Mr. Cat Invitational Europe: Team Empire reach grand finals, sweep Secret
Mr. Cat Invitational Europe is a new tournament series played for $50,000, but it takes two weeks (and two stages) to produce a champion. The conclusion is May 18, 2017, and the grand finalists are nearly determined. Team Empire will meet either Prodota Gaming, Virtus.pro, or Team Secret. That’s assuming Team Secret earns a rematch by playing through the losers’ bracket. My predictions on these outcomes can be found below.
With many other (arguably more important) tournaments for teams to worry about, the Mr. Cat Invitational Europe is a valuable opportunity for less prestigious EU teams make a statement heading into TI7. For example, Virtus.pro made a great run at the Kiev Major. However, two fairly quick defeats versus Team Empire immediately placed the runners-up in a win-or-go-home position. Failure to advance wouldn’t be a terrible outcome for VP, but it would show a dip in form from the team that took two out of five games from OG in Kiev.
Tournament Overview: Mr. Cat Invitational Europe
Comanche was originally participating in Mr. Cat Invitational Europe, but required a replacement; therefore, Chip+4 entered the fray. C4 took a game from Prodota Gaming before heading home. PG then swept NiP to qualify for Stage 2; despite finishing Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-0, the series required roughly 130 minutes of game time. Both games were closely contested by NiP.
Team Secret showed up and put an end to Prodota Gaming’s winners’ bracket hopes, sweeping PG 2-0 to meet Team Empire.
Mr. Cat Invitational Europe: Tournament Predictions
Prodota Gaming have a tough task ahead of them, but that’s assuming the usual VP shows up. VP and TS each had Stage 2 invites, yet both teams face elimination sitting in the losers’ bracket. I haven’t been impressed by PG throughout Mr. Cat Invitational Europe, because thus far they’ve skated through by avoiding top teams. Team Secret exposed PG somewhat. I’d like to see Prodota close out a series against a top team, but this won’t be their tournament to take. VP will sweep PG in losers’ round 1. I’d love to see a semifinals rematch.
If you have any idea what might happen in the grand finals of Mr. Cat Invitational Europe, reach out on Twitter before the match begins.