What’s Happening To SMPR

SMPR was meant to be one of Europe’s next great teams. With two experienced, solid French men in Chausette45 and Kassio, paired with the rising superstar Archie, whose offensive flair and consistency earned him 7th on the Octane list for 2021, SMPR had all the makings of a great team.

And in the Fall split, they certainly delivered, with triple top 8 finishes, including 2nd in the third regional event, securing their spot in the Stockholm major. In Stockholm, they weren’t just there to fill up numbers, and were a genuine threat for the title, as the team conquered SAM, MENA and OCE in the swiss stage to make playoffs, before a big 4-3 win over Dignitas helped secure a top 4 berth.

At the major, the team appeared fully in sync with one another. Archie was a rock in defence, and the team‘s ability to find each other in offence and be in the right positions defensively seemingly confirmed themselves as a top caliber lineup.

Then Winter happened. What a disaster. In the first event, luck wasn’t on their side as their 2-1 record in groups left them outside the tiebreaker on game differential, before they were taken down in 5 by rising superpower Karmine Corp in round 1 of lowers. It wasn’t a great result, sure, but it was redeemable, and SMPR appeared to have found the glue in the second as they swept NAVI and Kuxir’s Minions in their first two series’s of the event.

But as it had in the first, SMPR just couldn’t turn up when it mattered most, as they were reverse swept by Team Queso and then swept by 00 Nation, sending them home in back to back 9th-12th’s. And the pain wasn’t finished yet, as they were once again dismantled in the third event, only scrapping wins over NAVI as losses to Endpoint, Williams Resolve and Guild, 3 teams they should be contending with at a higher level, left them with a third straight 9th-12th finish.

For a team that didn’t miss out on top 8 in Fall, and was seen as one of Europe’s best heading into Winter, this result is a heart breaker and certainly poses some issues. Archie, the newcomer to the scene, seems out of confidence and motivation, as his more experienced team mates will need to help left the prodigy to his once high achieving levels.

With SMPR still well and truly in the hunt for worlds, I don’t think a roster change is what will fix their dilemma. Instead, it’s a matter of team chemistry and mentality that needs a shift, to find once more the game style that brought them so much success in Fall.

Hopefully SMPR can succeed, but after their abysmal split here, they’re going to need to turn it around very quickly in Spring if they want to return to the level they once held.