Good evening to you all, my name is Alkaline and this is the ESEA Season 19 Invite Weekly, Volume 2. Although I had hoped to return to power rankings this week, the ESEA website being down threw a wrench in the works (also the reason this article is so short: I can’t do research). Luckily, there are some important matches that have yet to be played, so it will really only be after this week’s matches on Badlands that we have a clear picture of Invite, from top to bottom, based on played matches.

How Invite is shaping up

Cafe Monster and Champagne and Cocaine have, respectively, established themselves as the top 2 new teams in Invite, with Cafe Monster annihilating Champy, who in turn beat Hawaii Beach Vacation. The Grime is still a bit of the wildcard among the IM moveups, but they are due to play Hawaii Beach Vacation this week (maybe they already have; the ESEA website is currently down for me), so Invite teams should be roughly sorted by the end of this week.

Meanwhile, at the top of Invite, The Five Dollar Club forfeited my Match of the Week against Ascent. Rumors are swirling about Five Dollar’s potential demise, but luckily we have an even better match to talk about this week. Since none of last week’s other matches were big surprises, I’ll move straight to the Badlands matchup we’ve all been waiting for…

Match of the Week: Ascent vs. Froyotech

With Ascent the only S18 playoffs team making positive roster changes, they have looked up to this point as the only team with a real shot at beating Froyotech. And Froyotech had a weak match against Cafe Monster (although this was caused by 4G trolling around more than Cafe’s good play). B4nny had these thoughts on the match:

“I’d expect 5-3 either way… assuming my team doesn’t screw around we should be able to handle them, though.”

However, let’s not forget TheFragile’s words from the beginning of the season:

“Dethroning froyotech and taking first would be pretty nice. It's a tall order but it can certainly be done. With our current roster, I think we are extremely capable of doing it.”

Although this match could certainly go either way, I have to favor Ascent on this one. Froyotech have looked weak this season and continue to not practice; Ascent are actually scrimming several nights a week, and have given up fewer rounds in their matches so far. Furthermore, Ascent’s constant coach, cat lover, and backup, TheFragile is once again Ascent's starter on medic, and his wealth of experience should prove critical to Ascent’s success. With all of that in mind, I actually think Ascent will come away with a nailbiter. As TheFragile said, they have the talent to do it.

I’m going to go against Match of the Week norms here and say that it’s not up to Bdonski and Rando to go big for Ascent… That’s a given for me. Both teams have beast combos, so I’m looking to Ma3la, Shrugger, and Decimate to match up with 4G’s flank. If they can, I predict a close win for Ascent. But if even one of Ascent’s players is off their game, Froyotech will almost certainly pull through by virtue of their enormous experience and adaptability as a team.

My prediction:

Ascent: 5; Froyotech: 4

Players to Watch:

Ascent: Shrugger, Decimate, Ma3la

Froyotech: Lansky, B4nny