Article written by: Remington "R700" Rossignol

Week 2 in the ESEA Advanced division has some exciting match-ups. The one that stood out the most to us was SapphireKelownaDotCom and Savage. We hope you enjoy this article and check out this big match on Friday!

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5/08 Friday - ESEA Advanced: SapphireKelownaDotCom versus Savage

Two heavy hitting teams from the Advanced division prepare to square off this Friday. The battlefield: de_train.

SapphireKelowna are coming into this match already with a victory on de_train from their win against Cobalt United on Sunday. Owing thanks due in large part to some hefty fragging by aSauce and micro, who ended that game with 108 and 95 ADR respectively.

Their opponents, Savage, have a lineup that appears as one of the best in Advanced--on paper. Former pro and major-winning coach valens is the first recognizable name on this team. Another familiar face is MDL veteran SecretAgent. As well as three members from the season twenty-nine Advanced division winners, who took down Furia in the finals: Turismo, SwahN, and willmeister.

‍Both of these teams made the playoffs last season and look to repeat their success this time around. But, this match-up looks to be a good gauge for the abilities of SapphireKelowna; who aside from OCEAN, have no players with experience above Advanced playoffs. Savage also has the advantage of being able to watch their opponent's demo from their official match played last Sunday on this same map. Regardless, this looks to be an exciting match-up.

Will the on-paper favorites, Savage, come away with the victory? Or will OCEAN and the boys pull the upset on a map they have proven that they can win on? Tune in this Friday at 10:00 PM EST to find out!