After two weeks of pulsating action, we now move to the third week of Multiplay’s UK Masters Spring Season. Eight teams go head to head in a Best-Of-Two series each week to determine who will be the four teams heading to the playoff stage before finding out which two teams head to the Finals at insomnia60 at Easter. Each of the teams get rewarded for the map wins they attain throughout the season, with the largest share of the £15,000 prize pool being determined at the NEC at insomnia60.
Last week we saw some incredible action take place with once again, ex-SKUM Gaming being the team that everyone seems to find difficult to actually beat. They came away with two more draws to add to their tally, as both Infused and Imperial struggled to break down the resilient defense by NK and co. Meanwhile, fish123 managed to overcome Team CeX in a very close encounter, whilst Endpoint managed to grab two more wins to get back into contention. The former exceL eSports lineup, which we understand has now since folded, struggled to make any impact on Week 2’s standings, and now they are currently residing in 6th place.
The exceL dream is now dead in the water.
With all the shuffling of rosters outside of any potential locks, and the league still in play currently, it leaves our panel scratching their heads on how they can possibly predict the matches going forward, but they will certainly try. Here is all the information you need including rosters (that we know currently), last week’s results, current standings and our panel’s results. You can read the previous prediction articles in the following links.
UK Masters Spring Season: Week 1 Predictions
UK Masters Spring Season: Week 2 Predictions
Teams
fm-eSports: nEiLZiNHo, weber, fre1, Puls3, stan1ey
Team Endpoint: Immi, Esio, MightyMax, Luzuh, HudzG
Team CeX: resu, BrodyC, LS, Astroo, JDD
ex-SKUM Gaming: NK, FiLLeR, DUKK, Hawkins, MMuffin
Imperial: Jakem, conoR, Whindanski, Boaster, REAZN
fish123: keita, Sliggy, robiin, batham, tsack
Team Infused: SHEEKEY, shaney , Lumji , Ozzy , Snakey
exceL eSports: Jenko, Mole, Kryptix, Smooya, Jesp
Week 2 Results
Team CeX 0:2 fish123 (16:19 de_train & 14:16 de_mirage)
Team Infused 1:1 ex-SKUM Gaming (16:6 de_cbble & 8:16 de_mirage)
Imperial 1:1 ex-SKUM Gaming (23:25 de_overpass & 16:8 de_mirage)
Team Endpoint 2:0 exceL eSports (19:16 de_mirage & 19:17 de_overpass)
Team Endpoint 2:0 Team CeX (16:8 de_overpass & 16:8 de_mirage)
fm-eSports 2:0 fish123 (16:12 de_mirage & 16:5 de_cache)
Current Standings
Panel
Michael “Duck” Moriarty – UKCSGO Journalist
Michael is one of our journalists here at UKCSGO, he has written for many different organisation websites including Team Acer, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Reason Gaming. He currently writes for ESL with some IEM posts he has done over the last few months. His CS knowledge is relatively restricted to recent times as he has no prior knowledge or playtime in the UK Scene from either CS: Source or 1.6 and therefore his opinion should be treated as a relatively new to the scene. However he is starting to build on his awareness of the UK Scene in CS:GO and has valid ideas of what teams should be doing what. Michael will be taking on Tuesday night matches in UK Masters.
Ryan “Flakes” Oliver – UK Scene Commentator
Ryan is one of the UK’s leading stars when it comes to commentating. Having started at epic.LAN last year for epic.SEVENTEEN, as an admin, he ended up going to Dreamhack Summer last June on behalf of CAZ eSports, then shortly after that he dived into casting, and got to cast events such as UK Premiership, UK Masters, Starladder, and WESG. He has an in depth knowledge around the UK Esports scene, and continues to thrive on casting events. Ryan will be taking on Wednesday night matches in UK Masters.
Callum “skuxz” Bristow – Chrome Gaming Captain
Callum has been working himself through the ranks over the last year, having won epic.NINETEEN back in October last year, he has the insight to help the panel come to some better conclusions on what should happen in the matches from week to week. Callum currently plays for Chrome Gaming who narrowly missed out in UK Masters and didn’t quite make it to the ESL Premiership either, but he knows how competitive the scene really is. Callum will be taking on Thursday night matches in UK Masters.
Week 2 Panel Results
Duck
Team CeX Vs fish123 – Prediction: 0:2 Actual: 0:2
Team Infused Vs ex-SKUM Gaming – Prediction: 1:1 Actual: 1:1
Result: 2/2 (100%)
Flakes
Imperial Vs ex-SKUM Gaming – Prediction: 2:0 Actual: 1:1
Team Endpoint Vs exceL eSports – Prediction: 1:1 Actual: 2:0
Result: 0/2 (0%)
Skuxz
Team Endpoint Vs Team CeX – Prediction: 1:1 Actual: 2:0
fm-eSports Vs fish123 – Prediction: 1:1 Actual: 2:0
Result: 0/2 (0%)
Week 3 Predictions – Tuesday
fm-eSports Vs Imperial
Probably the most interesting match up in Week 3 is this particular one. Two very strong teams going head to head across two maps. Imperial ended up getting a draw last week whilst fm-eSports managed to win, so both of these sides have an interesting challenge ahead of them. Both of these sides currently reside in the Top 4 which means if all goes well, they’d end up making the playoffs however this match may make or break either of these teams actual league seasons here.
fm-eSports are still considered the strongest of UK sides to many, so they’ll have the edge over their rivals here. However, Imperial have been slowly hitting a bit more a stride despite their draw last week to ex-SKUM Gaming. It should be interesting to note that both these sides have managed to struggle against ex-SKUM Gaming this season which makes this particular tie a little more interesting at the base level.
Whatever happens though, it will be a very very close match between the two sides tonight.
Prediction: A very close 1:1 between the two.
exceL eSports Vs fish123
This match is probably the hardest to call, both sides are now effectively mix teams considering exceL eSports has folded in the last week, whilst fish123 have always been a glorified mix team. Major roster moves have meant that no one can accurately predict who will be playing for exceL eSports tonight, and that we are completely unaware if the actual proper roster will make an appearance tonight. This means that tactics or form books can be ruled out of this match up and means I am in the dark as to who will really win.
However, we all do know one thing that is key to a win for exceL eSports which is Owen “smooya” Butterfield and his form, if he is playing incredibly well and wants to look like the decent player that people speak highly of, then a win will be on the cards for exceL eSports here. However if Owen is playing poorly, then fish123 will be able to manage to scrape the win. It’s all about the key players in these matchups, and likewise Robin “robiin” Sjögren will be a key factor for fish123 in this match.
However, I will be sticking to the air of caution and going with a 1 all entertaining draw.
Prediction: Another 1:1 on the cards here.
Week 3 Predictions – Wednesday
Team Endpoint Vs Team Infused
Last night, Team Endpoint took the scene by storm with an impressive victory over Team Flipsid3 Tactics 16:12 on mirage in ESEA Premier. If Team Endpoint maintain that display and Infused continue to look like they are struggling, then I see no other winner here bar Immi and the lads. I personally have been impressed by Alex “Snodz” Byfield who seems to be bringing some good mental fortitude to the lineup.
Infused aren’t a weak team by any means, but I do feel yesterdays match for Endpoint may of turned the tide in their UK Masters season thus far. Looking at the likes of 16:9 across the two maps, but Endpoint will take it I feel.
Prediction: Team Endpoint to win 2:0 over Infused.
Team CeX Vs ex-SKUM Gaming
This match should in theory be a match that Team CeX finally win one and get off the bottom spot of the UK Masters table. If they play sensibly and manage to reignite some of their LAN form from epic20 back in February, then they should see this being a 2:0 over ex-SKUM who continue to trouble various teams in the league.
Saying that, ex-SKUM have played incredibly well despite their disadvantages of being inexperienced at the top flight of UK Counter-Strike. They have only lost one match up and that was to Team Endpoint who did come second last season. They’ve had a hard path currently, playing against some of the biggest names thus far, Imperial/fm-eSports and of course Endpoint. This may well be their biggest chance yet to take a surprise victory and maneuver into a position for the playoffs.
It will certainly be tough though, so I will stick with a 1:1 draw here between the two sides, but it could be explosive as both sides really need a win at this point.
Prediction: Close and tough match to call, but 1:1 draw.
Resu will be looking for the first win of the season this week.
Week 3 Predictions – Thursday
Team Infused Vs Imperial
I believe Infused vs Imperial will be a 1-1 scoreline, as far as I know the infused roster is currently incomplete after a change which could hinder their performance, also both teams drew 1-1 vs skum gaming in week #2 so I think it’ll be a close matchup between Infused and Imperial
Prediction: A close but exciting 1:1 draw.
Team CeX Vs exceL eSports
I’m not sure what to think about CeX vs Excel, I don’t even know who will be playing on Excel as their team has folded so I don’t know if they’re mixing or what, CeX have been struggling lately alot though therefore I predict another 1-1 scoreline, I think CeX will be able to take a map of the mix if not both, however playing vs mixes is always difficult as a team as they’re very unpredictable and it’s not really what you practice to play against, therefore I expect the Excel mix (assuming it’s a mix) to take a map of CeX.
Prediction: Another interesting 1:1 draw here.
Don’t forget you can visit the UK Masters hub to keep an eye on all fixtures and live tables of the event on a weekly basis, which you can find over at Multiplay’s mini website, by clicking on this relevant link.
We will have more coverage of the UK Masters over the coming weeks, including statistical breakdowns of all the major players in the league, interviews, and more prediction articles on a weekly basis. Make sure you keep yourselves posted to UKCSGO as we continue to cover the top tier of UK Counter-Strike. You can follow us on Twitter and like our page on Facebook for further updates so you never miss a beat in the UK Scene.
