forZe are in prime position to be this Major’s surprise package

Jerry has only bloody gone and done it again.

Possibly the most underrated IGL in the world, the Russian Snappi has once more taken a ragtag bunch of misfits and created a dangerous underdog team who can go toe-to-toe with anyone on their day.

This team just feels a bit different, though. There’s a ruthlessness, a consistency to their play that previous forZe lineups lacked, and this one has the potential to go one step further.

Playoffs calling?

forZe have a very generous seeding after the RMRs, but it’s not entirely undeserved. They were comfortable in qualification and looked like a very solid team. This roster has taken a little while to get going, but it’s the evolution of Shalfey that has really transformed this team from upset team to legitimately dangerous.

The first few events with this roster showed a forZe team that was well drilled, but lacking in superstar talent; but Shalfey has gone from a 1.05 rating player to a 1.2 rating player within a few months. It’s genuinely startling how quickly he’s gotten better.

Frightening, really. But that’s what Jerry does.

forZe kick off the Challengers Stage with Renegades, which is as easy a game as one could hope for, and could easily be in the 2-0 bracket after that if their original seeding is anything to go by.

You really wanna mess with this guy? via forZe’s Twitter.

There’s always a CIS team who sneaks in to the upper echelons at the Major from nowhere, but the signs have been there that forZe might be getting to the level required. They smashed BIG and Endpoint, and took down ENCE in a Pinnacle Cup, which should have been enough for people to start believing in.

Then Shalfey went off in the RMR, and now we’re here – where some of you are still sleeping on forZe. 

They have a genuine triple threat of stars, and are incredibly well drilled by virtue of having one of the finest minds in the region. They’re pretty resistant to being upset because of that structure, and their new-found superstar can drag them through some of the tougher games.

The stars are aligning for forZe to make a deep run, and you’d be a fool to ignore the signs.

Jerry is taking forZe to playoffs.