The writeup is a little short this week because I've been busy with real life stuff. But instead of just the power rankings, I would like to write a little bit about a strange story I heard from my ex-sponsor.
Frag Dominant, once known as one of the best sponsors in TF2, is on the brink of extinction. It is not because of the daily issues that cause a team to break up, it has nothing to do with chemistry, losing matches or lost of interest in the game. The death of Frag Dominant has to do with something that most of the competitive community have no involvement in...cash.
The owner of Frag Dominant, Orlando Garcia, signed contracts, borrowing money from many different sponsors in gaming, including the co-owner of nopression, Brian Benach. I was told by a source who is a general manager of a major gaming organization that when the loans, which were up to around 10,000 dollars, were not paid back by the due date, Garcia was sent to jail. There has been no news from the FragD website talking about this issue and what would happen to their current Counter Strike and COD4 teams.
Frag Dominant was once known as one of the best teams/sponsors in TF2. They defeated eXult to be crowned the season 2 CEVO-A champions. That team was made up of key members of Virgin Police, as well as remiCs and Platinum.
FragD returned the next season and had an undefeated championship season in CEVO-A season 3. That team was made up of the main cast of Lightning Bolt/Watch This Baby...along with wonderwall.
Please let this be a small warning for all the teams out there with sponsors. Sure it is all good and fun when someone provides free services to you to help you play your game. But always be careful who you associate with and what you agree to, verbally or in writing. Thought the story would be interesting enjoy to share. Ok, here are the rankings:
Hostile Faction - LW: 1st (5-1) - Very impressive loss against Sneaky Charger. They showed that the can battle with the best of them, not sneaky charger, Jaeger. They have a chance to redeem themselves this week against Apocalypse Gaming. I also have to question them starting 40jam at soldier, who has bottomfragged in all 3 matches that he played in. Also, 4 uberdrops from aaronlol in 3 matches? I said a few weeks ago that this team has no holes in their starting roster, I might be wrong.
Sneaky Charger (WTB) - LW: 5th (6-0) - You beat the first place team, you should become the new #1. But I just couldn't get myself to do that due to Jaeger being their ringer against Hostile Faction. After watching the demo, I decided that Jaeger made a huge impact during the match and I can't put this team at #1 with one of the best soldiers in TF2 as their ringer. I would feel comfortable putting them in 1st if they take down eMg and Apocalypse Gaming this week though.
eMazing Gaming - LW: 2nd (5-1) - Hard fought win against eXpertise, and they embarrassed Helix on follower. I always talk about banny and tyrone and how they are the core of this team, but jnkx has really stepped up his game of late. Big showdown against Sneaky Charger this week. The key matchup I will be looking at is notor vs tyrone at soldier.
Vicious Gaming - LW: 4th (6-0) - Responded to their loss against unrestricted in alienware very nicely by defeating Area 51 on freight. The win also proves how important Droog's demoing is to the team. Definitely looking forward to a boogz vs droog showdown on turbine this week.
Apocalypse Gaming - LW: 3rd (5-0) - Hate to drop these guys two spots, but like I said from the beginning, spots 1-5 are incredibly close. And when you don't play any matches while the other 4 teams are winning, you will drop in the rankings. Their next 5 matches are against 5 teams in the top 10, I love Tyranny and the crew, but I really doubt they will make it out of those 5 matches with 5 wins. I'm predicting a 8-2 record after these 5 matches.
Righteous Chaps - LW: NR (5-2) - With 2 losses on Turbine against some top tiered teams, you would think the Chaps might be out of the rankings for a while. But they have found new life with the pick up of Technasty. That 5-1 win against Area 51 proves that the Chaps COULD crack into the top tier. They have a chance to really prove themselves against Apocalypse and Hostile Faction in the next week or two. Credit to apoc for being the medic with the best ubercharge to uber dropped ratio in open.
Area 51 - LW: 6th (5-3) - Ruh Roh. Area 51 has found themselves in a nice slump here. Their first week win against Detox is becoming less and less impressive as Detox slowly falls in the standings as well. You also gotta ask if Moose, who said to be only RINGING for HF, will ever return to the 51 roster. However, I see the solution on their roster already. It looks like dummy has joined the crew (he hasn't paid yet though). And if dummy permanently replaces Marmell as their starting demo, look for 51 to make a nice 2nd half comeback.
Lores Merry Men - LW: NR (6-2) - LMM finds themselves in my rankings for the first time after taking down 3 of the teams that I mention in my power rankings. The record should really be 7-1 once the solve the whole esea client issue with Blindside. And looking at their next 2 matches, LMM should be 9-1 in my next power ranking.
Detox - LW: 7th (4-2) - Detox is still looking for that signature win to prove that they belong in the rankings. Another loss to a playoff caliber team. I definitely can see them going 2-2 or even 1-3 in their next 4 matches and falling out of the rankings. Their pickup of Breather did not prove to be successful after going 33-44 against eXpertise. In mesr we trust, right?
Helix - LW: 8th (4-3) - Riding a two match losing streak, Helix, like Detox, is also looking for that signature win against a playoff caliber team. Their losses against LMM and eMg proved to me that they definitely need to change some things up if they hope to stay in the power rankings. What to do Harbleu? What to do?
Honorable Mentions:
Rusty Buttholes - LW: NR (6-1) - Their 5 game winning streak would be a lot more impressive if 4 of the teams weren't on the bottom of the standings. Their next 3 matches will tell a lot about the team. One win gets them in my rankings, two wins middle of my rankings, if they take down all 3 teams, I will put these guys in the top 3.
FistFight (50cal) - LW: 10th (5-2) - Up and down week for fistfight. Lose to LMM in a tight and exciting turbine match, leaves 50 calibre, beats six guys off in 15 minutes. Match against Sneaky Charger on badlands will tell where this team belongs in the rankings.
eXpertise - LW: NR (5-3) - Just when I thought expertise was going to fall out of the honorable mentions after losses against fistfight and eMg, they totally redeem themselves after a long and hard fought win against Detox.
Apoplexy Industries - LW: 9th (3-2) - Haven't played a match since December 15th, but you can't count these guys out if they are still a team.
Originally published on CommunityFortress on Sunday, 17 January 2010 15:03 by djfivenine.
Archived from ESEA-O Power Rankings Week 5 as part of tf2esports.com's preservation of CommunityFortress's TF2 coverage. All rights remain with the original author and CommunityFortress; reposted for historical reference.