SX Phase 1 Week 5
Ferrymen Surge While Dragons Stumble
#1
Oni Warriors
8-0 (1st Chaos)
Previous ranking: 1
This past Sunday, the Warriors became the third team since the start of Season 9 Phase 3 and all-time to win 11 straight sets, joining the Leviathans and Kings. The latter, whom they defeated last weekend to extend their streak, the Warriors also defeated in March at the Kickoff Tournament, stopping the Kings’ streak at 12. Now, just the Dragons and Gladiators stand between the Warriors and a record-setting 13-set win streak—and SMITE’s first-ever undefeated phase, too. Jinxes and superstitions aside, it is hard to imagine this Warriors team losing twice to either of their Week 5 matchups, but a 13-set undefeated phase sounds even more unbelievable.
In the numbers, AwesomeJake408 widened his assist lead over the league, leading Genetics by a whopping 35 assists. Flanking Genetincs in third place is Panitom with 147, the only jungler in the top 10, let alone top 5. This Warriors team (obviously) gets a lot of kills, and they do it together.
This week: Dragons, Gladiators
#2
Camelot Kings
5-3 (T-1st Order)
Previous ranking: 2
The Kings lost twice last week to the Ferrymen and Warriors. The latter was a close match, and the to the Kings’ credit they forced the dominant Warriors to adjust in a game three scenario in order to win the set. It might seem odd to keep the Kings in 2nd after such a bad week—especially with the Ferrymen, who beat them last week, on their heels. The reasons for this are two-fold. First, it seemed far too bullish to move the Ferrymen up from 6th to 2nd, even with their good play last week. Second, their is a degree of benefit-of-the-doubt here for the Kings. They are the defending champions for a reason, and the overall numbers still like them slightly over the Ferrymen. This week, they share the Ferrymen’s schedule, which may prove more definitively which team is playing better SMITE right now.
Variety has struggled more than any other player on this team. While ‘weak link’ would not necessarily be the appropriate phrase, Variety still has the 2nd most deaths of any solo laner and the most on his team, suggesting that opponents use his lane as a point of pressure. Indeed, Variety’s 0/9/6 performance against the Ferrymen was a large part of the story that set. It remains to be seen if the team can bounce back, but their league-best backline of Jarcorrr and BigManTingz puts them in a position to succeed in any set.
This week: Hounds, Ravens
#3
Styx Ferrymen
4-4 (T-3rd Order)
Previous ranking: 6
Row. It. Down. The Ferrymen won two clean 2-0 sets last week, including a massive upset over the Camelot Kings. But there are still some reasons for trepidation with this squad; first, their kill differential is just +4, 4th in the league behind 3rd place Ravens (+22). Their overall metrics are still 3rd, suggesting that, while they farm, deal and mitigate damage all at a well above-average pace, their kills still have yet to catch up.
But the biggest cause for concern for this roster is their game pace. They are dead last in pace with an astounding 37 minutes per game, a full 7 minutes slower than the break-neck Warriors in 1st. The Dragons are within a few 10ths of a minute, but nobody else exceeds 35 minutes. The Ferrymen excel in late scenarios, but it is immensely difficult to win consistently in close, grindy late games.
This week: Ravens, Hounds
#4
Highland Ravens
5-3 (T-1st Order)
Previous ranking: 3
The Ravens did a little bit of trolling in their first game against the Gladiators, but they rallied to take the set over the up-and-commers. Against the Hounds, the Ravens gave away a frustrating game 2 only to win an equally frustrating game 3, but it was a promising win nonetheless. Even with the 2-0 victories, the Ravens just don’t seem as complete a team as the Ferrymen lately, but they will have a chance to prove it this week as they face their two closest division rivals. First place in the Order division is still firmly in play for the Ravens. Entering the final week tied with the Kings, whom they will face on Sunday, the Ravens control their own destiny.
The biggest standout for this team has been Haddix. He is by far the most efficient frontliner in the SPL, mitigating over 53,000 damage for every death, a full 13,000 more than second place and a dizzying 40,000 more than the league average. The man is a sponge.
This week: Ferrymen, Kings
#5
Eldritch Hounds
4-4 (T-3rd Order)
Previous ranking: 4
The Hounds split their sets last week, dropping a game to the Dragons in their win while managing to take a game from the Ravens in their loss. Still, that Ravens set was a huge test for the Hounds, and their inability to capitalize suggests that this team still has yet to arrive in earnest. A week against the two best teams in their division is unlikely to meaningfully change that narrative. They did best the Ferrymen earlier in the phase, but with how they are playing lately a win feels like a tall order.
You can’t deny the play on field for the Hounds—they are clearly a competitive team—but there is still some smoke with this roster. I mentioned last week their 2nd worst kill differential; while that largely reflects their poor start, their recent wins have been more tightly-contested than they have been dominant. The Hounds feel like a quintessential middle-of-the-pack team.
This week: Kings, Ferrymen
#6
Atlantis Leviathans
2-6 (T-2nd Chaos)
Previous ranking: 5
Well, Sheento is back stateside and the Leviathans didn’t win either of their sets last week. They took a game off of the Warriors, but aside from that there was very little to love in Week 4. The team is off to a slow start, but Adapting has kept things entertaining with his league-leading 92 kills on an also league-leading pace of .139 kills per minute. All this team can say right now is thank god for the Dragons.
This week: Gladiators, Dragons
#7
Gilded Gladiators
2-6 (T-2nd Chaos)
Previous ranking: 8
The Gladiators managed to win three games last week, including a set win over the Jade Dragons. It was… shaky, but the Dragons gave the Gladiators windows of opportunity to win and the Gladiators took them, something they would have struggled to do even just two weeks ago. The Gladiators are still far from being a top team, but there are promising signs. Stuart continues to shine individually, despite the fact that he is second to last—literally 39th—in assists, Stuart still has the 8th-best KDA. His 24 deaths are tied for 3rd fewest in the league. Stuart is also the most efficient carry in the SPL, dealing 15,640.5 damage for every death—nearly 2,000 more than Netrioid, the next closest carry. For my money, Stuart is absolutely one of the best carries in the league and maybe the league’s most underrated player.
This week: Warriors, Leviathans
#8
Jade Dragons
2-6 (T-2nd Chaos)
Previous ranking: 7
It was one thing to lose to the Hounds who are rapidly improving. Even losing a close set to the Gladiators could have perhaps been defensible. But throwing away two big leads against ostensibly the league’s worst team? Congratulations, you are now the league’s worst team. In the numbers, the Jade Dragons don’t look so bad, and their players have all individually performed somewhat well. That is even more cause for panic for this Jade team since that suggests that they dramatically underperform in teamfights, objectives, and other win conditions. As I suggested last week, something just isn’t clicking, and now the first phase is looking like a throwaway.
Prior to last week’s games, I asked GoreMiser how often the team with fewer kills had managed to win the game throughout the SPL’s LAN era; his response—just 6.7%, 89 wins in 1324 games. The Dragons led the Gladiators 26 Kills to 12 as their Titan died in Sunday’s game 2.
This week: Warriors, Leviathans
