Unofficial Week 7 Gold Power Rankings/Predictions - By Toxin

Hello again, it’s Toxin! Unfortunately for Otter Talk fans, we did not have a show last week, so there were no other predictions but my own. Honestly, I did quite well for myself by getting 10 out of my 12 predictions right. Also, I think that moving into my third iteration of player rankings, I’m going to make more notes during the weeks instead of just doing all the work at the end. Looking the rankings over again makes me feel like I got a few people placed in the wrong tiers for sure, but overall I’m happy with how they turned out and the community response. Finally, I did not have a lot of time to write the rankings this week, so Kaiten helped me out with writing the game recaps for the East and Kral Sultan helped me write the recaps for the West. Let’s get into the games!

North Division:

Gob Squad (W) vs Final Esports (L) 2-0

Although I did predict this result, I think that Gob Squad’s 2-0 win over Final Esports was one of the more surprising outcomes this week. Gob Squad continues to be a team that comes into their match up each week as the underdogs and finds a way to take down teams that are more favored to win. If there ever was a dark horse to sneak into playoffs and make a run, it’s gotta be Gob Squad. Sushisuwa and Nuzzyfuts continued to put in strong back to back performances that led their team to victory. Also worth noting is that Raztastic and Th0r22 swapped roles this week, which seemed to work well in game one but had mixed results in game two. We’ll see if this was a temporary thing this week, when they go up against KQC. For Final Esports, they seem to be in a bit of a downward spiral lately. I will say that last week was the debut of Moby White in the top lane this season, whose play was less than stellar. Despite having the best Volibear counterpick in Gnar, he was unable to garner any sort of lead in the top lane. Hopefully he steps it up next week, where Final Esports goes up against CB Rangers.

CB Rangers (W) vs Oasis NADS (L) 2-0

CB Rangers were able to take down Oasis NADS yet again in their second matchup of the season, however this time they did so in dominant fashion. I know I talked them down earlier in the week, but this performance definitely makes me wanna eat my words. They seem to be firing on all cylinders without a weakness in sight. They are clearly a top three team in this league, no question about it, and I hope they can keep this up against a flailing Final Esports team this week. For Oasis NADS, my concerns over this team have started to show their head again. It seems to be a pattern that whenever they lose a series (such as in another league or this league) the snowball effect starts to happen where they continue to lose. For this match, I’m just gonna write it off as CB Rangers just having their number. But if they continue to falter this week against Imperial Gaming, I think their season could be in jeopardy.

Imperial Gaming (W) vs KQC (L) 2-0

Imperial Gaming was able to secure their second victory over KQC last week in a match that certainly was not a pushover. I think that KQC has really started to step it up with their play, and it’s starting to show. BBANDB played like a beast in game one, Creepin was a steady force in both games, and Tnzley put up strong numbers in game two. I think that this roster is starting to figure out how to win in this league and are very close to putting it all together. I fully expect that even if it doesn’t happen this season, next season KQC should be able to pull off a similar spectacle as Crimson Dolphins this split. On the other hand, I think Imperial Gaming is looking particularly weak in this game. In a matchup where they were the heavy favorite, they were barely able to win based solely off of their macro play and not their individual skill. I think that HowIMetYourTable looks a lot more human whenever his Sivir is banned out, and other than I Rin I, the rest of the team looks like they are treading water. I think that their new jungler Frozen Turd played well, but I’m not sure if he is much of an upgrade over Swaggy P. Hopefully my fears are just me seeing things, and they are able to take down Oasis NADS this week. KQC will take on Gob Squad in hopes of finding their first win.

Rankings:

1. CB Rangers (=)

2. Oasis Nail and Day Spa (=)

3. Imperial Gaming (+1)

4. Gob Squad (+1)

5. Final Esports (-2)

6. KQC (=)

South Division:

NSG Infinity (W) vs Crimson Dolphins (L) 2-1

Well, we waited a few extra days for this matchup, but it was well worth the wait. NSG Infinity took down the Crimson Dolphins in a tight 2-1 series. Since it was on a different day, I was able to watch the NSG Twitch stream to get a better insight into these teams and how they play. Overall, I think the draft really decided the games. In game one, Crimson Dolphins just had no answer to the comp that NSG Infinity ran. Unfortunately, picks like Tristana, Nautilus, and Skarner could not do anything into Brand and Zyra. Game two was a different story, where NSG did not draft enough damage for them to win the game. Finally, game three ended up being a total banger with the topside of NSG taking over. I was very impressed by the play of Clarken and Jayyster in this series. I think that for sure Clarken was the better top laner of the two, which makes up for the last time that these two met where Synirr was the better player. I think that Jayyster was a ganking machine and really helped Karma Divine survive his lane matchup against ExStarZ. I think that Infinity should finish at the top of this division moving forward; they play against their sister team NSG Amethyst this week. For the Dolphins, I think they need to get back to the drawing board on the drafts and how they prepare for their matches. I think that banning out Clarken did not end up being a beneficial strategy, as Synirr was unable to take advantage of this. With this roster already on a downward slide, I hope that they are able to rebound this week against Mad Rawrs.

Mad Rawrs (W) vs CB Royal (L) 2-0

This matchup completely threw me off to be honest. Game one of this game was won solely off of better macro play out of the Mad Rawrs. Though CB was able to win every fight that they took, they were unable to take any major objectives or win the game, and their opponents were able to take advantage of it. Game two just ended up being the Yung Natz show, where he absolutely took over the game with his Darius pick. I think this series will catapult both teams in different directions. I think that the Mad Rawrs can take this win as a large highlight of their season and use it as ammunition for the rest of their season. They need to continue to win out the rest of their matches in order to make the playoffs, but this win should make them optimistic that this dream can come true, starting with another win over Crimson Dolphins this week. For CB Royal, they lost their absolute smurf top laner Seich as a result of this series, which I think will be detrimental to their season. I think that there’s a chance that Dead Orbit can sneak out a win this week, and CB needs to prove me wrong to keep their playoff dreams alive.

Dead Orbit (W) vs NSG Amethyst (L) 2-0

Dead Orbit looked strong in their streamed game last week when they went up against NSG Amethyst in a 2-0 win. I think that this roster has definitely improved a lot during the season and this seems to be a stepping stone for the start of their run at the final playoff spot. If Meliodas and Moyushii can continue to keep up the strong performances that they put up this week, I think that there’s a good chance that they can make a run. For NSG Amethyst, I think that they are still showing some fight in their games. I will say that they definitely look stronger than they did last split, but they still have some work to do moving forward. Dead Orbit has the chance to take down CB Royal this week with them struggling as of late, while NSG Amethyst goes up against NSG Infinity.

Ranking:

1. NSG Infinity (+2)

2. Crimson Dolphins (=)

3. Mad Rawrs (+2)

4. CB Royal (-3)

5. Dead Orbit (-1)

6. NSG Amethyst (=)

East Division:

Literal Monkeys (W) vs NSG Gold (L) 2-1

Literal Monkeys winning against NSG Gold was an expected result last week, but for them to drop a game is a very interesting storyline coming into this week. The game that they dropped was one that looked to have NSG Gold’s solo laners popping off. TheRunicBlade and Bonnniii both played skill expressive laners in Fiora and Sylas and won their matchups hard with the help of a very, very fed Hecarim that wiltonix piloted. Alas, they could not continue their winning ways in the final two games, as Literal Monkeys found their groove once again as they ran over NSG. Ball Slap absolutely popped off in game 2 with a perfect, 15 kill performance on Ahri. Next week, Literal Monkeys play against Twin Spirits in what should be a very intriguing matchup for second place in the East. NSG Gold plays Mythos Purple in a battle of the FB Jayke coached teams. NSG Gold is looking to overtake Mythos for fourth in the division.

Twin Spirits (W) vs Classic Esports (L) 2-0

Another week, another 2-0 for Twin Spirits in the East. Twin Spirits played slowly and methodically in this series to close out the series in pretty low kill games. In this series, Riv60 was truly showcasing why he should be feared in this division. Kappa Krusader is definitely showing that he can play and mesh well with Twin Spirits and look to be scarier with this new top addition. Twin Spirits will be facing off against their other challenger in East, Literal Monkeys, for the 2nd seed. As for Classic Esports, this week would’ve been a tough challenge for them against VBU Argon, but unfortunately had to end up forfeiting due to some roster issues. I really hope that they are able to figure out their roster issues moving forward and can finish out the season on a high note.

VBU Argon (W) vs Mythos Purple (L) 2-0

In another 2-0 fashion, VBU Argon completely throttled Mythos Purple in a very convincing showing. Kaiten’s Yone took over game 1 and showcased why he was the best mid laner in the player rankings. In the second game, Argon had complete control of the game with every role having a gold advantage. Kral Sultan showed up in game 2 with a Doki summoner cosplay, and Toxin finally showed that he isn’t just a weak side ADC player and popped off on the Vayne. Drakas showed that he isn’t just there to chill and silently carried with an insane scoreline of 4-1-24 in game 2 of the series. There’s no way Toxin would have done that well if it wasn’t for him. For Mythos Purple, they need to turn things around if they want to push either Twin Spirits or Literal Monkeys out of a playoff spot. I think that Feathers and Fur played exceptionally well in the matchup, despite the multiple bans thrown his way throughout the series. Hopefully things turn out well for him and his team against NSG Gold this week. Meanwhile, Argon continues to sit upon the top of the East standings with their bye-week and forfeit win at the hands of Classic Esports.

Rankings:

1. VBU Argon (=)

2. Twin Spirits (=)

3. Literal Monkeys (=)

4. NSG Gold (+1)

5. Mythos Purple (-1)

6. Classic Esports (=)

West Division: by Kral Sultan

CB Obsidian (W) vs VBU Plutonium (L) 2-0

To start up the West Division, we have tournament favourites CB Obsidian going against VBU Plutonium. For most people this match was a no brainer for Obsidian. VBU Plutonium, which by no means is a bad team, had problems matching the skill level and chemistry that CB Obsidian has . Player of the Series goes to none other than Snowlife. We were able to see that Snowlife was not only a good ADC player, but also a good Taliyah player, which he pulled out in Game 2 of the series and popped off on it. With this win, CB Obsidian was able to keep their undefeated season going and basically clinched playoffs. For VBU Plutonium I feel like we are yet to see this team's full potential, so I am looking forward to seeing how this team can improve in the last weeks of BOL. VBU Plutonium will be going against Shrimp Fried Rice to keep their playoff dreams alive and CB Obsidian will be playing Silverline to clinch playoffs mathematically.

Collective Cosmic (W) vs Shrimp Fried Rice (L) 2-0

In our second matchup in the West Division, Collective Cosmic was able to beat Shrimp Fried Rice in 2 games. Although this series was a 2-0, I want to say that Shrimp Fried Rice put out a good fight against a top 3 team in their division. First game was a 50 minute banger which took 4 barons for Collective to finish the series. Second game being an easier match for them to finish the series and take the dub. The Player of the Series was JarnieShow, who popped off on Jinx in both games from what I can see. They had a 6k gold lead against his counterpart in game 1 and 4k lead in game 2, which carried his team to a 2-0 win. For the rest of the split, I don't see Shrimp Fried Rice making a huge jump that would put them in playoff contention. My expectation, however, is that they will be putting up a good fight . For Collective Cosmic, they are looking to contest the 2nd seed from Limitless Chaos for playoffs seeding. This match will be really crucial for these 2 teams to see where they will end up in their division. Shrimp Fried Rice plays VBU Plutonium this week in a matchup where they need to win to keep their playoff dreams alive.

Limitless Chaos (W) vs Silverline (L) 2-0

Limitless Chaos was able to start their second round robin with a 2-0 win over Silverline. I will say that I am surprised with the performances coming out of Silverline and that they forced 40+ minute games against a top 3 team in the division. In the end, Limitless did not allow any other surprises to happen, finishing the series 2-0 and keeping their spot as the 2nd place team in the West Division. The Player of the Series for this one is hard to decide since the majority of Limitless played really good, but I will choose Flatzoner. He played two really clean games in the jungle, had good KDAs, and had convincing gold leads in the jungle both games that helped his team to secure a win. This week they are going against Collective Cosmic to get their revenge from their previous match-up in Week 2 where they lost 2-1. For Silverline they are still sitting at the bottom of the division and will be playing CB Obsidian this week.

Ranking:

So for the West this week, Kral Sultan wanted to post his own rankings as well. So, the rankings on the left are my rankings and the ones on the right are his rankings.

1. CB Obsidian (=) 1) CB Obsidian(like REALLY who else can it be)

2. Collective Cosmic (-1) 2) Limitless Chaos (I believe in FireOfTheFox1 and his ways)

3. Limitless Chaos (+1) 3) Collective Cosmic (Still good team but has to prove that they are better)

4. VBU Plutonium (= 4) VBU Plutonium ( Not much to write about the bottom 3)

5. Shrimp Fried Rice (=) 5) Silverline ( Gotta move them up every one in a while)

6. Silverline (=) 6) Shrimp Fried Rice ( #1 for the best team name after the loss of Team Nachos at week 1 ) (F)

Matches to Watch This Week:

The streamed matchup of the week this week happens to be Oasis NADS looking to take down Imperial Gaming in a battle for second place in the North Division. Personally, I have question marks for Oasis NADS and whether or not their new roster is an upgrade on the roster that they used the first time that they played Imperial. That being said, I think Imperial has cooled down a lot since their hot start to the season. They are looking to regain some of that fire if they want to keep the second seed in the division. As for some other matchups worth noting, I think that in the West division, Limitless Chaos versus Collective Chaos should be an interesting match to watch. Both teams had an extremely close first match against each other, and I’m curious to see if Limitless can reverse their fortunes with their new roster. In the east, I think Twin Spirits versus Literal Monkeys should be the one to watch. I think that the former of the two has done well to upgrade their roster since the last time they met, and I have major concerns over the latter. WIll the Literal Monkeys rise to the test, or fall flat on their face? The final matchup I want to highlight is Crimson Dolphins versus Mad Rawrs. The Dolphins have been drowning in the last few weeks, and they have another rough test ahead of them in the form of the Mad Rawrs. After watching them play, I have concerns over their gameplay lately. With Rawr surging, I think this week could see their loss streak extend to 3.

Top 16:

Moving into the second half of the season, I think that I can explain a lot of the movement in the Top 16 without giving a detailed explanation for each team. Heading into week 7, it’s clear that VBU Argon, CB Obsidian, and CB Rangers are the top 3 teams in the league. The 2-0 win for the Rangers really cemented themselves into the number three spot in my head for the foreseeable future. I am currently pretty skeptical of Limitless Chaos’ new roster additions, which dropped them a few spots in my eyes despite their win. The same also applies to CB Royal after losing Seich this week, which also dropped as a result of losing to the Mad Rawrs. The final notable is NSG Gold and Mad Rawrs replacing Mythos Purple and VBU Plutonium in the top 16. The Mad Rawrs win last week propelled them into the conversation, but it’s still a longshot for them to make the playoffs with their current deficit. NSG Gold squeaks into the conversation with their ability to take a game whenever they lose, which puts them over Mythos Purple and VBU Plutonium in my eyes.

1. VBU Argon (=)

2. CB Obsidian (=)

3. CB Rangers (=)

4. Twin Spirits (=)

5. Collective Cosmos (+2)

6. Literal Monkeys (=)

7. NSG Infinity (+5)

8. Limitless Chaos (-2)

9. Oasis NADS (=)

10. Crimson Dolphins (=)

11. Imperial Gaming (+2)

12. Gob Squad (+2)

13. Final Esports (-2)

14. Mad Rawrs (NEW)

15. CB Royal (-7)

16. NSG Gold (NEW)

Dropped out: Mythos Purple, VBU Plutonium

Predictions for this Week:

Oasis NADS beat Imperial Gaming 2-0

Gob Squad beat KQC 2-0

CB Rangers beat Final Esports 2-0

Mad Rawrs beat Crimson Dolphins 2-1

NSG Infinity beat NSG Amethyst 2-0

Dead Orbit beat CB Royal 2-1

Twin Spirits beat Literal Monkeys 2-0

NSG Gold beat Mythos Purple 2-1

VBU Argon beat Classic Esports 2-0

CB Obsidian beat Silverline 2-0

Collective Cosmic beat Limitless Chaos 2-0

VBU Plutonium beat Shrimp Fried Rice 2-1