Rankings written by flatline, spotlight written by tetro

Week 2 is in the books. There were some upsets, some deaths, and some new talent emerging out of the mid-open bubble. 6cuties, "the" team to win it all, was toppled by xfinity (albeit not without some hinderances); bird noises solidified their position with a victory over 2wycked; and we have our first dead team, Shredded (at least, for now. reform hype?). I wonder how the stigma of dying before bsc's team will hold with them. But that's not important; what is important is what you've probably noticed at the top of this screen; owl has left the power rankings. He had real-life issues that were too insurmountable, so I have stepped in to fill the power ranking / subtle shittalk hole in open players' hearts. Let's get onto the rankings.

1. xfinity weight loss (6-0): +2: A team that had already proven their high caliber placement gives us all they have by defeating 6cuties in a 4-3 nailbiter. The team's heavy DM reliance shone through, with pocket ranga leading the charge at 45 frags and over 350 dpm. The value of this win could be disputed, however, as 6cuties was playing with 2 backups at the time. Without much data to the contrary, however, xfinity will hold the top spot for now.

2. 6cuties (5-1): -1: Despite their loss, 6cuties still holds onto the second spot. To start, the game was still incredibly close, and at some points it looked like the cuties could have taken it. Plus, they were playing with 2 backups. It is too early in the season to judge 6cuties' full force, considering this is their first hard match all season, but for now 2nd place fits them well until they can get more definitive matches on the other top 5 teams. This week they face off against Strafe Power and merry griffmas, two teams that shouldn’t give them too much trouble.

3. slowbr0 (6-0): +1: slowbr0 really only drops here due to xfinity's success. They had a nice statement win, a 5-0 in fact, over Tip of the Toucans, the plucky upstart. Slowbr0 as well has some important matches coming up that could certainly be playoff pictures: against gold man-sacks and Clam Bake, both of which should be really good to watch.

4. -bird noises- (6-0): +1: bird noises continue their rocket up the power rankings with a definitive victory over 2wycked esports. The teamwork and DM of this team are just so on point that they could certainly challenge xfinity for the top spot (ricky, aka punisher, is especially scary). This week's matches against kayc and Sad Men will help to either anchor their position or sink them.

5. Clam Bake (6-0): -1: Clam Bake has had a relatively easy Week 2, with a 5-0 and a ffw. However, dropping 3 rounds to SASABE in Week 3 is interesting, especially considering SASABE seem to be all over the map. In the match, SASABE were really good with capitalizing on aggression, and with a map like Badlands that type of ability can be very rewarding. Clam Bake adapted well in the second half, though, and took 3 consecutive rounds to close it out. This week Clam Bake is going up against guitar heroes, a solid bubble team, and slowbr0, which will definitely be a playoff preview. Both games are winnable but Clam Bake will have to be on their A-game to beat slowbr0.

6. Five Knights at Freddy (6-0): -1: Again, Knights mostly drops here to other achievements by bird noises and xfinity. Knights have also been mostly untested, their hardest matches being against ESEAcantmeltawfulteamnames (that may be worse than their actual name) and merry griffmas. Week 3 offers an interesting match against No Megans, who could certainly make it interesting. Until that match passes, though, they will sit comfortably at #6.

7. 2wycked esports (4-1): +1: The loss against bird noises is somewhat of a grace for 2wycked; they have proven they can stay relatively close with the top teams. Their matches this week are interesting, against Back to the Lab Again (an upper-bubble team that could certainly play them hard) and bad joke (I'm getting reports they are RIP?). This team is in a bit of a nebulous place until they can get some more matches in against the Top 10, but right now 7 feels around right.

8. Tip of the Toucans (5-1): +1: Despite a crushing 5-0 loss to slowbr0 this week, the Toucans are moving up to #8 mostly due to the teams around them (umjammer, tragicservers) falling off of the power rankings. They won't have much trouble this week, but Klickin with Klicka may be able to give them a good game.

9. The Sad Men (4-2): -2: The Sad Men are an interesting prospect. 6 weeaboos and bsc, the time honored joke, will certainly ring out until the very end. After disappointing week 1 and 2 prospects, marquee has taken over the medic slot in lieu of tetro and brought in conductor on scout, taking a solid 5-2 win over TragicServers. This new roster will certainly be tested in this week's MOTW against bird noises. Could it be that the Sad Men have conquered the curse of weeaboos that has plagued open teams for so long? Time will tell.

10. No Megans (5-1): New: No Megans sneaks into the #10 spot after a close 3-5 game against Toucans. Crasian rings out as a DM superstar but the team also has a strong scout pair in xig and geo that can easily clean up after Crasian's damage. No Megans also has a huge game this week against Knights that could be their chance to break into the spotlight. Look out for this team in the future.

11. Aliasing Lefty (6-0): +3: Written by tetro: Just outside the top ten we have Aliasing Lefty, a team that probably would have been ranked higher except for their surprising lack of spy plays. You'd think, with the amount of spy mains on the team that we'd see at least one or two sick backstabs a game. And while I'm excited to see how the lefties can do against Pinturillo this week on granary, I still can't get over their previous matches. Matches that would, in my opinion, have been better if only they had had more cloak and dagger shenanigans, or perhaps some ambassador headshot sprees. This is definitely a team to watch, but mostly for the spy plays that Flatline assures me are coming soon. Really, I'm excited to see more spy from this team in the future.

12. gold man-sacks (6-0): New: gold man-sacks is a team with a lot to prove. On paper they look really solid, with legendary IM champion CheesyMacgyver doling out insane damage and frags, ODB always on point with his pipes, and a well-coordinated flank, but their schedule has been relatively easy until this week, when they face off against slowbr0. Yet another game that will define a team this week (and will make next week's power rankings a hell of a lot easier to write). Until then, however, gold man-sacks sits at an untested 12th place on the power rankings and in 1st place for worst team name in open (sorry billdozer).

13. SASABE (3-3): +2: SASABE moves up two spots this week due to the dropoff of Shredded, tragicservers, and umjammer, as well due to a surprisingly close game with Clam Bake. They fit snugly in the 13th spot, having decisively beaten pwnage squad and having lost 5-2 to Aliasing Lefty. The team has pretty strong DM in glop, azn, and jaguar, but open newbie Cyntro on the most important class in the game is interesting. The team has had a very back and forth start to the season, starting 3-3, but this week's matches should give them a chance to even out.

14. Elite Pwnage Squad (5-1): -2: Elite Pwnage Squad's only loss right now is to SASABE, and it's a very telling one that fits this team right in to #14. Pwnage certainly has the material to be a sleeper team, with some strong DM backed up by a season already playing together. If they patch up the holes in their game they could easily start beating some of the teams in the 7-12 spots.

15. Le Chatelier's Principle (5-1): New: The first of the two highlander player teams, Chatelier has the experience to go far. Lead by invite veteran and former cutie R1CKY, they have been sitting pretty at 5-1 with their only loss being a 5-3 to Tip of the Toucans. Their schedule doesn’t look too hard until viaduct week when they face 6cuties. On a map certainly familiar to HL players and very open to raw dm I could see them excelling.

16. Pinturillo Professionals (5-1): New: The team formerly known as GKND strolls back into the power rankings again at #16. Ever since their game with Clam Bake the team has been strolling through the sea of bubble teams without much trouble. Their schedule for granary week includes a game against Aliasing Lefty followed directly by a viaduct game against Tip of the Toucans. Like I said with Chatelier, viaduct is a very familiar map that can really open up for HL players and I wouldn’t be surprised to see an upset.

Just outside: Back to the Lab Again, Smoke Nothing Everyday, umjammer jawk (spamfest hype?)

Out: umjammer jawk (again), shredded (rip), bad joke (rip?), tragicservers

Tetro’s Open Spotlight: Is This Highlander?

This week on Open Spotlight we're bringing you a blast-from-the-past expose on current division leaders Is This Highlander? 2 weeks ago from this very day (thanks owl) I was able to get in touch with co-leader and main medic Erynn and get their thoughts on the season so far. At the time, Highlander was fresh off a thrilling 2 win streak over QuakerOats and Rand Paul 2016. Little did they know that this would mark the beginning of a wild ride to the very top of the open standings. What values drive them? What lessons can we learn from their triumphs? Can Highlander keep their seat at the top? Find out this week, as Is This Highlander? faces their toughest match yet.

So what got you guys into open?

FoxC and I were sitting in mumble five hours before the original deadline and we decided to make a team. We messaged a few people and formed a team. FoxC, Ryno and I knew each other from the tf2can event. FoxC brought in Duke, I brought in Ryno, Ryno brought in Frisk and Monkey. No tryouts, no scrims.

What are some of your goals for the season?

Improve individually as players, and as a team. Most of us are Highlander players, and giving open a shot is a fun way to try something different.

How did you come up with your team name?

We are highlander players.

Who are your strongest players and why?

Frisk says “I am because I am heavy main and heavy's are strong.”

Who do you want to beat; do you have any rivals?

No one in particular. We focus on one match at a time.

What teams are you scared of right now?

None. We take each team as they come. It is our first season in open, so we know we will face teams that are way more experienced, and generally better. It is these teams that we look forward to facing. The only way to improve is to face opponents that are better then you.

Bets on who wins it all?

Not sure. I hope the guys on Tip of the Toucans do well.

Any funny stories so far?

Ryno and Frisk sing Disney songs when pushing into last.

Shoutouts?

Frisk says "HI MOM" and "I will sign weapons for 2 keys".

Match Spotlight: Is This Highlander? V. Freaks and Geeks In what is sure to be a thrilling match, Is This Highlander? faces their toughest challenge yet against medic prodigy Drake and the boys on cp_granary. On a map notorious for quick mid-wipe to last pushes this match will depend on Drake and Erynn's ability to get out of lost mids and survive last pushes on both offense and defense. However, in my mind Freaks and Geeks has faced a much harder schedule so far and despite their record, I predict the ride stops here for the Highlander crew.

Prediction: 5-3 Freaks and Geeks

Player spotlight: g. Although only a sub, g's ridiculous 22 sniper frags during Highlander's match against QuakerOats are enough to get him in the spotlight this week. Seriously, the guy spent 1/3 of his time in server on the class. What a goofball... Anyways, see you guys here again next week unless power rankings die again!

Because this is so late in the week I decided not to do MOTWs because the games I wanted to cover probably are being played while I’m writing this. In either way, I’m going to hopefully go on a more regular schedule and try to be a bit more transparent.