Phase 3 Week 4
Dragon kills five, the Kings Dethroned, and Leviathans Surge Into Top 3
#1
Jade Dragons (5-1)
Previous ranking: 3
Last week: 2-0 (Valkyries 2-0, Bolts 2-0)
This week: Leviathans
Fine. The Jade Dragons are the best team right now. They lead the league in wins—partly due to not having a half-weekend yet, like most of the other teams, and partly due to sheer dominance—and consequently lead the league in shutouts. Their wins are not close, and they have a league best five 2-0’s. The Warriors, Leviathans, and Kings, are each tied with three, though the former two have each played one game fewer than the Dragons. Still, it is hard not to marvel at this Dragons team, who so rarely show signs of weakness.
If there is a weakness, subtle though it may be, it is that the Dragons seem to play sloppier in more even games; the Valkyries were able to keep things close for parts of both games in their set, and the result was a victory that, while never in question, was not as clean as the Dragons may have liked. That being said, this team is so rarely anything but ahead in every lane. They will win fights, they will win objectives, and they will have teams packing up and heading home early for the day. Plus, Screammmmm got a penta in the SPL. Do you have a penta in the SPL?
They face the Leviathans, their last opponent (and last real challenge) in this first round-robin.
Prediction: 2-0 Leviathans
#2
Oni Warriors (4-1)
Previous ranking: 2
Last week: 2-0 (Valkyries 2-0, Scarabs 2-0)
This week: Titans, Bolts
The Warriors, like the Dragons, have one loss—a tight set to another good team, in this case the Kings. Aside from that, the Warriors win, and typically in dominant fashion. They should finish the first round-robin first in the standings, as they hold the tiebreaker over the Dragons who will also likely finish 6-1. It is hard not be a little bit frustrated with these Warriors for dropping that set to the Kings—a 7-0 would have been a marvel to see. The second round-robin will be telling as far as this team’s potential—can they, for instance, beat the Leviathans again? What about the Dragons? Will they win with a second crack at the Kings?
Prediction: 2-0 Titans , 2-0 Bolts
#3
Atlantis Leviathans (4-1)
Previous ranking: 5
Last week: 2-0 (Scarabs 2-0, Kings 2-0)
This week: Dragons, Valkyries
The Leviathans showed up last week. It started in game 1 against the Scarabs who were missing their solo laner. It was a game the Leviathans could not afford to lose, and they routed the Scarabs with relative ease. Game 2 was a bit more interesting, but was still a Leviathans victory in the end. Against the Kings, the Leviathans found two convincing wins. Their lone loss comes to the Warriors, a team likely to finish the first round-robin up 6-1. The other team likely to finish 6-1is the Dragons, who the Leviathans will face this week. How the Leviathans play that set will tell us a lot about where the Leviathans fit in in this top half. If they can keep it close, it will inspire a lot of confidence in this team going forward. For now, they are solidly third after Sunday’s upset.
Prediction: 0-2 Dragons, 2-0 Valkyries
#4
Camelot Kings (4-2)
Previous ranking: 1
Last week: 1-1 (Titans 2-0, Leviathans 0-2)
This week: Bolts
It may seem harsh to cast the Kings out of the top 3 after one loss, but they just did not look impressive last week. Contrast that to the other teams in the top three, and it is easy to see why. The Warriors and Dragons have looked impressive every week thus far, dropping only a single close set each, while the Leviathans have been trending upward and themselves just beat these Kings in 2-0 fashion. The short of it: the Kings cannot lose that set and remain in the top 3. The other teams have just shown more consistency. Even in their wins against the Titans, the Kings did not look particularly convincing. Don’t get me wrong, it was a pleasure to watch them out-position the Titans around objectives, sneaking Fire Giant after Fire Giant right in front of a helpless Titans team, all despite losing the team fights. That style won’t work against top teams, who tend to punish lost fights more thoroughly. At their best, the Kings can beat anyone, but we saw last weekend that they are not always at their best.
Prediction: 2-0 Bolts
#5
Tartarus Titans (2-3)
Previous ranking: 4
Last week: 0-1 (Kings 0-2)
This week: Warriors, Scarabs
The Titans looked impressive for moments against the Kings, but they could not find an answer to their superior objective play calling. Won fights do not win games. Objectives after fights win games. The Titans had plenty of the former, but not nearly enough of the latter. The Titans are still searching for an identity, and the healing composition was interesting even if the results were not there. If the Titans win both of their sets this week, it would be a massive turnaround heading into the second half of phase 3. The Warriors will be hard to beat, but the Scarabs should be an easy out. Should be, but the Titans should take that set very seriously as they cannot afford to lose.
Prediction: 0-2 Warriors, 2-0 Scarabs
#6
Valhalla Valkyries (1-4)
Previous ranking: 6
Last week: 0-2 (Warriors 0-2, Dragons 0-2)
This week: Scarabs, Leviathans
A hard week for the Valkyries. There is no other way to describe it. They faced the top two teams and they lost. There were moments in each set where the games felt competitive, but you do not get points in the standings for keeping things close. BennyQ continues to be impressive. He is one of the best mid laners in the league, and one of the most talented individual players in the world. Despite losing, he looks good seemingly every game. The Valkyries simply do not have the experience needed to compete with the top teams. Not yet, anyways. But they keep improving and they keep being fun to watch.
Prediction: 2-1 Scarabs, 0-2 Leviathans
#7
Olympus Bolts (1-4)
Previous ranking: 7
Last week: 0-1 (Dragons 0-2)
This week: Kings, Warriors
The Bolts got penta-killed last weekend. That’s tough. They played the Dragons in their lone match last weekend. That’s also tough. They will finish the first round-robin against the Kings and Warriors. Do I need to say it again? The bright side is that there is still some time to turn things around, but it is surely ticking away.
Prediction: 0-2 Kings, 0-2 Warriors
#8
Solar Scarabs (0-5)
Previous ranking: 8
Last week: 0-2 (Leviathans 0-2, Warriors 0-2)
This week: Valkyries, Titans
Look, the Scarabs showed moments of being competitive last weekend, but it was not enough to get any wins. ScaryD inexcusably showed up late to the Scarabs’ match against the Leviathans, and they never regained their footing despite some game 2 antics where they nearly won the last fight. For a team trying to improve, losing a game of real SPL practice with your full team is indefensible. It shouldn’t even happen once. It cannot happen again.
Against the Warriors, they got a late fire giant in game 1 but failed to convert what amounted to a small lead. Then they were rolled in game 2. The good news? This is the easiest weekend they have had all split. The Scarabs were competitive enough against better teams last weekend that I COULD see them winning both sets this week, but that only means I wouldn’t be questioning the fabric of reality if they managed to do so. I still think two wins is unlikely, however improved the Scarabs have looked.
One thing is certain: they need to beat the Valkyries. The Scarabs need to send a message to the rest of the league that they can win games, and the Valkyries will be their best chance to do so until their rematch with the Bolts. I think they can win one game. I am not sure about two.
Prediction: 1-2 Valkyries, 0-2 Titans
