What to expect from Wildcard v. 9z
Despite having an incredible performance against Spirit, Wildcard didn't manage to upset the Russians and were sent to the lower bracket where they will face 9z, who lost against MIBR in a close series. While the loser of this series won't be eliminated just yet, a loss here makes things even harder. In contrast, a win today puts the winning side just two wins away from qualifying for playoffs.
An ace up the sleeve
Wildcard arrived in Malta with a 16-series win streak but to say everyone expected such a strong showing against Spirit would be a lie. The truth is that now fans will be hoping to see the same type of performance against a weaker opponent, in comparison to Spirit, and it would not be wrong at all to believe that Wildcard are going into this series as favorites.
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The Swedish duo is getting better and better
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stanislaw and Sonic showed some great firepower
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JBa is having a slow start, will he bounce back today?
Inconsistent 9z
9z have had a stable roster for 9 months now, but sometimes the squad gets in a slump and other times it just goes on incredible win streaks. After going into the Summer break with a FiReLEAGUE Global Finals win, only losing one map in nine played, 9z have lost six of the last 10 series. Just yesterday they lost to MIBR 2-0, despite two close maps.
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A couple of players underperformed yesterday
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Can MartinezSa win the AWP duel against phzy?
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Will 9z be able to surprise stanislaw and his IGLing?
Previous Matchups
It is the first time these two teams will face each other.
Likely Vetoes
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Wildcard ban Mirage
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9z ban Vertigo
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Wildcard pick Dust2
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9z pick Nuke
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Anubis will be the decider
9zWildcard| 9z |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Nicolás 'buda' Kramer |
42 - 25 | +17 | 108.0 | 78.6% | 1.57 |
 Antonio 'MartinezSa' Martinez |
31 - 19 | +12 | 74.7 | 76.2% | 1.27 |
 Franco 'dgt' Garcia |
35 - 23 | +12 | 73.8 | 69.0% | 1.21 |
 Matias 'HUASOPEEK' Ibañez Hernandez |
25 - 28 | -3 | 70.7 | 69.0% | 0.97 |
| Maximiliano 'max' Gonzalez |
22 - 31 | -9 | 69.1 | 76.2% | 0.96 |
| Wildcard |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Aran 'Sonic' Groesbeek |
27 - 34 | -7 | 75.6 | 61.9% | 0.98 |
 Peter 'stanislaw' Jarguz |
25 - 31 | -6 | 74.0 | 76.2% | 0.97 |
 Love 'phzy' Smidebrant |
27 - 29 | -2 | 63.0 | 64.3% | 0.87 |
| Tim 'susp' Ångström |
26 - 31 | -5 | 71.8 | 64.3% | 0.87 |
 Josh 'JBa' Barutt |
20 - 30 | -10 | 57.9 | 64.3% | 0.83 |
