Wednesday saw the culmination of ELeague Season 2 kick off with the start of the ELeague Season 2 Playoffs. Four of the eight teams who managed to qualify for the event -- SK Gaming, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Astralis and Dignitas -- took part in the opening day of competition. Just a single best-of-three series would decide who would advance in the tournament, with SK Gaming and Astralis earning the first spots in the pivotal semifinals.SK Gaming PrevailsThe first best-of-three series of the day was no easy task for SK, who had a long road in their series against Dignitas. The two teams started the best-of-three series on Dust2 where SK dominated their map pick to a 10-5 lead at half. That dominance continued into the second half as the Brazilians allowed just one round against them while taking six of their own to claim a 16-6 Map 1 win. However, Dignitas showed off their dominance with their map pick in Game 2, featuring Mirage. The Danes took a convincing 11-4 lead at the half and then shut out SK in the second half for a 16-4 win. Dignitas Emil Magiskb0Y Reif led his team with an impressive 19/9 kills/deaths ratio (KD) and 109.6 average damage per round (ADR).Approaching the third and final map of the series, SK looked to seal the deal on the deciding map, Overpass. SK took the first half with a huge 11-4 start, however, Dignitas werent going out that easy. The Danes came back in the second half thanks to Kristian k0nfig Wienecke and Magiskb0Y who put together a great defensive performance to get Dignitas within two rounds of taking Map 3. Although SK struggled late in the second half, Dignitas gave up the last three rounds to SK due to a few errors made holding the bomb sites. The Brazilians overcame a frantic final few rounds in the deciding map to claim a 16-14 win, earning themselves a spot in the semifinals.Astralis makes their markThe second best-of-three series of the day was much like the first series. Coming off as IEM Oakland 2016 Champions, Ninjas in Pyjamas looked to continue their streak in the ELeague Season 2 Playoffs. All that stood in their way was a red-hot Astralis squad. With the first map pick, NiP selected Cobblestone and immediately took a hold of the series. The battle was a real thriller in the first half of Map 1 as the Danes and Swedes battled to a near draw in the first half, with Astralis just barely gaining an 8-7 advantage before halftime. NiP had a slow start to the second half but quickly turned around after giving up three rounds to secure a 16-13 win.Down 1-0 in the series, Astralis looked to rebound with their map pick, Train. The Danes had a brilliant performance on Map 2 thanks to Nicolai device Reedtz, who dominated with a 23/6 KD and 110.2 ADR, aiding Astralis in a 16-2 blowout. The series tie went onto the third map, Overpass, where both teams have had equal success. However, it was all Astralis in the first half, as they jumped out to a huge lead before NiP came back to level the record to 9-6. NiP started the second half strong taking the initial three rounds but quickly fell to Astralis, thanks to Markus Kjaerbye Kj?rbyes stellar performance on the offensive side for a 16-10 win. The Danes will move onto the semifinal to face SK.The second day of the ELeague Season 2 Playoffs will continue Thursday showcasing two best-of-three matches featuring Virtus.Pro, OpTic Gaming, mousesports and FaZe Clan. Day 2 will begin with mousesports and OpTic facing off and immediately after Virtus.Pro will take on FaZe Clan. The winners of those matches will then head to the semifinals to join SK and Astralis. The action will kick off at 2:00 PM EST on Twitch.Want to know how the other quarterfinals could pan out? Heres our handy preview.Josh Allen Jersey . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Chris Conley Womens Jersey . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. http://www.officialjacksonvillejaguarspro.com/Jalen-ramsey-jaguars-jersey/ . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Yannick Ngakoue Womens Jersey . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. Ryquell Armstead Womens Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla.In a year that already has proved to be massive for the UFC, with one major card after another, UFC 205 on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York looks to be the biggest and most important of them all. In honor of such a marquee event, ESPN.com is providing dedicated previews to all 13 bouts on the card, breaking down whats at stake and projecting who will win, along with quotes and statistics for each fighter.Lightweights: Jim Miller (27-8) vs. Thiago Alves (21-10)Odds as of Nov. 2: Alves (-165), Miller (+145)Dana Whites thoughtsJim Miller is always exciting. You never watch a Jim Miller fight and go, Oh, what happened? That guy just didnt show up tonight. Hes one of those guys who just goes. Hell stand with you if you want to stand, but hes also great on the ground and has had some great ground wars.And Thiago, I think everybody the last couple years has been moving around weight classes and if hes still the Thiago we used to know at this new weight, that should be a really good fight.Whats at stake?Miller: From retirement talk to win streak in less than six monthsA strange feeling came over the veteran Miller on March 5 as he stepped into the Octagon to fight Diego Sanchez at UFC 196. It was something he had never felt in his entire career.That was the first time I actually kind of didnt want to be there, Miller said. That was a tough one for me, and it was for a million different reasons.Miller, 33, decided long ago that whenever his career ends, it will happen immediately after a fight, while hes still inside the cage. He wants that farewell moment on the microphone, to let his fans know its over. In order to guarantee that moment, Miller said he has to know ahead of time, going into a fight, that its his last one.He thought that was going to be the case at UFC 200 in July. After performing poorly and not feeling right at UFC 196, Miller asked for a fight at UFC 200. He figured it was the perfect time and place to say goodbye.But when he got into that fight camp, Millers body responded better than he thought. Things turned around quickly and he ultimately decided that wouldnt be his last fight. He has won two in a row since.It started off like it would be my last run, but I got back to feeling like my old self, Miller said. Its different now. I know what its like when Im off, but I also know when Im feeling good. I know by the results in the gym -- theyre back to where they should be, where they used to be a couple years ago.It went pretty quickly from All right, lets just get through this and put on a show to I think I can stay in this for a while.Alves on weight cut: Im gonna make all these lightweights payAlves is tired of looking up to the opposition -- literally.The veteran welterweight will make hiis long-awaited lightweight debut at UFC 205, and hell do it without the assistance of longtime nutritionist Mike Dolce.dddddddddddd Alves is working with a new nutrition group ahead of his first cut to 155 and feels confident about the process, even though he actually has struggled in the past to make the 170-pound limit.Im gonna make weight and Im gonna feel great -- thats actually the slogan of the company Im working with, the 5-foot-9 Alves said. I know the morning of the weigh-in, Ill have the whole world asking, Is he gonna make it? Thats exciting for me because I love to prove people wrong.Ill be one of the biggest lightweights in the division. I had to lose 10 pounds of muscle and 10 pounds of fat. Ive lost a lot of muscle and Im gonna make all these lightweights pay for that s---. We shouldnt be losing muscle, man, especially doing what we do, but thats what was necessary and my body feels great.I was just giving up a lot of reach and height as a welterweight. All my last fights, these guys were 6-foot-2. Its tough fighting giants.Alves, 33, has never recaptured the magic of a seven-fight win streak that led to a title shot at UFC 100 in 2009. But in a new weight class, under a new lifestyle, he doesnt think it will take long to get a title shot.A lot has changed since the last time I fought [in May 2015], Alves said. Im a father now. I got married. You guys used to see the young, dumb Pitbull. Now youve got an adult.Im not looking ahead. I know Ive got to get through Miller first. But I think it makes complete sense to give me a top-5 opponent next and then the title. Thats the goal.Statistical comparisonMiller: 27-8 record (16-7 UFC); on two-fight win streakMiller: 16 wins in UFC lightweight division tied for most all time with Gleison TibauAlves: 21-10 record (13-7 UFC); first fight since May 2015Alves: 11 knockdowns landed in UFC fights, tied for eighth most all timeBreakdownAlves said it in plain English: Hes looking forward to fighting opponents with less reach.His knockout power stacked up fine at 170 pounds, but the same wasnt always true of his frame. That doesnt mean he wasnt (or still couldnt be) effective at that weight, but you cant blame him for dropping down.Although he has expressed confidence, its worth asking how that cut to 155 will go. Miller likely will look to set a high pace on the bigger man and his grappling can be deadly, especially if his opponent tires. He does have a tendency to get into prolonged exchanges, which is good for his entertainment value but perhaps bad against a dangerous finisher like Alves.PREDICTION:?Miller by third-round submission.Cheap Jerseys [url=http://www.cheapjerseysauthenticmlb.com/]Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '