#HSH Week 8: Group D Preview
The last group of #HomeSweetHomes final week is upon us and as always we preview the teams. AGF Esport, Complexity Gaming, Hard Legion ...
The seventh week of #HomeSweetHome is set to move on to the playoffs today, with four quarterfinals being played. The two juggernauts Complexity and OG still remain and it’s going to be a tough task for anyone to challenge them. In case they both win today, they will face off in the semifinal and create probably the most hyped match ever in #HomeSweetHome! Budapest Five, Endpoint, SMASH and forZe are all veterans of the tournament who have never won it all, and as they now are on the other side of the bracket from the big dogs, they have an excellent chance to finally go all the way. Below we will have a look at all four quarterfinals that are being played on Saturday with start 10.50 CET. If you want to read more about #HomeSweetHome and the tournament as a whole head over to our event page! Budapest Five might be better known as Salamander Gaming to the #HomeSweetHome fans, but one thing is for sure - this squad has surprised us week after week. The Hungarian squad has had close to expectations on them, but they enter the playoff for the third time, which is a feat in itself. Ádám “torzsi” Torzsás and Kornél “kory” Szedlár have been main reasons for their success and this week they have been absolutely stellar, as Budapest Five managed to win their group ahead of Complexity themselves. Today they will have to face Endpoint, who in our eyes are one of the success stories of #HomeSweetHome, but they have a massive weakness, as they seem to be experts at losing quarterfinals. Just getting to the playoff this week was impressive as the team had to send HAVU and North packing to accomplish that, and it says all you need to know about the threat of Endpoint. Joey “CRUC1AL” Steusel is continuing his amazing form and even if it seems like Endpoint are cursed in the playoffs, they stand before an easier challenge than normal this time. We do not only trust the consistency of Endpoint to take this home, but also to have a great chance to reach the grand final for the first time. OG has started their first week in #HomeSweetHome exactly like everyone would predict - by winning their group. Convincing wins against KOVA and forZe has lead them to this quarterfinal, where they once again are a massive favourite to triumph. If players like Aleksi “AleksiB” Virolainen and Mateusz “mantuu” Wilczewski keep up their great form there is also no doubt in our minds they will do so. c0ntact has at the very least improved as they managed to get to the playoffs this time, as they missed out in their first showing during the previous week. They managed to do so after beating Hard Legion and FATE in two do or die games, but expectations are still higher on the team, than the level of play they are showing. It’s unfortunate for the team to have to face possibly the best team in this weeks #HomeSweetHome altogether, and we really can’t find any logical way they will succeed to trip the juggernaut OG. This should only end one way and anything than a win for OG is a massive upset, of a level we have not seen before in the tournament. Complexity are three time champions of #HomeSweetHome in as many tries. Still, somehow they managed to lose their opening game once again, just to go on to clinch their playoff spot with two impressive showings. The likes of Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke and Benjamin “blameF” Bremer are two massive pillars for the team and they always show up when it’s needed the most. The Danish duo is what truly defines the greatness of Complexity right now and anything but a win in this matchup is unlikely. With that said Gambit Youngsters have been improving massively over the past couple of weeks and the stars Sergei “Ax1Le” Rykhtorov and Dmitrii “sh1ro” Sokolov seem to have awoken at last. When the young team unleashes their full potential it’s a pleasure to watch and their dominant 2-0 victory over HAVU showed how much this team can produce on their best. Their gift for winning the group is to face a three time champion and it couldn’t be much more unfortunate, as they would have been a favourite against almost anybody else. To go all the way they will have to get over a not one, but two hurdles of epic proportions. We do think they have what it takes to challenge even Complexity, but we still can’t put them up as a favourite, as their opponent is simply too strong for such a prediction. With that said, we should be in for a real treat in this series. SMASH has been one of the success stories of #HomeSweetHome and their Estonian duo of Kristjan “FejtZ” Allsaar and Kristjan “shokz” Jakobson have been a massive part of that story. The bigger plus for the team is how good the Swedes Denis “grux” Gutaj and Joakim “disco doplan” Gidetun has been as of late and their grand final showing in the fifth week was no accident. As they now go up against forZe, just to face Budapest Five or Endpoint in a possible semifinal, makes them a real candidate to replicate that performance. They managed to win their group in #HomeSweetHome this week after wins against c0ntact and FATE. That might not be the most impressive itself, but SMASH has really got their pieces together and we like the evolution of this team strongly. forZe on the other hand has been like a rollercoaster as of late, but they have shown a better face in past couple of weeks. Their second place in the group this week came after two wins against Copenhagen Flames, but in their loss against OG the team's weaknesses were exposed heavily. The team will still enter this game as the favourite, and even if we can’t argue that too much, the feeling is SMASH will put up one hell of a fight and we will go against the stream and give them the benefit of the doubt. If you wish to read about the latest news from us and from the esports world make sure to check out our Twitter! If you wish to read about betting tips, we deliver them through our esports betting Twitter! Janne Kouva
#HomeSweetHome Week 7 Quarterfinals Preview
Budapest Five - Endpoint
c0ntact Gaming - OG
Complexity - Gambit Youngsters
SMASH Esports - forZe
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