(Continued from above)

#13 watch This (wholesome arc) (2-2)

The Maze Redemption Quest has had some obstacles along the way after a rough start to the season. With some easier match-ups on Metalworks, they've turned it around. This is their third consecutive season as a core together so they've at least got teamplay advantage going for them which will help make up for the fact that they don't have any crazy DM players outside of Maze now that Assterick has returned to the Obese Whales.

#14 Obese Whales (1-3)

The Whales surfaced from the depths, seemingly out of nowhere, to win the bloodbath Season 4 of Main. They seemed a bit DM reliant and realistically, that shouldn't carry them as far in Advanced. However, they do have some existing synergy and they do at least have the requisite mechanical skill to hang in the division for sure so I expect them to hover around the middle of the table.

#15 @37 (1-2)

If this team tried and scrimmed regularly, they'd be a real force even with their plentiful restrictions. Of course, people have other responsibilities so that probably won't happen. Nonetheless, everyone here is a real competitive veteran and can play the game well enough to put up a fight against nearly anyone.

#16 Chicago Kids (2-2)

The boys from the Windy City once again keep the young mudkip, frosters, and .json (?) together as they rise to the occasion for their first run in Advanced. How that turns out remains to be seen; there isn't a ton of interesting data yet as the team has performed mostly as predicted with some solid wins against low end teams and hard losses to playoff teams.

#17 My Team Spins The Wheel (1-3)

The S4rr cobbles together a roster at the last minute and claims his first win in Advanced 6v6. That aside, the commentary is about the same you'd expect from every other Highlander Lord team.

#18 All Caked Up (1-3)

Air, Grapejuice, and pals have regrouped most of their Season 2 Main line-up (with the classes switched up) for a relaxing summer vibe season - fun classes, low stakes, flexible hours. Even though expectations are low, when they decide to turn up the heat with Air on scout or GrapeJuice not running shotgun roamer, they could give other teams a challenge.

#19 fygisawesome.com (1-3)

Fygg has experience playing at a fairly high level and Q is a strong caller which seems like a solid recipe. In practice, this team seems like it's just lacking firepower. No one is a bad player mechanics wise. The issue is that no one is really outstanding in the DM department. I'm sure there are other internal teamplay issues, but without that extra oomph it's hard to make up for any flaws in coordination if they don't play perfectly.

#20 Portland Burnsiders (0-3)

Following an unsuccessful run at the qualifiers, the new Extine backed crew feat. the meatshot master is chilling in Advanced. Sadly, Stoper has already departed, they've led off 0-3, and they've already got two minor penalties for failure to submit demos. They aren't quite destined to go 0-16 though. They at least made it close with All Caked Up, so there are some wins to be had if they can stay together.

#21 Genetic-Engineered Cat Girls (1-3)

The Cat Girls, with some help from megawac ringing for Trobort, managed to claw back for their first win after going down 1-4 in week 2B. That aside, the Cat Girls have struggled to get much rolling. Understandable since many of their players are new to the division or have been away from the game for quite some time.

#22 Los Angeles Anglerfish (0-4)

The Anglerfish subsidiary choked away a 4-1 lead on Metalworks to the Cat Girls, a closely contested match-up between two teams trying to get a good learning season in. They've also lost mopsy following the loss. Even though
she isn't a demoman main, the experience she brought will be sorely missed by the mostly green LA Anglerfish.
_____

Good luck to everyone headed into Product week.

RGL S6 Advanced Power Rankings, Pt. 1 of 3
5/31/2020

Roster Spreadsheet

Video Commentary with je'mond and alfredodan

The latest season of RGL is under way and while a few teams have risen to the top, no one has completely established themselves as unstoppable yet. The middle of the table is also ripe with talent vying for one of the spare playoff spots. It should be an interesting season as always.
_____

#1 Una limonda por favor (4-0)

The latest MILKIES spin-off sports another great scout duo with Saila/Dunker who have both placed well in Advanced/ESEA-IM, a sick demoman in Kobe1920, powerful soldiers in Damn/Slugmundo, and the rare example of a player who actually likes playing medic in Luddy (psychopath). I expected this team to dominate and while they're definitely at the top right now, I don't see them as being unbeatable looking at current results. I could see them making it through the regular season 16-0, but I could almost as easily see them not.

#2 GlobalClan Lightning (3-1)

The electric-type GlobalClan fell inches short of making it through the Invite qualifier and dropped to Advanced alongside the Portland Burnsiders. It's little surprise then that they've made quick work of most teams they've played since their roster is packed with recognizeable names who have proven themselves at a high advanced or better level. Metalworks wasn't their best week as they dropped a game to Anglerfish Holdings and gave away two rounds to the theoretically much weaker Chicago Kids. In the grand scheme of things, though, I doubt it's much of a hinderence and shouldn't stop them from finishing the regular season in the top 5.

#3 Lombre (2-2)

This team is a bit of an oddity as every name is recognizeable as a high advanced/Invite level/Invite champion player in 6s, Highlander, or both except for Caban who has only played a couple of ESEA matches and a season of Amateur. Having him rise to the occasion will be a big storyline for this team as if he can keep playing at a divison average level or better, they've got a serious chance of winning it all with all this talent conglomerated together. It's also important to note this team looks way different without Exile. Without him, they didn't look nearly as strong in their Week 2A match as they lost to THE GOBLIN ZONE 1-5.

#4 THE GOBLIN ZONE (4-0)

With the death of Lobsters.tf, THE GOBLIN ZONE is one of few teams left to have played every season of RGL (plus some time in ESEA)*. Bringing Magma and Bear (as scouts) into the zone has also been a more than adequate replacement for Bloompi and Waldo (with saam moving to medic). Really though, the story looks like the same as last season. They might not be the scariest team to scrim against, but time and time again, they've shown that they show up on match day as they're off to a 4-0 start, including a dominant win over Lombre (sans Exile, though).

*If you consider THE GOBLIN CONES as THE GOBLIN ZONE.

#5 RHDP (2-2)

Starting out 0-2 was shocking for this team considering they're coming in with a pretty stacked roster. Cirumstance wise, it's forgiveable as they had to play two great teams in the opening week and only lost by one round in both games. On top of that, one of the losses was in part caused by serious technical issues which have reportedly been resolved. With that in mind, I don't think this stumble out of the gate is going to hurt their final standing too much.

#6 Anglerfish Holdings (4-0) (Placed by je'mond and alfredodan)

My team, biased, no comment, etc.

#7 anilist.co (3-1)

Safrix and his disciples have had a tough strength of schedule so far and claimed wins over BLANC and RHDP already. Their first Metalworks match featured a series of unfortunate events that led to bleeding rounds. However, that appeared to be an off night and otherwise, they've looked sharp. The one risk seems to be that when Safrix isn't in the fight, the team's coordination takes a hit. The upside is that when he is, they can really shine.

#8 BLANC Esports (2-2)

At least on paper, this edition of BLANC looks to be one of the strongest ever. No player is an apparent weakness and even though this exact line-up is pretty new, most of the guys are at least acquainted with each other. The only real kicker keeping them from the top seems to be a lack of aggression, maybe it's a playstyle thing or a comms issue. All the pieces are in place - it feels like all they need is the right voice to activate them.

#9 Journey (2-2)

It's been a while since they took home the Season 3 Main Bronze. A year later, they're back with Cadet taking the reins at combo scout, freeing Souyant to make the big plays on the flank. In their second week, they've missed their first two chances to make noise and upset top level teams. Not a huge concern early in the season, especially since Metalworks is one of their weaker maps. However, I'm sure the chance will rise later in the season and they'll need to answer that call if they want to make their mark as contenders. It could be hard considering their low volume of scrims.

#10 TAINTED Gaming (3-1)

Last season this core group, formerly known as Abby Shapiro's Mommy Milkers, had a hot run at the end of the season to finish 8-8 and barely fall outside of the playoffs. This season kicked off with a fun rivalry match-up as they faced off with Cadet's new team (a 2-5 loss). Since then, they've got on another streak and ended week 2 with a promising 3-1 record albeit against mid tier competition. If they want to take it all the way to the post-season this time, they'll need to get the ball rolling early and start knocking off some other contenders. With Anglerfish Holdings and anilist.co coming up, they'll have that chance.

#11 GUTTER BAZOOKA: ONLINE (2-1)

Trux and Mak are a low-key powerful scout duo. The rest of the team ain't bad either. They've also proven that can take the pressure as they scraped a tight 4-3 win over Nazara's crew. I have yet to see them really have a coming out party against any of the playoff contenders, but I'd keep an eye on them as they could dominate the middle of the table and potential parlay that into a playoff seed with a touch of scheduling luck.

#12 Fresh Installs: Black (2-2)

The newest and crudest edition of The Notorious Segamw's FRESH INSTALLS (now sans Segamw) is coming off a Main championship, defeating the rival VideoGameHighSchoolDropouts to bring home gold. Most critically, they've added Jetz on scout to the roster who brings excellent comms, tons of meatshots, and high level experience to a still fairly raw team. His impact was shown in full display in the match versus watchThis as he took home 66 kills and top DPM in the server.

(Continued below due to char. limit)

https://rgl.gg/Public/Team.aspx?t=8456&r=40

Looking for people with invite experience to help review our team demos. Can offer cash considerations for your wisdom.

Contact: Giblert#3041

Great caller, good at rugby, mad scientist strats

Probably my only criticism would be that he can get a little tilted sometimes but in matches he stays in it and turned around a lot of losing games for us so at least when it really matters, it isn't an issue

LFP for Adv. S6, Anglerfish Holdings

May also play the Dreamhack Cup depending on availability.

Looking for roamer tryouts and subs, especially scout subs. Will probably make a final decision around the end of the month.

We play Sun-Thurs, sometimes skipping Thursday in the offseason but will play Sun-Thurs close to and during the season.

C. Scout: alysen (aka ally)
F. Scout: TheGreatMage
Pocket: golden
Roamer: Tristen
Demo: Georgi
Medic: wbacon (aka Giblert)

Also LF mentors/coaches. Willing to offer payment for both one-off reviews and long-term help.

https://steamcommunity.com/id/easytorememberurl1/
Giblert#3041

Main Finals - The Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq-3vLcOxbQ

Final RGL S5 Advanced Power Rankings Pt. 4 of 4
3/1/2021

The last round of matches is approaching and so is the end of this season's rankings. More of less, the pieces are set in place for the top 5 and bottom 6 teams in the standings. For the 6 teams in the middle - there are still three spots at large and one more week to lock 'em down.
___

#1 Cat Posse (13-1)
Scouts: Shining Star, yumyum
Soldiers: KTB, Toss
Demo: Kurama
Medic: reigh

Cat Posse has put that one kerfuffle on Sunshine behind them and continued to shred through the remaining teams, winning their last five games with two or less rounds dropped. It goes without saying that it would be jaw-dropping if they didn't land in Grand Finals. Of course, it is a single elimination format so it just takes one rough night for a catastrophe to happen.

#2 dior addicts (10-4) [+3]
Scouts: rickrigatoni, claps
Soldiers: aimer, vegan
Demo: Kevito
Medic: Urmphi

This team escaped the brink of death and have been rewarded well for their efforts in keeping the team alive. Since re-building their roster, their only loss is to dynasty in a match where they didn't have Kevito and Rick had to play demoman. At full strength, it remains to be seen if this line-up can be stopped.

#3 :/ (13-1) [-1]
Scouts: Kutch, pom
Soldiers: *******, morsca
Demo: artist
Medic: rasta_ronald

After disagreements with dit, Kutch is back to finish the job. Honey Bacon Club boasts an equally impressive record as Cat Posse, but they've ventured to the edge of defeat before - five of their wins came by only a round and some of those were to teams with middling records. Looming at the end of the week, they'll rematch Cat Posse for a shot at the first seed.

#4 iBuyWinrar (9-5)
Scouts: Percy, mc
Soldiers: fyg, toaster husband III
Demo: Air
Medic: styles

As mentioned last week, I was expecting this team to quickly climb back to the top with their optimized roster. Scrim results with said roster looked promising, and in matches, they've finally delivered on their potential and improved from 5-5 to 9-5.

#5 TeamSolouMlpst (9-5) [+3]
Scouts: umlpst, carcin
Soldiers: tresh, Lights
Demo: hayes
Med: Walrex

For this period, Walrex has brushed off his M.D. while Carcin has taken over for Cleanbuddy on scout. At the end of the day, it's hard to evaluate a team that shuffles the deck every two weeks. Looking at the recent results though, they appear to be as good as usual with three wins and a well-played loss to Air's team.

#6 THE GOBLIN ZONE (8-6)
Scouts: saam, Waldo
Soldiers: Muma, tomato_tom
Demo: Hedgehog Hero
Med: bloompi

We didn't get to see much of the signature TGZ Pyro with the wide open spaces of Clearcut making that too wild for even this team to consider much of. Gullywash week was a different story and fire guy got plenty of action. I hope they make playoffs; of all the teams on the bottom half of the playoff bracket, I think they've got the best chance to make an upset happen.

#7 Portland Burnsiders (8-6) [-4]
Scouts: RPC_33, dit? yerb?
Soldiers: yimi?, Kylo
Demo: det
Med: squidie

The Burnsiders roster has been a revolving door all season. In the last edition, we mentioned the addition of det and dylan. Now dit and yimi have hopped aboard as well in the wake of yerb getting banned. With that in mind, it's impressive 503 has continued to patch the holes and stayed afloat well enough to still be a playoff level team.

#8 g*ming (8-6) [+1]
Scouts: zanda, Pauly
Soldiers: Scream, Shiny
Demo: sleepy
Med: FrickMyNick

As good as this team has been, their 5-5 record going into week 6 put them in a no-more mistakes situation. Fortunately, they've passed that test and gone 3-1 since our last rankings, with that one loss on Clearcut - disappointing, but understandable considering the usual volatility of KOTH. To finish things out, Nick plays his third class of the season as he picks up the medigun and Pauly slides in at the last minute on the Bostonian man.

#9 dynasty (7-7) [-2]
Scouts: yaMi, kobe
Soldiers: Q, wonder
Demo: Zaboomafoo
Medic: -ben

It came down to the wire in their 3-4 loss to iBuyWinrar and tragically, that might be the last nail in the coffin putting them out of playoffs as it takes their fate out of their hands. They'll need to win their last game and rely on one of the 8 win teams in front of them dropping a game - unlikely considering the matchups. In such a competitive season, it shows how low the margin for error is.

#10 St. Judes (6-8)
Scouts: Cadet, z3no
Soldiers: Beep_boop, jude
Demo: Dennisavich
Medic: ScrewBDoobieDoo

Even with a losing record, you've got to give them some credit for going the distance with Honey Bacon Club. Plus, with how much better they've looked lately, it makes you wonder how things could've been if they had this particular group of players since day 1. Nonetheless, Cadet's streak of missing playoffs increases to two.

#11 BLANC Esports (7-7) [+1]
Scouts: DonDorito, taiga
Soldiers: Uni_Wizard, Antecedent
Demo: Jojo
Medic: Tery

On Clearcut, they proved themselves worthy of contending with the top 8 teams but ultimately came away winless that week. Flipping even one of those close games would've put them in legit playoff contention for the first time in organization history since S22.

#12 feet pics (7-7) [+3]
Scouts: triiiple, supreme toad
Soldiers: panther, knsume
Demo: rj
Medic: kasper

The expected-unexpected thing happened with the Highlander team upsetting the higher seed on King of the Hill. No gimmicks needed though, the match went through with straight sixes classes (minus a few minutes of heavy) and the awfully named feet pics team came out on top.

#13 watch This (5-9) [-2]
Scouts: maze, zyehac
Soldiers: indi, scumbag_steve
Demo: Assterick
Medic: ales

For a group passionate about winning, I'm sure the streak of losses over the last two weeks has been frustrating. Still, their last game against fellow move-up Lobsters.tf is winnable so they at least have the opportunity to end the season with the taste of victory in their mouths.

#14 Lobsters.tf (5-9) [-1]
Scouts: alysEn, TheGreatMage
Soldiers: Tribes, rico suave
Demo: On1
Medic: five-sided fistagon

Historically, the Lobsters have been a great Clearcut team, though against the stiff competition in Advanced, their past experience wasn't enough as they failed to seal away the goblins in another 1-round loss. Despite an ugly record, the Lobsters proved they can hang with Advanced teams. There just needs to be a little more time in the kitchen to learn to put the finishing touches on some of these even contests.

#15 monkeys @ mid (6-8) [-1]
Scouts: XBS, caboose
Soldiers: kuhnockers, PKG
Demo: zbra
Med: tubagod

Owib departed to focus on school and now the roster looks more like it did at the start of the season ft. Kuhnockers. Tough luck though on scheduling: they draw two playoff teams to close out the season. We'll see if they can seize the chance to drag one of them down with them.

#16 yassss teaammmm (2-12)
Scouts: Hellcat, Cpnfpn
Soldiers: Liam, Gwen
Demo: Yohnny
Medic: headless

Going into the final frame, some applause is deserved for the core of the team sticking it out and taking beating after beating week after week. To end on a positive note: By virtue of surviving, they aren't finishing last.

#?? Predatory Lending Practices (5-9)
Scouts: golden, zia
Soldiers: Fleskore, owen
Demo: [None]
Medic: wbacon

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Graveyard: Romney 5 (4-8), Rock Bottom (4-6), Eels and Escalators (0-4)
___

Good luck to everyone on their last week. Thanks as well to everyone for reading and offering feedback.

RGL S5 Main Power Rankings Pt. 2 of 2?
2/15/2021

Season 4 of RGL Main was one of the mostly evenly matched seasons of any RGL division so far with a five way tie for most wins, a three way tie for second most wins, and some upper bracket seeds being sent packing in the first round. This season, four games are left and five teams are tied for most wins once again - it looks like everyone shooting for a title is in for a serious grind.
_____

#1 Sea Shanty 2 (9-3) [+7]
Scouts: tanline, vin
Soldiers: zotoh, ydna
Demo: drip_rater
Medic: PatricK

I believed Sea Shanty 2 would be one of the top teams before the season kicked off. They didn't take Neptune's throne immediately and lost to rival playoff teams during the opening weeks. Since then, the waters have calmed as they've conquered the remaining playoff teams and are on track to sail into an upper bracket seed.

#2 VideoGameHighSchoolDropouts (9-3) [-1]
Scouts: rkcbb, PrtyN8ked
Soldiers: Protag, dala
Demo: Georgi
Medic: GrumpyKoala

As noted previously and as predicted by several members of VGHS, this team kind of sucked ass at Product. They blew so bad their team almost imploded and the heartbreaking next game on Sunshine which they lost in golden cap didn't help. Fortunately, the toughest mid-terms are finally over, their combo scout actually has more than 20 FPS, and they've got some momentum back with three wins in a row so the future, at least for this next quarter, looks bright.

#3 FRESH INSTALLS: BLACK (9-3)
Scouts: rive, dalenu
Soldiers: segamw, Kronky
Demo: MiG-21
Medic: Poli

While clearly established as a top team, Sega and the squad hasn't had an easy run by any means, trading games back and forth with rival teams. It seems that the mere presence of Segamw gives their opponents extra motivation which may contribute to the intensity of their matches.

#4 Coo Coo Cachoo Fan Club (9-3) [+3]
Scouts: Unity, tracker
Soldiers: cookie, smiths
Demo: Redd
Medic: Mdodo

The fan club's performance these last three weeks is more what I expected from them going into the season in contrast to their first three weeks. For a team that almost played Advanced, 3-3 was a touch disappointing, albeit the games were close. Now, they're on a division best six win streak, have ironed things out, and got the tight games going their way.

#5 butta dawgs (9-3) [-3]
Scouts: juha, kots
Soldiers: saxophone, Sweezy
Demo: averted
Medic: footsocks

As one of five teams tied for the best record, the dawgs have split games versus their peers 2-2, taking out CCC and VGHS and falling to FRESH INSTALLS and Sea Shanty. It's a perfect example that there isn't enough difference between all the guys at the top to say anyone has a clear edge over the other. Come playoffs, it's all going to come down to circumstances, match-ups, mentality, map picks, and perhaps a bit of luck.

#6 Phantom Troupe (8-4) [-2]
Scouts: mudkip, dickers
Soldiers: @ybg.tara, daren
Demo: .json?
Medic: Bradasparky

The Troupe is not far behind the 9 win teams. They've already proven for certain they can hang - especially on Product where beat Sea Shanty 2 and sent VGHS spiraling into a deep, near team killing depression. And with three losses by a single round, they could've easily been reigning above the rest of the pack if they had closed it out better in those neck-n-neck games. Constant line-up shuffles is the only thing I see that could hold them back.

#7 DerpGaming LLC (7-5) [-2]
Scouts: Jayytee, gaschlong
Soldiers: Math, wrawar (peniferous)
Demo: asura
Medic: Rave_AC

The stock forecast for DerpGaming LLC was promising in the first two quarters of the season as they competed well with Phantom Troupe and upset the now flaming hot CCC Fan Club. Although the stock has trended down recently, the addition of veteran player wrawar/penny could give them the extra firepower they need to tick upward again.

#8 sv_cheats 2 (6-6) [-3]
Scouts: scouty, 673950163925
Soldiers: gloob, M17
Demo: yoob
Medic: Pal

Annihilating DerpGaming on Metalworks and nearly sinking Sea Shanty 2 looked like a good sign mid-season, but eventually, you've got to close out versus top teams to get into playoffs and sv_cheats 2 hasn't quite been able to do that. The good news: They've already faced (and lost to) the top 6 seeded teams. If they win out, which they very well could with their remaining schedule, they've still got good odds for playoffs.

#9 Poki Mains (5-7) [+3]
Scouts: Comanglia, TheS4rr
Soldiers: Juggernaut, johnnytsunami
Demo: rev
Medic: gollywobbler

Comanglia and crew (the guy from the config as well as other ventures) don't even have a positive record, yet have put even the elite teams in danger. Every week, their schedule has been hard as balls and as they prepare to face two bottom ranked teams, I'm sure they're happy to have a little respite before gearing up for the final week.

#10 Axolotl eSports (7-5) [NPR]
Scouts: marco5, jsuu
Soldiers: MoisDM, Jenn
Demo: tony
Medic: jigsaw

After a mediocre start in which Axolotl eSports eluded our last rankings edition, the script has been flipped for the Sons of Axolotl/PERUTECH alumni. At least, it appears that way looking at their record. Their only notable win is a 5-4 barn burner where they upset DerpGaming on Sunshine. This week, they get two chances to prove their mettle versus CCC Fan Club and butta dawgs.

#11 whatever works (6-6) [-1]
Scouts: Obamid, fishee
Soldiers: jhaeiou, xFactr
Demo: deimos
Medic: willsux

It would be an exaggeration and unfair to everyone else to say it's only Deimos doing work - jhae, Obamid, and others have all had their nights. Still, there's consistently one standout on the team and he'll need to continue to perform while some others step up in these upcoming big matches if they want to secure one of the few remaining playoff spots.

#12 Digi (7-5) [NPR]
Scouts: trux, enthrow
Soldiers: yams, dave2
Demo: mak
Medic: arcadia

Digi is performing about as expected for a team of strong players that aren't sweating too hard. They've amassed a fair share of wins, but I can't see them beating the contender teams VGHS and FRESH INSTALLS on Clearcut this week.

Honorable Mentions

ShawtyBendBackLiketheMatrix (6-6) [P#11]

It's been a rough stretch since the last edition of the rankings. Not only have they gone 2-4 (only one win versus a team with a positive record), their roster was straight up marked dead briefly. They need to bend it back hard and fast.

Big Dog Big Nuts (6-6) [NPR]

An unlikely playoff contender, they still have a dog in the fight. A couple times, winnable games slipped the leash and if they can get it under control, they might find themselves a place.

simply bon3d (5-7) [P#9]

A similar squad edged their way into playoffs last season and even won a map against the top seed. However, with so many old guys, maybe age is finally getting to them. They'll need to win out to have even a chance at playoffs.

Portland B-Siders (7-5) [NPR]

The Portland G-League team is hanging around the picture with a good record, but they remain unproven. All of their wins have come to middle or low tier teams. At the end of the day though, their previous losses to the contender level teams won't matter if they can finish the fight strong, and considering their mid-season line-up shift putting PRC and RoL on scout, I could see it happening.

Other Teams: Occam's Razor (5-7), Fellas in Paris (5-7), Gummy Bear Inc. (5-7), fgp (5-7), Sort By Deaths (4-8), Glovebox Glock (2-10), Tanking For Medal (2-10)

Graveyard: Cube and Ball Tulkas (2-4), Truckroid (0-2)
_____

Good luck to everyone on the last stretch.

Mildly Controversial RGL S5 Advanced Power Rankings Pt. 3 of 4
3/1/2021

This season of Advanced remains viciously contested going into the last three weeks. Only Cat Posse and :/ have pulled ahead of the pack while the rest of the teams continue to cannibalize each other week after week. The playoff picture should get really interesting as the season winds down.
____
#1 Cat Posse (9-1)
Scouts: Shining Star, yumyum
Soldiers: KTB, Toss
Demo: Kurama
Medic: reigh

Cat Posse's streak of dominance continues with one notable exception. THE GOBLIN ZONE handed them their first loss on Sunshine in a truly bizarre hour long 9 rounder. Nonetheless, the cats have plenty of lives left and one mid-season hairball shouldn't hurt them much.

#2 :/ (Honey Bacon Club) (9-1)
Scouts: dit, pom
Soldiers: H2O, morsca
Demo: artist
Medic: rasta_ronald

Losing Kutch hasn't caused any major issues, Artist continues to put out absurd damage each game, and their soldier combo is one of if not the best in the division. The result: HBC rises far above the crowd. They're done proving they're playoff contenders, now they're building a case for being title contenders. With some luck, they may even sneak into the top seed.

#3 Portland Burnsiders (6-4) [+1]
Scouts: RPC_33, yerb
Soldiers: dylan, Kylofro
Demo: det
Med: squidie

A just barely positive record looks underwhelming for an almost Invite team at first glance. Upon closer inspection, it's easy to explain away most of their losses as competitive games with good teams and new map upset weirdness. Their revamped roster ft. det and dylan might give them the extra magic to push them into the title hunt.

#4 iBuyWinRAR (5-5) [+3]
Scouts: Air, Percy
Soldiers: fyg, mitsuru lover III
Demo: mc
Medic: styles

This team was scary pre-season. When the season started, they didn't look as tough. Now, after many roster shuffles, fyg's on soldier again and it looks like they're back in the saddle. With a half-n-half record and a mid-table mosh in progress, it's not too late to get back into contention.

#5 dior addicts (6-4) [+1]
Scouts: Rickrigatoni, claps
Soldiers: aimer, vegan
Demo: Kevito
Medic: Urmphi

I've heard from a million people that this team is dying. Turns out, rumors of dior's demise were greatly exaggerated as the latest iteration of their roster looks like the best yet.

#6 THE GOBLIN ZONE (6-4) [+9]
Scouts: saam, Waldo
Soldiers: Muma, tomato_tom
Demo: Hedgehog Hero
Med: bloompi

THE GOBLIN ZONE never seemed to find the right balance between playing around with funny weapons and actually winning games with their deep pool of experience. That changed these last few weeks when they stole Cat Posse's zero while Waldo played 20 minutes of pyro. Apparently, dicking around and winning isn't mutually exclusive for this team.

#7 dynasty (6-4) [+1]
Scouts: yaMi, Kobe
Soldiers: Q, wonder
Demo: Zaboomafoo
Medic: -ben

In Q's absence, dynasty continued to thrive with Sushi subbing in and re-uniting with Kobe. There's no doubt that they've assembled a legit team this season and I could even see them upsetting a higher seeded team in the first round if everything lines up right. They've just got to finish strong to secure their spot.

#8 TeamSolouMplst (6-4) [-5]
Scouts: Walrex, cleanbuddy
Soldiers: tresh, Lights
Demo: hayes
Med: umlpst

Over the season, TSM has gone through numerous class swaps. No matter the line-up though, they always manage to field strong players and even in their loss streak, their season never seemed to be danger. They should be able to continue to challenge most of the remaining teams with individual talent alone.

#9 g*ming (5-5) [-4]
Scouts: FrickMyNick, zanda
Soldiers: Scream, Shiny
Demo: Sleepy
Medic: ZoomZxe

By my count, there are nine teams that have presented a good argument that they deserve a playoff spot so far. Of course, there are only eight spots to go around, so someone is going to be sad. G*ming probably deserves a ticket to playoffs, and to get one, they'll need to start converting some of these close losses to wins. They clearly have the skills to get it done.

#10 St. Judes (4-6) [+6]
Scouts: Cadet, z3no
Soldiers: Beepity_boop, jude
Demo: Dennisavich
Medic: ScrewB

Cutting your way to the top is frowned upon. If people leave of their own volition (as they did here) and it ends up making the team better, then hey, it works out for everyone. It's too early to say if the team's new backcourt with Dennis and ScrewB is a huge difference maker, but recent results are promising.

#11 watch This (5-5) [+1]
Scouts: maze, zyehac
Soldiers: indi, scumbag_steve
Demo: Assterick
Medic: ales

Although I wouldn't call their season smooth sailing so far, it's about to get rough as they prepare to take on the two best teams in the division. If they can make the next two games look sort of competitive, it'll be a good omen and prove they're still in the fight.

#12 BLANC Esports (5-5)
Scouts: battlebotsfan, taiga
Soldiers: Unicorn_Wizard, Antecedent
Demo: Jojo
Medic: Tery

Through Product week, BLANC sported a re-imagined line-up with Jojo on scout and Antecedent on demoman to some degree of success. Otherwise, it seems like they're back to their regularly scheduled programming and they continue to be a solid middle of the pack team.

#13 Lobsters.tf (4-6) [-4]
Scouts: e, TheGreatMage
Soldiers: Tribes212, tristen
Demo: On1
Medic: Degnan

Early on, the Lobsters got spicy with massive upsets over the Burnsiders and g*ming. That momentum has died down over these last four games as they took a trip to Chokelahoma and threw away their match versus iBuyWinRAR, then fell to their rival BLANC Esports. Still, their remaining schedule is light-ish, so they're not cooked yet.

#14 monkeys @ mid (5-5)
Scouts: XBS, Owiboner
Soldiers: caboose, PKG
Demo: zbra
Med: tubagod

Owib moving to scout has given them the oompth they needed to start cleaning up some of the teams in the mid to lower part of the division. The monkeys come to play every game and have never been totally blown out.

#15 fe*t pics (4-6) [-2]
Scouts: triiiple, supreme toad
Soldiers: pant, knsume
Demo: perenne
Medic: kasper

It's a rare circumstance that with only six games left, the second to last place team still has a chance of making playoffs. Highlander players love a good King of the Hill map and with Clearcut coming up plus some winnable matches on Gullywash this week, their season's not over.

#16 yassss teaammm (2-8) [+2]
Scouts: Hellcat, Cpnfpn
Soldiers: Liam, Gwen
Demo: Yohnny
Medic: headless

Unfortunately, yassss teaammm is the sole team left in the dust in the playoff race. On the bright side, they've survived, claimed their their first win, and even beat the new Romney 5 in scrims yesterday, so things aren't all bad.

#17 Romney 5 (4-6) [-7]
Scouts: hypno, charis
Soldiers: GMK, fancyson
Demo: Alfredo Dan
Med: CAP_CREATURE

Recently re-joined soldier fancyson yelled out, “There you go! There you go.” Sniper Hypno gave a look of pleasant surprise. Leader SliceRogue yelled out, “We got an [expletive] squad now.” And before the team left the server, former Invite player yuice joined their call and said, “Y’all look so different.”

#?? Predatory Lending Practices (5-5)
Scouts: golden, zia
Soldiers: Owen, frog
Demo: lucrative
Med: wbacon

My monitor this week: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/809573988136517670/815810241630437386/20210228_222606_HDR.jpg

We'll see how it goes.
____

Graveyard: Eels and Escalators (0-4), Rock Bottom (4-6)

Good luck to everyone going into Gullywash week.

RGL S5 Main Power Rankings Pt. 1 of 2
2/15/2021

The season is now well underway and so far, a few teams have risen above as clear standouts. However, with the always wild Product coming up, we'll see if the top teams can weather the storm and remain on their perches.
___

#1 VideoGameHighSchoolDropouts (6-0)
Scouts: rkcbb, PrtyN8ked
Soldiers: Protag, dala
Demo: Georgi
Medic: GrumpyKoala

By the thinnest of margins, VGHS maintained their perfect GPA and remains the last team unbeaten, primarily off the back of Georgi putting out nuclear damage every game. Technical issues hold back this team for now. Once they resolve those and have two functional scouts I expect their results will be much cleaner. Slightly worrying, they've struggled on Product quite a bit, so it's quite possible they could flunk their next test.

#2 butta dawgs (5-1)
Scouts: Tyson, kots
Soldiers: saxophone, ?
Demo: averted
Medic: footsocks

After a strong Winter Cup showing coming up a touch short of the title, the dawgs continue their campaign for gold, starting off with a strong 5-1 record. Their sole loss comes on Villa, an understandably difficult map considering that it's new.

#3 FRESH INSTALLS: BLACK (5-1)
Scouts: rive, dalenu
Soldiers: segamegawiff, Kronky
Demo: MiG-21
Medic: Poli

The 5th edition of FRESH INSTALLS brings back franchise legend segamouthwash. Funny enough, this line-up takes half of last season's IM champion roster while VideoGameHighSchoolDropouts takes the other half. The divided teams faced off in a grudge match with VGHS narrowly triumphing in golden cap, giving FRESH INSTALLS their only loss. I wouldn't be surprised to see a rematch in playoffs.

#4 Phantom Troupe (4-2)
Scouts: mudkip, frosters
Soldiers: @ybg.tara, daren
Demo: .json
Medic: dickers

While they have two losses, both came by only a single round against title contenders. The Troupe also has the advantage in that their core has been together for a while now. With a few things to clean-up, I could see them going far in playoffs.

#5 sv_cheats 2 (4-2)
Scouts: scouty, 673950163925
Soldiers: gloob, M17
Demo: yoob
Medic: Pal

Though they've started strong with a 4-2 record, Gloob, yoob, and friends have had mixed results versus the actual top teams. Their most recent showdown versus VGHS Dropouts resulted in a decisive 0-5 loss. On the other hand, they did take out DerpGaming in equally dominant fashion so it's fuzzy where they stand. What is clear is that there's a noticable divide between the elite 4 of the division and everyone else.

#6 DerpGaming LLC (4-2)
Scouts: Jayytee, gaschlong
Soldiers: Math, strom
Demo: asura
Medic: Rave_AC

There's not a whole lot special about the Limited Liability Company, they're just overall solid across the board, yet lack the extra spice to put them over the kind of teams gunning to make semi-finals. Beating out CCC Fan Club is a good win and they were close to defeating the Phantom Troupe, but they're going to need to close out wins versus the great teams if they want to guarantee their playoff position.

#7 Coo Coo Cachoo Fan Club (3-3)
Scouts: Unity, tracker
Soldiers: cookie, smiths
Demo: Redd
Medic: Mdodo

The Triple C Fan Club was initially set to play Advanced, then decided against it, so as expected, they're performing well in Main - although their 3-3 record doesn't directly reflect this. Most of their games have been hard fought, with half of them being decided 5-4.

#8 Sea Shanty 2 (4-2)
Scouts: Vin, tanline
Soldiers: ydna, zotoh
Demo: je'mond
Medic: Patrick

After going winless in Div. 2 (AKA Main Prime), the crew (with much less melanin) has been shuffled and is finding much more success in this season of Main with 4 wins already. Even though they've yet to secure a big trophy win, they have a chance to put their name in the hat as serious playoff contenders if they take down Phantom Troupe.

#9 simply bon3d (3-3)
Scouts: Hypnis, bon
Soldiers: ry4n, MikeMat
Demo: JaguarFiend
Medic: Betty

In these trying times and unpredictable times, it's nice that some things remain stable, such as Jaguar maintaining his post as the gatekeeper of Main. The same line-up from last season returns with a new fresh pair of scouts. As of now they've done alright hovering around the middle of the table, and as usual, I suspect this iteration of the roster will ride the bubble until the end.

#10 whatever works (4-2)
Scouts: Obamid, fishee
Soldiers: jhaeiou, xFactr
Demo: deimos
Medic: willsux

While it's sort of chill team, deimos is putting in a ton of work for whatever works, posting top damage numbers consistently. It hasn't been enough versus the best of the best, but it's gotten them their share of wins.

#11 ShawtyBendBackLiketheMatrix (4-2)
Scouts: joeyy, Tr4nce
Soldiers: tree, crazy
Demo: Scr0_
Medic: oskie

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about this team aside their match/scrim results and je'mond roasting Joeyy's penis hat.

#12 Poki Mains (3-3)
Scouts: Comanglia, TheS4rr
Soldiers: Juggernaut, johnnytsunami
Demo: rev
Medic: gollywobbler

The Poki Mains haven't made a huge splash yet, though with several seasoned snipers on their roster, they've got the tools to make some noise on Product week.
___

Good luck to everyone on Product. Contact Giblert#3041 for any feedback, tips, info, or corrections.

(Continued...)

#14 monkeys @ mid (2-4) [+1]
Scouts: Owiboner, XBS
Soldiers: caboose, PKG
Demo: zbra
Medic: tubabrick

Perhaps not the cleanest rollout to start the season. Still, with Owib now switching to scout, things could heat up for the monkeys, especially with only one "soldier" map left in the rotation. If they can take out St. Judes, they can even out their record going into the latter half of the season.

#15 THE GOBLIN ZONE (4-2) [+2]
Scouts: saam, Waldo
Soldiers: Muma, tomato_tom
Demo: Hedgehog Hero
Medic: bloompi

The goblins have shot up the official standings with four wins so far. However, all of their wins have come against mid to bottom level teams and they didn't fare so well against the actual playoff contenders in their first week on Snakewater. Like we said in the last rankings, they could make playoffs depending on how hard they want to try. As they face off against better teams this next week, we'll see what pants they're wearing.

#16 St. Judes (2-4) [-3]
Scouts: Cadet, z3no
Soldiers: Beepity_boop, jude
Demo: Dennisavich
Medic: ?

Like many other teams this week, St. Judes has had its own share of roster shuffles recently, cycling through 2 medics and a demoman. Up-and-comer Dennisavich could be what they need though if they can stablize things.

#17 Rock Bottom (2-4) [-1]
Scouts: ?, tibby
Soldiers: nurfu, Kami
Demo: Kuhnockers
Medic: asher

Though they've picked up a couple wins, with Souyant and AlfredoDaniel leaving, they're on life support. If they can't find suitable replacements, they're on track to be the third casualty of the season.

#18 yassssss team (1-5)
Scouts: Gwen, Cpnfpn
Soldiers: Liammm, ?
Demo: Yohnny
Medic: FactsMachine

Aside from a clean shutout versus BYE WEEK, yassss team hasn't secured a win yet. With the Eels dying, getting one remains a difficult battle, but not impossible by any means.

#?? Predatory Lending Practices (2-4)
Scouts: golden, ziamangry
Soldiers: Owen, Fleskore
Demo: lucrative
Med: wbacon

Predatory Lending Practices is dead, and last season's Div. 2 2nd place team and record breaker for most consecutive playoff losses in a season, The Box Tap, has re-animated the roster's corpse for a chill, (hopefully) fun season.

Graveyard: Eels and Escaltors (0-4)
___

Good to everyone on Product week.

Hastily Written RGL S5 Advanced Power Rankings Pt. 2 of 4
2/15/2021

As expected, the season already looks competitive as ever with only one team keeping their 0 and a massive free-for-all in the center of the standings with tons of teams hanging around with an even record, trading numerous rounds back and forth. We'll see if Product throws some more chaos into the mix as it tends to do.
_____
#1 Cat Posse (6-0) [+1]
Scouts: Shining Star, yumyum
Soldiers: KTB, Toss
Demo: Kurama
Medic: reigh

In their last run, they had a rough start and just barely dragged themselves into Div. 2 playoffs, with some help from
1-512-PLUMPWENCH. This time around, they're hot out the gates with a 6-0 start and the last team standing unbeaten. Since they've mauled every other high Advanced team sans the Burnsiders, they're an obvious favorite to win the division.

#2 :/ (Honey Bacon Club) (5-1) [+3]
Scouts: dit, pom
Soldiers: Hunter 2.0, morsca
Demo: artist
Medic: rasta_ronald

Cat Posse was on a 4 game run of perfect 5-0s until reaching Honey Bacon Club. Honey Bacon Club did well against the favored Cat Posse in the the first half yet in the second, Cat Posse blew past them. There's plenty of time to close the gap before they meet again in playoffs, and playoffs are basically a guarantee for this team unless everyone suddenly dies in real life or something. The only potential hitch is that they've lost their longtime maincaller KutchKutch. Dit should be a fine replacement mechanics wise, though we'll have to see how the change impacts them from a calling perspective.

#3 TeamSolouMlpst (5-1) [+3]
Scouts: Walrex, cleanbuddy
Soldiers: 1Lights, PENGUIN_MASTER
Demo: umlpst
Med: reno

There was a scare on Thursday with Lobsters nearly handing them their second loss. In a 3-2 grindfest, they narrowly got out alive. The rest of their schedule has been on the easier side so it's hard to say if they're definitively a top 3 team, but they're in the conversation.

#4 Portland Burnsiders (4-2) [-3]
Scouts: RPC_33, yerb
Soldiers: tony, Kylofro
Demo: fygg
Med: sorry, squidie

On paper the Burnsiders should be a heavy favorite to make finals. Of course, Team Fortress 2 isn't played on paper. TSM shut them out and even the move-up team Lobsters.tf was able to tough out a shocking win over them on Villa. Keep in mind, of course, both of their losses are on Villa so perhaps it's just a matter of struggling with an unfamiliar map.

#5 g*ming (3-3) [-2]
Scouts: Scream, zanda
Soldiers: FrickMyNick, Shiny
Demo: Sleepy
Medic: ZoomZxe

Since the previous rankings edition, g*ming has had a rough time, losing all of their games sans a forfeit. There's also been a bit of a change-up with Nick moving to soldier and Scream to scout. It isn't all bad. The teams they lost to were good and it's nice to have dior addicts out of the way by claiming the forfeit.

#6 dior addicts (3-3) [+1]
Scouts: claps, Kevito
Soldiers: vegan, aimer
Demo: rickrigatoni?
Medic: urmphi

Things have been a little shaky with a number of roster transactions recently. Antoni is out, Kevito is moving to scout, and Rick is on demoman (needs citation). With such a major change, it's hard to say where they'll stand precisely, though I'm sure they'll still be comfortably in playoff contention.

#7 iBuyWinRAR (3-3) [-3]
Scouts: Air, apt
Soldiers: vanxi, yukari fan III
Demo: mc
Medic: styles

Early on, iBuyWinRAR had the makings of a team destined to make semi-finals at the very least. Now that things are rolling, it hasn't gone so smoothly. They still struggle to cleanly put away the mid tier teams and they came up short versus the top teams these past few weeks. They'll need to buy a win on Product to stay in contention.

#8 dynasty (3-3)
Scouts: kobe1920, yaMi
Soldiers: Q, wonder
Demo: Zaboomafoo
Medic: -ben

The core from Season 4 dynasty was a good foundation, and now after drafting kobe, it's been enough to elevate their team to the next level. Their .500 record might not look like a huge improvement, but they've faced a tough schedule over their first few weeks. Anyone who's watched or played them in both seasons knows how much better they are now.

#9 Lobsters.tf (3-3) [+3]
Scouts: allison, TheGOATMage (Fanclub link: https://discord.gg/9m5ZW85vXF)
Soldiers: Tribes212, tristen
Demo: suikaMUSIC
Medic: Degnan

In these last two weeks, the Lobsters, especially TheGreatMage, have gotten boiling hot. After choking away a 3-0 lead over feet pics, they came back with a huge upset over the Burnsiders ft. the power of Friendship. Their next week was even better with a well-earned win over g*ming and a quality loss to TSM. With most of the hard teams out of the way and a slew of scout-centric maps coming up, they're in a great spot and sure to rise up if they can sustain this level of play.

#10 Romney 5 (3-3)
Scouts: who
Soldiers: the fuck
Demo: knows? (Donovan, reero, Rikachu, fancyson, loafe)
Medic: Slicerogue

The Romney 5 is a tough team to evaluate as you never know what line-up they're going to roll out week to week. For example, three weeks in, Reero has already played every combat class although Slicerogue has remained in the medic gulag. With their most optimal line-up, they should be top 8 at minimum. With their worst composition, they may even be in the bottom 8 of the division.

#11 watch This (3-3)
Scouts: maze, zyehac
Soldiers: indi, scumbag_steven
Demo: Assterick
Medic: ales

Similar to Lobsters, this move up team has had a surprising amount of success to kick things off. Since adding Assterick in the pre-season, their team has gotten a little edge that puts them over teams they previous struggled with. With a 3-3 start, they're at least in the playoff conversation, though still underdogs.

#12 BLANC Esports (3-3) [-3]
Scouts: Donald Dorito, am i a ball
Soldiers: 5ping_Wizard, Antecedent
Demo: Jojo
Medic: Tery_

More or less as expected, BLANC is hanging around the middle of the pack, much like the franchise has done historically. They had a rough stretch of losses getting swept thrice in a row, then managed to get back in the winner's circle with a close win over feet pics. Overall, there's not huge standout quality with BLANC so far, just a solid team all-around.

#13 feet pics (3-3) [+1]
Scouts: triiiple, supreme toad
Soldiers: pant, knsume
Demo: perenne
Medic: kasper

Coming off a disappointing, winless Div. 1 run, things are looking much better for this sort-of-remake of The Bradman Bunch. They clawed their way back from a 0-3 deficit versus Lobsters, narrowly overcame Romney 5, and just barely fell short to BLANC. Headed into Product week, things could get interesting as the Highlander crew will be right at home on King of the Hill.

(Continued below due to char. limit)

#15 monkeys @ mid (0-2)
Scouts: XBS, caboose
Soldiers: Owiboner, PKG
Demo: zbra
Med: tubagod

The XBS scout journey continues into Advanced. What he lacked in pure DM, he easily made up for with his high level experience compared to Main players last season. There's no doubt that if XBS wants to win, he's willing to grind hard. I could see this team surprising people later in the season regardless of their less than ideal start.

#16 Rock Bottom (0-2)
Scouts: Souyant, tibby
Soldiers: Kuhnockers, Nurfu
Demo: alfredodan
Med: asher

The Alfredo Dan Clan has a solid roster with no major weaknesses, though at the same time, they have no true "superstar". They should be competitive against most mid-Advanced teams and rebound from their rocky start as long as they can integrate their new medic into their team quickly.

#17 THE GOBLIN ZONE (0-2)
Scouts: saam, Waldo
Soldiers: Muma, tomato_tom
Demo: Hedgehog Hero
Med: bloompi

If this veteran team puts on their tryhard pants (or even kind of trying pants) they can make playoffs. Will that happen? Maybe? Probably not. A similar lineup had a strong showing in the Winter Cup Advanced division and brought home silver against a field of very tough competition.

#18 yasssss team (0-2)
Scouts: Gwen, Cpt. Fapn
Soldiers: tulaman, liammmm
Demo: yohnny
Med: Facts Machine

After some pre-season experiments on soldier, Gwen (Saila) has returned to her usual scout role. While she's one of the stronger scouts in the division, the rest of the team lacks Advanced level experience. To make this season a true success, the newer guys will need to take a big step forward or Gwen will need to carry a heavy load. Currently, things don't look too bad as they were at least able to take some rounds in their first week.

#19 Eels and Escaltors (0-2)
Scouts: RoL, scott
Soldiers: airtime, BBOP
Demo: AvoidJoker
Med: ?

B4nny stream legend RainOfLight was able to get 6 just in time for the season. Recent developments have made it tough to keep 6 ready to go, unfortunately. If they can manage to keep it together, this should be a solid learning experience for the team.

#2147483647 Predatory Lending Practices (0-2)
Scouts: Hypno, ?
Soldiers: ScrewB, voosh
Demo: Guyehhh
Med: ?

Not ranked as I'm currently subbing/temporarily starting on this team.
____
Good luck to everyone in their week 2 matches. Contact Giblert#3041 for any feedback, tips, info, or corrections.

Next: 2/15

Unsolicited RGL S5 Advanced Power Rankings Pt. 1 of 4
2/1/2021

After a few seasons away, the merged Advanced division returns with a just-right size of 20 teams. The always familiar map Snakewater is in the books, and the stage is set for a potentially wild week on the new version of Villa.
_____
#1 Portland Burnsiders (2-0)
Scouts: RPC_33, yerb
Soldiers: tony, Kylofro
Demo: fygg
Med: sorry, squidie

After a massive clusterfuck of a qualifier, one team had to fall to Advanced from Invite. Considering this team was planning to play Invite, this team is strong across the board as expected even though they had a few changes from their original Invite candidate roster with Luddy and BBC replaced by Squidie and RPC_33 respectively.

#2 Cat Posse (2-0)
Scouts: Shining Star, yumyum
Soldiers: KTB, Toss
Demo: kurama
Med: reigh

The Posse returns after coming a hair short of winning a Div. 2 title in Season 3. Yumyum and Toss have also continued to play together on RAT PARTY in the interim. With the core players returning, former S31 teammate Kurama teaming up with Shining Star once again, and KTB filling things out, they've constructed a great line-up. They're doing well against the other high Advanced teams and show no signs of slowing down.

#3 g*ming (2-0)
Scouts: FrickMyNick, Zanda
Soldiers: Shiny, Scream
Demo: Sleepy
Med: ZoomZxe

Frick My Nicholas, a few BLANC alumni, a veteran soldier combo, and the Highlander doc himself ZoomZxe have come together to build a powerful team of g*mers. Between Nick's great gamesense and the mechanical skills provided by the rest of the roster, it seems they have the right pieces to make it all flow together right. I underrated this team pre-season. Now, looking at their recent results in matches and scrims, it's clear they're real contenders.

#4 iBuyWinRAR (1-1)
Scouts: Air, apt
Soldiers: vanxi, Grape Juice III
Demo: mc
Med: styles

Since this team formed early in the offseason, they've looked like a title threat with an initial core of Air, Grapejuice, fygg, and mc. Their first week results haven't been as clean as expected; the move-up team watch This gave them some trouble and g*ming won a decisive 5-1 victory over iBuyWinRAR in spite of the curious stat of g*ming having 4 less ubers.

#5 :/ (2-0)
Scouts: KutchKutch, pom
Soldiers: bumbo, Hunter 2.0
Demo: artist
Med: rastafarian_ronaldo

Artist and the artists formerly known as Honey Bacon Club continue their campaign through the RGL coming off of a Season 3 Main second place and Season 4 Div. 2 championship. They lost DM lord Claps who stepped in for playoffs and instead gain a powerful new soldier duo in Hunter 2.0 and bumbo. Their biggest advantage is the fact that their core group has stuck together for a while now - it's working out as of now with the team taking home two fast wins on Snakewater week.

#6 Team Solo Umlpst (2-0)
Scouts: Walrex, cleanbuddy
Soldiers: 1Lights, PENGUIN_MASTER
Demo: umlpst
Med: reno

Overall a strong offclass team filled to the brim with experience. Their med is a little inexperienced compared to the rest of the team - it shouldn't be a huge issue though - with so many good players to work with, I'm sure they'll be able to learn and get up to speed by the time they get to the most critical games.

#7 dior addicts (1-1)
Scouts: Antoni, claps
Soldiers: Aimer, vegan
Demo: Kevito
Med: urmpi

Just in time, the cheaters were exiled from RGL. In their place, they've added Claps and Co. to the roster in a pseudo-remake of Season 3's Main Champ Family Friendly Content. On paper, this team looks like a contender, but we'll have to wait and see how they all mesh together on short notice. It's hard to draw conclusions from their first week as they crushed a team they were expected to beat and were rolled by a team they weren't expected to beat.

#8 dynasty (1-1)
Scouts: Q, yaMi
Soldiers: kobe1920, wonder
Demo: Zaboomafoo
Med: ben-

Dynasty had a disappointing run in Div. 2 with a few highlights here and there. Not deterred, the core of Q, Wonder, and Zaboomafoo is back with some roster revisions, with the key pickup being Kobe1920 who is returning from RGL exile after being banned for alting. Even against stronger competition, I expect them to well exceed their record from last season.

#9 BLANC Esports (2-0)
Scouts: Donald Dorito, taiga
Soldiers: Uni_Wizard, Antecedent
Demo: Jojo
Med: old man

Always a staple of competitive TF2 since what feels like the dawn of time, BLANC returns for the 15th-ish season (6th consecutive). Last season, BLANC reached the podium for the first time since Main Season 1. The latest iteration only retains Tery_ and Donald Dorito though some of the other faces are familiar BLANC associates. As usual, it looks like BLANC will continue to play the role of middish level gatekeeper. That said, they can shake that look if they can take a win off either :/ or Cat Posse this week.

#10 Romney 5 (1-1)
Force-A-Nature: reero
Scout: Rikachu
Soldiers: loafe, fancyson
Demo: donovan?
Med: Slicerogue

Similar to TeamSoloUmplst, the Capture Creature's latest lineup brings a ton of experience to the table in all classes minus their soldiers who are a bit green in comparison to the rest of the team. If Reero decides to use the Scattergun or makes the class trade with Donovan permanent, this team could rise much higher.

#11 watch This (1-1)
Scouts: maze, zyehac
Soldiers: indi, scumbag_steve
Demo: Assterick
Med: ales

One of many Main move ups, watch This took home the bronze in their last outting after a truly amazing comeback over 7gull. There are some promising rising stars on this roster, yet they lack a real veteran presence which could put them at a disadvantage in high stakes, fast paced matches. On the bright side, taking three rounds off iBuyWinRAR is a good sign.

#12 Lobsters.tf (1-1)
Scouts: allison, The Great Mage
Soldiers: Tribes212, Tristen Thompson
Demo: On1
Med: Degnan

The Lobsters possibly the longest running team in RGL (minus Invite) to keep roughly their same core, having played participated in every RGL season plus several UGC seasons. Their last Main season ended in disappointment after making second seed and being upset in the first round of playoffs. Still, they've been grinding hard over the offseason and a lot of people might be surprised by the fragging ability of their scouts and demoman.

#13 St. Jude's (1-1)
Scouts: Cadét, z3no
Soldiers: Beepity_boop, jude
Demo: Sail
Med: Squid

Cadét's long, hard team search finally ended with him teaming up with Beepity_Boop and Sail. Realistically, this teams lacks the raw firepower to challenge the top teams. However, I believe that they have the dedication and grit to grind out some wins over the other up and comer teams such as their next opponent, watch This.

#14 fe*t pics (1-1)
Scouts: supreme toad, triiiple
Soldiers: pant, knsume
Demo: perenne
Med: kasper

Every season needs "the Highlander team". It almost looked like Advanced wouldn't have one this time around until these guys formed. Their early scrim struggles is a little bit of a red flag, but they haven't had a ton of time together, so there's plenty of runway to get the machine running smoothly and they've already secured a decent win over Rock Bottom.

(Continued below due to char. limit)

ggs HBC, see ya next season

Also, we're very proud to break the record for most consecutive playoff losses in a single season.