The two hottest Oceanic teams clash in a fiery LCO encounter destined to set the top of the ladder ablaze!
Despite some corners of the internet already giving the season to PGG, this thing is not over and today’s matches will help to shape the storyline of the final week of the season.
Peace will be determined – some may say desperate – to prove that there IS an end in sight to the depths they’re plummeting to as they take on the lowly-but-scrappy Mammoth.
Dire Wolves will also aim to severely dent the playoff aspirations of Legacy, while the Chiefs look to rebound by doing the same to hopefuls Gravitas.
Perry’s Pick of the Week: PGG vs ORD
Order has gone from strength to strength as the split has progressed, and has really rounded into form alongside Pentanet.GG, making this a must-watch encounter.
Since these teams last met on July 16, they have lost…*checks notes*…none times. That’s a testament to each teams’ ability to lean into identity and find consistency in a world where nobody else (I guess, aside from Mammoth) has been able to. We should see both teams in full flight colliding head-on.
So who will win?
For me, it’s PGG – but Order is not without a path to win.
I think if PGG drafts towards empowering Brandon “BioPanther” Alexander and Jackson “Pabu” Pavone – they don’t even need to give them favourable matchups, just make sure each of them is always relevant in the game without sacrificing them – then they’re going to be in a place to win.
On the opposite side of the Rift, top laner Max “Maximize” Yaremenko is currently the least stable part of the Order lineup, so getting BioPanther up and about is going to help dominate one side of the rift. On the flip side, Pabu being impactful has always been when PGG are at their best, and they will need him to be so in order to shut down what has been a rampaging Shane “Kevy” Allen.
On the Order side, they will of course want to unleash Kevy.
The Melbourne squad will also want to be the most decisive on the bottom side of the map. While not as much as the ‘Player Who Delivered’ awards would have you believe (Kevy has been repeatedly robbed), David “Beats” Nguyen has played himself into a career renaissance and they will want to exploit the oft-suspect laning phase of PGG’s bottom side and spiral that to victory.
I think the gap is more exploitable in PGG’s favour, so I’m favouring the chalk in this matchup, but this is perhaps the best chance to topple them we’ve seen in quite some time.
Perry’s Week 8 Day 2 Predictions
- Peace def. Mammoth
- Pentanet def. Order
- Dire Wolves def. Legacy
- Chiefs def. Gravitas
Week 8 of the LCO continues: Pentanet vs Order begins at 7pm (AEST). Catch up on all the LCO 2021 Split 2 details in our ultimate coverage hub.
