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Dota 2 Predictions Part 2- The Kiev Major 2017 Round of 16

By Jor'El "Sheen Sah" Jones

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Half of the teams have advanced or been eliminated, and it’s about time for more predictions. The Round of 16 resumes on April 28 at 12AM PST with TNC Pro Team vs. Team Faceless. How did each team land in the middle of the pack? My predictions for the first half of the Round of 16 were 50% spot-on. We’ll see what happens this time around; let’s get into it.

Image courtesy of wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/Kiev_Major/2017
Image courtesy of wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/Kiev_Major/2017 /

TNC Pro Team (4) vs. Team Faceless (13)

Image courtesy of wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/Team_Faceless
Image courtesy of wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/Team_Faceless /

I just want to get this out early:  sleeping on Team Faceless is a mistake. Team Liquid made this mistake at the 2017 Dota 2 Asian Championship just three weeks ago, and it led to TL’s immediate departure. Do I think TNC will make the same mistake? I do not.

TNC Pro Team, winners of the SEA Qualifer, appear to be in form at the moment. If Faceless wins Game 1, I’d still count on TNC to close the series out in a Game 3. I have TNC Pro Team defeating Team Faceless in a 2-0 sweep. Either way, the quarterfinals will be quite difficult for either of these teams.

OG (5) vs. Team Random (12)

This is the series to watch if you can only catch one. If you don’t know, Team Random is Wings Gaming (winners of TI6). Random looks out of form at the moment, but winning this Bo3 could ignite the team and produce something special.

OG usually makes deep run in any tournament; that requires defeating this Random team. Whoever wins, I expect to see a Game 3. I have to make a call, and my gut is telling me OG wins 2-1. I’ll be pulling for Team Random regardless.

Dota 2: The Kiev Major 2017
Image courtesy of: Kotaku.com.au /

Thunderbirds (8) vs. Evil Geniuses (9)

Evil Geniuses started cold, and were swept be TNC Pro Team. Thunderbird’s, in their Round 2 matchup with TNC, lost the series forcing a Game 3. Additionally, Team Liquid and Vici Gaming J (both teams that Thunderbirds defeated in the Group Stage) have advanced to the quarterfinals. Which adds some value to their Group Stage wins.

Conversely, Evil Geniuses defeated Faceless and Newbee — both of which will likely be absent during the quarterfinals. Nonetheless, Evil Geniuses will rise to the occasion against Thunderbirds and win 2-0.

Team Secret (1) vs. SG e-sports (16)

I want my predictions to be serious, but I must confess: it’s tough to imagine Team Secret losing a Bo3 series against SG e-sports at the moment. It would take some serious inspiration (and some sort of unforeseeable event) for SGe to advance past Secret. In all seriousness, I’d be glad to see SGe take a game from the undefeated Secret.
I want my predictions to be serious, but I must confess: it’s tough to imagine Team Secret losing a Bo3 series against SG e-sports at the moment. It would take some serious inspiration (and some sort of unforeseeable event) for SGe to advance past Secret. In all seriousness, I’d be glad to see SGe take a game from the undefeated Secret. /

Think you can do better predictions? Share your predictions with me on Twitter!

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