Review

What the eventful week Snakewater was. There was super deluxe Wednesday, where not one, not two, but three teams played doubleheaders with plenty of TF2 action on the TeamfortressTV stream. The day after, HRG and Tri Hards had the best match of the season thus far, where the latter came the closest to breaking the HRG win streak with a 5-3 game. We were also introduced to the delightful Ruwin stream on Saturday. While the upper seeds have remained stable, the lower half say some shuffling around. Now, we move onto the ultimate spectator map: Gravel Pit.

Power Rankings

1. High Rollers Gaming (6-0)

   HRG continues to be the most dominant team around. Tri Hards came close, but not close enough. b4nny went 65-27 across the two matches and Taggerung continues to leave people scratching their heads as to how the roamer plays work out so well. 50% of the time, it works every time. On a map that is critically decided by ubers, Shade has the upper hand against the other Medics and will survive everything and milk ubers for a good five seconds. Cyzer will be the Engineer and Shrugger gets to have fun playing from spawn doors on the defense. It'll be interesting to see how Tagg's play develops on this map, since the jumps should be more predictable than before, especially if people hold back on shadow side. But knowing Tagg the Medic will be looking the other way at just the right time. HRG is en route to two perfect seasons, and it looks like after Gravel Pit week they'll be halfway (or 75% of the) way there.

2. Tri Hards (5-1)

   Whew, Tri Hards nearly snapped the streak, but getting shoved back to last push after repush and the untimely Medic death to Kritz sealed the deal. Nonetheless, Clckwrk is being Clckwrk, Blaze has been making plays reminiscent of his srsly br0 form, and Boomer has been going crazy. The double Gunboats strategy did not pay off for Tri this past week, leaving him unable to clean up frags when needed and pulling out the Escape Plan due to lack of ammo in hilarious fashion. While I just mentioned Shade above, kbk hasn't been too far behind, and that will certainly help across Gravel Pit. Tri Hards will be looking at Runaway 5 and Classic Mixup this week. Runaway 5 should get dismantled by Clckwrk and Boomer, and Mixup will be quite the spectacle.

3. Apocalypse Gaming (2-4)

   Don't let Apocalypse Gaming's record fool you. They played tough Snakewater games and their schedule this week is much easier, playing Root Plus Six and Vector Gaming. Everyone on AG is playing extremely well. The Scouts are truly playing like a Scout combo, Rando and Boink have been putting out the damage and Indust has been solid. Root and Vector shouldn't be too hard, with Indust being able to outplay other Medics and the Soldier prowess pushing them over the edge. They also have TLR coming in to play roamer in place of Boink who is conveniently on vacation, which will provide a DM upgrade. The only thing I'm concerned about for AG is how they had a similarly poor start to last season and sort of fell apart from there, but with everyone at their best early and easy Gravel Pit matches they should look to finish the first half at 4-4 and go on a late season run.

4. Classic Mixup (4-2)

   Not a group to be a stalled by losses, Mixup pulled in Smaka to Medic and grabbed two wins looking more like their old selves. While the game against Root was over quickly, the 5-1 against Top Guns was much closer than the score would suggest. Seagull has been the star lately, putting out plenty of damage for Enigma and Dabes to capitalize on. Smaka has been doing alright, and with more time he'll develop into a solid Medic. That being said, this may lead to some unfortunate uber forces while defending Gravel Pit, but on the other hand, Mixup boasts the best utility players for this map, with Enigma's Engineer / Heavy and Harbleu's Spy being very notable. Moose's Sniper is nothing to laugh at either. Mixup will play Tri Hards as mentioned earlier, and also the up-and-coming Solace squad. Platinum and Seagull should be more than enough a match for Milo and Xalox, while the Medic performance between Smaka and Chimpfeet will be the decider. I'll give Solace a round, taking advantage off of Smaka's ubers but Mixup to take the game 2-1.

5. Mad Men (4-2)

   This season is going to develop the best LAN race yet, with Mad Men, Mixup, AG, and Top Guns all taking games off each other in various fashion. Snoopy's return is much appreciated, although Alfa was no slacker. The Scout and Demo play keep Mad Men in this run, with the Soldiers doing just enough to support the rest of the team. Nosferatu will be key to Gravel Pit victories, especially in the should-be close game against the Top Guns. While I think bl4nk will lose to Zbryan in the pocket compartment, Nosferatu's survivability will lead to more ubers and better execution overall. Snoopy and YouMustMike will have another important test, going against Carnage and Seanbud. A round will definitely go to them, but they'll slowly lose ground to the poop$ Soldiers. A tough 1-2 loss there.

6. Top Guns (4-2)

   Top Guns missed out on a win against Mixup, where everyone played toe-to-toe against their Mixup counterpart, with the exception of Relic, who needs some more time to return to form. They didn't miss out to roll over Vector, so they'll be going through rigorous Gravel Pit preparation. Pyyyour is the mastermind of Gravel Pit, so it'll be very interesting to see how stuff plays out. Carnage is one of the premier Snipers in the game, and Seanbud's utility is no joke. Zbryan and Relic's play combined with Pyyyour's playcalling can propel them to wins over this week. Against HRG, the ubers from Ninjanick and Zbryan have to rival Shade and Lansky for them if they want a chance. Against Mad Men, they can rely on their Soldiers' frags and damage and then turn to shut down their Scouts. As mentioned before, this LAN bubble is so close that even two losses here shouldn't get their spirits down just yet.

7. Solace Esports (2-4)

   Solace is coming off a good week, playing admirably against Mad Men and 5-0'ing a Ma3la-less Runaway 5. They're getting closer to clawing their way into the mid-Invite bubble. But...now they get to play both Mixup and HRG on Gravel Pit... Chimpfeet has been playing extremely well, keeping deaths low and ubers high, while Giffy, and Milo made quick work of R5, and Xalox continues to put up fantastic numbers. It's a huge question mark over this team though on Gravel Pit, given that they're a new team. They can definitely put on a good showing against their opponents if they're cohesive enough. I wish they had weaker opponents for this week if only for the sake of watching their team chemistry (and a more solid position in the standings).

8. Runaway 5 (2-4)

   So according to djc, Ma3la is out for the rest of the season. That would leave djc in the pocket role. What does this mean for Runaway 5? Surely Ma3la's presence will be missed, as will his damage, but djc can fill the void with his leadership and previous synergy with the team. While djc gets the start, Yuki has been "making up" for the exchange. He's apparently playing better and better with the 200 ping, even top fragging in the match against HRG. Back to the combo side, Overseer is leading other Medics in a statistic she certainly doesn't want to be leading in: uber drops (albeit having four in one match). As mentioned before, uber management is more key on Gravel Pit than any other map, and if she's dropping, it costs R5 the entire push / hold, unless she gets bailed out by clutch plays. Against Tri Hards, they'll need to have their combo to be at their best to cover Tri / Blaze / Dummy, in order for Downpour and Yuki to fend off Clckwrk and Boomer. I believe that they'll come close, but end up falling 2-0.

9. Root Plus Six (1-5)

   Locked in 11th place huh? Root won a thrilling 5-4 against Vector that went to golden cap to get their first win of the season. Gone are Sezco and Stratovarius, and the new pickups in Meb and Megawac seem to be doing well, and it shows with MarmadukeGrylls and Loronix still playing exceptionally well and I expect that to continue. Solace got a win off Runaway 5 last week, and Root is licking their lips in anticipation. Marmaduke will probably run all over djc and I have this feeling that unff is going to do some crazy work for his Scouts. Gravel Pit is a map where anything can happen so I wouldn't be surprised if they got another win this week against the somewhat new R5. If Loronix and Meb shut down Yuki I don't think Downpour can provide an adequate response. Expect R5 to have a strong start, but stuff will turn in Root's favor methodically off of the strong combo play of Marmaduke and Megawac.

10. Vector Gaming (0-6)

    Vector finds themselves in a winless position going into Gravel Pit. They will also be taking on two possible LAN-hopefuls in the Mad Men and AG. Sound familiar? It is this precise position from last season that led to the exciting first Invite win for the Vector group. Against Mad Men, Vector can play off their Soldiers and team cohesion, while they'll need DougyG to step up (or Sweater to step down) against AG. Vector showed us that nothing was impossible last season, taking down the LAN-bound Fully Torqued that was down to the wire. The teamwork is very much there and no one is currently struggling too hard while other teams have been incorporating new players and shifting spots around. They and HRG have this going very well for them. Vector certainly has what it takes to make a repeat of last season and grab their first win of season 14. Go get 'em boys. #vector #believe

Match of the Week

Tri Hards (5-1) vs. Classic Mixup (4-2)

Tri Hards were upset I didn't mark them for MOTW last time, and I won't make the same mistake twice. Tri Hards look really solid as a LAN-making team while Mixup is “shaking off the rust” and getting back to form. Krossbow Kid has the clear advantage over Smaka in terms of ubers and positioning, but it'll be up to Tri to make use of the better uber chances he'll have against Platinum. I'm confident in the Tri Hards' defense off of uber management alone, but I'm unsure as to how they'll handle the various offclassing play of Mixup, combined with the relentless barrage of damage Seagull and Platinum will be throwing their way. On the other hand, Smaka can't be afraid to milk ubers in the face of Tri, Clckwrk, and Blaze. With some time, he'll gain more confidence in his milking ability, especially with Platinum by his side. I doubt either of these teams will try the iron man strategy but it'll make for a very good game regardless.

Prediction: Tri Hards: 2, Classic Mixup: 1

Players to Watch: kbk, Platinum, Enigma

Final Glance

1. High Rollers Gaming
2. Tri Hards
3. Apocalypse Gaming
4. Classic Mixup
5. Mad Men (+1)
6. Top Guns (-1)
7. Solace Esports (+2)
8. Runaway 5 (-1)
9. Root Plus Six (+1)
10. Vector Gaming (-2)

Previous Week: Week 3 Power Rankings