What to expect from EG Black v. ECSTATIC

EG Black did not get off to the best of starts to their Melbourne journey when they had to face Grayhound, the team that seemingly has had their jerseys delayed to Melbourne because of a pirate attack. Jadan "HexT" Postma and his crew will look to bounce back from a close, but tough defeat at the hands of the Australians as they look to stave off elimination and square up against fellow American side Complexity to make playoffs and face Riders in the semi-finals. ECSTATIC, meanwhile, are still kicking themselves from the fact they came back from 12-3 down to tie it up at 14-14, all to lose the game in relegation. Ouch.

Bouncing back time

It is entirely possible, and genuinely, an equal matchup for EG Black and ECSTATIC tonight. While EG Black are the higher rated team, ECSTATIC are Danish, and as we have seen before, you can never doubt a Dane. Will "RUSH" Wierzba has been a bright spot for the team, but they need more than just him if they want to have a shot at the semis.

• Junior needs to step up in his performance today

• Nerves are likely settled, RUSH has to be a leadership figure in the team

• Let HexT cook and let him bring up the emotional intensity

Just ECSTATIC to be here

The Danish squad showed a level of mental fortitude that not many other teams can attest by - coming back from 12-3 down against a much better opponent. They were focused, strong, and cohesive as a group. For such a young and inexperienced core, ECSTATIC made themselves stand tall in the competition when others would have simply crumbled away. They're here to play and definitely on top of things.

While not appearing at the RMR, they've recently played against some RMR-level teams to mixed results. They sport victories against 500 and Viperio, but also losses to BIG Academy and Partizan. Can they bring the fire from the second half of the Complexity game to EG?

• Kraghen went off against Complexity, let him do it again

• Queenix is looking like a star at times

• salazar does need to step up to help close out games

A first-time fracas

EG Black are getting their biggest EU opposition in today's game, while ECSTATIC will find some familiarity in playing EG Black thanks to their showing against Complexity. While we may not have any history between these two specifically, EG Black are getting some much needed non-NA practice here in Melbourne, while ECSTATIC have been grinding EU cups and practice. ECSTATIC will have faced against stiffer competition in their home region, but can that translate into this lower bracket bout?

Likely Vetoes

I'm actually certainly at a loss for this one, as I have no idea who will be picking or banning what, but lets assume shall we?

• ECSTATIC ban Mirage

• EG Black ban Ancient

• ECSTATIC pick Nuke

• EG Black pick Overpass

• ECSTATIC ban Inferno

• EG Black I believe will ban Anubis, leaving it to Vertigo as the decider.

EG Black have lost their two most recent matches on Vertigo, but against Imperial and FURIA, double digits is not shabby at all. ECSTATIC recently beat Illuminar and BIG Academy on Vertigo, so it'll be a close affair.