Gravel Pit week seemed to be a week of matchups that didn’t really live up to the hype, with every game being decided by a score of 2-0. Gentlemen’s Club asserted their dominance, ET sailed to a smooth victory, and Menace to Society, Dunning-Kruger, and Syops all had relaxing matches against lower-Plat opponents. This week, however, should supply some great content for the Highlander viewer. The TFTV Highlander Invitational on Sunday will give an interesting preview of how this seasons playoffs might go, and a couple of top 5 matchups make this weeks handful of UGC matches compelling as well.

Platinum News for Week 2

The TFTV Highlander Invitational that is taking place this weekend, featuring 8 of the current Platinum teams. For all the info you’ll need on that tournament, consult Hildreth’s article on TFTV.

Skyrolla, former leader and Heavy of Street Hoops esports, has joined mTs and is confirmed to have taken over the starting spot that briefly belonged to Chimp Feet. His aggression, coupled with impeccable calling and positioning should complement Harbleu’s style quite well. At this point it is unknown whether or not Chimp Feet will elect to back-up for mTs or will seek a starting spot on another Plat team.

There’s still no word on a new starting Engineer for mTs. The legendary French romantic JJK rang on Monday, but won’t be playing full time. At this point, the list of available Engies who could play at the level expected by mTs is pretty short, so it will be interesting to see who they pick up.

Dunning-Kruger’s Scout Snorlax elected to leave the team this week, so dK had a brief hunt for a new Scout, and by Sunday they had added the infamous dflame to their roster. In the Monday match he put out almost identical numbers in relation to his opponent, Audie, and was able to help secure a critical cap to help dK beat Stag Party. All signs point to dflame being the dK starter going forward.

Vhalin appeared on the Highlander podcast Nine and Out this week. There were a handful of interesting discussions relating to map development, Gold vs. Platinum, and the background of his team, Gentlemen’s Club. You can watch the vod here.

Twine has developed a tool to track Platinum and Gold scrims. It seems to be a really well designed way to quickly see how a given team has performed week to week. Check out the post he made on the UGC forums for more info.

Power Rankings for Week 2

Keep in mind that the rosters below are the players that were present in the last week’s matches, and not always the complete starting roster.

1 - Gentlemen’s Club (2-0)

Week 2 Logs: GC v. MF9K
Week 2 Cast: GC v. MF9K

The gentlemen have started the season with a bang, easily dispatching the two teams whom, early on, many assumed would be their most dangerous challengers. Thanks to particularly strong play from Enigma, Ruwin, and Max! on Monday, Gentlemen’s Club was able to dispatch Murderforce 9000 without too much trouble. Now that their biggest matchups are behind them, the rest of the regular season will be almost entirely risk-free for this group. They should have a fairly relaxing match against Dunning-Kruger this Monday who, despite playing very well in the early goings of the season, will struggle to keep up with Gentlemen’s Club.

2 - The Electric Temptations (2-0)

Week 2 Logs: ET v. DRS

The Electric Temptations have had as strong a start to this season as they could have hoped for with two decisive wins over Menace to Society and now Dead Ringer Storage. Though struggling to win scrims against teams like Murderforce and SYOPS on Gravelpit, ET was able to peak at match-time and get the smooth 2-0 victory. Though it’s hard to find a player on this roster who isn’t playing at a very high level, for the second week in a row we saw A-grade play from Decimate and 38special, along with the typical flow of strong combo picks coming in from Deer. While the strong start is a good sign for ET fans, their challenging matchup with Gentlemen’s Club will likely come in a couple weeks and should foreshadow a few playoff matchups down the road. This Monday, however, the Temptations turn their attention towards SYOPS TF2.

3 - Menace to Society (1-1)

Week 2 Logs: mTs v. bfl`

As expected, since they started playing again around Week 1, Menace to Society has steadily improved. While a win against Blunderful is rather routine for this experienced bunch, the acquisition of Skyrolla on Heavy represents a much more tangible step forward. The pairing of Sky and Harbleu is a union of two of the smartest and most gifted callers in Highlander, and with Platinum getting closer and closer to the level of play we’re used to seeing from him in 6s, this mTs combo may evolve into one of the strongest that we’ve seen from them. Their matchup against Murderforce on Monday will not only be the most interesting match this week, but an excellent test to see how well this combo is able to mesh.

4 - Murderforce 9000 (1-1)

Week 2 Logs: GC v. MF9K
Week 2 Cast: GC v. MF9K

It’s no surprise that Murderforce isn’t the team they were for that fleeting week or two when B4nny was playing with them, but they are still a top level group. A loss to Gentlemen’s Club isn’t much of a blemish on a team’s record, especially considering how well they played against the number one team. Remedy and Snailboat, in particular, stood out in their Monday match, but the play from guys like Max and Enigma was a little too much for Murderforce to control. Their matchup this week against the Platinum veteran, mTs, actually strikes me as an even more enticing matchup than GC v. Murderforce was. If the combo play for MF9K can sharpen up a bit and if Stabby and Fox can come through with a few more plays on the combo (they combined for just 3 last week), then they have a good shot to come back from their loss to GC in fine fashion and improve to 2-1.

5 - Dunning-Kruger Effect (2-0)

Week 2 Logs: dK v. sp

Another solid win for Dunning Kruger. Despite their starting Demo Frostfire missing the match, they played two smooth rounds to grab a win over Stag Party, taking them to 2-0 on the season. Karl has been playing exceptionally and continued to on Monday, and the dK pick classes of Feint and Stones combined for nearly 30 combo picks in their win. Feint has absolutely ruined every team that he has played against thus far this season, not only getting frags but getting the picks that matter. Whether or not this can be attributed to the poor Spy awareness of both Stag Party and DRS will become clear when he squares off against the sharp combo of Gentlemen’s Club this week. While its pretty hard for me to imagine a scenario in which GC doesn’t beat dK on Monday, how Dunning-Kruger is able to play in their first match against a top-Plat team should give a preview of how the last weeks of their season will go in the Spring.

6 - SYOPS TF2 (1-0)

Week 2 Logs: SYOPS v. uBs

Syops got their season rolling with a pretty brisk win over uBs, taking both rounds inside of 20 minutes. As is to be expected with this crew, we saw strong play from the flank pairing of Milo and Tictack, and excellent frags from the toddler pick class combo of Corsa and Dogfloaties, combining for 5 of their opposing Medic’s 8 deaths. Cygnus also played a very strong game. Their matchup on Monday against ET should be a very important one. There has been some question as to whether or not Syops will be able to use the considerable talent at their disposal and play evenly with the teams at the top of Platinum. If they are able to play together and beat The Electric Temptations, they would be sending a strong signal that they are back to the level of their predecessors on BPM.

7 - Dead Ringer Storage (0-2)

Week 2 Logs: ET v. DRS

DRS would have made my preseason top 5, had I not been so lazy and actually done a preseason rankings, so it is a bit surprising to see them start 0-2 against two teams that they were expected to play pretty evenly with. Despite particularly strong play from Mustardoverlord and Nja, Dead Ringer Storage lost to The Electric Temptations without presenting much of a challenge. Aside from the aforementioned players, it was a uniform struggle for the rest of DRS. Kblair had trouble surviving ET’s aggression, ending up with 14 deaths to Phorofor’s 7, while Tickzf, Rainy, and Tech failed to get a whole lot going in the picks department. Despite these losses, DRS remains one of the better teams in Platinum. If the couple players who have been struggling can get out of their slumps, and if they begin to do a better job of listening and following the calls that are made, I’d expect this team to return to form and begin to challenge teams like Murderforce and mTs who they will likely see in the coming weeks. Their match against Stag Party should give them a favorable setting to start to turn things around.

8 - Stag Party (1-1)

Week 2 Logs: dK v. sp

While Scratchy and Huck outplayed pretty much all of their Engineer and Soldier counterparts in Platinum from a statistical standpoint, Stag Party struggled against the other Gold move up, Dunning-Kruger. While they weren’t necessarily outmatched in terms of experience or DM, the completely abominable spy management by Stag Party, which led to Feint actually top damaging as spy one half, gave dK a nearly constant player advantage. If Stag Party isn’t able to address their Spy troubles, it will just add to the struggles that they will have when they take on DRS this week. If these guys can turn around a bit more, play patient and smart, and not let Mustardoverlord get away with much, then I think they have a good shot to win with all the skill players at their disposal. Either way I think this may be one of the better matches in Plat for the week.

9 - Blunderful (0-2)

Week 2 Logs: mTs v. bfl`

As expected, the Blundergang weren’t able to hang with mTs for too long, but they did play reasonably well considering their opponent. While guys like Jordan and Interests were able to out-do their opponents (kudos to them by the way), it wasn’t enough to lift bfl` over the beast that is mTs. Also, shoutout to Panic and Frank for hogging the heals as a Soldier on Gpit. Despite being the victim of unfortunate scheduling, Blunderful seems to be getting more comfortable together. Mafio is playing very well on Demo and Squid has been in good form. This week’s matchup against uBs will likely be their best opportunity to get a win this season, so I’d expect these fellas to be working hard to prepare.

10 - Unbelievably Brave Sweethearts (0-1)

Week 2 Logs: SYOPS v. uBs

Syops was able to make quick work of uBs this week, and aside from Bobby and Bowswer, it was a pretty uniform defeat. Considering the fact that Polk got 47% of the heals and had nearly identical numbers with Sharpshot who’s healing was around a third of his total, he struggled on Gravel Pit as well. Losing to a talented group like Syops, however, isn’t the end of the world for a team with so many players in their first season of Platinum. Upward should play to their strengths more so than Gpit, though Blunderful seems to be a pretty even matchup for uBs. If they are able to sharpen their combo play and continue to learn together, I can see them winning this week and taking that momentum into their subsequent matches against teams like Stag Party.

Predictions for Week 3

pl_upward

(1) Gentlemen’s Club v. (5) Dunning-Kruger

I have been impressed by the nice start that Dunning-Kruger has had, particularly their win over Dead Ringer Storage, but I still don’t think they are capable of playing closely with Gentlemen’s Club yet. Especially considering it’s payload, this line for this match falls heavily in GC’s favor. The aggression of Cozen and Ruwin on defense (expect some Kritz pops) and, like I say every week, the constant threat of getting headshot by either a rifle or an Ambassador will likely force dK into some corners. If Feint creates some openings, like he has the past couple weeks, and if dK can prevent Grape and Enigma from constantly pressuring the cart, this could be an interesting match, but with both experience and DM on GC’s side, its hard to bet against them rolling through their third straight opponent. 2-0 in favor of Gentlemen’s Club.

(2) Electric Temptations v. (6) Syops TF2

I’d normally consider this a pretty interesting matchup between two old teams who are both improving with relatively fresh lineups. However, I’ll be genuinely surprised if ET loses this one considering that Upward has been, historically, their strongest map, exemplified by their 2-1 win over Ginyu Force on Upward in Season 11. Syops will certainly come ready to play, however, so I don’t expect this to be a roll either way. It will be interesting to see how the Syops combo plays in their first real test together, and how they are able to control Deer’s impact on his premier map will be a big factor in their success. The Sniper showdown between phAZE and Corsa should also be very telling and could tip the balance one way or another if one of them gets hot. Milo and Decimate have made it clear in the early goings that they are two of the best Scouts in Highlander, so here’s hoping that they aren’t relegated to cart duties for the whole match. Aside from the Murderforce/mTs game, this is one of the more interesting matchups this week. I’ll say 2-0 in favor of ET but two very close rounds. 2-1 scores just don’t happen that often.

(3) Menace to Society v. (4) Murderforce 9000

This is clearly the match of the week and may be the match of the season thus far. These two teams strike me as being fairly evenly matched going into this game on an excellent 9v9 map. Menace to Society has traditionally played this map very aggressive, using lulls in the offense’s pressure to retake ground and to push back odd places, such as all the way through the tunnel and behind the offense while defending second. How Murderforce is able to deal with, and potentially punish, mTs’ aggression will be a telling factor in how this matchup will go. The pick classes are strong for each side and relatively comparable in their play styles, but I’d likely give a subtle edge to Marisa and Noko in this matchup. Watch for the Machina battles between Fox and Marisa though; Lazer tag is always fun. I doubt we’ll see the Soldier taking as many ubers for mTs as the Platinum did against AG in season 11, considering that not many can do what Plat can, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them try it with Panic once or twice. While I think the experience is in favor of mTs, I do find these teams very evenly matched, and I expect an excellent match on Monday. 2-1 victory for mTs.

(7) Dead Ringer Storage v. (8) Stag Party

Well this is a big one for Dead Ringer Storage. It’s hard to call any regular season matches “must-win” in a situation where 8 of the 10 total teams make the playoffs, but this is as close to must-win as I can imagine. Falling to 0-3 and losing to a second Gold move-up would spell disaster for this experienced crew. Aside from the pressures of needing a 1 in the win column, Dead Ringer Storage has advantages in both experience and DM. As much as I hate stroking his ego, Mustardoverlord has been playing better than most Demos in Platinum, and the solid play of the DRS combo, despite struggling to find synergy last week, should lead to strong defenses on this map. That said, Stag Party has played well the past couple weeks, and if their bright spots shine like they did on Gravel Pit, it’s conceivable that they could pull of what would be an upset here. Watch for Huck to make some big plays on this map, and if DRS can’t control Doxed he could make life miserable as well. One quality these teams share is their abhorrent Spy control, so how Rainy and Flintstone are able to take advantage of the openings that they are given could be a big difference maker. Should be a relatively exciting matchup. 2-0 for DRS.

(9) Blunderful v. (10) Unbelievably Brave Sweethearts

The clash of the 0-2 teams. Considering that this is a rare opportunity for a win for each group in this matchup, I’m expecting an exciting, aggressive match. Both combos seem evenly matched, with talented new Demos and experienced Heavies, and both teams will likely have to rely on strong flank play to avoid a string of uber v. uber fights. The uBs Soldier, Bobby has been playing very well up to this point, so how he is able to play around the cart on defense and create openings on offense should be a big factor for how his team will be able to move on Upward. One of the biggest areas of focus for the Sweethearts will be limiting Napalm. He is one of the most talented and underrated players in Platinum, and if uBs can’t prevent him from running wild this becomes a very winnable game for Blunderful. Considering how each team has played thus far and their performances in scrims on Upward, I’m actually feeling Blunderful this week. They played reasonably well against mTs and they certainly have the experience and skill needed to win here. Either way, these are two good, likeable teams so good luck to both of them. I’m expecting a 2-1 win for Blunderful.

Thanks to Digresser, phAZE, Kill ‘em All, Jordan, Karl, TMP, Skyrolla, Mustardoverlord, and enigma.