Hello again, it’s Toxin! We are heading into the final week of the season, and it’s do or die for a lot of teams in this league to prove themselves to be playoff caliber. A special thank you to everyone who watched Otter Talk last week to listen to me ramble til I was blue in the face. In terms of predictions made, I went 8/12, but I also got every prediction wrong that I made for Division 1, which was a little odd that I got that division so wrong. As for my co-commentators, Kral Sultan also went 8/12 and BuhRockObama went 7/12. Let’s get into it!
Division 1
Bye: VBU Krypton
I think the biggest positive I can give about this team is a quote taken from Otter Talk, which is something along the lines of: “they earned more points this week than any other week this season.” Outside of that, I really don’t have anything positive to say about this team. They have the hardest match of the year coming up this week, which will put an end to a very disappointing season for them.
Vitamin X (W) vs Dawnbreak Gaming (L) 2-0
Vitamin X defied the odds last week with an impressive win over Dawnbreak Gaming, which puts them in an ideal position to take 3rd place in the division. They have one match remaining against a struggling Pod of Dolphins team that lost to Quake last week, while Dawnbreak Gaming has to go against the Literal Monkeys. With that being said, I think Vitamin X has 3rd place all but locked up, which allows them to dodge 3-0 Esports in the first round. Going into the match, it really seemed to go both ways throughout the series, with Vitamin X pulling out a win in a 39 minute game one and Dawnbreak tying the series up despite a strong performance out of Dysax. Ultimately it came down to iStretchMoms and their stellar performances on Olaf that led this team to victory, which earned him the player of the match. I think the mid laner on Dawnbreak, Involence, did very well throughout the series, but ultimately there were too many fires across the map for him to deal with. He gets my player to watch. Like I said before, Dawnbreak needs to win this week against the Literal Monkeys, or else they will be up against a much harder opponent in round one of the playoffs.
Oasis Nail and Day Spa (W) vs Literal Monkeys(L) 2-1
In the featured stream match of the week, we had Oasis Nail and Day Spa taking on the Literal Monkeys in an extremely close series. Like I said on Otter Talk, this match was going to be extremely close, and the Monkeys brought out multiple different strategies to take on the first seed in the division. However, the first strategy they tried did not work, and using the same strategy twice in a row was too predictable, which made it easier for their opponents to deal with it a second time. I think Wunderworld is by far the best player on this team, and I’m curious if he will continue to pick Senna this week. For NADS, this match showed that the team is beatable. I don’t think they will lose versus VBU, but their opponents in the playoff will be sure to rewatch game two of the streamed game to find tips on how to beat them. The player of the match goes to Diete, who had strong performances throughout the series.
Quake (W) vs Pod of Dolphins (L) 2-0
In another surprising upset, Quake was able to clutch out a win against the Pod of Dolphins, effectively ending their season. To be honest with you, I was on the Pod of Dolphins hype train to try to salvage their season despite losing their platinum bot lane. Unfortunately that was not meant to be, as they came up short against Quake. They definitely had some good ideas in their draft, but Cauli really let his team down with the amount of kills he gave up to the enemy team in both games. For Quake, you at least get to say that you guys finished in 5th this season, as I doubt that Pod of Dolphins loses to Vitamin X. Hopefully you guys will take that momentum into wins in your other leagues. The player of the match goes to Gilmore Girls, who showed that his Viktor is a force to be reckoned with.
Rankings:
Oasis Nail and Day Spa (=)
Literal Monkeys (=)
Vitamin X (+1)
Dawnbreak Gaming (-1)
Quake (+1)
Pod of Dolphins (-1)
VBU Krypton (=)
Division 2
Bye: Poro Snaccers
I hate to repeat myself, but again this is a week where your team earned more points than they have all season. In addition, they aren’t exactly ending their season on a high note, as they have to go against the Mad Rawrs in the final week of the season. I really hope this team continues to play in the offseason and comes back next split. I think that in another division they would be able to pick up wins. It's unfortunate that none of their games won led to any match wins.
Twin Disasters (W) vs Imperial Gaming (L) 2-1
To be honest, the Twin Disasters did not show up ready to go in game one versus Imperial Gaming, and it showed. Although they were able to hang on for 30 minutes, it’s abundantly clear that they were still hung up on their loss from last week with how poorly they performed in game one. However, the team was able to rally after that loss and were able to win the next two games with the reintroduction of Cat With Bow Tie to the starting roster. He earns my player of the match for sure, as without him, I would not have been able to do any well as I do. I will give myself a special shout out as well for getting a penta kill in game two. For Imperial Gaming, the loss confirms your elimination for playoff contention, however you still have a relatively close match up ahead this week against the Chubby Babies in order to ruin their seeding. I think that Azurexfire’s Neeko pick really stood out, and it should be a pick that they look towards in the future. He earns my player to watch. There are definitely some strong players on this team, and it's a shame that they won’t be in the playoffs.
Chubby Babies Shock (W) vs Mad Rawrs (L) 2-0
In the biggest upset of them all, Chubby Babies Shock was able to take down the undefeated Mad Rawrs roster last week in a statement series. The Shock wanted to make it known league-wide that BuhRockObama was back and that he isn’t messing around by taking down the best rated team in the division. However, I will say that Mad Rawrs was missing their star top laner in the match, but that does not excuse the fact that they probably got overconfident after taking down the Twin Disasters the week prior. I still think they are the top team in the division when the full roster is together, however this loss definitely puts their strength in the league into question. The player to watch is Duero, who did his best to keep the team together in the loss. For the Shock, I think the standout player is Anderson Cooper, who is able to take over the game with his Hecarim and J4 picks. Hopefully we’ll see more picks out of him in the playoffs.
The Collective Esports (W) vs NSG Gold (L) 2-0
I think the most important thing to note here is that NSG Gold had no business playing this game, as they were clearly gapped in every single role. What was even more impressive is that they only died 10 times total throughout the entire series. Because this game was such a stomp, it’s hard to give a player of the match because every player dominated on the Collective. However, I will give it to Flan because I’m biased towards good ADCs. This match, along with the loss to Twin Disasters (more on that next) has eliminated NSG Gold from playoff contention. This week they have a bye, so unfortunately this loss has cemented them in the bottom two of the division, with a chance at being last place if the Poro Snaccers can pull out a single win this week. This is definitely a season to forget for the reigning Gold Minor champs.
Twin Disasters (W) vs NSG Gold (L) 2-0
Not to rub salt in the wound, but this match wasn’t very close either. In game one, the Disasters had to run a bit of a scuffed roster, with me playing top lane and Buckbee filling in for support. However this didn’t make a difference, as they were still able to pull out a win. In game two, the full roster was able to play, which made the game much more of a landslide, even though I ran it. The player of the match goes to Loxi, as he was extremely impressive for his first showing in BOL Gold this season, and his team will continue to rely on him going into the playoffs.
Rankings:
Just a note here, I really wanted to move around the rankings a bit, but I don’t think I can move Rawr down after only one loss, and the other three all did well this week. We’ll see if there’s any changes in the final week.
Mad Rawrs (=)
Twin Disasters (=)
The Collective Esports (=)
Chubby Babies Shock (=)
Imperial Gaming (=)
NSG Gold (=)
Poro Snaccers (=)
Division 3
Bye: Crimson Dolphins
The one thing to note for the Crimson Dolphins going into the final week is that if they are able to win this week, they will climb out of last place in the division, which would be huge for them. With the way the Arcanists have been playing (more on that in a second), I think it's completely possible that a recharged Crimson Dolphins team can end the season on a high note.
Primal Gaming (W) vs Arcanists (L) 2-0
The Arcanists continued their loss streak last week when they were unable to contest Primal Gaming, losing quickly in two games. It’s pretty clear to me at this point that the team has mental boomed out of the league, as they are unable to field a roster without subs/esubs. In this match, they didn’t have their top laner Otherkin, nor did they have their ADC Numbers, resulting in them using an esub. I will say props to Nunu and Willump and his teammates for somehow tricking another team into not banning the champ their best player is named after, so yet again he earns the player of the match. This week is huge for Primal, as their final match of the season decides their opponent in round one of the playoffs. If they are able to stay in second place, I think they would have the easiest first round matchup that they could ask for out of the three options.
Chubby Babies Cinder (W) vs EOU Midnight (L) 2-0
Unfortunately, the S04 comeback from EOU Midnight was halted last week, when they were unable to get past Chubby Babies Cinder. Props to the Cinder roster, as they were able to play through both Exiled Blade and FTD Simp in separate games. Of the two, I think the player of the match goes to FTD Simp, as his carry performance seemed to be more of a solo carry. I think Coconut did a great job for EOU, and he will earn the player to watch for them going into their final game versus Oasis Octane. I really hope they let bananajetski play more carries in that match; in my opinion you should let one of the best top lakers in the league play carries instead of tanks. For Cinder, they have now clinched a playoff spot, however their seeding is on the line this week versus Primal.
NSG Black (W) vs Oasis Octane (L) 2-1
Well I’ve officially been proved wrong by NSG Black, as a mediocre team has found a way to go 6-0 this season. What I find unfortunate about this is that I don’t know how much of this I can attribute to pure luck, as their adc Warning Shots subsequently baby rage quit the league once the knowledge that Samira would be available came out, which is honestly quite sad. Kudos to him for sticking to his guns in protest against allowing Samira to be legal, but in my opinion it’s really sad that we won’t get to see him prove in the playoffs that his team’s run wasn’t a fluke. I will say that his team doesn’t really need him, as he got outplayed heavily by Quelana, who is the player to watch for Oasis Octane. The player of the match goes to Myth Jones, who was able to snowball his team to a win in back to back victories on Pantheon. They finish their season with a bye as they await their first challenger in the playoffs. Oasis, on the other hand, has to play against EOU Midnight with a chance to lock up the 2nd seed from Division 3.
Rankings:
NSG Black (=)
Oasis Octane (=)
Primal Gaming (=)
Chubby Babies Cinder (+1)
EOU Midnight (+1)
Crimson Dolphins (+1)
Arcanists (-3)
Division 4
Bye: Titan Esports
Like VBU Krypton and Poro Snaccers, the tagline for Titan Esports remains the same: at least you earned more points last week than you have all season. Unfortunately for them, they have to get their butts kicked one final time against what is arguably the best team in the league in 3-0 Esports this week. All I can say is better luck next season, and hopefully you come back stronger than what you showed this split.
Hyperion Gaming (W) vs Scarlet Miracles (L) 2-1
I feel inclined to put a little asterisks over this win by Hyperion due to the circumstances that happened with Scarlet Miracles. For those who are unaware, the starting mid laner and soul of the team, Healthy Ego, unfortunately had his computer blue screen and completely breakdown in the middle of game two in the series. This caused the game to be a 4v5, which led to a game three where the Miracles had to offrole their top laner and use an esub. Personally, I don’t think that Hyperion would have won this series if this crash did not occur, as game one was one of the biggest stomps I have ever seen in the league. Luckily for the Miracles, they will still finish in 2nd place in the division barring an absolute collapse versus NSG Amethyst. The player to watch for them is Healthy Ego, who will hopefully get a working computer before this week’s matches. The player of the match should also probably go to Healthy Ego as he single handedly decided two games of the series himself, however I will end up giving it to Ruined Cheesecake for his game three performance. Hyperion’s playoff hopes will be put on the line this week against VBU Argon, where they need to win at least one game in order to make it.
Chubby Babies Frost (W) vs VBU Argon (L) 2-0 FFT.
There’s not much to talk about here due to the nature of the win being a forfeit. I had a feeling that the loss of BestSupportMain would negatively affect the team, however I did not think that it would make the roster completely blow up. Following the forfeit, both Jayyster and RickyRozay6969 both parted ways with the team, which only leaves Cassidy and Lord Sema on the roster. Following the blow up of the team, they have decided to add Diamandis as their starting mid, DemSqwizzyNubs as the starting jungler, and Thanatos as the starting ADC. This moves Cassidy to starting support, which is an odd move considering that he is the better ADC of the two. Their playoff hopes are completely dashed yet, as a 2-0 win over Hyperion can secure them the final playoff spot in Division 4. Hopefully this patchwork roster can make a statement.
3-0 Esports (W) vs NSG Amethyst (L) 2-0
Okay let’s be real here, I don’t think NSG themselves thought they had a shot in this one. 3-0 Esports is just too strong for this league, and they will not lose a single game throughout this entire regular season. This team is the favorite to win it all, and any team going against them will be considered the underdogs regardless of who they may be. I think a more interesting game would be to see this team play some of the platinum teams, as that’s clearly their skill level. The player of the match goes to Guardian Wakka as he blesses Minute with a free lane phase every game. The player to watch goes to Warotter, but to be honest I don’t expect much to watch for them versus the Miracles.
Ranking:
3-0 Esports (=)
Scarlet Miracles (=)
Hyperion Gaming (=)
Chubby Babies Frost (=)
VBU Argon (=)
NSG Amethyst (=)
Titan Esports (=)
Matches to Watch This Week:
To be honest, there’s not a lot of matches to watch this week. I think the biggest game of the week goes to VBU Argon vs Hyperion Gaming, which is the only game that has actual playoff hopes on the line. If VBU can win 2-0, they will advance to the playoffs. However, with how the roster blew up, I’m not certain that they will be able to field a team, which makes me hesitant to see that game streamed. Another game worth watching goes to Primal Gaming vs Chubby Babies Cinder, which has serious considerations for where each team will end up in terms of playoff seeds. I think both teams are evenly matched, and it should give us the best match of the night. Finally, I think that Chubby Babies Shock vs Imperial Gaming should also be streamed this week. Both Chubby Babies Cinder and Shock are the only two playoff teams that have not been shown on stream at all this split, and that should be rectified before the start of playoffs. It's only fair for every playoff team to have a vod of their opponent that they can watch before their match next week.
Top 16:
3-0 Esports stays on top of the charts, and with Mad Rawrs unexpectedly losing this week, they fall to 5th. The Collective and Chubby Babies Shock move up a large amount due to Shock’s aforementioned win. Chubby Babies Cinder regains the top 16 this week with the Arcanists dropping out. Finally, Dawnbreak Gaming falls back to the bottom after their loss, but to be fair to them, I don’t think they deserved the high ranking I gave them last week. I mainly gave that rank to them as a result of a lot of new teams joining the top 16, however I firmly believe that where they are now is where they belong.
3-0 Esports (=)
Oasis Nail and Day Spa (+1)
Literal Monkeys (+1)
Scarlet Miracles (+1)
Mad Rawrs (-3)
NSG Black (=)
Twin Disasters (=)
The Collective Esports (+3)
Chubby Babies Shock (+4)
Oasis Octane (-2)
Hyperion Gaming (-1)
Primal Gaming (=)
Chubby Babies Frost (+1)
Chubby Babies Cinder (NEW)
Vitamin X (+1)
Dawnbreak Gaming (-7)
Dropped out: Arcanists
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