Introduction

Week 4: pl_upward

Welcome to Week 4 of RGL Highlander! After several upsets last week, I figured it was time to explore matchups a little deeper. Hence, this article will be a little longer than normal and I will go into more detail for each match. This will also apply to the Outstanding Players section as well as the Power Rankings.

Ashville was one of the most exciting weeks we have played as of now, and was a critical map for many teams whether it revealed potential or disclosed a weakness. We learned a lot about many teams, which will strongly influence the updated power rankings. Without further ado, let’s get into the article.

Outstanding Players

Scout: ult

Soldier: norphel03

Pyro: Imbeast

Demoman: cl4y

Heavy: Kaponei

Engineer: Secretly Satan

Medic: Soalabe

Sniper: explosivedeer

Spy: hero

Power Rankings

Intermediate Red

1. Arctic Monkeys

Scout: Pauly
Soldier: em
Pyro: hotwax
Demoman: Pablo
Heavy: Bzbzrobot
Engineer: Dest -
Medic: moxie
Sniper: WiLLmaTiC
Spy: Sylon[DMS]

Arctic Monkeys is the team that, from the beginning, everyone had placed bets on to win the division. Their scrim and match results had reassured this belief until Monday, when the team took a 4-0 loss to massive cranium esports. This showed everyone that the team was beatable and may have reopened the first place position for more competition. Either way, this roster has proven itself dominant among the upper trophs of the Intermediate division and will continue to demolish other teams. Their Scout and Spy, Pauly and Sylon|DMS| respectively, are among the top in the division on their classes, only contested by players such as maak of Bedtime Stories and Abridge of Waifus of War. Even if they lost a match to massive cranium esports, they have demonstrated that they are still playing far better than Bedtime Stories, the strongest team in the Blue portion of the division. I would be surprised to see this team not finishing top-3 this season, but I invite all teams to scrim more and work hard to beat them; it would make a very interesting season.

Gamechangers: Pauly, Sylon[DMS], em

2. massive cranium esports (+1)

Scout: Hayzei
Soldier: thyme
Pyro: NL
Demoman: carra
Heavy: Kaponei
Engineer: Wevs
Medic: flawless
Sniper: STiNGHAN
Spy: hero

massive cranium esports is the other roster in this division that has a strong chance to win. They have demonstrated consistently that they are not a team to underestimate on King of the Hill, beating Arctic Monkeys 4-0 on Ashville, even after being predicted to lose. The entirety of this roster stands out amongst other Intermediate teams, but most players can be inconsistent. Just the week before beating Arctic Monkeys, they lost 2-0 to Some Assembly Required on Swiftwater, a team that has not broken into the top half of Intermediate Red based on power rankings. Although Upward is slightly more damage oriented than Swiftwater, massive cranium esports will be up against a much stronger roster than Some Assembly Required. This week could prove whether this roster belongs in this position near the top of the power rankings, or if they simply had a lucky break on Ashville. Payload is a key weakness that this team with have to resolve if they intend to contest better teams in playoffs later this season. They recently lost their main Medic to IRENE in Invite, so hopefully flawless can step up and play at the same level that pepito has been. A lack of scrims may hurt this team later in the season, but so far it has not made a huge difference.

Gamechangers: Kaponei, STiNGHAN, carra

3. Four Loko 14% ALC 400mg CAF (-1)

Scout: 1joshh
Soldier: Beelthazus
Pyro: The Real Weiner(isn't-real)
Demoman: cl4y
Heavy: mtn.Willy
Engineer: pastapenis
Medic: Yari Qwerty
Sniper: Slappy Choppy.hac
Spy: Theoretical Spy

Four Loko 14% ALC 400mg CAF is arguably the best team that nobody is talking about. They have not had an easy schedule so far aside from Ashville week, but have shown that they belong high in the rankings. 1joshh and cl4y dominate most rosters they come up against alone--not to mention mtn.Willy aside them on Heavy, one of the most experienced players in this division with a history of playing well with cl4y. Picking up pastapenis on Engineer will give this team the extra experience and damage it needs to contest teams such as massive cranium esports and Arctic Monkeys. This team could be a placement contender later in the season.

Gamechangers: 1joshh, cl4y, mtn.Willy

4. Some Assembly Required (+1)

Scout: Akria
Soldier: No More.
Pyro: Imbeast
Demoman: Brando
Heavy: Voosh
Engineer: Constantly
Medic: Zweiz
Sniper: -tox1c
Spy: Solaris

Some Assembly Required is playing well above everyone's expectations for them. They have beaten down very capable teams such as massive cranium esports and had a very close loss to Four Loko 14% ALC 400mg CAF. They are currently ranked 1st on the league table, but have several hard matchups coming up that may change this. Picking up Voosh on Heavy will definitely make a big difference in how far this team goes; along with Zweiz, Imbeast and Brando, this roster boasts one of the strongest combos in the division.

Gamechangers: Zweiz, Imbeast, Voosh

5. Waifus of War (-1)

Scout: rbosst
Soldier: Mr. Z
Pyro: Uncle Sam
Demoman: Rawk Hawk
Heavy: grace
Engineer: Austin
Medic: gobi
Sniper: explosivedeer
Spy: Abridge

I strongly believe that the roster of Waifus of War is yet to reach their full potential. Although they only have one win at the moment, all of their matches have been very close and their players have not performed as well or as consistently as they can. Abridge and explosivedeer are two of the best players in the division on their classes; grace, rbosst and Mr. Z have also played very well in some matches but are not consistent. If this team could maintain the skill levels that they are capable of, they would be in the top-three based on power rankings. On their good days, they contest some of the best teams in the division. However, on their bad days, they are not playing much better than some of the very low teams in these rankings, as shown by their match results.

Gamechangers: Abridge, explosivedeer, grace

6. 404 Players Not Found

Scout: crit
Soldier: Joey Lemons
Pyro: Raptoir
Demoman: san antonio 1998 green mustang
Heavy: Vulpes
Engineer: Secretly Satan
Medic: SogToast
Sniper: extrasolar
Spy: Mendax

The Open move-up roster of 404 Players Not Found remains the only undefeated team in Intermediate Red. san antonio 1998 green mustang continuously proves that he is one of the top Demomen in Intermediate. Their schedule has been fairly easy so far, and until Week 5 that will not change. They will end the season by facing the three top teams in the division, which will either show that the team is ready to compete at a higher level or disprove any belief that they have a chance to win the division.

Gamechangers: extrasolar, san antonio 1998 green mustang, crit

7. Duck Duck Duck Duck

Scout: Phyrrhic
Soldier: Exo
Pyro: MissMatches
Demoman: Leafy
Heavy: baby_eater
Engineer: Even Nine
Medic: Moose In A Suit
Sniper: Funky
Spy: Knavish

Duck Duck Duck Duck came into the first season of RGL Highlander looking like a top Intermediate roster, with a history of mid-Silver UGC seasons. However, their match results have continued to become worse and worse each week. The team stands with no wins as of now, and over the next three weeks will face the three strongest rosters in the division. Although they have several promising players, the team has just not performed well enough as a whole to warrant a higher power ranking. I do not see them reaching playoffs this season, though if they could take points off of any teams during weeks four through six, it would be a good starting point to push off of for next season.

Gamechangers: Phyrrhic, baby_eater, Funky

8. Red's Rambunction Rampagers

Scout:
Soldier: Mr.G
Pyro:
Demoman: ABRA-goin'-HAM LINCOLN
Heavy: Riku
Engineer:
Medic: Redfox
Sniper: Nuke
Spy: Jacksonnn

After losing their main Pyro, the Red’s Rambunction Rampagers roster has been on a gradual decline. The team is yet to win a round this season, and with more players leaving each week and both leaders stepping down, I do not see them doing any better. It is unfortunate that the team had to begin their season against some of the best teams in the division; I could see them doing better if they had started out with an easier schedule to jump into their season off of. My hope for this roster is that it can survive and push through a tough season with intent to improve as a team as opposed to winning.

Gamechangers: Mr.G, Riku, Nuke

Intermediate Blue

1. Bedtime Stories

Scout: maak
Soldier: juner
Pyro: Fury-Bringer
Demoman: king, Akinfenwa.
Heavy: Vin-Syl
Engineer: Dell Conagher
Medic: Punny
Sniper: Flashey
Spy: CraftKitty

Bedtime Stories is the big name in Intermediate Blue. maak is one of, if not, the best Scouts in this division. He consistently has the highest frags and damage by a large margin. The remainder of the roster is consistently good as well. Although they do not have many players that stand out significantly from the rest, the rosters ability to be consistently good as opposed to sometimes doing amazing is the reason they are ranked so high. They lost their first round of the season last week, surprisingly to Tentatek TF2, although the remainder of the match was very one-sided. Their schedule has not been difficult, and will likely continue as the Blue teams in this division seem moderately worse than those of Red. I do not see this team having much trouble until playoffs but against stronger rosters with flanks that can contest them, they will struggle.

Gamechangers: maak, Flashey, juner

2. Leo Fan Club

Scout: ult
Soldier: Rulebrkr
Pyro: avian
Demoman: papaya
Heavy: SURRENDER FREEMAN
Engineer: Shaggy
Medic: Soalabe
Sniper: Shim
Spy: ydna

Leo Fan Club was a common prediction to win the division before the season started. However, they have not been performing as well as people had expected. Their key players are often inconsistent but on good days, this roster is very strong. They began the season with a tough loss to a team they probably should have beat, but have been making up ground on the league table since then. Picking up ult on Scout has been a saving grace for this team; he has the damage capabilities of Scouts such as maak or Pauly but does not have as strong of a team as those players to back him up. If this team could play more around their Scout and if Soalabe and Shim could continue to play as they did the week prior, they may be able to contest Bedtime Stories for a spot in the top-3 during playoffs.

Gamechangers: ult, Soalabe, Shim

3. ANTHRAX (+1)

Scout: yumyum
Soldier: Saturation
Pyro: Rade
Demoman: Townze
Heavy: Bear Hoovy
Engineer: 8-kit
Medic: Raptohr
Sniper: boxcar
Spy: ghost

ANTHRAX originally looked like a very strong roster; unfortunately they have lost two of their main players over the past week, both on important classes. The team's former co-leader, Berryy, was a huge factor in their success, but unfortunately left the roster this week. If the team can find another solid Sniper and stop losing key players, they will have no issue against top teams such as Leo Fan Club and possibly even Bedtime Stories. Their match this week against Tentatek TF2 should be very close, and may be a determining factor in how far they can go this season.

Gamechangers: Bear Hoovy, Townze, Saturation

4. Tentatek TF2(-1)

Scout: Murloc Jonny
Soldier: Plierr
Pyro: Kooby
Demoman: zen
Heavy: Dj
Engineer: Unusual Sandvich
Medic: Caramel Ice Cream
Sniper: Euphorical
Spy: tortelloni

Tentatek TF2 has had several players featured in my list of outstanding players, and many others that have been close to it. Currently, their only win was against Utopian Turned Dystopian on Product, but they did manage to take a round off of Bedtime Stories last week. This team has the potential to do very well this season, but will need to focus more on coordinating their combo. They may be fighting for a playoff spot towards the end of the season.

Gamechangers: Plierr, Dj, Unusual Sandvich

5. Corncake’s Dormroom

Scout: norphel03
Soldier: wise
Pyro: CornCake
Demoman: Jones
Heavy: Sebbers
Engineer: trail
Medic: Raisin
Sniper: Be My Private Dancer
Spy: Commander in Queef

Each week, this team has improved and played beyond my expectations built from the last. Former Prolander Division-2 champions, Corncake’s Dormroom began the season with a very difficult matchup against Bedtime Stories which served as a lesson for them that they have lots of room to improve. Since then, they took a close win over the powerful roster of ANTHRAX and had a relatively easier matchup against Clear Comms last week. They have a few harder matchups upcoming, such as their Upward match against Leo Fan Club this week. These will determine how the remainder of the season will play out for this team. I have lots of faith that they will continue to play well and hopefully contest a playoff spot later on.

Gamechangers: Jones, wise, Commander in Queef

6. IM Legend

Scout: Umbra Star
Soldier: gam
Pyro: q!k.piggies
Demoman:
Heavy: Yuuki
Engineer: Snow
Medic: EAF
Sniper: Specty
Spy: 0.5772156649

IM Legend has the potential to be a good team, but has been unable to secure a main Demoman all season. Still, they stand at 2-1 and have a chance to make playoffs if they continue to play well. Specty is not as consistent as I would hope; if he plays as well as he has in the past, he challenges the top snipers in this division. The team needs to find a player to fill their main Demoman spot if they plan to contest teams in the top-three, however.

Gamechangers: Specty, gam, Yuuki

7. Clear Comms

Scout: FishOFun
Soldier: I’m Ded
Pyro: Darty
Demoman: Neck
Heavy: Weegee
Engineer: Birch
Medic: Dave
Sniper: Cat
Spy: Godo

At 0-3, Clear Comms is not off to a good start this season. They began the season with a very close loss to IM Legend, but has not seen any round wins since. This roster is capable of competing with some of the teams ranked higher than them, but has not been reaching its potential as of recent. The roster’s combo is decent, but the team needs to work on supporting its flank if they hope to perform better against higher teams in upcoming weeks.

Gamechangers: Weegee, Darty, I’m Ded

8. Utopia Turned Dystopian

Scout: Solly
Soldier: FP Flemaski<3
Pyro: muddy
Demoman: Ket “Pipes” Jelly
Heavy: Trybes
Engineer: Xeiso
Medic: Orion
Sniper: Caleb
Spy: NukingDragons

Utopia Turned Dystopian is yet to win a round this season, and this upcoming week may be their only chance. The team made a couple changes to their roster coming into this week which will hopefully improve the overall strength of the team. This team should focus on improving each week this season and scrimming a lot to build for Season 2–I do not envision them reaching playoffs this season. If this team plays more around their Demoman, Ket “Pipes” Jelly, they have a chance to take rounds off of a few teams this season if not more.

Gamechangers: Solly, Ket “Pipes” Jelly, Caleb

Predictions

Intermediate Red

Waifus of War vs. Red’s Rambunction Rampagers

All of Waifus of War’s matches this season have so far been very close. They are currently 1-2, but this week should give them an opportunity to recuperate. The roster has the ability to compete with top teams; although they are not quite where they need to be this season, their opponents are even further behind. I do not see Red’s Rambunction Rampagers taking a half this week--I only hope they do not lose any more players.

Prediction: 2-0 Waifus of War

Four Loko 14% ALC 400mg CAF vs. massive cranium esports (MOTW)

Both of these teams have very strong rosters and have been back and forth between the second and third seeds in my Power Rankings. Each of them have a chance to be in the top-three final rankings this season, but need to do well this week. massive cranium esports comes into this week with no scrims, but took an impressive 4-0 victory over Arctic Monkeys last week. However, Payload has been identified as their weakness, even losing to Some Assembly Required on Swiftwater. Four Loko 14% ALC 400mg CAF recently acquired pastapenis on Engineer--along with key players cl4y and 1joshh, this roster should be very close with that of massive cranium esports. If Kaponei continues to do what he did last week as Heavy, the match may turn the other way. Each roster has a very strong combo; the game will be decided on whether or not Four Loko 14% ALC 400mg CAF can limit STiNGHAN’s effect on the match, or if massive cranium esports can play around him and create space for him to do what he does best. This should be a very close game and fun to watch, and massive cranium esports should be able to win a half off of their damage alone, but I do not think that they will be able to win on Payload against a high level team at this point in the season.

Prediction: 2-1 Four Loko 14% ALC 400mg CAF

Arctic Monkeys vs. Duck Duck Duck Duck

After a 4-0 loss to massive cranium esports, a team they were very confident about defeating, Arctic Monkeys needs a week to regather themselves. Duck Duck Duck Duck has a chance to beat better teams later in the season, but as it stands they look very weak against the dominant roster of Arctic Monkeys. Duck Duck Duck Duck will need to control Pauly if they want any chance to take a round, and even then it leaves the remainder of the Arctic Monkeys roster to walk over the team. I will keep it short and sweet: this is an Arctic Monkeys week.

Prediction: 2-0 Arctic Monkeys

404 Players Not Found vs. Some Assembly Required

The Open move-up roster of 404 Players Not Found stands as the last remaining undefeated team in Intermediate Red. Do not get me wrong--it is very impressive that a former Open team would be doing so well in this division. However, their schedule so far has been relatively easy. They will not face up against the top-three teams until the last weeks. Aside from their Ashville match, this week will likely be the hardest so far for them. Some Assembly Required, on the other hand, was not blessed with as easy of a schedule. They have shown that they refuse to back down to difficult opponents, and currently sit in first on the league table. On Swiftwater, they swiftly defeated the very capable roster of massive cranium esports. As 404 Players Not Found has been on a slew of impressive match results lately, they may pose a challenge to the Some Assembly Required roster. However, unless they can control Imbeast and Voosh, they will not be able to pull through with the win in the end.

Prediction: 2-1 Some Assembly Required

Intermediate Blue

Bedtime Stories vs. IM Legend

Bedtime Stories was established early on as the top team in this side of the division, and I have no doubt that they will embody that belief on Monday. They have been playing extremely well recently, especially when the team backs up maak and supports him. IM Legend, as said earlier, has been inconsistent. For them to take a half here, Specty will have to play similar to Product week and his team will have to shut down maak. Otherwise, this looks like a quick victory for Bedtime Stories.

Prediction: 2-0 Bedtime Stories

Leo Fan Club vs. Corncake’s Dormroom

Corncake’s Dormroom has exceeded my expectations every week and outperformed my predictions. They have had an abundance of notable results approaching this week, but unfortunately has not faced an opponent this strong since Week 1. Similarly, Leo Fan Club suffered an unexpected loss on Product but has built off of it and is now stronger than ever. On Upward, they have had several close scrims with Main teams, which should prepare them well for Monday. ult cannot do as much on Upward as he did on Ashville, but if Corncake’s Dormroom is to win, they will have to work harder than usual to dominate the flank.

Prediction: 2-0 Leo Fan Club

Tentatek TF2 vs. ANTHRAX

This is by far the closest match in Intermediate Blue this week. Each of these teams has had problems this season but remains close to the top of the Power Rankings. On paper, the roster of ANTHRAX looks stronger. However, they have been unable to find synergy as a team, with many roster changes recently. The loss of Berryy will be crucial; he was a key factor in this team’s success. Tentatek TF2, although only having one win coming into this week, is not prepared to back down to a challenge. Last week the team took a round off of Bedtime Stories, the super power of Intermediate Blue. This week, they should be challenged by the messy roster of ANTHRAX, but not enough to lose the match. It will be exciting to see whether or not ANTHRAX will pull it together and maintain their position on the leaderboards, and if boxcar can play at the same level that Berryy did prior.

Prediction: 2-1 Tentatek TF2

Clear Comms vs. Utopia Turned Dystopian

The fact that each of these teams are ranked towards the bottom of my Power Rankings does not mean that this will be a boring match. Both of these teams look to gain their first win of the season on Monday--and for Utopia Turned Dystopian, their first round win. While Clear Comms has lost scrims on Upward to lower-ranked teams such as Red’s Rambunction Rampagers, Utopia Turned Dystopian has been challenging themselves in scrims and even beat high-ranked Tentatek TF2. Monday could be the day that Utopia Turned Dystopian wins their first round this season, if not their first match.

Prediction: 2-0 Utopia Turned Dystopian


Intermediate Red Table
Intermediate Blue Table
Week 4 Matches