SX Phase 1 Week 4
Everything We Thought We Knew Was a Lie
#1
Oni Warriors
6-0 (1st Chaos)
Previous ranking: 2
The Warriors still have yet to lose in season ten, and their performance in Week 3 illustrated more dominance than we’ve seen in past weeks. With 2-0 victories over the Ravens and the Gladiators, the Warriors solidified themselves as the best team in all of SMITE, at least in the early goings of the new season. Their set win streak is all the way up nine, but it isn’t hard to pick a team on the calendar that can challenge them for a win. They face the Camelot Kings on Sunday, a rematch of the 3-1 Oni victory in round 2 of the Kickoff Tournament.
The Oni frontliners in particular have been far and away the best in the league. AwesomeJake408 leads all SPL supports in kills (12), assists (143, first in all of the SPL), and gold per minute (514, the only support above 500). SoloOrTroll likewise is the only solo laner thus far to score 30 or more kills. He has 42.
This week: Leviathans, Kings
#2
Camelot Kings
5-1 (1st Order)
Previous ranking: 1
Everyone has bad days at the office, but I won’t mince words—that the Kings let their one match against the lowly cross-division Gladiators slip away in defeat is disappointing. Their rebound victory last Sunday over their nearest division challengers goes a long way toward cementing the division, but there are still ample opportunities for the Ravens—and even the Hounds, who are now tied for second—to catch them. They face the Warriors this Sunday in a highly anticipated match between SMITE’s two heavyweights.
The Kings’ backline has been frustratingly hard to punish. In all of the SPL, Jarcorrr (14) has the fewest deaths and BigManTingz (15) the second fewest. Even in a lost set to the Gladiators, which went three games, Tingz slashed 10/3/12. Jarcorrr died 5 times in that set, which further illustrates how untouchable he has been—he has just 9 deaths across their 5 won sets.
This week: Ferrymen, Warriors
#3
Highland Ravens
3-3 (T-2nd Order)
Previous ranking: 3
A hard week for the Ravens against the top of the SPL was rescued by even worse weeks from their nearest competitor in the rankings. It’s not the worst thing to lose to the league’s best teams, but it is somewhat worrying how uncompetitive the Ravens were in either set. It was particularly surprising to see the Ravens not try to emulate what worked for the Gladiators against the Kings. Don’t get me wrong, the Ravens should play their own game, but so much of what Kyrmi and ScaryD did to control Variety could have easily fit Screammmmm and Haddix’s playstyles. Give the Kings credit—they drafted the Vamana which gave them trouble in the Gladiators set—but the Ravens should have come with a better game plan.
This week: Gladiators, Hounds
#4
Eldritch Hounds
3-3 (T-2nd Order)
Previous ranking: 7
Last week’s big risk was selling high on the Dragons after their win over the Ravens. This week’s risk is buying the Hounds after a stellar Week 3. Truthfully, it is hard to say if the Hounds’ Week 3 performance was a fluke or evidence of them turning the corner, but there can be no denying that the results were promising. Their 2-0 victories over the Leviathans and Ferrymen showcased both their ability to push the pace on opponents and grind out close late games. Their kill differential is still -23—handily the second worst in the league—which suggests that when the Hounds lose, they lose hard and convincingly. That gives me some trepidation forecasting the Hounds as legitimate top-four contenders long-term. The Leviathans, as of now their biggest competitors for the 4th rank, have a kill differential of +1 despite losing to the Hounds last week, which, incidentally is 4th in the league.
This week: Dragons, Ravens
#5
Atlantis Leviathans
2-4 (T-2nd Chaos)
Previous ranking: 5
The Leviathans split their series last week, which included a solid victory over the Jade Dragons. Sheento still isn’t stateside, and while the Leviathans aren’t the only team with players on ping, the distance has limited their ability to play through someone who in the past had been an engine for this team. They are still working things out, but this team is challenging for a top-four spot. In the meantime, Adapting has thus-far delivered on the promise that his name carries. He’s done a nice job, leading all of the SPL in kills with 69 even as his roster continues to struggle with consistency.
This week: Ferrymen, Warriors
#6
Styx Ferrymen
2-4 (4th Order)
Previous ranking: 6
It seemed like nothing was working for this team, and losing 2-0 to the Hounds, including a game they should have easily won, was yet another stomach-sinking moment in their slow start this season. But sometimes what a struggling team needs is a team struggling even more. The Ferrymen embarrassed the Dragons largely on the back of CycloneSpin’s 12/3/10 slashline for the set. They still have a long way to go to challenge for top spots, but this team will punish you for sleeping on them. Don’t forget that the names on this roster are well-known for a reason.
This week: Leviathans, Kings
#7
Jade Dragons
2-4 (T-2nd Chaos)
Previous ranking: 4
Yikes. The magic from the Dragons’ fast start to the year has now firmly worn off. Losing to the Leviathans and Ferrymen—their closest competitors in the standings—is more than just a tough break for the Dragons. Something just isn’t working about this roster. They can hang around, but they have struggled mightily to dictate the pace against SPL competition. At their best, the Dragons are excellent at punching back, but their inability to take control of a game on their own terms has severely limited their opportunities for wins both on the map and in sets. LASBRA’s 6th place overall in kills looks nice, until one sees that he is just 5th among junglers and ninth-to-last overall in deaths. Like the Leviathans, the Dragons still lack their mid laner in person, and they will be hoping that his arrival will help turn things back toward their favor. But last week was a kick in the gut.
This week, they face the Hounds and Gladiators—once thought to be easy wins which now suddenly look like hard matches for the Dragons. Maybe I am overreacting, but I would be surprised to see the Dragons sweep their sets next week.
This week: Hounds, Gladiators
#8
Gilded Gladiators
1-5 (4th Chaos)
Previous ranking: 8
It is easy to watch a team lose over and over again and start to believe they don’t know how to win, but fans should remember that the Gladiators are professional SMITE players too, so it isn’t overly surprising for them to steal a random regular season set even against the defending champions. There was a lot to love last week from the Gladiators, obviously, but while kills and deaths aren’t precise indicators of success, the Gladiators’ kill differential of -84 is alarmingly bad—more than triple that of the next worst. And that number includes Stuart’s individual kill differential of +16. The other four Gladiators are -100 in just thirteen games. That is not good.
For reference, the dreadful Solar Scarabs had a kill differential of -109 in season nine’s third phase, but that took them seven weeks of play to accomplish. The Gladiators would be on track to obliterate that number, but thankfully for them this phase is two weeks shorter.
This week: Ravens, Dragons
