Will the Perky Pepperonis Make TI6?

The Perky Pepperonis may have fallen in the semifinals of the #1 bracket of the Americas OQs, but they’re back again in bracket #2.

Even among the colorful names of some of our favorite DOTA teams (White Fries, that’s colorful, isn’t it?), the Perky Pepperonis stand erect and proud. Speaking of White Fries, congratulations to them for their victory against Mineski-X in the SEA OQ #1 bracket! Let’s see if the raging ‘ronis can join you to make this year’s TI6 food themed.

After their tussle with EG knocked PP out of running for the Americas #1 bracket, I wasn’t sure we’d be seeing them back for #2, but lo and behold, there they are! Going into the #1 bracket, I wasn’t too sure of these fellas. Overall, their player stats look alright, but squint down your peepers to take a look at their rated matches. That’s what really made me question them.

Their low number of team matches puts them at a distinct disadvantage against teams like EG (1171 logged matches) and Secret (411 logged matches). Check out those links for a more complete breakdown of those teams’ performances. The raging ‘ronis, however, only have a grand total of 28 matches to their name.

My deskmate, Dave “Brobro” Bronson, and I had a conversation about just this the other day. See, it’s the general opinion that without practice, you can’t build the kind of playstyle and cohesion necessary to be a TI contender. In most cases, I’m inclined to agree. But look at the team stats over time. In the past month, the ‘ronis and Secret have the same number of logged matches at 16, and their three month match count is also surprisingly close (Secret at 31, ‘ronis 28).

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the Perky Pepperonis are on the same level as Secret, but it is something to take into consideration. We in the DOTA reporting community often get lost in the meta, or sidetracked by bigger numbers and the inevitable march of statistical analysis. Sometimes, this means we miss out on these small, very pertinent details.

So what are the raging ‘ronis prospects?

Presently, the Perky Pepperonis are slotted to face off against team T.P. in the round of 32 of the #2 bracket. I think they’ll make it to the semifinals no problem. The only team in their branch of the bracket that even comes close to the ‘ronis team stats is G3X, with 30 rated games played to PP’s 28. But those two extra matches cost G3X a 17% drop in winrate compared to PP.

Peronsally, I would love to see EG Bulba, who were finalists against EG in the #1 bracket, showdown against the ‘ronis, but they have a particularly brutal path to the semis. paiN Gaming and Union Gaming both have hundreds of matches worth of experience to their names, though the way the bracket is currently arranged, these two will be fighting it out amongst themselves in the round of 32.

But even if PP makes it to the finals this time, they’ll still have to fight past whichever bruiser slugged his way to top from the other side of the bracket before a shot at TI6 is within their grasp.

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