(ESEAnews) - Welcome back to another season of ESEA Open coverage with yours truly. This season we rounded up an impressive 60 teams for the league which is a big jump in participation up from S12's 39 team open division. Going through the list of teams I noticed a large number of rookie rosters. Having all these new players is going to make my coverage a little rough in the beginning, as I am unfamiliar with a good majority of those players in their first season of ESEA. However on the other hand, having this rookie majority is bound to make the league competitive up and down the division.
Paranoid Parrot spy checks for most of his matches.
The upper portion of the division is the important piece here though, as that is what gets covered in the power rankings. And among all the rookies we have some big names that pop out at me this season. Not saying that newer teams won't eventually work their way into the rankings. As a season preview, this article is going to try and break down who some of those teams that might have a shot at finishing at the top as well as those I think have an interesting lineup this season. This isn't a ranking in itself, so don't feel offended if your team doesn't make the list. This is more of a "who to look out for" in open than anything else, and some interesting lineups that I wanted to talk about.
TF2 OPEN SEASON 13 PREVIEW
TEAM
RANK
COMMENTS
? LARGE Gamers
Central
0-0-0 (.000)
Streak N/A
1.
As I mentioned, this isn't a ranking article, so don't take the placement to seriously either. The first team I'll be looking at is Rush TF2. Rush TF2 stuck out at me as one of one of our teams composed entirely of IM experienced players. Granted some of them have just had a taste of IM, but others like Amazon and Bombdigiti are well established at that level and am expecting big things from both of them here in open. Amazon in particular I remember having cleaned up as demoman in open before while he was playing for Tiger's team back in season 9. Seeing how well he did back then combined with the IM experience he picked up just last season makes me anxious to see how well he will perform this season back in open. Bombdigiti would be my other player to watch, who I remember seeing during season 11 play for Mgib's team and help them finish within the top ten of playoffs. Bomb seems to be a pretty well know soldier who has played as high as invite a few seasons back. I don't think that reimu and testify on scout will be Rush's strongest area as their heavy classes all seem to be particularly strong.
? baby dick gaming
Central
0-0-0 (.000)
Streak N/A
2.
The next team I'll be looking at is Basics Octopus Emporium. I think one of their biggest weapons is going to be their combo. Now since no matches have been played I can't be exactly certain who their combo will be, but I can say with a good hunch that it will be Bsc on pocket, and Dana_scully on medic. The two have played combo before together during past seasons in intermediate and were also on the same team in open during seasons 9 and 10, so I know they have the experience to back it up. Slipz and Tooth bring even more experience to the team both having played multiple seasons at the IM level. Reemix also played with these two last season, and the team as a whole is bound to have a high level of cohesiveness and cooperation thanks to their previous experience together. I'd say this team definitely qualifies as a sandbagger but they aren't too overpowered compared to some of the other high open rosters I have seen in the past.
? deadground tactics
Central
0-0-0 (.000)
Streak N/A
3.
Playground Tactics is the highest ranking team from last season to return to open. Although much of their roster has changed, I have a feeling Tactics will be able to maintain their high level of performance going into S13. The two members returning this season for them are Sonnn on scout, typhus on pocket, and Rikachu on demoman. I was particularly impressed with Rikachu last season, having finished 2nd for overall points scored on demo in open. This season he should finish at the top again, keep an eye on him. As for their new players, one of the notable pickups they made was London. He was a solid medic for top finisher NorCalCuties last season and seems to be one of the more experienced medics in open, this being his forth season on it. The rest of Tactics appear to fit in well at the upper open level as well and am liking their chances this season.
? rep
Central
0-0-0 (.000)
Streak N/A
4.
It would be unthinkable to write this season preview without including our Argentinian friends, Rocutaneo. Don't ask me what their name means, it's probably some weird birth defect. Should have stuck with something similar to Koala 6. Well Rocutaneo has also chosen to stay in open for another season despite their decent finish and notable victories last season. Their roster this time around is pretty much the same plus or minus a few backup changes. And yes, I am going to keep saying it again this season, which is these guys have beast scouts. Nemo and Javo are looking like one of the strongest scout duos in open this season, especially if they have improved any. Ping problems aside, the Argentinians still seem a bit uncomfortable playing against our North American teams. I know I have seen Nemo lurking around some NA pugs, so I know he has been working hard to learn the ins and outs of our playstyle. The biggest question is going to be whether or not their heavy classes can pull some more weight this season and overcome some of the adaptations they have had to make to their game recently.
? AG Unagi
East
0-0-0 (.000)
Streak N/A
5.
Trans-autistic railroad takes my current vote for best team name. I wonder how many people get it....Well that's not really important, what is is important is how well I think this team is going to do this season. This team has been around in one form or another over the last few seasons of open, with a few reoccurring players such as Ldk and ltcrumpet. They have also had a large amount of frenchies who seem to have dwindled in recent seasons, some more or less roster squatting on backup. The real highlight of this team is some of their newer players. Abramelin returns after his impressive showing on scout for them last season, and will without a doubt be one of the strongest scouts in open this season rivaling that of the Argentinians. Their similar lineup last season started off pretty strong but fell just short of playoffs. I think that this season will be a big breakthrough for them, and am expecting to see them in playoffs.
? BIG BOYS
Central
0-0-0 (.000)
Streak N/A
6.
Big Boys got the bump to IM last season and decided against playing out the season for it. Now they return to open for season 13 and another shot at playoffs. The have retained a few players from their S11 run including Hooli, Dunce, Titan, and Vile. However I am expecting some of their newer players to be taking the starting positions such as Foreign. I have seen Foreign play well on multiple classes, but am fairly certain he'll be playing scout for Big Boys here. In addition I think that Hooli is also likely to be one of their strongest players. His demo work is going to stand out among the rest of open this season and will be ready to lead his team back into playoffs. After a respectable 9th place finish during their last playoff, I know Big Boys will be able to place higher this season with the help of their newer recruits and the history the others have had playing together.
? Blackymonster Industries
East
0-0-0 (.000)
Streak N/A
7.
Some people might be quick to dismiss The Baddies from their list of top due to the fact that they are running a few newer players on their roster. However The Baddies also have some real veterans on the roster who I think should be able to pull the team into the top ten at the very least. Blackymonster, having been around since season 3, just came off of playing invite last season as medic. If he sticks with med going back into open he's probably going to tear things up with the pocket no matter who it is. I'd HOPE it would be thr4sher, however I know he can roam as well. Thr4sher along with Kraka are the other two more experienced members of the team. I know Kraka has helped out some teams in open before as scout and will be able to have even more success with the likes of Blackymonster and Thr4sher. If my memory servers me right, Kraka is also a skilled sniper and am expecting him to make use of that throughout the season.
? astronerds
Central
0-0-0 (.000)
Streak N/A
8.
Next up is Astronerds. I actually don't have huge expectations for this team, but they still an have an interesting lineup that is bound to at least impact the final standings of the top ten teams if they themselves don't make it. I think they will have a shot at the top ten due to two of their players who seem to stick out as the most experienced. The first player would be none other than five season invite soldier mackey. Mackey has "messed around"(for lack of a better term) in open before, and am expecting him to offclass for this season as well. If I had to put my money on a class, I'd say he is likely to play scout for the astronerds and might even dabble with the FaN on some maps. Even though mackey mains soldier, his overall experience and game sense make his scouting a force to challenged with as well, especially in open. Astronerd's other big name is that of Eulogy. Eulogy played his first season of IM last season and will be another major threat to upper open teams. Unlike mackey, Eulogy will be able to play his main class of soldier without any backlash. Aside from their two big trump cards, the rest of astronerds seem to be newer players minus riccr, who I recognize as a solid scout who used to play for Treason.
? Space Cadets
Central
0-0-0 (.000)
Streak N/A
9.
In Dust We Trust is composed mostly of players from the S12 team Cosmic Brownie Swag. Last season they barely made it into playoffs but were still one of the more noteworthy teams that were just outside of my top ten power rankings. They return this season with all but one of their former players. My favorite would have to be Mumbo, as he seemed to be the big clutch scout player on Cosmic last season. Their other returning players include Indust on medic, K1eptomaniak on demoman, and Billuster and Lunacide as their soldiers. I did recognize this team's improvement over the previous season and know they have made progress. However I think that overall season 13's top teams look to be a little stronger than 12's, so am actually not expecting a huge climb for Dust here. I'm sure they have the ability to make playoffs again, but it would be a stretch to say they will for certain be one of our top ten finishers.
? Tonights Entertainment
Central
0-0-0 (.000)
Streak N/A
10.
The last team I want to talk about is dflame plus 5, so cleverly named after dflame himself. While dflame will certainly be an important part of his team this season, I would actually say that their soldiers are the real ones to look out for. On roamer they have bwatbwatbwat, who I know used to play scout more often than anything else. He was a pretty good scout for never being on an amazing team and will remember to check in to see how he has made the transition over to roamer. Now on pocket dflame has gotten yet another former scout gone soldier, Bopper. Bopper has a bit more experience having played a good amount of matches over the past 4 seasons including 3 playoff appearances. Their other players include bot_tay on scout and Stratovariu on medic who both also have some previous seasons under their belt.
OTHERS TO WATCH:
Reign of Terror
Lost Peripherals
My Noodle is Moist
SteveC Games Team A
Boston Bashers
Lazer Bryans
Be on the lookout for a special feature over the break!
Originally published on ESEA on 12/3/2012, 6:59 PM by Deathanchor.
Archived from TF2 Open Season 13 Preview as part of tf2esports.com's preservation of ESEA's TF2 coverage. All rights remain with the original author and ESEA; reposted for historical reference.