B8 probably weren’t expecting to find themselves in the 1-1 bracket after two rounds, but they’re still in a good position to make a run. They edged out MIBR in overtime before falling to Nemesis, and despite the loss, this remains one of the more dangerous teams in the middle of the standings.

Alliance finally got on the board with an impressive win over NiP, and twist was the biggest reason why. His 2.00 rating was one of the standout individual performances of Round 2, but asking him to repeat that against a stronger opponent is a different challenge altogether.

For me, this comes down to overall quality. B8 have spent the last few months proving they can compete against better opposition than Alliance, and their Stage 3 run at the Cologne Major still carries more weight than anything Alliance have done recently. B8 should bounce back here and avoid the dangerous 1-2 bracket.