Originally Posted by Asplode

LOL good joke.

My opinions, and I'm not sure if every team mentioned will be playing:

Euros (I'd list more but I'm unfamiliar with the bronze-range Euros that might surprise a silver)
KMD - Excellent lineup and solid synergy, but prone to technical difficulties and strange upset-losses. Probably beats most other Euro teams, minus the ones that'll pull strange gimmicks on them. My pick for gold.
BdV - Solid 8v8, most experience with the 2 Ranger build, great shot at top 4 by brute force alone.
WWF - Great lineup, but probably needs another month before they solidify their synergy. Probably good for beating most American teams, but I figure they'll lose to another good Euro.
NOW - Dark Horse euro pick, can pull out curveballs in a pinch, best candidate for "upset" wins, though their standard play isn't bad either.
sup - Feels somewhat lazy after their win last mAT, mixed up positions on their roster, and probably needs some time before they get solid again; assuming they keep fielding Adrian on midline instead of monk... <3 u
StP - Great overall. Probably a good match for just about any other euro team out there, probably will smash most American teams, and best candidate for a "surprise" gold.
StS - Very good lineup, fearsome build variety, very consistent quality from these guys. Assuming the post-gold slump has lost its grip on them, they're probably going to play and lose to KMD in the finals.
dP - Solid euro team; probably a good bet for silver though I feel as though they'll get eliminated by one of the stronger euro teams early in the single-elims.
AA - Another solid euro team, easy silver though it feels like they could get blindsided by some Americans if they're not careful. It felt like we did a little too well vs them in the ESL despite how good they are.
rQ - I think this is mkay minus Bonhart, correct me if I'm wrong. Still a strong team that is a solid top8 pick with a potential for higher, assuming they still play like mkay did back then. Possible gimmick plays exist here too, making them quite dangerous.
vE - Notorious for their splitting and trick-plays, they're probably one of the biggest dangers to the established euro guilds alongside NOW. Easy silver, and can possibly sneak into the top 8.

Americans
mad - "Did you get news that I was going to play warrior for them this mAT?" Okay maybe they'll get Bronze instead of Silver. Solid lineup that's been playing for a long time despite the new name.
pH - They seem alright but their style doesn't fly in mAT's vs any euro team worth their salt. Possible silver because the competition appears surprisingly thin.
Why - I have no idea who these guys are, but they're probably around equal to pH.
pd - An easy silver, though if they try and be cute I can see them stumbling against the well-established euro guilds. If they stick to what they're good at they'll get far in this mAT.
DM - Solid gameplay, easy silver and overall David The Hammer goodness. Likely top 8 though there's possibility of an early demise to a strong euro team or pd.
Flex - Not sure if they're playing or not, fairly solid but in the same boat as most of the other fresh-faced Americans.
GWPD - Didn't even know these guys were playing; probably put them alongside pH and Why in the list of Americans competing for the Silver slots remaining when the Euros are done claiming them.
WaR - I can somehow visualize Izzy's guild sneaking into the top 16, but it'll be a stretch.
rawr/Trim - Hard to comment on my own guild, but objectively I'd say that we have a strong 8v8 despite our predictability and lack of playtime; we're prone to getting split on or getting gimmicked by just about any team, though it's much more likely that we're going to meet our elimination in the top 8 by a confident and capable Euro team that just straight up outplays us.

Japanese
Y'know, ever since the VoD change and reduction of NPCs it just feels like the japanese teams don't see a point in trying so hard. They've been the target of several very specific nerfs to their style, and suffer massive lag issues. The only team I see with a glimmer of a chance of silver is SpNv, but I wouldn't count on it. It's about time Izzy threw them a bone, though I wouldn't count on that either. SpNv is a well-established guild with a long history that I feel somewhat deserves a gold for effort and persistence, as well as consistent silvers for a long time running, minus the last couple months.

Originally Posted by Divinus Stella

sup/StS/KMD and trim are all good picks but i heard that sup benched tava in favor of a terrible ranger so im not so keen.

Originally Posted by psygnosis

yes, because he got benched, thats the talk atleast.

Originally Posted by AnonTerror

From what I have seen, Sup's new ranger (I guess the poster above me) isn't terrible; but I still think Tava was one of the better rangers left and why they would bench him is beyond me.