TWLJ Season 15 Week 2 Hot or Not

[Marge]

Hot Player of the Week: Apok
Honourable Mention: Revered

Not Player of the Week: Heisman
Dishonourable Mention: 1.337, Outshined, Get Shit On


Game of the Week:

Fierce vs Hit: 50-42
MVP: Apok

To those wondering, there is no mistake, this is indeed the TWLJ, and not the TWLD, Hot or Not. Apok (17-8) has definitely been watching me play lately and has transferred his observational skills into practice. He was all over the map today raking in kill after kill after kill. It got to the point where spectators were legitimately questioning whether he paid off his opponents to feed him easy kills. Fierce had far from the perfect game, but Apok, along with Kira’s (10-8) support, were able to stand tall and bring home an entertaining victory against Hit. In last week’s article, I had some very harsh words for Fierce regarding their LJ chances. This week, Apok seemed dedicated to proving me wrong and showing that warbirds do belong in the jav world. It was difficult to contact Apok following his performance, but eventually, I managed to get a hold of him for a post-game interview:

Apok> sorry was broadcastin on the news bout my performance, am here now
Marge> Rumour has it that you changed your keys around today and set your javelin bombs to the CTRL button...because really, how else can this be explained?
Apok> LOL, whats control button do again? my keys are all messed up
Apok> t =boost.. b = bomb
Apok> space=bullets
Marge>...? I think I am interviewing the wrong person in that case...I should be asking the opponents why they played with blindfolds on...
Marge> Anyways, what really sparked your fantastic performance today?
Apok> LOL, nah dude i don't really know what to say.. i haven't played jav probably in a month.. but i've always personally felt that i have had skill in that area..just never pursued it
Apok> But.. I knew today was goin to be tough for us, so I thought i'd try to step up since most of our javs didn't show
Marge> Quite heroic. You have been the captain of Fierce for two seasons now. The jav side of this squad seems to have dropped substantially over the last several weeks. How do you see the rest of your season playing out?
Apok> I am always optimistic for my team, lots of faith within these guys. I hope that some of our more inactive javs step up.. and who knows, if I can continue to play well maybe I can step up this season jav-wise
Apok> But in the end, as long as we're tryin our best and havin fun.. thats most important
Marge> In one word, what or who caused Hit's horrible performance this game?
Apok> It hink the guy has incredible skill when focused, so this isn't a shot at him..but Sika caused it
Apok> Guy tried to 1v1 me outside of base, i honed in on my warbird skill and killed him 3-4 in a row and then kira outted him very early on..
Apok> sika tried to just B line rush him, its like he gave up

Not to take any credit away from Apok for his performance, but Hit’s terrible decision-making was definitely the deciding factor in this match. Heisman ish onestly retarded, excuse my political incorrectness. Let’s step away from the fact that 1.337 and Void Ray were anything but a cohesive unit today and do not seem to work well together at all. 1.337 (6-10) was out within the first five minutes of the game while Void Ray was sitting at a comfortable 5-1. Despite a threatening moment where Hit almost came back, this man advantage carried Fierce right to the finish. Let’s also ignore the fact that their most consistent jav (Bender) wasn’t present. The biggest problem with Hit is that captain Heisman (1-7) seems convinced that he is the jav master when any of 10 other players on this roster should start before him. Quite honestly, this game was decided before it even began when Heisman told Paradise that he made the decision to play in his place. So while I do agree with Apok that his performance along with Sika’s early outing was a big factor in this loss, the biggest by far is the horrible decision-making of this inexperienced captain.


Dice vs Penetrate: 50-35
MVP: Euforia

It’s really frustrating writing about Dice when they play the weaker opponents because quite honestly, I don’t know what to say. Yes, the outcome was expected. Yes, Dice didn’t put in their top line. Yes, almost everyone played well. Yes, Infrared tried to hide his imminent negging by deciding to single-bullet all game. I won’t even bother interviewing anyone from this game because I have nothing meaningful to ask. Actually, forget about meaningful, let’s give Infrared a try (allow me to apologize inadvance):

infrared> k first question: how do u feel about ur performance this week?
Marge> ?
Marge> STFU...I ask the questions.
Marge> Mr. Wimbith, it seems your plan to hide your imminent neg against Penetrate today by singling all game failed...we were all aware of your intentions.
infrared> ? how u know dis
Marge> Flared told us he felt your knees shaking from his room...
infrared> next question pls
infrared> u never even ask aquestion in the 1st place u fuk
Marge> It seems you made a decision before TWL began to leave Sweet and pursue your true love, Jesska, in Dice. Doy ou still believe this was the right decision?
infrared> Best decision of my life
Marge> I would have to agree from Sweet's end too. How do you see your ability to single bullet your way to 3-7s helping Dice this season?
infrared> 4-7
infrared> see the thing is: not only did i only single bullet, but half the time i was bulleting at teammates
Marge> Quite impressive.
infrared> if i put 50% effort you're likely to see some positive records
infrared> look forward to an mvp sometime this season
infrared> anyway your questions suck so im gonna make my own
infrared> infrared how do u feel about being the best javelin who ever lived?
infrared> ty for asking <3. i was jus born this way, like lady gaga.. its what i do. who i am.
Marge> Please go on...I like to let people talk who like to talk because it shows how full of talk they are.
infrared> mad shoutouts to mah boykillerbee2 suh suh
...yes he kept going but for the sake of length, I will end it here.

Moving on the Penetrate. We finally got a taste of arguably their best Jav in Trasher (11-10). He did indeed play quite well and most of Penetrate followed. I’m not too sure what happened with Outshined (1-10), but this game could have been a lot closer if it wasn’t for this disappointing performance. That being said, I should give Penetrate some respect for preventing what could have been a huge rape. Although Penetrate may not win a single game this season, they can take some advice from the almighty Apok, “In the end, as long as [your] tryin [your] best and havin fun.. thats most important.”


Sage vs Disoblige: 50-43
MVP: Revered

I love it when I’m right. I called it last week that Revered (16-10) would be a big asset to Disoblige this season and he immediately came out reinforcing my statement. Unfortunately, most of Disoblige’s starters couldn’t show the same commitment. Instead, Mantra-Slider (7-10) was forced to make his season debut when he hasn’t played a single JD in what seems like 3 years. Even worse, Set It Off (0-4) and Endangered (0-4) followed each other’s leads to disaster.F ollowing this horrible showing, I really wanted to drop Disoblige out of their anticipated playoff positioning, but for lack of a better replacement, I was forced to keep them. If this continues however, I can surely say that this will not last.

Sage continued their consistent play with Children (14-10) leading the way, and Fahrenheit (12-9) and Inaphyt (9-6) supporting. I will say this much, there were some very entertaining team kills in this game. Sage raked in a total of five by the end of the game. That’s probably why this game was so close, because performance-wise, Sage completely outplayed Disoblige from beginning to end. Sage is another one of those squads who I am looking forward to seeing match up against one of the stronger contenders this season. Ironically, that is exactly what we are going to see next week when they play Sweet in what should be the game of the week and the best match-up of the season so far. Let’s see what Zidane has to say about the highly anticipated upcoming matchup:

Marge> First of all, Children will be very upset about this because he believes he should be Sage's officialr epresentative for interviews this season...do you think I should allow this?
zidane> lol if it was based on the most tks i think he should be the representative
Marge> There was a lot of tension between you and Children leading up to this season...the whole Fierce fiasco. Has everything cleared up between you two? Did he come beg you to join Sage as the stories tell?
zidane> nah, i just didn't like fierce at all and i thought sage was a good option
zidane> me and child are fine as long as he doesn't keep up this 4 tks a game on me all season
Marge> Seems like you guys have figured things out. Does this mean there will no longer be a pillow wall during your frequent sleepovers?
zidane> LOL
zidane> have no idea what you'retalking about.
Marge> Alright...anyways. Sage hasn't really been tested yet this season. Next week will be the first good matchup of the season against Sweet. Are you guys looking forward to this game and what do you think will happen?
zidane> i think it'll be our hardest match so far this season, with sage winning 50-33
Marge> If Sage doesn't win, can we expect another infamous "cant wait for semis" from you?
zidane> no idea what that even means
zidane> but i dont think we'll play each other in the semis either way
Marge> True, Children will probably TK you guys right out of the playoffs. Who, in your opinion, will be the X-Factors for both teams next week?
zidane> zid/child and eel/marge

There is no question that this upcoming week will definitely show what these squads are made of and give us a heads up of what can be expected come playoff time. Let the games begin.


Thunder vs Paladen: 50-38
MVP: Evildeed

Despite some chokes, after watching this game, I would say Thunder has bounced back from its disappointing start. Paladen finally put forward a good line, if not their best, and they seemed to work quite well together. The poor combination of Murder (2-6) and 1< (1-4) was probably most to blame for this loss. But really, it is Thunder we are talking about. It is expected that inexperienced players will be inconsistent against good teams, especially in games that matter. I feel bad for Paladen having to start off their season playing two of the best squads in TWLJ. Makes it kind of difficult to catch a groove and see what works as no matter what is put forward, chances are a loss is inevitable. Nonetheless, I did see some development in their talent level since that first week, and I do expect them to defeat the likes of Penetrate and Dynasty as the season progresses.

Moving on to Thunder. We saw some new faces in the line-up this week including Rough and Maketso. Of course, Thunder is still tinkering with the 20 javs on the roster, attempting to uncover the best fit. It is no secret that one of the focal points of my criticism towards Thunder last week was directed at Evildeed. This week, Evildeed (13-7) was definitely committed to proving me wrong and carrying Thunder to a much needed victory. I have to say, I did spec him for a while trying to see whether his questionable style changed to some extent, and to my surprise, it did. He seemed to do a good job of luring enemies away from teammates and rushing in for some very clutch kills. It is not often that I change my opinion of players so quickly, but today, he definitely seemed to be a different player. It will be interesting to see if this lasts. Let’s have his side of the story:

Unfortunately, I was unable to get a hold of Evildeed. It seems he has put me on ignore.txt after my last article. We will try again next week.


Sweet vs Dynasty: 50-41
MVP: Eric Clapton

Sweet took notes from Sage today and decided to top their 5 team kill game with 7 of their own. Like Thunder, we saw some new faces in this game with Eric Clapton, Statis, and myself making seasonal debuts. The game was close from beginning to end until Sweet managed to pull away in the last five minutes. I began the game with 3 2fers and a quick 8-1 start which faded rather rapidly. Luckily, as my game dropped, my teammates were able to pick it up and finish the game strong. Eric Clapton (14-7) had a strong game showing that Sweet has considerable depth this season with any of 4-5 players being able to fill in a starter’s role with no observable negative impact. This outstanding performance is quite fitting as Eric Clapton (Vt) was Sweet’s captain last season, giving it up this year to revamp the jav lineup. This week, I decided to hire an on-site reporter to interview one very special guest from this game:

Engineers> Hey there guys! Welcome to a special in-person interview with TWLJ champion Marge.
Engineers> I would like to first congratulate him with his win over Paladen in Week 2
Marge> We played Dynasty...
Marge> Do I need to fire you after the first question?
Engineers> So Marge, how'd you feel coming into the match?
Engineers> Were you intimidated by the power of Murder/Tomas Hakke?
Marge> Again...you are talking about Paladen...
Engineers> So Marge
Engineers> How'd you feel about teaming
Engineers> Anybody in particular you feel is hiding too much?
Engineers> suiciding too much?
Marge> Can you let me answer a question before you ask another...
Engineers> ok
Engineers> How'd you feel about the lineup
Marge> I felt alright, was my first TWL game in two years, so I obviously wasn't at my best. As for the team, as I have said many times, our teaming is unmatched. We showed today that we can add several combinations of players and stay strong.
Engineers> Talk to me about who you think exceled and dominated in that match vs Dynasty
Engineers> Who do you think is the play-maker on our LJ team?
Marge> Well everyone played well, as usual it was a team effort. VT definitely had a strong game.
Marge> We are all play-makers...these are all the same questions...
Engineers> How big is your pnus?
...

Marge is currently looking for a new reporter, please contact him for details.

Dynasty had a pretty strong game and despite the loss, they made a noticeable effort to maintain a strong level of teaming throughout. They did take my advice and moved away from Demonic, but unfortunately, this week Get Shit On (4-10) had his fair share of struggles. To his credit, he did manage to stay in the game and support his team until the final minutes of the game, but it just wasn’t enough. Dynasty is hoping that the addition of Dragonscale, a strong jav once upon a time, will help them jump the playoff qualification hurdle. However, if there is one thing this season has shown so far, it’s that all these classic -Final- members may no longer be the players they once were. It will be interesting to see whether this keeps up throughout the season, or they manage to regain some of the javelin talent they once had. Until then, Dynasty’s playoff hopes continue to be dull and optimistic at best.


Power Rankings – Week 2

1. Dice (1) – Another easy win, still no effort this season.
2. Thunder (2) – They beat a decent Paladen line relatively easily; they can keep this spot for now.
3. Sweet (3) – First four squads are all 2-0, I see no reason to change these rankings yet.
4. Sage (4) – Read above.
5. Fierce (7) – Put on a fantastic show against Hit today, hope they can keep this up.
6. Disoblige (6) – They did lose today, but it was against one of the top four, and they had an awful line.

7. Dynasty (8) – Strong performance against a good Sweet line today.
8. Hit (5) – Heisman.
9. Paladen (10) – Prevented what could have been a rape, new players seem to be working well.
10. Penetrate (9) – They did play a good team, but they have yet to show some promise.

Biggest Jump of the Week: Fierce +2
Biggest Fall of the Week: Hit -3

Special thanks this week to Dezmond for helping me with the banners!

[Crescent Seal]

these interviews serious

[Children]

zid MEAN MUGGING me whole interview
deep down we deadliest duo and he know it ~~
MAD shoutouts to him atm

Also another GREAT thread by Marge. I actually look forward to these every week.


Ps. Great job to Flared for coordinating this years TWL

[Reab]

Thanks for the article marge, it was very entertaining to read it, i loved it! Hope you put in more the following weeks.

[Necromotic]

dam the banners are so fukin cool

[Soilderz]

Best prediction thread i've seen ever.

[Jones]

[RednaZ]

- ^

[Zeebu]

ahhh

i cant read it

[ogron]

This was a very well-written HoN with high production value -- good observations and funny interviews.

ty for dis

[Children]

engineers interview was pretty funny lol had me laughing

add: mad shoutouts to infrared atm MUH BOY

[paradise!]

very nice marge

the pillow wall story is actually a great tale