After a while of question marks and confusion, Platinum is back on track. The major problems with the website have dissipated, and luckily, the bullet missed, inflicting temporary damage at best. The extension has come and gone, and now there is no way to avoid the looming prospect of playoffs, as every last match matters as to where a team will place, or even make or break the dream. For now, however, a quick look back at Sunshine and Ashville is useful, as the last article was before Sunshine was played.

Sunshine and Ashville

Ashville, as with most end-of-season maps, had little interesting to note, just further narrowing of where teams can place at the end of the season. The extension pushing off Ashville one week was not helpful, as Ashville is not a particularly enjoyable map to have to scrim for two weeks. Sunshine was arguably just as unnoteworthy, but bote stopping Hateful Eight from picking up a full set of Match Points, causing them to yield the second seed to Kids Next Door is certainly an unexpected yet amusing part of the unique scoring system UGC employs.

Swiftwater

For the final week of the season, we play on the only non-obscure map that literally has '_ugc' in its name, lending credence to those who believe the map is there only due to preference of those who pick the maps, as opposed to its competitive integrity. To be fair to it, however, the system has changed recently, and now the Platinum leaders have significant say in what maps do or do not make it into the season.

Regardless of whether or not Swiftwater is a good map, it being the last of the regular season results in significant effect on seeding. Payload's scoring system is probably the simplest of them all: take 1 round, get 2.5 match points, take 2 rounds, get 5 match points.

'92 Dream Team vs Chill Penguins

While perhaps not the matchup full of top players and casting potential, it has significant effect on the teams going into playoffs. A win for Chill Penguins will confirm the #5 playoff seed for them, and a first round game against bote. Should '92 Dream Team win, they'll take #5. If Chill Penguins take a round, and both Just Kidding! and Route From Smokin Trees take no rounds, then they secure one of the bottom three spots.

'92 Dream Team has had a fantastic first season in Platinum, and look to be a great team if they stick around. Chill Penguins, on the other hand, have a season under their belt. It'll definitely be a close match, but overall '92 has a stronger team. Expect Chill Penguins to play excellently regardless, and give '92 Dream Team a run for their money. 2-0 in favor of '92 Dream Team.

Playoff Seeds

As playoffs grow closer, the 'regular season doesn't matter' folks over at Menace To Society have confirmed a #1 seed, barring an unexpected loss against A Million Ways. Kids Next Door are arguably slightly more in limbo, as losing a game against Just Kidding! is perhaps more likely than mTs picking up a loss this week. Barring strange happenings, though, a #2 seed should be all but confirmed for them. Hateful Eight rounds out our top three in the third seed, perhaps only due to facing bote on Sunshine and not being able to take the full amount of match points that knd. had received.

With an amusing circle of losses between the top three teams, each losing to one of the others and winning against the other (mTs to knd., h8 to mTs, and knd. to h8), it indicates what will certainly be a nailbiter run to the finals once the teams who can't compete on their level are eliminated. Of course, teams like bote and Just Kidding! are certainly able to throw one of the teams into jeopardy, further tantalizing the race to the gold.

After the top 3, with the sole exception of bote in the #4 spot comfortably, everything is significantly more questionable. The #5 spot was already discussed in the MOTW, and the #6 spot should belong to Tree Forest 2, regardless of their likely loss to Hateful Eight tonight.

After that, it gets even more questionable. In theory, unless upsets happen, Route from Smokin Trees should be in #7, and Just Kidding! should have the #8 spot. However, it seems that a fair amount of people seem to hold the opinion that those seeds don't accurately represent what they should be representing. That representation being, of course, the eight 'best' teams in Platinum. Whether or not that is true, and whether or not it was due to the way scheduling works and IFA dropping, the opinion was held even by most people involved in the debacle.

As such, the admins approved of a 'showmatch' between the #7 and #9 seed, and the #8 and #10 seed. Barring unusual happenings on Monday, this should end up being Route From Smokin Trees vs A Million Ways and Just Kidding! vs Chill Penguins.

Assuming the general vibe on the forums is correct, we should be seeing Just Kidding! confirm their spot in playoffs, and A Million Ways replacing Route From Smokin Trees. And maybe, just maybe, we'll see a different structure for Platinum next season.