Review

Hello friends, and welcome to my Invite Rankings for ESEA Invite Week 3 on cp_snakewater. Badlands week has come and gone, although that is only half true, with some TF2 updates ruining everyone's Thursday nights leaving a handful more matches to be played during this upcoming week, on top of the two Snakewater matches. While most of the remaining games were high Invite vs. low Invite, it would've been nice to have the full scope to solidify rankings from week 2. That being said, expect these spots to fluctuate pretty heavily over the next week as teams clash over Snakewater.

Power Rankings

1. High Rollers Gaming (3-0)

   While the anticipated match against Mixup was delayed, it's probably not hard to predict who would have won, given the AG upset. Shade continues to be perfect, and really the same could be said for the rest of the team. Snakewater is easily b4nny's best (5CP) map, where something like 450DPM is not out of the question. The Runaway 5 game shouldn't be too interesting, but vs. Tri Hards should. If you tuned in last Thursday to the lovely Cbear stream you got to see a Badlands scrim where HRG lost 3-4 against some great Dummy and Tri work. Expect more or less of that, but b4nny to methodically give them the edge. It should be a very close exchange, with HRG barely coming away 5-4.

2. Tri Hards (3-0)

   I wish the Tri Hards / Top Guns match happened. This would have made this decision much easier. I'm going to give this to Tri Hards if only for Clckwrk alone at face value. The double Gunboats has been very interesting to spectate. It allows Tri more flexibility in being aggressive and supporting Blaze's plays, while letting Dummy play pseudo-pocket, who utilized a similar role during the srsly br0 / Spacewhales era. I'm being more impressed with kbk lately, who has seemingly been merging Shade's escapability with Mesr's incredible Crossbow aim into his playstyle. When they go up against AG, it'll be exciting to see how the double Gunboats aggression works against big Ran- “300HP” -do. More on that later on.

3. Apocalypse Gaming (2-2)

   Let's look at what's been happening with AG this past week: they've topped Tri Hards in scrims, and caused quite the uproar when they 5-2'd Mixup in a match that no one really even knew was happening. Rando and Squid went pretty crazy against a seemingly out-of-sorts Platinum. If Rando keeps this up, I expect a huge momentum ride through the week, which they'll need against Tri Hards and Mad Men. Assuming Mad Men fixed their shenanigans, they should make this closer, with Sweater providing solid damage for his Scouts to take on Look for Rando to do some work and secure another win for AG, 5-2.

4. Classic Mixup (2-1)

   I think some people are overexaggerating the loss against AG. I found it more of AG knowing Badlands than Mixup struggling, but Platinum going 12-17 does say quite a lot. While it has been arguably Platinum's worst game in a long time, it's much too early to say that Platinum and company weren't going to end up at LAN. Regardless of how crazy-sounding a LAN without Classic Mixup will be, they'll have the fourth seed until I'm shown other losses than indicate something else. Speaking of, they did lose a recent scrim against Top Guns, who they play over Snakewater. Seagull vs. Pyyyour should be an even matchup, while Harbleu and Enigma should make plays happen over on the flank (Heavy out of forward spawn anyone?). If Platinum struggles again though, I wouldn't be surprised if Top Guns pulls a repeat.

5. Top Guns (3-0)

   Insert another complaint about the TF2 updates here, as the Tri Hards / Top Guns game would have been both a good watch and help define who is the better team. Meanwhile, the squad has been doing some work, running varied amounts of aggression at middles. Carnage and Zbryan should be too much for Vector to handle, but I expect Mixup to have better responses. Pyyyour will take on former teammate Seagull on the Demo battle, while we look for more of Seanbud's explosive play. Ninjanick should outperform Mason (assuming there's no new Medic pickup) so if the poop dollar squad is to win, it'll be off their ubers. On a sidenote, I wonder when Relic will make his glorious return.

6. Mad Men (2-2)

   I was surprised and confused why Mad Men tried switching up players. Those shenanigans plus a Medic ringer almost cost them a game against Root Plus Six. Don't get me wrong, Alfa is incredible and can basically play any class in Invite, and the same could be said of rr, who played roamer with a little Scout during his time with No Need For Names, but he is just more of a playmaker at Demo, and that's where the Mud Men need him. If the YouMustMike and Alfa play on fire, they'll be able to overcome even the best supported Squid and Kapoww, giving Memphisvon more room to make plays. Bl4nk absolutely can't fall behind in the pocket / uber battle, as Rando will punish him and his team hard if he does so.

7. Runaway 5 (2-2)

   If you tuned into Duwatna's stream the past week, you'll have watched the match against Vector Gaming where for whatever reasons, Runaway 5 got crushed for the first four rounds before making the comeback of the season so far, getting five straight rounds for the win. They better not start slow again this week against Solace, because if they go down four rounds against Solace, Milo and Xalox won't be that forgiving. They need to have Ma3la and Duwatna in normal / top form right from the beginning to make sure nothing that crazy happens again. Their other game is against HRG, where despite Ma3la “being perfect”, and even if Overseer doesn't “drop more than Blinky in eight seasons,” it won't help them much against the best team in Invite.

8. Vector Gaming (0-4)

   So nearly pulling a win against a middle LAN contender definitely feels good. While I'd attribute the near win to R5's lacking rather than Vector's ability, I won't sell them short, as the team has been playing well together as just that, a team. On Snakewater middles, expect the Soldiers to get very aggressive with Scout backup, and DougyG to put up some good numbers. Said numbers should be enough to keep Bradford and Top Guns in check. However, Carnage and Seanbud are still a step above the Vector Scouts, and Ninjanick will outperform his replacement from his old team. I'll give Vector a round off Top Guns, either off of some unprecedented Kritzkrieg switch or early dominant Soldier play out of JavaB and Milehigh, but 5-1 Top Guns otherwise.

9. Solace Esports (0-3)

   This would have been another spot I'd have liked to clear, with Solace and Root going against each other. I'm going to give Milo and Xalox the edge here and place them over Root. While they got destroyed by AG, they play the Mad Men and Runaway 5, both LAN bubble teams mostly weaker than AG. You'll notice I bring up Milo and Xalox a lot, as I find them the primary catalysts for the team. If they perform well, the rest of the team is sure to follow. The Scout pair in Bdonski and Giffy have also been doing okay. I don't expect any wins off of Solace this week (excluding the possible Badlands win off Root Plus Six) but a handful of rounds to go in their favor.

10. Root Plus Six (0-3)

    Root Plus Six almost got their first win against Mad Men, where Sezco and Loronix played out of their minds, and Stratovarius convincingly outplayed Defy in survivability and ubers. While I don't think they can take down Mixup even on their (Root's) best day, it does mean they should have a good game against Vector. I'll put my money on big Sezco and Loronix to make magic happen, and Marmaduke to put up some solid damage numbers, too. I'm going to predict the “upset” (not really sure if it'd be called an upset) here and say Root takes the win, 5-2. Also, don't forget to #savesezco.

Match of the Week

Tri Hards (3-0) vs. Apocalypse Gaming (2-2)

AG is on a huge rise, and now they'll take on one of the primary contenders for LAN. Kapoww and Squid have been really good, and I dare to say they'll be good enough to matchup against Clckwrk and Hero on a regular day. Should Clckwrk have one of his days though, it could spell trouble. However, Rando and Boink should be more than a match for Tri and Blaze (especially if Blaze has more Canadian internet problems), and Sweater has been really solid lately, too. Middles will be very crazy with Soldiers flying through the air, and transition fights hectic with Scouts making plays. I'd be on the watch for Indust's Kritzkrieg switches, and Clckwrk's Sniper. Apocalypse Gaming showed early strength over Tri Hards on Badlands. Will they have the same strength for Snakewater?

AG surprised people by showing that they are certainly a force to be reckoned with for LAN by taking down Mixup last week, now we'll see if they can keep up this streak against another top team. I believe they will, but come up just short. Indust we trust.

Prediction: Tri Hards: 5, Apocalypse Gaming: 4

Players to Watch: Clckwrk, Tri, Rando

Final Glance

1. High Rollers Gaming
2. Tri Hards (+1)
3. Apocalypse Gaming (+3)
4. Classic Mixup (-2)
5. Top Guns
6. Mad Men (-2)
7. Runaway 5
8. Vector Gaming (+1)
9. Solace Esports (-1)
10. Root Plus Six

Previous Week: Week 2 Power Rankings