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08-12-2009, 08:13 AM
CTF Week 5 Turnpike (13)
Apparently, it is time to play everybody's favorite map: Turnpike. Possibly the only small yet balanced map in the entire game. Turnpike has seen some classic battles. Turnpike is about firepower, positioning, synchronization, spawn camping, and flag stand-offs. Grabbing your opponents flag is easy but if done without backup, capping is almost impossible. This map is full of speed lanes, cutoffs, back-sniping positions. On both sides, you can attack your opponents flag or attack their spawn causing massive havoc and distraction enabling multiple caps. Overall, Turnpike is a very interesting map but you already know that.
As for the matchups, this week is a treat. The rankings are becoming more and more accurate and the resulting matchups pit some very similarly skilled teams against each other.
Top of the Ticket (12-14 Points) - This week like last sees the top 4 teams matched against themselves. All of these teams will be in the playoffs. For now they are simply battling for seeds. But do not overlook these matchups. They are extremely important for the teams involved because higher seeds mean easier playoff routes so look for some fierce battles in this bracket.
/VeX/ -vs- golden #1 -vs- #3
This should be an excellent match. Since VeX's dominating victory over [51] many of us are looking at VeX as the team to beat. VeX has both incredible speed and some nasty guns. golden on the other hand was strongly hyped in the beginning of the season but failed to deliver. Without some key starters, they lost to sB in the season opener, and followed that up with some narrow victories over teams many considered to be middle tier. However, their core team is back and looking for blood as evidenced in their total annihilation of SA on Sunday. Furthermore, word on the street is that Turnpike is golden's favorite map.
/VeX/ over golden 15-12
]BoS[ -vs- [51] #2 -vs- #4
Another excellent matchup. Both teams have stacked lineups and have completely destroyed every clan they have faced with the exception of VeX. On Sunday, BoS narrowly lost to VeX and 51 had a mid-sized win over xil. When the two teams each faced VeX, BoS lost by a smaller margin than 51 but were missing some key players from their roster. Anyway, this matchup will have large implications for playoff seeds so expect both teams to bring their top lineups. [51] excels on the smaller shooting maps so I expect them to do very well.
[51] over ]BoS[ 17-11
The Playoff Favorites (11 point bracket) - Somehow we have 8 teams that all have 11 points this week. These teams along with the top of the ticket represent the 12 teams that would make the playoffs if week 5 had been the end of the season. Since 21 points basically guarantees you a playoff spot, all these teams need to do is go 2-2-1 or better and they're in the playoffs. Beyond that it is just a battle for seeds.
[M-19] -vs- *pRo #5 -vs- #12
This matchup is unfortunate in my opinion. Neither team deserves to be ranked this high. Both teams somehow lucked into easy schedules. Whoever, wins this matchup is going to be in the top ranks and is in for a really difficult match next week. Anyway, let's talk this week. [M-19] has the heart and dedication. Long term look for this clan to develop into a power house. Unfortunately, it is probably not going to happen this season. pRo has a ton of skill on their roster but has yet to really gel as a team. I think they will win over [M-19] but I doubt they will put together the spanking that a team with their talent could deliver if they were more focused.
pRo over M-19 18-9
[T] -vs- wTf #6 -vs- #11
This should be a real quality game and a great opportunity for T to finally prove to me that they are as good as they think they are. To be honest, [T] impressed me recently. Splitting maps with [51] in TS is extremely impressive. Also, this Sunday, they dominated iCu. iCu brought a decent squad and T won by more than I was predicting. wTf has been doing pretty well this season. They are a strong team and although they fielded a weak roster on sanc and got smashed by BoS, they made up for it this week with their narrow victory over sB. Ultimately, this will come down to rosters. If wTf can bring the same 6 they brought on Sunday, they will win by a good margin.
wTf over [T] 16-10
.sB. -vs- |NN| #7 -vs- #9
This should most likely be an excellent match. sB has recently proved, with their splitting maps with wTf that their team is in fact still strong post split. |NN|, as I expressed last week, is back to their historic glory and ready to kick some ass. On Sunday, they posted a narrow victory on Sunday and sB should be a little tougher but in the same ballpark.
.sB. over |NN| 14-10
*THC*| -vs- SA| #8 -vs- #10
Both of these teams are right in the meaty center of playoff contenders. THC split maps with NN which impressed me very much. SA is coming off a devastating loss to golden. To be completely honest, THC is a bit of a mystery because they rarely scrim and SA is hard to rank since most of their matches are against other South American clans. Still, I have a feeling this is going to be a really close match.
THC over SA 14-11
Down but not Out (9 point Bracket) - Unlucky season, late start, whatever the reason, these teams are on the cusp of not making playoffs. 21 points almost guarantees playoffs so if a team in this bracket can go 3-1-1 or better they are in the playoffs. If they want to a spot in Season 1 playoffs, this week's game is of incredible importance. Some big names in this group. If they have the hunger, this is the week for them to turn it on.
[uy]. -vs- JoEvO #13 -vs- #17
South American clans clash again. I don't know either team but I know they both played M-19.
[uy] > [M-19] > JoEvO => [uy] > JoEvO
uy over JoEvO 28-7
>ZoD< -vs- /eVo/ #14 -vs- #18
http://www.team-zod.com/images/General_Zod_kneel_pencil.jpg
xil -vs- iCu* #15 -vs- #16
Two very strong teams both fairly unlucky with opponents. xil has losses against 51, BoS, and golden. iCu has losses against 51, T, and wTf. Both teams deserve to make the playoffs but only one of them can get the W this week. xil put up a respectable showing against [51] so I expect them to win. iCu if you want to make the playoffs, now is the time to fight. If you don't win or split Turnpike against xil, it might all be over.
xil over iCu 17-10
Last Chance (5-8 point Bracket) - These teams chances of making the playoffs are very low. 8 point bracket teams need to go 4-1-0 or better. 7 point bracket teams need 4-0-1 or better. 6 pointers need to win every single remaining game.
|fn| -vs- 6th #19 -vs- #20
|fn| split maps with pRo the Sunday before last and pRo demolished 6th this Sunday. |fn| may be on the brink of not making playoffs but 6th isn't going to be the team to stop them.
|fn| over 6th 30-8
|ALPHA| -vs- .:AnP:. #21 -vs- #23
Should be a great match for these two junior teams. AnP barely lost to JoEvO and 6th beat JoEvO and ALPHA by similar matches. Statisitcally, these two clans should be very close in skill. Hopefully, everybody has a good time.
ALPHA over AnP 13-11
|TUC| -vs- *Fc| #22 -vs- #25
South American version of |ALPHA| vs /eVo/. I love it.
Apparently, it is time to play everybody's favorite map: Turnpike. Possibly the only small yet balanced map in the entire game. Turnpike has seen some classic battles. Turnpike is about firepower, positioning, synchronization, spawn camping, and flag stand-offs. Grabbing your opponents flag is easy but if done without backup, capping is almost impossible. This map is full of speed lanes, cutoffs, back-sniping positions. On both sides, you can attack your opponents flag or attack their spawn causing massive havoc and distraction enabling multiple caps. Overall, Turnpike is a very interesting map but you already know that.
As for the matchups, this week is a treat. The rankings are becoming more and more accurate and the resulting matchups pit some very similarly skilled teams against each other.
Top of the Ticket (12-14 Points) - This week like last sees the top 4 teams matched against themselves. All of these teams will be in the playoffs. For now they are simply battling for seeds. But do not overlook these matchups. They are extremely important for the teams involved because higher seeds mean easier playoff routes so look for some fierce battles in this bracket.
/VeX/ -vs- golden #1 -vs- #3
This should be an excellent match. Since VeX's dominating victory over [51] many of us are looking at VeX as the team to beat. VeX has both incredible speed and some nasty guns. golden on the other hand was strongly hyped in the beginning of the season but failed to deliver. Without some key starters, they lost to sB in the season opener, and followed that up with some narrow victories over teams many considered to be middle tier. However, their core team is back and looking for blood as evidenced in their total annihilation of SA on Sunday. Furthermore, word on the street is that Turnpike is golden's favorite map.
/VeX/ over golden 15-12
]BoS[ -vs- [51] #2 -vs- #4
Another excellent matchup. Both teams have stacked lineups and have completely destroyed every clan they have faced with the exception of VeX. On Sunday, BoS narrowly lost to VeX and 51 had a mid-sized win over xil. When the two teams each faced VeX, BoS lost by a smaller margin than 51 but were missing some key players from their roster. Anyway, this matchup will have large implications for playoff seeds so expect both teams to bring their top lineups. [51] excels on the smaller shooting maps so I expect them to do very well.
[51] over ]BoS[ 17-11
The Playoff Favorites (11 point bracket) - Somehow we have 8 teams that all have 11 points this week. These teams along with the top of the ticket represent the 12 teams that would make the playoffs if week 5 had been the end of the season. Since 21 points basically guarantees you a playoff spot, all these teams need to do is go 2-2-1 or better and they're in the playoffs. Beyond that it is just a battle for seeds.
[M-19] -vs- *pRo #5 -vs- #12
This matchup is unfortunate in my opinion. Neither team deserves to be ranked this high. Both teams somehow lucked into easy schedules. Whoever, wins this matchup is going to be in the top ranks and is in for a really difficult match next week. Anyway, let's talk this week. [M-19] has the heart and dedication. Long term look for this clan to develop into a power house. Unfortunately, it is probably not going to happen this season. pRo has a ton of skill on their roster but has yet to really gel as a team. I think they will win over [M-19] but I doubt they will put together the spanking that a team with their talent could deliver if they were more focused.
pRo over M-19 18-9
[T] -vs- wTf #6 -vs- #11
This should be a real quality game and a great opportunity for T to finally prove to me that they are as good as they think they are. To be honest, [T] impressed me recently. Splitting maps with [51] in TS is extremely impressive. Also, this Sunday, they dominated iCu. iCu brought a decent squad and T won by more than I was predicting. wTf has been doing pretty well this season. They are a strong team and although they fielded a weak roster on sanc and got smashed by BoS, they made up for it this week with their narrow victory over sB. Ultimately, this will come down to rosters. If wTf can bring the same 6 they brought on Sunday, they will win by a good margin.
wTf over [T] 16-10
.sB. -vs- |NN| #7 -vs- #9
This should most likely be an excellent match. sB has recently proved, with their splitting maps with wTf that their team is in fact still strong post split. |NN|, as I expressed last week, is back to their historic glory and ready to kick some ass. On Sunday, they posted a narrow victory on Sunday and sB should be a little tougher but in the same ballpark.
.sB. over |NN| 14-10
*THC*| -vs- SA| #8 -vs- #10
Both of these teams are right in the meaty center of playoff contenders. THC split maps with NN which impressed me very much. SA is coming off a devastating loss to golden. To be completely honest, THC is a bit of a mystery because they rarely scrim and SA is hard to rank since most of their matches are against other South American clans. Still, I have a feeling this is going to be a really close match.
THC over SA 14-11
Down but not Out (9 point Bracket) - Unlucky season, late start, whatever the reason, these teams are on the cusp of not making playoffs. 21 points almost guarantees playoffs so if a team in this bracket can go 3-1-1 or better they are in the playoffs. If they want to a spot in Season 1 playoffs, this week's game is of incredible importance. Some big names in this group. If they have the hunger, this is the week for them to turn it on.
[uy]. -vs- JoEvO #13 -vs- #17
South American clans clash again. I don't know either team but I know they both played M-19.
[uy] > [M-19] > JoEvO => [uy] > JoEvO
uy over JoEvO 28-7
>ZoD< -vs- /eVo/ #14 -vs- #18
http://www.team-zod.com/images/General_Zod_kneel_pencil.jpg
xil -vs- iCu* #15 -vs- #16
Two very strong teams both fairly unlucky with opponents. xil has losses against 51, BoS, and golden. iCu has losses against 51, T, and wTf. Both teams deserve to make the playoffs but only one of them can get the W this week. xil put up a respectable showing against [51] so I expect them to win. iCu if you want to make the playoffs, now is the time to fight. If you don't win or split Turnpike against xil, it might all be over.
xil over iCu 17-10
Last Chance (5-8 point Bracket) - These teams chances of making the playoffs are very low. 8 point bracket teams need to go 4-1-0 or better. 7 point bracket teams need 4-0-1 or better. 6 pointers need to win every single remaining game.
|fn| -vs- 6th #19 -vs- #20
|fn| split maps with pRo the Sunday before last and pRo demolished 6th this Sunday. |fn| may be on the brink of not making playoffs but 6th isn't going to be the team to stop them.
|fn| over 6th 30-8
|ALPHA| -vs- .:AnP:. #21 -vs- #23
Should be a great match for these two junior teams. AnP barely lost to JoEvO and 6th beat JoEvO and ALPHA by similar matches. Statisitcally, these two clans should be very close in skill. Hopefully, everybody has a good time.
ALPHA over AnP 13-11
|TUC| -vs- *Fc| #22 -vs- #25
South American version of |ALPHA| vs /eVo/. I love it.