This article was written by SingularBread and Cassidy
With week one in the books, join us in taking a look at which teams stepped up to the plate, and which ones struck out as we close the first inning of the season.
1) Imperial Esports (2-0)
No real surprise to those who kept up with the qualifiers, but for those who did not, we saw Imperial Esports keeping up their dominance of the league in their split openers vs Literal Monkeys and Scarlet Foxes. Imperial took a strung out game vs Literal Monkeys in the first streamed match, in what could be described as a “bot diff” game. Every member on Imperial played extremely well and the game probably would’ve ended a lot sooner if they bought grevious wounds a little earlier. Following this, the team soundly beat down scarlet foxes in a 24 minute game which seemed to cement this team's focus on dominating 5v5 team fights. The team will look to continue the string of victories against one of the veterans of the league, Friend Zoned, and another team off to a hot start, Crosspoint Pegasus.
Player to watch: Obey Thy Awoo
2) Chubby Babies (2-0)
Chubby Babies showed that there were no mistakes when they were chosen for the first loyalty position into the league with their first ever 2-0 start to the season. Tradition shows that this team is slow to start, however if their start looks this good, then the rest of the league should be wary of these Titanic Toddlers. Babies started off the night with a dominant win over Scarlet Foxes, and then continued the beatdown against Friend Zoned in the second streamed match of the night. The team only seemed to waver in the bot lane, however, they quickly stabilized themselves and destroyed the nexus in a 30 minute game. Week 2 sees Chubby Babies in matchups vs ShadowZ and Wulfpack. This week will not just come with two brand new opponents but the loss of their longtime jungler, Vfluids. If this team deserves to remain at the top of the standings and one of the favorites to win the league, this will be the week to prove it.
Player to watch: BuhRockObama
3) Crosspoint Pegasus (2-0)
Crosspoint is one of the new additions to the league and started off strong with a 2-0 week. While it wasn't the hardest week, if week one standings are anything to go by, being able to win the games that you are supposed to win is a trait that gets you far in gold elo leagues. This team has a lot of standout players and it’d definitely be difficult for anyone outside of the top 2 to beat them as they’re, individually and collectively, a very strong strong team. Crosspoint Pegasus will likely only be getting stronger and I’m curious to see if they could be a contender for first.
Player to watch: BuriedDonut
4) Friend Zoned (1-1)
The second of the loyalty based additions to the league, Friend Zoned looks to start the split off with the “1-1 every week” meme still going strong. Game one saw Friend Zoned deal a crushing defeat to Wulfpack. Sporting strong laning and team fighting, this team looks to be starting off the season right despite the loss of former team captain, SingularBread. The second streamed game of the night went a bit rougher for the team as they lost against Chubby Babies. However, the combination of games showed that the auto filled ADC does not hinder the team because the bot lane showed up strong. The team will look to resolve some of the weaknesses found in week 1 as they face two difficult opponents this week, Imperial Esports and Crosspoint Pegasus.
Player to watch: Guardian Wakka
5) Literal Monkeys (0-2)
Literal Monkeys start the season off looking shaky, however, they seem to have been given the benefit of the doubt given their rough week one matchups against two of the current best teams in the league. Getting the team liquid treatment of, “there's always next week”, they slot in 5th on our first rankings. Their high average game time of 36.01 (third highest in the league currently) shows that the team puts up a fight when they go down, however, they clearly have some issues to work on. The Monkeys showed some signs of life in their first game as they were able to drag the game out despite the extremely rough early game against league favorites Imperial Esports. Literal Monkeys have been a staple of BOL but they have a lot to work on if they want to turn things around and maintain their playoff appearance streak. This week could be a great confidence booster for them as they look to get victories over the struggling NSG Gold and The Epidemic.
Player to watch: Zupho
6) Epidemic (1-1)
It seems that the same issues that plagued this team in the qualifiers still remain. This squad seems to live and die through mid but unfortunately, that’s not going to cut it if this roster plans to be contenders. Running two different ADC’s in the first two games and then switching to a THIRD one before roster lock for week 2, you have to wonder if these guys are going to be able to build any synergy going into week 2. They have a relatively easy schedule this week and we feel that the results of this week will be a strong indicator of whether or not The Epidemic will be a bottom tier team.
Player to watch: I Have No EquaI
7) Shadowz (1-1)
This team is definitely one of the underdogs of Gold Major this season. Without having the pressure of any expectation, this team pulled out a solid victory against The Epidemic. Shadowz is able to decisively fight and are able to take wins out from under you if you’re caught slacking. If these players can continue to individually improve, they will be definite contenders for playoffs down the line.
Player to watch: Mewlife
8) WulfPack Esports (1-1)
This team is probably the biggest question mark of the first week. WulfPack boasts the fastest average gametime for week 1, but it was partly due to getting absolutely slaughtered by FriendZoned. This team proves that they’re able to bounce back though, as they gave the same treatment to Shadowz not even an hour later. They’re a multi-threat team that will definitely cement themselves as one of the higher tier teams this season. Don’t be surprised if you see them shoot up in next week's power rankings.
Player to watch: TruX MaNE
9) Scarlet Foxes (0-2)
“Not what we had hoped” would be a way to describe the Scarlet Foxes. The team had showed up strong in the third qualifier, where they secured their way into the league, however, a rough start to the split wasn't what they had on their mind going into this week. The benefit of the doubt can be given to the team given they faced both Imperial Esports and Chubby Babies. For now they show up ninth on our list but if the rest of the team can rally behind the seemingly strong bot lane, we could see Scarlet Foxes rise back up to prominence in the league.
Player to watch: JoshKiddy
10) Natural Selection Gaming (0-2)
We had some really high hopes for NSG Gold this season (see our Majors Introduction) but unfortunately, they shit the bed in week 1. We can’t use the strength of schedule excuse that we used for Scarlet Foxes because NSG only played Crosspoint and The Epidemic. This team needs to figure out a game plan and start picking up some wins. We’re going to need to see more from their bot lane if they plan on being anything but a bottom tier team in the league.
Player to watch: TheRunicBlade
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