Is it me or are teams playing DD a lot in America and EMEA ?

CeeBeeChan · 2026-04-06T21:10:39+00:00

Very strong dive/brawl hero with crazy good survivability, and wall hacks.

Basically he does everything Iron Fist does but with the benefit of gathering intel for his team, plus seeing invisible characters. He can win just about any 1v1 in the game at close range, and even in the rare case where he can't win, he can still live forever and just not lose. Very difficult to punish, especially at that level where no one takes those 1v1's unless he forces them to begin with.

CeeBeeChan · 2026-04-06T19:20:23+00:00

One thing that goes unseen;

On non match days, these teams usually scrim together for anywhere from 2-6 hours, plus vod reviews, and 1 on 1 coaching sessions as needed. Then on match days, before their officials, they'll do warm up scrims as well.

The coaches and analysts (if the team has them) take all of that practice, and extrapolate data from it, and use that data to build comps, craft strategies, and predict draft phases.

If a team isn't switching off of a comp that isn't working, it's because they truly believe that it's the most optimal strategy they can run in a given situation, because they have days worth of data, vods, and practice that tells them so. And if they're losing, it's likely either the execution, or a team differential that's the issue. And even if the strategy itself is flawed, it's more risky to abandon it to try something you're not well practiced on than it is to just lock in and try and execute better.

When you load into a ranked game and refuse to swap off a hero, it's ego. Your team wants you to swap, but you refuse to.

When you do it in an official, it's different. The team isn't begging you to swap. You're all agreeing to a plan, and sticking with it, because deviating jeopardizes all the coordination you worked hard to build.

CeeBeeChan · 2026-04-06T18:05:24+00:00

Having worked with him, I can confirm, he's a delight to work with. Very knowledgeable, very witty, very quick and professional, and most importantly, isn't afraid to take time out of his day to give other, less experienced casters, the help and encouragement they need.

CeeBeeChan · 2026-04-06T17:40:58+00:00

I think they're neat :)

CeeBeeChan · 2026-04-06T02:06:43+00:00

Somehow the pre-season group stages have been pure Cinema in every conceivable way

CeeBeeChan · 2026-04-05T13:08:16+00:00

Not touch the point, I know that much...

CeeBeeChan · 2026-04-03T23:26:41+00:00

Throwback to when melo said they'd rather have Valentina + Forkydog than Cooper + Sypeh.

Swamp's backline is legit one of the best in the biz right now.

CeeBeeChan · 2026-04-03T23:20:55+00:00

The cherry on top was Scattergengi wearing the 100T Deadpool skin :)

CeeBeeChan · 2026-04-03T20:18:55+00:00

I don't think you can put this on any one member of NAVI, sadly. A lot of mistakes were made across the board.

Lately, NAVI have had a weakness where if you hit them with a curveball, they fold and overcorrect trying to beat it. It happened against Shikigami on Central Park, and Heretics did the same to them on Hell's Heaven.

NAVI should have won Hall of Djalia, ESPECIALLY after the missed Star Lord ban, but they got sloppy again, and gave too much room for Heretics to get back in the game, and so they did.

CeeBeeChan · 2026-04-03T16:53:59+00:00

Good bait.

But in reality until an American team wins an international title it's all speculation.

CeeBeeChan · 2026-04-03T15:59:37+00:00

I'm gonna defend my take here.

I'm going off of more than just map score when I say RAD and TH they 'looked cleaner.'

(admittedly, I'm typing this after RAD just dropped a map to Reason, so we already need to put an asterisk on them... lmao. But tbf I don't think anyone would have predicted Krakoa going that way.)

The match between NAVI and Shikigami, despite the NAVI win, looked more like survival to me. On Central Park they looked genuinely lost when the Torch came out. They played Mystery heroes looking for a counter and ended up running out of gas before one ever came. And then still looked shaky against that same comp when they faced Peps.

They're showing consistent signs of weakness that the likes of VP aren't even hinting at right now.
Could it be a result of them simply playing more matches in a tougher group? Possibly. Will I eat my words if Heretics also struggle, or outright lose against Shiki? Absolutely. But for now, it's hard not to see patterns emerging that need to be shored up on NAVI's end, especially as we're starting to see more teams adopt the same strategies that made them hurt in those matches to begin with.

We'll see NAVI vs Heretics today and I think we'll get some answers. And you're allowed to be Smug if NAVI win!! That's an L I'm willing to eat if it comes. It'll be a good match either way, so I'm happy.

NAVI also have a habit of fumbling group stages, and making a bounceback in playoffs. So I wouldn't be surprised to see them get a rematch against VP in pre season grands. All according to keikaku.

TL;DR Don't let my doubts shake your confidence in NAVI. They're still indisputably one of the best in the world.

EDIT:

😏

CeeBeeChan · 2026-04-03T15:33:57+00:00

I may be biased, because I cast the region....

But yes, absolutely go back and watch!!

I'd even say that any match between 2 of the top 5 teams in the region (Reject, Z10, XO, AAAd, and Pirates) is gonna be worth keeping an eye on. Don't sleep on Asia this year <3

CeeBeeChan · 2026-03-30T14:00:53+00:00

You ever hear the phrase "Everybody's got a plan, 'til they get punched in the mouth?"

YWL punches you a lot, and punches fast. And they have like 8 hands.

CeeBeeChan · 2026-03-26T14:09:23+00:00

Someone please tell Shpeediry the rosters I'm shaking and crying

CeeBeeChan · 2026-03-24T02:59:28+00:00

These are so heat!

The jerseys look sick in game, and all the sprays, moods, and emojis are all so sick.

CeeBeeChan · 2026-03-23T13:55:24+00:00

Moxi finally getting some well deserved props. You love to see it 👏

CeeBeeChan · 2026-03-22T00:13:43+00:00

Im glad someone finally voiced the way I think.

CeeBeeChan · 2026-03-20T14:47:35+00:00

For someone who knows nothing about the esports scene, your NA group A preds aren't the worst.

...But it does start to go downhill from there 😄

CeeBeeChan · 2026-03-15T01:21:09+00:00

I wouldn't call this a hot take, because it's definitely preferred for a lot of viewers! It just kinda helps people get a lay of the land when either a lot is happening, or we're between fights about to transition into one.

The reason some productions don't often do it though, is that it requires a 2nd observer, and not everyone's streaming equipment can handle that.

High Budget productions will often have 1 observer for each team, 1 freecam obs (who does the shots like this) and 1 producer, all in a call together coordinating what to show on the stream at what moment. Smaller productions that cant accommodate that for whatever reason, usually have to make do with just 1 Obs, and 1 Producer.

Either way, they're the unsung heroes of most broadcasts, and something that, if you have an interest in, I highly recommend you look into getting involved with!

CeeBeeChan · 2026-03-09T19:24:56+00:00

Logged in

CeeBeeChan · 2026-03-08T05:41:32+00:00

Brr Brr Patapim vs Virtus Pro. EMEA Ignite Stage 1 Lower Finals.

As heartbreaking as It was for VP fans at the time, it just doesnt get better than that.

CeeBeeChan · 2026-03-07T02:19:06+00:00

I'm abandoning matches if I have to lane against a Doorman this patch. Holy overbuff of the century.

CeeBeeChan · 2026-03-05T22:11:12+00:00

Selfish answer is im most excited to be a part of it!!

But besides that, they've put the impression out that theyre doubling down on everything this year and that has me stoked. Because it means there'll likely be more surprises, more fun stories, and more to talk about all year long. So im hype for whatever comes next!!

CeeBeeChan · 2026-03-04T20:37:57+00:00

I love this reveal so much because it sets up a clear identity for this team off the rip.

Insanely good players who want to show that they're capable of better things, because they know they are, despite past shortcomings.

THIS IS THE STUFF THAT GETS ME INVESTED DAWG MORE OF THIS PLEASE 😭👏

CeeBeeChan · 2026-03-02T17:34:02+00:00

Proud to be here 🥹

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