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There are some damn good games this week. It seems as if skill-level was the determining factor in match-ups. Well, here's what I think will happen.
Sage vs. Penetrate
Key Players:
Sage: Spikey, M_M God, Mattey, menelvagor, hellkite, Glavitik, squallff8, Diakka, Zizu, Mikkiz
Penetrate: Cintra, Veloce, Fermata, Zhou, Royst, Tsumetai, Trasher, Davy, shayde, Deverse, lunch3, pavement, temporary
Penetrate Notes:
Penetrate generally has the same crew as last season (with the addition of Shayde; who will prove me wrong by staying loyal.. but I just don't see it), but with some newly added depth we may as well call them the new Dice (it was pretty difficult picking Key Players off of that overly stacked roster). Cintra is arguably the best terrier in the game, and although Dead_Rain recently rejoined the roster, after Cintra played a huge rule in them making it to the finals last season I don't see him benching. Look for Veloce/Fermata to be a near perfect shark duo as usual. Zhou's under work may be overlooked by the guys who don't analyze gameplay, but he's easily the best under player this game has to offer at this time. Penetrate will probably win the title again.
Sage Notes:
As much as I may have just raved about Penetrate, there's a lot to say about Sage as well. With Diakka, Zizu, Spikey and Mikkiz, they shouldn't need Spikey in terrier. Menelvagor and Mattey will probably start shark and, despite Mattey's inability to stay on a squad longer than it takes me to shit, I can see this combination really doing wonders for this team. I think a few more weeks of play time with menelvagor instead of squad hopping for no reason could have really seasoned the partnership for TWL, but I'm sure it won't be a big deal. I really think a spider lineup containing M_M God, Spikey, Gazo is nothing to fuck with, and with support from the lag-Posse (glav/hk/squall) I can see this team making it to playoffs for sure, and pushing for a top 2 spot. I know they may lag, but their more-than-often practice together has really earned them some valuable chemistry.
Prediction: Penetrate 15:00 - Sage 11:30
Dice vs. Pandora
Key Players:
Dice: megaman89, Cripple, Stayon, TABARNAK/Cig/Dwopple, Nethervoid/Cape/Chief, poxy/kess/nokkonen
Pandora: Vatican Assassin, sweater, Tim, renzi, Zung, sarger, Baffling, Lionheart
Dice Notes:
I think that the difficult time I had picking "key players" is very indicative of what to expect from these guys this season. Clearly they've got the three best spiders in the game, but I don't think the skill gap is as large as it once was. People are definitely catching up, and I think that the lack of true practice from their best players will ruin them. Maybe I'm wrong; maybe they'll come out really strong and dominate this season like they have in the past.. but who's terring? Cape? Chief? Nethervoid? They're all under-practiced. But again, maybe they don't need the type of practice that other squads need at this point. Who's sharking? Cig/Dwop? Tab/a2m? These questions make it really difficult for me to write an actual overview for them because every lineup they play with in BD's is different. They definitely have the potential to win a title, but I think this Pandora preseason game will be pretty telling of what we should expect this season. Obviously it's just preseason and I doubt Dice takes it that seriously (do they even take the regular season seriously?) but I don't really know if they have what it takes anymore to take out Pene/Pandora.
Pandora Notes:
There isn't really much to say. They have PH/Vati which I think is the best shark combination in the game, and some great spiders to boot (Zung, Renzi, Sarger, Baffling, Lionheart), but they truly lack depth. I think I can go 5 spiders back in their depth chart and end up on a mediocre player (Leitz, DSin, Dizzy, Brethal, Oder... and Brethal isn't even active). So if your best spiders don't show, what will you do? Vati, you did something pretty noble by consciously keeping the roster tight to -25, but was it worth it? I think your top line has what it takes to make it to finals (even though I do believe you guys pale to Penetrate) but the question is, can you beat an under-practiced Dice? I'm pretty confident you can, but I am very excited to see the outcome of this game. A Dice win will definitely boost Pandora's confidence going into the regular season.
Prediction: Dice 10:00 - Pandora 15:00
Anti-Scrub vs. Spastic
Key Players:
Anti-Scrub: brookus, Solacer, omega red, Sprained, Downfall, Epic Li, Teh Super
Spastic: JAMAL, RUCCI, Pure_Luck, Public Assassin, Ri$e Again$t, MeDDi/the_paul, sCHOPe, USOi
Anti-Scrub Notes:
Key Players: Jr5, Nosey, Sufficient, Synicle, Windreaper, Za Gophar; YOU WISH! If only these guys still played.. Well, in all honesty, A-S has surprised me lately. Picking up guys like omega red and Downfall really boosted not only their activity, but their general skill level (as long as Downfall doesn't terr). I kind of lost faith in brookus' ability to die less than 10 times a game, but I've seen hints of his old self that I just can't ignore (especially if you look at his Recent Games), and I think in an important game his old self will shine through. A-S has the ability to really pull some big upsets this season, as long as their key guys show and they keep practicing as much as they are. Is Ephemeral/Downfall your shark combo? It could potentially work.. but it's no where near the level of the other combinations previously mentioned. Personally, I think A-S is too inexperienced to beat some of Spastic's seasoned players, but that's what the regular season's for! With practice they may be able to fight for a play-off spot.
Spastic Notes:
I was actually excited about you guys coming back, but not a lot of the old guys returned and you guys don't really practice a lot. I don't know what to expect out of you guys but I think A-S is a good preseason match to show the league where you stand skill-wise. You can either wipe the floor with them and scare the mid-tier/lower-tier squads (which I think is the stronger possibility), or you'll lose and people won't take you as seriously. JAMAL, RUCCI, PA, Ri$e, USOi is a pretty good spider lineup though, and if some variation of Stabwound/MeDDi/the_paul prove to be a good duo then maybe you'll make it way farther than I expect. On paper you guys look good, but I don't see that spider line showing every game, and Stabwound has played 14 games since TWD reset, so I don't know how rusty he'll be.
Prediction: Anti-Scrub 12:00 - Spastic 15:00
I'm not going to predict the outcome of own game, but good luck Thunder!
Hit vs. Sweet
Key Players:
Hit: Sika, Domi, AnZu, BrokenFist
Sweet: Eelam, NL>TERMINATOR, Sal, Riverside, Engineers, Caos, Jones, dsb
Hit Notes:
Well, 2 weeks ago you would have been reading an entirely different "notes" section of my predictions. With guys like Royst, pavement and Jeenyuss, matched up with Domi and Sika, I would have thought these guys could actually make it to semi's. Sadly, the guys who were expected to leave, did, and now they're just left with Domi and Sika (I threw BrokenFist and Anzu on that list because I didn't recognize anyone else). IDK who Disney is, but he may be able to put up a fight.. Erias maybe? Golden duck will be sharking.. Slum's decent, so is Qwas.. but that's all they are. Decent. They may break 10 minutes on Anti-Scrub if they use Domi in jav and BrokenFist in WB. If Heisman terrs I don't think they'll get more than 7 minutes in any games. I hope some guys who aren't starting for other squads can go help them out, the more competition the better.
Sweet Notes:
Some pretty strong players here, but I think their lack of a terr will kill them in the harder, more important games. Eelam terring means he can't spider or shark (and IMO he'll be a lot more helpful in these ships). Riverside/Sal may be a good shark combo, Caos/NL> are really good spiders, Engineers/Jones are actually pretty good too (unless Jones is suicide pushing and going 1:1, then he won't be very useful), so I see them putting up a fight in some of the mid-tier games. This is the only game this week that I think will be a true blowout. Sweet won't make it far in the regular season, and will probably do a repeat of last season (even though I think last season we could have put up a better fight had we not had such bad showings/lag every week!).
Prediction: Hit 6:00 - Sweet 15:00
Sage vs. Penetrate
Key Players:
Sage: Spikey, M_M God, Mattey, menelvagor, hellkite, Glavitik, squallff8, Diakka, Zizu, Mikkiz
Penetrate: Cintra, Veloce, Fermata, Zhou, Royst, Tsumetai, Trasher, Davy, shayde, Deverse, lunch3, pavement, temporary
Penetrate Notes:
Penetrate generally has the same crew as last season (with the addition of Shayde; who will prove me wrong by staying loyal.. but I just don't see it), but with some newly added depth we may as well call them the new Dice (it was pretty difficult picking Key Players off of that overly stacked roster). Cintra is arguably the best terrier in the game, and although Dead_Rain recently rejoined the roster, after Cintra played a huge rule in them making it to the finals last season I don't see him benching. Look for Veloce/Fermata to be a near perfect shark duo as usual. Zhou's under work may be overlooked by the guys who don't analyze gameplay, but he's easily the best under player this game has to offer at this time. Penetrate will probably win the title again.
Sage Notes:
As much as I may have just raved about Penetrate, there's a lot to say about Sage as well. With Diakka, Zizu, Spikey and Mikkiz, they shouldn't need Spikey in terrier. Menelvagor and Mattey will probably start shark and, despite Mattey's inability to stay on a squad longer than it takes me to shit, I can see this combination really doing wonders for this team. I think a few more weeks of play time with menelvagor instead of squad hopping for no reason could have really seasoned the partnership for TWL, but I'm sure it won't be a big deal. I really think a spider lineup containing M_M God, Spikey, Gazo is nothing to fuck with, and with support from the lag-Posse (glav/hk/squall) I can see this team making it to playoffs for sure, and pushing for a top 2 spot. I know they may lag, but their more-than-often practice together has really earned them some valuable chemistry.
Prediction: Penetrate 15:00 - Sage 11:30
Dice vs. Pandora
Key Players:
Dice: megaman89, Cripple, Stayon, TABARNAK/Cig/Dwopple, Nethervoid/Cape/Chief, poxy/kess/nokkonen
Pandora: Vatican Assassin, sweater, Tim, renzi, Zung, sarger, Baffling, Lionheart
Dice Notes:
I think that the difficult time I had picking "key players" is very indicative of what to expect from these guys this season. Clearly they've got the three best spiders in the game, but I don't think the skill gap is as large as it once was. People are definitely catching up, and I think that the lack of true practice from their best players will ruin them. Maybe I'm wrong; maybe they'll come out really strong and dominate this season like they have in the past.. but who's terring? Cape? Chief? Nethervoid? They're all under-practiced. But again, maybe they don't need the type of practice that other squads need at this point. Who's sharking? Cig/Dwop? Tab/a2m? These questions make it really difficult for me to write an actual overview for them because every lineup they play with in BD's is different. They definitely have the potential to win a title, but I think this Pandora preseason game will be pretty telling of what we should expect this season. Obviously it's just preseason and I doubt Dice takes it that seriously (do they even take the regular season seriously?) but I don't really know if they have what it takes anymore to take out Pene/Pandora.
Pandora Notes:
There isn't really much to say. They have PH/Vati which I think is the best shark combination in the game, and some great spiders to boot (Zung, Renzi, Sarger, Baffling, Lionheart), but they truly lack depth. I think I can go 5 spiders back in their depth chart and end up on a mediocre player (Leitz, DSin, Dizzy, Brethal, Oder... and Brethal isn't even active). So if your best spiders don't show, what will you do? Vati, you did something pretty noble by consciously keeping the roster tight to -25, but was it worth it? I think your top line has what it takes to make it to finals (even though I do believe you guys pale to Penetrate) but the question is, can you beat an under-practiced Dice? I'm pretty confident you can, but I am very excited to see the outcome of this game. A Dice win will definitely boost Pandora's confidence going into the regular season.
Prediction: Dice 10:00 - Pandora 15:00
Anti-Scrub vs. Spastic
Key Players:
Anti-Scrub: brookus, Solacer, omega red, Sprained, Downfall, Epic Li, Teh Super
Spastic: JAMAL, RUCCI, Pure_Luck, Public Assassin, Ri$e Again$t, MeDDi/the_paul, sCHOPe, USOi
Anti-Scrub Notes:
Key Players: Jr5, Nosey, Sufficient, Synicle, Windreaper, Za Gophar; YOU WISH! If only these guys still played.. Well, in all honesty, A-S has surprised me lately. Picking up guys like omega red and Downfall really boosted not only their activity, but their general skill level (as long as Downfall doesn't terr). I kind of lost faith in brookus' ability to die less than 10 times a game, but I've seen hints of his old self that I just can't ignore (especially if you look at his Recent Games), and I think in an important game his old self will shine through. A-S has the ability to really pull some big upsets this season, as long as their key guys show and they keep practicing as much as they are. Is Ephemeral/Downfall your shark combo? It could potentially work.. but it's no where near the level of the other combinations previously mentioned. Personally, I think A-S is too inexperienced to beat some of Spastic's seasoned players, but that's what the regular season's for! With practice they may be able to fight for a play-off spot.
Spastic Notes:
I was actually excited about you guys coming back, but not a lot of the old guys returned and you guys don't really practice a lot. I don't know what to expect out of you guys but I think A-S is a good preseason match to show the league where you stand skill-wise. You can either wipe the floor with them and scare the mid-tier/lower-tier squads (which I think is the stronger possibility), or you'll lose and people won't take you as seriously. JAMAL, RUCCI, PA, Ri$e, USOi is a pretty good spider lineup though, and if some variation of Stabwound/MeDDi/the_paul prove to be a good duo then maybe you'll make it way farther than I expect. On paper you guys look good, but I don't see that spider line showing every game, and Stabwound has played 14 games since TWD reset, so I don't know how rusty he'll be.
Prediction: Anti-Scrub 12:00 - Spastic 15:00
I'm not going to predict the outcome of own game, but good luck Thunder!
Hit vs. Sweet
Key Players:
Hit: Sika, Domi, AnZu, BrokenFist
Sweet: Eelam, NL>TERMINATOR, Sal, Riverside, Engineers, Caos, Jones, dsb
Hit Notes:
Well, 2 weeks ago you would have been reading an entirely different "notes" section of my predictions. With guys like Royst, pavement and Jeenyuss, matched up with Domi and Sika, I would have thought these guys could actually make it to semi's. Sadly, the guys who were expected to leave, did, and now they're just left with Domi and Sika (I threw BrokenFist and Anzu on that list because I didn't recognize anyone else). IDK who Disney is, but he may be able to put up a fight.. Erias maybe? Golden duck will be sharking.. Slum's decent, so is Qwas.. but that's all they are. Decent. They may break 10 minutes on Anti-Scrub if they use Domi in jav and BrokenFist in WB. If Heisman terrs I don't think they'll get more than 7 minutes in any games. I hope some guys who aren't starting for other squads can go help them out, the more competition the better.
Sweet Notes:
Some pretty strong players here, but I think their lack of a terr will kill them in the harder, more important games. Eelam terring means he can't spider or shark (and IMO he'll be a lot more helpful in these ships). Riverside/Sal may be a good shark combo, Caos/NL> are really good spiders, Engineers/Jones are actually pretty good too (unless Jones is suicide pushing and going 1:1, then he won't be very useful), so I see them putting up a fight in some of the mid-tier games. This is the only game this week that I think will be a true blowout. Sweet won't make it far in the regular season, and will probably do a repeat of last season (even though I think last season we could have put up a better fight had we not had such bad showings/lag every week!).
Prediction: Hit 6:00 - Sweet 15:00
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