Weeks 7-8

Wow. It's been an absolutely incredible few weeks. We're nearing the end of the first Round Robin, and with only two weeks left, we're really starting to get some wonderful stories to come out.

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First, I want to talk about the Week 7 Game of the Week: Mediocre at Best vs Midnight Gaming: Dire Wolves. These two teams started the week tied for first at 6-0, and their match was, without exaggeration, a clash of the titans. The admin predictions were, by large majority, a Dire Wolves win. BatmansParents, Reverse, and Prouling all predicted Dire Wolves, and Septirath (me) stood alone with a Mediocre at Best win prediction.

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Well in your faces, other admins. Mediocre at Best took the win in a very convincing fashion. The indomitable botlane of Mills1112 and SpASDik proved their worth as Nautilus and Caitlyn respectively. SpASDik finished the game at 11/1/10, participating in 21 out of 27 kills. Midlaner NTCDevo3's Karthus provided the global map pressure to go along with Redremnant's toplane Kled, constantly aided by Ilhia's damage-heavy Jarvan IV in the jungle.

Still, Dire Wolves didn't go down without a fight. They were, after all, tied to be the best team in the league. Despite some underwhelming performances in the jungle, midlane, and support, ADC VeryWet, who has been a dominant botlane carry, did everything he could on his Kai'Sa alongside toplaner Buckeye's Aatrox. Unfortunately, MAB's sheer skill and suffocating pressure clinched the win for them in the end. They're now the sole undefeated team at 7-0, and are looking to close out the first Round Robin in the same spectacular, dominant fashion.

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In prior articles, we talked about a few other teams that, at the time, were dominating the top of the stands. Lionheart and Casual Banter: Lifeline. Both of these teams, while by no means bad, are certainly falling off from their top-tier standings.

Lionheart took losses to both Spectres and Lifeline, who have proven themselves to be very powerful teams, and then surprisingly dropped a game to Midnight Gaming: Raijin Storm, a team that's been pretty consistently at the bottom of the standings. We'll see where Lionheart stands after their Week 7 reschedule, but for whatever reason, they're definitely falling pretty fast.

Not far behind, however, is Casual Banter: Lifeline. In the beginning of the split, they were powerful, controlling, and seemingly unbeatable. Now sitting in 4th place, they've dropped games to Los Baja Banditos, Spectres, and of course Mediocre at Best. If they pull themselves back together in the second Round Robin, they can still claw their way back to the top, but they're a far cry from where they were.

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Well, that's enough of downward trends. Let's talk about some teams that are on their way up. First up is none other than the Spectres. Their first few weeks were played with a few substitutes and took them to a rocky start. With their main players on the Rift, though, they're skyrocketing towards the top of the standings. They're currently in third, just behind Dire Wolves and Mediocre at Best. Their last two games of the Round Robin are versus Team Imouri Chan and Los Baja Banditos, and I'm confident they'll finish out strong.

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Also on an upward trend is a bit of a surprising one: Team Imouri Chan! After a rough start with some player issues and lack of synergy, the kinks and wrinkles are getting worked out the farther we get into the split. Granted, their only 3 wins are above the only 3 teams below them in the standings (Raijin Storm, Nocturnal Dragons, and Casually Inting), but 3 of their losses have been to the likes of Lionheart, Dire Wolves, and the seemingly-unbeatable Mediocre at Best. I think TIC is on a strong enough trajectory to at least contend with the middle teams, and secure a spot in playoffs.

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Currently, we've got 3 pretty solid tiers of teams. The top tier is Mediocre at Best (7-0), Dire Wolves (6-1), and Spectres (5-2), all of whom are convincingly at the top of the standings. Mid-tier teams are Lifeline (3-4), Lionheart (3-3*), Team Imouri Chan (3-4), and Los Baja Banditos (3-4). At the very bottom tier is Raijin Storm (2-5), Nocturnal Dragons (1-5*), and Casually Inting (0-7).

Going into the second Round Robin, I think these tiers will hold pretty solid. I think Spectres will continue their upwards trajectory and maintain their spot in the top 3. Lionheart and Lifeline are falling, but not far or fast enough to drop into the bottom tier. They and Team Imouri Chan will stay solidly in places 4-6. The other four teams aren't showing enough consistency, strength, or determination to claw their way out of the bottom tier.

But hey, that's what a tournament is for! Going into the second Round Robin, we'll see which teams rise and which teams fall.

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On a bit of a different note, our league is growing! On December 15th, we'll begin the split for our second region, the Legends of the Mountain Region. I won't give out any information on the teams just yet, but I can say you're absolutely in for a wonderful ride once it begins.

With the growth of our playerbase, we are also looking to grow our staff. We are looking for the following:

• Shoutcasters

• Admins/Moderators

• Analysts/VOD reviewers

• Video editors/Content creators

The league is run entirely by volunteers out of the love for the game and its competitive nature. If you, or anybody you know, would be interested in filling any of these categories, join our Discord in the top right-hand corner and let the Admins know! We look forward to hearing from you.​

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GL and HF, and I'll see you on the Rift!

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Septirath

"Grace in victory and in defeat."