3
« on: March 13, 2018, 02:58:39 PM »
Ah, week 5. The week of intense playoff-determining games. The fight for the lower seeds should be interesting, the possible seeding scenarios are rather interesting this season.
PEE showed signs of life in week 2 with their surprise win over SXP, but have completely fumbled that potential momentum with 5 winless rounds since then. If Razor wants to salvage his season, he's going to have to practice his ass off with Tursk/Dranz if they want to make it to playoffs. If PEE loses here, they will be eliminated and their season over. SUC, meanwhile, is looking rather collected with an undefeated season so far. The Ralph/Jwar vortex has been incredibly strong this season, could this finally be Ralph's first WDL championship? I feel like this map heavily favors teams with strong chemistry, and SUC has plenty of it. I see SUC coming into this game with much more cohesion and communication than PEE will have, and while it's certainly possible PEE could pull an upset and win a round, I don't think they will have the stamina to keep up with SUC in the long run. SUC defeats PEE in 3 rounds, ending PEE's playoff run and securing SUC a first-round bye.
SUC 2-0-1
Game of the week is going to have to go to TPT vs SXP. The two teams are completely tied in points and record, each securing only one win so far despite having strong lineups. While it might be hard to believe, both teams aren't guaranteed playoffs yet. If this game is a 2-0 match and BSK or PEE earns 4 points, the loser will be eliminated. SXP would also face elimination with a 0-2 loss and a PEE victory of any kind. Both teams have a rock-solid defense, so how the teams coordinate their offense is going to be the key factor in this game. I think it would be wise for Tai to play Dastan this time around, as they will have a tough time scoring without him. Tai is a very strong D [insert "Tai left D" meme], and I suspect Dastan and Caution will be executing some high-level offensive plays. I'm curious to see how well Rude will able to get past TPT's defense with the strong support of Bones and Tony. I expect a grindy game here, but in the end I think Dastan will hero his way to TPT's second victory, clinching a playoff seed and leaving SXP's playoffs fate to the results of the SUC/PEE match.
TPT 2-1
GPS was forced to play without Denzoa yet again last week against SXP, but Stab and Dev managed to press on with their 4th and earn an impressive from-behind last-minute tie, keeping them in high-seed territory. Both teams have already clinched playoffs at high seeds, and this game will be a fight for a first-round bye. This will be a tough game for GPS, as this looks like a map BST will excel on. I see BST coming into this game with more offensive force, whereas GPS will come in with their heavy fraggy defensive game. BST can frag just as easily as GPS however, which means GPS will have to get some serious practice in to coordinate their offensive front if they want to beat BST here. I can easily see GPS turtling down on defense and keeping a round to a low-scoring tie, but in the end I think RosKing's heavy practice and teamwork will net them the win this week, securing BST a first-round bye while GPS awaits their seed placement from the TPT/SXP/QMP games.
BST 2-0-1
QMP suffered a brutal 0-2 loss last week to BST without their star player, and as a result left them in a desperate fight for playoff points. As with TPT and SXP, QMP still faces possible elimination thanks to being only 3 points ahead of the bottom seeds. If BSK wins in any fashion here, QMP will be eliminated from playoffs while BSK could possibly clinch depending on the results of the SUC/PEE and TPT/SXP games. That being said, it's unlikely we will see that happen. BSK did earn an unexpected 2-0 win last week, but over the other troubled team in the league. Assuming Dragon plays this time, it is going to be an extremely difficult game for BSK. Sparil has incredible fragging power, and Dragon is one of the best players in the league. Backed with a solid 3rd in im1hpu0, QMP is going to be coming into this game rock-solid, starving for that playoff-clinching second W. BSK does have Zakken on defense, which could stave off QMP for a little while, but I just don't see Dosu and Hero possessing the offensive strength to get past QMP's frag-heavy defense. QMP defeats BSK in two rounds, clinching a playoff spot and ending BSK's season.
QMP 2-0