Last weekend, the SpeenOpen saw upsets, expected results, and great matches. After 32 players battled it out, we are left with 8 finalists. The finalists are:
- Mapy
- NickAzn
- Programmatic
- TreXDer
- ExHilEr8
- Ricki
- Matt
- smb
All 8 of these players won their respective bracket groups and took out 2 opponents along the way. In this tournament, there will be a loser’s bracket for the first time. Players who might be knocked out of winners early still have a chance to make a deep run in losers. Let’s take a look at the matchups and who could make a deep losers run and who will come out on top.
Quarterfinals Matchups to Watch in the SpeenOpen
TreXDer vs. ExHilEr8 – These two are some of the most accurate in the business. their skill in the higher difficulty charts makes them both threats to the top of the bracket if they end up against NickAzn or Mapy. the problem is, they go against each other in quarterfinals, meaning one will go to losers early. If there is one deep losers run to watch, it’s the loser of this match. TreXDer’s competitive experience with the SpeenOpen makes him most likely to take it against Ex, but that won’t stop Ex from taking out everyone in his path and potentially meeting TreXDer in losers again. You can check out their player interviews here.
Programmatic vs. Ricki – Programmatic is the heavy favorite here, but that won’t make Ricki any less confident in his quarters match. Ricki has great skill on the harder charts in this map pool, as well as incredible accuracy in the easier part of the pool, usually only having around 1 imperfect on average. However, Programmatic is a force to be reckoned with. He is extremely precise and rarely makes any mistakes in his play. The more consistent player wins nearly every time, so expect Prog to take this match. If Ricki is sent to losers, expect a run from him if he doesn’t have to meet Ex along the way. You can check out their player interviews here.
In the other two quarters matches, NickAzn and Mapy are above their opponents greatly, so expect them to move on against Matt and smb, respectively.
Who Will Take Home the Top Spot?
Our bets are always on NickAzn, as the winner of the first two and the 3rd place finisher back in Autumn. However, newcomer Ex has a shot to win it all if he can upset TreXDer and continue a run through winners, potentially taking out Mapy and NickAzn along the way. Ex’s accuracy has been proven to be nearly second to none. With a PFC on one of the hardest charts, “Dance With Silence”, in which the only other PFC is Mapy, Ex has a shot at taking it all. Mapy, the winner of the previous SpeenOpen, has a great shot at a repeat. TreXDer has shown he is the greatest at CTM, but can he take CTM to the top? These 4 likely have the best chance of winning it all. If all goes well for Mapy, expect him to take home the Winter 2021 SpeenOpen crown this Sunday.
Watch the SpinShare Winter 2021 SpeenOpen Playoffs this weekend at 1 PM EST on Twitch, and check out and follow the bracket here.
