Greetings all, my name is Alkaline and I am happy to present the S19 Invite Weekly, Volume 1! I've decided to delay launching into power rankings for a week, because it’s still unknowable where the middle of Invite stands against each other. Let’s launch right into the action!

eLevate → Ascent

First up: eLevate is no longer sponsoring TF2. The team that was eLevate is now known as Ascent. Although it’s disappointing that eLevate would back out from the game so soon after the matchmaking news, what’s really important is that Ascent are alive and well! They cleaned shop last week with Cafe Monster and The Grime (formerly Hate Being Sober). Although Ascent is clearly performing well so far, I do have to question their tag “BFMS,” which Google is telling me stands for “Benign Familial Neonatal Seizures.” Yeah, I don’t know, either. Luckily, Ascent’s own TheFragile was readily available to illuminate the meaning of Ascent’s cryptic tag, stating:

“idk :>”

Last Week

Current Standings
Current Stats

The majority of Invite matches were pretty routine this week. Ascent, as mentioned above, had no troubles with their matches against IM moveups, while Froyotech had similar results against Street Hoops eSports and Attack of the Yomies. Speaking of the Yomies, they had a nice 5-1 win over Champagne and Cocaine, which solidifies them as being a cut above the IM moveups. Can they compete against the perennial top 4? They'll have their chance to prove it against Street Hoops on Badlands, next week.

In other news, Hawaii Beach Vacation has rounded out their roster nicely by picking up MarmadukeGRYLLS and Thorn on pocket and scout. Although it’s good to see them find a solid lineup, their loss to Champagne and Cocaine still left a lot to be desired. Although Thorn and Sezco predictably went big, Topshot (demo) and Tooth (roamer) both struggled to make an impact. Now it’s up to Hawaii to prove that they’re ready to compete with the rest of Invite by giving good fights to the Yomies and Street Hoops this week, and then taking at least a match off of Cafe Monster and The Grime the next.

However, the really interesting results last week came from the Five Dollar Club. After blowing a 4-0 lead against Cafe Monster, they finally took control again to win 5-4 with a couple minutes remaining. It was an impressive showing by Cafe Monster, but I have to pin the comeback on The Five Dollar Club choking more than Cafe rallying. Then, against Street Hoops, Five Dollar pulled a comeback of their own: from a 1-3 deficit at half time to a 5-3 victory. This is particularly impressive because Showstopper, Street Hoops’ new and relatively unproven pocket, came out in force, top damaging on his team, top fragging on the server, and producing several airshots worthy of a highlight reel.

So why did Street Hoops lose if their only new player performed above expectations? I think it comes down to Grape leaving shoes that are too big even for an in-form Showstopper to fill. Furthermore, the Five Dollar Club also made the smart choice to switch Milo to the pocket role, leaving Mangachu to roam. Although Mangachu had a sketchily large number of deaths (35, while his counterpart Ash had 26), he got the job done nevertheless, getting 3 picks on Ninjanick.

Street Hoops has now started with a 0-2 record, so they need to be sure to not choke this week or the next against three IM moveups and the Yomies. If they drop even one of those matches, they could be in real danger of losing their playoff spot to the Yomies or even Cafe Monster.

Match of the Week: Ascent vs. The Five Dollar Club

The Five Dollar Club have shown themselves to be a Top 3 team in Invite, but can they can they go further and snatch the #2 spot, as well? There’s no question they have the talent to do so, but Ascent’s roster is looking scarier than ever: the return of Rando in conjunction with Shrugger and Decimate on scout? If Ascent is ever going to win a season of ESEA, my money would be on this roster to do it. Although the game is sure to be well fought and quite close, I just don’t think The Five Dollar Club are ready to be a top 2 team. Right now, they don’t even know who their roamer is! Here is The Five Dollar Club's Mangachu with more:

“We are not able to comment on the roamer situation at the moment, but we would be happy to refer you to our media contact to better understand our hiring practices.”

You guessed it: they don’t have a media contact.

However, the reality of the situation is that Mangachu, Boink, and Milo are all paid up and are all very capable soldiers; although Mangachu is definitely starting, it's unclear whether he'll be roamer (with Milo pocketing) or pocket (with Boink roaming). If The Five Dollar Club overcome these roster difficulties quickly, we should see a close match. If not, Ascent might simply outclass their opponents. Either way, Ascent's combo should be more consistent and decisive than Five Dollar's, and I believe that will be the deciding factor in favor of Ascent.

TheFragile's thoughts:

"It really depends on how mids go. We are currently experimenting with mids as last night was our first night playing the map as a team, and it's still a bit weird for us. It's a map where it sucks just as much to lose mids as it is on granary. I'm saying [this match will be] close, assuming no one team crushes the other team on mids constantly... If one team destroys the other team on mids constantly, then you're probably looking at a roll in favor of whoever destroys the mids."

Average of Mangachu and TheFragile's Predictions:

My prediction:

Players to Watch

Ascent: TheFragile, Rando, Bdonski

The Five Dollar Club: Xalox, Squid