CommunityFortress

We’ve reached the halfway point of ESEA Season 5, and with the better maps in tf2 yet to be played, the excitement is just getting started. Thus far, we’ve seen a fair share of underdog wins, starting with the Pandemic win over Blight early on, and ending with Dynamic picking up their first two wins versus two strong competitors (Complexity and Blight).

The LAN should be coming around soon which is something I’m sure everyone will be excited to see. This will be one of the biggest tf2 LAN to date and the one that will draw the most attention to tf2; so hopefully tf2 can gather a lot of spectators and make a good showing.

With all this said, I’d like to give my input on team progress; how I feel they’ve done so far this season: analyzing the weaknesses and strengths for each team and predicting how each team will finish by season end.

EG (7-2)
This team has played well when they needed to but their star players don’t seem to be playing as strong this season, opposed to last. Last season, Destro was the star of the show.. Carrying EG to wins in many matches, and was an extremely consistent presence; Reptile also played strong season 4, even when not playing the pocket role. This season, these two key players haven’t played as strong on a consistent basis… maybe it’s the maps or maybe the competition level has increased; regardless, I hope they have a better showing in the 2nd half of the season. EG is constantly being outfragged by teams of equal caliber (Pandemic and Blight) which makes one wonder if Ruwin is the main reason they won their last two games. As the season continues, I don’t see them doing much better, and I actually think when their luck runs out they might do slightly worse. Their main weakness now is their scouts. Sure they’re great versus the low-invite teams, but when it comes down to facing teams like Pandemic and Complexity on the stock maps, I think they might struggle.

-1 (They won’t do quite as well 2nd half of the season, especially once ruwin departs. Yet, the change shouldn’t be too drastic and I definitely see this team making playoffs).

Pandemic (6-2)
This team was questioned at the beginning of the season for having players new to invite or back after long term m.i.a. I think Pandemic successfully dispersed those accusations with a strong start this season so far, and has claimed my title of the Biggest Underdog. They have two losses so far against playoff contenders; both could have gone the other way with 5 more minutes or so. Pandemic lost to EG on Freight, which is probably EG’s strongest map, and EG had Ruwin (arguably the best medic in tf2) ringing and i7 a team that they beat on a more legitimate map (cp_gravelpit) a week later. Kermit and TLR, the two unknowns, have thus far been the most consistent players on the team and are the top fraggers in the league currently. The weakness I see in the team is their teamwork and experience. This team seems to make costly mistakes and definitely doesn’t have the best chemistry. If they get that in order, they can go a long way.

+1 (A new team that has shown improvement every step of the way. I expect them to play better in 2nd half the season and possibly produce more upsets.)

Loaded (5-2)
Loaded has also raised many eyebrows, with the solid record they contain right now. Yet, too much credit cannot be given as they have two forfeit wins and have only beaten one team that they weren’t expected to beat (EG). Although it was a nice win, too much credit can’t be given as EG also didn’t have a 2nd soldier to play in that match, forcing them to use their backup, Predz. If there’s a team I feel is out of place in the position they stand at, it’s Loaded. Their scouts are definitely an upgrade from last season, but the rest of the team has remained almost the same skill-wise. Warpy and Superfly still aren’t THERE yet, but when/if they get better I expect this team to do quite well. Rep has definitely had a stand-out season, especially after being scrutinized while under the coL and Pandemic tags. Their weakness will be their heavy classes- Warpy needs to play smarter and increase pipe accuracy, and Wicked dies way too much as a pocket which may be his fault or partly influenced by Superfly’s passive play.

-2 (A solid team, but not playoff potential. This team definitely is a better squad than last season, when they barely missed the playoffs, yet, the quality of the invite teams have improved drastically as well.

Complexity (5-2)
They started off undefeated, but after the long break and few scrims this team has lost its past few games including one game to the last ranked team, Dynamic. Not much needs to be said about Carnage and Enigma as they’re undoubtedly the best scout combo in North America and most likely all of TF2. The real questions involve the strength in the other part of the team. When Carnage and Enigma play ‘average’ Complexity seems to lose their games, regardless of how well relic does. This puts a lot of reliance on the scouts playing extremely well and makes me question the strength of the heavy classes. Even with the questionable heavy classes, the BIGGEST weakness on this team is definitely activity. As soon as they become more active, I don’t see this team losing to any teams besides EG, Blight and Pandemic in the big games.

+1 (They realize they aren’t as big of a powerhouse as originally thought. They want the #1 seed and are probably going to scrim more in hopes of achieving it.)

Blight (5-4)
Blight definitely isn’t as strong a team as they were a few seasons ago. They still have the same combo, but their scouts have become weaker in many people’s minds, especially after the departure of saber/scruff. Another interesting aspect involves whether Seagull is helping or hurting the team. Sure he typically top frags, but his constant rage and his excessive need for overheals could be hurting the team more than it helps. Grieve also hasn’t seen too much action in Invite, and in his Turbine match v EG, he was constantly picked by Syckness while walking in straight lines and being oblivious of the presence of an enemy sniper. The main advantage this team has over many of the other Invite teams is experience and scrims. Possibly the most active team in invite outside of i7, this team has their mid strats down and practices until they feel it’s perfect. Yet, the only consistent players on the team remains as alexwut, who has quietly played well this season and Seagull, who seems to require a large amount of heals to perform well.

0 (I think this team has a good chance of making playoffs, but it’ll be a fight between them and i7. They’ll continue to play as they have, as there’s not much they can improve on outside of natural talent.)

Immortal 7 (4-3)
This team was predicted by EG to be the 4th team to make the playoffs. Everybody knows that if you want to beat this team, you won’t win by outsmarting; you’ll need to out-deathmatch them.  This team has a really rough schedule ahead, and will be playing on maps less teamwork oriented. Their only easily beatable games will be against Dynamic and possibly Loaded; outside of that, they’re playing the top 4 teams in many people’s eyes on maps that the other teams are stronger on. Their early season success largely involved their constant scrimming, and playing on maps unfamiliar to the other teams. Nobody on this team has played consistently.. Ducky had one big game v Pandemic but otherwise has played rather mediocre, different soldiers are playing each map, and many wonder when Bloodsire will have a good game. Rough weeks ahead of i7, and I’d be surprised with the schedule they have left, they make it to the playoffs. Currently they’re 4-3 with two forfeit wins.

0 (Like Blight, this team is already active, and I don’t see any of them getting drastically better any time soon. It’ll be close as to whether this team makes the playoffs or not, each game counts.)

Dynamic (3-6)
Dynamic has nowhere to go but up from here. They’ve struggled all season, but many props must be given to them for not breaking up, and continuing to recruit new players when necessary. They started off the season weak, but with the addition of Grillz as medic and woot as soldier, they’re definitely headed for improvement. Paladin had a terrific game v Complexity, helping them gain a win, and this team is on a two game win streak versus two top teams (Blight and Complexity). It’s too late in the season for them to get a playoff spot, but I think if they stick together they could definitely be a contender next season. The key weaknesses present are Chupa and Slardel. Slardel needs to be more consistent at the sniper and scout spot, especially on scout, a class that many feel will help win or lose a game. Chupa needs to position himself better and improve in pipe aim. Sure he has a lot of pipe kills, but he also uses it more than any other demoman. More usage of stickies would also help keep pressure off his combo as well.

+1 (Finally found a medic and has momentum going their way. If Paladin continues to play strong, and and Sequel and Grillz gain chemistry, this team will pull more upsets.

The +1, 0, -1 don't necessarily mean how much higher or lower on the rankings they'll go. More of a general idea of how much better or worse I expect them to play in the 2nd half of the season.