Are Flames worth 0.75 dev1ce?

Remember after Stockholm when we said that Copenhagen Flames weren’t worth 0.75 dev1ces?

Well, we were right. They’ve done nothing for six months other than that flash in the pan at Stockholm. That was until the pan caught light once more in Antwerp.

Is it a flash this time? Well, there’s the small asterisk of their #2 seed in the Legends stage — they’ve only beaten NIP (Brollan’s first event) and ENCE (bo1) from the top 10 en route to qualifying for the top 8 of a Major.

The good draws have continued for Flames, too. They’ve drawn ENCE in their quarter-final, who they beat in groups and who, more importantly, have played very few games in a stage setting.

Pressure is the great equaliser, and Flames’ map pool matches up well with ENCE; ENCE ban Inferno (Flames’ 5th worst map) and Flames ban Mirage (ENCE’s best map).

So don’t rule out an upset just yet. Even if Spinx is a top 5 player on LAN so far in 2022 with a 1.22 rating. Even if Maden has elevated ENCE with his entries, and Snappi is out-calling gla1ve, let alone HooXi. Even if dycha… Okay, maybe get your ruler and pen out.

So after Spinx drops a 1.40 Rating on falmes head (🙂) we get to the real banger: Heroic against NAVI.

On a stage, this should be a non-starter. However, Heroic’s win over NAVI at the RMR (their first ever) is massive for the Danes’ mentality.

In particular, 2022 has seen stavn mature a ridiculous amount. He is Denmark’s best player since device — remember him? — and a top 5 player in the world.

Sjuush has also levelled up; he is Magisk’s successor, offering ridiculous anchor holds and solid lurks on T-Side.

As for NAVI, their 3-0 record in groups is fairly scary. But we’ve got to build a narrative somehow. One question mark is electronic — it’s widely assumed this might be his last event in the black and yellow, and s1mple’s old sidekick has only posted a 1.00 rating so far this Major.

We won’t mention b1t’s 1.43 Rating so far in this event. Or s1mple’s existence.

We really want to tell you that this is the time Heroic overcome their demons in front of a crowd. But we’re not going to lie to you. We wouldn’t bet on it.