June's begun, and so has Highlander. While uncertainties and questions still linger, the low hum is gaining in strength, and very shortly it'll be like the song of Highlander never ended. We leave Upward behind, promising to return to it in the future. Our next stop is the dry and bright Gullywash, no stranger to the Highlander format. It's a lot different than Payload, though, as the lack of emphasis on a timer results in quite a few stalemates. Luckily, Gullywash is a map that is well known, meaning teams should have tried-and-true strategies for breaking those stalemates. The map's design lends slightly to that, with open flanks and spaces, that even in stalemates, both teams wish to claim for their own, resulting in fights.

Rankings

For a team hailed as the potential "froyotech of Highlander" just last week, a loss is a bit jarring. A look at the cast and STV, however, shows that the game was close enough that .knd could have ended the game victorious until the last minute of the third round. They've got a fair bit of history as well backing them up as well, so a single loss shouldn't need to result in any rank drops. However, they'll need to either prove the win was a one-off thing, or face a potential replacement in bote.

Every player on their team have proved their ability to play in high Plat more or less, with yosh and feint showing that their names should not be ignored. It'll be exciting to see the team in the rest of the season, as most of their roster is able to be a playmaker on their own, and would be downright terrifying with a team like bote supporting them. A few more wins against key opponents and they could see themselves securing the top seed this season. While a three spot jump is certainly unusual, they've definitely proved themselves as a top-tier team and should not be underestimated.

After winning against IFA and seeing their match nullified once IFA moved back down to Gold, it looked for a bit that mTs's roster would either go through some debilitating roster issues, or just flat out disband. Thankfully, it seems that there won't be any roster changes, aside an inaccurate attribution of the Sniper spot to m4risa, when Chingoo will be the main Sniper for mTs this season. Roster shakiness aside, at some point they will have to replay their Week 1 match due to it being nullified. It should not be a difficult procedure for them, but until then, they will be missing a point when compared to the other teams around them.

dK proved that Ginyu is undeniably below them, in an (close but) dK won game. The only team that reasonably had a chance to push dK down was Ginyu, and with them dispatched, they can only look upwards. They've got a good chance at beating the higher teams, so unless they don't live up to the expectation, there should be no reason that a moveup or two won't in their future.

While they did lose against dK, it doesn't come as a surprise to those who have their ear to the ground. They're still a powerful team no doubt, but will struggle to put up a record that their 'high-Plat' looking roster might suggest. If they're planning to live up to their expectations, they'll have to begin putting in more effort, which is something the team seems unwilling to do. They'll struggle to get wins until the later part of the season, even their game against ·aMw· could result in a loss. Their future this season will depend on how much effort they put in, but after comments by other Platinum members and during the livestreamed match of theirs, and their seemingly sparse scrim schedule, it’s not looking fantastic.

They won against Funkblasters in a closer game than the score implies, meaning any chance of a moveup from that game is impossible. Unless they can start pulling wins against the higher up teams, they're unlikely to move up much. They should be a fantastic team to stopgap any teams trying to move up in the rankings, facing .$$ on Steel and having dispatched Funkblasters already. While improvement is no doubt possible, they'll have to close the gap between how their team functioned throughout last season and make up for the significant roster changes they've had over the season. Though, as a friend pointed out, they are slowly becoming a bastardized blunderful', with Napalm and Pretzel joining the roster. Good or bad, we're yet to see.

The $avages pick up a straightforward win, not really finding the ability to prove themselves and where they stand. They're no doubt a strong team, but with only so many teams they're expected to win against, their schedule can't help but look like stacked. Upcoming games against dK and ·aMw· should give them the ability to perhaps pick up a move or two, but it looks difficult for them to achieve much upward motion in the rankings. To be fair to them, this is their first season and they are for all intents and purposes a Gold moveup team. Even teams that now are considered high level, like dK and .knd, started out as a Gold moveup team.

Funkblasters is a pretty good example of the underlying mechanics of the ranking system. They're unlikely to move much with after the loss against ·aMw·. If either of the lower teams beat them, or they beat the $avages, then they will switch spots with them. Aside from that though, there's little movement possibility, especially based off of games they didn't participate in.

Drama aside, .buffalo's roster looks strong for where they stand in Platinum, and upcoming games against eHarmony and Funkblasters gives them a chance to place themselves more accurately in the rankings. While the unfinished game against mTs will loom above their head for an unknown amount of time, the remnants of '92 Dream Team should be an acceptable addition to Platinum, and with an aura of mystery around them, not having had a game yet going into Week 2, there's high potential for some shakeups.

While bluebird appears to have found his final players and rostered them, their loss against .$$ is no reason to move them up any higher. As with .buffalo, they have limited potential to secure wins, and with .$$ having been one of them, their window is closing. IFA dropping was a chance to pick up a moveup on a technicality, but .buffalo's roster seems strong enough compared to theirs that placing .buffalo below them seems wrong.

Matches

While it'll be sad seeing Ginyu go up against two teams that a fully powered Ginyu Hoops could beat, mTs is just a powerful team, and on a map like Gullywash there should be little ability for 20b to use sneaky tactics and take mTs by surprise. 20b isn't exactly one of the prime playoff contenders this season, so mTs certainly hopes to pick up a victory. In the long run however, it's unlikely that anyone will point back to this game when mTs secures a playoff spot and give it any more credit than "it wasn't a loss." 5-3 in favor of Menace To Society.

This game is almost a twin of the 20b vs mTs game. While ·aMw· are no doubt putting all their effort in this season, there's undeniable differences between the two's skill levels, especially since dK has only gotten stronger since their last appearance in Plat, and ·aMw·'s roster fluctuated significantly, whether for better or for worse. Just like with 20b vs mTs, nobody will be pointing to this game when dK secure their spot as any more than "it wasn't a loss." 5-0 in favor of Dunning-Kruger Effect.

After a heart-stoppingly close game against .knd last week, the bote boat takes a break off in some tropical island. While they'll still have to show up and dispatch of some wild buffalo, as all good seamen do, they should find little difficulty in the process, but this is Gullywash. 5-0 in favor of Muma and the Seamen.

This match will matter to both teams, as it'll give the winner a significant morale boost, but will likely set them up as the contender for the top of the lower part of Plat, depending on how they face up to ·aMw·. Both teams have powerful players on their team, and it should be an excellently close game. Overall, though, the $avages just seem more potent. 5-3 in favor of $ilver $avages.

Such a shame, the dangers of the internet. Poor kids getting exposed to the filth that is online dating. Too bad those kids will completely wipe the floor with eHarmony. After a close loss against bote last week, .knd's schedule allow them to bide their time for two weeks. There isn't much to mention, just a hope that matchups like these sadly are an inevitability, and that teams like eHarmony should not collapse after them. 5-0 in favor of Kids Next Door.