Ginyu Force > Ghetto Afterthought 5-2
As the regular season comes to a close so does the likelihood of us spectators bearing witness to the truly exhilarating matches that were had in the earlier weeks. However as it stands right now the seeding for the playoffs is still very close and in the air. Six teams are 4-3 and they’re all very close in match points so even if a team doesn’t secure a win this week they’ll want to snag as many match points as possible to ensure the highest seeding possible. And that brings us to this match between Ginyu and GA. After a solid win against QC on kotharctic last week, GA appear to be in peak form, and Ginyu will have a struggle on their hands if they aren’t prepared for GA’s unrelenting coordinated aggression. But after an hour-long 3-3 scrim with the plus-forwarding machine that is BPM I suspect Ginyu will be more than prepared to weather the storm. But Ginyu will be desperate for more than just a win here because any match point they don’t get here will jeopardize their first place seed as they are just a mere .5 match points ahead of BPM. It might not seem like a big deal, but whoever secures the first seed will have the luxury of playing the very 6v6 experienced third seed, MTS, on plswiftwater instead of cp_gullywash like the second will have to. So as the regular season crunches to an end remember that every round counts this week.
Baby Punching Marathon > Kimberlite Council 5-1
Just as Ginyu will be looking for a solid 5-0 in their match, BPM will be looking to do just the same. KLITE are not planning on making it easy for them however as they’ve been scrimming like mad men all week with some solid results against teams like GG and DMS. It will all come down to what their wildcard, Mustardoverlord, can do at middles to possibly set them up to secure a round or two. And like I said every round this week can have monumental consequences so BPM are going to be forced to play at the very top of their game if they want to have a chance to edge out Ginyu for the top seed. Their usual strategy of just throw 9 players at the other team, while very strong, has the added risk of backfiring into a devastating wipe that could cost them not one but two points if they aren’t careful. BPM are going to have to play very smart if they’re going to ensure perfection this week, and with a little luck Ginyu will fail to get the 5 round wins they needed to keep BPM from passing them in the seeding.
Blunderful < Menace to Society 5-1
It’s a bit of an unfortunate match up for BFL this week because the loss here is going to drop their seed well below where they should actually be. Luckily, though, this season will be double elimination so they will have the chance to battle their way back up for a more prestigious finish. MTS right now are about to get into serious-mode as the playoffs approach. Harbleu has a burning desire to win and he’ll be pushing his team to be the best they can be to take on BPM and Ginyu in the playoffs.
Gangsta Gang > Death Marked Soldiers 4-2
At the beginning of the season I had kind of written both these teams off as washed up, but towards the middle both started to find their traction and began their resurgence. GG started scrimming and playing seriously while DMS made some very strong additions to their roster. Now these two teams meet for the final game of the regular season, and it would appear that GG will come out stronger. DMS has lost Chriz-tah-fah to Team Syndicut so they’ll likely be much weaker because of it. They still have their sniper Heep Hop who’s easily one of the best in the league so it will be up to him to provide the opportunities for DMS. GG, however, is a brick wall of solid 6v6 and HL experience thanks to Ma3la, UNF, and Phrakture, so I expect they won’t have any trouble at all adapting to cp_process.
The Syndicate > Chain Reaction 5-2
Vhalin is back and with him so are the chances of Syndicate coming back into running for the title. Chain Reaction will do their best to fight back, but their strategies and calls on cp_process don’t seem to be as strong as they are on other maps I’ve seen them play. If CR get back on their usual game there’s a definite possibility for a very good match to be fought here, but that’ll come down to how many good scrims they can get in before Monday. As an aside TS are neck and neck with GG for the fourth seed. Too bad getting fourth or fifth has no discernible difference as they will just end up playing eachother during the second week of playoffs anyway.
Quality Control > Playing Naked 5-1
What can I say about Playing Naked other than I’m very impressed they stuck it out the whole season. I hope I get to see them play another season of HL, maybe in gold division next time. Quality Control has had a very strong season for a new platinum team, and this last match should boost them to a very solid sixth or seventh seed. Be on the lookout for TMP to practice 10 hours a day to get his DM in top form for playoffs. Speaking of playoffs for everyone who is unsure what the new format will be go check it out here. The reason I’m really excited for the double-elimination is it will give many teams like QC, who aren’t really in contention for the finals, the chance to play a few extra matches to finally decide who ranks above who at the end of the season. So expect a lot of exciting playoff coverage after this week.