- Interested in helping out RGL and being a part of the staff team? Open staff positions and applications for SUMMER 2024 can be viewed here.

- Click here to complete S17 Post-Season Survey #1! Survey closes in on Apr 9th @ 11:59PM EDT!

- Click here to complete RGL LAN 2024 Survey! Survey closes in Apr 7th @ 11:59PM EDT!

Main Week 2 Review & Week 3 Match Predictions

RGL-Main

   cyclowns   - 9/22/2018

Introduction


Well, we’ve now reached RGL HL’s third week and it’s time for another staple Highlander KOTH map: Ashville! Ashville’s unorthodox design and potential for interesting strategies compared to other KOTH maps may result in some upsets this week.

One quick interesting thing I’d like to mention is that, last week on Swiftwater, every single home team in Main won by a 2-0 victory. Neat. RGL.gg dark theme available here, by yours truly..


Last Week’s Match Results



MOTW: Itty Bitty Kitty Committee vs Disingenuous Assertions


Prediction: 2-1 DAT
Result: 2-0 IBKC

At this point, maybe I should stop making predictions in favor of DAT. Though, I’m told DAT had some unfortunate issues regarding their Medic dropping twice from losing connection, so you can’t blame their loss entirely on their own mistakes. Nonetheless, this was an interesting match to see unfold! IBKC is sure to be happy about this victory.

Outstanding Performances: Brandan, Rayman5000, dailydoseofmelon (IBKC) shohh, sophie (DAT)


Forty-Two Pence vs Swift Inc.


Prediction: 2-0 F2P
Result: 2-0 F2P

Not a whole lot to say about this match. Congratulations to F2P on their second victory!

Outstanding Performances: 5perm, Kamil (F2P) asher, GreenAndGold (Swift)


Blackjack and Hookers vs Slippery When Wet


Prediction: 2-0 B&H
Result: 2-0 B&H

Again, not much to say. Though, I will say, the kill count for both teams ended up being a bit closer than I would have expected.

Outstanding Performances: E_leet, asian, Gw4lk, Paul (B&H) sharky, Michaelpc1 (SWW)


Gotta Blast vs Home Depot eSports


Prediction: 2-1 G2B
Result: 2-0 G2B

Although I did say last week that I wouldn’t be doing any more power rankings, I think after looking at their performance on both Product and Swiftwater, Gotta Blast is certainly the strongest team in main right now. But, I did overestimate my own team’s ability to play Swiftwater too, it turns out.

Outstanding Performances: Mhenlo, josh, Nickk, PsychoPsyduck (G2B) Liam (BOPIS)


Week 3 Match Predictions: koth_ashville_rc1



Disingenuous Assertions vs Swift Inc.


Rosters
DAT: ash | sophie / shohh / Charizard / ash | sophie / Moist Master / livst1d / Dubthink / podgy713 / 3hree
Swift: asher / panther / Puffalo / Brick / Burtilian / KootyKay / GreenAndGold / egwat / Dave

Both teams in this prediction have undergone some particularly interesting roster changes in the past week. On the side of DAT, SpotlightR (Scout) has unfortunately left and is being replaced by either ash or sophie on Scout. For Swift, they’ve moved Puffalo (Soldier) to Pyro and picked up panther on Soldier. I think both of these changes impact DAT and Swift quite positively. However, Swift’s roster including panther and Puffalo is definitely their strongest yet. Asher is a great Scout in his own right, but I’ve always felt (from playing against Swift, and writing these articles) that he could use a more experienced and talented Soldier to work with; I think panther provides that very thing. Not to mention, I’m told Puffalo is an exceptional Pyro player and should have more impact on the class than on Soldier.

There are a lot of different factors to think about in this match. DAT has been severely underperforming recently, and have lost SpotlightR, a key player in their roster. Meanwhile, as it stands, Swift’s roster looks potentially very good. I think their flank of asher / panther will be able to completely dominate on Ashville, and leave a lot of space for the rest of Swift to make plays. However, I am undermining the fact that DAT is still a very competent team with plenty of experience on maps like Ashville. Overall, this is going to be a close game, but this time I think Swift can win the whole thing.

Prediction: 4-3 Swift
Gamechangers: asher, panther, Puffalo, Brick (Swift) ash, shohh, Sophie, podgy713 (DAT)



Forty-Two Pence vs Blackjack and Hookers


Rosters
F2P: Bonesaw / Flare / Inquisition / Kamil / locke / Starfruit66 / Ruins / percy / 5perm
B&H: Zabi / Gw4lk / Klowwd / katryna / Paul / Grynn / Chocc (?) / asian / E_leet

I have to say that F2P has ended up outperforming my expectations for them by quite a lot these past 2 weeks. B&H is a great (and well-coordinated team), but just going off of scrim/match performances and disregarding rosters entirely, F2P has no reason to believe they shouldn’t take this game home relatively quickly.

But, let’s talk rosters anyway. I would argue F2P and B&H’s flanks of Bonesaw/Flare and Zabi/Gw4lk respectively are relatively even, so this match might come down to how hard the combo/pick classes of each team can farm. And, in that respect, F2P has a clear lead with consistently top-fragging players like Kamil, percy, and 5perm. With all these factors taken into consideration, I think F2P will win this game easily, but B&H may be able to sneak a round or two off.

Prediction: 4-1 F2P
Gamechangers: Kamil, percy, 5perm (F2P) katryna, Paul, asian, E_leet (B&H)



Itty Bitty Kitty Committee vs Home Depot eSports


Rosters
IBKC: saucy / Brandan / kitty / kjr / Rayman5000 / Salad Snek / GeneralNick / dailydoseofmelon / Steaklington
BOPIS: inky / Wubs / Diabolical / zbra / Luigi / cyclowns / raisins / Liam / Micahlele

As I predicted in Week 1, IBKC is a surprisingly strong team this season. Their ability to take a round off of G2B on Product, and win convincingly against DAT on Swiftwater proves that. On the other hand, BOPIS (formerly HDptE) continues to lose or go even with IBKC and teams of their skill level. I believe the rosters of both teams are relatively even, with maybe a few exceptions on either end. Thus, this game should come down to simply which team can play Ashville better. And, although BOPIS has been together a full season with many of the same mains, they have never played Ashville in any real capacity. You can’t say the same for IBKC, who have been around for much longer, with a much more consistent roster, and having played Ashville and similar maps a lot together already. Combine that with their strongest match performances yet, and I think IBKC will win this match, albeit with some slight difficulty.

Prediction: 4-2 IBKC
Gamechangers: saucy, Brandan, kjr, Rayman5000, GeneralNick (IBKC) inky, Wubs, Liam, Micahlele (BOPIS)



Gotta Blast vs Slippery When Wet


Rosters
G2B: josh / nazara / lambda / nickk / Nerd / baocn / PsychoPsyduck / Mhenlo / myk
SWW: Poltergeist / koolaidalan / sharky / Vythern / Musique / Jman / Soleil / Michaelpc1 / Hino

Well, I’m going to be perfectly honest and say that there is really only one way that this match can go. G2B has proven that they are easily the strongest team in Main right now, and SWW’s performances show that they might in fact be the weakest (sorry). SWW does have some star players like sharky (Pyro) or Michaelpc1 (Sniper), but a sniper with plenty of talent and experience already under their belt like Mhenlo should make quick work of any resistance SWW might bring. Overall, this should be a swift victory for G2B.

Prediction: 4-0 G2B
Gamechangers: josh, nazara, Mhenlo (G2B) Michaelpc1, Hino (SWW)



Links


Roster Spreadsheet (may be out of date)
Week 3 Matches
Main Division League Table