CommunityFortress

As we enter the final weeks before playoffs in CEVO Season 5, a number of dominant teams have established their positions at the top of the heap in Main. Perhaps it may be unusual for competitive TF2 coverage but I would like to examine the rosters of these teams and get some “e-fame” for their members (however insignificant). From my perspective, it seems that our coverage is typically general in nature when it comes to the lower level teams and very specific when it comes to the upper level teams. It may be a service to the community to change this norm. In addition to highlighting each team’s accomplishments, I will also predict their next match result.

Main currently has fifteen active teams which is 25% less than the twenty that started the season. The division has shed numbers as teams have died or have realized that they didn’t have enough time to compete. The teams that dropped are Narnian Counsel, Spider Monkey, Team Exile, Team Murked, and TONY HAWK PRO SKATERS. Although this has significantly shrunk the division, these teams made their exit early enough that the division won’t be rife with FFWs.

Of the teams that remain, the top five are notable for not having lost more than once in the first five weeks of play. Although seventh-ranked Smile Theory is also sporting only one loss, I had to draw the line somewhere. Let’s take a look at who is on these top five teams and what they have done.

1. unrestricted - (5-0)

Sterling "sterl" Quinn
Zack "catastrophe" Kunen
Adam "xpL" Dachowski
Jiao "Underscore" Su
Matthew "The Deerhaunter" Somers
Aaron "Frances" G
ian "broshimitsu" townes

unrestricted started the season with a conclusive victory on badlands over tenth-ranked Princeton Plainsboro. They moved on to granary to play TONY HAWK PRO SKATERS, one of the five teams who have since dropped from the division, and won 5-4. This would be their closest victory of the season to date with a first half score of 3-2 and a second half tie of 2-2. Their next two games were 2-0 and 4-0 wipes of ninth-ranked Team Empyrean and Smile Theory respectively. With a BYE in week five (due to an odd number of teams), unrestricted goes into week six against the third-ranked The Spacebots on obscure_rc4. This will be their first match against a team that is currently ranked in the top five.

Since I have not played with the players on unrestricted, I cannot comment on their individual strengths and weaknesses. But given their prior results and their 5-1 record in ESEA-O this season, I predict that they will defeat The Spacebots 5-0 or 5-1 in week six.

2. Focus Gaming TF2 - (5-1)

Joey "Killing in the name" O
Ryan "KAYAWS`" Hicks
Andrew "Lore" Nalywajko
Taras "itisgreen" Nalywajko
kyle "ghos7ayama" marich
Ronny "djfivenine" Dickstein
adam "mesr-" de la torre
Adam "Brodogs" Isles

The roster of Focus Gaming TF2 is full of tools. Actually…wait…it’s just one. The one, the only, djfivenine!

Jokes aside, Focus Gaming has a strong roster of notable names from the competitive community. They previously competed as Lore’s Merry Men, making it to the fourth round of CEVO-M S4 playoffs and more recently finished ESEA-O S5 in tenth place. Their first match in this season of CEVO ended with a 5-4 victory over fifth-ranked United Gamers but they lost 4-5 to eighth-ranked No Talent on granary in the second week. Focus Gaming moved on to defeat sixth-ranked Incestual Princess 2-0 and The Spacebots 5-1. They have seemingly had a harder schedule than unrestricted but must cool their heels this week since they have received a BYE.

As long as unrestricted does not lose to The Spacebots, it looks like Focus Gaming will have to take on the number one team next week. Of course the loser will always have a second chance in playoffs.

3. Immortal 7 - (5-0)

Andrew "Hoegie" Hoegeman
Cameron "soup" Stickell
Matts "apy" Delhey
Matt ".thirtytwo" Boggess
Fu "fuji" Ji
Mike "MINIVAN" Allan
Jacob "jake" Williamson
Axel "Ax" Roach
Eric "Scion" Cawthorne

Immortal 7 is one of two teams in Main that have yet to be defeated (along with first-ranked unrestricted) but has not had to face any other highly ranked opponents. Their season started with a 5-0 sweep of Treason and then two FFWs over Team Murked and TONY HAWK PRO SKATERS. In route to a victory over Perplex on viaduct in week four, i7 gave up one point to the twelfth-ranked team formerly known as Just 4 Fame. Their next match was against No Talent and they escaped on freight with a 5-2 victory.

With a starting lineup consisting of Hoegie, .thirtytwo, Scion, soup, jake, and MINIVAN, this team has plenty of talent. The team is currently 5-1 in ESEA-O and faces unrestricted and TONY HAWK PRO SKATERS on granary this next week. They have not been challenged in either league except in their 2-4 loss to Cause of Death in ESEA on viaduct.

Immortal 7 goes into their week six Main match against United Gamers in what could be their first loss. But considering their performance thus far, I predict an i7 victory with a score of 5-2.

4. The Spacebots - (4-1)

Len "Bolwind" Kagamine
Justin "Kohaku" Manuel
Justice "Spacebot Spiff" Sharpe
Don "Kwazi" Kim
kyle "kyleber" mccray
William "sh`" wat
alan "khorma" le

Led by the strong leadership of Bolwind, The Spacebots have fought tooth and claw in all of their matches. They have given up points in all of their victories and put up a point in their one loss. Their season started with a 5-2 victory over Team Empyrean and a close 5-4 win over Incestual Princess. Their match on granary with Incestual Princess was looking sour with a halftime score of 2-3 but they came roaring back with a 3-1 second half to seal the deal. In the third week of play, The Spacebots got a BYE but continued their winning streak into week four with a 4-3 viaduct victory over No Talent. Their fortune finally turned in their match against Focus Gaming on freight and they lost 1-5.

As I predicted in the unrestricted blurb above, I foresee The Spacebots losing 1-5 or 0-5 to unrestricted on obscure_rc4 in their upcoming week six match. Who knows though…obscure may provide new footing for this up-and-coming squad.

5. United Gamers - (3-1)

Gabriel "PapaPuff" Mayor
Logan "Greyfox" Skiles
Eric "topshot" M
Jon "shortbus" Fingers
Mark "ScArZ" Thomas
Aaron "El" Clark
Eric "n00ber" Wilson
Jon "Bulldozer" T
Logan "IEatNewbs" Lim

Like the above four teams, United Gamers has only lost once thus far this season but their week five match against Smile Theory has yet to be played. It is scheduled for Tuesday May 11th and may alter their position in the top five teams.

Nevertheless, United Gamers has shown promise in their first four matches with victories over inertia, Perplex, and Team Empyrean. Their one loss was against Focus Gaming in the first week of play on badlands with a score of 4-5. They were able to keep it tied until halftime but lost the battle in the second half.

I predict that United Gamers will top Smile Theory with a score of 5-4 but lose to Immortal 7 on obscure with a score of 2-5. This team certainly has potential but must prove itself in these two upcoming matches.