The season is halfway done and the standings are beginning to shape up. Will iog and jCp remain undefeated as they enter the final stretch of matches? Which teams will sneak into the playoffs? Only time will tell. As a surprise, halfway through the season Kawasaki was announced as the sponsor for the AA leagues. Offering prizes to the winners of each level of competition, with the prizes listed here. Which team will withstand their competitors and emerge as the Kawasaki Invite Champions?
Team Evaluation
Just Cause Project (5-0)- jCp has started this season off strong by annihilating their competition with their closest match being a 8-4 win against i9 on Mountain Ambush in Week 5 and against ovk on WCSE. jCp maintains the most active and talented roster especially since the addition of Vandal from sR. They should finish the season undefeated and in first place as long as no hiccups occur.
Haunter's expectation: (10 - 0) 1st in division
.instruments of god. (5-0)- iog sits on top of their division having defeated each competitor they have faced. In their last match up they defeated BMFB 10 - 2 on Mountain Ambush. The closest matches for iog has been their encounters with oR on WCSE and Frozen Chosen on CSAR where they emerged victorious 7 - 5. Looking at their upcoming schedule their biggest match will be against oR on Bridge SE for Week 6. Look for iog to complete their season undefeated if they can make it past oR.
Haunter's expectation: (10 - 0) 1st in division
overRated (4-1)- oR has had some tough matches and lost a nail biter against iog, but expect them to bounce back in the second half of league play. They should give iog a run for their money on Bridge SE but I don't think they can pull out a win. For the rest of their matches oR should be able to finish off the remainder of the competition to complete the season in second place.
Haunter's expectation: (8 - 2) 2nd in division
IceNine. (3-2)- In an attempt to not win or play any more matches, chun and newb have disappeared from i9 and only show up for guest appearances. To fill in their spot, the professional bench warmer (me), has been brought in to plug the gap in i9's roster. Aside from that, i9 is a very experienced team and can cause a lot of problems to their adversaries. Lastly look for i9 to attempt to regain their reputation as the TK squad. (chun let us down in the All-Star match)
Haunter's expectation: (7 - 3) 2nd in division
Slow Reaction (3-2)- sR had a surprising loss to ovk early in the season but bounced back to defeat i9 in OT on CSAR. For their efforts they are now currently tied for second place in the division. They have a tough schedule ahead of them but if sR prepares for it, they can win a majority of the matches. They will have some tough matches with jCp, i9, ovk, and NATO and even after the loss of vandal they can win two or three of those matches. Especially after watching the dominating performance that Becker put on in the All-Star match.
Haunter's expectation: (6 - 4) 3rd in division
FightClub (2-3)- FightClub started off strong going 2-1 by week 3, but then stumbled against iog and fell in over time against -=]FC[=- in a battle of the FC's. fc have recently gone through a lot of roster changes and hopefully this has brought new life into the squad. FightClub have already exceeded my expectations for the season by winning more matches than they did in all of last season. Looking at their upcoming matches, fc might make it into playoffs if they prepare and perform well enough.
Haunter's expectation: (4 - 5) 3rd in division
+NATO+ (2-3)- NATO has had a tough year so far with their only wins coming from 7-5 scores against nx^ and ovk. NATO has been around for a long time and have seen better years. If they continue winning the matches they are expected to win, I see them putting together a solid five matches to finish the season. They may even be able to upset a few teams and take them out of the running for playoffs. NATO is a good group of guys that exhibit some of the best sportsmanship in the game. (I remember them giving their play-off spot to ST-6 a few years ago).
Haunter's expectation: (4 - 6) 5th in division
Over Kill (2-3)- ovk started the season with an upset win over sR in over time on Woodland Outpost and then came back to reality after a loss to jCp. The team has put in great effort and they need to prepare a little more if they want to make a big push to get at the final playoff spot for the division. Their next match is going to be a tough one against i9, and they will want to revenge their 2-10 loss earlier this season.
Haunter's expectation: (5 - 5) 4th in division
Biomedical FireBears (1-4)- BMFB finally died after half of their team decided to call it quits. Its time to take bets on which teams the members will move on too.
Haunter's expectation: Dead, Last place
Red Dawn (1-4)- RD has definitely seen better days. Their only win so far this season has come against the now dead BMFB. They are an experienced team and can bounce back with a few wins if they put in the effort. Considering all that is left in the map rotation are old school maps I can see RD upsetting a few playoff bound teams in an attempt to wreck havoc within the division.
Haunter's expectation: (3 - 6) 4th in division
The Frozen Chosen (2-3)- Frozen Chosen have won the battle of the FC's round one, and can attempt to end FightClub's playoff hopes in round 2. They have performed fairly well this season with some close scores against iog on CSAR and oR to show that they can hang with the big dogs. They have improved a lot since arriving in the invite league and I hope to see them get better over the next five weeks of matches.
Haunter's expectation: (3 - 6) 5th in division
Next Level (0-5)- nx^ has suffered through a tough year. Their closest matches so far have been 5-7 losses to NATO on CSAR and ovk on Mountain Ambush. Their roster has shrunk since the last time I checked it, leading me to believe they are suffering from inactivity and might not last past the invite league. They may be able to upset a team to end the season without getting skunked. Can they step up their game and prepare for their last stretch of matches? I guess we shall see.
Haunter's expectation: (1 - 9) 6th in division
The Invite All-Star Match
During the midseason break TWL had an All-Star match where each team chose one player to represent their respected team in a high caliber all out rumble. Two maps were chosen and the teams played on two maps in a best of ten format. The League admins use this All-Star match to test out playoff formulas for future leagues to ensure the high level of competition remains intact.
All-Star Results
North American Invite League
Loyalty Conference wins!!
Insurgent Camp Loyalty 6-4
Mout Loyalty 6-1
Loyalty Players:
i9 Chun
sR Becker
ovk Chris
jcp Krazy
nx^ Sovkan
Honor Players:
iog Sosa
oR Hobo
fc Epic
FC Lestat
RD Shift
BMFB Insane
I would like to thank and give a big shoutout to our friends at EGLN. They were asked to do a VidCast less than 30 minutes before match time and stepped to the plate for us. Thanks for all you do for the AA Competitive Community.
Also thanks to BMFB for loaning their server and to IceNine for providing the Vent!
The match was video cast by EGLN and can be downloaded for your viewing pleasure HERE
If you have any questions/comments feel free to email me at nbtnbthomas@hotmail.com
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Post edited by Haunter at 6/6/2006 2:28:04 PM