EPTRound 3, Week 5 Preview
Week 5 Preview
Playoff Picture Panic
Playoff Scenarios
What Possibilities!
Brackets and standings on Liquipedia
Videos on Youtube
Round 3, Week 5 Preview
Whoops, looks like we can't do math! As it turns out, KT Rolster is not yet guaranteed a playoff spot, and only SK Telecom is completely safe. KT, CJ, Jin Air, Samsung, and IM all have a chance of making it into the playoffs.
In an odd twist of fate, it will be the two eliminated teams in MVP and Prime who decide the fates of others. Though Prime and MVP are not be able to reach the playoffs, they still have much to play for as they look to avoid last place finishes. Let's look at the matches in the final week of Round 3:
| Round 3 Standings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | SKT* | 6-1 | 20-6 | +14 |
| 2. | KT | 4-2 | 13-11 | +2 |
| 3. | CJ Entus | 3-3 | 13-11 | +2 |
| 4. | Jin Air | 3-3 | 12-12 | +0 |
| 5. | Samsung | 3-3 | 11-13 | -2 |
| 6. | IM | 3-4 | 14-13 | +1 |
| 7. | Prime | 1-4 | 5-13 | -8 |
| 8. | MVP | 1-4 | 5-14 | -9 |
Teams that clinched playoff spots in bold.
*SKT clinched first place.
*SKT clinched first place.
May 11
Team MVP vs. Samsung Galaxy
Sniper < King Sejong Station LE > RorO
aLive < Merry Go Round LE > RealityDream < Outboxer > Solar
Billowy < Maze > StorkAce: Habitation Station LE
Jin Air Green Wings vs Prime
Maru < Merry Go Round LE > ChoyaTRUE < King Sejong Station LE > CreatorRogue < Habitation Station LE > MarineKingsOs < Frost LE > TerrOrAce: Outboxer
May 13
Team MVP vs CJ Entus
Billowy < Maze > GuMihoKeeN < Merry Go Round LE > Hydrahyvaa < Frost LE > BbyongSuper < King Sejong Station LE > herOAce: Habitation Station LE
KT Rolster vs Prime
Sleep < Outboxer > CreatorZest < King Sejong Station LE > SalvatioNStats < Maze > MarineKingFlash < Merry Go Round LE > ChoyaAce: Frost LE
Lineup Notes
- If there's any sign that Team MVP isn't going into these last couple of matches with full effort, it's that ace Zerg DongRaeGu is missing from the line-up. However, it might not be something to read too deeply into, as MVP has benched DRG on occasion. Taking his place will be Sniper and hyvaa, who make their first appearances this round.
- Rare Sightings: Sniper and hyvaa aren't the only players getting a surprise run out in the final week. KT Rolster are finally giving Sleep a chance to play, while CJ Entus will field GuMiho for the first time in Round 3. Finally, TerrOr will make his first appearance for Prime since Round 1.
- Mercenary Watch: IM has no games left to play, making this week's mercenary watch a bore. With Prime leaving Leenock out of their line-up, we have our first mercenary-free week of Proleague in a long time.
- As karmic retribution for some terrible crime he committed in a previous life, Choya gets to play both Flash and Maru.
- Race Breakdown: 12
Protoss, 11 
Terrans, and 9 
Zergs are in action this week. What an even breakdown!
Round 3 Playoff Picture
KT Rolster are heavily favored to advance to the playoffs, while IM has a prayer of a chance. Meanwhile, CJ, Jin Air, and Samsung are locked in a fierce fight in the middle. We've gone ahead broken down the playoff advancement scenarios in the final week of games. We've divided the scenarios into two big groups, depending on whether or not KT Rolster advance.
KT Rolster advances
If KT Rolster wins vs Prime, then they're in the playoffs. Even if KT Rolster lose, they're probably still in the playoffs (we'll explain the exception further below). As long as KT Rolster are in, that leaves CJ, Jin Air, Samsung, and IM to fight for the remaining two spots with the following outcomes possible:
- CJ and Jin Air win, Samsung loses: CJ and Jin Air advance to the playoffs.
- CJ and Samsung win, Jin Air loses: CJ and Samsung advance to the playoffs.
- Jin Air and Samsung win, CJ loses: Jin Air and Samsung advance to the playoffs.
- CJ wins, Samsung and JinAir lose: CJ and IM advance to the playoffs.
- CJ, Jin Air, and Samsung win: CJ Entus advances to the playoffs. Jin Air also advances to the playoffs except in the following scenario:
- Jin Air wins 3-2, Samsung wins 3-0: In this case, Jin Air and Samsung will be tied at 4-3 and +1 in maps. A best-of-one tiebreaker ace-match will be played to decide which team advances to the playoffs.
- Jin Air wins, CJ and Samsung lose: Jin Air advances to the playoffs. CJ's fate depends on the following scenarios:
- CJ loses 2-3: CJ and IM will be tied at 3-4 and +1 in maps. A best-of-one tiebreaker ace-match will be played to decide which team advances to the playoffs.
- CJ loses by 1-3 or 0-3: IM advances to the playoffs.
- CJ loses 2-3: CJ and IM will be tied at 3-4 and +1 in maps. A best-of-one tiebreaker ace-match will be played to decide which team advances to the playoffs.
- Samsung wins, CJ and Jin Air lose: Samsung advances to the playoffs. The possibilities for CJ are identical to the "Jin Air wins, CJ and Samsung lose" scenario described above.
- CJ, Jin Air, and Samsung lose: IM advances to the playoffs. CJ also advances to the playoffs except in the following scenario:
- CJ loses 0-3, Jin Air loses 2-3: CJ and Jin Air will be tied at 3-4 and -1 in maps. A best-of-one tiebreaker ace-match will be played to decide which team advances to the playoffs.
Scenarios in which KT Rolster can be eliminated
In the case that KT Rolster loses to Prime AND CJ, Jin Air, and Samsung all win their matches, things can get scary for KT.
- CJ, Samsung, and Jin Air win AND KT Rolster lose: This opens up the following bag of worms for KT Rolster, while IM are eliminated as collateral damage.
- KT lose 0-3 and Samsung win 3-1 or better: CJ, Jin Air, and Samsung advance to the playoffs. KT is eliminated.
- KT lose 0-3 and Samsung win 3-2: CJ and Jin Air advance to the playoffs. KT and Samsung are tied and play a best-of-one tiebreaker for the last playoff spot.
- KT Rolster lose 1-3 and Samsung win 3-1: Same as above.
- KT Rolster lose 2-3 and Samsung win 3-0: Same as above. unless:
- Jin Air win 3-2: CJ advances to the playoffs. KT, Samsung, and Jin Air are tied and play a series of best-of-one round robins as a tiebreaker.
- KT lose 0-3 and Samsung win 3-1 or better: CJ, Jin Air, and Samsung advance to the playoffs. KT is eliminated.
The scenarios listed above are only for playoff advancement. There are many more scenarios regarding final placement and playoff seeding that are too complex to describe in full. It will suffice to say that ranks #2 through #8 are wide open to change, and there's a decent chance that we'll see at least one tie-breaker played to determine final placement and/or playoff seeding.
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