[Armus]

Welcome to part 2 of the European Continentals Pickem Spectacular!

We missed NACC, but some fun is better than no fun, so we're going to make Euro Continentals more interesting for everyone not attending (and those who ARE attending if they choose to participate)

The game is simple: Pick the winner, and pick the person who you think will have the biggest gain in ratings points.

Here's who's currently registered:

Julius Melhardt 1813
Benjamin Liebich 1758
Tjark Ott 1724
Jens Beilstein 1668
Sebastian Kirstein 1618
Matthias Weller 1520
Johannes Mette 1500
Markus Eberlein 1420
Carsten Weller 1270

My "Expert" Take:

Winner: After narrowly missing out on a title last week in 1e Euros, I think Julius Melhardt comes to play this week and brings his A game to take down the title. Maybe that's a chalk pick, but chalk picks are chalk for a reason.

Ratings Gain: As last week demonstrated, there's money to be made in picking a low rated player who wins a couple of games, even if they lose to a big dog along the way. Looking down the list, I like the upside that Johannes Mette presents at his 1500 rating. I think he has the ability to contend with the top tier in the field and really make some gains.

Dark Horse: Don't overlook sneaky Seppel... he knows his way around the 2e game and has the potential to win the whole thing AND cash the ratings points along the way. Fade him at your own peril!

Fade pick: For some reason, it seems like Ben Liebich has been hit or miss lately. He's hardly a bad player, and is definitely capable of winning the whole thing, but right now picking him carries more risk than it otherwise would. On the ratings front, even losing one game will tank his chances, and I could see him doing just that at some point along the way.

So there it is... get your picks in before things kick off! Good Luck!

[Danny]

FTW: Benjamin Liebich
Gettin' swole (biggest gains): Markus Eberlein

[monty42]

Winner: I'm not gonna jinx myself by picking myself. That way if I do win, I can still be annoyed with myself for not picking myself. Julius wins.

Ratings gain: Inside pick Philipp Scholz. Cuz I know what deck he's gonna play.

[LORE]

Julius to win
Mette for ratings gain

[Armus]

Julius to win
Mette for ratings gain

Glad to see my "expert" performance last week didn't run everybody off.

Way to have Faith of the Heart, Kris!

[Fritzinger]

Strong field and nice to see some faces that haven’t been seen in a while!

Winner: Sebastian Kirstien
Biggest ratings gain: If there’s secret tech around I want a piece of that, Phillip Scholz to make a splashy comeback

[Caretaker's Guest]

Winner: Ben
Rating Gain: Joe Mette

[jadziadax8]

Winner: Julius
Ratings gain: Matthias

[Armus]

Well, anybody who picked Johannes Mette for anything cashed in, as he hit the double-header of both winning the whole thing and grabbing a giant pile of ratings points along the way!*

Big Congrats to Johannes for showing up and showing out with a fun looking deck!

Also, congrats to myself ( ), @Caretaker's Guest , and @LORE for correctly calling Johannes to get the biggest ratings gain.

Looking at the entire board for both Continentals, we have a 6 way tie at 1 point each between the above 3 and @KazonPADD , @jadziadax8 , and @Hoss-Drone.

I hope everybody had fun. Thanks for playing!

*The ratings math looks wonky. Johannes gained +102 ratings points but his actual rating jumped from 1500 to 1742, a gain of 242 points. We may need the tech nerds to take a look at the ratings system @eberlems , @BCSWowbagger , @JeBuS (and @Maelwys ?)