Welcome to week one of RGL!
We're excited to bring you our first matches of the inaugural season of RGL. My name is VoxDei, and I'll be your host. Today we're going to be looking into our 4 teams in the Comp High division as well as their upcoming matches.
For those of you who may have stumbled upon this, confused as to what this is, RGL is a league dedicated to a game mode called Pick/Ban Prolander (PBP.) With each team having seven players and a maximum of one of each class, it plays like a faster paced version of highlander/pubs. To learn more, check out these links, otherwise skip right to the next section.
About RGL | RGL Rules | PBP Rules | First season + Goals (Article)
Power Rankings and Team Bios
First things first, let's take a look at our teams and their projected rank coming into the season. (A star next to a player's name denotes the team leader.)
#1 - Froyotech
Roster: [arekk/b4nny*/blaze/corsa/garbuglio/habib/shade]
Likely a team that needs no introduction for many of you, but has earned one nonetheless. A team filled from top to bottom with some of invites biggest stars, rounded out by the best, and likely the most polarizing one of them all, b4nny. Say what you will but his legend status is cemented in TF2 history, easily being the most successful and most watched player in the game. Around him are talents new and old, shade and blaze being the biggest throwbacks. Filling out the roster are arekk, habib (AKA: hassassin), garbuglio, and corsa.
What makes froyotech so strong is that each of these players individually either are, or were at one point, the best in the game at their respective (6v6) class. The roster they bring to the table has been tested tough through Season 24 of ESEA where Froyo came out on top in a close matchup against EVL, which housed, now RGL teammates corsa and garbuglio. Garbuglio has also joined the Froyo roster for the upcoming season of ESEA.
#2 - Dogging-Kruger Effect
Roster: [bo4r/Deaft/Jarrett/Karl/Marmaloo/saam*/Shamoo]
Dogging-Kruger is another team with a mix of both Highlander and 6s experience, which I think will work very well in their favor. I give them an edge over Generations due to the peaks that each of their players have hit in their game-mode of choice. Jarrett, bo4r, Deaft, and Karl have all at one time, been the best at their respective class in Highlander, with the latter three being current active players. Saam acts as the bridge between the two, having achieved much success in both ESEA and UGC, however focusing mainly on ESEA more recently. Saam, Marmaloo, Shamoo, and Jarrett have all most recently played together this past season of ESEA Invite for the team Six Apes (previously Legalize Ranch) where they took home 4th place. Their success at the highest level of 6v6 along with their remaining members dominance in Highlander suggests they will be nipping at the heels of Froyo for most of the season.
#3 - Cat Noises 2: Death Of An UwU
Roster:[andrew/Campy/Cookiejake/Daffodil/percy*/Slemnish/Spamfest]
This team is made up of a mix of both Highlander and 6s players, with all players having a bit of experience in both. The only possible exception is 4v4 legend, cookiejake, who hasn't played HL in quite a few years.
The rest of the roster has played at a Plat level in Highlander and at least an IM level in ESEA. Although andrew is newer in the 6v6 scene, his Open team in S24 went 15-1 in the regular season, which likely would have gone to IM (RIP.) Of the 7, percy, daffodil, and campy have all played together in IM, which could be a huge boost to already have that level of rapport from playing together.
Cookiejake and Slemnish are the only players who have full experience in Invite, so both should bring a lot to the table when it comes to their gameplay. Campy has only reached this peak recently as he will be competing in Invite this upcoming season.There's a lot of talent on the roster, but despite that, they're still going to be underdogs coming into the season.
#4 - Generations
Roster: [exile/Fallen Lord/freelander*/shotaway/syath/turkeylips/zuchima]
Generations is filled up mainly with players known for their Highlander experience. From top to bottom, each player + sub on the roster has played at a Platinum level for a couple of seasons. With this being the largest roster (with 11 people) the talent pool does run deep, meaning that they can pull from pretty much anyone on the roster and find a talented substitute.
The one fear I do have with the team being mainly from HL is the idea of "mains." Each of these players are known in the league for their excellence at a certain class, and if they get too much into that mindset, it may hurt them if they don't adapt. The team does benefit however from freelander and zuchima being comfortable playing most roles on the team. Because of this, it will likely allow their players who are more focused on a single class to shine.