Introduction

RGL Highlander’s opening season is closing in, and so far it’s looking to be an extremely competitive season for the Main division. The first week starts with what is arguably the quintessential Highlander map, koth_product. It’s no secret that Product is one of the more DM-oriented maps in the rotation. In a division like Main, where a team’s coordination skills may not be as refined as in Advanced or Invite, games can often be decided simply by which team has the better Demoman or Sniper.

Preamble

It can be very difficult to accurately rank teams in the preseason, with some teams having little to no scrims under their belt. It’s important to recognize that power rankings are just estimations of each team’s overall skill based on scrim performance and rosters, and really should be taken with a grain of salt. In Main, just from looking at rosters and scrim performances, I think every team is relatively close to one another in skill. Because of time constraints and Main being the newest division, team writeups will not be included. However, this will change in the future.

Power Rankings

1. Disingenuous Assertions (DAT)

2. Gotta Blast (G2B)

3. Blackjack and Hookers (B&H)

4. Itty Bitty Kitty Committee (IBKC)

5. Home Depot eSports (HDptE)

6. Forty-Two Pence (42)

7. Swift Inc. (Swift)

8. Slippery When Wet (S.W.W.)

Week 1 Match Predictions: koth_product_rc9

Slippery When Wet vs. Swift Inc.

Rosters
S.W.W: koolaidalan / kevbad / sharky / vythern / Musique / Jman / VinnyKoren / Michaelpc1 / Hino
Swift: asher / AriaTildeHeart / Soleil / Brick / Burtilian / KootyKay / GreenAndGold / egwat / VAVLIE

While I might have ranked these two teams at the bottom of the division, that by no means means that this match won’t be interesting. S.W.W and Swift are two teams that have scrimmed extensively in the preseason, and it’s evident that neither team is decisively better than the other. Both teams have taken victories against the other on Product, as well as other KOTH maps like Ashville.

Compared to Swift’s flank composed of asher on Scout and AriaTildeHeart on Soldier, koolaidalan and kevbad of S.W.W will definitely struggle to maintain control of their flank, leaving a lot less space for Michaelpc1 to snipe from. Swift’s roster appears to be more composed and has more experience together as a team from UGC S25. However, S.W.W definitely has some star players in the form of Michaelpc1, sharky, and Musique. I really think that this match might simply come down to how hard Michaelpc1 is able to frag, and to what degree that egwat is able to stop him. However, he is but one man and Swift is the team with the overall better roster. That’s not to say that I think this will be the case forever--S.W.W’s full roster has a lot of potential to improve as a team over the course of the season and I think they’ll do just that.

This match could very well go either way, but I believe Swift will pull through with their far more consistent and experienced roster.

Prediction: 4-3 Swift

Gamechangers: Michaelpc1, Musique, kevbad (S.W.W) asher, egwat (Swift)

Forty-Two Pence vs. Disingenuous Assertions

Rosters
42: Bonesaw / Flare / Inquisition / Kamil / petee / Starfruit66 / Ruins / percy? / 5perm
DAT: SpotlightR / DOOMBRINGER? / Charizard / sophie / Moist Master / livst1d / Dubthink / podgy713 / 3hree

There really isn’t a whole lot to say about this matchup. I don’t doubt 42’s individual player skill at all, but their seemingly disorganized roster (only 10 people rostered) combined with just how powerful DAT is looking in the preseason isn’t looking good for them. SpotlightR and DOOMBRINGER together make what might be the strongest flank in the entire division; that combined with a combo of sophie and Moist Master who have played together for several seasons along with consistently well performing players in every other class spell disaster for 42. Not to mention, even though Kamil is an excellent players in his own right, I don’t believe he’s on his strongest class.

If Kamil or percy manages to pop off against all odds, then I think 42 can take a round off of DAT. Otherwise, this should be a fairly quick match.

Prediction: 4-0 DAT

Gamechangers: SpotlightR, sophie, Moist Master, pantherr (DAT) Bonesaw, Kamil, percy (42)

Blackjack and Hookers vs. Home Depot eSports

Rosters
B&H: Zabi / Gw4lk (Perception?) / Klowwd / katryna / Paul / Grynn / Teli / asian / E_leetGames
HDptE: inky / Wubs / Diabolical / zbra / Luigi / cyclowns / raisins / Liam / Micahlele

B&H and HDptE are definitely two teams with rosters that are well familiarized in playing the other, but neither team has really shown to be dominant on every single gamemode. However, it’s no secret that B&H is a team historically far better on coordination-based maps such as pl_borneo or cp_steel. HDptE has beaten B&H in the past handily on KOTH maps like Cascade, but that could very well change. B&H’s new pickups of asian and E_leetGames look promising to say the least, and could easily give them the edge they need to secure a foothold on Product. HDptE’s recent combination with Thinking (picking up inky, Wubs, and zbra) has granted them with a very good roster on paper--both their flank of inky and Wubs and combo of Luigi and zbra are well versed in playing as a unit. However, HDptE’s scrim performances really aren’t the greatest, while B&H appears to be performing at their peak on Product.

This will no doubt be an extremely close game, but I think HDptE’s past performances against B&H on KOTH as well as improved pickups on virtually every class will help them win.

Prediction: 4-3 HDptE

Gamechangers: Wubs, zbra, Liam, Micahlele (HDptE), Gw4lk, asian, E_leetGames (B&H)

Itty Bitty Kitty Committee vs. Gotta Blast

Rosters
IBKC: saucy / Brandan / kitty / kjr / Rayman5000 / Salad Snek / mattos / dailydoseofmelon / Steaklington
G2B: josh / nazara? / lambda / daybreak / ? (kezia?) / ? (baocn?) / PsychoPsyduck / Nerdaloid / myk

In theory, this is an easy match to predict. In reality, I think this game might end up being closer than most people would think. G2B has a solid roster of players, yes, but they only have 1 scrim under their belt with their current team (afaik)--and it’s not even on Product. I’m legitimately impressed with how much IBKC, who have been around with pretty much the same roster for many seasons now, have improved as players. Their scrim performances this weekend are all around very solid, but regardless you can’t ignore how powerful G2B’s roster is; josh, Nerdaloid, and myk are all extremely good players who could very well carry their entire team to victory, not to mention consistently high-performing players on almost every other spot.

I think, even with only the info we have now, G2B’s raw skill and experience will ultimately secure the victory here. However, I believe in IBKC’s ability to take a round or even two off of G2B.

Prediction: 4-2 G2B

Gamechangers: josh, myk, Nerdaloid (G2B) Brandan, kris, Steaklington (IBKC)

Links

Roster Spreadsheet
Week 1 Matches
Main Division League Table