Fog — The week long Thanksgiving break is now over, with week 4 of ESEA-I going on.
This week’s matches are taking place on the always interesting cp_gravelpit. Gravel Pit is a 3CP Attack/Defend map, with the unique feature that both the A and B points of the map are able to be captured from the start of the round. Expect a lot of off-classing from the standard cookie cutter classes, with Engineer and Heavy on defense, and Sniper and Spy on offense being the most popular options. The map is a lot less focused on DM, and a lot more focused on strategies and key picks of utility classes. With Gravel Pit, most teams on defense barely focus their attention on the A point, and heavily fortifying the B point. However, this map is also prone to stalls as teams will wait for the perfect moment to strike, and can be very boring to watch as a spectator. For a team to be successful on Gravel Pit, practicing strategies on this map is key, as the teams who are not prepared to play this map will be destroyed.
There has been some shakeups with the teams and their rosters, the biggest one thus far is the folding of the beloved team The Spacewhales. The Spacewhales had a rough season thus far, being the only winless team in Invite. The team has had to play through different situations and circumstances, such as ricco not having power for an entire week, and the personal matters that forced rr- to miss the match vs. High Rollers Gaming TF2. To get more of an insight on the folding of The Spacewhales, I spoke with Zakirll, the former leader of the team.
Fog: Alright, so the first few weeks of the season, there was a lot of promise that the team could compete with the best of invite, however the 3rd week of the season, everything seemed to fall apart. What happened to cause this?
Zakirll: We had a lot of roster issues before the season even started. Trying to find an invite ready pocket was not easy and we didn’t really get things figured out until the first week. Then before our first match on Badlands one of our starting scouts, ricco, lost power for a week. We were able to pick up Namlay to fill in for that week, but our coordination was lacking, and communication in mumble was a huge problem. For week 2 on warmfront we had ricco back and fixed some of our communication problems. Our match vs Quantic could have been a big win but a few mistakes can ruin your chances against a team like that. Even with that loss we were pretty optimistic, then rr- missed our match vs HRG which we could have won. From there people just kind of lost interest.
Fog: Seems like some of the issues had were out of everyone’s control. The match against Quantic was definitely a really close match on a map like warmfront. Do you feel if you had a more stable and solid roster, that the team would of been competing for the 4th and final LAN spot?
Zakirll: Going into the season I thought we had a legitimate shot at the 4th spot. After playing a few weeks I’m not so sure. I think that we had the talent to compete but I’m not sure we had the drive. Invite is like moving to pro sports from junior/amateur sports, just because you’re capable of making the transition doesn’t mean that you will be successful. It was tough to get everybody on the same page and most scrim nights ended early because things just weren’t working out and people would get frustrated. Looking at the other teams in invite, they spend a lot more time scrimming, watching demo’s, and just working on their game. We put in time as well but rarely as a full team.
Fog: So now that the team has folded for the season, are there any plans for the next season? Or is this the last time that we see the team play together as The Spacewhales? Does the departures of boomer, rr-, and ukm play any effect into these plans?
Zakirll: When we came to the decision to call it quits on the season we figured we’d just let the roster die. Boomer wants to keep playing and is going to play pocket for Snooplicity, rr- is done with TF2, ukm will probably find an invite or IM team to start for, and Blindtalent and I are moving to Mobility Gaming in IM. For now I just want to play the rest of this season and see what happens.
Fog: If the team was to return for next season, is there a posibility that we’d see a return to invite, or would the team play in IM
Zakirll: I think it comes down to who wants to play. There’s a possibility that a few people decide to play in IM on different classes, but I don’t think we’ll see another Spacewhale team unless it’s in invite.
Fog: How do you feel the rest of the Invite teams will fare this season? Which teams do you think will be at LAN?
Zakirll: I know a few teams have had some of their own roster issues because they were pretty quick to get in touch with the players on our team for tryouts. Hopefully the rest of them finish out the season. As for the LAN, Classic Mixup, Quantic, and Experiment can pretty much book their tickets. Short of a meltdown those three look to be a lock. The fourth spot is harder to predict, but I’ll give it to Area 51. As long as they’re winning against the bottom half of invite and only losing to the top 3 they should be in a good position.
Fog: Speaking of the battle for fourth, Mighty Ducks (formally Six Guys Off) were in a similar situation last season, with the team folding near the end of the season without a win. This season, they’re currently 3-3 and tied with Area 51 for the 4th and final spot. Do you think if they beat Area 51 this week in gravel pit, they will be playing at LAN? What do you think changed from last season where they were winless, to this season where they have a legitamite shot for the final LAN spot?
Zakirll: Mighty Ducks already have a loss vs Area 51 and haven’t played Experiment yet. I think to have a realistic chance of making LAN they need to beat Area 51 this week and take a win off one of the top 3 teams. One thing to note, they do have 2 more guaranteed wins vs our team while 51 has to play and beat HRG to keep pace. As for their improvement, the returning players know what it takes to play in invite and their scouts are a huge improvement over last season.
Along with the folding of The Spacewhales, there have been some roster changes happening during the week. The most notable of these roster changes is additions of Boomer (former member of The Spacewhales) and Kermit to Snooplicity, and from what I’ve heard, Boomer will be replacing current pocket Bl4nk, with Bl4nk persuing his DOTA2 career??? (I haven’t confirmed this, so I’m most likely wrong). The role that Kermit will be playing in the team is unknown to me as of the writing of this article (hopefully the roles of both new additions will be made clear by the end of this week). Snooplicity also made a change in medics after week 2 with Sash (not really Korean) replacing Nosferatu Man.
Another roster change that occured this week was Mighty Ducks cutting their starter scout Moonchild, with the Mighty Ducks picking up former Spacewhale ukm. The reason for the cutting of Moonchild was not made clear, hopefully someone from Mighty Ducks will be able to shed light on this.
Now, lets talk about the power rankings for Week 4.
Power Rankings:
1) Classic Mixup Medic: Harbleu, Pocket: TLR , Roamer: Relic, Scouts: moose, enigma Demo: Platnium
Classic Mixup definitely deserves to be number one, being on a roll since Season 9 ESEA-I LAN where they were the surprise 2nd place team, upsetting The Experiment in the semi-finals. The changes that the team made in the off-season have proven to be nothing but good for Mixup. Platnium, who switched from Soldier to Demo for S9 LAN, has stayed with the Demoman class and has proved that he is one of the best demo players in invite this season (almost right up there with b4nny from Quantic Legacy). The addition of TLR from The Experiment and Harbleu switching back to Medic has re-united the unstoppable combo from Season 8′s Check Six Gaming, who went un-defeated and eventually won Season 8 LAN.
Classic Mixup goes up against Quantic Legacy, in what will surely be match of the week, and the now dead team The Spacewhales, which will be an obvious forfeit win for Mixup. Mixup has shown that they are able to beat Quantic Legacy in the recent MGE Cup Finals, where they defeated them 2 maps to zero on both Viaduct and Snakewater, and in the Community Fortress Tournament. However, with this week’s map being Gravel Pit, things are going to be slightly more even. Although Quantic Legacy defeated last season’s iteration of Classic Mixup 2-0 on Gravel Pit, Classic Mixup has gotten a lot better from last season and expect their Gravel Pit game to be wildly improved from last season. Overall, I see this week to be smooth sailing for Classic Mixup, and that Classic Mixup will be the sole undefeated team by the end of this week’s matches.
2) Quantic Legacy Medic: CB, Pocket: Tyrone , Roamer: Mackey, Scouts: Clockwork, Cyzer Demo: B4nny
Coming in second is Quantic Legacy (formally known as eMazing Gaming TF2/Prophets Ft. Dashner), the defending ESEA-I LAN Champions. In stark contrast to the likes of Classic Mixup, The Experiment, and Area 51 Gaming TF2, the core six has not changed from last season, with Quantic going with the “If it ain’t broke, why fix it” approach. This approach has worked out well so far this season, with the team being undefeated thus far. This week, Quantic goes up against Classic Mixup, the other undefeated team so far this season, and Snooplicity. The Snooplicity match should be pretty easy for Quantic, however, the match against Mixup will be an entirely different story.
Quantic and Mixup have not yet played eachother in ESEA this season, but they have played eachother on two occasions during the MGE Cup Finals and the Community Fortress 6v6 Tournament final. Both matches ended in Mixup defeating Quantic, making it seem that this time will end in a similar manner. However, Gravel Pit is a map that neither team has played eachother on as far as I know (with their current rosters). If Quantic want to beat Mixup, they will have to step up their game and be on their absolute best. The key for Quantic on this match is the off-classing skills of Mackey, who has on many occassions used his quirky off-classes to change the tide of the match. Even with all of this considered, Quantic is going to have a hell of a time against Mixup and will probably lose to them.
3) The Experiment Medic: Basik, Pocket: Seagull , Roamer: Wonderwall, Scouts: Oplaid, Dante Demo: Dummy
In third, we have The Experiment, who have made the biggest changes this off-season with only Dummy and Wonderwall sticking around from last season. The Experiment picked up a mix of old-school and first-time invite players, with Basik and Dante being the players new to invite, and Seagull and Oplaid being the invite players from past seasons. So far, the team is 4-2, losing to only Quantic and to Mixup in a very close match on cp_warmfront. This week, The Experiment go up against Mighty Ducks and High Rollers Gaming TF2. Both of these matches should be relatively easy for The Experiment, but the match against Mighty Ducks should prove to be somewhat of a challenge for them.
4) Area 51 Gaming TF2 Medic: The_Fragile, Pocket: Justin , Roamer: MemphisVon, Scouts: carnage, ender Demo: Soup
Coming in 4th and currently holding the final LAN position, Area 51 Gaming TF2 are looking to keep hold of the final LAN spot. The roster has seen a few changes from the LAN roster of last season, with both Blaze and ryanr leaving the team. To fill the holes in their rosters, Area 51 picked up Justin and Carnage from The Experiment during the offseason, with Justin moving from his usual scout position to fill the pocket role that ryanr left behind when he was cut at the end of the season. Area 51 was rumored to be picking up Boomer from Spacewhales and moving Justin back to Scout (with Carnage being left out to dry). However, Area 51 has already used up all 5 roster changes allowed by ESEA by giving their friends free ESEA Premium (lol really?).
The trend thus far this season for Area 51 is winning matches against the lower half of invite, and losing matches against the top 3 teams of invite. This week, the trend should be no different, as Area 51 will go up against Mighty Ducks and take a free win from the dead carcass of The Spacewhales. Area 51 are going to have to tighten their belts and play their best against Mighty Ducks, as this game could decide which team will go to LAN this season. Having already beaten the Mighty Ducks once this season on Badlands, this match will be key to potentially shut out the Ducks from LAN. Area 51 are going to have to rely on Carnage with his utility classes to pull out the win.
5) Mighty Ducks Medic: Thrill, Pocket: Doggles, Roamer: Fobiabscared, Scouts: ukm, Decimate Demo: PUFF
In 5th, we have the very hungry Mighty Ducks. The Ducks are the re-incarnation of last season’s only winless team, Six Guys Off, with Thrill, Doggles, and PUFF as the players sticking around from last season. From the off season, the Ducks picked up Fobiabscared, Decimate, and just picked up ukm from the now dead Spacewhales, further strengthining their roster and making them a real contender for the 4th and final LAN spot. This week’s matches are going to be the most important matches so far this season for the Ducks, with the Ducks going up against Area 51 Gaming TF2, and The Experiment. The Ducks are going to have a really hard time this week with these teams, and are going to have to pull a little Disney magic to pull the win in both of these matches.
With Mighty Ducks already losing once to Area 51 on Badlands, this match is an absolute must win game for them, as this could be their last chance to secure a shot at taking the final LAN spot (barring any team meltdowns). The Ducks are going to need to play their absolute best to pull out the victory against Area 51. The match against The Experiment is going to be a lot tougher for these Ducks, and I don’t expect them to be able to pull through against them.
6) Snooplicity Medic: Sash, Pocket: Boomer , Roamer: Bigac, Scouts: weeble, whaz Demo: 38special
Sitting in 6th, Snooplicity look like along with 7th place High Rollers Gaming TF2 to be a team from the outside looking in, being almost certainly out of contention for LAN. The team is built from the remains of Season 9 ESEA-IM team Red Flag, with 38special and weeble being the players from last season’s Red Flag team. Having recently picked up Sash after week 2 and Boomer after week 3, the stability and cohesiveness of the team is in question. The matches this week for Snooplicity are against High Rollers and Quantic Legacy, with the match against Quantic looking to be a losing effort for Snooplicity.
The match against High Rollers should be very close, with both Snooplicity and High Rollers being on par with eachother. If Snooplicity are going to win against High Rollers, they can’t slack around and are going to have to put their best efforts forward to secure the win.
7) High Rollers Gaming TF2 Medic: Trekkie, Pocket: Tri , Roamer: TechDude, Scouts: Omar, Anonemouse Demo: Rick
In 7th and final place (with the death of Spacewhales), we have High Rollers Gaming TF2, the Season 9 ESEA-IM champions. Having won the ESEA-IM Season 9 championships, I had a lot better expectations for this team, but they have fallen flat thus far with a 1-5 record (only winning to The Spacewhales). This week, High Rollers are going up against Snooplicity and The Experiment. The situation is very similar to Snooplicity this week, with this week’s match against Snooplicity going to be a very close match. Will the High Rollers roll lucky 7′s, or will they roll the dreaded snake-eyes and fall to 1-7 in the season?8) The Spacewhales
The Spacewhales had a good, but rough run this season in Invite, and should be commended for sticking around as long as they did. I will use this space to thank Zakirll for the interview, and to say Rest In Peace The Spacewhales (2010-2011)
Now we are going into the predictions, these predictions will be short and sweet as this article has run on much too long for my liking.
Predictions:
Week 4:1
Classic Mixup > Quantic Legacy (2-1) MATCH OF THE WEEK
The Experiment > Mighty Ducks (2-0)
Snooplicity > High Rollers Gaming TF2 (2-1)
Week 4:2
Area 51 Gaming TF2 > Mighty Ducks (2-0)
The Experiment > High Rollers Gaming TF2 (2-0)
Quantic Legacy > Snooplicity (2-0)
The matches this week should be pretty straight forward, with Area 51 and Classic Mixup getting free wins against the now dead Spacewhales. The obvious match of the week is the match of Mixup vs Quantic, as both teams are currently undefeated.
That’s all for this week’s power rankings and predictions, stay tuned for the Week 4 Roundup at the end of this week. Until then, I’ll see you guys later
Originally published on VanillaTV (vanillatf2.org) on 2011-11-30 by Fog.
Recovered from the Internet Archive (archived copy) as part of tf2esports.com's preservation of VanillaTV's TF2 coverage. The original site is no longer online. All rights remain with the original author; reposted for historical reference.