4. M42 and the Running Men

When you look at M42 and Running Men, you think veterans: testify, noko, Fearless; all players with experience. This has been showing in scrims where they've been going head to head with all of the teams expected to do well in open. Blew and Fearless play a deathmatch-heavy soldier combo similar to Platinum and Relic back in the day, and both work together to make up the majority of the calls for the team. Because of this they naturally take heals away from their scouts, which is where this team has a lot of potential. Noko especially has been performing quite well during scrims, showcasing excellent movement and great DM. Testify has been playing the reliable scout that he's been playing for multiple seasons mostly at a low-Intermediate level. Expect him to play a consistent season but not to turn heads. When looking for a medic to fill Sharpless' large shoes, hopefully they can find someone whose natural calling is to heal scouts. With the departure of Sharpless not all is lost, as she didn't main call, but all the synergy built up between Blew and her during the off season will be lost and whoever they pickup will have to adjust mid-season to the team's style. Last but not least, the team's demoman, Different Colors, is a bit of a newcomer to the scene, having played just highlander in the past. During scrims he's been putting out reliable damage but isn't doing anything special. He is caught out of position fairly often, due to his lack of experience, but expect him to work out these flaws as the season go on. Expect this team to have a few rough matches due to having a new medic, but if either Different Colors or Noko step it up to play exceptionally during the playoffs.

3. Dango Daikazoku

Coming out of nowhere, this team is comprised of players that you wouldn't normally think of when you consider the top of open. However, they have been performing at quite a high level during scrims, going head to head or beating most of the top open contenders. After a recent roster hiccup, SneakyPolarBear is now on pocket, being healed by Screwball, with sweet_tooth on demo. These guys play like the less-coordinated worse-deathmatch version of AG, with SneakyPolarBear taking massive amounts of heals and abusing his good-for-this-level death-matching ability to take his team rounds. Meanwhile, sweet_tooth stands from behind spamming long range sticks, which doesn't work nearly as well if you aren't sweater. On the flank side of things we have Dango and Sinval on scout, the former of which played with sweet_tooth the season before and latter having backed up for that team. They have both been making a solid impression in scrims, doing good damage and cleaning up a lot of kills. Screwball does a good job of giving them heals, but if he could give them even more they would be able to play better. Last but not least, their roamer Beckr, who also backed up for this team last season, has been putting in a good performance considering how little his team plays around him. Playing a traditional no-heals roamer, don't expect him to do anything incredible, but at the same time not to throw. This team is going to need to change the way their heals work if they're going to want to make it deep into playoffs, as their opponents will soon catch on to and abuse their play-style. If Screwball can take his competent medicing and heal the rest of his players, expect this team to make a large splash in playoffs, and do very well during the regular season.

2. Fried Green Tomatoes

Scouts carry open; everyone knows it, and this team is the embodiment of that saying. Bape and Northstar, the team's double-jumping-duo, have been  making most of the open team's they've been scrimming their bitch over the past few weeks, both employing excellent DM. This is to be expected, as most of this team played together last season on an open playoffs team that was moved up, but they made the decision to return to open. Because of this most of them have experience playing together. However, this is also the team's Achilles' Heel, as they play incredibly cocky. Their scouts have +forward typed into console and their team plays around it. For now, it's working. Most of the teams they're scrimming don't have the coordination to deal with their unprecedented aggression and meat-shotting ability, so for now they're taking names. Since Northstar, ex-CS player, has made the move to scout from pocket, the team's former scout Jay has stepped in to protect the team's returning medic OMZ. Jay has been taking the lion's share of the heals, and this has been in a way reinforcing the roaming style of play that the team's demoman, mASTER, exhibits. Having played far too many games of pugna on the class, his deathmatch is there: if he can apply a healthy dose of game-sense he will definitely be one of the top demomen in open. Returning from last season, Buckweet will continue to roam for the team. In some of their latest scrims he's been bombing in more ways than one, throwing up some fairly unimpressive kill-death-ratio's against the better intermediate teams that the team scrims. However, this shouldn't be too much of a problem against open teams which usually can't deal with a roamer bomb when two scouts are also +forwarding them.  Whether this is him throwing his life away unnecessarily or his team not playing around him is up to debate, but as it is it could easily turn into a liability. Rounding out the roster is the team's medic OMZ, who doesn't have the most spectacular ubers, but puts enough heals on his scouts to make it work. This team will definitely make playoffs, and if OMZ can tune up his positioning and uber management while shortening the leash on his demoman, expect them to place impressively high in playoffs.

Since Deathanchor just posted his (lol), I thought now would be a good time to post mine as well. What I've written is based off of personally scrimming half these teams and chatting with people who have scrimmed the rest. SneakyPolarBear volunteered to write the section on my own team. I'll try to write a match preview every week, if people are interested in that. Since I'm actually in open, and I actually know the teams, why not.

1. The Best Team in Open

As their name states, they're hyped – by some – to be the best team in open. As to how that statement will hold up, we'll have to see. A more apt name might be the dregs of Open Season 13; most of their players were still looking after the season started, so they grouped up and started scrimming a few months ago. Because of this they play at the level that most open teams that were in playoffs did last season. The real question is whether they will continue to improve as the rest of the open teams start to work out kinks of their own, which most likely they will as they've been doing consistently well against intermediate teams in scrims. When people think of this team, they usually think of Arctic Joe, the scout who came out of no where and does incredibly in scrims, meat-shotting his team's way to victory. As much as he's hyped though, the rest of his team aren't slackers. Pot has been putting out consistent damage on demoman, but isn't exactly the next big name in open demos. Expect him to play his part but not go crazy. The medic who will be healing them all is ikpure who, as with most of these players, came out of nowhere. He survives and surfs well, and his heals are in the right places, but his positioning and ubers are holding him back, as with most open medics. If he can get a higher level medic to give him some advice, expect this team to improve even more. Arctic Joe's scout partner, slinky, is basically the enigma to his ruwin; his partner gets all the glory, but behind the scenes slinky plays an exceptional passive and reliable clean-up scout. Once you look at the soldiers is where the cracks start to appear; coconut and dingo, playing pocket and roamer respectively, don't put up big kill-death-ratio's or damage numbers, but do set up well for their scouts. Look to the soldiers on “The Best Team In Open” to be the ones to improve if this team is to live up to their name. I'd predict these guys to go 16-0 or close to it, but fall off during playoffs once other teams get a chance to work out some flaws of their own.

mhm

Been playing this team a lot and they're very well organized. With a strong medic to fill Sharpless's shoes they'll easily be at the top of open.

reeeeally need a med backup

I'm planning on writing some non-official open power rankings. If anyone wants to add me to chat me up and discuss the teams please do. I've only scrimmed ~half of the teams I'd consider contenders so I'd love to hear about the rest.

Ben and I both played on brackets last season, but we're both playing new classes with people who have only played in open, so not exactly brackets.

bump

Get a scout Get a scout Get a scout Get a scout Get a scout Get a scout

Hey we need 1-2 trusted backups so that we don't have to not scrim or play with ringers when one of ours isn't on. Preferably you already know one of us but if not that's cool.

Requirements:
Be able to incorporate feedback into your play.
Be able to ring most nights of the week.
Be able to play medic at a high open level or get there quickly.

Roster:
Demo: Ques
Medic: JJ
Soldiers: Ben & Edy
Scouts: Sunny & Clam

Post here and add me on steam. Thanks!

Literally can hear him cheat on his chemistry homework on mumble

very entertaining

lol

Has lots of great ideas and has one of the best personalities in the community. Could medic at an IM level with ease.