Original Article in Portuguese

And the first round is upon us. Badlands and Granary, the most traditional maps in competitive TF2 were played by the 8 teams that form the Elite division. But before we talk about the matches, let's see the news around the league...

First of all, hello w2r! Time do Hymura (d6) had some changes on the roster and on the name, being called Welcome to Reality (w2r) once again. And to think that they changed it after telling everyone they weren't the same team, but anyways. The roster changes start with the departure of the medic Jota, leaving due to scrim schedule conflicts with the rest of the team and will now help the new Open team Insane Highlander (isn) playing as a pocket soldier. Joining in his place, we welcome back banza (aka Killerbreza) to TF2. Another player removed from the roster was the old team's leader Hymura. I don't have any details about his departure, but it seems like it was due to internal issues. He is now playing for the Access team 6 num guenta. e-Sports (6NG). The team also had some schedule problems with the pocket Brutus, so they added McWolfgang as a backup, who has been playing in scrims but has not seen playtime in official matches, yet.

Evolution Gaming (eG) also had some roster changes. skate (due to scheduling issues) is now playing for the Central team ArenaProject eSports (aP!), and eG sees the addition of titooh (coming from the big SevenWars e-Sports roster).

Now, talking about the league, there were some technical problems with some servers this week. Unfortunately, we won't have most SourceTVs of this round available. On the other side those problems, there are some new prizes for the league champions. Also, due to those server issues, the FBTF staff had to make an exception, authorizing the reschedule of the Granary match between Evolution Gaming and Welcome to Reality to next Sunday.

This first round also marked the beginning of which looks like a new rivalry in the division, with some disagreements in the match between United Six vs. Koala 6. Some people on both teams weren't too happy and I wouldn't miss if they see each other again in the playoffs.

Results

Sevenwars e-Sports – MONSTER (7w) 2-0 Casarão (CSR) - cpbadlands: 7w 5-0 CSR & cpgranary: 7w 7-2 CSR

There was no surprise in here, powah and friends dominated both maps without any problems.

Evolution Gaming (eG) 1-0 Welcome to Reality (w2r) - cpbadlands: eG 8-4 w2r & cpgranary: RESCHEDULED

Match plagued with ping issues that had a season record of 12 rounds played in one map. w2r grabbed 4 rounds against one of the favorites, eG, and they still have a chance to grab a map this Sunday.

Koala 6 (k6) 1-1 United Six (u6) - cpbadlands: u6 5-4 k6 & cpgranary: u6 3-4 k6

Runner up for match of the week, the match between the hermanos and the ex-retireds had two close maps and generated a lot of heat between those two teams.

Match of the Week

Coringa & Planeta (c&p) 0-2 Squishers e-Sports (SqS) - cpbadlands: c&p 3-7 SqS & cpgranary: c&p 5-6 (GC) SqS

This week's best match will go to c&p 0-2 SqS (cpbadlands: SourceTV and Stats, cpgranary: SourceTV and Stats (Golden Cap)). After some weeks of scrims with worse than expected results, c&p remains not playing at the same level they did in the FBTF Cup #2, revealing that they are still far from their objective of fighting at the same level against 7w. With highlights to hii (31/8/16 273 dpm), Pena (30/7/20 274 dpm 6 medpicks) and Assombrado (0/18/7), dying 11 times less than the opponent's medic Jubileu (0/11/18 2 drops), Squishers e-Sports dominated in cp_badlands. The match started slow, with the first two points going to SqS, who played most of the match with two gunboats soldiers and away from the medic, taking around 8 minutes. c&p seemed to have taken control of the game with the fast draw at around 6 minutes, but SqS got the control back opening a difference of 3 points. c&p still tried to remain alive in the match scoring one more point at 25 minutes into the match, but it wasn't enough and SqS answered the 3 fast points.

On cp_granary, Coringa & Planeta changed its line-up, sinval joined in the place of Jubileu, omgzor changed to medic and liko to demoman. Led by Unlead *(38/6/15 323 dpm)* (pun not intended), the team started with a stronger presence, but with a great disadvantage in the flank against SqS. c&p could never get ahead on the scoreboard. The match was entirely a trade of points and in no moment could any of the teams get an advantage of more than 2 points. With 2 more minutes to go, SqS was losing 5-4, but with a dominant midfight, they were able to make an easy push to the last and even the scoreboard. In the last round, Squishers had another strong mid, but the defense in the last by c&p was enough to delay the capture, that was interrupted by the match clock, marking the end of the regular time, taking it to the Golden Cap. With the entire momentum in the side of SqS, the Golden Cap wasn't different from the last two rounds, giving them the win.

"We had a great game in badlands, the opponent team wasn't able to counter our scouts with the combo and Sonikro and Pena simply destroyed their flank. Granary was really hard, we couldn't make 2 roaming soldiers work, but at the end we fixed our midfights and were able to get back in the game. We didn't make the constant use of off class like most people thought we would. Shoutouts to uni." - hii

The complete standings can be found here.

Power Rankings

1. Sevenwars e-Sports – MONSTER (7w) – 2-0

Last week rank: -, Last round: 2-0, Streak: 2W, Next match: vs. w2r

7w started the first round with its expected dominant presence. Led by the scouts Powah and eiz0, they didn't have too much trouble against Casarão, losing only 2 points. Sevenwars e-Sports keep their favoritism to the title, but this season started a lot more disputed than expected, so a lot of surprises can happen during the next 6 rounds.

2. Evolution Gaming (eG) – 1-0

Last week rank: -, Last round: 1-0, Streak: 1W, Next match: vs. SqS

Even with some ping issues, eG managed to escape from the upset against Welcome to Reality in a match with an incredible 12 rounds in the same map. They still have to play Granary, so Evolution Gaming can still prove they can have a dominant presence against the other teams in the division and that they are here to take the favoritism from 7w.

3. Squishers e-Sports (SqS) – 2-0

Last week rank: -, Last round: 2-0, Streak: 2W, Next match: vs. eG

The Squishers surprised everybody in the first round, taking 2 maps from the FBTF Cup #2 runner-up thanks to their strong flank as well as having two roaming soldiers. In the next round SqS will play against eG, if they keep the same level that they played against c&p they will prove they are here to fight for the title.

4. Koala 6 (k6) – 1-1

Last week rank: -, Last round: 1-1, Streak: 1L, Next match: vs. c&p

Ranking k6 and u6 after the match they had is impossible, so consider the 4th and 5th places as a draw. The Argentinians followed up their really strong scout duo with Venom and Mickie, but it wasn't enough to take both wins against u6, that took the W in Badlands. The hermanos will have a promising next match, because Coringa & Planeta will want to prove they are between the best and Koala 6 may keep their level because of their many years of experience.

5. United Six (u6) – 1-1

Last week rank: -, Last round: 1-1, Streak: 1W, Next match: vs. CSR

The ex-retired played as equal against one of the favorites to the title and proved they are back with full power. Getting the win in Badlands, u6 played at the level to fight for the title. Let's see if they will keep this seriousness.

6. Coringa & Planeta (c&p) – 0-2

Last week rank: -, Last round: 0-2, Streak: 2L, Next match: vs. k6

The FBTF Cup #2 runner-ups had a unsatisfactory match after weeks of unsatisfactory scrims. Losing both maps against SqS, c&p has already started the season knowing that they need to work hard to accomplish their objective of playing at the same level as 7w.

7. Welcome to Reality (w2r) – 0-1

Last week rank: -, Last round: 0-1, Streak: 1L, Next match: vs. 7w

Welcome to Reality gave a lot of trouble to eG in the first round, proving that we will have a decent competition this season. The next round will be really hard for them, due to still needing to play Granary against eG and then playing against 7w

8. Casarão (CSR) – 0-2

Last week rank: -, Last round: 0-2, Streak: 2L, Next match: vs. u6

Casarão started the season without many chances to prove anything, getting the favorites Sevenwars e-Sports in the first round. Next round they will have their chance to prove they are ready to fight for their playoffs spots, now we will only have to wait to see (or, in my case, to play hehehehehe).

The next round will be at March 9th and there will be at least 3 promising matches in this division that is looking more even than most players (including me!) expected.

Arrivederci.