Pentanet are one series away from returning to the international stage at Worlds 2022. With a bit of stage experience at DreamHack Melbourne, Mark “Praedyth” Lewis is ready to see the undefeated Chiefs crumble under pressure like they did in Split 1.
A new champion will be crowned in Sunday’s LCO Split 2 2022 grand final.
Praedyth is confident it will be Pentanet, emerging victorious against the undefeated Chiefs to deny the region’s super team a second international appearance in 2022.
They got off to a flier on Friday, sending Split 1 champions ORDER packing in a devastating 3-0 sweep. It wasn’t the last dance the now-defunct Melbourne-based organisation wanted, but it was along the lines Pentanet was expecting.
“We were all thinking it would be a fast series — we would win or lose fast,” Lewis told Snowball after the series. “It’s going to be a lot harder to play against the Chiefs, obviously.
“We’re just going to take it one step at a time, see how the games go. We didn’t have to show any Blue side games or many strategies, so hopefully it’s a good five-game series.”
Praedyth and Pentanet didn’t need to show too much of their hand against ORDER. The AD carry shone on stage in his first big stage appearance in Oceania — 23/4/18 across the three games, decimating lane opponent Nathan “Puma” Puma who looked nervy in front of a home crowd.
There’s not a lot of opportunities like this in Oceania and teams can swing either way in their confidence, and Pentanet’s experience plays in their favour, Praedyth believes.
“I think we get a stage buff. That was our most tryhard game ever — we were comming, trying to win and getting our advantages, helping each other,” he explained.
But there are also smaller things. Teams are playing differently on stage at DreamHack Melbourne compared to at home. The ORDER series was testament to that. Their Round 1 matchup was a back and forth affair with uncommon lane assignments to say the least.
Friday’s game was more traditional, if a bit aggressive.
“You saw those games. It was Zilean vs Soraka… it was real wild. But those games we played on stage it was like 20 kills in 20 minutes, really fast paced games,” the PGG carry said.
“The atmosphere is a lot better and being with each other and talking before the game. All the enjoyment of playing on LAN, we thrive off that.
“There was a lot of screaming and fan interaction that was really cool. Seeing all the other players around and people at a LAN is really cool.”
Now one series separates Praedyth from his international run since MSI 2021. He was denied a spot at Worlds by James “Tally” Shute and Ryan “Aladoric” Richardson last year on PEACE, and they stand in his way again. But Lewis is confident Pentanet has the mental advantage, which will be clutch in a tight series.
“I fully expect Topoon to choke on stage. I don’t think he’s very good,” he asserted, a little tongue-in-cheek. “He will be a massive point of contention for them, and that’s a massive point of victory for us. I’m definitely expecting Topoon to help us out a lot.
“I was messaging [Chippys] today about what we were doing with the draft against Chiefs because they’re a lot more proactive. A lot of their players have got stage nerves or haven’t played on stage, so if it’s a much slower series we have a lot of different strategies prepared.
“I would be very surprised if Chiefs go 27-0 and go to Worlds. Expect a game five series, expect a lot of choking going on, expect a lot of big plays for us.”
And with the banter flowing, the AD carry had some parting words for his rival down bot in Quin “Raes” Korebrits.
“If we use one ban on him, he will be about half as good as me. We have to ban one of his champs — I won’t say what champ it is — but we don’t let him play a champion and you’ll see who the better AD carry is tomorrow.”
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