NRG Swept EG to Close Out Group Play. That's Three Straight Wins.
NRG beat Evil Geniuses 2-0 in the final matches of Stage 2 group play, capping a run that also includes wins over LEVIATÁN and ENVY.
NRG closed out Stage 2 group play the way you want to close it out: with a sweep. They beat Evil Geniuses 2-0 in the final matches of the group stage, and it wasn't a fluke. That's win number three in a row.
The Stretch That Matters
Back up two weeks. NRG beat LEVIATÁN, the team that hadn't lost a series since June, and ended that run cold. Then they beat ENVY 2-0 on August 6, with Demon1 putting up the best individual game on the server and still losing the series. Then EG. Three different opponents, three different styles, same result. That's a real stretch, not a hot night.
What It Says About EG
EG opened the stage 1-0, tied atop Group Alpha after beating ENVY in week one. LEVIATÁN swept them 13-5, 13-5 in week two. MIBR took both maps in week three, Haven and Ascent. Now NRG hands them another loss to close out the group. I said back in July the LEVIATÁN blowout worried me more than the scoreline, because EG looked solved with no second read. A month later, I still haven't seen the adjustment.
Where I Land
Group play numbers don't decide seeding by themselves, but form going in matters, and right now NRG has the best form of anyone in Group Alpha. EG's stage ends with more questions than it started with. Different problem for each team, same conclusion.