The Autumn/Winter season starts this week as ESL S4 begins, and there are some great matches on the horizon.
The Heavyweights
Sommie (sub)
Vale Springer
Byte
Haunter
Coinz
Boomeh
Skinnie (c)
Hot on the heels of their Dignitas dethroning EMS success, Vale will be looking to dominate this group. Their only legitimate challenge will come from a reinvigorated TCM who will see a great chance for a winning start to the Autumn/Winter season with Dignitas and Crack Clan not participating.
Both teams have upgraded (on paper at least) and there's elite talent at basically every position. For TCM, newish addition Predz will form one of the most fearsome scout duos with Aves and Numlocked will more than make up for Weqo's absence.
Vale might have to change their playstyle to accommodate Byte, but Byte is Byte and always brings a huge contribution to whatever team he plays for. One wonders if his dominant personality will mesh with the rest of the team. They have been after Zerox for months and he and Skinnie will work hard to quickly build a game-changing partership. It will be interesting to see how these two old school players (Zerox, in fact, coming out from retirement) integrate with one of the scene's most dynamic teams.
Middle of the Pack
CoolClan Treigzak
Emtpynoflow
Admirable (c)
Altbst
Växjö (c)
Wltrs
Extremer
Night (c)
F2
Pure
Piece (c)
Oggy (c)
Rockit Grey
Thy
Loe (c)
Recon
Shooter
Viqun
Sinaf (sub)
New to division 1 Rockit are aiming for a top 4 finish. Assuming that they're not ready to beat Vale or TCM yet, they're going to have to take points from either idk? or CoolClan to do so. A lot will depend on how much Viqun can make up for the loss of Zodiak. He has a lot of raw ability, but will he be the force that Zodiak was?
All of our Resupply panelists but one expects idk? to make a big impact here and finish 3rd. Recruiting Pure from the American leagues will be interesting. Will he bring fresh strats with him? He's an excellent aggressive soldier with a deep understanding of the game from his experience playing top level medic. If they prepare properly for their games versus TCM and Vale, we might even see idk? crack the top 2.
It feels like CoolClan are on the ropes. Their return from a long summer break started with losing Cube and Deith and they're not back on track yet. This could be a challenging and potentially disappointing season for them if they don't find form soon. Teams like Rockit and idk? will be looking to take full advantage.
The Dark Horses
eSrael Techtron
Forzew
Daniel
Mantun
Sentor (c)
Asafzie
Jesta (sub)
Monster Munch
Tsu
Dr Justice
Wlv (c)
Walker
Arx (c)
Vlad Drac
Beta
Where will these guys fit in the pecking order? It's very difficult to say, but they're both dangerous enough to take important points from the middle of the pack group above them.
eSrael are looking for their first taste of division 1 play, so they're here mostly to learn. But don't write them off - they almost beat Rockit over 2 maps in last season's ETF2L effort where they finished 3rd, only behind them and idk?.
This season will be Monster Munch's official debut to the competitive scene, so they'll be desperate to make an impression. Stealing points from, say, idk? or CoolClan, would do them just fine.
The Outsiders
Dr Sauna
Nor (c)
Zappis
The Fruit reform is still looking for a soldier, so we can hardly expect them to be ready to get wins here. Not saying they don't deserve their place - they were promoted from winning division 2 last season - but wouldn't this group just be that much more fascinating if Afterlife (not taking part) or r@ts (stuck in division 2) were in their place?
Regardless, Fruit with Destructo back and Depch healing could just be good enough to upset someone's season.
Games of the Season
Week 1
Badlands and Freight
I Don't Know vs CoolClan
Could well decide 3rd place and will set the season's tone for both of these teams.
Week 2
Gravel Pit and Well
Vale vs Team CoolerMaster
Numlocked meets his old team as the favourites face off early in the season.
Rockit vs I Don't Know?
Former division 2 rivals play a grudge match to settle who's actually better after their classic ETF2L finale ended in a draw.
CoolClan vs MonsterMunch
This will be a decent measure of how good MonsterMunch are.
Week 5
Freight and Gravel Pit
Team CoolerMaster vs I Don't Know?
Idk? get a chance vs TCM on awkward maps to show just how good they are.
Week 7
Granary and Fastlane
Rockit vs eSrael
Another div 2 rematch for Rockit could see eSrael with something to prove, looking to dash Rockit's ambitions for a top 4 finish at the last hurdle.
Predictions
Who will finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd?
.
Anderson
Bybben
Dr John Carter
Exfane
.
Moose
Supreme Being
The Pledge
Xzar
Which team is most likely to exceed expectations?
.
Anderson
Bybben
Dr John Carter
Exfane
.
Moose
Supreme Being
The Pledge
Xzar
Which team is most likely to underperform relative to their expectations?
.
Anderson
Bybben
Dr John Carter
Exfane
.
Moose
Supreme Being
The Pledge
Xzar
Which team has the best scout partnership?
.
Anderson
Bybben
Dr John Carter
Exfane
.
Moose
Supreme Being
The Pledge
Xzar
Originally published on Resupply.eu on 28.08.2009 - 14:35 by JimmyBreeze.
Archived from ESL S4 Division 1 Preview as part of tf2esports.com's preservation of Resupply.eu's TF2 coverage. All rights remain with the original author and Resupply.eu; reposted for historical reference.