TWDTB Week 4 Predictions

[WillBy]

The second half of TWDT Season 23 is upon us, and the top teams have set some distance from the bottom. Still, no team has quite secured themselves a mathematical playoff berth- and the parity we've seen so far this season means nobody is safe from some playoff magic or curses.

Big shoutout to the mysterious squirtle17 for his Week 3 Recap. I've added my thoughts in Red.

Week 3 Record: 4-4
Season Record: 13-11

Week 3 Predictions

Prediction: [I]Kobe 1 - 15 Terrorist
How it went down: Kobe 9:31-15:00 Terrorist

Kobe did better than the the 1 minute you predicted. Both teams utilized new talent picked up throughout trades and free agency which served them well. Kobe tried out FA draft Hawkeye (Spartan) and Rough whom was acquired by trading away Tripin to Team Funk. Terrorist tried out both of their FA draft picks Groan and Singer.

"Big Daddy Banks" led Terrorists spiders to victory with a 111-52 and 3 TeKs with great value FA pickup 7* Groan(89-38) supporting him on the way. Jurassic held his own as Kobes top performing spider (91-66) along with acquisitions Rough (81-46) and Hawkeye (72-46) but ultimately Terrorists low star spiders helped them edge over and outperform Kobe. Terrorist has it good with the holy trinity Maketso in terr and Markmrw and Willby showing for them every game. while Kobe has struggled to field a full 68* line until this week and absolutely no consistency in the lines they've played.

With a confusing start and 3 terrs (Jackie>, Cape, Ekko) throughout the game, Kobe took a while to find their footing but didn't find the right synergy with enough time. I'm sure if the game had started with the lines as it ended it would have been a much closer or different outcome. Kobe just seemed to be missing pieces with any changes they made. Jackie> didn't push hard enough, let us steal early time. Cape out of spider or shark is a weakness. Ekko is probably their best bet, but switching the lineup makes it really hard to find a groove.



Prediction: [I]Hottub Homeboys 13 - 15 Piwirfil Fingirmin
How it went down: HH 15 - 13 PF

This is the one and only of the first round of basing games you called wrong and oh how the mighty hif fallen. Previously undefeated in basing PF picked up their first loss in a close game vs Renzi's Homoerotic Hottub Homeboys.

HH power spider duo Renzi (92-63) and Stayon (100-50) led the way to victory over an understarred (64?!) PF. Both teams Terrs were statistically identical with Frozen Throne and Zizu both going 36-7 with 0 Teks.

It appears PF had some trouble finding a suitable shark partner for animeboy12(Sprackle) going through 4 options (Nightowl, Flew, clefairy27 and Violence) by the end of it. It is impressive that PF put up such a fight with all these changes and being so understarred for the game. I believe Violence was lagging this weekend, which sucks for PF as both of their base games were somewhat close, leaves a lot of "what ifs" about where they would be otherwise. It's part of the game though



[I]Prediction: Thunder 12 - 15 Funk
How it went down: Thunder 5 - 15 Funk

The game went as you predicted with Thunder getting slapped around a little more than we thought. This could be attributed to a little rust on vet returnee Cig Smoke who underperformed with a 2.5 RPD. Or it could be attributed to Funks triple spider threat: Mouse (93-36), Lockdown (99-32), & Jack (85-41) carrying their low star spiders well (ex: Sunny D with a 21-52, LOL.)

In fairness to Thunder they played with a slightly understarred line, 66.5, this could be seen in their lack of spider power with Kess's absence. Ease better be hitting the gym if this continues because he will need some more strength to carry his spider line to more victories. Heaven got more kills than Sunny D. Funk needs Four pLai if they're going to be winning any more games this season.


Prediction: [I]Power 15 - 9 Morph
How it went down: Power 15 - 1:22 Morph

Power continues to prove they are the team to beat in basing, the only team left undefeated with 6 wins to their name so far, their line is BONKERS for the value. I'm not sure why Paddington traded Beam to Power for Peru & Gypsy?? They just ended up making Powers line even stronger. They picked up beam to have additional shark depth they did not need with Zidane hitting his usual 3.0 rpd and beam coming in with a strong debut of 3.2 rpd, and they still have mvp as a shark option.

Rage is definitely nerdgasming over his statistically #1 terr season so far to input into his nerd sheets with a team that supports him well, their spider lines shows no weak spots and it's got options consisting of: Aagi, Henry Saari, Vys, Poseidon, and HellzNo!/Banzi. Major props to Zidane for putting together such a strong team and to Power players for consistenly showing each week as this team is not having attedance and substitution issues like a few other top contenders.

Morph had a bad game and I feel bad for FA Mikkiz debuting to such a tough game with a strange line choice by Saiyan. Saiyan needs to keep Dutch Baser in spider and try out some better backup shark options like Kings or hope a2m shows up if they hope to snatch any more wins in the basing division. Morph got spanked, they maybe could've traded their pick and gotten some sharks? Mikkiz adds a lot in other leagues, but their line is the most top heavy out there and their weak points show. There was a good opportunity for some low star sharks that could've been worth it



Prediction: [I]Blast 15 - 7 Paddington
How it went down: Blast 15 - 5:15 Paddington
Paddington was able to pick up a good shark option in Riverside during FA but it was not enough to combat Blast who had a full 68* line show for them for once and showed their true strength. Cripple (101-43) & wbm (83-40) led Blasts spiders to victories with a strong terr game by Turban (43-3, 1 TeK). Both teams sharks did well and on paper this game should have been closer than how it turned out as Paddingtons spider line was looking deadly with: Skat, TPZ, Tj Hazuki, Ra, and Ardour. The weak link could have been Tinys (24-9, 1 TeK) in Terr but I didn't watch this game, so who knows? Poor paddington. I think their line improved, but they may not have been able to catch up with the field.

Round 2 games:

Prediction: Kobe 13 - 15 Hottub Homeboys

How it went down: Kobe (68*) 15 - 13 Hottub Homeboys (67*)

Kobe was able to secure a surprise victory with a solid line from the get go & both teams were able to tryout FA acquisitions that served them well. Despite losing, Hottub Homeboys captain Renzi (118-61, 1 TeK) led the kills for the game and was one of two spiders this week who hit an impressive 14% K/Bul, supported well by high IQ multi league players Stayon (95-62, 0 TeK) and Iron Survivor (88-67, 0 TeK.) Their FA recruit blt_12 (84-59, 0 TeK) pulled his weight well, but spiders throughout the game for both teams seemed evenly matched.

Match mvp and new recruit hawkeye (99-56, 3 TeKs) proved to be a smart choice in the FA draft for Kobe as he held it down alongside Jurassic (100-70, 0 TeKs) and remaining spiders Best, Siaxis and another brand new FA recruit, Jackie>. Best put himself in basebird for a second time this tournament in signature Best style, but didn't manage any TeKs this time around. Statistically speaking Kobe has won all basing games in which Best was in warbird, I'm still not sure if this is a great idea for any team though.

The determining factor in this game was likely sharks, while both pairs did well Kobes dream duo JOESES (2.9 RPD, 1 TeK) & Cape (3.0 RPD, 0 TeK) are just a little more comfortable in ship 8 and a lot more aggressive with more than double the amount of mines/bombs laid/thrown than Hottub Homeboys shark pair Creature (2.9 RPD, 1 TeK) & FA acquisition Jr5 (2.9 RPD, 1 TeK) who in fairness have not been as active recently. I think that if renzi had been able to put Paradise or Vehicle in shark and have Creature in spider this game may have went down differently.

A good effort by both terrs in this game, Ekko (31-4, 3 TeKs) did well as he continuted to fill ships as needed & got to play his first full game as terrier this season. Kill Machine Zizu (51-9, 1 TeK) may have died a bit more but is the only terrier to break 50 kills this week, this being only the second time this has happened in this tournament, with the first being Zizzo (51-12, 2 TeKs) last week.

Both these teams are among a group of 4 who are neck in neck in the fight for those last few precious playoff spots and after this win Kobe is slightly ahead with 8 total wins vs Hottub Homeboys 7 total wins. Kobe's line is honestly super nasty. Like RaCka for blast, their WB aces fill in the low star slots very effectively, allowing 6 full-time basers to start.




Prediction: Thunder -5 - 15 Terrorist

How it went down: Thunder(67*) 11:05 - 15 Terrorist(68*)

A closer game than expected. Ogron probably yelled at Cig and he CLR'd that rust off quick to come in with the best RPD of the game at 2.94 RPD but it was not enough as Terrorist still secured the win. There was solid protection & RPDs from both sides from two top shark pairs in the tourny: Cig Smoke & Dwopple vs Markmrw & Willby. Interestingly enough without a TeK between the 4 of them.

Despite losing the game, league all star Ease (112-63, 2 TeKs) led spider kills in game with his team of Lionheart, Dak & Unlimited. Still, Terrorists Banks (105-57) pushed to pick up another 3 TeKs this game fighting alongside match mvp Dreamwin (96-55, 2 TeKs) to secure their second basing win of the week.

Statistically speaking it looks like the determinant of this game came down to which Terr was able to stay alive more. Maketso (21-5, 2 TeKs) had half as many deaths as Ogron (34-11, 2 Teks) which is likely why Terrorist was able to secure the 15 minutes of flagtime before Thunder.

These teams are ranked third and fourth overall in the tournament with 12 and 11 total wins respectively. Expect to see them in the playoffs unless some crazy shit goes down over the next two weeks. Thunder's spiders did the thing they're supposed to do, and shot the sharks. It was super frustrating, and you can tell the effect they had on Mark and I. We were limited in our killing impact, but our spiders were still free to do the thing they're supposed to do, and shoot the enemy. It was a fun match though, definitely felt more serious/competitive than usual regular season TWDTB or TWBD




Prediction: Power 15 - 12 Piwirfil Fingirmin

How it went down: Power (67.5) 15 - 10:47 Piwirfil Fingirmin (68*)

Willby called this one pretty accurately. Power continued their basing dominance with pretty much the same line that's worked for them all season, utilizing beam over mvp this week for both games and showing off their depth.

RageRitual (44-3, 1 Tek) continues to impress and finesse showing that Terrs that stay alive win games. A good effort by PF terr Frozen Throne with a couple more kills and double the deaths (48-7, 1 TeK), but I think the determining factor in this game came down to spiders and sharks.

Powers OP spider line continued to dominate with match mvp Henry Saari (121-39, 0 TeKs) and DT breakout spider star vys (115-59, 2 TeKs) leading the way.

Even for their second game of the week PF was still figuring out who to pair with the #1 rated shark, animeboy12. They subbed Uprise out of spider for Violence and subsequently swapped Bacon for Violence in shark which seems like a good move on paper but still couldn't get them the win. I also see that Flew was briefly put in basebird and got a whopping 0 TeKs?? this probably had no positive effect on PFs game.

Overall in the tournament these teams are in first and second place with Power having 14 wins total and Piwirfil Fingirmin having 13 wins total. At this point they're both pretty much a lock for the playoffs so they can cruise easily for the next two weeks. No Viop makes this game less exciting than I'd hoped. Still, props to PF for putting up 11 against a team that doesn't let most opponents get that close.



Prediction: Blast 11 - 15 Funk

How it went down: Blast (68*) 15 - 14:09 - Funk (68*)

The closest game of the week and a hard one to call, it seems Funk didn't watch the flag carefully enough and Blast edged out the win. Both these teams sported a full 68* line up for a nailbiter til the end, so let's get into the analysis.

A good effort by two high star and competent terriers. Turban may have died twice more (41-11, 3 Teks) than Heavens (35-9, and impressive 4 TeKs) but against the trend of Terrs with less deaths winning games, his team was still able to secure the win.

Match mvp Jack The Ripper MURDERING it for Funk with a 145-67 rec, 2 TeKs and one of the two spiders this week to hit a 14% K/Bul. He fought well alongside his serial killer buddies Mouse (115-61, 1 TeK) and Lockdown (119-62, 1 TeK) but they couldn't kill and carry their lower star spiders to a win this time, however, Funks 7* Lee (102-70) did hold his own against some top spiders.

Blast spider wbm held it down like the chief of police (114-62, also scoring an impressive 4 TeKs) with kill machine cripple (126-68, 1 TeK) probably pitching his tent in all the right places to get them the flagtime needed to win, with zeebu (100-62, 1 TeK) pulling his weight nicely too.

I have a feeling that if Funk had underrated 6* spider queen Four Plai in for Sunny D the game would have gone down much differently. Let's hope for their sake she shows in the coming weeks as Funk is definitely in a funk as they are currently in last place in the tournament overall with the basing division being where they have managed to score 3 of their total 4 wins so far.

Blast isn't doing much better overall as they are in second last place with 5 wins total, they've pulled together a nice looking basing line and could possibly blast their way into a playoff spot if they win the majority of their remaining total 9 games over the next two weeks and some other mid tier teams have some bad luck/start to fall apart. As you noted, no Lai = no vic. 51 seconds shy definitely makes you think about all the times you didn't grab the flag. I didn't watch this game or the replays, but glad to see my boy Jack wrecking out there.




Prediction: Paddington 5 - 15 Morph

How it went down: Paddington (67*) 15 - 9:33 Morph (67.5)

Paddington pulled a surprise victory out with their deadly spider line finally able to do something. Match mvp and pub darling TPZ (104-46, 1 TeK), led Tj Hazuki (101-71, 1 TeK), Skatarius (98-50, 2 TeKs) and Ra (99-50, 1 TeK) to victory over Morphs 10* Spider duo Saiyan (99-56, 2 TeK) and Ro (87-62) who did not have the support from their other spiders or sharks to get a win.

Morphs Mikkiz (27-7, 3 TeKs) did what he could this game, but he didn't have a strong enough team around him to ninja his way to the win. Tiny (30-6, 1 TeK) held it down well enough to let his spiders/sharks protect him to victory.

Team Morph lacked shark power once again choosing to throw Dutch Baser in shark for another subpar RPD of 2.54.

Paddington definitely strengthened their line by using Free Agency pickup Riverside in shark with Zapata to pick up their first win in the basing divison this season.. but it was against Team Morph who also only have 1 win in basing so far.

Both these teams are doing better in the other divisions and are among a group of 4 which are neck and neck in the race for those last two playoff spots with 7 total wins vs 8. Team Morph needs to figure out a solution to their shark problem or hope that a2m starts showing if they hope to win any more games in the basing division to help them secure a playoff spot. Paddington won a game!! Real bad look for Morph though. Both of these teams seem a bit broken with regards to shark and showrates. Let's hope they get some quality games in before the season ends.

Week 4 Predictions

Hottub Homeboys vs Thunder
HH 9 - 15 Thunder
Thunder exposes Renzi's boys biggest remaining weakness in their sharks with excellent pressure from their spiders and some intelligent, if not greedy, sharking. This will be a cool match featuring some of the zones most aggressive terriers and top spiders on both sides, but Thunder definitely has the edge in shark. If the correct lineup shows for HH I may be proven wrong, but for now I'm picking Thunder.


Kobe vs Morph
Kobe 15 - 7 Morph
Kobe comes out HOT against impossible to predict Morph. Now with one of the more complete lines, my only worry for Kobe is that they haven't figured out who to start where yet, or some key pieces are missing. Morph is weird, giving a not-too-hype-inducing Paddington their only base win. I'm not sure how Morph will fare against a line with actual sharks- they scored a measly 1:22 against Power last weekend.

Funk vs Paddington II
Funk 15 - 5 Paddington
Another not particularly competitive game. Funk's key to victory against other squads has been the presence of Four pLai- her presence turns their strong spider line into a championship line. However, I'm not even sure it will take that to top Paddington. They also boast a strong spider line, but any aggression from Mouse and co. will be met with little resistance from Zapata and Riverside. Tiny will need to be on his A-game to keep his team in it.

Piwirfil Fingirmin vs Blast
PF 15 - 9 Blast
Viops lag issues are resolved, and they look like a top team again. I like Blast a lot better with Azuline in, but it didn't look like they could find a suitable partner last week. The line seems pretty clear to me, hopefully they avoid unnecessary switches. PF is vulnerable, especially after a 1-5 weekend. As long as they don't let it go to their heads, this should be a pretty simple match.

Terrorist vs Power
Terrorist 15 - (-15) Power
Terrorist beats power so badly that they actually retroactively lose games, leaving Power, PF and Terrorist in a three-way tie for first in base.


Kobe vs Funk
Kobe 15 - 13 Funk
Funk looks better this week, but can't get the job done against Kobe. Heaven is likely the x-factor here- a strong starting performance could create frustration for Kobe and if he stays alive long enough Funk will get their TeKs. Though I've picked Kobe to win, this one is definitely a tossup, and a much more exciting game than either of their R1 games

Piwirfil Fingirmin vs Morph
PF 15 - 8 Morph
PF gets an easier week for Viops return. Morph's exasperation continues without good options for shark.

Terrorist vs Paddington II
Terrorist 0-15 Paddington
I asked veteran baser TJ Hazuki about how this game will go, and he said it'd be 15-0 Paddington. Let's hope Terrorist at least shows up. Dreamwin's attempt to play not-hungover and it costs his team dearly.

Hottub Homeboys vs Blast
HH 15 - 10 Blast
Man the R2 matches this week are much more exciting than R1. To set the scene: with a 3 game gap between 4th and 5th overall, the top 4 teams seem to be mostly decided. Only a 4 game gap separates 5th and 10th, so every game counts. Both of these teams have 2 wins in base- Blast achieved both last week and HH is coming off an impressive win against PF. I've overrated Blast a lot this season, but they definitely look to be on the rise. Hottub has looked better the whole season, so I'll give them the edge.

Thunder vs Power
Thunder 9 - 15 Power
Power continues to be dominant, and Thunder has looked less impressive in losses to Funk and Terrorist last weekend. Power does their thing.

I don't feel like talking about Thunder anymore, but I do think it's important we talk about Power. More importantly, how we can keep the zone from further embarrassment and prevent a 9-0. Obviously, I hope that Terrorist will beat them and I definitely think they will. But to further the competitive level of the zone, I'll take this opportunity to discuss what I feel like their weak points are.

Power has beaten their opponents so far: Blast (15-11), Paddington (15-0), Funk (15-4), Kobe (15-9), Morph (15-1) and PF (15-11). Most of these matches aren't even particularly close, so I'll focus on Blast and PF.

Looking at Blast's box score, their relative success is due to the TeKs. Rageritual averages an astonishing 2.3 deaths per game, but 6 of his 14 total came during this one game, half of them to opposing terrier turban. Knowing turban's terrier philosophy, Rage likely got rushed and bursted, or caught by random shots during confusion and mistakes as mvp and zidane got comfortable with each other and their terr. While this is a hard feat to recreate (and not much a secret to anyone who has based before), it will be essential to anyone who wants to beat Power to get TeKs.

PF's game is a little more interesting, as their isn't an abnormal number of TeKs to point at. The good news is Brethal recorded the match, so we have some hard evidence to follow. PF hopped out to an early 5-2 lead with a lucky under TeK at about the minute mark, a decent cram and critically holding the flag throughout the first flagroom fight. Power tied things up with their own TeK and cram. Patience from animeboy12 let PF grab another couple minuets in the ensuing FR battle. Some over aggressive mining created a shark gap around the 13 minute mark and gave Power control of the flag. I know animeboy leads the zone in shark TeKs but Bacon did not look equipped to handle longer than 5 second turns. Neither side looked able to TeK, with smart escapes through under and to the ears. A long flagroom battle ended with a Power TeK, and PF looked a bit lost from there. Power locked down the flag, and even as they were about to finish Rage off, under was lost, aGGi ran through, and Frozen Throne died.

Piwirifil Fingirmin were a few mistakes away from a much closer game, and possibly a victory. Their success wasn't due to quick TeKs or exploiting shark gaps. It was controlling the game in the flagroom. After PF broke cram at the 10 minute mark with scores more-or-less tied, a 5 minute FR battle which they ultimately lost left them with a 9-6 lead. Mispositioning/miscommunication by their terr/sharks led to a stupid TD, and PF only got 83 more seconds in the last 10 minutes of the game.
Inability to quickly break a cram and establish their side of the flagroom left PF frustrated. Under was left open, and PF never again saw the control that got them where they were after week 2. For any team that wants to beat Power, the answer is not to throw yourselves at their terrier and hope for a shark doa. Instead, some passiveness and area control mentality, and when appropriate some TeKs will lead you to victory. In the end, the most important stat is not terr deaths, K : D or RPD, but flag time. It doesn't matter if your opponent is in the ear, cram or spawn zone. TWDT is a league full of people who don't play at the highest level and can't singlehandedly make a massive difference.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

Agree with my assessments? Disagree? Let's hear it below. Let's talk basing!

[Unlimited]

Thanks for the write up!

[sarger]

fun read as always. also good followup by the pokemon guy

[squirtle17]

The pokemon guy returns again with thoughts, analytics, & paragraphs of word vomit to recap on the first round of basing games for week 4, so get your coffee ready & let's get into it:




Prediction: Hottub Homeboys 9 - 15 Thunder

How it went down: Hottub Homeboys (66*) 10:05- 15 Thunder (66.5*)

Both of these teams lines were slightly understarred, however, Thunder managed to get the win as predicted by Miss Cleo... er, I mean, Willby. If we compare the terrs, ogron (28-4, 1 TeK) kept his cool and stayed alive compared to Zizzo (27-12, 0 TeKs).

Spiders this game seemed evenly matched, Captain Ease (111-58, 1 TeK) led spider kills in this game and is one of two spiders in basing this week to hit 14% K/Bul, his FA draft Lionheart (95-38, 0 TeKs) proved to be a good pickup for Thunder as spider power seemed to be the weakness in their basing line before the FA draft.

I would say the determinant of this game really came down to the aggresion of Thunders sharks. Cig Smoke & Dwopple amassed 5 TeKs between them, threw 5x the amount of bombs as the opposing shark pair and laid almost twice the amount of mines. Hottub Homeboys had Vehicle sharking the whole game and tried switching Creature for Dare as their second shark option midgame but it didn't seem to matter.

Thunder is still a lock for the playoffs & it seems they have still not shown us their true power in basing just yet. Ogron in terr and Cig Smoke + Dwopple in shark have proven to be consistent, reliable and worth their high stars for this team in basing. If Thunder can have their best spiders (Ease, Lionheart, Kess) show at the same time with great value spider Dad as their fourth (6.5 stars), that leaves them 6.5 stars to fill the last spider spot. They really could end up surprising us all with an unexpected monster basing line if their best players manage to show up for their playoff games.

Renzi's Hottub Homeboys are in a tight but not impossible spot right now, they'll need to win all 4 of their games next week (the extra being a replay vs Morph in basing) in order to make the playoffs. They definitely have got the talent on their roster to pull this off, but it really will come down to if their key players show up next week.





Prediction: Kobe 15 - 7 Morph

How it went down: Kobe 15 (68*) - 10:53 Morph (68*)

The outcome was as expected but Morph put up more of a fight than imagined as it seems Morph is finally getting their basing line sorted out while Kobe had to figure their shit out as they were missing many key players from their line as per usual.

Joeses (3 RPD, 0 TeKs) in shark has been one of the only constants for Kobes basing line and the backbone of this team as he consistently adapts to his shark partner which seems to change on a weekly basis. FA draft and great value Jackie> (2.8 RPD, 0 TeKs) did an amazing job filling in as a lower star shark. Pairing this with a lower star terr allowed Kobe to slot in a monster spider line led by match mvp Jurassic (124-70, 0 TeKs), clutch FA draft hawkeye (107-49, 1 TeK), and clutch trade acquisition Rough (105-47, 1 TeK) with Best & Siaxis as the final two slots in this dirty spider line.

Morph did look stronger than last week and seems to have found a better option for backup sharks going with bram (2.8 RPD, 0 TeKs) and Kings (2.7 RPD, 0 TeKs) this time around while first choice a2m hasn't played for them since week 1. A good effort was made by ro (111-71, 2 TeKs), Dutch Baser (99-71, 1 TeK) and the rest of Morphs spiders however they were still dunked on by Kobes spiders.

A solid effort was given by both terrs with Ekko (35-3, 2 TeKs) surviving his way to victory over Mikkiz (31-5, 0 TeKs). Interestingly enough, Kobe is now 3/3 for winning basing games in which Best briefly puts himself in basebird, but that's likely not what has been giving Kobe the edge in their basing games.

What has given them the edge and the reason Best certainly deserves his basebird fun is he really turned it around for his team this season with some solid draft picks and a smart trade to build enough depth to handle constant absences by multiple starters from his basing line. Kobe ended week 1 in a tie for last place with only 1 win but since then has continued to rack up more and more wins to build the momentum to now sit comfortably in 5th place with 12 total wins and a very high chance to make the playoffs.

While Morph could have used this win, all hope is not lost for them as they are currently tied for 6th place with Funk and both these teams have 9 total wins. They actually have the best chance of securing that sixth and last last playoff spot as they play 4 games next week (a replay vs Hottub Homeboys in basing) while Funk only gets to play 3.





Prediction: Funk 15 - 5 Paddington

How it went down: Funk (68* ) 15 - 2:17 Paddington(68*)

Funk obliterated Paddington this week. I'm doing this review by looking at the lines and I can't even begin to decipher what Paddington was doing. With 9 different players in spider throughout, 6 different players in shark and even a terr switch, it seems the majority of this game was spent by Paddington trying to figure out what to do.

Heaven (24-2, 1 TeK) watched the chaos ensue from the safety of what I assume was an unbreakable cram held down by match mvp Commodo (3.1 RPD and a monstrous 4 TeKs) and his shark partner Mean Gene (2.9 RPD, 1 TeK).

Funks core spiders (Mouse, Lockdown, Jack, & Lee) held it down and easily outpowered Paddington II with Four Plai showing this week to fill in their last spider slot, but I think they had this game won even if they had to put Sunny D in as their fifth spider option again.

With this win (and 5/6 wins for the week) Funk really pulled themselves out of a Funk and went from dead last from the previous weeks standings to a tie for sixth place with team Morph this week. Both Funk & Morph now have 9 wins a piece. Next week it will likely be one of these two mentioned teams to score the last playoff spot but anything could still happen as Hottub Homeboys and Blast trailing closely behind and are tied for 8th place and with 8 total wins each.

Unfortunately it looks like any hope for Paddington to score a playoff spot is gone now as they ended this week in last place with 7 total wins.





Prediction: Piwirfil Fingirmin 15 vs 9 Blast

How it went down: PF (65*) 15 - 14:41 Blast (68*)

God Bless Mythril for recording the end of this because I never would have known how it went down otherwise. What an insane game this was, highly aggressive kill machine turban (70-10, 0 TeKs) is breaking a dt-b record here for number of kills in terr by hitting 70 kills (according to ogron in spec chat, and if anyone knows this shit, it's him.)

This game also had PFs up & coming spider star Brethal (130-75, 1 TeK) being one of the two spiders this week to hit 14% K/Bul, he fought well alongside veteran spider monsters/nuisances sarger (105-71, 3 TeKs) and RUCCI (107-80, 0 TeKs.)

Blast spiders put up a good fight with two of the games top spiders cripple (141-66, 0 TeKs) and wbm (134-70, 2 TeKs) almost leading their team to a victory, however, the play that ultimately decided the winner was with terrier Frozen Throne (43-5, 1 TeK) breaking into cram and bursting to spook turban into double warping and throwing the comeback that him and his team worked so hard for and desperately needed.

PF didn't need this win as they are already a lock for playoffs tied ended this week in a second place overall tie with Terrorist, both teams with 17 wins each. Blast really could have used this win to put them in a better spot for that last coveted playoff spot, but we'll see how week 5 turns out.





Prediction: Terrorist 15 - (-15) Power

How it went down: Terrorist (67.5*) 15 - 5:17 Power (68*)

This is the game we were all waiting for, Terrorist said they would do it and they actually came through. They broke Powers previously undefeated win streak in basing and the game wasn't even close. This match was recorded so I had the opportunity to watch. Simply put Power was outpushed and outplayed in all ships, however, let's get down to the analysis.

Markmrw (3 RPD, 1 TeK) & Willby (2.9 RPD, 2 TeKs) may just be the hottest shark pair in this tournament right now, they stayed in sync, protected their team and kept the pressure on Power with constant bombs and mines throughout. Powers captain Zidane(2.9 RPD, 1 TeK) did manage to catch one blip in their timing and bomb Terrorists cram resulting in Maketsos only death, if it weren't for that play this game would have probably been an even bigger shut out. His shark partner mvp(3 RPD, 0 TeKs) may have played it a little too safe as he didn't find an opportunity to bomb a single time.

After a season filled with outstanding games RageRitual (28-13, 0 TeKs) felt the heat from the constant pressure put on by Terrorist and seemed to crumble. One lackluster game, however, doesn't take away from the consistent competency proved by him so far in terrier this season. Maketso (29-1, 2 TeKs) played an impressive game and with only one death has now dethroned RageRitual for the #1 ranked terr spot in the tournament.

Match mvp dreamwin (85-43, 1 TeK) led the spider kills in this game alongside kado (66-38, 3 TeKs) and Banks (66-41, 2 TeKs) with Rasaq and rabbit holding down under like pros. After watching this game it seems like this spider line could have the push and fire to take Terrorist all the way to a basing title.

With this win it seems Terrorist has asserted themselves as the new favourites to win the basing title this year. Their only losses in basing come from week 1 when they had absolute legend and basing pioneer (but hella rusty) warportal in terr & since switching maketso to their main terrier during week 2, they have not lost a basing game.

Both of these teams are already locked in for playoffs regardless of what goes down next week. They have both proven to be forces to be reckoned with & if they do meet again in the finals I think Power will put up much more of a fight as they will probably be thirsty for some revenge.