Season 12 is finally here. It seems like with every season the league gets better and better. The graphics team puts out new fancy things for us to look at, the broadcast team gets closer and closer to upstaging that Gibbs guy, and more players experience their first MLE season. So with everyone revving their engines to start the pre-season, we thought we would preview some of the things you’ll see this year. And no, this isn’t a power ranking or “who to watch” list, because to be honest, my power rankings from season 11 were about as wrong as it gets. This preview is going to highlight some of the things you’ll 100% see this season. 

Scrims, ELO, and “What’s My Salary”

The biggest questions leading up to the new season all pertained to the way players’ salaries are calculated. For eleven seasons players have been placed in their respective leagues based on their competitive rank in Rocket League. This season MLE is establishing a new system to sort players based on their performance in scrims that take place within the league.

Past players have been given a starting salary based largely on their performance in season eleven, while new players will be given their salary based on their MMR. But once scrims start players’ salaries will be calculated based on their results. Playing in these scrims will be pivotal to getting your correct salary and will be a regular way to play with other members of the league.

This new change aims to make your salary a more accurate representation of where you stand compared to the rest of the league as it will be based on your performance against your MLE peers. Players can look forward to not only seeing an accurate representation of where they stand within the league but also having a new way to play against fellow MLE players. For me, scrims represent a whole new way to show how badly I can throw games so I personally couldn’t be more excited. 

3s League Brings a New Way to Compete and Win

When MLE began it was known as Minor League Doubles. Back then it seemed like a very lofty goal that the league would expand into what it is today. But both the player base and the staff have continued to grow and now the league itself is growing. This season, players will have the opportunity to play both 3s and 2s while on the same roster. Teams will have rosters of five to eight players and each week of the regular season they will select a 2s and 3s line up to play. This not only means more opportunities to play but more opportunities to win. Season 11 brought us five championship titles for the first time. In season 12 we will have 10 new champion franchises. Across twos and threes, that’s a whopping 50 players that will be competing in a championship final this season.

For players, this means more opportunities but for managers, it means new strategies and challenges. FMs and GMs will now be searching for players that will succeed on their 2s teams and 3s teams. Some teams may seek out versatile players while others will look to build two separate but equally skilled rosters. Building the right team could net a franchise not one but two Championship titles per league so finding the right drafting strategy will be more important than ever.

Franchise Managers become the new head honchos

As the league expands so too does leadership. This season MLE has added the title of Franchise Manager. This new broader title allows Franchise Managers to oversee their whole team spanning multiple leagues and focus on what their Franchise community should be. Franchise Managers are also able to appoint General Managers to aid them and help with the scheduling and maintaining the rosters of each league. Building out the staff for each franchise is crucial to building communities within each team. Both new and older players will likely benefit from having an FM and GM to turn to when navigating the regular season.

Franchise Cup, Events, and More Games

The addition of Franchise Points to the last season proved to be extra motivation to bring out the franchise rivalry in all of us. Throughout the season MLE players took place in various tournaments that earned them points for their franchise. They also earned franchise points as they won season matches. At the end of the season, all points were added up to determine the Franchise Cup Champion. Last season the Jets took the first-ever Franchise Cup. This season the Franchise Cup returns and gives players another chance to earn points for their team in the chase for the cup. 

In addition to the Franchise Cup, the events team will be looking to expand MLE into other games. They have begun to host tournaments for Valorant and opened up new channels for games like Valheim. MLE has always hoped to bring other games into the league and it looks like season 12 will be a big step forward in that regard. The MLE community is passionate about Rocket League but as the player base grows we reach a number of members that could perhaps support other competitive games for a full season. Personally, I’m waiting for MLE to introduce a competitive Mario Tennis League, then maybe I’ll finally have a shot at a championship title. 

12 Seasons of Champions Bring new History and opportunity 

After 11 seasons and multiple league expansions, several franchises have had time to make their mark. As we enter season 12 there are 16 franchises still searching for their first championship. That is half the league that has yet to find victory at the end of the season. Perhaps more notably the Elite have become the kings of the MLE hill by being the first team to win a fourth championship. Only the Ducks and Tyrants trail them with three championships. With 10 titles up for grabs this season any franchise could take multiple titles and push their way to the top.  As a new chapter and a new league begin in MLE, will we begin to see dynasties rise in MLE? And will this be the season that some of those struggling franchises finally get the championship they have been chasing?

Both seasons 8 and 10 saw a franchise win two championships across different leagues. In season 10, The Foundation League Tyrants became the third team to win back-to-back championships. There will always be sway in the power struggle over MLE dominance. But now with so many titles to fight for, I believe Season 12 may be the season we see one team prove that their success is no fluke and be the first team to win three championships in a single season.

A Whole Lot More In-store

There is a lot to look forward to this season. More events, more games, more streams, more players, and more pings in the server which I will turn off and then back on after fearing I’m missing out on something cool.  And to top it all off the content team for the MLE site will be posting more articles than ever for you to read and enjoy. As MLE grows we are delighted that more and more people will experience the fun of being in the league. As the pre-season starts to ramp up we wish everyone good luck in the draft and the new season. 

MLE has grown by leaps and bounds over just a few seasons. From two leagues with a small but devoted audience to five leagues, with a reputation among other minor leagues as being one of the most active and well-run communities. MLE now has another chance to show off its growth and professionalism to both old and new viewers. MLE is partnering with Rocket Street and South American professional Rocket League to bring viewers the English language stream of the SAM: Grand Series. This marks only the second time the MLE has partnered with the Rocket League Championship Series(RLCS). The first time RLCS and MLE joined together was way back in season 4 of RLCS qualifiers. The trajectory of the RLCS is not unlike the growth of MLE. As both leagues continue to grow and improve, it’s encouraging to see these types of partnerships emerge. 

The SAM: Grand Series will be broadcasted on MLE’s official twitch channel and is composed of casters from the MLE broadcast team. This provides an opportunity for the hardworking members of the broadcast team to be featured in front of a broader audience. For casters like Hunted, it’s yet another step of a long journey from MLE caster to becoming a well-known figure of professional Rocket League streams. This is Hunted’s third time casting a Grand Series event. This series, however, will be the first to blend the worlds of MLE broadcasts with RLCS tier events. When asked about what this means for MLE Hunted said, “Personally, I’m excited that the top tier production team gets an opportunity to show the scene just how “grand” of a broadcast they can produce!” 

For broadcasters like InanimateJ, who have been a staple of MLE from the early seasons, this represents a chance to show off the quality they have been helping to develop since the beginnings of MLE streams. InanimateJ, who started casting in season 3 of MLE, said of the event, “Just being able to be thought of as one of the top-tier community productions and given the opportunity to present such a high-profile event on our channels could open up so many doors for the community moving forward.”

For newer members of the team, the simple fact that the MLE is tied to an RLCS event is a huge opportunity for their budding casting careers. “My face is squarely planted on a graphic that has the RLCS X logo on it. If that doesn’t get a Rocket League caster excited, I don’t know what will,” said Thunderballs, who began casting for MLE just last season. Now he will get the chance to be featured on his first Grand Series event. And yes, that RLCS X logo will be featured alongside his face throughout the event.   

The series represents a great opportunity for the MLE community as well. Fans have the benefit of being able to support the league’s twitch channel while also discovering a region of professional Rocket League they may not have watched before. Viewers may even find a new favorite team to root for. I myself am looking forward to rooting for a team called No Mercy Esports because among their roster is a player by the name of Droppz. Anytime I jump into an RLCS twitch chat people seem to be spamming their name, so I assume they must be a great player.

The Grand series will take place on October 1st through the 4th and will be streamed at 3 pm EST every day on MLE’s Twitch Channel. Be sure to tune in and show your support for the SAM: Grand Series, Minor League Esports, and the amazing broadcast team that has been such a huge part of what makes MLE great.

Might be a little late, but better late than never right? We are into the home stretch now, and every new look we take into the Power Rankings has shown us the dominance of a few teams that are looking to confirm a playoff spot within the next couple of weeks. Which teams are gunning for number one?

Yes, it is true. The Foxes have been dethroned by the ferocity of the Bulls, led by the absolute monster that is Floms. Aside from this outcome, pretty much everyone was here last week, apart from the Sharks. It does not seem like there are many teams making headlines now that we have had a decent amount of time to confirm the top teams. The Bulls with their 5-0 against the Spectre, and the Foxes 4-1 over the Spartans were probably quite expected from most other people. Do not get me wrong, the Spartans and the Spectre are fantastic in their own right, but there is way too much skill being cooped up in the Bulls and Foxes for them to have had much of a chance at all.
With the Canes, Hive, and Sharks though, it was much less a battle of skill for the top 5 here, but who could lose the least amount of games. The Canes, despite the 2-3 loss against the Elite, boosted them up into a 3rd place spot in Power Rankings. Why is that? Well, the Canes in their past performances have played against some of the toughest teams the league has to offer. We definitely got to see them work to mitigate their losses in their match against the Dodgers a couple of weeks back, which they did manage to hold it to a 2-3 loss. The Elite are no laughing matter either. However, in the games the Elite won, the Canes just could not shoot to save their lives, averaging only about 3 shots between both Synthex and Iguane. But when the Canes won, none of the shooting habits changed for either team, but what did change was the sharp uptick in defense from the Hurricanes. Both games were completely scoreless for the Elite, a feat that is pretty much unheard of.
Much in the same way with the Canes, the Hive were just trying to lose the least amount of games possible, and the Sharks looking for a solid, convincing win. With the Hive, they would plummet down the rankings, and with the Sharks, they might be looking at a difficult chance of making a playoff run. With a 4-1 win for the Sharks, both teams vaguely accomplished what they wanted to do. The Sharks won their games very handily, and the Hive managed to scrape a win together. Just how handily is noted by the rise in only one place for the Sharks and a drop of only one by the Hive. Not much has changed for this league. It seems we have got our first group of playoff berths right in front of us.

“All right, so let us see what went down in Champion League (CL) last week… Bears got a 5-0, okay that is a bit better than I expected but okay. Puffins got… Oh dang, another 5-0! Over the Aviators too, wow. The… Tyrants fell? Eh? They lose or something? …Tyrants vs Dodgers… 3-2 Dodgers!? And the Spartans went up by 5 too? WHAT? THEY DID NOT BEAT THE FOXES 5-0, WHAT IS HAPPENING ANYMO-” That is what my brain was doing as the week progressed. A lot of outcomes here were pretty expected. I do not think anyone thought the Bears, Puffins, Shadow, or Tyrants would fall out of the top 4. They seemed pretty solid. Now a couple of these high-risers in the middle of the pack, hoo boy. They did some WORK this week. Let me show you.
Like I said earlier, the Tyrants lost 2-3 to the Dodgers. At the time of the match, the Tyrants were 2nd in the league at a 12-3 record, and the Dodgers were in the middle of the pack at 8-7. How could the Dodgers possibly have beaten them? On paper it seems so wrong, right? Well, there can only be one reason if it is the Dodgers. Minamacky. At the end of week 4, he is one of only 4 people in the 6+ MVPR club, held by two players on the Bears, and the legend of the Lightning, Sough. Not only were the games that the Tyrants won close, not only did the Tyrants have to shoot twice as many shots as the Dodgers to score one or two more goals, but they also got reverse swept. Not just any reverse sweep. Probably the most sudden “flip-a-match-on-it’s-head” kind of reverse sweep I have ever seen. You do not go from losing 2-3 and 1-3 to absolutely smacking the other team 3-2, 5-2, and 6-1. Absolute savages.
With the Foxes/Spartans match, it seemed like it was split down the middle. 3-2 either way, both teams seem really solid, Cali and Thunderballs have been really really good for their teams, so there is no way a team can sweep here. I was quite wrong. The match was very, VERY close to be fair. The first three games were all narrow one-goal wins, followed by a two-goal win, and finally, a three-goal win. It took all 5 games before the Spartans could really break through and seem dominant. However, not dropping the concentration after three incredibly hard-fought wins is incredibly difficult in its own right, so a 5-0 of this caliber is nothing short of astounding.
The Jets and the Express had very narrowly lost/won matches against the Comets and the Eclipse. They managed to perform well enough against other decently difficult teams in order to stay pretty much right where they were the week prior. Now the oddities. The Knights and the Outlaws. We have seen other Amber Division teams poke their heads in, and quickly duck out in the past, but I feel as though these two teams are staples we will be seeing for the next few weeks. A 4-1 win by the Knights over once top 10 Sabres catapulted them up to a 13-7 record, the closest strike the rest of the division had on the Bears. And despite being at an 11-9 record by the end of the week, the Outlaws proved themselves incredibly capable as well with a well-fought 3-2 win over the Pirates top-tier roster. Do we see a potential usurping in the works over in the Amber Division? With the pace these two teams are looking at, the outcome seems somewhat grim for the Bears.

…Now as a statistician, I essentially have to take a look at numbers and make some kind of sense out of them, to put it simply. I can not make sense of this. Even the people on the Power Rankings Committee agreed that this is crazy. So instead of attempting to pretend like I am some know-it-all and seem like I can make sense of everything, this specific one I will take you on a trip into my thought process and try to make sense of it on the fly, cause… +5? +8?! -4?! What is this, even!?
Okay, starting from the top, the Spartans… Ugh. 5-0’d the Foxes. Okay, that explains the rise to the top, and the very steep drop the Foxes had. For the past few weeks, we have seen many Foxes rosters make, and stay at 1st in Power Rankings. But 5 losses in a row is just unheard of, especially when despite losing 5 whole games, they are still 4th overall in standings. The games were only narrowly won too. For the Spartans to not drop concentration for 5 games over what looked to be the guaranteed 1st overall is absolutely amazing.
Onto the Express! …They did not move at all? Wow, for this week, I think that is the most impressive part of all of this. And it was because of… A well-fought 3-2 win. All right, something manageable for once! Thank you Express for being kind to the PR Committee. We appreciate it.
…Oh no. +8 with the Spectre. What did they d- …Oh. Yeah, that would do it. A supremely dominant 4-1 win over the Bulls, who had an incredibly similar record to them. 7-2, 6-5, 5-1, 4-3, that is some high-octane offense if I have ever seen it. The weirdest part about all of this is the Bulls were not even doing badly in the shot category either. There was only one game where they just could not shoot at all. Even more strange is the lack of saves from the Spectre. So clearly the Bulls were probably pegged to win by most, missed many shots on net, and paid for it by the Spectre being in the right position to rebound to the other side.
Let us get some of the small changes out of the way now while we are at it. Elite, Outlaws, Hawks, and Shadow. A back and forth, close 3-2 series between the Elite and the Canes kept the Elite at the top of their division, just barely. For the Outlaws, it was a combination of a “close-when-losing” and a “crush-them-when-winning” mentality that propelled them to a 3-2 win over the Pirates. …Like, come on. 8-0 in Game 2? Kerwood you need to calm down there bud. And now the Hawks with a… Oh wow, a 4-1 win over the Blizzard. Brought them up to an even 10-10 record, took down the Blizzard’s new FL prospect CaliforniaDays, very nice work from them. The Shadow received a decent 2-3 walloping by the Lightning, who employed a very similar mentality to that of the Outlaws. Gus, in the same way as Kerwood, calm down bud.
And that brings us to the final two. The Rhinos and Knights. Now these gains of +5 and +3 respectively are probably due t- Sigh. Okay, who let the Rhinos 5-0 the Demo? 7-0, 4-0, and 6-0?! Do they just not feel remorse or anything? Now, in these kinds of situations, I would advise other teams to stay as far away from Zeaks and Meddler as possible, but I do not have to because it seems like they drive away people just by their presence. Three scoreless games for the opponents is incredibly difficult to do, especially when they put on a decent number of shots. And the Knights? …Okay, phew. Just a 3-2 over the Sabres. Very closely fought by both teams, especially when both teams are incredibly close to each other in standings.

Ooh. OOH. Now, THIS is what my statistician self can handle. The Wizards and the Bears duked it out last week, and despite a 1-4 loss to the Bears, nobody can really say that it was not expected. The Bears, while a great roster, and still in the top 4 overall despite the loss, pale in comparison to the dominance the Wizards have put on so far. Despite that, the match was still surprisingly close. The first four games were either won by a margin of one or two goals. It was only when the Bears finally lost their third game in the 4th game that they let down their defenses, and let the Wiz Kids drill in a 5-1 win to end strong.
That +3 from the Express is no joke. Not only did they 5-0 the Eclipse, but they also did so in a marvelous fashion, with a +16 goal differential. What was even more impressive, is that before Week 4 had finished, both the Express and the Eclipse were tied at 7-8. Two teams, that on paper should be relatively equal, had an abnormal sweep that was insanely convincing. That is the stuff I live to see, and I hope the Express can treat us to more what with their newer, higher outlook on life.
…I will save the Outlaws game for last. You’ll understand why. Now, the Lightning/Shadow match, I do not think anyone expected the Lightning to lose. Tied with the Bears and the Wizards for 1st overall after week 3, they seem to be the dominating force that will probably take the Sapphire Division Champion title. A 4-1 win over the now 2-18 Shadow on paper seems about right, but it must have been a blowout, right? Yeah. It was. The match started slow, a 3-1 Shadow win to get them their 2nd game win of the season starting the match off. As the match progressed though, you could tell the Lightning were getting warmed up quickly. 4-2, followed by a 6-2, 7-1, and to top everything off, an 8-0.
And here is why I saved the Outlaws/Pirates match. *inhales* YOU DON’T 10-0 TWICE IN ONE MATCH, WHAT THE HECK GUYS!? If you want to see things that are almost NSFMLE, you can check out the results in #fl-series-results, because I think all I need to say is the double 10-0. You can get the gist of the rest of the match from that. It was not pretty. Viewer discretion is advised if you do look at the results. Heck, you might even want your parents to make sure you can even look at it. Even if you are in your 40s. Do not say I did not warn you.

Jason “Majik” is the current GM of the new expansion team the Tyrants. He plays for the franchise’s Champion League (CL) team, which is currently ranked #4 in the league with an incredible 14-6 win/loss record. He is also #6 on the individual CL leaderboard, averaging just under 6.0 MVPR per game – proving that he is a competitive beast.

However, Majik is also one of the most fun-loving people in the whole community. From my personal experience playing in tournaments with him, mentions from other people, and just watching his banter unfold, it is clear that Majik loves the game and has a blast playing it.

Majik embodies the mix of competitiveness and fun that makes MLE unique, and it is for this reason that we chose to interview him for our GM Spotlights.

Let us start at the beginning: What is your history with the MLE? When did you join, and how were your early seasons?

Well, my interest in the MLE was piqued in around October 2017 when I saw that it was a developmental league and a great opportunity to get better. Unfortunately, there was no Champion League at the time, so I was really disappointed, but I paid attention to the teams and how they did because I thought the franchise system was pretty awesome. When they dropped the Champion League, I was one of the first players to apply – but I wasn’t taken, so I went and subscribed to their Twitch channel and I got immediate access. (laughter)

So which season was this in?

This was back in Season 5. I got in around January 2018. I played a little, strutted my stuff, and then in February TruSolja hit me up and he asked me to come tryout for the Spartans. I ran some games with him and Stumpy and then I got picked up, which is where I spent the rest of the season.

TruSolja, of course, is one of your current teammates, so you two have been playing for a long time.

Yeah, me and him getting back together have been a long time coming. We had great synergy that season. After that season, I was drafted onto the Puffins for Season 6, where we were able to make playoffs, which was pretty awesome. And now we’re here, in Season 7, and I’m the new GM of the Tyrants! It’s a new expansion team, but I think I’m running it ok.

Speaking of being a GM, how has that new responsibility been for you? This is your first season, so how do you think it is going?

Getting accepted was awesome. It was almost like becoming the face of the Tyrants, especially since it’s a brand new expansion team and I’m their first ever player. It made me feel like I made a real impact, which was amazing. I’m also excited about running the social media accounts, the Twitter and all of that (side note: follow @MLETyrants), but the biggest thing was being able to draft all my players and have that freedom in picking teammates. I guess scheduling sucks, but everything else is pretty great, so I can’t complain.

About the draft and the pre-season, I have heard a lot of GMs talk about the difficulty of juggling the pre-season and the draft. Did you find that held true for you, or were you able to coast through?

It was really difficult for me, especially for Academy and Premier League. For Champion League, I already knew what I wanted. I knew that TruSolja and Alex were my picks from the start – they’re sleeper picks because they didn’t have time to do tryouts, and I knew I could rely on them. I’ve been playing with them for almost my whole time in MLE, so I knew I could count on them. For Academy, I had to run a lot of sessions – I was having a really hard time picking them out because as a Champ player I didn’t have a good perspective on who was good for their salary and stuff like that. I think I made good choices but it was super hard to juggle everything, with schools and extracurriculars, and so on. I was also in Florida for the Academy League draft, so it was difficult, but I managed it.

That is some dedication.

It was really rough, but I think I made some good picks and we’re not doing bad.

Definitely, definitely. You guys have been popping up in the top of the leaderboard in multiple leagues.

Thanks! I also think it’ll be easier in the future, because I can retain players now to help me with tryouts and avoid having to do as much. I think as long as I don’t get put on another first-season team, it’ll be a lot easier for me to handle. And as of now, nothing’s going badly – I think it’s going pretty well for my first season.

Obviously, we have got a pretty good idea of what you like about your CL team – you like the synergy, you know the players, and you know they are solid. Do you think you can also talk a little bit about your other two teams, those in PL and in AL? Why do you think those teams are going to do well?

For Premier League, I have a ton of faith in Barry Allen. I watched him play last season for the Elite and I watched him grow as a player through that whole season. His playstyle is super, super solid, and once I saw him play a few times in my Premier tryouts, I immediately knew he was one of the people I wanted to grab. As for Fuzh, he’s a mechanical maniac – he’s so confusing to play against because he’ll pull some 360 flip reset pinch out of nowhere. He’s just got the weirdest playstyle. And as for JRyck, I only saw him in two of my tryouts. But he’s a really solid player, his rotations are clean, and his offense is really good. There’s nothing more I could really ask for in a player or a team. All of them are solid, and since we’re not relying on one player to carry, they can all grow together and become better players together.

As for Acad, I was struggling because I was in the middle of the pack and all the picks I had originally wanted got sniped. I picked up Sci_Frye because he did really well last season on the Hawks, and then used his knowledge of other Academy League players to get TSR and Revolving. TSR and Sci_Frye are very aggressive, very offensive, and I like that a lot. Revolving is more passive, but he’s still an offensive monster – all three of them are really good on the offensive end and as long as we can clean up the defense, we have a playoff team – maybe even a championship team – right here.

Sticking with Champ League (since that is the time you play for), who are you scared of in your division?

I mean, the Flames seemed kinda scary but we took them down already.

Yeah, 4-1. And that was with TruSolja and Alex, so not even your highest salary team.

Yep, it’s looking good. Next, I’d say probably the Pandas, with Pomwonderful, that’s a team to watch out for. We’re playing the Bulls this week but I’m not really worried. Honestly, I think we’ll do really well in our division. I think a lot of people have been citing the Elite as a team to watch out for but I’m not really scared of them.

Oh really?

I’ve seen Xeia play, and he’s solid, but I’m not really too worried. If I had anybody on that team to worry about it’d be Demonic, with that experience, but I definitely think we can take them down.

Note: this interview was before Week 2. The Tyrants would go on to beat the Bulls in Week 2 and the Elite in Week 3, before taking a close loss to the Dodgers in Week 4 with a 3-2 scoreline.

How about outside of your division? Who are the big teams in the whole league?

Shadow’s probably no. 1 – even though they aren’t numerically on top, I think they have the highest ceiling. I think a dark horse to go far is the Pirates – they’re looking mean with RED. Also, the Outlaws have a pretty good scrim record against other top teams, so they’re a team to keep an eye out for too.

Basically, MLE is super stacked – both in CL and in general. It’s gonna be exciting this season no matter your league.

Definitely, definitely.

Last question: What do you think you are most excited about, not for your team, not for any of your teams, but for MLE as a whole? What are you anticipating coming up soon that is going to be awesome?

It sounds super dumb, but I think the most exciting thing for me moving forward is having new logos. I’m so pumped for that, because it adds a new element to the team for me. It adds some extra life – right now we have the banners with the circles and the team name in the middle, but that’s just a name to me. That’s not a logo, that’s not a look. When I have that look, that personality, to associate with a team, it feels so much more exciting. It feels like that team is more than just words – they’re a community.

That’s a great way to look at it. And, of course, you joined MLE because of the franchise system, you loved the teams and the idea of the franchises, so seeing those getting more attention must be awesome.

Yeah, I can’t wait.

Thanks for taking the time, Majik! We can’t wait to see you and your teams on the field over the coming season, and we wish you the best of luck!

Thanks! Happy to come out.

You can follow Majik on Twitter at @MajikRLE and keep up with the Tyrants at @TyrantsMLE. Keep an eye out for him on official and affiliate streams in the weeks to come!

Week 4 has dawned on us finally. We are now halfway through the season, but how did we get here? Three weeks have passed, and while some trends are forming, the four leagues still seem a tad… chaotic. Let me explain.

In our most prestigious league, it is no surprise that the strongest teams are both on top in Power Rankings, as well as win/loss record. The Foxes for their 2nd week in a row are the best of the best. From your average humble beginnings with a 3-2 in Week 1, their most recent 4-1 win against the Jets was nothing short of destruction, firmly planting them at the top for weeks to come. However, while they bask in their glory, a few groups appear to be poised to take the #1 league spot. The two that are the most capable at the moment, are the Bulls and the Hive, both tied with the Foxes at 12-3, achieving a 5-0 and a 4-1 this week respectively. All three teams have absolute monsters of a star player, the Bulls with Floms, Hive with oogga, and Foxes with henrY. But hey now, the Spectre and the Canes while not having top players as good as the 12-3 crew do on paper, their recent achievements have been impressive. Having played difficult teams in the past, and losing quite hard as a result, being at a 10-5 record is a feat on its own. The Canes even faced the Bulls in Week 1, one of their biggest rivals now out of their way. With the Spectre set to play the Bulls, they are in prime position to either comfortably sit in the top 3, or let the Bulls fleet off and grab the #1 position they have yearned for, for three straight weeks.

They did it. The Bears curse is finally over. From jumping between dead last, and top tier team ever since the creation of the franchise in Season 1, they have finally been able to break through the last barrier that has taunted them for years. Are they safe though? Probably not. While they have an untied 13-2 record, many teams almost seem eager to pounce on this weekend and make a firm statement that they are the real title holders. Take the Tyrants and Dodgers for example. While they are set to play each other, any result will be a good thing for both of them. Longstanding Dodgers fans will probably agree in saying this is the strongest roster we have seen from them, period. While ranked 10 in Power Rankings, mainly due to a shaky start, they have brought out the big guns. The Tyrants, static in the top 3 for the entire season, are where they are because of a level of offensive trouncing never before seen. Either team can walk away with a win or even a loss, and feel content. For most other matches though, it seems quite one-sided. Having the Lightning play a team like the Shadow when they are at an 0-15 start seems cruel. Same goes for the Blizzard playing the Hawks. All other teams in the top 10, like the Jets, Foxes, Puffins, Elite, and Express are playing modest, decent squads. While a few matches are going to be absolute nail-biters, much like the Tyrants vs Dodgers, most others are almost NSFMLE. But who knows? It is impossible to know the outcomes until they have happened. The Puffins proved the Shadow to be fallible. The Shadow said the same to the Blizzard.

Sigh. Foxes. Foxes? Foxes, Foxes, Foxes. Seems like the Foxes just really like those top spots. Is it, I don’t know, a little possible for them to give them up? Well at this rate, probably not. Our first case of the #1 Power Ranked team not being the #1 in the league, the Foxes now with a cycle of 5-0, 4-1, and 3-2 sit 3rd in Academy standings, and 1st in their division. Having played in quite the variety of series, this will probably be their greatest test, as they will be coming across #3, the Spartans. These warriors have been hard at work proving their mirth, sitting 4th overall, as well as 2 games behind their canine counterparts. It will be a brawl of brains and brawn, as the Foxes have undoubtedly one of the strongest, if not the strongest offense in the entire league, and the Spartans have the man, the myth, the legend himself in the Power Rankings Committee, ZeeBee.
“So, while those two are off fighting, we can just take #1 right?” Wha- oh. The Demo and the Express. Right. Well, I suppose they very well could, seeing as they are quite well equipped to deal with the 7-8 Rhinos and the 9-6 Eclipse. The two are currently tied for 1st overall at 13-2, but while they might have “easier” opponents, the Foxes and Spartans can walk away with a heavy loss easily, and just have an easier end of the season. The Shadow, Elite, Wolves, Dodgers, and Flames can all walk away with good, if not fantastic weeks. But they did not play one of the best. That titan of a match can go just about any way imaginable before it gets worse for one team or the other. While things cannot be well predicted quite yet, these top 4 teams have placed themselves almost completely out of reach of the other 28 teams. It will take some very specific circumstances to see drastic shifts, but we are all fans of those kinds of stories, and we will be more than excited to see what these teams bring to the table.

Foundation League. The final frontier. 11-4 records ravage the league, two of the holders meet for a battle to conquer the Orange Conference. This is the Wizards and Bears: Civil Wa-
“Hey Zyta? Let us not get copyrighted by Marvel… Or Star Trek, okay?”
…Fine. You get the point anyway, the Bears and the Wizards have been on fire lately. The Bears had even bested the #4 ranked Sabres. Like we have seen from the Academy League, any result out of this will be perfectly fine, not even close to putting either one out of contention. However, both of them need to be aware of the lurkers that wait just below their feet. As mentioned before, the Bears handed the Sabres a 2-3 loss, but despite that blow, they sit at a very comfortable 10-5. Halfway through the season, they will be facing the 6-9 Knights, currently 14th overall, and 7th in the division. Quite the opportunity to shoot up that last little bit, right? Same goes for the Lightning, the only Blue Conference team to tie the Bears and Wizards at 11-4. They will be playing the last place Shadow, at 1-14. While they might have managed to fix the issues they have faced the past month, unless the Lightning take drastic measures, we will likely see an uncontested 1st place holder. And then, and yes I saved them for last for a reason, the Blizzard. Currently 8-7, they are in the middle of the fray for the Blue Conference. What could possibly make them special here? Well, you know how the Lightning are 11-4? You can probably tell where those 4 losses came from now. Weeks 1 and 3, the Lightning did some smacking and returned to the clouds with 5-0s. Not Week 2 though. Not Week 2. If there is one team that can hang back, play the long game, and use all of their energy in one burst for the Championship, the Blizzard proved quite easily, that they are the ones for the job.

Well folks, Week 3 is done and there is a whole lot for us to talk about. As we approach the mid-point of the season, the playoff picture starts to become clearer as teams attempt to solidify their positions. So, let us take a look at what all happened this week with the Foundation League.

Puffins take out Shadow in convincing style
The Puffins rarely struggled in their 4-1 win over Shadow. Tuxedo Marx had an absolute screamer of a series, posting 19 goals and 8 saves for a staggering 7.08 MVPR. The Shadow were able to prevent the sweep with a 5-4 win in Game 3, but the Puffins victory was never in doubt. The Puffins will look to keep that momentum against the Aviators, while the Shadow will attempt to bounce back against the Lightning.

Knights fall under the Wizards spell
The Knights started out strong, but the Wizards were able to pull off a magical comeback as they secured the reverse sweep in a 3-2 victory. The Knights just seemed to fall apart in the final two games, getting outscored 13-2. LilRock and Sprk worked very well together, posting a 4.85 and 4.64 MVPR respectively. The Knights will try to regroup for their game against the Sabres, while the Wizards hope to keep it up against the Bears.

Bears able to outlast the Sabres
In a series that went all the way down to Game 5, the Bears were able to secure their victory in a 4-1 win. Bepsi tried his hardest to prevent the Bears from stealing the day with his 15 saves, but it just was not enough in the end. The Bears will face the Wizards in their next game, while the Sabres will go up against the Knights.

Outlaws tame the Rhinos
The Outlaws were able to reign in the Rhinos, outscoring them 16-5 in their 4-1 series win. The Rhinos managed to prevent the sweep in Game 3, but the dominant performance from Rednyte was too much to handle as he posted 11 goals on the day. The Outlaws look to continue to take wins when they face the Pirates, while the Rhinos need to secure a victory against the Demolition.

Express win close match against Blizzard
A series that went to Game 5, Express were able to just squeeze by Blizzard in a close 2-1 win in the final game. Quinestupapa carried the day for Express, scoring 11 goals with 12 saves for a 5.81 MVPR. Express will face Eclipse next, with Blizzard going up against the Hawks.

Aviators secure the win against Lightning
The Aviators were able to secure the series win against Lightning in Game 4, with the final result ending in 3-2. A relatively low-scoring affair with only 21 goals between both teams, an impressive 32 saves were made in total. Rsayers managed 11 goals and 11 saves for a 4.74 MVPR, with a 68% shot accuracy. Aviators will begin to prepare for their match against the Puffins, as the Lightning begin to formulate a game plan for Shadow.

Eclipse win the day over the Hawks
The Hawks were able to win both Games 1 and 5, but Eclipse proved dominant in the space in-between as they took the series 3-2. Drewnobyl was the man of the match for this one, netting 10 goals and 5 saves for a 4.17 MVPR. Eclipse will go up against Express next, while the Hawks will battle Blizzard in Week 4.

Demolition so close, yet so far away
In an exciting match that came all the way down to Game 5, the Demolition were almost able to pull off the reverse sweep. After losing the first two games, C0P3x and YOUGOTOWNED4200 steamed back to tie the series up. They ran out of steam in Game 5 however, losing 3-1 in a dominant showing from Forgivv and TheOnlyBirdy. The Demolition desperately need a win next week against the Rhinos, while the Pirates look to take down the Outlaws.

That wraps everything up for this week, as we move into the mid-way point of the season. Teams are beginning to take their spots in the race for the playoffs, but there’s still plenty of time for upsets and mix-ups to shake the league. Join me back here next week to take a look at the carnage of Week 4.

Week 3 is wrapped up, and there were a lot of exciting games over in the Academy League this week! As we move into the mid-way point of the season, let us take a quick look at everything that went down.

Foxes squeeze past the Jets
In an exciting series that went all the way down to Game 5, the Foxes were just able to squeeze past the Jets to secure the series win. After winning the first two games, the Jets kicked into gear and came within one of the reverse sweep. However, their effort just was not enough in the end as crossfire8255 stepped up with an impressive four goals in Game 5 to win 6-3. The Foxes will look to rack up more wins next week against the Spartans, while the Jets will begin preparations for the upcoming match against the Comets.

Outlaws take down the Rhinos
In another game that went down to Game 5, the Outlaws were able to outlast the Rhinos, winning by only a single goal in the final game. Hotsaucethepirate was able to propel his team to a victory with an imposing 5.21 MVPR, putting 9 goals and a staggering 14 saves on the board. The Outlaws will be looking at the Pirates next, with the Rhinos resetting to take on the Demolition.

Eclipse show too little too late against the Hawks
After the Hawks took the first three games to secure the series, the Eclipse finally seemed to find their momentum. After getting outscored 10-3 in the first three, Eclipse was able to take the final two games off the Hawks with a 3-2 scoreline in each. Those two games could be massive as we inch closer to the playoffs, with both teams needing as many wins as they can get. Eclipse look to take what worked in those final two games and funnel that into their game against Express next week, while the Hawks will attempt to maintain momentum against Blizzard.

Puffins left in the Shadow
The Puffins were left in Shadows, well, shadow after a 4-1 loss against them. Dkmc6 and Jordak played off each other extremely well, posting a 5.20 and 4.56 MVPR respectively, with 21 goals and 9 saves between them. The Puffins were able to prevent the sweep with a close 4-3 win in Game 3, but the rest of the series was all Shadow. Puffins will try to regroup to prepare for their game against the Aviators, and Shadow look to keep the winning ways up against the Lightning.

Elite win tug-of-war against the Tyrants
The Elite were able to win the tug-of-war against the Tyrants, as the series went back and forth all the way to Game 5. The series proved to be a defensive battle, with a total of 32 saves against 29 goals. Both teams surely tried to be offensive, with 72 shots between them, but it was eventually Elite edging out in the end with a 3-2 win in Game 5. Elite go up against the Hurricanes next week, while the Tyrants will face the Dodgers.

Flames sputter out against Spectre
The Flames started strong and finished strong, but everything in-between fell to the Spectres. Every game was extremely close, with 1 goal being the margin of victory in each match. With the Spectre and Flames both sitting around the middle of the table, both needed a solid win to start solidifying their place in the playoffs race. The Flames look to recapture some playoff ground next week against the Pandas, with Spectre looking to do the same against the Bulls.

Wolves show up big against the Sharks
The Wolves showed out during their 4-1 series win against the Sharks, with the only loss coming in a close 4-3 in Game 3. Eric_ stepped up for his team, getting a staggering 6.52 MVPR alongside 17 goals. That is 4 more goals than the Sharks team combined. The Wolves next game will be against the red-hot Ducks, while the Sharks face a recently swept Hive.

Bears pull off the reverse sweep on the Sabres
The Bears, never giving up on the series, were able to pull off an impressive reverse sweep against the Sabres. After getting outscored 7-2 in the first two games, the Bears surged back to win the series with 13 goals in the back three games. The Bears hope to take this momentum into their game next week against the Wizards, while the Sabres will be looking at what they did wrong to prepare for the Knights.

Comets crush the Hive
Killerbaird2 and Springer showed no mercy against the Hive, as they stormed to a 5-0 sweep. With a 4.27 and 6.65 MVPR respectively, they propelled the Comets with 25 combined goals. The Comets desperately needed those games as they work to climb back into the playoff picture, while the Hive slip further into dangerous territory. The Comets aim to keep the streak alive when they face the Jets, while the Hive try to reverse course for a win against the Sharks.

Bulls win in a low-scoring affair
The Bulls were able to pull off a 4-1 series win against the Pandas in a low-scoring series, with only 20 goals between both teams. The Pandas defense was on point, with 22 saves between blizzardchill and Clowdy Howdy, but ultimately the Bulls outshot them 39-16 to get the goals they needed to win. The Bulls will be facing Spectre next week, while the Pandas get ready for their match against the Flames.

Knights go on a crusade against the Wizards
The Wizards showed promise when they won Game 1, but the Knights proceeded to go on a crusade winning the remaining four games. Galaxy and Schult combined for 17 goals on 37 shots, with an MVPR of 4.93 and 4.32 respectively. The win catapults the Knights to second in their division, just behind the Demolition. Knights will attempt to keep the crusade rolling next week against the Sabres, while the Wizards will look to whip up some magic to take down the Bears.

Express dominate Blizzard
Express were nothing but dominate in their 5-0 sweep of Blizzard, outscoring them 25-11 across the series. LightningHawk505 especially showed up with 7 saves and 14 goals on 21 shots for a meaty 6.09 MVPR. This victory keeps Express in the top spot of their division, with Blizzard falling to 7th. Express will try to maintain the winning streak against Eclipse, while Blizzard will be out for blood next week when they face the Hawks.

Spartans fall to the Ducks
The Ducks pulled a controlling 4-1 upset over the Spartans. Scoring double the amount of goals than their opponents, the Ducks were offensively dominant all series. The Spartans fall to second in their division, while the win puts the Ducks in the top 4. The Spartans will be facing the Foxes next week, while the Ducks look to take down the Wolves.

Dodgers surprise the Hurricanes with a downpour of goals
The Dodgers made it rain goals down on the Hurricanes, outscoring them 21-9 in their 5-0 sweep. NoahBez racked up 14 goals and 6 saves to secure a respectable 5.54 MVPR for the series. The Hurricanes came close to preventing the sweep in Game 5 but ultimately lost the 7-6 shootout. The Dodgers hope to maintain this momentum when they face the Tyrants, and the Hurricanes will no doubt be eager to take a win off Elite.

Lighting strikes the Aviators
In a closely contested series that never had more than a single goal deciding the match, the Lightning were able to edge past the Aviators to secure a 3-2 victory. Lawrence was the star of the show with 12 goals and 9 saves, with Cakekyst putting up 7 assists to secure the deal. The Lightning will face Shadow next week, with the Aviators going up against the Puffins.

Pirates demolished by the Demolition
Faker and Super were able to combine for 26 goals on 52 shots in their 4-1 victory over the Pirates. Faker, in what would be his last game for the Demolition, was able to secure a dominant 5.95 MVPR, with Super following close behind with a 5.60. The Pirates will look to strike out against the Outlaws next week, while the Demolition will try to keep their top spot when they face the Rhinos.

And that about wraps it up for this week! We are approaching the mid-way point for the season, as each game becomes ever more important in the playoff race. Join back with me next week to take a look at the carnage of Week 4, as teams begin to attempt to solidify their playoff positions.

Today it is time for an interview with TyTy, he is the Elite GM and an active member within MLE. We have seen him guide the Elite to the playoffs in season 7, which started quite different than for other teams. Now for season 8, he has a Premier League added to the franchise. Let us see what TyTy has to say about the Elite and his work as a coordinator in MLE.

Hey TyTy, the first weeks of season 8 are done. How are you experiencing it so far?
‘Honestly, it’s been great so far! I got really lucky with all my draft picks. So far I’ve had a blast with each league. I think Council did a great job this offseason getting things set up for Season 8 and week 1 just felt very smooth. I’m super excited to see how the rest of the season plays out!’

The draft was a few weeks ago, it was an exciting time. Can you give us a little insight into how you went about picking your players?
‘Going into the draft I had a pretty good idea of who I planned on drafting! Retaining Latte and Rick really helped make that decision easier. I’ll talk about my first round picks seeing as those were all planned!

For AL my first choice was ChunkyLover. I met Chunky in our brand new admissions server and he was one of the new members in the first few waves of members we accepted. He had a great sense of humor and was just great to be around. I introduced him to Rick and he really enjoyed talking and playing with him as well. That was when I told Rick he was our #1 pick.

For CL Latte and I had put together a list of 13.5s and 14.0s we wanted to draft. Demonic was in our top 3. I wasn’t expecting him to make it to my pick but I was happy to see him there. He’s a former MLE Champ and a great addition to the Elite Franchise.

For PL everyone had a clean slate. 48 salary to work with, I was not expecting to fill that Cap. I decided that I was going to try and build an easy going team, that knew how to have fun and was able to build chemistry. Cearu, he fits both of those categories very well. He’s actually on my team for another league and I knew he was going to be a great fit for the team.’

This is not your first season as a GM, how different is it so far compared to season 7?
‘There are definitely some differences. Obviously the biggest being the 3rd League. Although honestly, it’s really not that hard. Some other differences are just some basic GM things like the new weekly roster page. Other than that it’s not that different. Only thing I’m doing differently this season myself is trying to stay more on top of my Twitter game.’

The Elite went 9-6 overall the first week, with your PL team taking the only loss. What did you tell them after the series?
‘Going into week 1 for PL I had Codex and Cearu scheduled to play. However Cearu had a big storm happen and was unable to play. So 24 hours before our scheduled time I had to make a roster change and play El Diablo Rojo instead of Cearu. I told the guys to get some practice in and I was happy with 1 win. They were going into a mismatch salary wise and I was excited to see how they would perform. They exceeded my expectations and I made it clear they did. They’re a great group of guys and I’m super excited to see what they do this season.’

You have decided to be a reserve for your Champ League team this season, why didn’t you become a starter?
‘To be honest I wanted to be a starter. However I was a 14.5/15.0 and I wanted Latte on the team. With both of us as starters, we would not be able to meet the salary cap. She’s a great person and I wanted to give her the opportunity to stay on the Elite like she wanted. So I decided to put myself on the reserves and take over for either Demonic or Latte if needed. I also figured I would be ranking out early into the season and that also played into my decision.’

In the meantime, TyTy has ranked out of Champ League and is now a reserve on his Premier League team. Congrats on hitting GC TyTy!

What do you hope to accomplish with the Elite this season?
‘My hope as a GM has always been to make the franchise a family. I want everyone to be able to talk to each other, hang out, enjoy each others company. I actually have plans to do game nights with the team that have nothing to do with Rocket League. Yes MLE is competitive, but not all aspects of it have to be. That’s my take on being a GM and I really hope others feel the same.’

You have been an active member of MLE for quite some time. Can you tell us a bit more about how you joined MLE and your growth within the community?
‘I had actually found out about MLE awhile before I ever joined! However, I was too high of a rank to play at the time so I never applied. One day I was talking to CloudFuel and he told me they added Champion League and to apply. So I applied and within a couple weeks I was in the MLE! I’ve been in the league for about 2 and half seasons and loved every minute of it! My first season I got picked up as a reserve by the Knights, then picked up as a started on the Spartans, then dropped to free agency, then picked up by the Elite for the final 2 weeks of the season! It was definitely an eventful season for me. I applied to be a GM/Captain for season 7, however, I didn’t get it and went undrafted. Things happened with the Elite before week 1 of season 7 and I was offered the CL captain spot and took it instantly. Having to pick up a whole new team in 4 days I was a busy man! Throughout the season there was a Moderator form put out and I applied and ended up being accepted and that’s when I knew I wanted to do even more for the community I fell in love with. I then decided I wanted to run some draft mixers, which I talked to Reverse Fridge about, and got started with my mixer organization. I had previous tournament organizer experience which greatly helped my ability to run these as well as what helped my coordinator application. It’s been great, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.’

Next to being GM, you are also a community coordinator, mostly focused on events/mixers. Can you tell us more about that and what you’re planning?
‘Oh man! You want my secrets?! As the Event Coordinator, I obviously handle Events and Mixers within the MLE! Currently planned so far for Events is the MLE Apex Takeover which is happening March 31st. However, I do have some thoughts floating around in this crazy brain of mine. The one at the forefront is definitely a MLE movie night! Currently trying to figure out which movies to have the community vote on. SoonTM. Also there is a mixer announcement coming soon from a new community member alongside plans to continue my 3v3 Draft mixers. Things are coming. It’s just taking a little bit of time and I’m excited to see how the community reacts to these!’

And last but not least, are there any teams you dread, or are looking forward to facing on the pitch?
‘Really looking forward to playing the Flames this season! I’m good friends with Fittz the GM along with a lot of the players. Reverse Fridge who is one of my close friends. Whale who was on the Elite last season and I’m still close with. IP Joker who makes some crazy training packs. Bones who is a good friend of mine! It’s going to be a tough week so I can’t wait to see how all the games go week 5!’

As you can see, TyTy is a busy bee within the MLE. Appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions and we will definitely keep a close eye on how the Elite and TyTy’s plans will develop.

The Eclipse is one of the eight expansion franchises in MLE. One of the two franchises which name was picked by community voting.
In this article, we’ll talk about the franchise and its journey into season 8 so far, as well as some insight from Kiimmmiiii (GM) and Krops (AGM).

The first week of season 8 has played out over the weekend and the Eclipse franchise left its first mark in what hopefully will be a rich MLE history. The three different league teams that play for the Eclipse franchise all managed to win their series against the Aviators. The Champ League players went 3-2 in a well-fought series, the Foundation League had a comfortable 4-1 victory and last but certainly not least the Academy League decided it was time for a good sweep and took the series with a convincing 5-0.
With a 12-3 overall week 1 record, they go into week 2 with confidence.

We spoke to Kiimmmiiii and Krops about their vision for the team, the players and what they hope to accomplish this season.

As a first time MLE (A)GM what is your vision for the Eclipse?
‘Three different leagues under one franchise, to me that means we’re one team, we all represent the Eclipse franchise. My priority for the players is to enjoy the competitive experience, have fun and get to know their teammates all while improving.’ – Kiimmmiiii

‘My vision for the Eclipse this season is for every player to enjoy the season and improve while making new friends.
We also have the players on our roster that enables us to make a playoff run this season so I hope to see all three of our teams qualify.’ – Krops

It’s been three weeks since the draft, tell us something about your players.
‘The players have been great so far, most of us have been enjoying playing private games together. The Eclipse server is always active, whether it’s creating Eclipse memes or rambling on about some random topic, it’s so alive. Everyone gets along and I couldn’t be happier with all of them.’ – Kiimmmiiii

‘The Eclipse players are a unique bunch. There are a few quiet ones among us who don’t say much in our team chat and then there is everyone else. We enjoy talking banter and making jokes with each other so it is usually an entertaining time throughout the day.’ – Krops

What do you hope the Eclipse franchise accomplishes in their first season?
‘Well, like any GM I think, I’d love to see all three leagues reach playoffs and even win the championship. It might be a bit optimistic, but all of them have the potential and drive to make it there. There’s a lot of good teams out there, it won’t be easy, but I’m confident and believe in my players. We are ready to make a mark that will be remembered.’ – Kiimmmiiii

‘I hope our franchise is able to win a championship this season.
I will be rooting for all of our teams but I will try to bring a title as a player on the Champion League team. It would be really cool to see an expansion team make a deep run this year and I believe in our team’s chances.’ – Krops

Is there a particular franchise/team you dread facing?
‘No, not any team in particular. The Sapphire division has a lot of strong teams, I won’t underestimate any of them. However the Eclipse is also a strong team with great potential, so I’m not afraid to face any of them.’ – Kiimmmiiii

‘There is no specific franchise I fear to face. I think every team can be beaten if we play our matches with confidence and continue to work hard on improvement.’ – Krops

It looks like the Eclipse franchise is in good hands. This week they will face the Puffins and they hope to continue their winning record so far.

Week 1 is now officially in the books for the inaugural season of Foundation League, and boy oh boy was it entertaining! As the players begin preparing for next week, let us take a look at where all that action left us.

Sabres pull the upset
The Sabres pulled an impressive 3-2 upset over top-ranked Outlaws on Thursday, taking the series all the way to game five before emerging victorious. While the Outlaws kept it close throughout, in the end, it just was not enough to prevent the onslaught of goals from TourneyEarnie, who ended up scoring a blistering twelve goals. Sabres go into week two against the Pirates with massive momentum, while the Outlaws will be looking for blood next week against the Knights.

Blizzard buries the opposition
The Blizzard entered their game against Shadow ranked #4 in the power rankings, and they proved why. With a 5-0 sweep against Shadow, Blizzard showed that their offense is one to be feared by the rest of the league. With a combined 34 goals and 19 assists between them, Adi and CaliforniaStoll put their teamwork on full display. Shadow will be looking to bounce back in week 2 against the Hawks, while Blizzard will attempt to keep the ball rolling against Lightning.

Eclipse start strong
Eclipse began the season strong with a 4-1 win over the Aviators on Friday. The Aviators defense was on point, netting 17 saves, but when your opponent takes nearly 40 shots on goal it is impossible to save them all. Aviators need to keep that defensive prowess next week when they play Express, while Eclipse will be hoping to stay consistent when they go up against the Puffins.

It is a Pirates life for me
In the age-old question of who would win, Pirates vs. Knights, the Pirates made a decisive statement on the matter when they beat the Knights 4-1 on Saturday. Forgiiv and hellyaman combined for 24 goals and 8 saves, taking most of their games with large margins. The Knights will be looking to take the chemistry that worked in their only win in Game 4 and funnel that into their gameplay for week 2 against the Outlaws. The Pirates look to extend their winning ways next week against the Sabres.

Express show too little too late
After the third game of Express vs. the Hawks, it seemed like a menacing 5-0 was looming over the horizon for Express. Something must have kicked in at that moment for quinestupapa and InsaneRossi13, as they proceeded to outscore the Hawks 11-3 in the final two games of the series. A strong finish salvaged some games for them, but the series had already been decided in the 3-2 win for the Hawks. Maybe Express can keep that attacking fire we saw in the second half of that series next week when they go against the Aviators. Meanwhile, the Hawks will be looking at what went right in the first half, versus what went wrong at the end as they prepare to take on Shadow.

Bears take the day in a highly-competitive match
The Bears and the Rhinos came to play on Sunday, taking the series all the way to Game 5. After a hotly contested match, though, the Bears emerged victorious in their 3-2 win over the Rhinos. The Bears look to take this momentum into week 2 when they face the Demolition; while the Rhinos will be recalibrating to take on their next opponent, the Wizards.

Wizards demolish the Demolition
The Wizards were outright dominant this week against the Demolition, outscoring them 23-10 on Sunday in their 4-1 victory. Scoring five goals a game in every match except one, the Wizards offensive capabilities were in full force. Demolition showed sparks of some offensive flair, but in the end, it was snuffed out by the flood of goals from the Wizards. Demolition look to take out their frustration on the Bears next week, while the Wizards look to continue their rampage against the Rhinos.

Puffins struck by Lightning
The Lightning showed on Sunday that they are here to win, and win convincingly. In their 5-0 sweep over the Puffins, only one game even came close. Eclair and SammyNieds18 showed that they are one of the teams to best, netting 19 goals evenly between them. They will be looking to remain undefeated next week when they take on the undefeated Blizzard. Meanwhile, the Puffins will need to regroup and focus on their next target, Eclipse.

That is it for this week folks! The power rankings will be shaken for sure, and the season is only just getting started! Join back with me next week to take a look at the carnage from week 2, as we begin to see who the contenders for playoffs are, and who is getting left behind!

DFH Stadium erupted into a frenzy of cheering, and preparedness as the ceremonial torch was set ablaze for the 8th time in history.

Eight brand new bases have been scouted out and settled. The Express headed toward the trainyard, couping up in a few slightly rundown passenger trains. The Eclipse started toward the tallest peak, forever ready to honor the celestial event at any time. Most of the Hive decided it best to use some funds, and buy a few apiaries to aid in the current bee crisis. Sabres were the quickest to leave, darting toward the jungle- Elite’s jungle. The towering Tyrants began to roam the plains, the marshes, and the tundras without a care in the world to be brought along with. The Spectre waited for every squad to depart, and began to recite short incantations, as they slowly descended below the Earth. Shadow and Outlaw– well no one is quite sure where they ended up.

What remained were the 24 returning rosters. All went about their normal season routines, heading off in many directions, some the same. The mightiest of the Elite abruptly chased after a few Sabres fleeting off into their territory. While the violent Blizzard surrounded the Bears, covering their already frosty forest with a much thicker blanket.

As the groups left, the storm came, rapidly transforming the placid, flowery field that surrounds DFH Stadium into a musty swamp. The storm lasted weeks.. long enough to flow into the start of Week 1, where we saw a wide assortment of playstyles, players, and creativity.

Champion League, now eclipsed by the highest of the high, Premier League, arguably saw the most colorful range of groundbreaking starts to a season. Undoubtedly the most assertive of these was the Puffins 5-0 carnage brought down onto the Lightning. The two newcomers, Trent and BazedN, knew exactly what they wanted to do– and boy did they ever do it perfectly. Beating the Lightning roster of robin and Magnus is by no means simple. Especially when robin had set a new league-wide record of 22 saves in a series. Robin’s absurd defensive prowess will be sadly relegated to a reserve spot, although his efforts were not in vain. They showed the Puffins can indeed be slowed down, quite a bit. Whether or not another team wants to try that is a question of both sanity and courage.

Also dipping their toes into the domination section, are two of our newest additions. The sly Shadow and the chugging Express excellently handled themselves in getting convincing sweeps.

The Express vs Hawks match on Saturday showed the untapped potential kept in Manatee for far, far too long. He and newly found recruit Flog Pops rammed head-on into the unready GM Shackelz and T3nshuN. The Hawks have a propensity for starting season shaky and ending strong. Whether or not that strategy continues to work out will be a matter of if they can analyze precisely where they went wrong, and fix it. The best tool for any losing team is to remain calm, and learn. It is up to the Hawks to flex their wings, and the Express to keep things oiled properly, otherwise, you might find them in an uncomfortable position at the end of the season.

The Shadow, the 3rd and final team to end the premier week in style, did so in a lobby chock-full of MLE veterans. GM Euronate led, former Blizzard, Thunder through a winding path of being hidden in plain sight. Icey6, GM for the Blizzard, and Jroja, Academy League Foxes alumni were quite taken aback at the sheer ability to be on defense at the absolute perfect times. This 0-5 loss is by far the most misleading we have seen yet. The Blizzard actually outshot the Shadow 45 to 41. Their offense was most surely there. However, the only problem was that pesky defensive rotation. 23 saves came on the Shadow’s defensive end. Saving over half of the opponent’s shots in a 5 game set is ridiculously difficult. This week, the Shadow singlehandedly proved that you do not have to be the most offensive to be the most dominant, a feature of their play we would all like to see more of. The Blizzard had bad luck. They are the guinea pigs to see how overpowered the Shadow’s strengths are when they have been hidden. Unless they can be well studied, we might be seeing the best contender for a #1 league spot.

The only match being mentioned that was not a sweep is one of the most interesting reverse sweeps the league has seen in quite some time. Sabres and Outlaws on Saturday night. This match, to most people, was probably a toss-up. Their results back that up. 3-2 in favor of the Sabres. K3vbeast and Big Boi Johnny donned the gray, and Saucey and notmike the red. K3v and notmike had ranked up from Academy League the season prior, and both were joined by a fresh, high ranking recruit. The Outlaws to start went all out. 5-1 and 3-2. 17 total shots. Johnny and K3v were at 10 saves combined at that time. Something had to change before it got more out of hand. And then, they saw their chance. Overconfidence. A great player’s biggest weakness. They caught notmike and Saucey off guard, blowing them away with a 5-2 domination, 10 shots to 6. K3v takes it a step further in the 4th game, duking it out with Saucey. K3v, shooting 4 for 5, Saucey 3 for 3. All tied up. They both knew what could happen. Either you kill their dreams, or
they destroy yours first. At that thought, it had to come down to a bloodbath. A margin of one goal was all it took for the Sabres to walk out of DFH exhausted but victorious.

Starting the season comes with a statement. It defines what the onlookers expect from you. If you’ve started strong, they expect you to stay strong. If you start weak, they expect you to stay weak. However, sudden shifts have become quite commonplace. The trio of 5-0s this week could very easily be followed by a trio of 0-5s. MLE is dynamic, every appearance influences how other teams play against you and try to beat you. Great teams are not going to be the strongest offensively, defensively, or rotationally. They are going to be the ones that can throw the other off guard the best, and be able to react to the other effectively. Week 1 has called, and now we’re waiting on Week 2’s response. Only time will tell us what it is.

Just under 4 months ago the Ducks beat the Bulls in a thrilling Champion League Championship Series making the Ducks the most successful franchise in the history of Minor League Esports… only MLE was actually known as MLD; Minor League Doubles.

Saying it’s been an exciting and dramatic period in the history of the organisation is definitely an understatement, not only did MLD go “under the knife” and undergo a conclusive re-brand but many changes and additions were made to every asset of the organisation.

The number of leagues doubled from 2 to 4, with the introduction of the Foundation and Premier Leagues. The inclusion of these two leagues provides more players opportunities to play and develop and also offers a greater, as well as fairer, level of competition.

8 new franchises joined the roster bumping up the number of franchises from 24 to 32! Those new franchises are Express, Hive, Sabres, Shadow, Spectre and Tyrants along with the Eclipse & Outlaws, which were chosen by the MLE community.

Last season saw franchises battle it out over 14 gruelling weeks of regular season play, with those fortunate to come out on top going on to the playoffs. Season 8 however see’s the regular season schedule dramatically reduced to 7 weeks! The shorter season will no doubt lend itself to more intense competition and more dramatic moments especially as the race for the playoffs heats up.

But enough about the changes, Season 8 is here and it’s ready to cause a riot. It all kicks off from Thursday with week 1 of the regular season, which sees 48 series due to be played over the course of Thursday through to the end of Sunday. Each franchise will have a team competing in the Academy & Champion Leagues, as well as a team in either the Foundation or Premier League. Will any franchise do the triple?

There are so many tantalizing questions lie in wait to be answered; Who will be the early pace-setters? Can the Ducks add to their trophy cabinet? Will one of the new franchises employ some beginners luck in their debut season? Which players will light up the pitch? What new things will we see over the course of the season and what surprises will there be?

All this and more will be answered in Minor League Esports! Follow all the action on mlesports.gg, @MLEsportsgg and twitch.tv/mlesportsgg