Our first round of playoffs saw all the teams in the top 8 advance in the upper bracket, and the beginning of the end for the bottom 8. This week should see a lot of one sided matches in the upper bracket, with almost all the action happening in the lower bracket. While this is fairly typical of previous seasons to not see many close games until the third round of the upper bracket, some games you will want to see will be Animus Victoria vs Dango Daikazoku and Bubble Buddies vs Fried Green Tomatoes. The map this week will be metalworks, or metaltwerks as its becoming affectionately known. Its a good map for scouts, and requiring good coordination from the combo to really have effective uber pushes. After this round, we'll be down to twelve teams. Good luck to everyone!

undefated at rastlemnaia vs GET WRECKED
by London

• Dingo
• Wrech
• Coconut
• Pot
• Slinky
• Arctic Joe

• creeep
• Tiger
• Ninjitsu
• kingrab
• Egarn
• Nimble

Rastlemnaia had probably the fastest 5-0 i've ever seen on gullywash, finishing the match in just under eleven minutes. The match itself wasn't really much to comment on in itself, it was a straight up roll. Get Wrecked, on the other hand, had a bit of a tough time against the Manly Maws, a team that wasn't on the map for anyone but could make some waves in the lower bracket. Tiger took a ton of heals and did a whole lot of work with them, but I wasn't convinced that they won the match convincingly with a 5-3 score. With this in mind, I can't see a team that depends on their heal-heavy pocket to make plays constantly to beat a team as well rounded as Rastlemnaia. I expect nothing else than a 5-0 win from Undefeated at Rastlemnaia.
Players to watch: Arctic Joe, Pot, Wrech, Tiger, Egarn

Bubble Buddies vs Fried Green Tomatoes
by Ques

• Braz
• Peyton
• Tophu
• Crux
• Sr Alberto
• Djinn

• OMZ
• tshirts
• Buckweet
• mASTER
• north^star
• Bape

Both teams having performed exceptionally in their first round of play-off matches, when these two teams meet up on metalworks there is sure to be a show. Since the map caters so much to soldiers, both teams will have to adjust in order to play the most effectively on it. Both teams are carried at least in part by classes other than soldier, and it will show come match time. Crux, who plays demo from Bubble Buddies, will be unable to hoist the team on his back come game time, and the burden will fall to the team's more than capable pocket, Peyton. If Bubble are able to shift their playstyle to a more pocket-centric style, I expect them to play well. Similarly in a way, Fried Green Tomatoes rely on heavily their scouts, with their pocket, Synchro, being a recent addition to the team. Having not played pocket before, expect there to be growing pains as he accustoms himself to role. What Tomatoes does have going for it already though, is they place the lion's share of the heals on the pockets back, which will provide them with the right playstyle going into a map like metalworks. I could see the game going either way, but I'm going to go with a 5-3 victory in Fried Green's favor.

Players to Watch: Bape, north^star, Crux, Peyton, Sr Alberto

• Crespi
• Vacationer
• ash_
• Skyrolla
• Paragon
• Deadbolt

• OmnisEverae
• Sildeezy
• SocialistFish
• Hippopotamus
• GunGrave
• NateRivers

Pandamonium had a pretty smooth 5-1 victory for the first playoff match against Hopscotch Toss. There were a few failed last pushes and some other stereotypical boring things that happen on gullywash, but for the most part they rolled right over the team formerly know as 4L. Street Hoops had a much more exciting match which ended in a 5-4 score, Skyrolla having a great game as well as Deadbolt and Paragon. As much as Street Hoops has surprised everyone with some of their recent performances, however, I'm not sure how they will do against Nate and Hippo. Then again, I have no idea who will be playing for Panda for sure, as it seems they bring in different people every match. Despite all these random changes, Panda should walk away with a solid win but Street Hoops should put up a good fight. 5-2 Lzuhura Pandamonium.

Players to watch: NateRivers, Hippo, Deadbolt, Paragon

Animus Victoria vs Dango Daikazoku
by Ques

• Cheeris
• Blew
• Kraka
• Ragorism
• Buttnose
• Noko

• Screwah
• SneakyPolarBear
• testify
• DifferentColors
• Ictus
• Dango

These two teams have inversely mirrored eachother all season, with Animus doing great at the start and Dango doing poorly, to now where Animus are in a slump and Dango have been playing better than they ever did before. This can be attributed to the roster changes both teams have faced this season. Dango started out messy, switching roles, cutting players, using backups, and facing general shenanigans. Now however, they've worked out all the kinks and have started to build some real chemistry together. On the other side we have Animus Victoria, a team who started out dominant with a very solid six, but kept messing with it throughout the season. Now this has come to bite them back, as they play the DM game now, and hope that they can out-aim their opponents rather than out-think them. Meeting on metalworks, the advantage should go to Dango, a team with very strong soldiers and a incredible medic to harness them. Blew on the other hand is not to be underestimated, and could easily win a round or two for his team. I predict the game going 5-2 in their favor.

Players to watch: Noko, Kraka, SneakyPolarBear, Ictus

HarOzone vs Bretty Bueno 5 out of 5
by Ques

• Deer
• AkaSpecs
• Fog
• Delpo
• HighFive
• Mud and Groove

• SoggyPancake
• Aim
• Hle
• Eddeh
• Antwan
• Vkr

Both of these teams are rebounding from tough losses last week, each losing their games in 5-2's against teams that only slightly edged them out. Going into metalworks, Bueno will face one of their hardest games, on a map that hinders the play of the star demoman, who is always at the core of the team. On the other side of the map you have harOzone, a team built around the mge-prowess of the legendary Delpo, a god among men where DM is concerned. Having a pocket that will so easily be able to control the game on a map like metalworks will be crucial in deciding the outcome this match, and I'd even go so far as to say that on another map Bueno would be able to win it. As it stands however, I expect harOzone to take this 5-3.
Players to watch: Delpo, Antwan, Eddeh

The Flying Circus vs Rice Guys Finish Last
by Ques

• DrDonutman
• Tooth
• Sluggy
• Zambler
• MonkeySuit
• Wowzers

• Caboose
• Not_Matlock
• Pickles
• James.Shocka
• Everlast
• Nevdawg88

This week will be full of matches featuring teams that rely on their demomen having to fend for themselves on a map like metalworks, and Rice Guys are the very embodiment of this, relying so heavily on their demoman James-Shocka. Going up against them will be a reformed Flying Circus, having come back together from the pieces of the just recently killed previous version of the team. Since they are only together for playoffs, expect them to go for big plays rather than honed strats. In scrims donut has been seen to play demo rather than med, switching with Zambler. I feel that this change will only hinder them, and come match time I hope they see the error of their ways and reverse that decision. This match is very up in the air, as Rice guys will have to completely adjust their playstyle, and Circus will have to create a brand new playstyle from nothing. Since Rice Guys are in truth more of a team, I expect them to take this 5-4 due to their built up synergy from playing together longer.

Players to watch: James.Shocka, Not_Matlock, Zambler, Wowzers

Manly Maws vs We Kings Now
by London

• one upper
• gummy
• Sincostan
• STAY VAN
• an_idiot
• setab_werdna

• Lydiaxa
• DrDuke
• Lamb
• Dan
• GrieVe
• jerr0

Our first match of the lower bracket will be with two teams pretty evenly matched across the board. Manly Maws played well against Get Wrecked last week, but unfortunately not well enough to outmaneuver Tiger. We Kings Now has had a trying season, but they did really well against the teams that are around Manly Maws' skill level and only ran into trouble playing the top 5 teams. While We Kings Now would be the better team on paper, Manly Maws look like they really want it more. I was actually surprised to see how they played against Get Wrecked, and this game should be a lot closer than some people may think. This could really go either way, but I'll take a risk and give Manly Maws the upset win 5-4.
Players to watch: Grieve, jerr0, setab_werdna, Sincostan

Hopscotch Toss vs Will I ever Dance Again
by London

• Dable
• Scur
• Hollow
• Pine-Beetle
• Jordan
• Phaze

• Bereth
• Scorp
• kewlkat
• Pamphlet
• Kost
• PokemonAdventure

Hopscotch Toss put up a little bit of a fight against Lzuruha last week, but it wasn't enough to make much of a difference. This week they'll be facing Will I ever Dance Again who had a decently close game against Street Hoops for their first playoff match, with their scouts Kost and PokemonAdventure doing really well in front of the damage from Pamphlet. While I would say these teams have their respective weaknesses and strengths, its a really a toss up. Hopscotch has an edge of experience over Will I Ever, while Pamphlet and crew look like they can actually shoot the same things (a rare occurrence in open matches, apparently). The coin flip tells me that Will I Ever Dance again will win, and while usually I trust random chance tokens I'm not sure if I they can pull out a win here. Either way, the score should be a 5-3 with an intense, low round first half and then hopefully a quick second half.
Players to watch: Pamphlet, Kost, Pine-Beetle, Phaze

Also, just a footnote: sorry for messing up some of the rosters last week, most notably for Lzuruha Pandamonium and Dango Daikazoku. I was going to check some facts from the previous power ranking thread but the site was down when I was doing the formatting, so there is that. Its hard to keep up with rosters when they change seemingly every week. Thanks for reading, guys!