Three Up | Three Down: Championship Saturday - Your Home for Everything NHL Esports. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS!!! Season 5 of the CapsGaming Showcase comes to an end today, and what a journey it has been so far. Sixteen days since punching their ticket to District E, One Nation and The Underdogs find themselves just three wins away from $10,000. Let's take a minute to preview today's matchup and give the recognition each of these squads deserve for making it this far. As the game's only 6v6 LAN Final, the winner of today's matchup will have both bragging rights for a year and a cool chunk of cash to soothe them on their flight home. ===== First up, One Nation! Left Wing: @Barzy x 13 Regular Season: 15-3-3 | 54 Points | +42 | 31 Hits | 34:00 PIMs Playoffs: 12-4-0 | 27 Points | +9 | 37 Hits | 14:00 PIMs Center: @SkilZzy x92x Regular Season: 46 Points | +41 | 72 Hits | 12:00 PIMs Playoffs: 19 Points | +9 | 69 Hits | 9:00 PIMs | 51.8 FO% Right Wing: @MaGiik x 99 Regular Season: 44 Points | +39 | 43 Hits | 16:00 PIMs Playoffs: 26 Points | +8 | 31 Hits | 6:00 PIMs Left Defense: @Blouin x 9 Regular Season: 27 Points | +40 | 36 Hits | 21:00 PIMs Playoffs: 19 Points | +13 | 30 Hits | 2:00 PIMs Right Defense: @I Clavette I Regular Season: 24 Points | +37 | 64 Hits | 19:00 PIMs Playoffs: 16 Points | +8 | 87 Hits | 20:00 PIMs Goalie: @racc2000 Regular Season: .834 SV% | 1.85 GAA | 10.9 SA/G Playoffs: .858 SV% | 1.62 GAA | 12.8 SA/G ===== It doesn't matter if it's pretty if it ends in winning, and it's a belief that must ring true for One Nation. Their playoff run thus far has been marked by close game after close game. Since the start of Round 2, 11 of One Nation's 13 games have been one goal games, with only two games seeing either team reach a total of 4 goals. It didn't matter who they got matched up against, One Nation continued to find a way to fell each of their opponents in the playoffs, culminating in a 3 game sweep of Pacific Cup champions IslesGT. One Nation's heart-beat falls on the defensive pair of Blouin and Clavette, with both dmen dwarfing all other skaters in Puck Possession by over 50 minutes each. Sure, it might not be the prettiest offense - Skillzy leads all players in deflections this postseason with 18, and they were one of only two Main Stage teams this playoffs to have both a positive TOA and negative Shot differential - but it's been extremely effective in leading this team to an unexpected LAN Final appearance. Their defensive success translates to a playstyle that is tougher than a well-done Walmart steak. After overcoming a rough 2-2 series start to the Showcase, One Nation has gone an extremely impressive 23-5-1. Their 85.0% success rate on the PK also ranks 3rd best this playoffs, while also being the only Main Stage team to score multiple Short-Handed goals in the postseason. One of the Showcase's most penalized teams of the playoffs. it's served to highlight the defensive prowess of One Nation all event long. The old saying goes that Defense Wins Championships, and One Nation hopes that saying rings true today. ================================================================ Next up, The Underdogs! Left Wing: @BoilyxHP Regular Season: 47 Points | +46 | 50 Hits | 8:00 PIMs Playoffs: 32 Points | +31 | 22 Hits | 0 PIMs Center: @ScaryJoeyy Regular Season: 45 Points | +50 | 59 Hits | 18:00 PIMs | 53.4 FO% Playoffs: 15 Points | +22 | 19 Hits | 6:00 PIMs | 59.1 FO% Right Wing: @LoKO CRuStY Regular Season: 69 Points | +51 | 101 Hits | 32:00 PIMs Playoffs: 36 Points | +31 | 42 Hits | 6:00 PIMs Left Defense: @l Deeks l Regular Season: 37 Points | +50 | 123 Hits | 16:00 PIMs Playoffs: 10 Points | +31 | 78 Hits | 8:00 PIMs Right Defense: @DumouIin Regular Season: 34 Points | +48 | 162 Hits | 22:00 PIMs Playoffs: 20 Points | +31 | 74 Hits | 8:00 PIMs Goalie: @Rainz5580 Regular Season: .862 SV% | 1.50 GAA | 10.9 SA/G Playoffs: .827 SV% | 1.46 GAA | 8.1 SA/G ===== For as dominant as One Nation has been defensively, The Underdogs have been just as good - if not better - on the offensive end of the ice. This postseason, they have the best TOA differential, the best goal differential, and a well-rounded attack that sees almost everyone get involved and score from anywhere in the zone. Faceoff plays? ScaryJoeyy's 59.1% has been the best this postseason by a country mile and a half (over 5.5% up on second place). Target Man setups? LoKo Crusty is first place in goals this postseason, also by a country mile (8 over second place). It's been much more than just offensive prowess, they're also quite dominant themselves defensively. When you're holding other teams to under 10 shots a game, it's a testament for how hard it is to get any sort of momentum going against The Underdogs. Where One Nation lives and dies by the bullet of one goal games, The Underdogs have played in only 8 such games all Showcase, only two of which coming during the playoffs. But for every Goliath, there's always a weakness that David can take advantage of. The Underdogs' Achilles' Heel has been their performance on the Penalty Kill. For such a dominant team, their 63.6 PK% has been a SIGNIFICANT slide down from their astounding 97.4 PK% in the Regular Season. Sure, they've only taken 11 penalties thus far in the postseason, but it's a glaring note to keep on the radar for what's been an otherwise picture-perfect example of competitive hockey. ================================================================ Predictions By 4pm today, the latest installment of the CapsGaming Showcase will have come to an end. But who will be victorious? Will it be the defensive-oriented One Nation? Or will it be the steamrolling powerhouse of The Underdogs? I firmly believe that this has the makings of a 5 game series written all over it, with The Underdogs taking the title. One Nation is extremely skilled on the defensive side of the ice, but their recent stretch of one goal games has also highlighted their recent struggles to score. In a five-game series against Esports' highest powered offense, I don't see One Nation being able to hold them in check 3 times in one day. Personally though, I'd love for One Nation to prove me wrong and see David take down Goliath one more time. ================================================================ And with that, this installment of Three Up | Three Down for the CapsGaming Showcase has come to an end. It's been a ton of fun covering this event, and I hope that these articles have provided a fun and engaging look into a hugely successful event thus far. Thank you so much for taking the time to read these articles every time they get posted, it really means a lot more than you'd think. Be sure to keep an eye out for All-Showcase teams, as I will be selecting them for both Main Stage and the Contender's Cup sometime next week. Your very own Enforcer Enthusiast, Wzia ================================================================ Interested in more from Caps Gaming? 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