This season of IM has been pretty weird, to say the least. Just about every team except for Blockback Mountain has shown signs of inconsistency, with teams trading rounds back and forth, losing matches that most would expect them to win, and the fact that most IM teams have had a chance to play just about every team in the division. Despite all that, we really only have one dead team in the division, and even the teams with very few wins appear to be sticking it out for the rest of the season, which is a good indication for the health of IM for next season, especially with all the new (and somewhat old) talent that is sure to come in from Open move-ups in the near future.

But before I get ahead of myself, the immediate future for some teams is looking to be incredibly tumultuous, and if nothing else it will make the last couple weeks of the season very exciting. Subspace Emissaries is on the upswing, poised for one of the biggest comebacks I've seen a team go through in the space of one season. The team has been doggedly improving their game after a rough start to the season, and after looking at their schedule for the next few weeks, I predict this team will finish in the top 8 to make it into playoffs. They aren't the only ones with hopes for playoffs, Goldman Sachs and God Complex will play each other twice during the course of the rest of the season and with those results it could very well mean that one of them will not quite make the grade when the math is all said and done. The Grime is another team with a decent chance at upsetting their way into playoffs, although this team will have to be at the top of their game if they want to take wins away from teams like N2P and Satan Take the Wheel. All in all, all this tension and implication will serve for what should be a very entertaining end to the season.

• Erika
• TicTack
• Cbn
• Block
• Newspeak
• Freestate

Blockback Mountain has not been given a close game since the beginning of the season when they played Cisco Adlers Balls. At this point, I don't see any of the teams left on their schedule to upset them or take away from their perfect season. Last week they delivered two 5-0 matches against SYOPS and Satan Take the Wheel, and I fully expect to see the same results for metalworks week. Until someone gives them a good game in the next couple weeks, I'm prepared to see this team finish the season 16-0 with very few rounds given up. Part of me wants to say this team will choke in playoffs, but if that does happen it will be pretty random and unexpected. Enjoy the rest of the season, guys and gal.

• Nosferatu
• Tri
• Boink
• Cosa
• Kapow
• Schnell

I'm still not sure who will be playing what on Cisco Adlers Balls because it seems to change every week, and its starting to show. Rick, Sal, and Nosferatu have all been filling in the last couple weeks, with the core of the team also playing some different roles from match to match. They almost dropped a match to Subspace Emissaries last week, which could have been good for them. The team stays afloat with their only loss to Blockback so far, showing that even with an inconsistent line-up that the team is more than formidable. This week they'll be playing The Grime and JAPANIFEST DESTINY, which both should be decent games. The Grime need an upset win off of a higher seeded team right now if they want any hopes for playoffs, and a loss for JAPANIFEST DESTINY could land them with a less than desirable final seed. The rest of the season looks pretty tame, albeit both of their matches against Satan Take the Wheel should be interesting on snakewater and sunshine.When its all said and done, Cisco Adlers Balls will persevere and most likely end up in the number 2 spot come post season.

• London
• Doll
• Lunacide
• Conductor
• Kev
• zZa

The stats pretty much tell the story to this match. Goldman Sachs would be able to get the pick on London, but would trade 6 players doing so. Kevzza had their frags presented to them on a silver platter, often being able to pick off a very overextended combo or other Goldman Sachs that have overstayed their welcome. Of course, this scout combo is not known for missing their shots, so they performed quite well and were able to take the lion's share of the frags for JAPANIFEST DESTINY. However, the real MVP of the match was conductor, picking off MR SLIN with the miracle pipes. Imagine yourself as a medic holding choke, waiting anxiously for perhaps a roamer bomb or maybe a scout flank, and then all of a sudden you see your health drop down from 150 to 0. Your heart sinks and you frantically search in your mind to the answer to what just happened. Was it a spy or perhaps even a lucky sniper headshot? Then you check the killfeed and realize you've just been domed in the head by two pipes from a demo who wasn't even peeking choke. Even though they just came out of a MOTW, JAPANIFEST DESTINY cannot let their guard down as they face Nothing 2 Prove and Cisco Adlers Balls, two formidable opponents that have been looking strong. I'm particularly interested in their match against Cisco Adlers Balls, as Kapoww and schnell are another pair of scouts along with kevzza that could compete for the best scout combo in IM.

• Zilly
• CJ
• Yeremy
• Saint
• scizor
• pangy

The Yomies finally beefed it against N2P last week, their second loss of the season turning into a real nail biter with N2P taking 4 rounds in the second half after being down 3-1 in the first. I love those kinds of matches, mostly because as you are watching them you can see the morale of the losing team breaking slowly while the team on the upswing is very obviously hitting their stride. The Yomies will have a difficult metalworks week with matches against Subspace Emissaries and Blockback Mountain, and I predict them to lose one and win the other. Subspace pretty much needs this win if they want to make it into playoffs, and in the past metalworks has been a good map for them. CJ and Zilly will need to be quick to rotate during transitions if they want to catch out the right people, and if the Yomies can play their mids right then the match should be in the bag. The rest of the season is going to see some tough matches for the Yomies, but their record should be good enough to stay in the top 8.

• rchl
• Smile
• GBB
• Xan
• Stochast1c
• silkthread

GBB and the boys take their second loss of the season from Blockback Mountain, in a relatively uneventful 5-0. The next couple weeks will be pretty solid with a lot of matches against playoff hopefuls and what should be a few free wins. Metalworks will pair them up with Goldman Sachs and the Fantazzmagazzlers (I type out this team name every time and it always feels good). The match against the Fantazzmagazzlers should be a win here, but maybe not as one sided as one would surmise. Their match against Goldman Sachs could go either way at this point, but to be fair I think Xan has a lot more presence than Hooli does in a lot of situations. If Satan loses this match, it wouldn't be the end of the world for them by far, but a loss for Goldman Sachs could carry a lot of weight when its round counting time at the end of the season. Its hard to say where Satan Take the Wheel will fit in the top 8, but as of right now I predict them to finish around fourth or fifth depending on how many rounds they drop.

• Jodd
• BlueberryVillain
• Rekuso
• JDMYoshioka
• Downpour
• River

The race is on for God Complex to stay in the top 8, and their FFW from LoLBEASTMODE didn't really do them any favors, but they couldn't control that obviously. In terms of scheduling, God Complex is in a better position than Goldman Sachs and The Grime to take seventh or eighth place, with their only upcoming match to lose against Blockback Mountain. As I stated before, God Complex and Goldman Sachs will play each other twice in the next couple weeks, and how well each team does will directly effect their chances to continue playing in the post season. This week, Blueberry's only match will be against former teammate Cheeeris on SYOPS TF2, and while I think this could be a fun match to watch, God Complex should walk away with a win with minimal rounds lost. Next week on viaduct, God Complex will have their first face off with Goldman Sachs and for their sakes I hope Downpour and River put on their big boy pants for this game and make some big plays.

• Valkeri
• ClandestinePZ
• PurpleShirt
• Desca
• Reimu
• Rave

After some debilitating defeats on gullywash week, N2P brings it back with a huge comeback against Yomies, which has to feel phenomenal. The match saw both Caspian and Clandestine go pretty huge, with their scouts not too far behind racking up kills. Badlands week was really good for N2P, and hopefully they can carry that momentum into this week with their only match against JAPANIFEST DESTINY. While I can't speak too much to how my own team performs on this map, I will say the match will be a good one and is not in the bag for either team. N2P has a decent schedule coming up, although they will be playing both Blockback and Cisco Adlers Balls on viaduct, following their match against JAPANIFEST DESTINY. Goldman Sachs will be looking to take a win off of them, which could hurt N2P's chances of staying in the top 8 if they do indeed beef it.

• MR SLIN
• Goldfish
• Zigzter
• Hooli
• Devon
• Jav

The mumble environment has been pretty volatile for those of you who are die hard Goldman Sachs fans (dingo and bape have a fan club I'm pretty sure), and after a 5-1 loss to JAPANIFEST DESTINY last week on badlands, the team appears to be shaken. The rest of the season is questionable for the Sachs, as they will have to win key matches in order to secure their way into playoffs. Their upcoming matches against Satan Take the Wheel and Subspace Emissaries are both winnable if they bring their top performance, but with the way both of those teams have been playing a loss is just as likely. Their best chance at taking some wins away will be their games against God Complex and N2P, where 3 wins would put them well and away into the top 8 alongside teams with similar records. Unless they can come up with some upset wins though, the dream may not be realized for Slin and crew.

• London
• Doll
• Lunacide
• Conductor
• Kev
• zZa

• Nosferatu
• Tri
• Boink
• cosa
• Kapow
• schnell

JAPANIFEST DESTINY is probably one of the last challenges Cisco Adlers Balls will have all season, although the team has been having availability issues from their roster all season. Their Invite caliber roster has sustained them thus far throughout the season with some narrow wins here and there, and it remains to be seen if they will have their starters for this match. Kapow and Schnell versus Kev and zZa will be very interesting to watch, as it could be a toss up for best scout pair in IM between them. There are a lot of factors here, mostly who Cisco Adlers Balls will have play the match, and the coin toss says Cisco Adler takes this one 5-3.

Players to Watch: Tri, Schnell, KevzZa, Doll