Here we are with metalworks, and more importantly, seeded matches! Hopefully there should be more interesting games all around from here on out.

• ikpure
• coconut
• dingo
• pot
• slinky
• arctic joe

Gravelpit week panned out just as expected for rastlemania, featuring two 2-0 rolls. Having been scrimming IM teams for the majority of the last few weeks, the real question is whether rastlemania might get cocky going into the next few weeks and drop rounds to open teams that they may have underestimated. Going into metalworks, they will be playing teams seeded similarly to them for the first time this season, so we will have the first chance to see a game that might not be a complete roll in favor of rastlemania. Next week they will be playing Dango Daikazoku and Bretty Bueno 5/5. Dango Daikazoku is currently going undefeated, just like rastlemania, so this match will be the reckoning of sorts to see whether Dango can live up to that record. However, with the amount of scrim time rastlemania has been putting in against IM teams I expect both this game and their game against Bueno to be strongly in their favor.

• Danerdz
• blue
• Fearless
• Blackymonster
• kraka
• Noko

Animus Victoria continues to sit pretty up at the number two spot this week. After a relatively easy gpit week they'll be encountering their first challenges since rastlemania in week one with matches against Fried Green Tomatoes and The Anzaldua Peckers. They should be able to scrape out a win against the peckers, which will likely be a closer game than most would assume, but the game against fgt could very well result in a loss. I honestly have no idea what this team's roster is anymore, but whoever ends up scouting with kraka is going to have their work cut out for them trying to fend off northstar and bape who have a knack for sitting on 185 at all times.

• OMZ
• Jay
• Buckweet
• mASTER
• North^star
• Bape

Gravelpit week went by with a a slight speedbump but otherwise smooth sailing for Fried Green Tomatoes, who ended up dropping a round to Street Hoops eSports. At the time of this writing, it looks like Jay will be parting ways with the team (on good terms), and the decision of who will be his replacement is still up in the air. Monday night's match against The Flying Circus was a close 3-2 affair with buckyy on pocket trying to fill big Jay's shoes; with a little bit of heavy play they were able to inch out the win over one of the few teams to give them trouble so far this season. Their second match this week will be against the #2 team Animus Victoria and unless they iron out the pocket wrinkles in their roster, they may very well be looking at their second loss this season. Bape and north^star are continuing to play well, and it should be interesting how they match up to Animus' scouts on Sunday. Good luck to both teams!

• Screwball
• Sneakypolarbear
• testify
• DifferentColors
• sinval
• dango

Rolling out of gravelpit week, Dango Daikazoku has been impressing left and right having picked up a solid victory on Bubble Buddies, another top open contender, and winning their other match against nut up or shut up with ease. The combo especially, SneakyPolarBear and Screwah, have been playing very impressive games so far. Playing next week however, they will have their first real challenges of the season. Thus far they've had relatively easy games, leading to an 8-0 record thus far. Now that they have to play contenders with similar results, some intense matches should occur. On metalworks they will be playing undefeated at rastlemania and Yoshi's Island, the first of which most likely being a roll in rastle's favor and the second most likely being a roll in Dango's favor. Although Yoshi is also currently 8 and 0, they have had a much easier schedule than Dango, and I don't see them as coordinated or experienced.

• soggypancake
• aim
• hle
• eddeh
• Antwan
• vkr

Bretty Bueno had a very convincing win over the Flying Circus last week, deciding once and for all that Antwan is better at this game than Monkey Suit. Their next two weeks could make or break the team as they go up against undefated at rastlemnaia and we kings now on a map that does not forgive mistakes too often. While I don't see them really taking more than a few rounds off of rastlemnaia, they do have a chance at trying to crack the passive nut that is we kings now and locking down their place in the top 10.

• drdonutman
• bsc
• Wowzers
• Zambler
• monkeysuit
• vortex

While the last two games for the Flying Circus have been less than spectacular, the future doesn't look too bad for Monkey Suit and his now stable roster. Bsc is starting to gel a little better with the team, and Wowzers is really looking like one of the stronger roamers in Open this season. As a result of their gravelpit loss to Bretty Bueno, they will be playing some mid-Open teams that shouldn't present a problem during granary week. With that said, their scrims have been looking less than stellar and I wouldn't be surprised to see them play some closer games than people would expect in their next three matches. They will be playing the Anzaldua Peckers for the second metalworks match, and unless they really step up their performance they could find themselves in danger of seeding very low or even not making playoffs at all with another loss.

• braz
• peyton
• tophu
• crux
• ghostac
• djinn

Coming off of a rough week on gravelpit after having been summarily defeated by Dango Daikazoku, the inner workings of Bubble Buddies have become a little more exposed. The flank didn't seem to be pulling enough weight in their matches, and both crux, the demo, and Payton, the pocket, seemed to be vying for heals. Whether this was a product of the map or the team we have yet to see. Even though they're 7-1, they face relatively easy matches next week against We Kings Now and Yoshi's Island, both teams with strong records due to easy matches earlier in the season.

• Lydiaxa
• drduke
• lamb
• dan
• GrieVe
• jerr0

We Kings Now has had a laughably easy schedule up until this point, and will meet their first tribulations of the season this week with matches against Bubble Buddies and Bretty Bueno. Word through the grapevine is that this team plays with an incredible amount of patience, and metalworks is a map well suited to that style of play. The question is whether this team's passivity is going to be able to stand up to the more aggressive competition now that they've stopped playing against subpar opponents.

• Dart
• June
• Hellbent
• kwazi
• Let it Riot
• Bigwill

Formerly known as the Graveyard of IM Dreams, Never Stop Greeting is making their debut in these rankings this week. They sport a lot of veteran talent, and have had nothing but smooth sailing since June's return. Kwazi has recently stepped in to play demoman for them, who is probably best known for his run with Stay Classy before the death of Kermit. They will likely breeze through the next two weeks without losing any matches if they can keep their heads cool. There may be a possibility of some close games for them on metalworks just because this team doesn't scrim very much, here's hoping they don't fill their diapers.

• Caboose
• Billuster
• Pickles
• Painshocka
• Nevdawg
• EverLast

The Anzaldua Peckers (formerly rice guys finish last) also makes their debut in the power rankings this week. They're yet another team blessed with an easy schedule thus far, having only lost a game against wahoo captain (RIP). They seem to have recently picked up Billuster on pocket, which I have to imagine should solidify their combo. Painshocka will likely be recieving less heals with Bill around though, and only time will tell if he can keep up good performances despite this. The peckers go up against The Flying Circus and Animus Victoria this week, if they can pull some wins here there will be a lot to show for it.

• Yoshis Island
• The Fashion Police
• Get Wrecked
• Zaboomacrew
• Hot Cheetos and Takis

• ikpure
• coconut
• dingo
• pot
• slinky
• arctic joe

• Screwball
• Sneakypolarbear
• testify
• DifferentColors
• sinval
• dango

Now that matches are actually seeded instead of being assigned at complete random, we've arrived with this week's motw between two of the six remaining undefeated teams. Undefated at rastlemania are the clear favorites coming into this, and I honestly expect them to be pretty dominant. Dango Daikazoku seems to have a lot of discrepancies in who actually shows up, and it doesn't help that both their scouts and demo are sporting weaker dm. Dango is probably going to get romped, but I'm thinking they should be able to grab a round or two. I'm giving this to Rastlemania 5-2.

Well, the worst is behind us right? Gravelpit didn't see as many upsets as we are used to having in the past, but there were definitely some unexpected results out there. Looking forward, the mid-open bubble is starting to form as it is rumored that teams will need an 11-5 record to make playoffs this season. With half the season gone already it's going to mean that every round for and against will count towards playoff seeding from here on out for a lot of the teams with three or four losses. The next couple weeks will show us who really deserves to be in the top 10 as most of the teams listed above will be going head to head, and the teams just outside will have an opportunity to break into the upper tier of the division.