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TWLB 2014 Predictions
TWLB 2014 Predictions
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8. ???
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7. ???
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6. Fierce (2-6)
Terr: Tiny, Mythrandir -- 5/10
Shark: LF, Liz, Sulla, Murder, Diakka -- 7.5/10
Spiders: Diakka, Mean Gene, TJ Hazuki, Murder, Spiderhate, bugs, Tripin, Sulla, Skepsis, Last Standing, dak -- 7/10
Fierce had a respectable showing 2 years ago in TWLB, and they're making another attempt this year, which is good for the league. The most important part of a startup squad with no depth is a terr, which they had two years ago in Pressure, who, despite what is said about him, played really well on Fierce and helped keep them competitive despite their record.
They lack a true, dedicated terr who can perform heroics, so despite a starting five comparable to Dudgeon in spider and decent starting sharks, missing that key component is going to kill them in the long-run. Moreover, none of those spiders are dedicated unders, making the task harder still. Dudgeon will beat them solely on Mikkiz's play, despite being equal or better in other areas, on top of stronger underspids.
I wouldn't expect them to be a pushover, however, as LF and Liz are experienced sharks, their terrs are serviceable, and I like their core spids. Diakka and Mean Gene are veterans, and Spiderhate and Murder are good, pushy spiders, and TJ Hazuki is active and capable.
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5. Revenge (4-4)
Terr: Hydride -- 7/10
Shark: menelvagor, eelam, hellkite, vehicle -- 8/10
Spiders: Glavitik, SquallFF8, Hellkite, Megalo, Ra, StarWeaver, pikikus, Marge, Jones -- 8/10
Severe doubts as to whether last year's Runner-ups are even going to play TWL this year, but nevertheless they still have five of their eight TWLB starters on the roster, and good building blocks to reboot their squad and have an impact should they choose to play.
No depth or activity, and no chance at a title, but they could easily make the playoffs if they wanted to, given their core of strong overspids and sharks.
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4. Dudgeon (5-3)
Terr: Mikkiz -- 10/10
Shark: nokkonen, Sakke, Zyclon -- 5/10
Spiders: Zizzo, Leitz, NL>Trigger, Gilder, maketso, Nicholas, Micke, Skyforger, Reckful, Sakke, Plob#f, Kawrae 7/10
Expect similar results to last year, as Dudgeon returns with the same roster, minus Dreamwin, but with the additions of Leitz and NL>Trigger.
The Finnish Flash, Mikkiz, will help keep games close as their overspids get smashed to pieces by Dice, Pandora, and Enemy, although NL>Trigger and Gilder should be able to hold under, so expect Mikkiz to slip under and avoid death better than Houdini.
Their sharks are sub-par and Leitz won't be able to save their mediocre over, however they should finish 4rd or 5th, and be able to convincingly knock-out Fierce or whoever in the Quarters with their typical selfless, team-oriented and pushy play, before exiting in the Semi-Finals to either Dice or Pandora.
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3. Enemy (6-2)
Terr: Cintra, Trasher -- 9/10
Shark: Cranium, Porkjet, McVicar, Krage, Omega Red, Downfall, Ephemeral -- 9/10
Spiders: Kate Upton, Trasher, M_M God, Acidbomber, McVicar, Kian, Skatarius, Jurassic, Omega Red, JJ Cale, raminator, Weapon, Trance, Yawn -- 8.5/10
The remnants of Penetrate have combined under the auspices of top-tier shark Cranium and underspid Kate Upton to create a formidable basing team looking to make a deep playoff run. Unless Revenge gets active, this is the only squad with any chance of upsetting either Dice or Pandora.
An excellent starting line if they can get Cintra + Cranium/Porkjet + Trasher/MM God/Kate Upton/Acidbomber every weak, but there's a pronounced dropoff after that as Enemy lacks depth.
They have the right ingredients for success, with Cintra in terr, and a rock-solid starting duo of Cranium and Fermata, and an incisive underspider duo in Kate Upton and Acidbomber, but their overspids lack the same star-power as Dice and Pandora's Cripples, Jamals, and Shaydes.
A good dark horse for a Semi-Finals upset several months down the road if everything comes together for them.
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2. Dice (8-0)
Terr: Pressure, Zizu -- 7.5/10
Shark: a2m, Dwopple, Tabarnak!!!, Oder, Confluence -- 10/10
Spiders: Stayon, megaman89, Cripple, Jamal, kess, wbm, Mikes, Confluence, Panama, temporary -- 10/10
The Evil Empire returns, with all their TWL 16 championship team, minus Cape and Domi, but with ex-Dicers Kess and Dwopple returning to the fold, as well as Thix in terr.
If the rosters remain this way, it will certainly be a test for Dice not having the safety net of Cape quarterbacking -- and a chance for him to secure his place as the greatest of all-time in defeating his former super-squad and proving that he is indeed the X-factor most responsible for their multiple championships.
Dice are hedging their bets in acquiring Zizu, but I would be very surprised if he got active and into his old form, as he has failed to do so his last two seasons on both Thunder and Sage. Thix is better at the moment.
Look for Dice to crush their opponents during the regular season as retaliation for their individual ignominious oustings from last year's TWLB on multiple different squads.
With Dwopple, a2m, and Tab, their sharking depth is comparable to Panda's, and their legendary spider core of Cripple, Stayon, Mega, and JAMAL will be tough to contend with. Look for a possible throwback from several years ago with Stayon and Kess undering, with Cripple/Mega/JAMAL over.
Definitely can see them beating Pandora in preseason and regular season, looking to make a statement, as guys like Ease, Spezza and Cape often don't practice, play, or start caring until playoffs.
Like Penetrate stomping Dice in TWL 16 regular season and Revenge edging out Pandora in TWL 17, look for it to have no impact on the Final.
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1. Pandora (7-1)
Terr: Cape -- 10/10
Shark: Mattey, Vatican Assassin, Zidane, Hulk, Mythril -- 10/10
Spiders: Shayde, Spezza, Ease, Sarger, Hulk, Ogron, Dreamwin, Best, Heaven, Rough, Tobe -- 9.5/10
The returning champs are in good form, with the majority of their roster intact from last year along with some new additions.
Cape is hands-down the best terr in the world, look for him to be the key to another title.
There is tons of LB-quality shark depth, as Mattey, Vati, Zidane and Hulk were all beasts in LB last year, and a plethora of good spiders behind their 1-2-3 punch in Shayde, Ease, and Spezza means that Pandora is poised for another title run.
The only blip is the loss of Kate Upton, so the #1 Underspider in the game, Spezza, will need to find a new partner under.
Expect another finals berth, where Pandora will take on basing behemoth Dice, as the champs of TWL 16 and TWL 17 face off for one of the most highly-vaunted finals in subspace history.
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Title Odds
Pandora (50%)
Dice (45%)
Enemy (5%)
Revenge (0%)
Dudgeon (0%)
Fierce (0%)
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8. ???
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7. ???
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6. Fierce (2-6)
Terr: Tiny, Mythrandir -- 5/10
Shark: LF, Liz, Sulla, Murder, Diakka -- 7.5/10
Spiders: Diakka, Mean Gene, TJ Hazuki, Murder, Spiderhate, bugs, Tripin, Sulla, Skepsis, Last Standing, dak -- 7/10
Fierce had a respectable showing 2 years ago in TWLB, and they're making another attempt this year, which is good for the league. The most important part of a startup squad with no depth is a terr, which they had two years ago in Pressure, who, despite what is said about him, played really well on Fierce and helped keep them competitive despite their record.
They lack a true, dedicated terr who can perform heroics, so despite a starting five comparable to Dudgeon in spider and decent starting sharks, missing that key component is going to kill them in the long-run. Moreover, none of those spiders are dedicated unders, making the task harder still. Dudgeon will beat them solely on Mikkiz's play, despite being equal or better in other areas, on top of stronger underspids.
I wouldn't expect them to be a pushover, however, as LF and Liz are experienced sharks, their terrs are serviceable, and I like their core spids. Diakka and Mean Gene are veterans, and Spiderhate and Murder are good, pushy spiders, and TJ Hazuki is active and capable.
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5. Revenge (4-4)
Terr: Hydride -- 7/10
Shark: menelvagor, eelam, hellkite, vehicle -- 8/10
Spiders: Glavitik, SquallFF8, Hellkite, Megalo, Ra, StarWeaver, pikikus, Marge, Jones -- 8/10
Severe doubts as to whether last year's Runner-ups are even going to play TWL this year, but nevertheless they still have five of their eight TWLB starters on the roster, and good building blocks to reboot their squad and have an impact should they choose to play.
No depth or activity, and no chance at a title, but they could easily make the playoffs if they wanted to, given their core of strong overspids and sharks.
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4. Dudgeon (5-3)
Terr: Mikkiz -- 10/10
Shark: nokkonen, Sakke, Zyclon -- 5/10
Spiders: Zizzo, Leitz, NL>Trigger, Gilder, maketso, Nicholas, Micke, Skyforger, Reckful, Sakke, Plob#f, Kawrae 7/10
Expect similar results to last year, as Dudgeon returns with the same roster, minus Dreamwin, but with the additions of Leitz and NL>Trigger.
The Finnish Flash, Mikkiz, will help keep games close as their overspids get smashed to pieces by Dice, Pandora, and Enemy, although NL>Trigger and Gilder should be able to hold under, so expect Mikkiz to slip under and avoid death better than Houdini.
Their sharks are sub-par and Leitz won't be able to save their mediocre over, however they should finish 4rd or 5th, and be able to convincingly knock-out Fierce or whoever in the Quarters with their typical selfless, team-oriented and pushy play, before exiting in the Semi-Finals to either Dice or Pandora.
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3. Enemy (6-2)
Terr: Cintra, Trasher -- 9/10
Shark: Cranium, Porkjet, McVicar, Krage, Omega Red, Downfall, Ephemeral -- 9/10
Spiders: Kate Upton, Trasher, M_M God, Acidbomber, McVicar, Kian, Skatarius, Jurassic, Omega Red, JJ Cale, raminator, Weapon, Trance, Yawn -- 8.5/10
The remnants of Penetrate have combined under the auspices of top-tier shark Cranium and underspid Kate Upton to create a formidable basing team looking to make a deep playoff run. Unless Revenge gets active, this is the only squad with any chance of upsetting either Dice or Pandora.
An excellent starting line if they can get Cintra + Cranium/Porkjet + Trasher/MM God/Kate Upton/Acidbomber every weak, but there's a pronounced dropoff after that as Enemy lacks depth.
They have the right ingredients for success, with Cintra in terr, and a rock-solid starting duo of Cranium and Fermata, and an incisive underspider duo in Kate Upton and Acidbomber, but their overspids lack the same star-power as Dice and Pandora's Cripples, Jamals, and Shaydes.
A good dark horse for a Semi-Finals upset several months down the road if everything comes together for them.
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2. Dice (8-0)
Terr: Pressure, Zizu -- 7.5/10
Shark: a2m, Dwopple, Tabarnak!!!, Oder, Confluence -- 10/10
Spiders: Stayon, megaman89, Cripple, Jamal, kess, wbm, Mikes, Confluence, Panama, temporary -- 10/10
The Evil Empire returns, with all their TWL 16 championship team, minus Cape and Domi, but with ex-Dicers Kess and Dwopple returning to the fold, as well as Thix in terr.
If the rosters remain this way, it will certainly be a test for Dice not having the safety net of Cape quarterbacking -- and a chance for him to secure his place as the greatest of all-time in defeating his former super-squad and proving that he is indeed the X-factor most responsible for their multiple championships.
Dice are hedging their bets in acquiring Zizu, but I would be very surprised if he got active and into his old form, as he has failed to do so his last two seasons on both Thunder and Sage. Thix is better at the moment.
Look for Dice to crush their opponents during the regular season as retaliation for their individual ignominious oustings from last year's TWLB on multiple different squads.
With Dwopple, a2m, and Tab, their sharking depth is comparable to Panda's, and their legendary spider core of Cripple, Stayon, Mega, and JAMAL will be tough to contend with. Look for a possible throwback from several years ago with Stayon and Kess undering, with Cripple/Mega/JAMAL over.
Definitely can see them beating Pandora in preseason and regular season, looking to make a statement, as guys like Ease, Spezza and Cape often don't practice, play, or start caring until playoffs.
Like Penetrate stomping Dice in TWL 16 regular season and Revenge edging out Pandora in TWL 17, look for it to have no impact on the Final.
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1. Pandora (7-1)
Terr: Cape -- 10/10
Shark: Mattey, Vatican Assassin, Zidane, Hulk, Mythril -- 10/10
Spiders: Shayde, Spezza, Ease, Sarger, Hulk, Ogron, Dreamwin, Best, Heaven, Rough, Tobe -- 9.5/10
The returning champs are in good form, with the majority of their roster intact from last year along with some new additions.
Cape is hands-down the best terr in the world, look for him to be the key to another title.
There is tons of LB-quality shark depth, as Mattey, Vati, Zidane and Hulk were all beasts in LB last year, and a plethora of good spiders behind their 1-2-3 punch in Shayde, Ease, and Spezza means that Pandora is poised for another title run.
The only blip is the loss of Kate Upton, so the #1 Underspider in the game, Spezza, will need to find a new partner under.
Expect another finals berth, where Pandora will take on basing behemoth Dice, as the champs of TWL 16 and TWL 17 face off for one of the most highly-vaunted finals in subspace history.
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Title Odds
Pandora (50%)
Dice (45%)
Enemy (5%)
Revenge (0%)
Dudgeon (0%)
Fierce (0%)
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