Open Power Rankings Week 4 Part 2/2
9) High Altitude Dreamworld
Scouts: Pauldogg+JamJam
Roamer: Brembo
Pocket: Okiewaka
Demoman: Lucrative
Medic: Differ
High Altitude Dreamworld has been in many past seasons of Open, IM and even Invite, spanning from Season 17 to the current Season. With the team making their way back to Open with a slightly altered roster (plus JamJam's debut to ESEA-O), the team may be considered rusty. Although, their performance so far has begged to differ. With only dropping matches to grapeSquad (6-0) and dUmB cLaSsIcO (5-1) the team has proved to be a strong contender, having a fairly diffucult season start. Only time will tell if the roster can make it work and earn a spot in playoffs. The next notable match is against b1g brane (4-1) on product, which should be an interesting matchup to say the least.
10) b1g brane
Scouts: Yekun+Zacice
Roamer: Jude
Pocket: Kohly
Demoman: Alexandros
Medic: China
b1g brane have started out the season with quite a bang, playing several other high Open teams to close matches. Winning 5-4 to Coon Platoon, and coming close to defeating dUmB cLaSsIcO in a 5-3 loss has shown that they can definitely perform with the rest of the playoff pack. The coming weeks should yield more close matches against the likes of GrapeSquad, High Altitude Dreamworld, Landed in Open, and Farmers of le Roundtable.
11) kkk-ferris-wheel
Scouts: Scream+PagedMov
Roamer: Puppy21
Pocket: JDuff
Demoman: Ambroon
Medic: Console
kkk-ferris-wheel have yet to prove that they deserve their spot anywhere near the top 10 open teams. The beginning of their season has been fairly easy, and while their only loss was during a 5v6, the result of the match was still likely to be a loss, however just a closer match. The power duo that have kept this team above water so far have been Scream and Puppy21 on the flank, as scream consistently topfrags scrimmages and matches and Puppy constantly opens up pushes with uber forces. However, their combo still needs plenty of work, and they have yet to prove themselves against other playoff contenders. Their matches this week against Real Housewives of ESEA and Depressed Weaboos should show wether the team has anything to offer against difficult teams at full strength.
12) Agricultural Enthusiasts
Scouts: Mankut+Deft
Roamer: Marty
Pocket: S1ke
Demoman: Ash
Medic: Pop7up
Agricultural Enthusiasts have had an impressive start to their season, taking out other playoff contenders such as THE GERMS, and kkk-ferris-wheel as well as low and mid-tier teams very convincingly. However, some other playoff competition has shaken them on Snakewater, with Real Housewives of ESEA taking a 5-1 victory over them. Their schedule lets up in the coming weeks however, with the only notable adversary being Power Surge during Gullywash week.
13) ROPE
Scouts: Mak+BlazeN
Roamer: Shuckle
Pocket: Entropy
Demoman: Freddo
Medic: Bubbzi
ROPE is an expected rebirth of Bobby and the Bobbettes from Season 22 and Yarn BLACK from Season 23, with a few key class and roster shifts. Most notable of these is Bubbzi being brought in to play medic, and Entropy shifting over to pocket from seasons of playing demo before. The team has had some interesting matchups already this season, playing Real Housewives to a 3-5 win and having arguably the closest match so far this season of open with a very close 2-3 loss against Power Surge. A difficult match against Razer Synapse Loaded should be another close game to look out for from the seasoned core this week.
14) Rain Drop
Scouts: Wari+?
Roamer: Chazzysan
Pocket: TheMagnificent7
Demoman: Pinto
Medic: LFP
With a fairly uncertain and unvalidified roster, Rain Drop seem to have had a moderately easy beginning to the start of the season. With having moderate set of matches, the team still faced opponents such as High Altitude Dream World (5-2) and Ok Kids, both matches being losses for the team. The matches ahead for Rain Drop are even more challenging, such as dUmB cLaSsIcO (5-1), and Landed In Open (5-1), all of wich will further test the teams ability to perform in a play-off environment.
Obituary: THE GERMS
An unfortunate outcome of major roster changes, THE GERMS are likely to fall this week. With the loss of Oppebo to other interests, Tiptoes to an IM roster, and a lack of tryouts interested in joining, the team is likely to part ways. Several members have already bumped their Looking For Team threads, so look out for some players (notably Thing2 and Keylime) trying out for other high Open rosters in the next 2 weeks. Farewell to what looked to be a very promising roster this season. [*]
15) Farmers of le Roundtable
Scouts: Vostic0+Nick
Roamer: Unskilled
Pocket: Brush
Demoman: Fygg
Medic: Peppermint
Farmers of le Roundtable round out the 15th Open seed this week after some decent results against other playoff contenders. Losing a very close 5-4 Process match against High Altitude Dreamworld and 4-3 on Snakewater against Coon Platoon are highlights of their very difficult schedule thus far. Their future matches aren't letting up either, having to play against Rain Drop, dUmB cLasSiCo, and b1g brane in the coming weeks, they will have to fight incredibly hard to gain entry into playoffs later on.
16) Real Housewives of ESEA
Scouts: Neaksie+Blak
Roamer: Chateau
Pocket: Riley
Demoman: Fahren
Medic: Erratic
Real Housewives round out the top 16, currently sitting in the bottom spot. This is partly due to a very tough schedule early on, a few games of which have been close. They have proven they can wipe the floor with low and mid level teams in their victories against Forecast and Sock Hard Abs, and even took a very convincing 5-1 win against Agricultural Enthusiasts during Snakewater week. Their success so far this season is largely in part to consistent good performances out of their scouts reguardless of match results. Neaksie and Black have consistently topfragged almost every match they've played this season, typically dropping between 30 and 40 frags, even in losses. Their close game with ROPE and their defeat of Agricultural Enthusiasts shows that the team has potential to do some real damage this season and move up in the Open standings. Next week looks like it could be very interesting for them, as they are the team to beat for kkk-ferris-wheel, and they must also face off aganst SERENDIPITY FRAG MOVIE, who have taken very good teams to close matches. I see them as the favorites in both of these matchups and a likely candidate for top 10 in the coming weeks.
Teams Just Outside Top 16: OK Kids, da share z0ne, Forecast, exec NUT