene and the fact that I find immense pleasure in playing again. I don’t consider any online leagues worthy of any written content nor do I really take any online matches as an indicator of what might happen on LAN.
I’ve also seen some top players criticize analysts locally for using online games as a catalyst for what might transpire on LAN. I agree and disagree with the sentiment and think it’s more of a situational issue than anything else.
Yes, LAN is different and teams react differently. Some players are driven by the pressure and adrenalin that comes with offline play while the same setting disrupt others.
It’s important to note however, that if you’re put on a desk on a livestream after months without LAN tournaments and asked the question “So who do you think will win on LAN”, you’ll have a hard time pleasing both players and spectators. Simply saying “I don’t know” or “Let’s wait and see” doesn’t add any entertainment value and as an analyst, I could guess that you’re forced to spew out some generic bullshit that will inevitably anger someone.
That’s the main reason why I don’t “work” for anyone as an analyst and have mostly turned down any official work. I can’t really function in an environment where I’m expected to follow a premeditated narrative and avoid stepping on toes, even if this means that a lot of people think I’m trying to be “edgy”.
The ESL tournament means nothing other to me than an Energy and Bravado face-off and after watching a sufficient amount of other African teams playing, I don’t see our local teams suffering a loss unless something goes horribly wrong.
The storyline
Bravado and Energy have been going at each other for the past few months and there has been no shortage in scrims between the two, which in most cases went both ways but with Bravado taking the last big title when they won Mettlestate.
Robby “BlackpoisoN” Da Loca was a wildcard pickup for Bravado back in the day which paid off as the player instantly performed and played a large part in Bravado’s DGC victory short after being added to the squad. His performances kept improving to the point where the player decided to take a swipe at the international scene.
He proved to do well and played with some of the top players in EU as well as getting an invite to the Face-it Pro League (FPL) which is a platform reserved for pugs between only the very best players.
Citing Visa issues as well as personal responsibility at home brought him back and with him a wealth of experience. There is a clear scent of animosity between blackpoisoN and Bravado for reasons unknown to me, which probably fuelled his new vigour in toppling Bravado.
The “If you can’t join them, beat them” approach often proves much more motivating than it’s more popular counterpart. This was evident when he assembled an ex-“ApG/Carbon” line-up of talented players and formed a formidable antagonist in the book of local CS:GO.
Rieghardt “Flexeee” Romatzki has his own Vendetta with ex-carbon teammates Johnny “JT” Theodosiou and Rhys “Fadey” Armstrong after their controversial transfer to Bravado.
The transfer was predicted by many and made complete sense from a continuity perspective, which caused controversy in a scene that claims to be “professional” whilst refusing to divorce emotions from pragmatic decision-making.
Together with other smaller hostile haikus, these events formed a formidable rivalry between two groups of players whom all possess not only immense talent but a deep-seated hunger.
It’s true that every player obviously wants their team to win a tournament, but there’s only a few that is strong and focussed enough to win. They engage in thoughtful and deliberate practice on a consistent basis and never lose a grain of motivation – they spend their time valuably and grind out mistakes instead of enforcing bad habits.
These two teams are prime examples and for this reason made it impossible for me to make a prediction. Citing past results prove worthless as such a close margin is only decided by the team that has the upper hand for that specific match on that specific day.
Instead of exposing you to an opinion that lacks sufficient factual content, I will present you with exclusive features of each team and you can decide which jersey to wear on the day.
In the true fashion of an iPhone vs Samsung review, here are your two options.
| Feature | Energy | Bravado |
| 1. Team playstyle:
Winner: Bravado Better mid-round decisionmaking. |
Explosive, disruptive and unpredictable in many cases. Doesn’t bother too much with structured tactical play. verdict: 8/10
|
Calm, collected and structured. Relies heavily on discipline and mid-round decision-making. verdict: 8.5/10
|
| 2. Overall shooting
Winner: Energy Disgusting aim, ability to shoot as hard as Bravado but whilst moving at a faster execution pace.
|
Very strong with pistols, fluid and aggressive movement and peeking with the right shoulders at the right time. Strikes a nervous fear in the hearts of CT’s.
verdict: 9/10
|
Shut down vibes. Patient and coordinated, good use of pop flashes and team play when pushing and taking over parts of the map.
verdict: 8.5/10
|
| Feature | Energy | Bravado |
| 3. Team vibes
Winner: Bravado
|
Vocal, aggressive, excited and emotional. Good for momentum and gets the blood flowing. Dangerous when on a winning streak.
verdict: 8.5/10
|
Calm, collected, unfazed by any negative events, incredibly hard to tilt.
Hard to gain momentum against, every round is a new one. verdict: 9/10
|
| 4. Role diversity
Winner: Energy Energy players set in their roles, know what to do and is very good at it. Bravado a tad too ambiguous.
|
Two explosive entry-fraggers, two good aggressive & defensive awpers. Overall strong forcebuy potential.
Verdict: 9/10
|
Two strong leaders, versatile awper/rifler/pistol combo’s and adaptability.
Verdict: 8.5/10
|
| 5. X-Factor Star Player Impact
Winner: Sonic
|
blackpoisoN – Leads while still being strong awper, cunning rifler and has the capability to shut down entire executes by himself. Able to change the course of a match. Verdict: 9/10
|
Sonic – Usually only gets traded after 3 kills. His team often dies on purpose just to watch him clutch 1vX. Only has a 50% chance of getting blinded by a flashbang.
Able to win an entire game by himself. Verdict: 10/10
|
| 6. Signature team play:
Winner: Energy “Guys we know they’re coming A, this is our rou…..”
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Energy doesn’t see smoke grenades so you might as well not throw it because you’re the only one who’s at a disadvantage.
Players have no respect for any team or any player and will keep pushing and peeking until you break your keyboard because no matter how much you figured them out or know when they’re coming, they still out run and out-aim you. Tilt level: 10/10 |
Improving against Bravado is measured in amount of extra steps made into the bomb site before being decapitated.
Kind enough to keep you flashed for 40 seconds so you’ll never see your own death. Dimi buys an auto-sniper later in the half and kills at least 1 player through a wall. Said wall-banged player stops playing CS for a few days. Tilt level: 9/10 |
| Feature | Energy | Bravado |
| Bonus Lan features:
Loser: Poor north African teams and international casters who needs to deal with our bullshit. |
Takbok doesn’t wear shoes to a LAN. This basically tells the opponent:
“I don’t give a shit about this LAN or this stage or this booth, this is my living room, I’m the captain now” Truth is he is hacking, but he was smart enough not to implement the hacks in-game but instead BUILT A ROBOT THAT IS A HUMAN HACK ANDROID AIMBOT. He called the robot “Domsterr” and gave him eerily realistic curly hair. It would explain his immaculate posture and weird eye movement.
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JT hasn’t cracked a smile in 3.5 years. Emotions such as “happiness”, “Joy” and “satisfaction” is for weak people.
This upsets opponent teams as his horror-movie-like gaze makes you want to lose in the off-chance that he actually murders you if you manage beat him at CS:GO. This explains why Fadey always looks restless and scared next to JT. This also explains why Ruan makes a good captain as he lives in P.E. and has had to deal with horrors far more terrifying than JT. Luckily the team has a doctor with a tetanus injection at the ready in-case JT bites any civilians. verdict: 0/10
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Both teams received a similar amount of points which was not intentional at all.
Supporting a team is hard these days as there are so many teams on the market, but these two teams stood out from the rest. Their team jerseys are more expensive than other teams’ but if you pay for a premium product you’ll get one.
If you’re looking for a team with a structured and locked operating system, that’s stable and not prone to crashing I’ll go with the Bravado 5s.
If you’re looking for a team with fast processing speed and stronger specs that’s more open-sourced, I’ll go with the Energy S6 2017.
Conclusion
In the end it comes down to preference and no matter what you choose, it will be a safe bet and while the final benchmark this weekend at ESL might prove one team to outperform the other, it’s still good to note that our country can produce such good teams to choose from.
ESPORTS WITH ZDRAG 
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