The Storm Watch Week 7

We are now down to the final week of the regular season for Blue Otter League Emerald. Despite the ups and downs of teams quitting and getting comp ruled we have had a great season. Plenty of teams have defied expectations and plenty of teams have looked very competitive heading into playoffs. For many teams tonight is a nail-biter as just 3 playoff seeds are up for grabs with 7 teams chasing them.  I hope everyone enjoyed their team in BOLE and look forward to more editions of the Storm Watch in the playoffs! Also big thanks for filling out the interview questions. We had 22 responses!

Storm’s Player Picks From Last Week

Playoff Scenarios for Every Team Part 2

Again, if you need to see the math it can be found here:  BOLE Points  

Piltover

Piltover has the top two seeds locked, but the other two seeds are hotly contested, with four teams fighting for just two spots. Bloom Abyss, The Shadow Cows, Blue Pearl Spire, and DZG Arcadia are all within three points of one another and have the same record of three wins and three losses. It all comes down to this week; it's truly do-or-die mode. 

Clown Gaming

Clown has locked first place/seed in Piltover as long as they show up this week. Clown obviously has been the best team in the Pitlover and will be looking to win BOLE or end the season in disappointment. 

Syndicate(formerly Known as the I in Team)

Syndicate has locked the second seed in Piltover. They don’t even have to show up this week, as they are at worst 5-2, and no other team in Pitlover has more than three wins. I am curious and I think we all are about how far Syndicate can go. Were the beatdown games tonight just a symptom of playing the best team in the league? Or do they not have the roster to beat other elite-level Emerald teams? Can XSoccer25X as a silver player really end the league in the top 25 in stats? 

Bloom Abyss

The good news for Bloom Abyss is that they are still in 3rd place and have at least 2 points over their competition. If Bloom can win their match this week against the number 2 seed Syndicate(the game's scoreline does not matter); they make it as 3rd seed guaranteed. The bad news for Bloom is they lost 0-2 to DZG last week and failed to secure a playoff spot. If Bloom loses this series, their playoff hopes look abysmal. Bloom has lost in series to both the Shadow Cows and DZG  would be relying on 2 of the 3 teams chasing them(Shadow Cows, Blue Pearl & DZG) to lose as well and at least 2 of those series would be dramatic upsets. Bloom Abyss can rely on Clown to beat the Shadow Cows but history suggests that Blue Pearl and DZG should win against the bottom 2 teams in Piltover. 

Shadow Cows

Of the remaining 3-3 teams, The Shadow Cows have the hardest road to the playoffs. The Shadow Cows must win against Clown Gaming. The Shadow Cows' only tiebreaker win is over Bloom Gaming and are also at least 1 point behind every other team, so there are no guarantees to make the playoffs. Even if the Shadow Cows 2-0 Clown Gaming they are relying on every team to lose at least 1 game to have a chance.  

Blue Pearl Spire

Blue Pearl Spire is very close to claiming a playoff spot after last week's 2-0 victory over the Shadow Cows. With 24 points possession of the 4th seed and the tiebreaker over DZG and The Shadow Cows, Blue Pearl Spire looks like the most likely team to finish fourth in Piltover. Blue Pearl Spire simply needs to get the same amount of wins/points in their series against Conduit Surge as DZG Arcadia does in thier week 7 series to qualify for playoffs.  

DZG Arcadia

DZG is looking to battle their way into the final playoff spot in Piltover. They are tied in points with Blue Pearl Spire at 24 but are currently outside of playoffs being in 5th seed. DZG must win their series tonight against the Soda Shakers and are relying on the teams at the top of Piltover to win as well. DZG wants Syndicate to beat Bloom so that they are no longer trying to get more game wins than Blue Pearl Spire in their series.   

Soda Shakers

Even with a 2-0 victory last week, the Soda Shakers can still not make the playoffs. However, tonight's match against DZG Arcadia is essential for the standings. Winning just a single game in this series can be enough to make DZG miss the playoffs. 

Surge

Conduit Surge cannot make playoffs. Their match tonight is vital for Blue Pearl. If Surge can win tonight, they deny Blue Pearl a chance to reach playoffs. 

Zaun

Zaun has the top three spots in its division locked in with Final Boss Omega Wooper and Mint Spark all claiming a playoff berth. Three teams are all looking to claim the final playoff spot tonight in Mint OTS, Conduit Jiji and Horizon Gaming. Sadly with their losses last week Monekys Emerald and Paradox can no longer claim a playoff seed in Zaun. 

Final Boss

Final Boss has locked a top-two finish in Zaun with their win over Mint OTS last week. Final Boss ends the season playing Paradox and a series win guarantees them 1st seed. A game win in this series also more or less guarantees 1st seed as well as it would make the only way to get passed is having Mint Spark win 2-0 over Omega Wooper.  

Omega Wooper

Omega Wooper has locked a playoff seed thanks to having a tiebreaker over Mint OTS. They can finish the season anywhere from fourth seed to first seed. Getting the first seed in Zaun requires Omega Wooper to win 2-0 tonight and have Final Boss lose 0-2. To get the fourth seed, Omega Wooper must lose to Mink Spark, and Conduit Jiji must win. Winning tonight's series against Mint Spark guarantees Omega Wooper a top 2 seed in Zaun.

Mint Spark

Mint Spark has claimed a guaranteed playoff spot in Zaun. Spark can finish anywhere from the first seed to the fourth depending on the game scores tonight. To reach the first seed, Mint Spark must win their series this week against Omega Wooper with fewer game losses than Final Boss does to Paradox. Even in the worst-case scenario for Mint Spark they still would end the season 4-3 with 30 points locking them into 4th seed as they have the point total over OTS and Horizon. Winning tonight's series against Omega Wooperguarantees Mint Spark a top 2 seed in Zaun.

Mint OTS

Mint OTS must win tonight's series against Monkeys Emerald to make the playoffs. They also rely on Horizon Gaming to win their series against Conduit Jiji. The game scores tonight do not matter for Mint OTS. If Jiji wins, OTS cannot catch them in points even with the tiebreaker over them. If Horizon wins, they can at best tie Mint OTS, and OTS has the tiebreaker over Horizon. Mint OTS cannot catch Wooper either; they can at most tie them, and Wooper has the head-to-head.

Conduit Jiji

Conduit Jiji claims a guaranteed playoff spot tonight by winning their series against Horizon Gaming. They will probably claim the third seed from the loser of the Mint Spark vs. Omega Wooper Matchup. If Conduit Jiji loses their series 1-2, they can still make the playoffs if Mint OTS is unable to win against Monkeys Emearld. If the teams tie each other at the end of the season in points, Conduit Jiji will lose the last playoff spot as Mint OTS has the tiebreaker over them.

Horizon Gaming

In order for Horizon Gaming to make the playoffs and make the miracle run, two major things need to happen. First, they must win 2-0 over Conduit Jiji to pass them in points. Second, Mint OTS cannot win their series against Monkeys Emerald. If both these scenarios happen, Horizon Gaming can make the playoffs.  

Monkeys Emerald

Monkeys Emerald can no longer make the playoffs, losing last week to Mint Spark. The game does matter a lot for next week's seeding, so if Monkeys Emerald wins against Mint OTS, they deny them a spot in the playoffs and open a chance for both Horizon Gaming and Conduit Jiji to emerge as fourth seeds. 

Paradox

Paradox can no longer reach the playoffs in Zaun. Their series tonight against Final Boss also matters very little. If Paradox is able to get a win this evening there is a chance Mint Spark or Omega Wooper can pass Final Boss for first seed.

Upcoming Predictions Piltover

Omega Gaming Soda Shakers Vs. DZG Arcadia 2-1 For DZG Arcadia

With how well Omega Gaming has played in their past few series, I am confident that they will be taking a game off of DZG Arcadia tonight. Playing against the Soda Shakers is a unique experience; they are easily the bloodiest team in BOLE, having over 2 kills a minute in their games. I think the problem is that many players on this Soda Shakers roster however are not playing champions that support this playstyle. Your top laner only plays 1 aggressive option in Renkton. DZG however does have the raw talent with how high their team's average ELO is. Even though this DZG roster has had problems all season with closing series out games if the Soda Shakers just fight all the time I can see DZG pulling ahead early and snowballing objectives. DZG needs to come into this series with respect for the Soda Shakers they are ending the season on a high note and have the tools to win this series. DZG just needs to make sure to draft how they like to play and ensure their lanes are ready to fight. 

Bloom Abyss Vs. Syndicate 2-1 For Syndicate

It is well known that I am a Bloom Gaming hater. I did not believe in this roster at the beginning of the year and Bloom has yet to win a series against another playoff team (with the exception of Blue Pearl). Bloom has the problem of the fact that their team is entirely based on Jakob in Mid Lane and Cloudbry at ADC. No one else on this roster has ever stepped up and good teams are punishing this. If Jakob and Cloudbry do not get every resource available to Bloom the games are over. Looking at the BOLE stats it entirely shows this you have Jakob and Cloudbry in the top 20. Everyone else on this roster is in the bottom half of every player in BOLE. Unleashed is the next highest-ranked player and they are all the way in the mid-60s and are the fifth-worst jungler in the league stat-wise. To have hope in this series, Jakob will need to demonstrate they can play 1v9 on a mid-laner in two different games.

Syndicate as odd as their roster is, is an excellent team. Syndicate has one of the best junglers in the league and I truly believe this series will be jungle difference. Xsoccer25X does not really lane. They excel at absorbing pressure and pushing to help Okami with jungle invades and skirmishes. Okami plays a lot of more carry-oriented jungler and will farm to become a major threat. This series is literally all about the mid-jungle skirmishes. If Syndicate can keep the mid lane stable and not allow Jakob to run away with the game Syndicate has better pieces at almost every other position.   

Clown Gaming Forklift Certified Vs. The Shadow Cows 2-0 For Clown Gaming

Clown Gaming is undisputedly the best team in Pitlover, and I think they will easily win over the Shadow Cows. The Shadow Cows are going to go all out in game one of this series, and if they lose, I think their mentality will be shattered. Clown has won against every team the Shadow Cows have had trouble with this season and looks to be a much better team both macro-wise and in terms of individual player skill. Manh is as always the catalyst for the Shadow Cows. Manh plays a lot more risky champions in competitive play, like Diana, Akali, and Fizz, who make or break the game. 

Blue Pearl Spire Vs. Conduit Surge 2-0 For Blue Pearl Spire

Blue Pearl Spire should easily win this series tonight. Conduit Surge, with the departure of Rutledge is not the same team it is fair to say. Its Genetics was fine as a mid-laner last week but did not play out of their mind amazingly as Rutledge did for Surge. Conduit Surge lost last week without a game win vs the Soda Shakers. And that Soda Shakers team was decimated by Blue Pearl in week 1 and Blue Pearl had a fantastic showing last week against the Shadow Cows as well. As Conduit Surge your top lane matchup will not heavily favor you as it has the past couple of weeks. Endo in the top lane should be able to even out Dxbs where you are getting most of your game leads from.  

Upcoming Predictions Zaun 

Omega Wooper Vs. Mint Spark 

I am playing in this series tonight, and I do not enjoy writing about the teams I play on as I am always biased. This is the match I was most looking forward to all season. At the beginning of the year, I picked Omega Wooper as the best team in Zaun, and I am eager to see how Mint Spark stacks up. This series has serious playoff implications for both squads; a win tonight locks you into the top 2 and a loss can move you all the way down to 4th seed.

Conduit Jiji Vs. Horizon Gaming 2-1 For Conduit Jiji

This series has the biggest playoff implications of every matchup this week across Emeral. Both Conduit Jiji and Horizon Gaming are competing for the 4th seed in Zaun and both teams need to secure this win to have a shot at making the playoffs. Horizon Gaming has the potential to come in as an incredible underdog and create a momentous comeback. Conduit Jiji is also making a playoff run they have won games in every series that they have played this season and look to be the gatekeepers of Zaun. Jiji are not being quite good enough to be group winners but berating every team below them and have taken games off the top teams. 

Horizon picked up their second series win last week with a huge upset over Omega Wooper by picking enough CC to not let Mordstreich play in team fights. The issue with Horizon is that this team is still not all together. There is still no main top laner listed for this Horizon Gaming roster. Horizon plays well together and has great communication. My major worry is the top side of the map for this team. Czi and Chris have shown in past games that they can play incredibly aggressively and look to punish teams who are playing for their bot side of the map with picks like Gwen, Kayn and Kindred who can fundamentally change the game. Most of the top subs Horizon has been playing are playing much more for scaling on picks like Zac and Gragas.WheelChair JG is also mostly playing this way as well with more teamfight-oriented champions that do not have the best dueling like J4, Wukong and Vi.   

Conduit Jiji is another team that has had roster issues all split. If this team finally has their full roster tonight and is firing on all cylinders I have no doubt that Conduit Jiji can win this series. Jiji has great individual players on their main roster and the ability to punish teams that just playing for their bot lane.   

Monkeys Emerald Vs. Mint OTS 2-1 For Monkeys Emerald

With Monkeys Emerald being out of playoffs I have no idea how hard they will try in their series tonight. Monkeys Emerald have won primarily off of their laning prowess and ability to punish teams something that should be a worry for Mint OTS who is a team all about late game. I think this should favor Monkeys a lot in this series and I believe they will win based on their ability to force Mint OTS to interact with them before they hit the important item spikes on their late-game champions. 

Final Boss Esports Vs. Paradox 2-0 For Final Boss 

Paradox is still a roster with mostly question marks surrounding them. Paradox has just a single game win all season that was due to the enemy team not having smite. I would predict any team to 2-0 Paradox and Final Boss is not just any team. Final Boss has played phenomenal the past couple of weeks and is a team with deep champion pools. I firmly expect this series to be a quick 2-0 stomp for Final Boss and they will enter the playoffs with a ton of momentum at their back.

Interview Questions

What teams are missing playoffs in Piltover(2 of the 4 teams cannot make it)?

Which Team is making playoffs in Zaun(1 slot is open)?

What team surprised you the most this season in BOLE and why?

CTRL ULT ELITE of Mint Spark - Syndicate being 2nd seed in Piltover is wild. I have no idea how Xsoccer25X is in the top 20 players in the league. 

ishan of Omega Wooper Final Boss Esports

Chris, JiJi 🤷

AfkBoulder CGFC Dzg under preformed in comparison to their hype

Faulteh - Final Boss No one really surprised me as I didn't really know anyone except for the players on Clown

VeyCaution of Clown Gaming Forklift Certified  None of the teams surprised me this season since none of them beat us, and I haven't looked at the other side so who knows.

Mordstreich of Omega Gaming Wooper MINT OTS because my boy Butrz and I are becoming best friends and he is always looking to learn

Hazard, CGFC Syndicate, had a strong run without any scrims until they ran into a scrim heavy roster

KTL of Mint Spark Final Boss. Didn't think they were that good but have looked pretty good in regular season with surprise cheese picks

Mollywhops of Mint Spark Final Boss because they magically know how to play champs not on their match history sussyeyes

AlbinoSunBear of Mint Spark Monkeys got thrown in and have been doing pretty well for themselves considering their situation

Cyclone - Clown Gaming Forklift Certified Bloom Gaming. It was fun playing vs Jakob. I think he's their strongest player on that team and getting to play someone with some substance in their lane phase was nice. I would like to play them again.

Sixela66 OmegaWooper I didn't know anyone because im brand new so surprised by all teams.

The Shaqtus of Final Boss Esports Idk I can't stop winning

Spicy Tuna Fish of Final Boss Esports Omega Woopers I guess, they are good!

Castro of DZG Arcadia Bloom Abyss

Eros of Blue Pearl Spire The I in Team/Syndicate

nahCnosaH DZG Arcadia idk

Omega Wooper FINAL BOSS!!!

DJ Zeller, The Shadow Cows DZG Arcadia. They started off the season rough but kept bringing every opponent to 3 games and have recently hit their stride taking down several playoff contenders.

cloudbry Bloom Abyss idk i feel like everyone is playing as expected. 

Shifti of Conduit Jiji Final Boss Esports, I underestimated them quite a bit coming into the league, but they impressed me so far. They are also the only team to beat us with our full roster.

Which teams are most likely to get to the finals of BOLE?

Why do you think those teams are finalists?

CTRL ULT ELITE of Mint Spark Final Boss(Seed 1-2 Zaun), Mint Spark(Zaun 1-4th) I really do not respect Piltover. I think Clown is the only real team in that divsion and almost any Zaun team will knock them out in semifinals. 

ishan of Omega Wooper Final Boss(Seed 1-2 Zaun), Omega Wooper(Zaun 1-4th) Lore matchup

Chris, JiJi Syndicate(The I In Team)(Seed 2 Piltover), Conduit Jiji(Zaun Seed 4) ego

AfkBoulder CGFC Clown Gaming Forklift(Seed 1 Piltover), Final Boss(Seed 1-2 Zaun) Just a gut feeling tbh

Faulteh - Final Boss Clown Gaming Forklift(Seed 1 Piltover), Final Boss(Seed 1-2 Zaun) Clown stomped all over their division and we have had some very convincing wins. Our team feels ok the same page often and our macro is clean. 

VeyCaution of Clown Gaming Forklift Certified  Clown Gaming Forklift(Seed 1 Piltover), Final Boss(Seed 1-2 Zaun) No team has really come close to beating us so I think we get finals, and I just picked the first listed team for the other side.

Mordstreich of Omega Gaming Wooper Clown Gaming Forklift(Seed 1 Piltover), Omega Wooper(Zaun 1-4th) I'm a firm believer that our team is incredibly strong, and Clown Gaming has AFKBoulder

Hazard, CGFC Clown Gaming Forklift(Seed 1 Piltover), Final Boss(Seed 1-2 Zaun) Faulteh gaps ADC, Boulder gaps Supports. Simple as that 

KTL of Mint Spark Clown Gaming Forklift(Seed 1 Piltover), Mint Spark(Zaun 1-4th) best two teams

Mollywhops of Mint Spark Mint Spark(Zaun 1-4th), Mint OTS(Zaun Seed 4) Mint Goats 

AlbinoSunBear of Mint Spark Mint Spark(Zaun 1-4th), Omega Wooper(Zaun 1-4th) Wooper seems pretty good and I'll vote for my own team (there isn't a gun to my head I promise)

Cyclone - Clown Gaming Forklift Certified Clown Gaming Forklift(Seed 1 Piltover), Syndicate(The I In Team)(Seed 2 Piltover), Final Boss(Seed 1-2 Zaun), Mint Spark(Zaun 1-4th) It's hard to say who I think will be playing us in finals, but depending on how the brackets line up, I think Syndicate, Final Boss, and Mint Spark have the best chances of getting there.

Sixela66 OmegaWooper Clown Gaming Forklift(Seed 1 Piltover), Omega Wooper(Zaun 1-4th) Clown because they are the best team in Piltover, then I have to pick my own team.

The Shaqtus of Final Boss Esports  Final Boss(Seed 1-2 Zaun) No one can beat me

Spicy Tuna Fish of Final Boss Esports Clown Gaming Forklift(Seed 1 Piltover), Final Boss(Seed 1-2 Zaun) Because I play for Final Boss Esports so I want us to be in finals. I think Clown Gaming can make it as well because we scrimmed against them before and they are pretty good.

Castro of DZG Arcadia Clown Gaming Forklift(Seed 1 Piltover) Clown Gaming and DZG

Eros of Blue Pearl Spire Syndicate(The I In Team)(Seed 2 Piltover), Final Boss(Seed 1-2 Zaun)

nahCnosaH DZG Arcadia Clown Gaming Forklift(Seed 1 Piltover), Final Boss(Seed 1-2 Zaun) Because theyre first seed

Omega Wooper Final Boss(Seed 1-2 Zaun), Omega Wooper(Zaun 1-4th) because we the best 

DJ Zeller, The Shadow Cows Clown Gaming Forklift(Seed 1 Piltover), Final Boss(Seed 1-2 Zaun) No one has found answers to them yet.

cloudbry Bloom Abyss Clown Gaming Forklift(Seed 1 Piltover), Bloom Abyss(Seed 3-4 Piltover), Final Boss(Seed 1-2 Zaun) they are good teams

Shifti of Conduit Jiji Conduit Jiji(Zaun Seed 4) As long as I can make games, we make finals. No ego I promise. 3-1 with our full squad.

Do you listen to music while playing comp games?

Out of the 22 responses I had this week 13 were from Zaun and 9 were from Piltover. Piltover had half their division say they listened to music while playing. Mint Spark is the team with the most music going as 4 of their 5 teammates listen to music while playing.

Is there a skin for a champion that you think is a must own? Like you would buy it on your smurf if you mained that champion.

CTRL ULT ELITE of Mint Spark Corporate Mundo is the best skin in the game handsdown and makes playing Mundo so much more fun. His voicelines gets so much better.

ishan of Omega Wooper Muy Thai Lee Sin

Chris, JiJi No, we ball. 

AfkBoulder CGFC Winter Hwei. Those animations are straight pay to win

Faulteh - Final Boss Any of the high noon skins. 

VeyCaution of Clown Gaming Forklift Certified  If you main rumble you need Super Galaxy. Its expensive so if you just casually play him I get not owning it, but if you a main you need that skin.

Mordstreich of Omega Gaming Wooper Firecracker Vayne or Mafia Jinx

Hazard, CGFC EMPYREAN ZAC

KTL of Mint Spark draven draven

Mollywhops of Mint Spark snow day syndra

AlbinoSunBear of Mint Spark Super Galaxy Rumble

Cyclone - Clown Gaming Forklift Certified Star Guardian Gragas

Sixela66 OmegaWooper Im poor

The Shaqtus of Final Boss Esports  Corporate Mundo

Spicy Tuna Fish of Final Boss Esports

Castro of DZG Arcadia Nope 

Eros of Blue Pearl Spire Dark Star Orianna

nahCnosaH DZG Arcadia Nope, waste of money

Omega Wooper Choo Choo ornn 

DJ Zeller, The Shadow Cows Dunkmaster Darius

cloudbry Bloom Abyss Nah

Shifti of Conduit Jiji No. Many champs I prefer base skin lmao.

League can be really stressful. What do you do to reset your mental after a bad loss?

CTRL ULT ELITE of Mint Spark Dance of the Manwhore I Listen to this. It never fails to make me laugh.

ishan of Omega Wooper I don't

Chris, JiJi Music A hot shower tbh. Gotta cleanse the filth

AfkBoulder CGFC A hot shower tbh. Gotta cleanse the filth

Faulteh - Final Boss Tilt queue into oblivion. 

VeyCaution of Clown Gaming Forklift Certified  Screaming, slamming my door, punching my chair arm rests, and typing paragraphs about how degenerate my solo que teams are, then queing again

Mordstreich of Omega Gaming Wooper Last week was a very good test for this. And truthfully, apparently nothing. 😅

Hazard, CGFC is a licensed mental health practitioner

Cues another game

KTL of Mint Spark listen to music and vibe

Mollywhops of Mint Spark spread democracy in the name of super earth. #rememberthecreek

AlbinoSunBear of Mint Spark Go play another game or drugs

Cyclone - Clown Gaming Forklift Certified Log off and touch grass

Sixela66 OmegaWooper I don't normally tilt. When I do it's a take a break and do something angle.

The Shaqtus of Final Boss Esports Jax Champion Theme | League of Legends

Spicy Tuna Fish of Final Boss Esports Listen to music and read book.

Castro of DZG Arcadia Play Rumble Support

Eros of Blue Pearl Spire Take a walk or play pokemon

nahCnosaH DZG Arcadia Just stop

Omega Wooper tft

DJ Zeller, The Shadow Cows Win.

cloudbry Bloom Abyss I get really high and go for a walk 

Shifti of Conduit Jiji Take a break and walk around.