CommunityFortress

Div1 may be dead, but the rest of TWL is still alive and kicking.  This week is everyone's favorite map, cp_badlands. With only two more weeks left in the season, a lot of these matches will be make or break for teams looking to get a spot in the postseason. I didn't have time to cover div4 unfortunately, but I'll be sure to write preds for the lower decks once the playoffs get going. Without further ado...

Div2a

unRestricted.TF2 (5-1) vs Divided by Zer0 (4-2)
This is looking like one of the best match ups of the week in division 2. A win here from team unRestricted would give them a #1 seeding in the playoff and they'd be crowned the regular season 2a champs. Meanwhile, Divided by Zer0 is still in the hunt for a playoff spot, and a win here would all but secure them a birth. Both teams have made recent additions to their roster which could impact the game. I haven't got to see either of these teams play much so it's a tough pick, but I'm going to go with Divided by Zer0. unRestricted lost last week in what looks like a nail-biter on Turbine, and I'm sure they are ready to bounce back strong on Badlands... But I'm still going to pick the minor upset because I think Divided by Zer0 might have a slightly better roster. Again, it's bound to be a fairly close game so we'll see what goes down.
Winner: Divided by Zer0

Aggravated_Assault (4-2) vs Top Swaggin (4-2)
Another good match-up, with both teams coming off solid wins last week. Division 2a is hard to predict because so many of the teams are so close in skill. In this one I'm going to have to pick AA, however, because they seem to be a little more consistent than Top Swaggin is. Plus they just got done beating the #1 ranked team in their subdivision, so I see no reason why they'd give up a match on badlands to Top Swaggin. Still, it looks to be another close one.
Winner: Aggravated_Assault

#pound (3-3) vs Treason (4-2)
Treason is not quite stacking up to be the team some people thought they would be, but they are still having a solid season and if it ended today, they'd make the post season. Still, they're going to have to go through #pound this week if they want to keep their playoff position, and #pound is a pretty solid group of players. I think Treason has enough talent to get by, so I've got them picked as the winner here.
Winner: Treason

ProCalibre TF2 (3-3) vs Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys (2-3)
ProCalibre has definitely proven themselves this season, being able to hang with some pretty good teams. I don't know much about the Hardy Boys, but what I do know is that any pug team with mesr on it at least has the potential to do some serious damage. Still, it looks like the Hardy Boys are having a bit of a rough season, and I have no idea who actually plays for them so I'm going to pick ProCalibre here.
Winner: ProCalibre

Misfits! (2-4) vs Blindside (3-2)
I'm not really sure what's going with Blindside here, did everyone's favorite team drop from TWL? Regardless I'm going to pick Misfits here for sure. They don't really don't have the talent right now, but they definitely have the experience. The Misfits are a good example of a team that has stuck together and really improved over the span of a few seasons. They're not having a great season but the fact that they're still together and trying to win games tells me a lot about their character.
Winner: Misfits!

Princeton Plainsboro (3-3) vs Shears (2-4)
On one hand, Princeton Plainsboro is a reference to the television serious House, and since House airs on Mondays it is logical that they will be distracted by the new episode tonight and end up loosing the match. On the other hand, maybe the Princeton Plainsboro guys aren't all fans of House, or maybe they have DVRs, or maybe the match will be rescheduled. Both teams have interesting rosters in that I don't think I know a single person on them and aren't really qualified to make a serious prediction. So yeah.
Winner: Princeton Plainsboro

Div2b

Epidemic - cheap knockoff (2-4) vs Dead Cows Strike Back (4-2)
Dead Cows Strike Back is a surprisingly good team who has had some pretty solid wins this season. They are currently seated at #3 in the rankings and are really looking to secure themselves a playoff position with a win this week. Poor Epidemic has undergone some major roster changes this season and just isn't the team they used to be. Sorry guys, maybe next season.
Winner: Dead Cows Strike Back

TONY HAWKS PRO SKATERS (3-3) vs Chuckles Loves Fat Girls (4-2)
I don't know much about the PRO SKATERS, so I can't really make a solid pred here. Expect Chro to bottle someone, and TrainRider to nuke all their posts and then create some surveys or something.
Winner: Chuckles Loves Fat Girls

Butt Town (4-2) vs apem (3-3)
apem is a solid group with some cool guys who are active in the community like Cinq and eXtine, but beyond that I can't say I know too much about them. Butt Town however is a pretty talented team who I think just might be too much of a match for apem. I think this one will be close though, badlands is everyone's best map so it should be interesting to see how it turns out for each of these groups.
Winner: Butt Town

Jarate Masters (2-4) vs Six Guys Off (2-4)
The JM! crew had a great season last year but they are struggling a bit finding their place amongst the much more competitive div2 teams. Six Guys Off is having similar woes this season, although I think they're the favorite in this match-up. Badlands provides a good proving ground for both teams and it's a pretty even match. It's not hard to imagine Jarate Masters beating Six Guys Off, but it is hard to imagine them coming away with a win here. (Cue rimshot)
Winner: Six Guys Off

Div3a

AcE (2-4) vs orz (5-1)
AcE is a good group of guys, I think if they continue to play together they are going to get pretty decent eventually. I just feel they are outclassed in every way in this week's match against orz. orz is a great team right on the bubble of breaking into the "mid" skill level. They're also coming off their first loss of the season in a heart-breaker on Turbine, and no doubt want to prove to the rest of div3 something along the lines of "turbine sucks, seriously, that was just a fluke and turbine is bad". Since my team briefly hijacked the orz mumble last night when our's went down, I'm going to pay them back by giving a score: 6-0 over AcE.
Winner: orz

Inertia (5-1) vs Magnolia Thunderkitty (4-2)
Magnolia definitely had their fun knocking off top ranked team orz on Turbine, but they're going to have to take it to a-whole-nother level if they plan on taking down a team like Inertia on Badlands. Inertia is ready to lock themselves down with a playoff spot, and can do it this week with a win over Thunderkitty. It will be interesting to see if Mag is for real or if last week was just a Capture-the-Fluke (also known as Turbad Syndrome). Regardless, this is going to be an interesting game and even though I've got Inertia winning, I wouldn't put it past their opponents to pump out another preposterous upset.
Winner: Inertia

EVGA Gaming Community (2-4) vs ATF B00Mst!x (3-3)
Not many words to say about this one. The EVGA guys and the ATF guys are both pretty chill groups, but neither has any talent that really sticks out. I think ATF edges them out enough that they'll take this match, but EVGA might be able to dig deep and pull off the win. Maybe. It could happen.
Winner: ATF B00Ms!x

Div3b

Team Legend (6-0) vs how mad? (3-3)
One of only two undefeated teams goes up against the ridiculously stacked pug team led by ConeBone and blackbanjo. Unfortunately, it looks like how mad? might be dead, which is too bad because we might have gotten to see top dog Legend take their first loss of the season. It's hard to believe the Rusty Butthole guys would lose this one, if they would just show up. But as of right now it looks like Legend might be taking the FFW.
Winner: Team Legend

Clan Origin (4-2) vs Victoria est Vita (4-2)
This is shaping up to be one of the best matches in TWL this week. With as many as four teams still in the playoff hunt in 3b, the winner of this could potentially go on to steal the playoff spot from under Northern Resistance's noses, who are currently sitting on it nicely. The loser, well... it's very unlikely they'd make it to the postseason. A must win situation here, and I'm going to have to flip a coin on this one. I think Origin has more talented players overall, but VeV has much better teamwork, and definitely edges them out in regards to playing as a team. This is one of the toughest predictions, but I'll go with my gut feeling here...
Winner: Victoria est Vita

mainLine Gaming (3-3) vs Fatal Universal (2-4)
These two teams should prove a fairly even match for one another. I think Fatal is the better team overall, but expect mainLine to do some damage on badlands. Another really tough pick, but I think Fatal's been having a really bum season being in one of the more talented subdivisions of div3, so I've got them over mainLine in this match, although it's sure to be a close one.
Winner: Fatal Universal

Div3c

Target Practice (6-0) vs what ! (4-2)
These two went up against one another earlier in the season, and what ! was forced to forfeit the match. Will they bring their A-game against Target Practice and show them what they missed out on? I don't know, maybe. I think Target Practice has pretty much locked down this subdivision, I don't see them losing a game until the postseason.
Winner: Target Practice

Team Klutch (4-2) vs Team Omega (4-2)
This is an interesting match-up. The two of them met up in the pre-season on cp_indulge, and Omega rolled Klutch 6-0. But those were different times, and on a custom few have taken the time to actually learn. Omega has since gone over some extensive roster changes, and while they are pretty solid at the moment they are still quite a different team than they were at the start of the season. I think Klutch has proven they can take rounds off of decent teams, but they've yet to really prove anything beyond that. A tough pick here but I'm going to choose Omega in an epically close match, maybe 6-4 or 6-5 if I were to guess.
Winner: Team Omega

Clan -Zero- (4-2) vs Semi-Serious (3-3)
I've got Semi-Serious pulling off the tiny upset over Clan -Zero-, who is a good crew but I think will be ultimately outmatched by KJB's signature sticky spam and the good sniping in general by the Semi guys. Semi-Serious has been playing together as a group for a while now, I think their experience will lead them to victory in this match.
Winner: 5 semi down

No Questions Asked (1-5) vs Gravity Gun Grenadiers (3-3)
I wouldn't put it past the NQA guys to win this match, but I think GGG is the obvious favorite here. It's really anyone's game as long as NQA can avoid making key mistakes and getting outfragged. And that's my extremely generic comment for this match.
Winner: Gravity Gun Grenadiers

Hell's Kitchen (2-4) deFy Gaming (1-5)
I'm pulling for deFy in this one, I really am. If there's one team they can beat this season, it's definitely HK. I hope with every fiber of my being that the deFy guys will sack up and get their first legit win of the season. Will it happen? Probably not, but maybe if I pred them it will inspire them with enough confidence to pull it off.
Winner: deFy Gaming

Div3d

Mad Decent (4-2) vs Perplex (5-1)
I don't know much about Mad Decent, but they seem to be on a bit of a hot streak, winning five of their last six games. Perplex is another surprisingly good team, and is currently #1 in their subdivision. I just wish I knew about the teams here, but frankly most of div3d (or what's left of it) is a bit of a mystery to me. I don't want to use the word "perplexed" because that would be lame and cheesy. Anyway I guess I'll pick Perplex here, but I really have no idea how this one is going to turn out.
Winner: Perplex

Common Union of Bastard Engineers (4-2) vs Spacebots (5-1)
Nothing against CUBE here, but I think the Spacebots just straight up outclass them. Div3d is loaded with good teams and it will fun to see how far the top two can go once the playoffs roll around... Anyway, this is pretty much a must win for CUBE if they want to make the post season, and the Spacebots I'm sure are eager to lock down a playoff birth as well. The Spacebots recent scout pickup in zephyr sure isn't helping CUBE's case. This one might turn out to be a blowout.
Winner: Spacebots

Lawn Care INC (4-2) vs My Chemical Bromance (1-5)
I know Lawn Care INC has a strong roster so I expect this to be a pretty good game... or I would, except Bromance has spent a little too much time bromancing and not enough time practicing TF2. I've got Lawn Care INC in this one easy, and it might be another blow out for Bromancing INC. I actually shouldn't be so hard on MCB, they are in really tough subdivision and would probably be doing much better in 3a or 3c.
Winner: Lawn Care INC