FL 3s –  #2 Wolves vs #1 Shadow – 6PM EST 

Wolves

Quarterfinals: 3-1 vs Hurricanes (GD: +9)

Conference finals: 4-3 vs Foxes (GD: +2)

Journey to the grand finals: The Wolves were set for success in the playoffs with their regular season series record of 7-3. They dropped game 1 against the Hurricanes in the Quarterfinals, but bounced back and scored 8 goals in game 4 to win the series. Their Conference Finals match went much longer – to a full 7 games. The Foxes won the first 3 games, almost secure in their victory until the Wolves activated on match point to reverse sweep. 

Player Profile: Bender- In the playoffs, Bender has been the primary Wolves striker. In the regular season, they averaged 2.48 shots per game and a whopping 1.37 goals per game – the highest in FL 3s. In addition to this, Bender holds the highest MVPR of all players in both of their playoff series, signaling that they are a threat to their opponents outside of just scoring.

Player Profile: thepiggybuggy- Thepiggybuggy is the grinder of the team, with 618 MLE games on record. That’s more than both their 3s teammates combined. They contribute to the offensive pressure of the Wolves with their 1.93 average shots per game. 

Player Profile: Anu.- Anu. is the proud holder of the most saves in the regular MLE FL 3s season. It’s a good stat to have under one’s belt, but could signal that the team has a defensive issue that leads to them being scored on so much. No matter the reason for the amount of shots being sent at the Wolves net, Anu. is able to save them confidently. 

Shadow

Quarterfinals: 3-0 vs Flames (GD: +10)

Conference finals: 4-2 vs Elite (GD: +4)

Journey to the grand finals: Compared to the Wolves, the Shadow have had a relatively chill run to the Grand Finals. This is expected of a first seed team with a 7-3 series record and a 32-18 game record. The Elite did take 2 games off the Shadow, so they are not indestructible.

Player Profile: Aquatic – Aquatic is at the top of the FL 3s scoreboard for lowest shooting percentage against – meaning that when Aquatic is in the game, their opponents on average only get 28% of their shots in. Aquatic is not near the top of any leaderboards in saves, which lets us know that their defensive ability lies in disrupting plays and stopping shot angles rather than waiting in net.

Player Profile: Mighty – Mighty has an impressive 912 MLE games played on record. The nonstop grind is commendable, and is the key to making a playoff ready team. They are the main striker of the team, with an average of 3.48 shots per game and 1.65 goals per game. 

Player Profile: mentalmentis – Out of all 6 players in tonight’s match, mentalmentis is the strongest 4mans player. Of course this is a Standard playoff match but mental has put in 35 games and has a 72.1 rating. Of course mental can’t leave all the scoring to Mighty, and also contributes an average 3.45 shots per game and 1.58 goals per game.

AL 3s –  #6 Wizards vs #1 Hive – 7PM EST

Poisson

This grand final is going to be a fantastic match. I can tell you that much right now with full confidence. The Wizards and Hive are the two most in form teams in academy league 3s. That may sound obvious, but it has to be said. And with that being said, let’s talk about the narrative that I think the casters may try to sell you. That this is a David v Goliath scenario. And if you look at it only briefly and see “Hive (1) vs Wizards (6)”, you’d probably be inclined to agree. Let me tell you why you’re wrong.

First, the Wizards were extremely close to clinching the 3 or 4 seed. If that week 10 loss to the Demolition is 3-2 instead of 5-0, the Wizards finish as the 4 seed. If they win 3-2, they take the 3 seed. Second, this team has been ROLLING through the playoffs. On average, they are finishing their series with the following stats: +9 Shot Differential, +7.33 Goal Differential, average team mvpr of 3.415. In week 1 of the playoffs, I foolishly said the Wizards would have to play lights out to beat the sharks. They did so, easily. In my defense, they had not yet fielded the Rockstar trio of Jonsey, Trouble, and Royalty at all yet.

ORANGE CONFERENCES CHAMPIONS – WIZARDS

Playoff Form 10-2 // Regular Season Form 27-23

Expected Lineup: Jonsey // Trouble // Royalty

An offensively gifted team, the Wizards seem to score when they want and how they want. Jonsey is one of those players who can just make goals happen it seems like. While he is no slouch on offense either, Trouble is the veritable third man who makes this offensive machine tick. Royalty brings the physical play to the table, striking fear into all who he chases. Oh, and he also likes to score nutty redirects. Not a Cat – easily the best 10.5 in the league – will surely be watching and waiting should his services be needed.

BLUE CONFERENCES CHAMPIONS – HIVE

Playoff Form 7-2 // Regular Season Form 35-15

Expected Lineup: poisson // Crusty Cribbits // Incogneato

If you checked the author of this piece I hope I don’t have to say it but, grain of salt etc etc.

The Hive have found success as a team oppressive in the midfield. They don’t necessarily score a ton, but they concede even less. The team is very fluid and has no designated roles, with all three players willing to do what it takes. They are the number one seed for a reason, avenging their only regular season loss this past week in a 4-1 rout of the Jets to claim the blue conference title. After season 12 the AL Hive was completely rosterless, having only their three drafted players – poisson, Dougie Jones, and Revolting Hades. First round pick poisson was given the captain band and tasked with building a team. Quoted as saying “I just want to Moneyball this league”, I think he must be pleased as his team is grand finals bound (EDITORS NOTE: he is J).

Prediction: As genuinely unbiased as I can be, I am going to predict a game 7 OT winner. The wizards are a fantastic offensive powerhouse who can create goals out of thin air. The Hive are a seemingly unmovable object who refuse to concede goals. The real question is who shows up on their A game this Sunday. Either team can win it all.

c’est la vie bien sûr

CL 3s – #5 Sabres vs #2 Rhinos  – 8PM EST

The Sabres roster took down the Rhinos roster last night in the Doubles Grand Finals. Mople and Buttermilk Biscuit won 4 – 2 against The End Of You and Spidey720.

Sabres

Play-ins: 3-1 vs Ducks (GD: +4)

Quarterfinals: 3-0 vs Knights (GD: +4)

Conference finals: 4-3 vs Wolves (GD: +5)

Journey to the grand finals: In our first of two rematches from last night, the Sabres are looking to build upon their CL Doubles Grand Finals win against the Rhinos. The Conference Finals found much tougher opponents for the Sabres as they went to game 7 after cruising in prior rounds. They look to become the second franchise to two-peat in a single league.

Player Profile: Buttermilk Biscuit- Buttermilk Biscuit has assisted 26 goals over the course of the season, putting them in 2nd on the CL stat leaderboard. In a tense series against the Wolves, Buttermilk was the MVPR leader. 

Player Profile: Needless- Needless is the highest scoring Sabres player with a total of 38 goals over the course of the regular season. This averages out to 1.09 goal per game, though in the playoffs they have also been a top defender in addition to the expected goals. Needless doesn’t often make 2s appearances and will be a great asset for the 3s Grand Finals.

Player Profile: Frehgrunce- Their 3s playoff performance has varied, as Frehgrunce was at the bottom of the MVPR scoreboard against the Wolves but solidly at the top against the Knights. They have perfectly balanced stats, and Frehgrunce’s strength most likely comes from solid 3s play with teammates they are familiar with.

Rhinos

Play-ins: 3-0 vs Pandas (GD: +4)

Quarterfinals: 3-1 vs Elite (GD: +0)

Conference finals: 4-3 vs Outlaws (GD: +0)

Journey to the grand finals: The Rhinos will be looking to stop the Sabres CL dominance and avenge their loss in Doubles last night. The Rhinos also had a much tougher Conference Finals going to game 7 after putting away previous opponents in just 4 games.

Player Profile: The End Of You- The End of You is 10th in CL for average MVPR at 3.45. They’ve already beaten players with “better” MVPRs in early rounds of the playoffs. 

Player Profile: Spidey720- Spidey720 has been the highest shooting, scoring, and saving player thus far for the Rhinos playoffs run. In their last match against the Outlaws, Spidey scored 7 of the 10 total games for their team. While being a star scorer, they also managed to save 17 of the total 26 shots made on their net. 

Player Profile: Smitty Cena- Sitty Cena is the only member of his team who made it into the top 10 of CL 3s for goals and shots. They bring the offensive firepower to the team that should give the Rhinos a better chance in 3s than they had in 2s.

ML 3s – #1 Flames vs #5 Sabres – 9PM EST

rolo

The Flames as the number one seed out of the Orange Conference come into these grand finals like a well-oiled machine. They received a first round bye, handled the Sharks with relative ease sweeping them 3-0, then defeated the Tyrants 4-2 this past weekend. As strong as they looked, there is a little bit of doubt surrounding this team. In their series win against the Tyrants, they went down 0-2 in the series and subbed in Gala for Carsn before game 3. After their substitution, the Flames went on an absolute tear and rattled off four straight wins. It is yet to be seen who we will see alongside Sulace and Remy this weekend. In either case, if we see the Carsn who played in the Sharks series or the Gala we saw in the Tyrants series, the Flames will be simply formidable. Specifically Remy, who finished the regular season as a defensive monster being top 10 in goals against per game, score against per game, and shooting percentage against.

Though the Sabres did not get the results they were looking for in doubles, they were able make their way to the championship finals for standard, representing the blue conference. The Sabres had a difficult path up until this point. In their first-round match up, they swept the fourth seeded Lightning in convincing fashion. They followed up that performance with a 3-1 victory over the third seeded Knights, then a 4-2 win over the Ducks in the conference finals. The Sabres have been running a slightly different lineup for standard, in comparison to their double’s duo. The trio of Liotta, Godkitty, and Roman have been putting up beastly numbers all post season. In the series against the Knights and Ducks, one of them leads the way offensively, putting up an MVPR over 4.0, while the other two support with MVPRs ranging between 2.5-3.5. This high octane and balanced attack has been difficult to handle, which is evident with their ability to take down incredibly talented teams.  

The playoffs are all about resiliency and being able to perform under pressure. The Flames exhibited that ability to perform during their Tyrants series. That experience will aid them greatly in the grand finals. However, the Sabres have taken down several strong opponents and are looking to make up for a disappointing end to their doubles season. The largest question mark is around the Flames starting roster come Sunday. They may very well go with the hot hand and start Gala after their impressive display against the Tyrants. If Gala does start, they will be the only non 16+ salary player in the lobby. If they perform like they did against the Tyrants, then that point is rather mute. On the other hand, if the pressure gets to them, and they struggle to be consistent against top salaried players, the series could get away from the Flames. Either way, this series will go six or seven games, with both teams possessing the ability to secure that elusive championship title. 

PL 3s – #1 Knights vs #1 Pirates – 10PM EST

Last night, the Knights went 4 – 1 over the Pirates in the PL Doubles Grand Finals.

Knights

Quarterfinals: BYE

Conference finals: 4-1 vs Hawks (GD: +4)

Journey to the grand finals: The Knights had a long time off before jumping back into things with their 4-1 victory over the Hawks in the Conference Finals. Windle and Perma were able to bring home the Doubles Grand Finals last night, and Evil joins them tonight as the second team looking for a two-peat.

Player Profile: Perma- Perma is scary to play against. Last night against the Pirates they racked up a 6.03 MVPR. Perma has an average 528 points per game which is well above average for PL. This season Perma only has 3 series on record for 3s, which makes sense for a player that just took the 2s ship last night. As long as Perma is as familiar with 3s as they are with 2s, this game will go in their direction.

Player Profile: Windle- It just takes a quick look at PL stats to realize that Windle is a star player. With an average 3.99 MVPR, 1.31 goals per game, and 1.84 saves per game, anything is possible with Windle on your team. They have great chemistry with Perma and have also performed well in 3s.

Player Profile: Evil- Evil is the 3s addition to the core Knights 2s team that already defeated the pirates. Much like Perma, they have a high points per game average at 520.66. Evil can be a shooter but is not as much of a scorer, which is balanced by their defensive skills. Evil holds opponents to a 24% shot percentage which is 4th in PL.

Pirates

Quarterfinals: BYE

Conference finals: 4-2 vs Tyrants (GD: +4)

Journey to the grand finals: The Pirates are hoping to avenge their loss last night in Doubles and win their first ever Grand Finals for the franchise. With the momentum of a win over the Tyrants in the Conference Finals, the Pirates know they’ll need to bring their A game in order to bring home the title. 

Player Profile: Tater- Tater has made the most total shot attempts in PL, which leads to an average of 1.48 goals per game. Last night was rough as Tater was shut down by the Hawks. Despite not being able to score much, we can expect Tater to continue peppering the net for openings. 

Player Profile: madmaxrk- Madmaxrk sits right under Tater with total shot attempts in PL. The two of them create an offensive storm. Max sinks almost exactly as many shots as Tater, and these two players achieve a special balance on the 2s field. 

Player Profile: KILT- KILT is the 3s addition to the roster for the night. They are a steady and consistent 3rd that brings chill vibes to the team, finding ways to contribute without being much of a solo superstar.

FL 2s –  #4 Tyrants vs #4 Blizzard – 6PM EST 

by Brava Gunnar

The paths that both of these teams have blazed are incredibly similar. Both teams are coming into the matchup as 4 seeds. They both took down the #1 seed in their respective conferences and then swept the #3 seeds in their Conference Championship games. They both have 32 goals in the playoffs as well. Like I said, these teams have had an eerily similar path to this moment.

The Tyrants are coming into the FL Championship game after defeating the Bulls in the first round 3-1. They then swept the Pandas 4-0. GQSmooothh and Kiroxy have been working together very well in the playoffs. GQSmooothh has had some consistent play in the playoffs, scoring 9 goals in each of the playoff matches. Kiroxy had an awakening in the Pandas game, sending 10 shots into the net. They have a combined 32 goals, 22 assists, and 74 shots. They have a shot percentage of .432 and an on target percentage of .797. The Tyrants are on track to have their best playoff performance yet. They went 11-6 in Season 9, winning the Championship and went 11-5 in Season 10, also taking home another Championship. The Tyrants are on track for their 3rd FL Championship but must face off against an incredibly tough Blizzard team that has had carbon copy success in the Blue Conference. 

The Blizzard are having a fantastic playoff run. They beat the #1 Wolves 3-1 and swept the #3 Foxes 4-0. Venturi and Bubluk both dominated in the first series combining for 15 goals, 7 assists, and 36 shots. Venturi returned for the second series with B33J, combining for 17 goals, 12 assists, and 30 shots. Venturi has had some very consistent play in each performance. The Blizzard have combined for a total of 32 goals, 19 assists, 66 shots and have a shot percentage of .484. They have an on target percentage of .893. The Blizzard are having their most successful FL playoff run at 7-1. Before this, the Blizzard had a 3-9 combined game record and an 0-3 series record in 3 appearances. They are looking to keep this hot streak going and take home their first ever FL Doubles Championship.

Regardless of who comes out the victor, this should be one heck of a match to watch!

Watch this game on 3/12/2022 at 6:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

AL 2s – #3 Sharks vs #1 Hurricanes – 7PM EST

by Nate

Sharks

Play-ins: 3-1 vs Demolition (GD: -2)

Quarterfinals: 3-2 vs Bulls (GD: +11)

Conference finals: 4-2 vs Elite (GD: +6)

Journey to the grand finals: Coming into the playoffs as the orange conference 3 seed, the Sharks advanced past the Demolition, winning 3-1 while letting in an uncharacteristically high 4.75 goals/game, including a 7-1 blow out in game 2. They must have kept this in mind when preparing for the quarterfinals against the Bulls, where they had a standout defensive performance of 1.6 goals/game, outscoring their opponents 19 to 8. The Sharks added to their portfolio with a capstone win in the orange conference finals against an Elite team that dramatically swept the #1 seeded Comets. In their conference final win the Sharks looked to be firing on all cylinders as they dominated for most of the series, including a strong start with 4 goals in the first 2:30 of game 1.

Player Profile: Dimensions- While the Hurricanes have a seemingly defined pairing of offensive and defensive focused players, the Sharks are the exact opposite; Both of these players’ strong suits are their coordination on both offense and defense, as well as their patience off the ball. Against the highly aggressive Elite lineup, they were able to pick their moments, neutralize offensive threats, and use very fast transition plays to catch their opponents on the back foot. Dimensions brought offensive pedigree to the conference finals with dribbles, intelligent 1v1 play, and a backboard double tap that will be an AL goal of the season contender.

Player Profile: Seeing- While Dimensions may have grabbed the headlines with an insane double tap goal, Seeing was provided offensive firepower of his own with long range booming shots, coordinated aerial passing, and constant pressure with smart touches and demos. Seeing also had a standout performance on defense against the Elite, seeming nearly unbeatable in the first 3 games as he had a number of goal line saves and fast, accurate clears that allowed for the Sharks’ aforementioned transition plays.

Keys to the game: The Sharks need a carbon copy repeat performance of last week vs Elite where they started strong and looked cohesive. They will be looking for a similar fast start against a Hurricanes team that tends to start slow and grow into games.

Hurricanes

Play-ins: Bye

Quarterfinals: 3-2 vs Foxes (GD: +2)

Conference finals: 4-2 vs Spartans (GD: +3)

Journey to the grand finals: Clinching the 1 seed in the blue conference, the Hurricanes started their playoff campaign in the quarterfinals against the Foxes where they pulled off a reverse sweep after close losses in game 1 and 2. They shared a similar slow start in the conference finals against the Spartans where they conceded 5 goals in just over 2 minutes to lose game 1. THE JANITOR came on as a hotswap sub and helped the ‘canes to a 4-2 conference championship and a spot in the grand finals.

Player Profile: Blacklazer- The more defensive player of this Hurricanes 2s pairing, Blacklazer has looked like a solid platform player who allows his partner freedom to roam with precision clears, passes, and overall smart, calculated play.

Player Profile: THE JANITOR- The offensive pulse of the ‘canes partnership, THE JANITOR brings a range of offensive skills to the fight. Against the Spartans he played the role of midfield disrupter, not allowing the Spartans any breathing room on the ball and punishing them with aerial shots, dribbles, and strong 50s. 

Keys to the game: The Hurricanes have had slow starts in both of their playoff games. They narrowly escaped a 0-2 start against the Foxes and looked shaky and indecisive on defense early against the Spartans. There’s little question of their ability to score goals, as they scored 3.8 goals/game against the Foxes and 3.3 goals/game against the Spartans, but they may find goals hard to come by against a well coordinated Sharks defense. The major key to the game for the Hurricanes is to sort their defensive positioning and minimize double commits. An important key for the Hurricanes will be utilizing THE JANITOR’s skills to disrupt the cohesive, structured play of the sharks defense.

Prediction: The Sharks have looked better and better in each of their previous 3 playoff series, Seeing 4 Dimensions on the field in their conference final win. While the Hurricanes will undoubtedly put up a fight, I see the cohesiveness of the Sharks giving them the edge in this grand finals. Sharks win 4-2.

Watch this game on 3/12/2022 at 7:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

CL 2s – #2 Sabres vs #7 Rhinos  – 8PM EST

by Brava Gunnar

Both teams have had to win 3 series and defeat the #1 seeds in their respective conferences to make it to this moment. They both made the playoffs in different ways. The Sabres won their division with a 35-15 record (3rd overall best) and the Rhinos just made it in with a 27-23 record. (13th overall best) This is just the 2nd appearance in the playoffs for both teams.

The Sabres are coming into this game after defeating the #7 Knights 3-0 in the 1st round with the help of Buttermilk Biscuit and Needless. They combined for 13 goals, 8 assists, and had 30 shots. Their next victory came against the #5 Hawks. They won the series 3-1 with the help of Buttermilk Biscuit and Angelz. They combined for 17 goals, 5 assists, and 27 shots. In the 3rd round, they faced off against the #1 Blizzard and won 4-1. Buttermilk Biscuit and Needless combined for 22 goals, 16 assists, and shot the ball 54 times. Overall, the Sabres have 52 goals, 19 assists, and 111 shots so far in the playoffs. They had a shot percentage of .468 and an on target percentage of .837. The Sabres had some decent success in the Season 11 playoffs with a game record of 9-7 and series record of 2-1. They came up short in the Conference finals but have changed that this playoffs with their 10-2 game record and Conference title grab. They are only one more step away from their first CL Doubles Championship and that is through the Rhinos.

The Rhinos have outperformed expectations in the playoffs. Hats go off to the excellent performances and the close series! The Rhinos started off their stunning run against the #2 Pirates, in which they won 3-2. Spidey720 and The End Of You combined for 22 goals, 11 assists, and 51 shots. In round 2, they took down another giant, the #1 Demolition. Smitty Cena and The End of You won the match up 3-1 and combined for 10 goals, 4 assists and 31 shots. The Rhinos 3rd round matchup was against the #6 Flames. The End Of You, Smitty Cena, and Spidey720 all got involved in this full length series. They combined for 20 goals, 11 assists, and 64 goals. Overall, the Rhinos had 52 goals, 26 assists, and 146 shots. They had a shot percentage of .356 and an on target percentage of .828. The Rhinos have had success in the playoffs before with a 10-3 performance in Season 9. They took home the Championship then and are looking to take it home this season. They have another giant to take down, as they face off against the Sabres.

Watch this game on 3/12/2022 at 8:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

ML 2s – #6 Puffins vs #1 Bears – 9PM EST

by rolo

The Bears come into the championship final looking strong, as is expected of a number one seed. The Bears received a first-round bye, defeated the Dodgers 3-1, then easily defeated the Demolition 4-1 in the Orange Conference finals. Top pair of Arju and Cheese look to bring the Bears back-to-back Master League Championships. In the series against the Dodgers and the Demolition, both players put up MVPRs over 6, while plastering their opponents with 109 shots over 9 games. One can expect for the Bears to continue with that same offensive pressure against Puffins.

The Puffins had a bit of an unorthodox path to the finals, but nonetheless, deserve their championship birth. After receiving a first-round bye due to a Non-Compete Penalty issued to the Express, the Puffins defeated a solid Sabres team 3-1. In their series against the Sabres, the Puffins were up 5-1 in game #2 when Sparta started experiencing connection issues. Poper could only do so much as they ended up losing that game in overtime. Instead of being utterly deflated from that development, they subbed in ripcheems and proceeded to win the next two games and the series. Then against the high-flying Ducks in the Blue Conference finals, Sparta and Poper slugged it out and took the series in game seven overtime. This Puffins team has faced adversity throughout this post season and has met the challenge admirably.

Arguably the Puffins have had to face stronger competition this postseason in comparison to the Bears. The Demolition did not field their top duo, while the Puffins faced off against the first seeded Sabres and the fourth seeded Ducks. This, in conjunction with their resiliency and ability to dictate the pace of the game, puts the Puffins in a favorable position. However, Arju and Cheese may just bring an offensive presence that Sparta and Poper cannot handle. Even during their two series together during the regular season, Arju and Cheese went 10-0 in games played and put up 135 shots. I fully expect these grand finals to go seven games and be an absolute shootout. 

Watch this game on 3/12/2022 at 9:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

PL 2s – #1 Knights vs #1 Pirates – 10PM EST

by Brava Gunnar

The two #1 seeds of the PL Doubles are heading into a heated clash this Saturday. The Pirates coming in with the 1st overall record at 38-12 and the Knights with the 2nd overall at 30-20. 

The Pirates have been dominant all season and showed that with their 4-1 over the Tyrants. Tater had a solid performance with 9 goals, 4 assists, 12 saves, and 25 shots. Madmaxrk also had a solid performance with 10 goals, 3 assists, 10 saves, and 30 shots. They combined for 19 goals, 7 assists, and 55 shots. They had a shot percentage of .345 and an on target percentage of .781. The Pirates made it to the Conference Finals in Season 10 with a 5-4 record but came up short. They also had an appearance in Season 12 but didn’t make it out of the first round with a 2-3 loss. The Pirates are looking to win their first Championship this season.

The Knights are coming off of a dominant season in the Blue Conference. They are coming off of a hard fought 4-3 victory against the Express. Perma had a nice performance with 11 goals, 8 assists, 19 saves, and 37 shots. Evil had a great performance with 15 goals, 5 assists, 11 saves, and 31 shots. They combined for 26 goals, 13 assists, and 68 shots. They had a shot percentage of .382 and an on target percentage of .985. The Knights only had 1 shot off target. The Knights are making their 4th playoff appearance. In their first appearance, they were knocked out in the first round. In their second, they made it to the Conference Finals but fell short. Last season, they won the Championship and are looking to repeat that this season.

Watch this game on 3/12/2022 at 10:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Playoffs Day 8 – QuarterFinals
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Master League Standard – 7PM EST

Blue Conference

#1 Foxes vs #7 Ducks

The Foxes have fought their way to their 1st ever ML Standard playoffs. The Foxes are 34-16 this season with a series record of 8-2.  They have a +32 goal differential. The Foxes have already made some franchise history by making it this far. They made their first playoff appearance and they are the #1 overall seed. They have run away with the Blue Conference this season, can they continue that through the playoffs?

The Ducks are coming off a very impressive sweep of the #2 Hive. They scored 10 goals with 7 assists. Their assist percentage was .700. They had 26 shots and only 1 of those was off target. Their shot percentage was .384 and their on target percentage was .961. The Ducks stats for the series are super impressive and should prove difficult for the Foxes. The Ducks are getting hot at the right time.

Will the Ducks upset another team or will the Foxes continue their Season 13 dominance?

Series predictions: 3-2 Foxes

Watch this game on 2/27/2022 at 7:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Master League Standard – 8PM EST

Orange Conference

#1 Flames vs #6 Sharks

The Flames are making their 2nd ML Standard playoff appearance. They have a 32-18 game record this season with a 9-1 series record. They have a goal differential of +34. The Flames have a 5-3 game record and a 1-1 series record in the playoffs. The Flames have played great this season and are looking to keep the fire burning hot as they face the Sharks.

The Sharks are coming into this matchup after getting a nice sweep against the #3 Demolition. They had 9 goals and 7 assists. They have an impressive .777 assist percentage. The Sharks shot the ball 32 times and had a shot percentage of .281. Their on target percentage was .718.

The Flames are looking to torch the Sharks like torch their divisional opponent and get their first win in this season’s playoffs. The Sharks on the other hand are looking to get another sweep but this one would be sweeter. Who will take home the series win in this Tropic showdown?

Series predictions: Flames 3-1

Watch this game on 2/27/2022 at 8:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Premier League Standard – 9PM EST

Orange Conference

#2 Rhinos vs #3 Tyrants

The Rhinos are making their PL Standard playoff debut in this matchup. They were  29-21 this season with a series record of 5-5. The Rhinos had a +18 goal differential for the season. The Rhinos are rushing in to get their first playoff win.

The Tyrants are making their 2nd PL Standard playoff performance. They had a 28-22 game record and a 6-4 series record. They had a +17 goal differential this season. In the Playoffs, the Tyrants have a 0-3 game record and a 0-1 series record. They are looking to have a better outcome in the playoffs this season.

Will the Rhinos rampage past the Tyrants or will the Tyrants stomp right past them?

Series predictions: Tyrants 3-1

Watch this game on 2/27/2022 at 9:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Premier League Standard – 10PM EST

Blue Conference

#2 Express vs #3 Hawks

The Express have steamed their way to their 1st ever Standard PL playoff appearance. The Express are 35-15 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +23 goal differential. The Express are coming into this matchup after a dominant regular season.

The Hawks are making their 1st ever PL Standard playoff appearance. They went 28-22 with a series record of 6-4. They have a goal differential of +1. They are looking to get their first playoff win.

Will the Express steam roll past the Hawks or will the Hawks fly away with the victory?

Series predictions: 3-1 Express

Watch this game on 2/27/2022 at 10:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Playoffs Day 8
twitch.tv/mlesportsgg2

Champion League Standard – 6PM EST

Blue Conference

#2 Wolves vs #3 Hurricanes

The Wolves are running into this series after a sweep of the #7 Puffins. They had 9 goals and 6 assists. They had an assist percentage of .667 and they had 28 shots. Every single shot was on target for the Wolves. They had a .321 shot percentage and were perfectly on target. The Wolves are looking to continue putting on that perfect pressure against the Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes are storming their way into this series after a great 3-1 victory over the #6 Spartans. They had 11 goals with 9 assists. They had a great assist percentage at .818. They had 35 shots with a shot percentage of .314. The Hurricanes had a .771 on target percentage. The Canes are passing the ball around and definitely playing as a team. The Hurricanes are looking to keep up that great teamwork against the Wolves.

Will the Hurricanes’ teamwork outshine the Wolves? Or will the Wolves pressure be too much?

Series predictions: Wolves 3-1

Watch this game on 2/27/2022 at 6:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Champion League Standard – 7PM EST

Orange Conference

#2 Rhinos vs #3 Elite

The Rhinos are rushing into this matchup after sweeping the #7 Pandas. They scored 11 goals and had 8 assists. They had a nice assist percentage at .727. The Rhinos shot the ball 34 times. They had a .323 shot percentage and a .794 on target percentage. The Rhinos had a solid performance against the Pandas and are looking to reproduce that against the Elite.

The Elite had a tough matchup against the #6 Wizard. They won  the series 3-2. They scored 13 goals and had 9 assists. They had a .692 assist percentage. The Elite shot 38 times and had a shot percentage of .342. They had an on target percentage of .789. The Elite are a strong team and rely on each other. They know how to come back and get the win.

Will the Rhinos run away with this series? Or will the Elite stay tough and take home the win?

Biased Series prediction: Elite 3-1

Watch this game on 2/27/2022 at 7:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Master League Standard – 8PM EST

Blue Conference

#3 Knights vs #5 Sabres

The Knights had a stellar performance against the #6 Aviators. They took home the series 3-1. They had 11 goals and 11 assists! That is an impressive feat on it’s own and so far they are the only team we have seen to do it this season. They had 31 shots and their shot percentage was .354. They had an on target percentage of .903. Congrats on the perfect assist percentage! The Knights want to keep up that perfection against the Sabres.

The Sabres are coming into this game after sweeping the #4 Lightning. They had 11 goals and 6 assists. They had a .545 assist percentage. They had 21 shots and one of the best shot percentages at .523. They also had a .904 on target percentage. The Sabres had a solid game last round and are looking to copy that performance against the Knights.

Will the Knights passing stay perfect and lead them to a win? Or will the Sabres consistent play and great shot percentage be enough to take the series?

Series predictions: Sabres 3-2

Watch this game on 2/27/2022 at 8:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Master League Standard – 9PM EST

Blue Conference

#2 Outlaws vs #4 Tyrants

The Outlaws are coming into this matchup after a difficult duel against the Dodgers. They won the series 3-2. They scored 10 goals on 8 assists. They had a great assist percentage of .800. They had 41 shots with a .243 shot percentage. They had an on target percentage of .804. While the Outlaws shot percentage may not look great, they put up 41 shots. They put up a ton of pressure and that pressure ended up winning them the game. The Outlaws want to get that shot percentage up but they want to keep the shot count up too.

The Tyrants are coming off a great series sweep of the #5 Bears. They scored 13 goals and had 9 assists. The Tyrants had a .692 assist percentage. They shot the ball 30 times and had a shot percentage of .433. The Tyrants’ target percentage was .833. The Tyrants want to reproduce those nice shot and assist percentages.

Will the Outlaws out shoot the Tyrants to victory? Or will the Tyrants stomp the Outlaws with their shot percentage?

Watch this game on 2/27/2022 at 9:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Hello again, it’s me, Doodle! bringing you guys another round of interviews. We got some new faces this time and I think you will all enjoy what they have to say.

I’ve done my best to compile interviews with players from each team to give a bit of insight on their teams and expectations heading into the postseason.

Blue Conference Match 1 [twitch.tv/mlesportsgg @7:00pm est]
#7 Ducks [29-21] @ #1 Foxes [34-16]

Starting off the ML3s playoffs we have the Ducks facing the Foxes. We have the highest and lowest seeds of the Blue Conference going head to head for a spot in the Conference Finals. Here with me are “Jango” and “alex.”. From the Foxes and Ducks.

I’ve heard that Madinge isn’t going to be around for the playoffs. What is your guy’s plan in order to compensate for what some people may be calling your “hard carry”?

Jango: If anyone thinks this Foxes team needs a “hard carry” to succeed, they haven’t been paying attention. We took our last 5 series of the season 4-1, 4-1, 4-1, 5-0, and 4-1 all with various lineups, and without Madinge playing. Madinge was a great late-season pickup for 2s, but we have relied on the core of this team having experience together. We have gone through a lot together and we pride ourselves in being able to go toe-to-toe with the best that Master League has to offer.

For starters, I don’t think anyone expected you guys to beat the Hive, but no one also expected Akina to not be present for the match either. 2 of the 3 main starting players were on the all-star ballot while the Ducks had no one. What do you have to say about that?

alex.: When the all star selections were released, we were definitely surprised to not see any of our names on there. I can say confidently I feel like we have 2 of the top 10 players in the league and to not have either of them selected was pretty interesting. If anything I’d say it just makes every win we can get more impressive considering we’re so individually outskilled.

Your team, the Foxes, are coming into this matchup as the #1 seed. But that also means that you guys haven’t had a taste of playoffs this season yet. How did you guys keep in prime condition during that almost month long wait?

Jango: I won’t lie, having to wait almost a month for our first playoff matchup has been frustrating, but we’re approaching it methodically and keeping up with practice like we have been throughout the season.

As the team that has to go against the #1 seeded team, how are you and the team feeling? Do you feel as though you’re more prepared than the Foxes since having that extra week of “playoff experience” due to the Foxes having a first round bye?

alex.: We aren’t too worried about seeding really, but the Foxes are a good team. I have a lot of respect for the players over there so we aren’t taking them lightly. The one thing being the #1 seed tells me is that they have really good depth. There is a chance Madinge may not be playing which would seem like an advantage to us but in order to get the #1 seed that means that their 4th and 5th players must be pretty good too. No matter who they show up with, we’ll need to play well in order to win. As far as the first round bye having an effect, I know the Foxes have been looking for scrims which tells me they’re still playing together so I don’t expect it to have an effect really. I expect them to come out playing well and it should be a good series.

Orange Conference Match 1 [twitch.tv/mlesportsgg @8:00pm est]
#6 Sharks [29-21] @ #1 Flames [32-18]

This next match is between the Sharks, who upsetted (in terms of seeding) the Demolition, and the Flame who are just now getting their feet wet in the playoffs. Joining me from these teams are Carsn from the Flame and Craymin from the Sharks.

There have been talks that the Flames don’t have a solid roster coming into the playoffs. With every other team here having a solid top 3 players, do you think that it really matters who you guys put on the field for the Flames? 

Carsn: honestly there’s a reason that we went 1st seed. I think whoever we put out there is solid and can contest with any of these teams.

Looking past last week it seems like you guys have a tough match against the #1 seeded Flames. What are you and your team’s thoughts going into this matchup?

Craymin: Well I’m assuming their roster is gonna be Remy Tyrant and Carsn, who we played in the second to last week except with Sulace instead of carsn, and we lost 2-3, but definitely felt like we could’ve taken the series. So I absolutely feel like we can take it, and I’m sure my boys feel the same way. Absolutely no doubt it’s gonna be a grind though, remy and tyrant are really tough opponents, and mesh pretty well, the flames have done a good job of building that chemistry for sure. I know little about carsn but if he’s as good or better than Sulace then that’s a dangerous team who could take it all

Your team, the Flames, are coming into this matchup as the #1 seed. But that also means that you guys haven’t had a taste of playoffs this season yet. How did you guys keep in prime condition during that almost month long wait?

Carsn: we play with each other constantly to keep up our chemistry and try to improve on things that we lacked in the season.

As the team that has to go against the #1 seeded team, how are you feeling? Do you feel as though you’re more prepared than the Flames since having that extra week of “playoff experience” due to the Flames having a first round bye?

Craymin: I think the playoff experience can help for sure, but when it comes down to it they know us and we know them, so it’ll just have to be the best team prevailing. The seed, at least to me, doesn’t mean a ton and I try to not think about it, otherwise it’ll get to my head

Blue Conference Match 2 [twitch.tv/mlesportsgg2 @8:00pm est]
#5 Sabres [32-18] @ #3 Knights [30-20]

Up next we have the Knights and the Sabres. As far as I can tell these guys have been keeping under the radar. From these teams we have MikeIsMyIke from the Knights and Roman from the Sabres.

Looking at the playoffs and who’s left, it seems that the most unknown teams are you guys and the Sabres, who you guys coincidentally play against in your match. What all do you and the team have to say about this? 

MikeIsMyIke: With Hornet and myself under performing in 2s playoffs we both have some reputation to regain it would seem. Being the underdog always has the benefit of having less pressure, but like always we’ll take the match one game at a time, one goal at a time. Also, “Unknown?!” – Frosty

Why is Sabres spelled “Sabres” and not Sabers? It’s been on my mind for a while and it’s been bothering me since.

Roman: I’m not sure. I do know that a Sabre and saber mean the same thing it’s just a different form of spelling. It’s the old world European spelling

Teams all across ML have been doing their homework and research about the team that they are set to play against. What have you and the team done to prepare for the matchup to come?

MikeIsMyIke: We’ll adjust on the fly. We’ve been playing a bunch of ranked games where the opponent’s playstyle and pace of play is always different game to game, so if our opponent’s try to mix up their strategy we’ll be ready for them.

How do you guys think you’ll do against the Knights and what all have you done to prepare for them?

Roman: I think we will win. To be honest our team has great chemistry and we prepared a bit more than we did for the Lightning. I’m finally back to playing rocket league again after a long debut on apex. Liotta finally got his WiFi working again and Godkitty’s anime marathon ended. I think our teams mindset is confident and well prepared

Orange Conference Match 2 [twitch.tv/mlesportsgg2 @9:00pm est]
#4 Tyrants [29-21] @ #2 Outlaws [31-19]

Making our way back to the orange conference we got the Outlaws standing off (get it? hehe lmao, because they’re cowboys) against the Tyrants. Joining me from these teams are Yesper from the Outlaws and myself, Doodle! for the Tyrants. And Making a special guest appearance as a temp interviewer we have Squintle.

Squintle: It seems like most of Master League, or at least the people I’ve talked to, could not wait to have you interviewed. So here we are. As far as we know, The tyrants roster is, on paper, supposed to be “Renku”, “Squintle”, and “Doodle!”. But as we saw from last match’s score reporting, “Shadow” could very easily replace one of them if need be. With this being said. Do you  think that your team can deal with any given combination of these four players?

Yesper: I think it’ll make for a good game. With the way my team has learned to adjust to each other’s playstyles and adapt to each team we play, I believe we will be able to handle whatever roster gets thrown at us. It’s just a matter of which team wants it more

Squintle: Let’s look back at your last series against the bears. You guys we’re able to beat one of the better looking teams, with a sweep no less, in the playoffs, while playing with a sub. How did that feel knowing that even with a sub you we’re able to take down a formidable team.

Doodle!: To be honest, it felt pretty great winning with a sub-optimal lineup. But the Bears did put up a pretty good fight and I was honestly surprised more than anything that it ended the way it did. It gives me confidence that we are able to beat teams like that without using our main 3.

Squintle: After that nail biting series against the Dodgers that ended up going all the way to five games, you guys are now headed up against the Tyrants, who seem to be coming off of a huge 3-0 win against the Bears who most thought that the Bears would take. What have you guys done/been doing to prepare for this matchup in the coming days? And do you think this series will be any different from your previous one?

Yesper: A lot of the issues we faced in that series was due to losing both ZeroTwo and the replacement we got for him, both of which became ineligible. The roster we played didn’t have the Chem we were used to but we managed to pull it together in time. After scrims and replay reviews we are going into the next match up fully prepared

Squintle: You guys started off the playoff run with a sweep over the Bears. Looking ahead it seems like you all are going to take on the Outlaws. What all have you guys done to prepare for this upcoming series? Do you think that it’ll turn out the same as the Bears?

Doodle!: We maybe scrimmed twice in these last two weeks I want to say. Me and Squintle have been putting hours into Among Us and have really been putting this game on the backburner and Renku is doing Renku things but I feel as though we’re ready enough to take on the Outlaws. After watching them play the Dodgers I don’t think there’s much to worry about.

Playoffs Day 7 – QuarterFinals
twitch.tv/mlesportsgg

Academy League Standard – 6PM EST

Blue Conference

#1 Hive vs #4 Eclipse

The Hive have stung their way to their 2nd AL Standard Playoffs. The Hive are 35-15 this season with a series record of 9-1. They have a +32 goal differential. In the playoffs, the Hive have a 4-4 game record  and a 1-1 series record. The Hive have dominated this season and are looking to continue that domination through the playoffs.

The Eclipse are coming into this game after a tough series with the Foxes. They won 3-2 and had 9 goals in the series. The Eclipse were passing the ball pretty well with 6 assists, giving them an assist percentage of .666. They had a total of 34 shots and had a shot percentage of .264. Their on target percentage was .794. After coming off a great victory in the first round, the Eclipse are looking to do it again here.

Will the Hive swarm another opponent? Or will the Eclipse take another team’s light away?

Series predictions: 3-1 Hive

Watch this game on 2/26/2022 at 6:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Academy League Standard – 7PM EST

Orange Conference

#1 Elite vs #6 Wizards

The Elite have dominated their way to their 2nd AL Standard playoffs. The Elite are 33-17 this season with a series record of 6-4.  They have a +18 goal differential. The Elite have a 3-4 game record and a 1-1 series record in the playoffs. The Elite are wanting to get further into the playoffs this season and they are going to give the Wizards everything they have.

The Wizards are coming off a great win against the #3 seed Sharks. They went 3-0 in the series and scored 8 goals. They assisted on 6 of those, which gives them an assist percentage of .750. The Wizards also had 25 shots and had a shot percentage of .320. Their on target percentage was .840. The Wizards are wanting to get the same result as the last series and if they can keep the team plays going, they have a good shot of winning it.

Will the Elite continue their winning ways or will the Wizards team play be too much for them to handle?

Series predictions: 3-2 Wizards

Watch this game on 2/26/2022 at 7:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Academy League Standard – 8PM EST

Blue Conference

#2 Wolves vs #3 Jets

The Wolves are coming into this matchup after beating the #7 Puffins 3-1. The Wolves scored 15 goals with 9 assists. Their assist percentage was .600. They had 33 shots and their shot percentage was .454. Their on target percentage was .969. The Wolves were laser focused on the net this series. Can they keep up that focus and pressure the Jets?

The Jets are coming into this matchup after sweeping the #6 Hawks. They had 12 goals with 9 assists. They had a .750 assist percentage. They shot the ball 34 times and their shot percentage was .352. Their on target percentage was .735. Can the Jets keep the team plays going against the Wolves?

The Wolves look to have the advantage in this one with the better shot and on target percentages. The Jets do have a better assist percentage but if the Wolves pressure them with a .969 on target percentage, can they defend it? This should be a heck of a matchup.

Series predictions: Wolves 3-1

Watch this game on 2/26/2022 at 8:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Academy League Standard – 9PM EST

Orange Conference

#2 Pirates vs #5 Tyrants

Last round, the Pirates swept the #7 Shadow with a 3-0 victory. They had 9 goals with 3 assists. Their assist percentage was .333. They had 20 shots and a shot percentage of .450. They had an on target percentage of .750. The Pirates are looking to have similar success against the Tyrants.

The Tyrants are coming into this series after beating the Demolition 3-1. They had 13 goals and 11 assists. The Tyrants are coming in with the highest assist percentage in the AL Standard league with .846. They shot the ball 34 times and had a shot percentage of .352 and an on target percentage of .735. The Tyrants are working well as a team!
Both teams have a similar on target percentage and the Pirates have a slightly higher shot percentage. The difference in this game will be the team plays. The Tyrants are coming into this as clear favorites.

Series predictions: Tyrants 3-1

Watch this game on 2/26/2022 at 9:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Champion League Standard – 10PM EST

Blue Conference

#1 Knights vs #5 Sabres

The Knights have fought their way to their 1st ever Standard AL playoff appearance. The Knights are 36-14 this season with a series record of 9-1. They have a +48 goal differential. The Knights are coming into this matchup after dominating the regular season. Can the Knights take the first step and beat the Sabres?

The Sabres are coming into this matchup after beating the #4 Ducks 3-1. They had 13 goals and 10 assists. Their .769 assist percentage is pretty nice and could give the Knights some trouble. They had 38 shots. The Sabres shot percentage is .342 and their on target percentage is .842. The Sabres have already taken down one higher seed, can they do it again?

Will the Knights continue their dominating ways or with the Sabres take a bite out of their chances?

Series predictions: 3-2 Sabres

Watch this game on 2/26/2022 at 10:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Playoffs Day 7
twitch.tv/mlesportsgg2

Foundation League Standard – 6PM EST

Orange Conference

#1 Shadow vs #4 Flames

The Shadow have made their way to their 2nd FL Standard playoff appearance. The Shadow are 32-18 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +49 goal differential. They were the #1 seed in their last playoff appearance. The Shadow have a 9-4 game record and a 2-1 series record in the playoffs. They made it to the Grand Finals but came up short. They are looking to make up for that this season but first they must get past their divisional opponent.

The Flames have burned their way to their 2nd Standard FL playoff appearance. The Flames are 29-21 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +26 goal differential. The Flames were the #2 seed the last time they were in the playoffs. They have a 0-3 game record and a 0-1 series record. The Flames are looking to get their first game and series win in the playoffs.

This should be one of the best matchups we are going to see. These two teams were tied before the last week of the season. It all came down to the final week to determine the seeding. Will the Flames get their revenge or will the Shadows snuff out the flame?

Series predictions: Shadow 3-2

Watch this game on 2/26/2022 at 6:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Foundation League Standard – 7PM EST

Blue Conference

#1 Blizzard vs #4 Foxes

The Blizzard have frozen their way to their 1st Standard FL appearance in the playoffs. The Blizzard are 37-13 this season with a series record of 8-2. They have a +30 goal differential. The Blizzard are clearly a tough team to beat and it will be tough for the Foxes.

The Foxes have clawed their way to their 1st appearance in the Standard FL playoffs. The Foxes are 26-24 this season with a series record of 6-4. The Foxes have a +14 goal differential. The Foxes are a hot team and are looking to get their first game and series wins in the playoffs here. (I’m rooting for you!)

Biased Series prediction: Foxes 3-0

Watch this game on 2/26/2022 at 7:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Foundation League Standard – 8PM EST

Orange Conference

#2 Elite vs #3 Sharks

The Elite have made their way to their 1st appearance in the Standard FL playoffs. The Elite are 29-21 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +16 goal differential. The Elite want to get their first series win in the playoffs here but it’s going to be a tough one.

The Sharks have chomped their way to their 1st appearance in the Standard FL playoffs. The Sharks are 31-19 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +7 goal differential. The Sharks were 1 of 3 teams tied for the top spot in the final week. Ultimately, the Shadow came away with it but the Tropic division has dominated this playoff.
Will the Elite be able to get through their Tropic opponent? Or will the Sharks prove to be too much for them?

Series predictions: Sharks 3-1

Watch this game on 2/26/2022 at 8:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Foundation League Standard – 9PM EST

Blue Conference

#2 Wolves vs #3 Hurricanes

The Wolves have howled their way to their 1st appearance in the Standard FL playoffs. The Wolves are 28-22 this season with a series record of 7-3. The Wolves have a +33 goal differential. The Wolves are going up against a very similar opponent. This game could be a toss up.

The Hurricanes have stormed their way to their first Standard FL playoff appearance. The Hurricanes are 28-22 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +23 goal differential. The Hurricanes are hoping to storm past the Wolves for their first series win in the playoffs.

This should be a super close matchup and it’s tough to even predict who would win it. The 10 goal difference is the only thing that is different. This series truly is a toss up. Will the Wolves continue howling or will the Hurricanes blow them away?

Watch this game on 2/26/2022 at 9:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Foundation League Standard – 10PM EST

Blue Conference

#1 Spectre vs #5 Outlaws

The Spectre have made their way to their 1st appearance in the Standard CL playoffs. The Spectre are 35-15 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +43 goal differential. The Spectre are looking for their first wins in the CL Standard playoffs.

The Outlaws dueled their way past the Shadow with a 3-1 victory. They had 16 goals with 13 assists. Their .812 assist percentage is above the league average and if they can keep it up, will give the Spectre trouble. They had 32 shots and a .500 shot percentage. Their on target percentage was .968 and they only had 1 shot off target. The Outlaws are looking scary and the Spectre need to be ready.

Even though the Spectre are coming in as the #1 seed, the Outlaws are having a great playoff performance so far. Will the Spectre be able to out duel the Outlaws? Or will the Outlaws chase them out of town?

Watch this game on 2/26/2022 at 10:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Champion League 3s

Elite 3-2 Wizards

The Elite held off the Wizards to advance to the quarterfinals. The Wizards came out on top in game 1 with a 3-2 score. In game 2, the Wizards continued with a dominating 6-2 performance. The Elite came back with a 3-2 victory in game 3. The Elite continued with a 2-1 victory in game 4. The Elite clinched the series win in game 5 with a 4-3 victory. The Elite roster was Moxen, Cranked, and RuebenSandwich. I was able to interview and talk to them a bit about the series.

What did you all do to get ready for this series?

Moxen: We practiced throughout the week to get ready for the series – mainly just playing ranked 3’s together.

RuebenSandwich: We prepped how we usually do by practicing a couple times in the week and then hopping on 45 minutes before the match to warm up in ranked.

Cranked: We like to warm up as a team. About an hour before, we just talked a bit and played some RL. Get our comms going and just get in a good vibe.

How did you all feel going into game 5? How did the game go? It looks like it was probably a tense game.

Moxen: We felt pretty good going into game 5, we had to overcome the lost of the first 2 games which put us in line for a reverse sweep opportunity. That really lit a fire under us and kept the momentum which allowed us to complete the reverse sweep.

RuebenSandwich: I can’t speak for them but I felt nervous but confident. We have had a really good season and know each other’s playstyle well.

Cranked: It was definitely tense. We went down two games early so we definitely had to make some adjustments and start hitting the ball better. We went into game 5 with the mindset of ‘this is our season. We win it here or we go home.

What do you all think was your biggest strength during the series? What was your biggest weakness? How will you work on that this week?

Moxen: Our biggest strength is discussing our gameplay in-between games so that we could adapt to their play style and put up a bigger fight and not get upset at each other. Biggest weakness would be rotational-based decision making and adapting to the speed of our opponent. We are planning on playing more together this week to work out some kinks that we noticed during the series – whether that be to focus on rotations in ranked and/or more mechanical gameplay.

RuebenSandwich: Our biggest strength I’d say is that we had good comms and familiarity with each other. We were confident in knowing that there is always someone that has the other two’s back in rotations which allowed us to be aggressive and keep pressure. Our biggest weakness during the series was that we didn’t utilize our strength in the first two games and we paid for it with two big losses to start the series. We were able to man up and rally in game three and that provided us a boost of confidence that helped us finish the reverse sweep.

Cranked: Our biggest strength I think is coming back in and fighting till the end. Really just figuring out what we did wrong on the fly and pulling through to get the win as a team. Our biggest weakness was comms and hesitations. We just get in a better rhythm earlier and get more practice during the time off to keep working at it.

Would you want to say anything else about the series or about the upcoming series?

Moxen: It was a good series, the Wizards are definitely a solid team and put us through the ringer the first two games. I’m just glad that we were able to recover and pull out the reverse sweep and take the series.

RuebenSandwich: As far as saying something else I wanted to shout out the Wizards on an epic series. They were by far the toughest opponent we had played all season (imo) and the series could’ve gone either way. For the upcoming series I just want to wish our opponents good luck and hope it’s another great series.

Cranked: The series was fun. They put it on us pretty good, but we are super happy that we pulled through as a team and for the Elite organization. Moving forward, we just want to play better in our series. To come out firing and to really just respect each and every opponent in front of us.

Predictions: Out of the 5 predictions that were on the website, 4 out of the 5 got it right and 3 out of those 4 got the series score perfect. Lako’s sim surprisingly got this one spot on, predicting a 3-2. The others to get this perfect were Jaeg and DK. Lako got it right as well with a series prediction of 3-1. 

Other Stats: The Wizards actually outscored the Elite 15-13 in the series. Both teams were showing off the team plays with assist percentages of .692 (ELI) and .733 (WIZ). The Elite had 38 shots on goal while the Wizards were close with 37. The Wizard actually finished the series with a better shot percentage than the Elite as well with a .405 while the Elite had a .342. Despite the Wizard having the better statistical series, the Elite buckled down and were able to pull out the win. From the interviews above, they all relied on each other and had the confidence to reverse the series. Congrats to the Elite and I love the respect shown to the Wizards! Hope to see you back in the playoffs next season Wizards!

Master League 3s 

Sabres 3-0 Lightning

The Sabres slashed their way to victory. The Sabres won game 5-2 in game 1. They won 4-2 in game 2 and they finished the series sweep with a 2-1 victory in game 3. The Sabres roster was Liotta, Godkitty, and Roman. I was able to interview and talk to them a bit about the series.

What did you all do to get ready for this series?

Roman: Honestly, we came into the series unprepared. Liotta was in the middle of a move and had limited WiFi and I was preparing for my Apex Legends Pro debut. Godkitty was the only one of the 3 of us that was grinding Rocket League each day. He actually coached Liotta and I 2 hours before our game so we could get back into shape.

Godkitty: Normally the team does not do much in the realm of practice, but we opted for a warmup scrim before the game and just focused on flushing out some of our critical 3s weaknesses. If there was ever a time to work on our flaws, playoffs are probably a good time. I think it greatly helped our chances of success, and boosted our confidence going in.

Did you all get worried in game 3? It looks like the Lightning made the game a bit closer.

Godkitty: Not necessarily. We pretty much had the same mindset as the previous games. It’s better to play each game not looking at the scoreboard and rather focus on putting your best plays in regardless of the series standing. You play with your best foot forward and don’t step back until the series is won. Game 3 just had less clear opportunities on both sides for scoring due to heavy defensive play but otherwise the mood had not changed.

What do you all think was your biggest strength during the series? What was your biggest weakness? How will you work on that this week?

Liotta: Our biggest strength in the series was our defense, they wasted all of their resources trying to execute bump plays that we easily countered. We felt very solid during the series and it would be hard to say a weakness, but if I had to I would say passing. We are playing together and working on our chemistry to help us with passing more effectively.

Roman: Our biggest strength was our positioning. We never put each other in a bad place. Someone was always supporting the other player and we always had a passing option. Our biggest weakness was the fact that we haven’t all had the chance to play together recently. We didn’t know how well we’d perform as a team but thankfully we all clicked like we have previously in the season.

This week we’re going to play more together. We need to keep everything fresh so we can continue our playoff run. I wouldn’t say we got lucky by any means but the competition gets tougher throughout the tournament. We need to be at our A game potential.

Would you want to say anything else about the series or about the upcoming series?

Roman: I believe if we keep at it we can win the championship. Andy is the most organized captain I’ve ever had and he’s helping us get back into things. He’s making us realize that we were #1 but we aren’t anymore. We need to take this seriously and prove to everyone we’re the best once again. I have no doubt if we put in the work this week, the same result will happen again. A big 3-0. Good luck to (I believe it’s the Ducks) this week. You’ll need it!

Predictions: Out of the 3 predictions that were on the website, 2 out of the 3 predicted the winner correctly. Lako’s sim of this game got the series result completely backwards. It had predicted the Lightning winning 3-0.  The two that got it right were B++ and I made one of my few correct predictions.

Other Stats: The Sabres had 11 goals compared to the Lightning’s 5. The Lightning were perfect on assists. They assisted on all 5 of their goals. The Sabres had 21 shots on goal while the Lightning were close with 16. The shot percentage was the huge difference in this game. The Sabres had a .523 and the Lightning had a .312. The teamwork for the Lightning was clearly there but the bounces were not on their side. Hopefully the Lightning can take the offseason to recharge and come back even stronger next season!

Master League 3s

Tyrants 3-0 Bears

The Tyrants came into this series ready. The Tyrants won the first game 4-2. The Bears did get a bit closer in game 2 but the Tyrants won it 3-2. Then the Tyrants dominated in game 3, winning it 6-2. The Tyrant’s roster was: Doodle!, Squintle, and Shadow. I was able to talk to them a bit about the series.

What did you all do to get ready for this series?

Doodle!: It all started on Wednesday. Keep in mind that this roster hasn’t played a single match together, whether that be in MLE or outside of MLE. So we did what any other ML team does for playoffs, play for like an hour each day every other day until saturday. Then came game day and BOOM the lineup we were playing with for 3 days, the lineup that was supposed to play the Bears, the expected lineup of Renku, Squintle, and myself. Yeah, that wasn’t the lineup we played. But the god gamer of Shadow stepped up and was a huge help in our games against the bears so big shout out to him.

Squintle: We got together around 45 minutes before the game, and we scrimmed against a team from another league that I have a friend on. We get wrecked in the scrim because we don’t necessarily sweat out in our scrims, we kinda chill out have a bit of fun and just kinda get used to playing with each other and warm up the mechs.

After the Bears got close in game 2, what did you all do to make it 6-2 in the 3rd game?

Squintle: The second game of the series is always the hardest to me, that’s the point where you got the first game out of the way, which is always a test sorta game to see how the other team plays. Fortunately we had the upper hand that game which gave us a brief sense of shield. The second game was close, we were 2-0 up then they were able to wrap it back to 2-2 to bring us to OT. We got a solid OT win after some nerve wracking moments, which I think is what helped us gain momentum going into the 3rd game, which as you saw we were able to take by storm.

What do you all think was your biggest strength during the series? What was your biggest weakness? How will you work on that this week?

Doodle!: “I think our biggest strength is our roster depth. Our roster has played with one another (aside from our top roster in question) and I can confidently say that most of them can play up to what they need to play to in playoffs. Our weakness, if I’m being completely honest, it was probably the lack of preparation. an hour and a half before gametime, we were made aware that Renku wouldn’t be able to play due to outside occurrences. As for what we are going to work on for our next matchup, lemme tell you. Absolutely nothing. From what we saw and with what we know about the Outlaws, we can beat them if we just play the way that we’ve been playing. Hopefully this time we can play our full strength roster.

Predictions: Out of the 3 predictions that were on the website, only 1 predicted the winner. Lako’s Sim of this game predicted the Tyrants winning 3-1! Lako’s Sim games actually have had a decent track record so far through the playoffs and should get more interesting as the playoffs continue. 

Other Stats: The Tyrants had 13 goals compared to the Bears 6. The Bears assisted 5 out of those 6 goals. The Tyrants had 30 shots on goal while the Bears were close with 28. The shot percentage is the huge difference in this game. The Tyrants having a .433 and the Bears having a .214. The teamwork for the Bears was clearly there but the shots were not dropping for them. As a former Bear, I wish them the best of luck and hopefully they will come back next season to take home a championship!

Champion League 3s

hurricanes 3-1 spartans

The Hurricanes came storming into this series. The Hurricanes won the first two games 3-1 and 3-0. The Spartans got the third game with a score of 3-1. Game 4 was a close one and even went to OT but the Canes came away with a 4-3 victory and ultimately the series win. I was able to talk to some of the players and here is what they had to say:

What did you all do to get ready for this series?

SilentWolf: I personally have a warm up session I like to do before hand, I know zdog was doing scrims in the server earlier before the game and papi usually tends to hop right in and start playing, but we all partied about 45 minutes before the game to work on our rotations and positioning with each other.

zdog2017: We scrimmed 3 different MLE teams and scrimmed against our ML team. Also tried to grind a lot the two weeks prior.

What did you all adjust in game 3 to get the shutout? In game 4, did you think it was going to game 5?

SilentWolf: Game 4 was a really close game and we weren’t wanting to go to game 5 so we just tried to lock down on our positioning and making sure we weren’t over committing and making sure to cover each other on defense and on offense we tried focusing on team plays and taking advantage of their misplays.

Zdog2017: After winning the first two we knew we just had to calm down and play like we did the first two. We fixed our rotations and played a lot more consistently in the 4th game. I was pretty nervous about the 4th game because it did go to overtime but we were very dominant during the overtime so I had no worry that we would get the win.

What do you all think was your biggest strength during the series? What was your biggest weakness? How will you work on that this week?

SilentWolf: I think our biggest strength was finding our teammates to make the passes, even if it wasn’t always scored we didn’t let it get to us and still kept up the rotations and defensive pressure. I would have to say our biggest weakness would be our communication as a team and some rotational errors. It was good enough to come out with the win however, if we were just a little bit more on point then game 4 possibly wouldn’t have gone into overtime or we could’ve even gotten the 3-0 but regardless of that I’m still happy with the outcome of the series. For what we’ll try working on this week, we sadly won’t have Papi since he is going out of town so it’ll just be working with our 3rd and get the playstyle down with them.

zdog2017: I think our speed and our pressure was great and we never gave them space during the 3 wins we had. We also stayed very calm on defense and didn’t panic. Our biggest weakness was our boost management and rotations. They sometimes would get messed up but we were good to fix them very quickly.

Would you want to say anything else about the series or about the upcoming series?

SilentWolf: And lastly for the upcoming series I’m good friends with Soggy and also zdog and I both know Zack so there will be some friendly rivalries going on there but definitely looking forward to the game next week and just wish everyone luck in the upcoming series.

zdog2017: I also want to say that I’m very proud of my teammates. I felt like I wasn’t on my A game during this series and they stepped up and got us the 3-1 win. Bring on the Wolves next. GO CANES!!!

Predictions: Out of the 5 predictions, only 1 got it right this time. Lako was able to get the series win and the series score perfect.  

Other Stats: The Hurricanes had 11 goals compared to the Spartans 7. Both teams had a great assist percentage. The Hurricanes with a .818 and the Spartans with a .714. The Hurricanes had 35 shots while the Spartans saved 16 of them. The Hurricanes regular shot percentage was .314 and their shot percentage accounting for what was saved was .578. The Spartans had 30 shots while the Hurricanes saved 16 of them as well. The Spartans regular shot percentage was .233 and their shot percentage accounting for what was saved was .500. The Canes were slightly more accurate but also put more shots on goal. Congrats to the Hurricanes and I hope to see the Spartans back in the playoffs next season!

Hello car soccer enthusiasts, Doodle! Here bringing you something a little different than your run-of-the-mill playoff writeups. I decided that instead of giving you my thoughts on how things might turn out, I wanted to give all of you guys, the readers, a bit of insight on teams competing in the 3s play-ins for MLE. Hope you guys enjoy it!

I’ve done my best to compile interviews with players from each team to give a bit of insight on their teams and expectations heading into the postseason.

Orange Conference Match 1 [twitch.tv/mlesportsgg @7:00pm est]
#2 Outlaws [31-19] vs. #7 Dodgers [28-22]

Starting off the ML3s playoffs we have the Outlaws teeing off against the Dodgers. Without further ado, let’s get this show on the road. Starting with SergeantBBQ for the Outlaws, and W. for the Dodgers.

How would you describe your team’s path to the playoffs? Was it easy? Was it tough until the end? If you could explain in as much detail as you’d like. 

SergeantBBQ: It was hard fought. Out of all our series losses, we managed to at least squeeze out 2 wins in all but one single series.

With the current eligible players on your team, do you think your teams could make a deep playoff run? Or are y’all just going in and hoping for the best?

SergeantBBQ: I think we are capable of making a deep push. We lost one of our starting players late in the season which sets us back slightly, but the next man up has filled his role really well. 

Looking at the schedule it seems that you guys are facing off against each other this Saturday. Anyone on the opposing roster that you or your team are particularly worried/concerned about?

SergeantBBQ: We didn’t play the Dodgers through the season so it’ll likely be a learn/adjust on the fly type of series. Although W. played really well in the doubles play-in so if he’s in the standard lineup, he might be one to keep an eye on.

*W. from the Dodgers elected not to comment*

Blue Conference Match 1 [twitch.tv/mlesportsgg @8:00pm est]
#2 Hive [32-18] vs. #7 Ducks [29-21]

The next match is actually a week 10 rematch between the Hive and Ducks. Joining me from these teams are GoldenLuigii from the Hive and Alex from the Ducks.

How would you describe your team’s path to the playoffs? Was it easy? Was it tough until the end? If you could explain in as much detail as you’d like. 

Golden: We never had any issues all szn so making playoffs was easy.

Alex: It was more difficult than I think it should’ve been. We started off the season extremely hot and then with the holidays and having to play different lineups we struggled in the middle of the season. Unfortunately we also miscounted a player count and went from 5-0’ing the Hawks and having the #2 seed to getting an 0-5 NCP and dropping to 4th seed.

With the current eligible players on your team, do you think your team could make a deep playoff run? Or are y’all just going in and hoping for the best?

Golden: With our best roster we should be favorites to win it all. 

Alex: For 3s it definitely seems like the tougher challenge. We have some availability issues that may affect the lineups we play. No matter who we have playing, we’ll have to play a very solid game to beat the Hive in round 1. We went 5-5 in games and 1-1 in series against them when we played during the regular season but they got the most recent win over us. If we advance past the Hive, I’m pretty confident we can ride that wave in a deep playoff run.

Looking at the schedule it seems that you guys are facing off against each other this Saturday. Anyone on the opposing roster that you or your team are particularly worried/concerned about?

Golden: No one. We 3-2 them last week but could’ve been an easy 5-0 if we were fully focused.

Alex: We don’t tend to focus too much on individual players in general but the Hive have 3 good players so it’d be silly to worry about one anymore than the other. All of them have the ability to peak and carry a series if it’s their night. Luckily we have a couple of guys like that too but, still not as easy challenge.

Blue Conference Match 2 [twitch.tv/mlesportsgg2 @8:00pm est]
#4 Lightning [29-21] vs. #5 Sabres [32-18]

Up next we have another set of teams that are rematching in the playoffs. With the Sabres taking the past series in a 3-2, Lightning are looking to get revenge from week 7. Here we have A1ANDYx from the Sabres and GoldFish from the Lightning to tell us more.

How would you describe your team’s path to the playoffs? Was it easy? Was it tough until the end? If you could explain in as much detail as you’d like.

GoldFish: We started off the season in a really solid position, but it definitely was not easy. Every match we played was hard fought and every team we beat was definitely a challenge. Our first match of the season was a 4-1 against the Eclipse and that really boosted us into a good spot for the majority of the regular season. Near the last couple weeks, however, we lost some tough matches and actually got 0-5’d by the Blizzard – our closest Storm rival, which put us in a really dangerous spot 2nd in our conference. We needed to beat the Blizzard by 2 games in the last week of matches to clinch a guaranteed playoff spot, so that last week was pretty scary. We actually ended up getting an NCP in favor of us, which put us in the exact spot we needed to have a chance at playoffs. After nervously waiting for a few days, the Blizzard-Hurricane match was posted. It was a 3-2 win for the Hurricanes, which gave us a 1 game lead on the Blizzard and got us a playoff spot. It was definitely a roller coaster of emotions leading up to playoffs, but we are extremely glad we are here.

A1ANDYx: I wouldn’t say it was easy because there were a lot of good teams we crossed paths with, but our team had a few members that have been playing with each other for a long time now, which made things go smoother and had a couple great additions to the team this season. We all gained chemistry together really well, which made things much easier of course. I think another thing that provides advantages for our team is that we all have similar personalities and are at the same point in life so we related very well which just formed good bonds. I think being #1 during the latter half of the season made us complacent, which ultimately lost us the 1 seed in 3s. 

With the current eligible players on your team, do you think your team could make a deep playoff run? Or are y’all just going in and hoping for the best?

GoldFish: With the roster we are putting out for playoffs, I definitely see us making a deep playoff run this season. We are putting out the best possible roster for the matches, and I’m really excited to watch them play. We are putting out 2 extremely fast and mechanical players in Jheart and Shade and a solid and cautious play-maker in Maseface26. I know these 3 can play extremely well together and I’m super excited to see how they compete!

A1ANDYx: I truly think our team has something special in the making and can make a deep run in the playoffs. We are gonna play our hardest because I know everyone on the team is wanting the championship title. No one is selfish or toxic and wants the best for the team so it wasn’t hard picking playoff lineups. It was a mutual agreement that I am very appreciative for. I try to instill a mindset into my players minds of not underestimating anyone. I think that has been one of our greatest aspects to a successful season. We are looking to make a good playoff run for sure.

Looking at the schedule it seems that you guys are facing off against each other this Saturday. Anyone on the opposing roster that you or your team are particularly worried/concerned about?

GoldFish: It’s going to be nice having a rematch against the Sabres. We played them back in Week 7 and lost a close series 2-3 due to a poor performance by me. The guys will definitely be watching out for an extremely mechanical player in Liotta, but we are definitely on the lookout for the entire Sabres roster. I’m super excited to see what Jheart, Shade, and Maseface can do against them this Saturday!

A1ANDYx: We have played them once this season and it was a very competitive match all the way through. We took the 3-2 win, but we know what the lightning are capable of so there will be no underestimating them. They are a very good team and this should be a fun match to watch. I think Shade is one of their best players so we can’t give him much space, but I don’t worry about the other team that much. A little scouting report and that’s about it. If our team does things right and plays to the ability that they can, I think we can beat anyone.

Orange Conference Match 2 [twitch.tv/mlesportsgg2 @7:00pm est]
#3 Demolition [30-20] vs. #6 Sharks [29-21]

Making our way back to the orange conference we got the Demolition taking on the Sharks. Joining me from these teams are Flycker_ of the Demolition and WATER from the Sharks.

How would you describe your team’s path to the playoffs? Was it easy? Was it tough until the end? If you could explain in as much detail as you’d like.

Flycker_: I would say that our path to the playoffs was hard-fought, but well deserved. We have multiple talented players on this team that all mesh well together in different lineups, which made it very easy for us to have confidence in who we were fielding on any given week. We certainly did our best to make sure we sat towards the top of the division and to never fall more than a single series away from a Mystic Division title. Around week 7 we started to run into issues with our availability for our main 3s players, however between the strategic placement of players each week by Axion (our captain) and the determination of all of our players to win our division we were able to have an incredible final 3 weeks by going 14-1 in divisional matchups.

WATER: We had a bit of a stressful path to playoffs. We were in a great spot heading into divisional matches, but tough losses to the Flames put us in jeopardy of not qualifying for playoffs. We needed two wins and we were in, any less and we would be eliminated. We managed to put ourselves in a very stressful situation by going down 3-0 in the series to a very strong Pandas team. Thankfully, we were able to fight for the final two wins and sneak into playoffs, but it was very close. I’m very thankful we were able to keep our heads and turn it around to get those final wins- they definitely didn’t come easy, but the team clutched up.

With the current eligible players on your team, do you think your team could make a deep playoff run? Or are y’all just going in and hoping for the best?

Flycker_: Every team in the playoffs is here to fight until the end, and we are certainly no different. Our starting lineup has great chemistry and a willingness to adapt to each other as well as to our opponents, as well as a desire to push ourselves as far as we possibly can. I personally believe that if we continue to put in the commitment to our practice, replay analysis, and team chemistry that we have been giving for the last few weeks, then you can expect to see us in the Conference Finals and potentially even the Grand Finals.

WATER: I think we’re a bit of a question mark this playoffs with our eligible players. We’ve got a very solid top four in Tommy, Craymin, Vaan, and myself, so we’ve got the flexibility to do what we need to. Craymin was a great midseason pickup, and he and Tommy got a ton of wins in 2s through the middle of the season. They also looked pretty solid last Saturday to get a 3-1 over the Shadow, which speaks to the fact that these guys do have a good amount of talent. All four of us lean towards 2s, so the 3s playoff run is a lot more of a “let’s see where we can go” thing- if we’re on I think our skills translate pretty well, but I guess we’ll see this weekend. I think we have the individual skill to be a great team, so long as the nerves don’t get to us and we’re able to keep good comms and a general good mindset.

Looking at the schedule it seems that you guys are facing off against each other this Saturday. Anyone on the opposing roster that you or your team are particularly worried/concerned about?

Flycker_: We have taken the time to watch multiple replays of series between the Sharks and teams that they have found success against and I have utmost confidence that we can find success against this team. Tommy seems to have the most mechanical potential, however he struggles to find connections with his teammates at the midfield. Craymin has great defensive positioning and defensive touches, however doesn’t pose much of an offensive threat. Water has shown that he is a solid all-around player, but often finds himself out of position during offensive drives. I anticipate a low-scoring series with the Demolition emerging victorious in this battle of the defenses.

WATER: So I’ve joked before that I have a player database for a brain, it’s nice I finally get to use it haha- the Demo have quite a few solid players that I wouldn’t really want to see on the pitch. Cain, Agent of Chaos’ stats are absolutely absurd, and Flycker_’s aren’t far behind. I’ve also played against Script in some collegiate leagues, as they live not too far from me, and they’re a great 3s player. Axion’s also got solid stats, and if I’m not mistaken they play more 3s than 2s, so they could end up being a very solid third option. I’m really excited to play against DEM though, Deejay is a friend of mine and has been for a while, and I really like their team. It’ll be a fun series this weekend, and I’m looking forward to it!

Orange Conference [twitch.tv/mlesportsgg2 @9:00pm est]
#4 Tyrants [29-21] vs. #5 Bears [30-20]

Heading back into the orange conference we have a match between the Tyrants and the Bears. Joining me is Squintle from the Tyrants and Cheese from the Bears.

How would you describe your team’s path to the playoffs? Was it easy? Was it tough until the end? If you could explain in as much detail as you’d like.

Squintle: Well we were missing our top player until the last 4 weeks of the season, which set us back in terms of having to make a pretty big comeback to the playoffs, for us to clinch our division in our last game was amazing and I think the last WW we had was super clutch to get Doodle.

Cheese: Since we only have 5 players on our roster, our team did struggle a bit to get into playoffs. Our first 4/5 weeks were pretty simple, then we had to drop one of our players who would become inactive. This made us rush to get the player, Toasty, who has been a great help since. Had to completely revamp our schedule after picking him up.

With the current eligible players on your team, do you think your team could make a deep playoff run? Or are y’all just going in and hoping for the best?

Squintle: I think, if we make it past round 1, which I propose to be the hardest matchup, we will go to the finals, and I also think we will have a good chance at winning the whole thing.

Cheese: There are two ways I see our playoff run going. If we beat the tyrants, I think we will make a solid playoff run as I think they are the toughest team in our conference; however, we do play them 1st round so we have a chance of getting knocked out early in 3’s.

Looking at the schedule it seems that you guys are facing off against each other this Saturday. Anyone on the opposing roster that you or your team are particularly worried/concerned about?

Squintle: I think Arju is considered to be one of their best players, but from experience Judgemental not only won the ML 3s last season, but is a common contender in playoffs and always does well. I think that no matter what round 1 is gonna be a huge game and I could see the winner of this matchup going to the final.

Cheese: Nope. I am a confident player and fear no players at all. Just excited to play and meet more people who play Rocket League.

Blue Conference Match 3 [twitch.tv/mlesportsgg @10:00pm est]
#3 Knights [30-20] vs. #6 Aviators [31-29]

And rounding off the night for ML3s is none other than the Knights, readying their swords (or in this case, cars) to take on the pinnacle of aviation, the Aviators. Our last two interviewees are pretty well known in MLE. We have Alton from the Knights and Ripperr from the Aviators closing off the show with me.

How would you describe your team’s path to the playoffs? Was it easy? Was it tough until the end? If you could explain in as much detail as you’d like.

Alton: Looking in the standings, we definitely had an easier route than some to the playoffs, however I wouldn’t say it was easy. Our beginning was actually a whole lot harder than the end to be honest as we started to mesh a bit better toward the end of the season. I don’t want to discredit ourselves and the people we played though, we played some really tough people. Shoutout to the Jets obviously, they tore us up this season and they were a really hard opponent.

Ripperr: I wouldn’t say easy, but for most of the season we were in the top spot. Towards the end we had some tough matchups that we needed to at least get a couple wins in and we were able to do so. I think it is good to see a group of guys come together, practice and want to get better at the game. Helped us lots throughout our season.

With the current eligible players on your team, do you think your team could make a deep playoff run? Or are y’all just going in and hoping for the best?

Alton: Of course I think we can make a deep playoff run! Our 2s matchup was rough last week and we went out first round. Obviously we think we are better than that and for the 3s coming up later this week, we have high hopes for ourselves. I’m not ignorant to the fact that there are other insanely well put together teams, I do think that we can compete with those teams though and I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes!

Ripperr: The aviators 3s lineup has done lots of work together the last couple weeks to ensure we can be ready as best as possible for the playoffs. I think if we play solid and play our game we will be able to make a run at the championship. However, there are lots of good teams out there!

Looking at the schedule it seems that you guys are facing off against each other this Saturday. Anyone on the opposing roster that you or your team are particularly worried/concerned about? 

Alton: I wouldn’t say that anyone actually playing for us this weekend is worried about the Aviators, I am though! However I won’t be playing. Enigma to me is one of the most talented players in Master League, and I think that he’s going to be a tough one for us to try and beat. I do think that we will win the series, however it will be close!

Ripperr: I think Hornet has a lot of individual skill speed, he would be my biggest worry. However, that whole roster is very good and it will not be an easy match. I have played against Mike for a couple seasons now in MLE and he is a fierce opponent. They have a good mix of mechanical ability, rotations and defense.

There you have it folks. This wraps up all of playoff week one for ML3s. Any of these player statements catch your eye? Well if yes, then you’re in luck because you can catch all of these games on stream Saturday, February 12 from 7pm est to 10pm est on twitch.tv/mlesportsgg and twitch.tv/mlesportsgg2. I’m Doodle! This has been a blast creating this. And I wish all of you a very wonderful rest of the week and best of luck to all those in playoffs. Later.

season 13 Playoffs Day 4 – The Play Ins
twitch.tv/mlesportsgg

Master League Standard – 7:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#2 Outlaws vs #7 Dodgers

The Outlaws have dueled their way to their 2nd Standard ML playoff appearance. The Outlaws are 31-19 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +13 goal differential. They have a 15-10 record against teams with a winning record this season. The Outlaws were the #7 seed in the playoffs last season but came up short. In the playoffs, the Outlaws have a 0-3 game record  and a 0-1 series record. The Outlaws are looking to change up their luck and take this series.

The Dodgers have swung their way to their first ever Standard ML playoff appearance. The Pandas are 28-22 this season with a series record of 7-3. The Dodgers have a +13 goal differential.  They have a 10-15 record against teams with a winning record this season. The Dodgers are looking to get their first playoff game win and their first series win in the playoffs.

Series predictions:
Lako’s Sim – OUT 3-2
B++ – OUT
Brava – DOD 3-2

Watch this game on 2/12/2022 at 7:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Master League Standard – 8:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#2 Hive vs #7 Ducks

The Hive have stung their way to their 1st ever Standard ML playoff appearance. The Hive are 32-18 this season with a series record of 7-3.  They have a +32 goal differential. The Hive have a 14-11 record against teams with a winning record. The Hive are ready to sting and take home their first playoff series.

The Ducks have waddled their way to their 1st ever Standard Master League playoff appearance. The Ducks are 29-21 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +26 goal differential. The Ducks have a 12-13 record against teams with a winning record. The Ducks are looking to get their first game win and their first series win.

Series predictions:
Lako’s Sim – DUC 3-2
B++ – HIVE
Brava – DUC 3-2

Watch this game on 2/12/2022 at 8:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Master League Standard – 9:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#3 Demolition vs #6 Sharks

The Demo have destroyed their way to their 2nd playoff appearance. The Demolition are 30-20 this season with a series record of 5-5. They have a +21 goal differential. They have a 5-10 record against teams with a winning record. They came into the playoffs last season as the #6 seed but were knocked out in the Play-Ins. The Demo have a 2-3 game record and a 0-1 series record in the playoffs. They are looking to add on some more wins and their first series win.

The Sharks have swam their way to their 1st appearance in the Standard ML playoffs. They are 29-21 this season with a series record of 5-5. They have a +11 goal differential. They have a 14-16 record against teams with a winning record. They are looking to get their first playoff win in this matchup.

Series predictions:
Lako’s Sim – DEM 3-0
B++ – DEM
Brava – SHA 3-2

Watch this game on 2/12/2022 at 9:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Master League Standard – 10:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#3 Knights vs #6 Aviators

The Knights have fought their way to their 1st ever Standard ML playoff appearance. The Knights are 30-20 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +8 goal differential. They have a 6-9 record against teams with a winning record. The Knights are coming into this matchup hoping to get their first series win.

The Aviators have navigated their way to their 2nd playoff appearance. They are 31-19 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +21 goal differential. The Aviators have a 13-12 record against teams with a winning record this season. In the playoffs last season, the Aviators were the #7 seed. They won a Bo1 series and made it to the Conference Championship game but fell short. The Aviators are looking to repeat the success of last season but take home the Championship this season.

Series predictions:
Lako’s Sim – KNI 3-0
B++ – AVI
Brava – AVI 3-1

Watch this game on 2/12/2022 at 10:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

season 13 Playoffs Day 4 – The Play Ins
twitch.tv/mlesportsgg2

Champion League Standard – 7:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#3 Elite vs #6 Wizards

The Elite have ruled their way to their first ever Standard CL playoff appearance. The Elite are 31-19 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +49 goal differential. The Elite have a 12-8 record against teams with a winning record. The Elite are looking to win their first playoff game.

The Wizards have cast themselves to their 2nd Standard CL playoff appearance. The Wizards are 30-20 this season with a series record of 8-2. They have a +34 goal differential. The Wizards have a 14-6 record against teams with a winning record. They were the #7 seed in last season’s playoffs but did not win a series. They have a 0-3 game record and a 0-1 series record. The Wizard are looking for their first game win and series win in this matchup.

Series predictions:
Lako’s Sim – ELI 3-2
Lako – ELI 3-1
Jaeg – ELI 3-2
B++ – WIZ
DK – ELI 3-2

Watch this game on 2/12/2022 at 7:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Master League Standard – 8:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#4 Lightning vs #5 Sabres

The Lightning have struck their way to their 1st Standard ML appearance in the playoffs. The Lightning are 29-21 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +6 goal differential. The Lightning have a 8-12 record against teams with a winning record. The Lightning are hoping to continue striking in the playoffs and to get their first series win.

The Sabres have clawed their way back to their 2nd appearance in the Standard ML playoffs. The Sabres are 32-18 this season with a series record of 7-3. The Sabres have a +23 goal differential. They have a 9-11 record against teams with a winning record. The Shadow were the #4 seed in the playoffs last season. They have a 1-3 game record and a 0-1 series record in the playoffs. They are looking to get their first series win with this matchup.

Series predictions:
Lako’s Sim – LIT 3-0
B++ – SAB
Brava – SAB 3-1

Watch this game on 2/12/2022 at 8:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Master League Standard – 9:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#4 Tyrants vs #5 Bears

The Tyrants have stomped their way to their 1st appearance in the Standard ML playoffs. The Tyrants are 29-21 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +20 goal differential. The Tyrants have a 15-10 record against teams with a winning record. The Tyrants are looking to get their 1st playoff win in this matchup.

The Bears have growled to their 2nd appearance in the Standard ML playoffs. The Bears are 30-20 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +24 goal differential. They have a 14-11 record against teams with a winning record. In the playoffs last season, the Bears were the #1 seed. They had a 11-8 game record and went a perfect 3-0 in series. The Bears won the Season 12 Championship game. They are looking to repeat what they did last season.

Series predictions:
Lako’s Sim – TYR 3-1
B++ – BEA
Brava – BEA 3-2

Watch this game on 2/12/2022 at 9:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Champion League Standard – 10:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#3 Hurricanes vs #6 Spartans

The Hurricanes have stormed their way to their first Standard CL playoff appearance. The Hurricanes are 28-22 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +25 goal differential. The Hurricanes have a 10-5 record against teams with a winning record. The Hurricanes are looking to get their first playoff series win.
The Spartans have battled their way to their 2nd appearance in the Standard CL playoffs.

The Spartans are 29-21 this season with a series record of 5-5. The Spartans have a +8 goal differential. They have a 10-10 record against teams with a winning record this season. In the playoffs last season, the Spartans were the #7 seed but failed to advance. The Spartans have a 1-3 game record and a 0-1 series record. They will need to have a better showing against the Hurricanes if they want to get their first series win in the playoffs.

Series predictions:
Lako’s Sim – SPA 3-2
Lako – HUR 3-1
Jaeg – SPA 3-1
B++ – SPA
DK – SPA 3-1

Watch this game on 2/12/2022 at 10:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

season 13 Playoffs Day 3 – The Play Ins
twitch.tv/mlesportsgg

Champion League Standard – 7:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#2 Wolves vs #7 Puffins

This should be a thriller of a matchup! Two divisional opponents face off in this Artic showdown.

The Wolves have hunted their way to their 1st ever Standard Champion League playoff appearance. The Wolves are 31-19 this season with a series record of 6-4.  They have a +22 goal differential. The Wolves have a 16-9 record against teams with a winning record. The Wolves are hungry for their first playoff action and to get their first postseason win.

The Puffins have pecked their way to their 1st ever Standard Champion League playoff appearance. The Puffins are 27-23 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +2 goal differential. The Puffins have a 8-17 record against teams with a winning record. The Puffins are looking for their first playoff win and potentially a chance to move on to round 2.

Series predictions:

Watch this game on 2/11/2022 at 7:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Champion League Standard – 8:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#4 Shadow vs #5 Outlaws

The Shadow are making their 2nd playoff appearance. The Shadow are 30-20 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +14 goal differential. The Shadow have a 8-12 record against teams with a winning record. They came into the playoffs last season as the #6 seed but were knocked out in the Play-Ins. The Shadow have a 2-3 game record and a 0-1 series record in the playoffs. They are looking to add on some more wins and their first series win.

The Outlaws have dueled their way to their 2nd appearance in the CL Standard playoff. The Outlaws are 32-18 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +24 goal differential. They were the #2 seed in the playoffs last season but got knocked out in round 2. The Outlaws have a 4-3 game record and a 1-1 series record in the playoffs. They have won 1 game in the playoffs and are looking to make their first conference championship.

Series predictions:

Watch this game on 2/11/2022 at 8:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Champion League Standard – 9:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#4 Ducks vs #5 Sabres

The Ducks have quacked their way to their 2nd Standard CL playoff appearance. The Ducks have a 27-23 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +6 goal differential. They have a 10-10 record against teams with a winning record. The Ducks came into the playoffs last season as the #6 seed but lost in round 1. The Ducks have a 2-3 game record and a 0-1 series record in the playoffs. They are looking to get their first series win in the playoffs.

The Sabres have clawed their way to their 1st Standard CL playoff appearance. The Sabres are 31-19 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +35 goal differential. The Sabres have a 11-14 record against teams with a winning record this season. The Sabres are looking to take home their first series win in the playoffs.

Series predictions:

Watch this game on 2/11/2022 at 9:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Champion League Standard – 9:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#2 Rhinos vs #7 Pandas

The Rhinos have rampaged their way to their 2nd Standard CL playoff appearance. The Rhinos are 34-16 this season with a series record of 8-2. They have a +46 goal differential. They have a 10-10 record against teams with a winning record this season. The Rhinos came into the playoffs last season as the #5 seed but were met with an early exit. In the playoffs, the Pirates have a 1-3 game record  and a 0-1 series record. The Rhinos are looking to get their first playoff win.

The Pandas have unlocked their inner Po to make their first ever Standard CL playoff appearance. The Pandas are 29-21 this season with a series record of 6-4. The Pandas have a +17 goal differential.  They have a 11-9 record against teams with a winning record this season. The Pandas are looking to get their first playoff game win and their first series win in the playoffs.

Series predictions:

Due to extreme scheduling difficulties, this game will be on affiliate Kurrazo’s channel at 9PM Eastern on 2/11

Academy League Standard – 10PM EST

Orange Conference

#4 Demolition vs #5 Tyrants

The Demolition have kaboomed their way to their 2nd Standard AL playoff appearance. The Demo are 28-22 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a 0 goal differential. The Demo have a 9-6 record against teams with a winning record this season. In the playoffs last season, the Demo were oddly enough, the #4 seed. The Demolition have a 1-3 game record and a 0-1 series record in the playoffs. The Demo are looking to have a different outcome this time around.

The Tyrants are roaring their way to their 1st ever Standard AL playoff appearance. The Tyrants are 31-19 this season with a series record of 8-2. They have a +28 goal differential. They also have a 14-11 record against teams with a winning record. The Tyrants are coming in wanting to win their first ever playoff game.

Series predictions:

Watch this game on 2/11/2022 at 10:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

season 13 Playoffs Day 3 – The Play Ins
twitch.tv/mlesportsgg2

Academy League Standard – 6:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#2 Wolves vs #7 Hurricanes

The Wolves have howled their way to their 1st ever Standard AL playoff appearance. The Wolves are 31-19 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +15 goal differential. The Wolves have a 12-8 record against teams with a winning record. The Wolves are looking to keep up their winning ways and take home their first series win.

The Hurricanes have stormed their way to their 1st  appearance in the Standard AL playoffs. The Hurricanes are 28-22 this season with a series record of 5-5. They have a +4 goal differential. The Hurricanes have a 8-12 record against teams with a winning record. The Hurricanes have already accomplished a lot by making their 1st playoff appearance but they want their first series win as well.

Series predictions:

Watch this game on 2/11/2022 at 6:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Academy League Standard – 7:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#2 Pirates vs #7 Shadow

The Pirates have plundered their way to their 2nd Standard AL appearance in the playoffs. The Pirates are 30-20 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +23 goal differential. The Pirates have a 6-4 record against teams with a winning record. Last season, the Pirates came into the playoffs as the #2 seed but were knocked out in the 1st round. In the playoffs, the Pirates have a 0-3 game record and a 0-1 series record. The Pirates will fight with cannons blazing to make sure this game’s outcome will not be the same.

The Shadow have snuck their way to their 2nd appearance in the Standard AL playoffs. The Shadow are 26-24 this season with a series record of 4-6. The Shadow have a +19 goal differential. They have a 16-14 record against teams with a winning record. The Shadow were the #1 seed in the playoffs last season. They have a 5-5 game record and a 1-1 series record in the playoffs. They have made 1 Conference Championship game appearance and are looking to make another this season.

Series predictions:

Watch this game on 2/11/2022 at 7:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Academy League Standard – 8:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#3 Jets vs #6 Hawks

The Jets have rocketed to their 2nd appearance in the Standard AL playoffs. The Jets are 31-19 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +21 goal differential. The Jets have a 6-9 record against teams with a winning record. In the playoffs last season, the Jets were the #7 seed but were knocked out in the 1st game. The Jets have a 2-3 game record and a 0-1 series record. The Jets came so close to getting a series win last season and are going to fight hard to get it this season.

The Hawks have soared to their 1st appearance in the Standard AL playoffs. The Hawks are 28-22 this season with a series record of 7-3. The Hawks have a +6 goal differential. They have a 11-14 record against teams with a winning record. The Hawks are looking to get their first game win and their first series win in the playoffs this weekend.

Series predictions:

Watch this game on 2/11/2022 at 8:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Academy League Standard – 9:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#3 Sharks vs #6 Wizards

The Sharks have chomped their way to their 1st ever appearance in the Standard AL playoffs. The Sharks are 29-21 this season with a series record of 8-2. They have a +4 goal differential. The Sharks have a 15-15 record against teams with a winning record. The Sharks are looking to get their first playoff series win and not go home early.

The Wizards have casted their spell to make their 1st ever appearance in the Standard AL playoffs. The Wizards are 27-23 this season with a series record of 6-4. The Wizards have a +10 goal differential. They have a 5-10 record against teams with a winning record this season. The Wizards are hoping to get their first series win in the playoffs this weekend.

Series predictions:

Watch this game on 2/11/2022 at 9:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Academy League Standard – 10:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#4 Eclipse vs #5 Foxes

The Eclipse have shown their way to their 1st ever appearance in the Standard AL playoffs. The Eclipse are 29-21 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +19 goal differential. They have a 12-8 record against teams with a winning record. The Eclipse are looking to get their first series win in the playoffs this weekend.

The Foxes have snuck their way to their 1st ever appearance in the Standard AL playoffs. The Foxes are 30-20 this season with a series record of 7-3. The Foxes have a +35 goal differential. The Foxes have a 8-12 record against teams with a winning record. The Foxes are going to do their best to get their first series win this weekend.

Series predictions:

Watch this game on 2/11/2022 at 10:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

MLE SEASON 13 PLAYOFF PREVIEW – ACADEMY LEAGUE STANDARD

by poisson

ORANGE CONFERENCE

1. ELITE 33-17 // 6-4 // Bye

The Elite began the season relatively under the radar. The initial power rankings (combined) did not have them in the top 10 of the Academy League (AL). They quickly put those doubts to rest with a penchant for winning (or losing) by big margins. Thanks to an early season non-compete penalty (NCP), the Elite finish the season at 33 wins for the first seed, 4 games ahead of the Sharks. While many consider Nate to be the lynchpin of the AL squad, he is not a normal fixture on the standard lineup. The 3s squad, typically led by iMACandCHEEZ, enters the playoff as a overall solid team and serious contender fora deep run.

2. PIRATES 30-20 // 7-3 // vs SHADOW

For the first half of the season, there was simply no team better than the AL Pirates 3’s squad. Unfortunately for them, Emilia and Emilio decided to do something about that as the Pirates lost 3 players to Champion League. The Pirates were simply suffering from success! Even after the unfortunate end of the season, the Pirates look to ride their momentum from the first half of the season and possibly sneak a few games off the Shadow. Many in AL viewed this team as being in shambles, and they potentially stand to benefit from that attitude and dismissal of their skill level.

3. SHARKS 29-21 // 8-2 // vs WIZARDS

When I think of the Sharks, I think of the defensive behemoth Miss Ginge. The captain of the AL squad held down many tight series for the Sharks and with 51 saves (1.7/gm) currently holds the 4^th overall spot in the AL 3s leaderboards. The Sharks also bring competitive shooter Mercury and have a very deep roster. Sharks and Tyrants finish tied for the best series record in Orange 3s. The only team to win their division in both game modes, I don’t think many would be surprised to see the Sharks in the Orange conference finals.

4. DEMOLITION 28-22 // 6-4 // vs TYRANTS

A playoff contender in both modes, the Mystic division winners have rebounded in style after losing star player HoboHoppy to Champion League. Boasting the coolest logo in the league (opinion), the Demolition are another win big or lose big team. Statistically, Pooteeweet claims the #1 spot on the saves against/game leaderboard. Rocking a +0 goal differential, the Demo are one of those teams that can give just as good as they get. End of season pickup Zeddwolff quickly shot up to a 12.5 with some crazy numbers. Best described as a low-floor, high-ceiling player with real inconsistency issues (2-8 week 9, 10-0 week 10), Zeddwolff has become the impact player for the Demo. If the Demo can lock down their defense and find Zeddwolf on a good day, I have no doubts they could make a dark horse run on the Orange side of the board.

5. TYRANTS 31-19 // 8-2 // vs DEMOLITION

Oh Tyrants, how close you got. With the second-best record in the game and tied for the best series record, they find themselves just outside the top four as the first play-in team due to MLE seeding rules (Divisional winners are guaranteed 1-4 seed). The Tyrants have a phenomenal defense and have several players claiming top 10 spots in many standard advanced leaderboards. Nokompass claims the best 4 mans rating, assists against/gm, and second best OMVPR in the league. Teammates mo, brad, and rocason have plenty of accolades of their own. Mid-season pickup rocason finished without a single series loss and has found himself as the glue-guy for this squad which has played as many different lineups as they have series. Captain brad has built himself a well-rounded team that would be disappointed with anything but a deep run this post-season.

6. WIZARDS 27-23 // 6-4 // vs SHARKS

Another team cursed by success; the Wizards have found themselves a new starting lineup after losing veritable 3^rd man Mykopolis to Champion League. After finding themselves ranked 1^st in the preseason power rankings with their #1 overall pick in the draft, the Wizards are a team who have stumbled at points over the season but have always found their footing again. They’ve clutched up when needed and found themselves the 6^th seed and second play-in team for Orange conference. Consistency is the name of the game in Rocket League, and if the Wizards find themselves playing on a good day, any team should be worried.

7. SHADOW 26-24 // 4-6 // vs PIRATES

The only team with a losing series record to make the playoffs in either mode, the Shadow have made some serious waves in the last weeks of the season. A Week 10 5-0 series versus division rival Flames netted the Shadow the final playoff spot, and you couldn’t ask for more competitive league play than that. With a +19 goal differential on a 4-6 record, the Shadow have clearly found their stride and clearly have been finding the back of the net as well. BoogerBear and Reach seem to form the offensive core of this squad, both finding spots for themselves in the top 10 leaderboards for Shots and Assists respectively. A sneaky 7^th seed, it would be foolish to write them off this post-season.

BLUE CONFERENCE

1. HIVE 35-15 // 9-1 // bye

The Hive finished the season with the best game record in 3s, and the best series record in the entire league. Their one loss was to the Jets, a similarly scary team. The Hive spent most of the season scraping by 3-2, and in the second half of the season came up big with several 4-1 and 5-0 series wins. They are 12-3 after the break (18-3 with an NCP) and are looking to keep that momentum even with the unusually long break for bye teams this post-season. An extremely solid defensive team, the Hive have several players in the top 10 leaderboard for standard advanced stats. As biased as I may be, I think anything other than a deep run would be a disappointment to this squad.

** Full disclosure, I am the AL Hive Captain and a player on the 3s squad.

2. WOLVES 31-19 // 7-3 // vs HURRICANES

The Wolves found themselves as a bit of an underdog in the middle of the season, but the wins kept coming and spoke for themselves. Another victim of the rank-out system, late season transfer Kyuubi has held down the fort in the wake of Dr. Steins move to Champion League. The rest of the squad is no slouch either, rounding the Wolves out to be an incredibly solid and reliable 3s squad. Initially the 5^th seed after a 3-2 win in Week 10 (29-21 record), it was later discovered that an ineligible player had been field and the Wolves found themselves as the Arctic Division champs with those 2 extra wins leapfrogging the Foxes. The Wolves have been one of the most consistent teams all season, don’t expect that to change this off season.

3. JETS 31-19 // 6-4 // vs HAWKS

The Jets find themselves with the 3rd seed for the playoffs, with a reliable and explosive squad. Again, I can’t emphasize how deep the Academy League is in 3s this season. Veteran MLE player AptFox serves are the rock for this team and leads the league in assists, typically to the clinical TheeDomDiggity. The explosive Riyo rounds out this dangerous roster. The only team to beat the Hive this season, the Jets are not to be underestimated on the pitch. Watch out for this team, I would not be surprised to see them in the Blue conference finals.

4. ECLIPSE 29-21 // 7-3 // vs FOXES

Led by star striker Lucy (most shots in the league), the Eclipse snuck in as division winners over division rival Hurricanes by a single game. The Eclipse bring fantastic shooting and solid defense to the table. ViciousOreo, KraftCola and Achilles are all offensive weapons for this team as well. Lineups have varied week to week for this team, some of which put up fantastic numbers and others left more to be desired. First round vs the Foxes should be an absolute shootout, with the two teams bringing the #1 and #2 shot takers in all of AL 3s.

5. FOXES 30-20 // 7-3 // vs ECLIPSE

The Foxes were just barely pushed out of a division title by an NCP in favor the Wolves in week 10. A team that many thought were just “okay” in the mid-season, star player and first round pick Kaliber has cemented themselves as the single best goal scorer in the league with 53 goals in 35 games. Seriously, no one else comes close to touching Kaliber, who is 11 goals ahead of #2 TheeDomDiggity in the same number of games. Teammate whyuacow comes in with the 6^th most assists in the league, presumably to Kaliber. With SupaHotBoii and AmericasFinest as possible options, the Foxes are an offensive powerhouse that would not surprise me should they make a deep run this season.

6. HAWKS 28-22 // 7-3 // vs JETS

The Hawks duked it out with the Aviators in week 10 to secure their spot in the playoffs (both teams entered the week 25-20). The loss of purpleb0x was a massive blow to the Hawks, but late season pickups of The Haunted and Sauce have served to correct that loss somewhat. Expect to see the ever-formidable duo of Blitz and PlusUltra with one of the former signees in their first-round match. As an offensive team with a relatively low but positive goal differential, the Hawks are in a precarious situation. Should they clamp down on their defense and rotations, they can give the Jets a tough first round matchup.

7. HURRICANES 28-22 // 5-5 // vs WOLVES

While typically known for their fantastic twos squad of BlackLazer and Only, top five pick The Janitor (aka West) has cemented himself as one of the best standard players in Academy League. With over 100 shots for the season, Janitor finds himself doing it all no matter who he plays with. The Canes find themselves tied with the Hawks in game record, while at a .500 series record (vs .700 for the Hawks). The Canes have fielded many different lineups in Standard this season, with Janitor being one of the few constants. Heavily lineup dependent, should they show up and mesh well at game time, they have a chance to give the Wolves a run for their money. Again, consistency is key here, and the Wolves have been a consistent team all season. Expect a tight series.

Predictions:

PIR-SHD: 3-1 SHD

If the Shadow continue playing how they have the past few weeks, it likely won’t be close. I still think the Pirates can sneak a game off them.

SHA-WIZ: 3-2 SHA

Probably one of the games I feel least confident about, I think the Sharks are the safe bet here. If the Wizards play lights out, they can and will win this series. Don’t count either team out.

DEM-TYR: 3-2 DEM

I think this matchup is possibly the most interesting of the whole first round. And I think Rocason vs Zeddwolff are the two impact players in this one. While I really like the Tyrants in this, I can’t shake the feeling that the nerves will get them. If Zeddwolff has a good day, I have doubts the Tyrants will be able to outpace the Demo offense. However, Rocason has been the steadfast third man for a million different Tyrant lineups this season, so maybe he can be the catalyst for this Tyrant squad.

WOL-HUR: 3-1 WOL

The Wolves are so consistent. I think anything but a top tier Hurricanes lineup will seriously struggle against the well-oiled machine that is the Wolves.

JETS-HAW: 3-0 JETS

The last meeting of these teams went 3-2 Hawks. Since then, the expected Jets lineup are 9-1 with +24 GD. I think the Jets will be out for revenge and the Hawks will struggle to keep up without a serious performance.

ECL-FOX: 3-2 You Pick

I think this one is going to be a total shootout. I’ll take 3-2 either way. Lucy and Kaliber are the top two shooters in the league, so I reckon one of them will have a good day.

Final Thoughts

The AL 3s board is so deep and closely matched in skill, I chose not to take the predictions too seriously for any of these matches. Any one can show up and have the best (or worst) day of their career on any given day. Consistency is the name of the game in Rocket League, and AL is consistently inconsistent. I have had a fantastic season in AL and in MLE, and I am super stoked to see what the playoffs bring us. I think just about any team on this list could really win it all.

– poisson

season 13 Playoffs Day 2 – The Play Ins
twitch.tv/mlesportsgg

Master League Doubles – 6:45PM and 7:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#2 Elite vs #7 Dodgers or #7 Pirates

The Dodgers and Pirates face off against each other in a Bo1 at 6:45 on twitch.tv/mlesportsgg to see who will face the Elite. This is the only Bo1 we have this season and it should be a thriller of a game!

The Dodgers have swung their way to their first playoff appearance. The Dodgers are 26-24 this season with a series record of 5-5. They have a -9 goal differential. The Dodgers are appearing in their first ever Master League playoff game and are looking to not only beat the Pirates but also to give the Elite a run for their money!

The Pirates have plundered their way to their 2nd playoff appearance. The Pirates are 26-24 this season with a series record of 5-5. They have a -9 goal differential. The Pirates have a 1-3 game record and a 0-1 series record in the playoffs. They are looking to win the Bo1 and win their first ever Master League playoff series.
These two teams appear to be evenly matched but I believe the Dodgers have the slight edge here. The Dodgers have a 9-11 record against teams with a winning record, while the Pirates have a 7-13 record against teams with a winning record.

Best of 1 Prediction: Dodgers

The Elite have ruled their way to their 3rd playoff appearance. The Elite have made it to the Master League postseason every season. They are 31-19 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +6 goal differential. The Pirates have a 6-7 game record and a 1-2 series record in the playoffs. The Elite are looking to win and make it all the way this season.

The Bo1 winner should have some momentum coming into the game. Some may say that it doesn’t really mean a lot but coming into a game after a win can give you the confidence to take on a stronger opponent. Will the Bo1 winner come in hot and take home the win? Or will the Elite continue to rise to the occasion?

Series prediction: Dodgers 3-2

Watch these games on 2/6/2022 at 6:45PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Master League Doubles – 8:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#2 Lightning vs #7 Hawks

The Lightning have shocked their way to their 2nd playoff appearance. The Lightning are 31-19 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +46 goal differential. The Lightning have a 8-6 game record and a 2-1 series record in the playoffs. They have had 1 Conference Championship appearance in Season 12 and are looking to go further this season.

The Hawks have clawed their way to their 2nd playoff appearance. The Hawks are 26-24 this season with a series record of 5-5. They have a -33 goal differential. The Hawks have a 0-3 game record and a 0-1 series record in the playoffs. The Hawks are looking not only for their first playoff game win but also their first series win as well.

This is one of the most lopsided matchups I have seen so far. The Lightning come in as heavy favorites. They have 5 more game wins, 2 more series wins, and 79 more in goal differential than the Hawks. But this is Rocket League and you never discount an underdog. This will probably be my wildest prediction yet but I’m going with the Hawks.

Series prediction: Hawks 3-2

Watch this game on 2/6/2022 at 8:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Champion League Doubles – 9:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#4 Sharks vs #5 Outlaws

The Sharks have chomped their way to their 5th playoff appearance. The Sharks are 28-22 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +3 goal differential. The Sharks have a 8-15 game record and a 1-4 series record in the playoffs. They have had 1 Conference Championship appearance.

The Outlaws have dueled their way to their 4th playoff appearance. The Outlaws are 27-23 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a -15 goal differential. The Outlaws have a 6-9 game record and a 1-3 series record in the playoffs. They have not appeared in a Conference Championship and are looking to change that this season.

This matchup looks pretty even. The Sharks do have an edge with goal differential. Either of these teams could come away with the win. Will the Sharks bite their way to another win or will the Outlaws run away with this one?

Series prediction: Outlaws 3-2

Watch this game on 2/6/2022 at 9:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Master League Doubles – 10:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#3 Express vs #6 Puffins

The Express have steam rolled their way to their 2nd playoff appearance. The Express are 29-21 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +35 goal differential. The Express have a 14-4 game record and a 4-0 series record in the playoffs. They won the League Championship last season and are looking to repeat that performance.

The Puffins have pecked their way to their 1st Master League playoff appearance. The Puffins are 28-22 this season with a series record of 5-5. They have a +9 goal differential. The Puffins are looking to win their first ever playoff series in the Master League this weekend.

This matchup looks pretty even. The Express do have an edge with goal differential. Either of these teams could come away with the win. Will the Express stay undefeated in the playoffs or will the Puffins slide into their first win?

Watch this game on 2/6/2022 at 10:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

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Champion League Doubles – 6:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#3 Aviators vs #6 Wolves

The Aviators have soared to their 3rd playoff appearance. The Aviators are 31-19 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +5 goal differential. The Aviators have a 20-4 game record and a 5-1 series record in the playoffs. They won the Season 6 Championship.

The Wolves have hunted their way to their 6th playoff appearance. The Wolves are 30-20 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +21 goal differential. The Wolves have a 7-18 game record and a 1-5 series record in the playoffs. They appeared in 1 Conference Championship.

Overall this series looks to be pretty even but the Aviators clearly have performed better in the playoffs. Will the Wolves turn their playoff misfortunes around and take this series win? Or will the Aviators fly to another victory?

Series prediction: Aviators 3-1

Watch this game on 2/6/2022 at 6:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Champion League Doubles – 7:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#3 Bulls vs #6 Flames

This matchup almost mirrors the later Bulls and Flames game below. The AL Bulls ended the season as the 2 seed and are facing off with the 7 seed Flames. Both of these franchises have to be happy that they made it to the playoffs again this season. Will one dominate in both series or will they each take home a win?

The Bulls have trampled their way to their 5th playoff appearance. The Bulls are 30-20 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +4 goal differential. The Bulls have a 20-21 game record and a 3-4 series record in the playoffs. They have had 1 Conference Championship game win and appeared in the Season 7 League Championship.

The Flames have torched their way to their 3rd playoff appearance. The Flames are 27-23 this season with a series record of 5-5. They have a +20 goal differential. The Flames have a 4-7 game record and a 0-2 series record in the playoffs. They are looking to get their first series win in the playoffs.

The Bulls have the better record here but the Flames have a better goal differential. This will be a back and forth matchup. Will the Flames playoff hopes continue or will the Bulls put them out?

Series prediction: Bulls 3-1

Watch this game on 2/6/2022 at 7:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Master League Doubles – 8:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#4 Ducks vs #5 Knights

The Ducks have quacked their way to their 1st Master League playoff appearance. The Ducks are 27-23 this season with a series record of 4-6. They have a +29 goal differential. The Ducks are looking to get their first playoff game win and win their first series.

The Knights have battled their way to their 3rd playoff appearance. They have made it to the Master League playoffs each season. The Knights are 28-22 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +3 goal differential. The Knights have a 6-8 game record and a 1-2 series record in the playoffs. The Knights are looking to make their first Conference Championship appearance this season.

Even though the Ducks are the higher seed, the Knights seem to be the favorite in this matchup. The Knights have 1 more game win and 2 more series wins. The Ducks however have a better goal differential. Will the Ducks continue swimming in the playoffs or will the Knights have Duck for dinner?

Series prediction: Knights 3-1

Watch this game on 2/6/2022 at 8:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Master League Doubles – 9:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#4 Demolition vs #5 Spectre

The Demolition have destroyed their way to their 2nd playoff appearance. The Demolition are 31-19 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +43 goal differential. The Demo have a 2-3 game record and a 0-1 series record in the playoffs. The Demo are looking to get their first series win this weekend.

The Spectre have fought their way to their 3rd playoff appearance. The Spectre are 29-21 this season with a series record of 4-6. They have 0 goal differential. The Spectre have a 5-9 game record and a 1-2 series record in the playoffs. They have made 1 Conference Championship appearance and are looking to make it back this season.

The Demolition are coming in as clear favorites here. They have 2 more game wins, 2 more series wins, and have a better goal differential by 43. Will the Demolition blow up the Spectres chances or will the Spectre sneak in for another playoff win?

Series prediction: Demolition 3-1

Watch this game on 2/6/2022 at 9:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Academy League Doubles – 10:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#2 Bulls vs #7 Flames

The Bulls have rampaged into their 3rd appearance in the AL Doubles playoffs. The Bulls are 31-19 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +18 goal differential. In the playoffs, the Bulls have a 3-6 game record and a 0-2 series record. The Bulls are looking for their first playoff series win and hoping for a Championship.

The Flames have burned their way to their 6th appearance in the AL Doubles playoffs. The Flames are 27-23 this season with a series record of 6-4. The Flames have a +17 goal differential. The Flames have a 33-26 game record and a 8-4 series record in the playoffs. They have 3 Conference Championship game wins and have won 1 League Championship game.

The Bulls come into the playoffs being slightly better than the Flames. The Bulls are looking for their first playoff win. The Flames come in with a lot of experience in the playoffs. Will the Flames’ experience in the playoffs torch the Bulls? Or will the Bulls run over the Flames for their first series win?

Series prediction: 3-2 Flames

Watch this game on 2/6/2022 at 10:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

season 13 Playoffs Day 1 – The Play Ins
twitch.tv/mlesportsgg

Champion League Doubles – 6:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#2 Pirates vs #7 Rhinos 

The Pirates are sailing into their 5th appearance in the CL Doubles playoffs. The Pirates are 31-19 this season with a series record of 8-2. They have a +56 goal differential. In the playoffs, the Pirates have a 13-17 game record  and a 3-4 series record. The Pirates have also had 2 Conference Championship appearances.

The Rhinos are rushing in to make their 2nd appearance in the CL Doubles playoffs. The Rhinos are 27-23 this season with a series record of 5-5. The Rhinos have a +13 goal differential. In the playoffs, the Rhinos have a 11-3 game record and a 3-0 series record. They are 1-0 in Conference Championship games and in the CL Championship game. The Rhinos were the Season 11 champions.

The Pirates come into this game being the favorite. They have 43 more goals and 3 more series wins than the Rhinos. My pick for this matchup would be the Pirates but the Rhinos will not give it up without a fight.

Series prediction: 3-2 Pirates

Watch this game on 2/5/2022 at 6:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Champion League Doubles – 7:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#2 Sabres vs #7 Knights

The Sabres have clawed their way to their 2nd playoff appearance. The Sabres are 35-15  this season with a series record of 8-2.  They have a +77 goal differential. The Sabres have a 9-7 game record and a 2-1 series record in the playoffs. They have made a Conference Championship appearance.

The Knights have fought their way to their 5th playoff appearance. The Knights are 26-24 this season with a series record of 5-5. They have a +17 goal differential. The Knights have a 22-18 game record and a 4-4 series record in the playoffs. They have won a Conference Championship and appeared in 1 League Championship.

The Sabres look to be the clear favorites in this matchup. They have a 60 goal advantage and have won 3 more series throughout the season. The Knights are going to come out strong in order to beat the Sabres. Will the Knights be able to hunt down the Sabres or will the Knights become the prey?

Series prediction: Sabres 3-0

Watch this game on 2/5/2022 at 7:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Master League Doubles – 8:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#3 Shadow vs #6 Sharks

The Shadow are making their 2nd playoff appearance. The Shadow are 31-19 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +21 goal differential. The Shadow have a 5-4 game record and a 1-1 series record in the playoffs. They are looking to add on some more wins starting with this one.

The Sharks are appearing in their 2nd Master League playoff. The Sharks are 27-23 this season with a series record of 5-5. They have a +22 goal differential. The Sharks have a 2-3 game record and a 0-1 series record in the playoffs. They have not won a series in the playoffs yet but are looking to change that this season.

The Shadow look to be favorites in this one but the Sharks have a better goal differential. Will the Sharks swallow the Shadow or will the Shadow turn out the lights on the Sharks?
Series prediction: Sharks 3-2

Watch this game on 2/5/2022 at 8:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Champion League Doubles – 9:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#4 Express vs #5 Hawks

The Express have steamed their way to a 4th playoff appearance. The Express are 30-20  this season with a series record of 8-2. They have a +34 goal differential. The Express have a 11-15 game record and a 3-3 series record in the playoffs. They have won a Conference Championship game and made a League Championship appearance.

The Hawks have soared to their 4th playoff appearance. The Hawks are 30-20 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +38 goal differential. The Hawks have a 23-17 game record and a 6-2 series record in the playoffs. They have won 2 Conference Championship games and won 1 League Championship game.
These two teams are evenly matched despite the Express having 2 more series wins and the Hawks having a goal differential of 4 more. This matchup is going to be heated. Will the Express keep on rolling or will the Hawks dive in and take the win?

Series prediction: Express 3-2

Watch this game on 2/5/2022 at 9:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

Academy League Doubles – 10PM EST

Orange Conference

#4 Bears vs #5 Elite

The Bears have roared back to their 3rd playoff appearance. The Bears are 30-20  this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +36 goal differential. The Bears have a 5-7 game record and a 1-2 series record in the playoffs. They have not made an appearance in a Conference Championship game and are looking to get into their first this season.

The Elite have made it back for their 6th playoff appearance. The Elite are 30-20 this season with a series record of 8-2. They have a +42 goal differential. The Elite have a 17-19 game record and a 3-5 series record in the playoffs. They have appeared in 1 Conference Champion games.

These two teams have identical records and are both looking to make a better run through the playoffs this season than previous. Will the Bears keep roaring or will the Elite put them in an early hibernation?

Series prediction: Bears 3-2

Watch this game on 2/5/2022 at 10:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG!

season 13 Playoffs Day 1 – The play ins
twitch.tv/mlesportsgg2

Academy League Doubles – 7:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#2 Aviators vs #7 Eclipse

The Aviators have flown into their 2nd appearance in the AL Doubles playoffs. The Aviators are 30-20 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +20 goal differential. In the playoffs, the Aviators have a 1-3 game record  and a 0-1 series record. The Aviators are looking to make their first Conference Championship game this season and ultimately a League Championship.

The Eclipse have shined their way to their 1st appearance in the AL Doubles playoffs. The Eclipse are 28-22 this season with a series record of 5-5. The Eclipse have a +41 goal differential. This Eclipse team has made their first ever playoff appearance in the AL Doubles. They have already accomplished a great feat this season and are hoping to continue making history.

Even though the Aviators are the #2 seed, the Eclipse seem to have a slight edge here. They have a 21 goal lead on the Aviators. I could see this being a close matchup. Will the Eclipse shine in their first playoff performance or will the Aviators navigate the skies to their first series win?

Series prediction: 3-1 Eclipse

Watch this game on 2/5/2022 at 7:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Academy League Doubles – 8:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#3 Spartans vs #6 Lightning

The Spartans have battled their way to their 5th appearance in the AL Doubles playoffs. The Spartans are 28-22 this season with a series record of 5-5. They have a +12 goal differential. In the playoffs, the Spartans have a 28-18 game record and a 8-3 series record. The Spartans have won 2 Conference Championship games and have won 1 League Championship game.

The Lightning have striked their way to their 4th appearance in the AL Doubles playoffs. The Lightning are 29-21 this season with a series record of 7-3. The Lightning have a +3 goal differential. The Lightning have a 8-13 game record and a 1-3 series record in the playoffs. They have made 1 Conference Championship game appearance and are looking to make another this season.

The Lightning come into this series as a slight favorite. They have 2 more series wins and 1 more game win this season. Will the Lightning strike down the Spartans or will the Spartans hold the line and take home the win?

Series prediction: 3-2 Lightning

Watch this game on 2/5/2022 at 8:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Academy League Doubles – 9:00PM EST

Orange Conference

#3 Sharks vs #6 Demolition

The Sharks have swam their way to their 2nd appearance in the AL Doubles playoffs. The Sharks are 30-20 this season with a series record of 7-3. They have a +39 goal differential. In the playoffs, the Spartans have a 2-3 game record and a 0-1 series record. The Sharks are looking to bite their way to their first playoff win this season.

The Demolition have destroyed their way to their 4th appearance in the AL Doubles playoffs. The Demolition are 27-23 this season with a series record of 6-4. The Demolition have a +31 goal differential. The Demolition have a 7-13 game record and a 1-3 series record in the playoffs. The Demolition are looking to win their 2nd series and make it to the Conference Championship game.

The Sharks are coming into this game as the favorite. They have 3 more game wins and 1 more series win than the Demolition this season. Will the Sharks take a bite out of the Demolition for their first win? Or will the Demo destroy their chances?

Series prediction: 3-2 Sharks

Watch this game on 2/5/2022 at 9:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

Academy League Doubles – 10:00PM EST

Blue Conference

#4 Foxes vs #5 Hawks

The Foxes have snuck their way into their 3rd appearance in the AL Doubles playoffs. The Foxes are 26-24 this season with a series record of 6-4. They have a +4 goal differential. In the playoffs, the Foxes have a 10-8 game record and a 2-2 series record. The Foxes have made 1 Conference Championship game appearance.

The Hawks have attacked and are making their 5th appearance in the AL Doubles playoffs. The Hawks are 30-20 this season with a series record of 7-3. The Hawks have a +29 goal differential. The Hawks have a 20-19 game record and a 3-4 series record in the playoffs. The Hawks have appeared in 2 Conference Championship games with 1 win and have 1 League Championship game appearance.

The Foxes are coming into this game as an underdog. The Hawks have 4 more game wins and 1 more series win than the Foxes. They also have 25 more in goal differential. The Foxes and the Hawks met in the Season 6 Conference Championship and the Hawks won 4-1. The Foxes are looking to do the opposite to the Hawks. Will the Foxes run away with the victory or will the Hawks swoop in and take the win?

Series prediction: Foxes 3-1

Watch this game on 2/5/2022 at 10:00PM EST at twitch.tv/MLEsportsGG2!

After 12 seasons of MLE play in doubles, the first season of Standard has ended. It culminates today in five teams getting the first-ever championship titles in threes. We have five matchups that are can’t miss series so read on below as we break down each matchup in today’s Standard mode finals.

foundation league

Shadow (1) vs. Hawks (1) 6:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG

After this season’s FL draft, two teams stood out as favorites from the beginning, and in a league, as unpredictable as the Foundation League it’s a bit of a first that those two teams are the ones standing face to face in the finals in threes. How they each got to that final though, is a bit different. The Shadow have built a strong season with chemistry and consistent play. Logic, Itsgogurts, and Crazycow have been a trio since week one. They have looked better together each time they take the pitch. On the Hawks side, however, the season has been about finding the next player up to carry the torch. Crustycribbits, Cellachmud, and Beepbingbongbop joined in mid-season to replace ranked out players. They took to the pitch together and immediately began dominating together. Now, these two teams that have been so impressive will face off for the first time. Both have dominated playoffs, with only the Hawks dropping a single game in the playoffs. Today, one team’s domination will end and the other will walk away with a title. 

Academy League

Flames (5) vs. Lightning (2) 7:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG

The Flames have shown pure dominance over Academy League, getting both teams to the finals. FlaMEz has led the charge on the field, alongside Binkyboppin and Crazy. There is no clear standout for the trio as all three players have had their moments throughout the playoffs. I personally believe they have been able to synergize to a point higher than the competition they have faced, and are looking to show what team play can bring to a team in this championship. As for the Lightning, Aatxe has been the star on the field, putting up impressive stats in all categories as well as some flashy plays on the field. Alongside him, Tomez and ThunderTung have been a great support for second-chance opportunities and passes. The dynamic of this final is great. On one hand, we have a team without a real standout. A real well-rounded team vs an all-star in Aatxe. This weekend we will get to see which will prevail.

Champion League

DODGERS (3) VS. JETS (2) 8:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG

The Dodgers are coming into the championship match off of a 4-3 victory over the Sharks. The series was terrifyingly close with both teams putting up similar scores and stats. Shraxl, Jarhead, and Ingz worked in the usual fashion for their team- No one player carrying, just a strong and cohesive team from top to bottom. The Jets are sitting on the other side of the field, fired up from their 4-2 victory over the 1 seed Foxes. In that series, Liotta put on 16 shots and 7 goals. In addition, Arunos and V8_Timmy peppered the net with their own shots to keep the pressure on. I expect to see high-level passing plays and displays of team communications in the fight for the standard CL championship title.

Master League

BEARS (1) VS. HAWKS (3) 9:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG

The Bears had a bit of a scare in their last series against the Elite. Viglio, TyTy, and Judgemental pulled off the 4-3 victory which placed them firmly in the championship match. It’s hard to tell what roster the Bears will be coming into the finals with. Throughout the course of playoffs, they’ve brought 5 players in. The roster doesn’t seem to affect the outcome too much as the Bears have been consistently winning with all their players. The Hawks are swooping on to the other side of the field fresh from a 4-3 win over the Aviators. Vandy, brndn., and Pirsquared flexed their stamina as the series ran on to a full series. The Hawks have also run a few different rosters in playoffs. This match is going to be one of the hardest to predict as either team could come out with surprises. Catch the final season 12 ML match tonight as the Bears meet the Hawks on the field at 9 PM EST.

Premier League

Knights (1) vs Bulls (1) 10:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The final showdown of the season may be the best of them all. The Premier League has always been a showcase of the top tier of MLE talent and with the addition of threes, the game has become the peak of minor league play. The showdown between these two teams represents a match between two rosters that bring the best MLE has to offer. That includes a now three-time MLE champion in Comp. In the first of two matchups between these two teams this weekend the Knights took the series 4-2.. Comp and Perma looked composed and in control through much of the series. But threes will be a much different game mode and the addition of Ryker for the Knights and BasliskRL for the Bulls will change the dynamics of the pitch. The Bulls bring in a strong defensive front and the Knights are known for their high-flying offense. Though the Knights took this first round of this matchup the Bulls threes team looks like they’re ready to take a title. To see who wins the final series of this weekend you will have to tune in tonight to our twitch channel to catch all the action.

Over the past eleven seasons, there have been 26 champions, only five were crowned in the first five seasons before the league expanded. As the league continued to grow it expanded into two, then four, and now five leagues. Five champions were crowned last season. As the league has expanded once again into 3s, ten championship titles will be handed out to franchises. The next two days will shape the history of the MLE in a bigger way than any championship weekend before it. Today we have the doubles finals for each league. Five series to determine who takes home the title in MLE twos. There are a lot of exciting matchups so enjoy as we break down every doubles final you’ll see today, August 14th in the MLE Playoffs.

FOUNDATION League

Flames (3) vs Hawks (1) 6:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Flames coming on late in the season and surprising teams was perhaps the most exciting result in Foundation League this season. From the start of the season, it looked as if the draft favorites Shadow had their division locked up. But it only takes one player to turn your season around and Justin4728 has been that game-changer for the Flames. Justin4728 put on a great run towards the back half of the regular season and in the postseason has been nothing short of an MVP frontrunner. In their Conference Final against the Shadow, they put up 16 goals and 9 saves in a hard-fought 7 game series. Justin has had two different partners in Drocsid and Dualdier and both have played extremely well in the playoffs with 3.45 and 3.18 MVPRs respectively. But if the flames are going to take a title they will be looking to their star player to deliver. On the other side, they face yet another number one team in the Hawks. The Hawks have stayed in front in Blue Conference doubles this season with a rotating roster of their own Allstars. Crusty Cribbits and Beepbingbongbop have looked unstoppable in these playoffs. Over their first two playoff series, they scored 32 goals while holding their opponents to just 8 goals. That’s a stat that speaks for itself. The Flames may have a star but is it enough to take down that dominating force of the Hawks?

Academy League

Flames (5) vs. Spartans (7) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Spartans have done it. The little seventh seed that could, some would say. The Spartans, despite their lower ranking, have been able to consistently beat the top teams of AL. A large part of this run has been brought about by SpongebobGGoober, who made a splash in the first round with a very impressive 7.84 MVPR. Passive Ways has played incredibly well also, putting in a ludicrous amount of shots. As for the opposition, let me say it again, the Flames are HOT. This Academy League team has sent shock in both 2s and 3s making the finals in both game modes this season. FlaMEz has been the leader for this team, not just from the top of the franchise, but as a player as well. You would expect to see him paired up with Binkyboppin who has been his doubles partner throughout the run. This finals match will be incredibly exciting as we will see an incredible battle between two teams who were not necessarily favored from the start of the playoffs. The final itself screams, “Underdog.”

Champion League

WIZARDS (4) VS. HAWKS (1) 8:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG

This Champion League matchup signals the halfway point of the season 11 doubles finals. The Wizards are coming to the championship match after defeating the 1 seed Sharks team. It was a tough series where the Wizards narrowly secured the series in a game 7 overtime. Dolo7 scored the finishing goal while Mario_RL proved to be a reliable and trustworthy teammate. The Wizards stand a good chance against the 1 seed Hawks due to their win against the Sharks. Despite that, the Hawks won’t be an easy team to take down. They won the blue conference with a 4-2 victory over the Lightning. In that series, Squintle put on 30 shots, and anjay21 put on 33 shots. The Wizards will have to cast their best defense to ward off the Hawks’s offense. This well-balanced match has a high chance of bringing us on a long ride. Watch tonight at 8 PM EST to see which team will be crowned the Season 12 CL doubles champion!

Master League

BULLS (7) VS. EXPRESS (5) 9:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG

Following the high-seeded CL finals, we come across something less expected in the ML 2s finals here. The 7 seed Bulls and the 5 seed Express defied odds and fought their way into the championship. The Bulls have already defeated the orange conference first and second seed. They’re coming directly off of a 4-0 conference victory against the Rhinos. Astrologuy and ESTO maintained their trend of having a crazy high MVPR in playoffs with their 5.66 and 6.05 average in their last series. The Express have a similar story – They beat the 1 and 2 seed of their conference to reach the championship. They have plenty of momentum coming into tonight as their 4-2 win against the Lightning was stat-studded. Luke_ secured a 6.00 MVPR for the series while Poobi3 played around them predictably. These two low seeded but high MVPR teams are sure to bring a good fight to the championship stage at 9 PM EST tonight. May the best team win!

Premier League

Bull(1) vs Knights (2) 10:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Premier League final is the culmination of one of the more juicy storylines in MLE this season. Last season in Premier League doubles we saw one duo that was head and shoulders above the rest. The combination of Deluxe and Comp was too powerful to be stopped. But now in season 12, these two champions of season 11 find themselves on opposing sides. Deluxe stayed with the bulls and teamed up with Evil to make their way back to the final. Comp on the other side found a new team in the Knights and a new partner in Perma. Both team stats have shown the caliber of these players. Both Comp and Deluxe finished top three in goals and top ten in almost every other category. Their respective partners also finished in the top ten in several categories. At the end of this final, we will crown a champion but we may also settle a grudge match two seasons in the making. Who is the ultimate MVP of MLE and can win back-to-back championships with multiple rosters? 

Tonight five exciting series will lead to five new champions. There are underdogs stories, Cinderella runs, dominant teams, and returning champions seeking another title. The only way to not miss out is to tune in to MLEsportsgg on twitch tonight at 6:00 PM eastern to catch all the action.

The Conference Finals return for day two and this time it’s the 3s rosters that are taking the field. This is the first season that MLE has had a standard mode so whoever wins today will be the first-ever MLE conference champions in standard mode. We have ten series across five leagues and each one looks to be a great match so let’s break down each match happening today, August 8th in the MLE playoffs.

Foundation League

Orange Conference: Shadow (1) vs. Comets (3) 6:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

The comets and the Shadow both made quick work of their first-round series. Now the two teams face off to determine who is the best in the Orange Conference. The Comets closed down the flames with a stellar offensive showing from Swanson, who scored five goals in three games, and great defense from the whole team. The Comets held the high-scoring Flames team to just two goals on the series. The Shadow looked to their passing and team play dispel the Spectre squad. six of their nine goals were assisted and four of those assists came from Logicc who has been a playmaker for the Shadow all season long. Though they both seemed to breeze through the first round, this second test will not be an easy one for either team. I would expect this best of seven series to go to at least a game six.

Blue Conference: Puffins (1) vs. Hawks (3) 6:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

The Hawks soared over their division rival Aviators in the first round, perhaps exacting revenge for losing the division title in the regular season. Beepbingbongbop was the team MVP with eight goals and four assists. None of the Hawks team put up that many saves on the three-game series simply because they didn’t have to spend all that much time on their own defensive end. The Aviators only managed 12 shots on their opponents and of those the Hawks only allowed four of them in. In the next round, the Hawks face off against the Puffins. The Puffins have looked better and better each week heading into the postseason and their first round of playoffs was no different. They dispatched the Sabres in a 3-1 victory that further cemented their argument for the top of the Arctic division. The last time these two teams met it was the Puffins that bested the Hawks 3-2. Will history repeat itself or will the Hawks take another high-flying opponent out of the skies?

Academy League

Orange Conference: Shadow (1) vs. Flames (5) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

The Flames have been absolutely white-hot during this playoff run. Largely in part to their FM ironically named FLaMez, as well as BinkyBoppin and Crazy. In the last round, they were able to sweep the Elite and show just why they appear to be the team to beat in AL. The Shadow, on the other hand, are out for revenge. Last week was a tough battle for the two teams in 2s which ultimately saw the Flames taking the series. The Shadow’s leading star through their playoff run has been ClayHD, who has put on a defensive clinic in 3s. Ultimately, there are a ton of storylines leading into this game. As shown by their 2s match a week prior, this will be an exciting game.

Blue Conference: Sabres (1) vs. Lightning (2) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

The Lightning have bolted on to the scene in large part to the play of Aatxe. His mechanical ability and scoring prowess was put on full display in their series against the Express, where he racked up 5 goals and an impressive 3.68 MVPR. ThunderTung and Tomez have also been great in the second line. The team chemistry these 3 have displayed shows why the Lightning have gotten this far into the playoffs. As for the Sabres, The Big C has been the standout player. C has not only shown his ability to build a winning team but to also lead by example on the field. In his series against the Hive, he racked up a perfect shooting percentage with 6 goals, earning a 3.09 MVPR. Darkfire and Little Sauctin also displayed their ability to help push this team to the top. Overall, this series will come down to the star player in my opinion. Without a doubt, we will see an exciting series that could go either way.

Champion League

Orange Conference: Dodgers (3) vs. Sharks (4) 9:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

The Sharks were the only Champion League team to make it to the conference final round in both modes. Though they lost in double the Sharks still have hope in this threes squad that has been playing well in the postseason. They played a very back and forth series against the Comets in the second round, taking the first game by one goal, then pulling off a Brazil in game two before getting shut out games 3 and 4 and finally winning the final game 1-0. The Dodgers also entered playoffs in both 2s and 3s but standard seemed to be the mode that favored this squad. The Dodgers come off an impressive 3-1 win against the Outlaws. After dropping the first game the Dodgers tightened up and shut out their opponents the next three games to take the series. For standout players today I would look to Hobo1104 for the Sharks and Shraxl for the Dodgers. If either of these teams expects to win they need their top performers to put shots in the back of the net.

Blue Conference: Foxes (1) vs. Jets (2) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

The Jets have gotten through two rounds of the playoffs so far but they certainly haven’t made it look easy. Of their nine games for far this season only two have been decided by more than one goal. But when the Jets need the win it’s Isaac13003 that is there to clutch out the play. Isaac13003 had 5 goals 4 assists and 7 saves in the win against the Blizzard and the team will look to them to keep up their top form today against the number one seed. The Foxes opened their first game of this playoffs with a statement 5-1 win. The Hive were able to tamp down on the Foxes’ offense and wrestle one game away from them but ultimately the Foxes walked away with a 3-1 series victory. The Foxes defense looked especially effective, holding the Hive to just 4 goals on the series. Now this number one and number two seed face off in a battle that is sure to be yet another close series. I expect this one to be a game five, OT-winner, type of series.

Master League

Orange Conference: Bears (1) vs. Elite (2) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg

It’s always an unfortunate event when a team is unable to field a roster in the playoffs. The Wizards bowing out in round two was probably a strange mix of relief and confusion for the Elite. They make it to the next round but have a whole week off from competition and now have to go into a tough opponent having missed an opportunity to compete. For the fans, it means that there are some question marks around this one. Going back to week one the Elite dispensed with the seventh-seeded Outlaws in a convincing 3-0 but now the number two seed faces the number one seed. Looking at the season of Dstn, BuffaloBeast, and Deadalao I’m confident this change won’t phase them too much. The three of them have been top performers all season and will no doubt be excited to take the pitch. Their opponents will also be ready to prove they can win. The Bear’s hopes for a Championship now rest on Viglio, Hen, and Judgemental. Theor first series against a tough Flames team went all the way to game five. Viglio seems to be the player to watch with 6 goals and 11 saves in their first series. You can likely expect even more shooting coming from them in this series.

Blue Conference: Hawks (3) vs. Aviators (7) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Aviators are the last non-division winner left in the bracket and have fought through tough teams to show they deserve all the fanfare of a cinderella team. Enigma has been holding their own and proved to be a great third but it’s the shooting of Doomsucker and CheeseSandwich that has surprised opponents in the playoffs. After dropping the first game against the Eclipse in the second round the Aviators tightened up their defense and went to work making plays that set up their strikers to finish off. They won the series 3-1 after CheeseSandwich secured the winning goal in a 1-0 game. The Hawks have had to weather quite the storm in this postseason, defeating but the Blizzard and Hurricanes in two five-game series to get to this point.  Brndn, KH, and Vandy have played in both series and they notably all share that load on this team with each member putting up good numbers across the board. Though good team mentality is a great sign, If the Hawks want to stop taking each series the full length they will likely need an MVP to emerge and pop off in the next series.

Premier League

Orange Conference: Bulls (1) vs. Pirates (2) 10:00 pm on mlesportsgg

In the Premier League, it’s often not enough to have a solid roster of players, you need one player to emerge as an x-factor and make plays. That player for the Pirates was Kruncho in the first round. Kruncho put up an astounding 26 shots and scored 9 goals to put their team ahead of the Bears in a series that went the distance. Tater and Taki were no slouches on offense with 15 and 14 shots of their own. This team has shown that they mean to be aggressive on offense and dominate the possession and that it is a strategy that might be the secret formula for a championship in the Premier League. Their opponents in this round have certainly had an offensive mindset to match the Pirates. The Bulls took care of business in the first round by dispensing with the Tyrants ina 3-0 sweep. The trio of Deluxe, Evil, and BasiliskRL looks like a team that is perfectly in sync. Expect this series to be a fast-paced display of highlight plays.

Blue Conference: Knights (1) vs. Jets (2) 9:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Jets are maybe my favorite team to watch in the Premier League this season. The team is lead by Vitali., a player that has been a top performer in their league since season eight but has never been able to achieve that final win of the season. This trio, however, might just be the right team to take Vitali to the championship. Windle and Wovah have shown once again in their first series why they deserve to be all-stars like the other top players in MLE. Wovah particularly stepped up in the first round, putting up 7 goals and 3 assist in their series against the Blizzard. As good as the Jets are they still have their toughest test ahead of them today. The Knights squad has been dominant all season and though we didn’t get to see them in the first round due to an eclipse NCP, we don’t need first-round stats to tell you that Comp, Perma, and Ryker are a delay combination that have earned their number one seed. The Jets were the only team in the regular season to go toe to toe with the Knights so expect this one to be a hard-fought grudge match between two titans on MLE.

The battle for Orange and Blue Conference titles is here. This weekend teams will be battling it out to determine who wins their respective conferences. With each of these teams having played each other in the regular season, there are bound to be a few grudge matches going on, and that could make things all the more interesting when they face off again. So strap in for a wild night of Rocket League and read on to see who will be matching up tonight, August 7th, in the MLE Doubles Conference Finals.

Foundation League Doubles

Orange Conference: SHADOW (1) VS. FLAMES (3) 6:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG2

Both the Shadow and the Flames finished their first playoffs game with a 3-1 victory. Now they meet each other in the Blue Conference finals to decide who moves on to play the victor of the Orange Conference. LogiCC and CrazyCow were a balanced duo when they went up against the Demolition last week. LogiCC had a 4.33 MVPR average for the series while CrazyCow had a 4.48 MVPR average. If both players can continue to rotate and play consistently at almost exactly the same level they could continue their winning streak. The 3rd seeded Flames sit on the other side of the field. They pulled an upset over the 2nd seeded Spectre last week and are capable of doing it again. Drocsid and Justin4728 put on a combined 35 shots and 13 goals over their 4 game series last week. This isn’t a surprise as Justin4728 has the second highest shots per game over the regular season at 4.8 SPG. The Flames certainly have the skills they need in order to take down the top seeded team. It’ll all come down to match time to see if the Flames can score to their heart’s content or if they will be stopped by the well prepared Shadow defense.

Blue Conference: HAWKS (1) VS. PUFFINS (2) 6:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG3

The Hawks are soaring into the Blue Conference 2s Finals after a 3-1 victory over the Foxes last week. As predicted by the editorial team, the Foxes put some serious offensive pressure on their opponents. Beepbingbongbop made 12 shots and 6 goals while Crusty Cribbits made 17 shots and 8 goals over the course of the 4 game series. Both Hawks players are a lofty 10 salary. That’s the highest possible salary an FL player can be, so it’s no surprise that the Hawks have had a strong playoffs run so far. Despite their inability to soar like the Hawks, the opposing Puffins have their own tricks up their wings. The Puffins took their first playoffs match against the Ducks in a clean 3-0 sweep. In that series, Frost made 13 shots and scored 7 goals. GamrWill’s well-rounded performance netted an average 4.71 MVPR over the 3 games. The last time the Hawks met the Puffins this season they secured a 3-2 victory. A repeat performance of that nature is possible. But with how similar these high scoring and high seeded teams are, you will just have to tune in tonight at 6 PM Eastern on MLESPORTSGG3 to see who will land in the cross-conference finals.

Academy League Doubles

Orange Conference: Rhinos (2) vs. Flames (5) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

Perhaps it’s simply the magic of having a player named FLaMEz on the Flames roster; this AL team has never looked hotter than they do this post season. By putting up 12 goals in their first round series and 15 goals in their second round series the Flames are showing that they can turn up the heat with every game. They even closed out their series against the Shadow with a 6-0 and 2-0 win to take the series 3-2. The Rhinos aren’t a team to be phased by their opponents, however. Yurek and The End Of You have shown a consistency and chemistry in this playoffs that isn’t often seen in the Academy League. Each player seems to know where each other is at all times. Their ability to strike fast and take shots from every point of the field has left opponents flummoxed and lost on the pitch.

Blue Conference: Knights (3) vs. Spartans (7) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

Like Last season’s Puffins, the Spartans are the scrappy underdog that should win over a lot of MLE fans this season. Passive Ways and SpongebobGGoober came out of the gate with a 3-0 win over the Sabres that was such a shock it had maybe the most reactions of any series reported in this playoffs. The offense of this duo was fast and efficient, converting 60% of their shots in that first series. They followed up that performance with with a win over the Aviators where the first three games were decide by just one goal. The Spartans came up suddenly and closed out the series 4-1 in the 4th game. The Knights on the other side of the pitch are looking to play spoiler to this Cinderella run and they have the game plan to do it. SirHoldSpace and KyleCornDog took down the defending champions in round one and had an impressive 3-0 sweep in round two over the Blizzard. In both series the Knights controlled the pace of the play and dominated possession. Even when they’ve let goals in it’s always looked like the Knights are in control of the series.

Champion League Doubles

Orange Conference: Sharks (1) vs Wizards (4) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

This Wizards team might just have a real MVP in WhippyFlippy. It took the team a bit to find their rhythm in their match against the Dodgers but after dropping game one they began to fire on all cylinders and took the next three games. Prince|E had 6 goals and 6 assists while WhippyFlippy had 12 saves and 10 goals on 15 shots. If they can keep that impressive level of shooting percentage up, they might just find themselves in a championship game. The Sharks, on the other side, played their first postseason match against a Bears team that wouldn’t go down without a fight. The series went the distance and four of the five games were decided by just one goal. The Sharks outlasted the Bears thanks to the defense of Bledsoe and Hobo1104. The duo combined made 22 saves and held their opponents to a combined shooting percentage of 33%. Both teams have been in top form and have players that can make the clutch play to take the lead. I expect this to be a back-and-forth series that goes the distance.

Blue Conference: Hawks (1) vs Lightning (3) 9:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

The Lightning has breezed through this playoffs in a flash. They managed to get through their first two series by only dropping one game. Over those two matches, Ex has averaged a 4.49 MVPR while Goldfish averaged a 5.37. That is a dominant combination for a duo that came into playoffs as a three seed. This team now faces the number one seed in the conference. Despite this seed difference, I don’t see the Lightning being phased by a team with a better regular-season record. That Number one seed, the Hawks, took care of business in their first match last weekend. They took a 3-1 win over the Spartans that showed how efficient the Hawks are at shutting down an offense. Squintle and Pomwonderful combined for 11 goals while holding the Spartans to just 6. Notably, the Hawks managed to keep Rine of the Spartans from sinking a single one of their 17 shots. I expect this to be a showcase of one team’s dominance in controlling the pitch. Look for the first game to set the tone in this series.

Master League Doubles

Orange Conference: Rhinos (5) vs. Bulls (7) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The battle of the Cinderella stories is taking place in the Orange Conference. One of these teams will have a chance to compete for the championship title despite neither of them having won their own division. The Bulls got here by plundering a good Pirates team and then spearing a deadly Sharks duo. Both ESTO and Astrologuy have averaged over a 5.0 MVPR across both postseason series. But it was ESTO who showed up huge against the number one Sharks team in a hard-fought five-game series. Esto had 14 saves and 14 goals, making a convincing argument for an MVP title. The Rhinos have had an impressive run of their own in the first two matchups. Ellectrozx and TmanRL took a 3-1 win over the Spectre in the first round, outscoring them 18 to 12. They then met an offensive Elite team in the second round and showed that they can win against even the best offenses. The Rhinos outpaced the Elite’s 39 shots with 45 of their own. Expect this series to have a lot of fireworks as these two team give it their all to prove why they deserve a chance at the title.

Blue conference: Lightning (2) vs. Express (5) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Express have made it to the playoffs by having a solid roster who won series consistently throughout the season. Now that they’re in the postseason they’re showing just how much of a strength having a deep bench is. In their first series, Botato and Pobbi3 combined to put up 13 goals in a 3-1 win over the Aviators. In their second series, Luke_ stepped in for Botato and Popped off for 13 goals, 4 assists, and 9 saves in a 3-1 win over the Knights. If one of these three can’t take the pitch this weekend it won’t affect their chances for a win because each of them has proven lethal in the playoffs. The Lightning, not unlike their Champion League friends, have taken two series in convincing fashion. The defense of Jrdn and AKAIceBorg has been outstanding to watch. Holding teams to just 13 goals across two series shows just how consistently this team can shut down their opponent’s offense.

Premier League Doubles

Orange conference: Bulls (1) vs. Outlaws (3) 9:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Outlaws got to take the pitch for round two against their rivals, the Pirates, and show off the talent that’s on this Outlaws roster. Lazarus and LottyLettuce made an argument for why a defense strategy in twos is so powerful. They were happy to absorb the pressure of the pirates, putting up 33 saves in the process. When they had chances on offense they converted with precision and were rewarded with winning enough low-scoring games to win the series 3-2. How this tough defense will fair against the high-powered offense of the Bulls is another story. The Bulls have only lost a single series this season and that is largely owed to the offensive output of Evil and returning PL champion, Deluxe. Deluxe won last season with a team based around standout solo plays and aerial attacks. That could be the formula for repeat success. But to win that Championship for a second time the Bulls will have to get past LottyLettuce who is surely looking for revenge after falling short last season.

Blue conference: Jets (1) vs. Knights (2) 10:00 pm on mlesportsgg

It’s hard to believe that a team with Comp on it is the underdog in any matchup but the talent of the Premier League playoff teams has reached a new level this season. That doesn’t mean that Comp hasn’t put their stamp on the playoffs this season. They managed to put up 5 goals and 4 assists in a 3-1 win over the Hurricanes last weekend. The Duo of Perma and Comp had a slow start, getting shut out 1-0 in the first game, before waking up and returning to their Knights playstyle of high octane offense. They closed out the next three games 4-3, 5-1, 4-1. The Knights now face off against the only team who has thus far proven they can throw a wrench into their game plan. This Jets duo of Wovah and Windle not only beat the Knights in the regular season but did so in a 5-0 sweep. It’s notable that Perma was not in for this matchup so I wouldn’t write off this rematch so quickly but the Jets looked phenomenal in their first playoff match last weekend. Wovah and Windle dominated blizzard in a 3-0 sweep, both averaging over an 8.0 MVPR in the series.

As we draw closer to the finals every match looks to get tougher to call and will no doubt be more explosive. Every player will be fighting to prove their team is the best and only the true stars of their teams will be able to rise up and overcome their opponents. It’s sure to be an exciting weekend so tune in to our twitch channels to catch all the action and check back here for more playoff coverage.

Day three of the quarterfinals brings us the final games to determine conference final matchups. We have a slate of explosive series to finish out the round and we expect each one to be a must-watch. There’s a lot to cover so let’s get to it. We’re breaking down every match that you’ll see tonight, August 1st on all of MLE’s streams.

Foundation League

Standard: Flames (2) vs. Comets (3) 5:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

The Comets took the mystic division title this season after a close race in 3s. They managed to hang on despite closing out a little weaker than they have all season. Meanwhile, the Flames have been heating up toward the end of the season in 2s and 3s. The Comets have one of the most lethal scorers in the league in Swanson who finished second overall in goals scored this season with 47. The Flames also have a top-five scorer in Justin4728 who has put up 35 goals in 35 games this season. These are two hungry teams that have the firepower to take the win. I expect this series to be high-scoring and likely got to five games.

Standard: SHADOW (1) VS. SPECTRE (4) 5:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG3

The Shadow are coming into their first playoff match with a 70% regular-season win rate. As if the win rate isn’t already intimidating enough, the Shadow has consistently placed first in power rankings and are expected to do well in their playoff debut. Their star players CrazyCrow and MapleSyrup boast the 2nd and 3rd highest MVPR average in FL Standard. The Spectre are coming up against the Shadow in a tough fight, but not an impossible one. In the final set of power rankings, the Spectre jumped from 10th place to 8th – This was no surprise as in weeks 11 and 12 they managed to win 2 series. The Spectre will have to ride on this end-of-season momentum to make sure they have a chance to make it past the Shadow tonight.

Doubles: Puffins (2) vs. Ducks (3)  6:00 pm on Mlesportsgg2

They’re calling it “The Battle of the Birds.” Well, at least that’s what they should be calling this Foundation League matchup. The Puffins have built a solid campaign in 2s with consistent team play and high-scoring games. The duo of GamrWill and Frost have a team record of 22 and 8. While midseason pickup OGAssassin has brought in a possible x-factor scoring 28 goals in just 15 games. On the Other side, the Ducks battled all the way through the season to finally clinch a playoff spot with their final game, winning the seed in a tiebreaker. The Ducks are a far more formidable squad than their 25-25 record would imply, especially when playing their star scorer BallDon’tLie who has an average MVPR of 4.02 across 8 series.

Academy League

Standard: Lightning (2) vs. Express (5) 6:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Lightning were led by Tomez’s 4.18 MVPR in a tight series against the Jets. The series went to game five but when the Lightning went up they went up big, outscoring the Jets 21 to 8 in the series including winning game four 8-0.  As for the Express, Pander was the star of the show, putting on a 3.28 MVPR showcase in a tight win against the Knights. The Express won a more defensive battle, closing out game five with a 2-1 win. Both teams had to sweat out their last matches, and this matchup should be no different. A close game is all I can think of with this series.

Doubles: Rhinos (2) vs. Demolition (3) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg

Both the Rhinos and Demolition had the pressure of playing last week and both teams prevailed. The Rhinos were led by Yurek and The End Of You in a shutout 3-0 victory. The End Of You led the way with a 5.76 MVPR on 5 goals, 5 assists, and 7 saves. For the Demolition, Hems and Mileunders fought a close 3-2 series. The Teamwork of Hems and Mileunders won out in the end, getting assists in 13 of the 19 goals scored. The results favor the Rhinos, but as the Demo have proven all season, they will be a mighty foe to beat.

Champion League

Doubles: LIGHTNING (3) VS. DUCKS (5) 6:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG3

Both the Ducks and the Lightning achieved a 3-1 victory in the first round of blue conference playoffs. Ducks’ 2s players KingDufff and EliteInferno24- took down the Wolves with a combined average of 4 goals per game. The offense these two bring will help them face their opponents in round 2 tonight. Their opponents, the Lightning, won their last round against the Express with the help of X and Goldfish. They managed a combined 3.5 goals per game last week. With similar performances in the playoffs so far, the Ducks and the Lightning have an equal chance of getting themselves to the next round.

Standard: Jets (2) vs. Blizzard (3) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Blizzard blew in like a harsh cold front and sent the Ducks south for the winter in the first round. The Blizzard won in four games and none of them was more important than their 7-2 statement game to close out the series. Mizule was the clear MVP with 8 goals 4 assists and 6 saves in the series. The Jets also took their series in a 3-1 score but notably had to fend off a closer foe in the Spartans. The Spartans and Jets were dead even in shots taken, each with 31. But the Jets managed to come out ahead in goals. The conversion rate of Liotta, who went 6 goals for 9 shots, and Isaac13003 who went 8 for 15 was a huge factor in the win. The Jets will need to keep that accuracy sharp against this Blizzard team and the Blizzard will need all three players to show up for this match. 

Master League

Doubles: Lightning (2) vs Wolves (3) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

The Wolves made sure to go for the jugular in their round one match. Two games can often be high-scoring but putting up 17 goals in four games is a bit rare. Leading that shootout was Haimgame who went 12 for 19 on shots converted. Not to be outdone the Lightning put on their own offensive master class in their wildcard series. AKAIceBorg and Jrdn combined for 45 shots in four games and converted on 15 of those. Now, these two offensive-minded teams will face off in the quarterfinals and we’re sure there’s going to be a lot of goals in store for this one.  The team that wins may come down to whoever has more time in the offensive end to take those scoring chances.

Doubles: Sharks (1)  vs. Bulls (7) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

The Bulls have not had the best record this season, sneaking into the playoffs with the 7th seed. But in the postseason everything is wiped clean and all that matters is the next round. The Bulls are taking that attitude and running with it. Astrologuy and ESTO seem to have found a synergy in their game and hit their stride at just the right time. Of their 14 goals, 9 were assisted. The duo was even on most stats including being tied for saves at 9 a piece. The Bulls will need that new and improved teamwork if they hope to succeed against the number one seeded Sharks. The Sharks have looked good all season, finishing with a 48 and 22 record. Water has been the primary Duos go to with 81 goals and 51 assists over 40 games this season. As for their likely partner, both Majik and Shade have had great seasons, averaging over 5.0 MVPRs. The final choice may just come down to chemistry, but either pairing will likely be a favorite in these playoffs.

Standard: Hawks (3) vs. Hurricanes (5) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

The Hurricanes seem to be at their best when they’re playing shut-down defense. In their 3-1 series against the Sabres the only game they dropped was one where they let in more than 2 goals. For the other three games Squanchy, PrivilegedPear, and Goldentornado17 seemed to hold the line and win out the one-goal game. The Hawks Also kept their series close, though that was less because of a defensive mindset and maybe more of a mad scramble on the goal line to keep the Blizzard from finding the back of the net. In a five-game series that went back and forth the Blizzard put up 54 shots and the Hawks managed 35 saves. It was a nail-biting series the whole way through that tested the nerves and resilience of this Hawks team. Now we will see if the Hawks came out of that series stronger and ready to fight or if the Hurricanes will prove too much of a force for them.

Premier League

Doubles: PIRATES (2) VS. OUTLAWS (3) 8:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG2

Not only is this matchup a 2 seed versus the 3 but it’s a Sun Division rivalry that is primed for a close knock-down-drag-out fight. Lottly Lettuce has had yet another impressive season for the Outlaws, putting up 82 goals on 45 games. Their partner, Lazarus, has been the defensive force and passer for the duo with 115 saves and 43 assists. The Pirates have an impressive duo of their own.  Kruncho and Tater finished the season 6th and 8th on the list of most goals scored. With a 6.45 Tater has been impressive on both sides of the field and could be the MVP of the match for the Pirates. Both teams have a stacked lineup. I expect both of them to be in top form in this matchup.

Doubles: KNIGHTS (2) VS. HURRICANES (3) 9:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG2

Yesterday the Knights’ PL 3s team won their first playoff match through an NCP. The Knights will take the stage again tonight (hopefully) for their first real PL playoff match. We can expect to see Comp with either Ryker or Perma to take the field for 2s tonight. The Hurricanes have a big night ahead as their PL team is the last in the franchise currently in the playoffs. Championship hopes lie with ChimpanJay and whoever is ready to put up a strong fight against the higher ranked Knights. ChimpanJay is a top ten play in goals and saves. They have past playoff experience but do they have enough to lead this team against the depth of the Knights?

Standard: PIRATES (2) VS. BEARS (3) 9:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG

The Pirates will be coming to this 3s game fresh from their 2s playoffs match. Whether this doubleheader will fortify the pirates or burn them out is to be determined. The Pirates had a close 3-2 victory over the Bears in week 10. Easy, Kruncho, and Tater slammed the net with 50 shots and 20 goals over the course of the series. On the other side of the field are Ally, Zack, and Hornet. The Bears are aware of their past record against the Pirates. They have 2 sets of replays to look over and know which roster to expect. We’ll just have to see if the Pirates continue this pattern or if the Bears brute force their way through to the next round of playoffs.

Standard: JETS (2) VS. BLIZZARD (3) 10:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG

This match has the honor of closing out round 1 of the Premier League playoffs. You may be wondering: Have the Jets and Blizzard already played each other? The answer is yes. The Jets 2s team took a 3-0 victory over the Blizzard 2s team yesterday. If the Jets play Wovah, Windle., and an equally strong third they can repeat last night’s performance. The series had a 13 goal differential and no close games. The Blizzard still have a chance for their own revenge – if Tagmata and Danger bring BraidedAxe with them they can lock down rotations and improve on defense. Those 3 have played most 3s league matches together; that chemistry could be the key to balance the scales with the Jets.

That’s every match happing tonight across MLEsportsgg 1,2, and 3. Be sure to tune in and catch all the action and check back for more playoff coverage as the playoffs continue.

The quarterfinals roll into day two and we have more exciting matches, including the start of the Premier League playoffs. It’s going to be another action packed day of both 2s and 3s across three different channels. There’s a lot to watch and you’re not going to want to miss a second of it. To help guide you through all the streams we’re going to be breaking down every match for today, July 31st.

Foundation League

Standard: Puffins (1) vs. Sabres (4) 5:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

Foundation league 3s kicks off with an Arctic Division rivalry. The Sabres are a good pick for an underdog in these playoffs. They come in as the 4th seed but have some decent stats in their favor. G00S3N is 3rd overall in goals with 46 on the season and Maple is 3rd in assists with 24. The pair make a good combination that could thwart any of the higher-seeded teams on a good day. On the other side, the Puffins have seemingly flown under the radar for a number one seed. Despite a strong finish late in the season, closing out the last three weeks with a 13-2 record, they’ve spent most of the season sitting just below the league-leading Shadow and Hawks teams. But that doesn’t mean the Puffins aren’t lethal. They have the number one player in goals and assists with RealTouchy. They also have a star player in Frost who has but up 21 goals and 23 assists across 20 games.

Standard: AVIATORS (2) VS. HAWKS (3) 5:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG3

This match will be a close one. It’s not just because the Aviators and Hawks are both airborne teams. They’re in the same division and have the exact same record. The Hawks are seeded higher because of ??? (some tiebreaker mumbo jumbo, we don’t know, go ask a League Ops member). The Hawks at 4 sat right under the Aviators at 3 in week 12 power rankings. In week 13, they switched places to put the Hawks on top at 3 and the Aviators on the bottom at 4. With how similar these teams are we have to look at the standout players to try and predict who will take the series. The Aviators have NEO on their side, the FL 3s player with the highest average MVPR of 3.82. Meanwhile, the Hawks have CellachMud with the second-highest average score of 403.45. This highly anticipated match is sure to be a highlight of the night as it kicks off the MLESPORTSGG3 stream.

Doubles: Flames (2) vs. Spectre (3) 6:00 pm on MLEsportsgg2

Despite this being a three versus two seed, this match looks to be more of an uphill battle for the Spectre than most would think. The Spectre have a great player in Istroception. 4th in shots of goal and 8th in goals, Istorception can be a difference-maker in any match. Badger also shows up as an impressive option, scoring 32 goals over 20 games. But the Spectre limped into the playoffs on a 6-9 record in the final three weeks. The Flames, however, seem to be catching fire at just the right time. They finished the second round of divisional play with a 12 and 3 record, including a convincing 4-1 win over the league-leading Shadow. Justin4728 has been the star of the team with a 5.19 MVPR this season and will likely put on a show in this match. Anything can happen in the playoffs and the Spectre aren’t a team to quit easily but they’re going to need to bring everything they’ve got to this matchup.

Academy League

Doubles: Knights (3) vs. Blizzard (4) 6:00 pm on mlesportsgg

We have a battle of two teams who had big wins in the Blue Conference quarterfinals. For the Knights, SirHoldSpace and KyleCornDog took charge in a close series against the Puffins. SirHoldSpace led the way with a 6.94 MVPR on 16 goals. As for the Blizzard Helly and Pesoh won another close series against the Hawks. Pesoh led the Blizzard with a 5.07 MVPR with a great defensive effort. This game could definitely be a close one and will be incredibly exciting to watch. Expect these two teams to continue playing to their strengths as a good offense meets a strong defense. 

Doubles: Shadow (1) vs. Flames (5) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Flames come off a hot win against the Bulls led by FlaMEz and Binkyboppin. In an offensive explosion with 37 total shots, the Flames proved that their 5 seed might not reflect the level of skill they bring to the table. The Shadow, on the other hand, come off a week of rest. You could expect to see season leader TeeEsEm play, as he has a 5.01 MVPR over all of their series.  While the Flames have momentum, will it be enough to beat the top-seeded Shadow?

Doubles: Aviators (1) vs. Spartans (7) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

Last week the Spartans shocked MLE by sweeping the Sabres in a huge win with SpongebobGGoober and Passive Ways. Goober was definitely the star player, picking up a massive 7.84 MVPR in the process. As for their opponent, you could expect to see KuroKenshi play as he picked up a respectable 4.44 MVPR over 50 games. This game will be exciting for sure as the Spartans showed last week just what a seven seed can do. 

Standard: Flames (5) vs. Elite (7) 6:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

The Flames come off another hot win against the Demolition. FlaMEz led the charge on 6 goals and a 3.66 MVPR against the four seed. With a win in both modes this postseason, this Flames team has to be feeling good and playing with confidence. As for the Elite, MysticGX led the way with a 3.54 MVPR also scoring 6 goals. The Elite are also coming off a big upset and should be just as confident after taking down a number 2 seeded team. This matchup will come down to the MVPs of the last series, the only question is, who is stronger?

Champion League

Doubles: Sharks (1) vs. Bears (7) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

They say it’s difficult to win a shootout with an Outlaw but that’s exactly what the Bears did in week one to get the victory in a tough five-game series. Zinc and Linke combine for 17 goals on 39 shots against the favored Sun Division rivals. They also had to pull off quite the defensive performance as the Outlaws put up 49 shots. It’s hard to get any win when your opponent is shooting almost ten shots a game but the Bears found a way. The Sharks on the other side won’t give the Bears any easier of a challenge this week. Hobo1104 has already proved to be an all-star in threes these playoffs and boasts the third-highest goals in the league in doubles with 101. A number of other Sharks could make an appearance in doubles but I have my eye out for Raspberries who has averaged 2.43 goals per game and 1.87 saves this season.

Standard: Outlaws (2) vs Dodgers (3) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

The Dodgers series over the Shadow was probably one of the most exciting to watch last week even with its low-scoring games. The series went back and forth and neither team seemed to pull ahead. Shraxl, Jarhead, and Shadowz pulled equal weight in finally pulling out the game five win. The Dodger CL team has a lot going for them (including a standout player of Jarhead) but sometimes the biggest factor needed in the playoffs is grit and the Dodgers showed they have it. By comparison, the Outlaw’s week one win over the Wizards was almost a dull, clock-in, win, and clock-out affair. The Outlaws swept the series 3-0 and held their opponents to just three goals. Luke, Theevilisback, and EveryDamnDay look like a well-oiled machine. This series looks like an example of what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. I can’t predict the result but I can tell you I’m very excited to witness it.

Master league

Doubles: Elite (3) vs. Rhinos (5) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The one and only Master League match happening on Saturday will be an orange conference showdown between two fast (and furious) duos. Both teams took care of business in week one with a 3-1 victory. TmanRL and ElectoZx put up 18 goals on 38 shots to upset the fourth-seeded Spectre. They played four high-scoring games but proved they could win in a shooting contest to get the series victory. The Elite had to play a little more defense to fend off an upset from the Flames. Dstn and BuffaloBeast held their opponents to just 8 goals on 43 shots in those four games. The Elite look like a composed team who can punish on the quick counterattack. The Rhinos look exactly like their intimidating mascot, a charging rhino, willing to barrel through their opponents.

Premier League

Doubles: JETS (1) VS. BLIZZARD (4) 8:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG2

The Jets vs Blizzard match tonight signals the start of the Premier League’s 2s playoffs. It’s a classic 1 vs 4 seed matchup to potentially set the tone for the rest of the PL matches through the night (and the rest of playoffs)! The Jets come in with an 82% game win percentage. This can be attributed to the teamwork and flexibility of the roster. Different combinations of their players yield surprisingly consistent results and no matter which players they bring to the table they’re sure to perform. I expect the Jets to put in their MLE veteran, Vitali., along with Wovah or Windle to round out the field. Most of their losses come to them in the middle of a series – game 3, specifically. This small flaw in the well-oiled machine of the Jets is where the Blizzard may need to strike. The Blizzard was swept by the Jets in their regular season encounter but this match could be their chance at redemption. Danger and Tagmata have been teaming up the last few weeks of the season to push the team into playoffs which they succeeded at. Perhaps the Blizzard duo’s specific chemistry will give them a chance at surprising the crowd tonight.

Doubles: BULLS (1) VS. TYRANTS (4) 9:00 PM ON MLESPORTSGG2

The Bulls sit on top of multiple leaderboards as they wait for their first round of playoffs tonight. Their regular season win rate is a whopping 82.2%. They’ve dropped 8 individual games and won 37. The only thing the Bulls are not currently dominating is the week 13 power rankings where they place 2nd. Evil and Deluxe have the opportunity to push past this first round if they can maintain the same skills that took them through the regular season. Despite being up against the Bulls, the Tyrants are far from doomed. In the first week of the season, the Tyrants pulled an impressive 5-0 victory over the Bulls. Both teams have changed a bit since then due to roster changes. The history is there if the Tyrants want to repeat it with their original team of Wein_22 and Ls against the Bulls.

Standard: Knights (1) vs Eclipse(4) 9:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The first time these two teams played each other this season it was unfortunately not streamed. But since then I have been looking forward to watching this rematch live, in the playoffs, where I think most people knew these teams would end up. The Eclipse, unlike most Premier League teams, have a six-player roster that has rotated around through most of the season. This means that the Eclipse are stacked with depth and have multiple options for lineups depending on who is meshing well together. Two players that you’re likely to see are Canadiyan, who leads the offense with 1.13 goals per game, and Pops, who is a defensive force with 1.7 saves per game. On the other side, we know all about who will be starting for the Knights. Prema, Comp, and Ryker have been wreaking havoc on teams all season in standard. Comp is the superstar with a 4.61 VMPR and a league-leading 62 goals on the season. The Knights enter the series as the favorite but I would expect some explosive play to come from both sides in this match.

Standard: Bulls (1) vs. Tyrants (4) 10:00 on mlesportsgg

On the Orange Conference side, we have yet another match that promises highlight-reel plays and some great competition. The outstanding offense of Deluxe will face off against the impeccable defense of Ls. Ls leads this Tyrants team of players who are excellent at holding the line on defense and not breaking under pressure. Low scoring games are their bread and butter and counter-attacking is their weapon of choice. Antzu and Wein_22 are the two other likely starters for the Tyrants, putting up average MVPRs of 3.28 and 2.86 respectively. The Tyrants face off against the number one seeded Bulls whose motto seems to be the best defense is a relentless offense. The team is lead by Deluxe who is 2nd in goals scored and tied for 2nd in shots this season. BasiliskRL has also made the top 10 in goals and Evil was 3rd in assists this season but not a single Bull made the top ten in saves, perhaps because they simply don’t spend any time on their own side of the field.

That’s everything you’re going to see on day two of the MLE season 12 quarterfinals. Be sure to tune in to our streams tonight on MLEsportsgg, MLEsportsgg2, and MLEsportsgg3 to catch all the action, and check back tomorrow for even more coverage of the playoffs.

We’ve arrived at the quarter-finals. The first week of Premier League and Foundation league playoffs. Five Leagues and two modes all competing over three days means this is the biggest weekend of the postseason and every match seems to be better than the last. There is so much going on this weekend that it’s frankly hard to break it all down. But we’re going to try taking this day by day to let you in on all the action and tell you what to expect for this weekend’s matches. So here is your playoff preview for all the matches you’ll see today, July 30th, in the MLE season 12 playoffs.

Foundation League

Doubles: Shadow (1) vs. Demolition (4) 7:00 pm on MLEsportsgg2

From the start of the season, there have been two teams out in from of the Foundation League. The Shadow have stayed consistent in dominating the Orange Conference, especially in doubles. They finished the season with a 39-11 record, that’s a winning percentage of 78%, the highest level of dominance outside of the Premier League. The team is lead by star player LogiCC who scored a league-leading 95 goals and put up an impressive 5.99 MVPR on the season. The likely partner in the Duo is CrazyCow who is no slouch either at 52 goals on the season and averaging over one assist and one save per game.  For the Demolition, the story has been a bit different. The Mystic Division has been a competitive race in both 2s and 3s. The Demo have managed to rise above the pack by having a solid roster from top to bottom, with every player participating in at least two doubles series. WarRat has emerged as the team leader in 2s with an average of 1.72 goals per game, look for them to be the offensive factor for the Demo as they look to pull off the upset.

Doubles: Hawks (1) vs. Foxes (4) 7:00 pm on MLEsportsgg3

As is natural in Foundation League, the Hawks roster has changed somewhat from the early favorites that were picked up at the draft. But through scouting and training, the Hawks have managed to no only stay relevant but stay on top in the Blue Conference doubles race. Beepbingbngbop was a midseason addition that has stepped up big for the team, averaging 1.95 goals per game across four series. That kind of offensive production will be hard to combat in the Foundation League. On the other side, the Foxes may be coming in a little underrated in this match-up and may be looking to surprise the Hawks in round one. The Foxes may have not taken their division this season but they have a major edge in the postseason with a two-time Foundation League Champion in TheLouzer playing on the team. TheLouzer has had a quieter season than you would expect but don’t count them out when it comes time to make the clutch play. Akstronaut is the other x-Factor on this team, coming in late in the season and making a huge impact with 26 goals in just 10 games.

Academy League

Standard: Shadow (1) vs. Rhinos (7) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Rhinos are another team that came off a strong upset. The End Of You, Yurek, and Carl swept the Pirates. Overall, it was a low-scoring battle led by the Rhino’s stout defense. I would expect the Shadow to play ClayHD_ as he has a 70+ win percentage over 40 games. Another player I might expect to see is xXxBlowMeAwayxXx who went 33 and 7 in 8 series this season. Seventh seeds can be dangerous, and this match may just prove how deadly they can be.

Standard: Sabres (1) vs. Hive (6) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

The Hive came off a solid divisional win against the Ducks. This team swarmed a higher-seeded Ducks in game one and took an impressive 4-1 game. The following three games were closer with a one-goal differential. Blindsurvival took the helm with a 3.43 MVPR on 7 saves. The Sabres come off a week of rest, which could be just what their MVP Lil Sauctin needs. Sauctin has a solid 3.66 MVPR across 40 games. The Hive showed they can beat a top team this week, but will it be good enough against the Sabres?

Champion League

Doubles: Wizards (4) vs. Dodgers (6) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

The Dodgers came roaring back late in the season to secure a playoffs spot and they seem to be taking that momentum into the postseason. Ingz and Jarhead seem to have found the perfect formula to succeed in Champion League doubles. They fended off shot after shot to hold the Tyrants to 5 for 27 on scoring chances converted. The real lethal X factor in the Dodgers game was the counterattack. Almost every one of the Dodgers 18 saves was followed up by a speedy transition to their opponent’s side and often led to a 2v1 for the blue and white. Their second round match-up against the Wizards might be a different story, however.  The Wizards surprised some by coming out with Prince|E in the lineup with WhippyFlippy instead of seasoned starters Mario_RL, Fittz, or Mople. But the duo proved successful and WhippyFlippy did what they do best, put shots on net. With 23 shots over 4 games, they sealed the Wizard’s win with relentless pressure. This match will be a case of attack vs counterattack and the victor will likely be the team with the best composure on the goal line.

Doubles: Hawks (1) vs. Spartans (7) 9:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

There were several seven seed upsets on Friday night of wildcard weekend and the Spartans were happy to be responsible for two of them. One being the Academy League doubles team and the other being this Champion League duo who held the Jets to just six goals in four games. Both Rine and Dizzi have been hovering around the top 10 in multiple categories this season but it wasn’t until this series that they seemed to start firing on all cylinders. Their consistency and solid rotations chipped away at their opponents and allowed them to capitalize on every Jets mistake. The Hawks are the Number one seed and their next opponent in the Blue Conference. The Hawks in doubles are a slight mystery to me. Their star player looks to be Squintle, who has averaged an impressive 5.92 MVPR and 2.52 goals per game. But the Hawks have seven players on the roster with at least two series played while also not having a single player with more than 5 series played. It’s also worth mentioning that almost every one of those players has had great results and stats this season. The Spartans may struggle to prepare for this Hawks team who could play any number of lineups and still look formidable.

Standard: Comets (1) vs. Sharks (4) 9:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Sharks chomped down the competition and took a 3-1 victory in round one versus the Rhinos. The series looked to be a close one with a 1-0 victory in game 1. Then the Sharks struck with a 7-1 brazil in game 2. In the next two games, the Rhinos managed to put up a defensive fight but ultimately the Sharks proved they were the more composed team. Hobo1104 was the standout player on both ends of the pitch with seven goals and seven saves. The Comets enter this round the favorites, with an impressive 47 and 23 record. They also have a few standout players. The likely suspects are NoRek, Matty-Ice2110, XYPHET who collectively average a 2.85 MVPR.

Standard: Foxes (1) vs. Hive (4) 10:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

The Hive won a 3-1 series with only five goals in week one. The only game they dropped was a game where their shut-down defense got away from them. But the trio of Moxen, Rodgers, and Rebel have shown they can go toe to toe with a tough opponent and come out ahead. The Foxes are that next opponent and they will be as tough as they come. Armo27, V0J0, and Galactic have all averaged over 3.0 MVPRs and Lack has been a consistent force with 42 goals on the season and 1.12 saves per game. Both teams are stacked with reliable and mechanically talented players. I expect this match to be back and forth and likely go the full five games.

Master League

Doubles: Knights (1) vs. Express (5) 10:00 pm on Mlesportsgg

The Express won a close series against the Aviators in round one. In a 3-1 series they outscored the Aviators by two goals despite being outshot by only the slightest margin (31 to 30 shots). Poobi3 and Botato outlasted their opponents in a back and forth series by converting their chances and remaining composed late in the series. It was a test that could perhaps prepare them for their next opponent who will likely be even faster and more accurate on the offense than their last. The Knights earned their number one spot by having not just two but five star players on the doubles roster. Five players have over a 4.0 MVPR on the season with at least four series played. Topping that list is Syrup who posted a 5.86 MVPR and 62 goals over 30 games. It’s hard for me to say for sure who will be Syrup’s partner but I think we could see the likes of KyleSpanx or MikeIsMyIke who averaged 1.88 and 2.03 goals per game respectively.

Standard: Eclipse (1) vs. Aviators (7) 9:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

Before the Aviators even got into the playoffs officially, they had to play a best of one series against the Jets. Not only that, they played that game immediately before playing the Express. They managed to roll their momentum in that Jets game into a 3-1 series win over the Express. CheeseSandwich put in an impressive performance with 6 goals on 21 shots. Can the Aviators continue their Cinderella run against the number one seeded Eclipse? OGkrish and JaykoBlanco are likely starters today with 10 series played this season. The two are a defensive duo with 1.56  and 1.18 saves per game respectively. Any of the other three starters could be a good candidate for a third in this matchup. The Aviators have looked impressive so far but this Eclipse team may be a whole new caliber of speed and mechanics. 

Standard: Bears (1) vs. Flames (4) 10:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

Sometimes in Rocket League the best defense is a good offense and the Flames like to play defense by not letting the ball out of their opponent’s end. They spent the majority of their wildcard round series pinning the Rhinos in their defensive end and not letting up. That’s how they took a decisive 3-0 sweep in round one. All three players put up great numbers in the series, but it was Jawn who impressed the most with a 4.78 MVPR.  The Flames move on to face the number one seeded Bears, who have no doubt been chomping at the bit to start their post-season run. No Bears team has ever won a championship in MLE so far but at 47 and 23, the Master League Bears might be their best shot at the title. There are five Bears on the roster who could likely make an appearance but I would put my money on seeing MLE veteran TyTy in action. Along with being a veteran and leader, TyTy has averaged a 3.2 MVPR and put up 68 saves over 40 games this season.

Standard: Elite (2) vs. Wizards (3) 11:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Elite and Wizards are two teams with strong first round victories, fending off lower-seeded teams to show they are ready for a challenge. Now they meet in the second round and each team looks in form. The Elite had a nice 3-0 sweep that showed their team synergy is the best it’s been all season. All three players posted over a 3.0 MVPR. Dstn led the team with 4 goals but BuffaloBeast and Deadalao were right behind with 3 goals each. On the other side, the Wizards had a round one battle on their hands as they dropped their first two games but battled back and showed some true magic with the reverse sweep. Doodle! proved they are a true MVP candidate as they stepped up late in the series to help the Wizards pull ahead. Doodle! finished the series with 6 goals 3 assists and 6 saves. The Elite looked confident in round one but with the level of fight on this Wizards team, I wouldn’t expect this one to be an easy match for either team.

Those are all the matches you’ll see tonight on night one of the quarterfinals for season 12 of the MLE postseason. We can’t wait to watch every action-packed second of it. Be sure to tune in tonight to all of our twitch streams so you can watch along with us.

It’s the final day of wild card weekend in MLE. After today we will know every team that is out early and every team that will move on to the second weekend of action. We can’t say yet how many brackets will be busted after this weekend but we can tell you that tonight is bound to be another action-packed night of Rocket League. We’re here to break down all the Master League action and tell you what to expect tonight on MLE.

Doubles

Spectre (4) vs. Rhinos (5) 9:00 pm on MLesportsgg3

The Spectre won their division with a 35 and 35 record and snuck their way despite a lackluster finish to the season. To keep winning in the postseason they will rely on the team leader and Franchise Manager Kunics to lead them. Pointzera will likely be another face in the postseason as they put up 62 goals and 65 saves on 40 games. The Rhinos team will look to their star player, TmanRL to put in an MVP performance. TmanRL put up a league-leading 112 goals in doubles this season. Their accuracy and volume number of shots will be more than many teams can handle. Look for the Rhinos to feed TmanRL as many opportunities as they can to get the victory.

 Aviators (4) vs. Express (5) 8:00 PM on mlesportsgg

This Blue Conference matchup is likely to be one of the closer games of the weekend. These two teams have made solid campaigns this season with multiple players averaging high MVPR games. The Aviators have five starters with at least four series played and they could turn to any of these great players for a potential post-season win. One player I’d have my money on is Doomsucker who has been outstanding on the goalline this season with 95 saves on 35 games. For the Express the lineup is slightly more clear. Even with multiple great performers on the lineup, the team will likely look to Poobi3 and Luke_ who have averaged 5.55 and 5.35 MVPRs respectively. No matter the Result I expect this series to be a back and forth match that goes the distance.

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Flames (4) vs. Rhinos (5) 10:00 pm on mlesporstsgg

The ML Rhinos tied for 2nd overall in standard this season with a 46 and 24 record. Despite the great run they still finished 2nd in their division to the league-leading Bears. Playing a division rival that tough can often forge great playoff teams. We know this Rhinos squad can match up against the best in the league. The Flames, however, won their Division despite being sixth in the conference with a 40 and 30 record. So will a poorly performing division prepare them for the tough test ahead? (Reverse fridge leads the league with 50 assists)

Sabres (4) vs. Hurricanes (5) 9:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The storm division was a tough place to play this season. With three teams making the playoffs there was certainly no lack of talent among these four teams. And perhaps one of the most talented players this season was the Hurricane’s own Privileged Pear. finishing top 5 in all three categories of goals, saves, and assists, Privileged Pear has put in an MVP performance this season. The Hurricanes will likely look to rely on them to come in clutch during the postseason. For the Sabres their success relies less on individual performance and more on team play. While none of the 5 current rostered players rate on major top ten stats lists, all have put up solid numbers, and not a single starter averages below a 2.8 MVPR. Simply put, there is no weak link in the Sabres game.

Be sure to tune in tonight to catch all the MLE action on our twitch channels and check back with us next Friday as we continue to preview every match this postseason.

It’s the final day of wild card weekend in MLE. After today we will know every team that is out early and every team that will move on to the second weekend of action. We can’t say yet how many brackets will be busted after this weekend but we can tell you that tonight is bound to be another action-packed night of Rocket League. We’re here to break down all the Champion League action and tell you what to expect tonight on MLE.

Doubles

Wizards (4) vs. Pandas (5) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

The Wizards enter into the playoffs as the 4th seed, having the lowest record of the four division winners. The Pandas finished two games ahead of them at 43 and 27. But underrating the Wizards in this matchup would be a big mistake. Mario_RL has finished 3rd in scoring with 95 goals in 40 games. That’s 2.37 goals per game. His likely duos partner WhippyFlippy also made the top 10 in scoring, putting up 2.45 goals per game. The 5th seed Pandas have a doubles roster that shows a good amount of depth which could help them in the playoffs. They have four players averaging over a 4.75 MVPR. For a star performer in the postseason, I would look to the balanced play of Woozle. Over 40 games Woozle has averaged 1.7 goals, 1.65 saves, and 1.05 assists.

Wolves (4) vs. Ducks (5) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

The Arctic division champs had a wild race to the finish in doubles this season. No team was pulling ahead towards the end of the season. The Wolves managed to steal the title away with two 4-1 wins in the final two weeks. Now they’re hoping their late-season winning streak transitions into the post-season.  The team will likely look to YouWereCool who put up 85 goals this season across 8 series. The Ducks team finished 2nd in the conference with a 47 and 23 record but still didn’t get the number one seed in the division. The Ducks look to make a big impact in the first round and prove they should have been seeded higher. They owe their doubles’ success to the scoring power of EliteInferno who finished 6th in scoring and Kingduff who finished 1st with 112 goals.  The Wolves will have their hands full fending off this offensive onslaught of the Ducks.

Standard

Sharks (4) vs. Rhinos (5) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

The Sharks have put together a campaign for their fourth-place spot using a deep bench of solid players. No one player stands out as carrying the squad but all have put in great performances to get their team into the postseason. It’s as balanced a team as you could ask for. On the other side, the Rhinos found their wild card spot not by having star scorers but by shutting down other teams’ star players. While not having a single player in the top 15 for scoring the Rhinos have two players in the top ten for saves. Smitty Cena being the number one overall with 77 saves over 50 games will look to control the game starting at the back.

Hive (4) vs. Lightning (5) 9:00 on mlesportsgg2

The Champion League Lightning had a good season in standard but not good enough to win their division. This means they have to come in as the 5th seed and play a buzzing Hive team that has just won the Sky division. The Hive team has put in some great season performances including Rodgers who finished top ten in goals with 46 while Moxen finished 4th in saves with 37. But the Lightning isn’t a team to back down from a challenge. Look for this lightning team to shut down the Hive’s offense and make this a low-scoring affair. Star players Goldfish and Ex have been averaging 1.6 and 1.68 saves per game and I would expect to see more of that stellar goal-line defense this weekend

Be sure to tune in tonight to catch all the MLE action on our twitch channels and check back with us next Friday as we continue to preview every match this postseason.

It’s the final day of wild card weekend in MLE. After today we will know every team that is out early and every team that will move on to the second weekend of action. We can’t say yet how many brackets will be busted after this weekend but we can tell you that tonight is bound to be another action-packed night of Rocket League. We’re here to break down all the Academy League action and tell you what to expect tonight on MLE.

Doubles

Bulls (4) vs. Flames (5) 6:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

For the Orange conference, we have possibly the tightest matchup yet between the Bulls and Flames. Despite winning their division, the Bulls actually have one more loss than the Flames on their overall record. However, the bulls do have an advantage of 19 in terms of goal differential. My standout pick for the Bulls has to be Zeakz, as he boasts a 5.08 average MVPR for his team. As for the Flames, it’s much harder to pick a standout player, as the team as a whole keeps very similar MVPRs.

Blizzard (4) vs. Hawks (5) 6:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

In the Blue Conference doubles, we have the 5th seeded Hawks taking on the 4th seeded Blizzard. Much like the rest of the conference in 2s, we see another fairly even matchup, with only a couple of games separating the two and an equal amount of series wins. I expect the Blizzard to put out the very strong lineup of Pesoh and Helly. The pairing has been dominant this season with both players exceeding 5 MVPR across the season. For the Hawks, I’d watch out for Anthri and Monty. While Monty is the only hawks player with an average MVPR above 5.0, the pairing may still prove a difficult one for the Blizzard to handle.

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Demolition (4) vs. Flames (5) 7:00 pm on MLesportsgg

Much like in doubles, the Demolition have been a front runner from the very start. However, while they haven’t exactly been in the spotlight the Flames have also had a very strong campaign. While I noted both teams are loaded with depth in my doubles analysis (the same still applies for standard), Both teams have a player that stands out a bit more. For the Demolition, Hems has had a very strong season keeping his MVPR just above 3. As for the Flames, their own FM, FLaMEz, has been their leader for 3s, contributing an impressive 3.25 MVPR.

Knights (4) vs Express (5) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

For our Blue Conference matchup, we have another divisional battle between the Knights and Express. The Knights won their division in a tight set with the Express, overtaking them by one game. The Knights do however favor an +9 goal differential on the Express, becoming a tight favorite. The Knights’ go-to guy in 3s seems to be SirHoldSpace, as he boasts a 3.17 MVPR across 49 games. For the Express, Fahhr is the MVP holding down a 3.31 MVPR over 39 games.

Be sure to tune in tonight to catch all the MLE action on our twitch channels and check back with us next Friday as we continue to preview every match this postseason.

Day one of wild card weekend has come and gone and day two is here to bring us even more thrilling matchups. Today features plenty of pairings that will have fans and viewers wondering who is the powerhouse and who is the underdog. Today is where the wild cards start to get wild and those six seed cinderellas emerge. To break down all the action here are the previews for the Academy League matches today, July 24th.

Doubles

Demolition (3) vs. Dodgers (6) 6:00 PM on Mlesportsgg2

This matchup is sure to be an explosive one as the 6th seeded Dodgers take on the 3rd seeded Demolition. As early front runners, of the Orange Conference and Mystic Division winners, it’d be criminal to write off the Demolition. However, the Dodgers are no pushover, putting out equal goal and save averages. It’s safe to say the Dodgers will play very consistently on both ends of the pitch. It’d be extremely hard for me to pick a standout for the Demolition, as they run a very deep roster with all of their players Boasting an MVPR over 4. For the Dodgers, I’d expect to see Solo emerge as a leader as he boasts the highest MVPR on the team with a strong 5.75.

Knights (3) vs. Puffins (6) 7:00 PM on Mlesportsgg2

Next up, we have the 6th seeded Puffins taking on the 3rd seed Knights. Despite a vast difference in seeding, the two have fairly even records. It goes even deeper than that with the Knights only having 1 more goal in total on the season and only 7 fewer goals allowed. I would expect this game to be a very tight matchup. The Knights are spread pretty wide in terms of MVPR, any one of these players can change a series in my mind. As for the reigning champion Puffins, it’d be a crime to say AubreyE won’t be a game-changer for them as he chases back-to-back AL championships.

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Bulls (3) vs. Elite (6) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg

In our next matchup, we have a divisional clash as the Bulls take on the Elite. The Bulls held a 7 game advantage over the Elite to take the division. Don’t count the Elite out, however, as they average over a save per game more than the Bulls. We can expect to see a good mix of offense and defense in this exciting matchup. For the Bulls, Zeakz is again my player to watch as he held a steady 2.9 MVPR over 40 games. For the Elite, MysticGX appears to be the team’s MVP holding a 3.33 MVPR over 40 games.

Ducks (3) vs. Hive (6) 6:00 pm on Mlesportsgg3

In this series, we take to the sky (division) as the Ducks and Hive duke it out. The Ducks have a small four-game advantage over the Hive, however, this is due to their strong defensive play. The Hive have an 18 goal differential on the Ducks which can prove to be another great battle. For the Ducks, Bmilly proves to be their guy, keeping a 2.81 MVPR advantage over 40 games. For my Hive pick, I have a bit of an unorthodox selection in Sir Lunix. While Lunix doesn’t have crazy stats on the board, anyone who’s played him knows just how threatening he can be. Not to mention, he’s coming for his second championship with the Hive, winning the FL title last season.

Be sure to check out all the MLE action on our twitch channels and check back here for even more playoff news as the post-season moves along!

Day one of wild card weekend has come and gone and day two is here to bring us even more thrilling matchups. Today features plenty of pairings that will have fans and viewers wondering who is the powerhouse and who is the underdog. Today is where the wild cards start to get wild and those six seed cinderellas emerge. To break down all the action here are the previews for the Master League matches today, July 24th.

Doubles

Elite (3) vs. Flames (6) 9:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

Proving that each series in the postseason is close despite seeding, The Elite and Flames enter into the playoffs with the exact same doubles record of 42-28. Looking at the stats of these two it’s hard to find an obvious favorite. Ironically, the Elite are coming into the postseason on a bit more of a hot streak than the Flames after the Flames suffered a 0-5 sweep to the conference-leading Sharks. But if I was the Flames I would be less worried about past matchups and more worried about Dstn who came in 2nd in assists with 52 this season. The duo of Dstn and BuffaloBeast looks pretty intimidating but the Flames depth means they have 5 great players to put up against this Elite squad. The entire Flames roster has an average MVPR of over 4.74 with every player having at least 25 games played.

Wolves (3) vs. Hurricanes (6) 8:00 pm on Mlesportsgg

The Hurricanes had a tough road in the Storm Division this season, finishing 2nd to the Eclipse in Standard and 2nd to the Lightning in Doubles. But the tough decision race has done a lot to bring out the MVPs of this Hurricanes team. Squanchy and PrivilegedPear have put together a great season in doubles but it is GoldenTornado17 that has elevated this team to a true contender for the title this season. GoldenTornado finished 3rd overall in goals with 96 and 3rd in Saves with 105, but it’s their 1st overall finish in assists that shows how much of a playmaker they could be in the postseason. On the other side, the Arctic Division champion Wolves will be preparing for the challenge by perfecting the chemistry of likely starters Haimgaime and Alex. The pairing has put up impressive numbers together and with Haimgame’s now 5 seasons of experience on the Wolves they will be the likely player to lead this team deep into the postseason.

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Wizards (3) vs. Demolition (6) 10:00 pm on mlesportsgg

Division rivals meeting in the first round is always exciting to watch and this Mystic division matchup should be a must-watch. The Demo’s 3-2 series win over the Wizards in the last few weeks was one of the reasons they were able to secure a wild card spot. Now they face off for the 3rd time this season and it’s the higher-seeded Wizards that perhaps have something to prove. Doodle! has been impressive for the Wizards this season, scoring 51 goals in 45 games. The Demolition will be looking to their three-headed attack of Axion, Kirin, and Script who have played 10 series this season while all averaging over 3.0 MVPR. 

Hawks (3) vs. Blizzard (6) 9:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Hawks versus Blizzard match-up may just be another example of a series more up in the air than it seems. The Blizzard finished 3rd in a tough storm division race while still putting up an impressive 39-31 record. The Hawks were 33 and 32 on the season before being the benefactor of one of three standard mode NCPs in ML in the final week. This meant that they kept over the aviators to take the Sky division title and 3rd place seed. That isn’t to say that the Hawks are to be overlooked. But their rotating 3s lineup this season has made it unclear exactly who this team will turn to during the playoffs. The Blizzard could play a few combinations but one likely face will be that of Aztra who has put up 43 goals and 72 saves in 49 games this season. 

Be sure to check out all the MLE action on our twitch channels and check back here for even more playoff news as the post-season moves along!

Day one of wild card weekend has come and gone and day two is here to bring us even more thrilling matchups. Today features plenty of pairings that will have fans and viewers wondering who is the powerhouse and who is the underdog. Today is where the wild cards start to get wild and those six seed cinderellas emerge. To break down all the action here are the previews for the Champion League matches today, July 24th.

Doubles

Tyrants (3) vs. Dodgers (6) 7:00 PM on MLesportsgg3

The Tyrants ended their season 4th overall in the conference, winning their division with a 42 and 28 record. They put together a great campaign that put them in a great 3 seed spot to make a postseason run. Trusolja and T-Rex have been the backbone of the doubles team this season each playing in 6 series and averaging a 5.25 and 5.3 MVPR respectively. But in the first round of playoffs, it is a division rival that may come back to haunt them. The Dodgers have put together a late-season run of 12-3 in the final three weeks. this included a 5-0 win in the final week against the Elite and a 4-1 win against none other than the Tyrants. Now this Dodgers team finds themselves with a wild card spot facing off with a team they’ve recently beaten. The only question that remains is can they do it again.

Lightning (3) vs. Express (6) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

This Blue Conference matchup looks to be an unpredictable game. The Express, despite being the 6th seed came in 4th place in the conference with a 39-31 record but couldn’t win their division. On the other side, the Lightning did win their division but only managed a 35-35 record. Now the Express are out to prove that their tough Forge division schedule was a benefit instead of a hindrance as they try to upset the 3 seed.  C0P3x looks to be the leader and facilitator for the Express finishing 3rd in assists and top 10 in both goals and saves. The Lightning will look to their star doubles player in GoldFish who has averaged 2.02 goals per game and 2.2 saves per game this season.

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DODGERS (3) VS. SHADOW (6) 8:00 pm on Mlesportsgg2

Both the Dodgers and the Shadow have a star scorer in the top five. Shraxl for the Dodgers has had a great season with 1.25 goals per game, 0.7 assists, and 1.35 saves. But it’s the Shadow’s own Philo66 who rivals those stats with 1.04 goals per game, .068 assists, and 1.44 saves. Holding the highest MVPR for their respective teams, look for these two players to attempt to control the pitch. Whoever wins this matchup may come down to which star player can assert dominance over their opponents.

Blizzard (3) vs. Ducks (6) 9:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

The Storm Division Champion Blizzard will face off against a strong Ducks team in this 3 vs. 6 match-up. The Ducks may be second in the Sky division but they are formidable on both sides of the pitch. Defensively they’re led by Cavuh and Chaos Spike who have put up 77 and 65 saves on the season respectively. They face off against a Surprisingly hot Blizzard team that has gone 12 and 4 in their last three series. There are a number of Players on the Blizzard squad that could make an appearance but I would look for Mizule and their 1.12 goals per game to be the x-factor in the series. 

Be sure to check out all the MLE action on our twitch channels and check back here for even more playoff news as the post-season moves along!

Three days of wild card weekend are ahead of us. That means three days of previewing great playoff matchups. We’re here to give you a glimpse of what you’ll see for every series happening this weekend. Here are all the Master League matchups happening today, July 23rd.

Doubles

Pirates (2) vs. Bulls (7) 10:00 PM on mlesportsgg3

The Pirates and the Bulls are a story of two balanced teams. Both have made their run to the playoffs while not leaning too much on one player. ESTO, Skyler, and Astrologuy have been the players finishing the campaign for the Bulls this season each putting up over a 4.0 MVPR with Astrologuy averaging an impressive 5.76. The Pirates on the other side have five players with at least 20 games played. It’s also notable that four of those players were Pirates in season 11 and have had multiple seasons to build up chemistry. The pirates could put out any combination of players and perform well in the post-season. The team may lean on the experience of Crey2k or look to their star scorer in Speedy. Preparing to play the Pirates will be a challenge for any team.

Lightning (2) vs. Sabres (7) 9:00 pm on mlesportsgg

Getting one player in the top 10 for goals scored in Master League this season was a challenging feat. Having two of them means your team is likely to run up quite a few high-scoring games in the series. Both the Lightning and the Sabres were the only two teams to have two players in the top 10 and they will be facing off in the first round. This matchup is sure to produce some offensive fireworks. For the Sabres, Foam finished 2nd in goals with 97 and A1Andyx finished 10th with 70 goals. The Lightning’s Jrdn and AKAIceBorg finished 7th and 8th with 76 and 75 goals respectively. While both Foam and Jrdn have also put up impressive numbers in saves and assists, the real story in this matchup is the shooting. This series may come down to who has the most impressive accuracy on the day. 

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Elite (2) vs. Outlaws (7) 11:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The last wild card spots often scrape by just one game ahead of other teams and as a reward have to face off against a two-seed that is most likely playing very well heading into the postseason. The Outlaws match against the Elite is maybe the most obvious case of an underdog in the first round. The Elite seem to be on form in the last two weeks, going 10-0 in their last two series with a goal differential of +26 over those two series. The Outlaws meanwhile, were 35 and 30 on the outside looking in when a last week NCP gave them another chance at the postseason. Despite the unorthodox finish, the Outlaws have hope in SoloMan and Motions who have averaged 3.21 and 3.65 MVPRs respectively.  So maybe there’s hope for this David against the Goliaths of the Elite.

Express (2) vs. Jets/Aviators (7) 10:00 pm on mlesportsgg

The Express finished their last three series on a 12 and 3 run to secure the 2nd seed in the conference. They have a solid roster that’s capable of holding off powerful offenses. Add to that an accurate shooter like Luke_, who was 3rd overall in goals scored, and a passer like Poobi3 who was 2nd in assists and you have a team with a lot of playoff potential. On the other side, we have a very interesting scenario. Both the Aviators and Jets finished the season tied up on all tiebreakers. So in order to determine the playoff team a best of 1 game will be played. That’s right a best of 1. At the time of writing this, the outcome of that match has yet to be announced but I can say that whoever wins will have a long road to go.

Those are the series that you will see on day one of the Master League wild card round. Be sure to stop in throughout the weekend for more previews of this weekend’s matches and tune into all our twitch channels to catch all the MLE action.

Three days of wild card weekend are ahead of us. That means three days of previewing great playoff matchups. We’re here to give you a glimpse of what you’ll see for every series happening this weekend. Here are all the Champion League matchups happening today, July 23rd.

DOUBLES

Outlaws(2) vs. Bears (7) 8:00pm on mlesportsgg3

The Outlaws finished first in the Sun division with the Bears a full 8 games behind them. In their last matchup, the Outlaws had a seemingly easy outing with a 5-0 sweep. But the bears have battled their way into a rematch and a chance to prove they can make the most of a wild card spot. The Bears have two players sitting at over a 5.0 MVPR in Yes Please and Linke. But Keana seems to be the player they’ve leaned on the most in doubles. The Outlaws on the other side have two clear starters in Luke and Theevilisback that have been the go-to players to put on great performances.

Jets (2) vs. Spartans (7) 9:00PM on mlesportsgg3

The Jets closed out the last two weeks in Doubles with a pair of 4-1 victories to capture the 2nd seed. But the week before that the Jets faltered in a 2-3 loss to none other than this Spartans team. Within that series, the Liotta and V8_Timmy of the Jets outscored the Spartans 24-15 but Dizzi and Rine were able to wrestle away three one-goal games to win a crucial series. Can these Spartans repeat their victory in a best of format or do the Jets take revenge and prove why they’re the higher seed? 

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Outlaws (2) vs Wizards (7) 9:00 PM on Mlesportsgg2

The Wizards snuck into the playoffs with a crucial 3-2 win over their division rival and conference leaders, the Comets. Now they face another top opponent in the Outlaws. This team will have to play at their best to take down the two seed that has looked strong all season. The Outlaws are led by their top scorer in Theevilisback, who put up 67 goals this season, first in the league. The Outlaws come in as favorites but look for the Wizards to fight with the same tenacity that got them their wild card spot in the final week.

Jets (2) vs. Spartans (7) 10:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

The Blue Conference standard matchup features two Forge Division rivals. The Jets are strong favorites in this series with a 47-23 record, one game behind the league-leading Foxes. The Spartans fought their way into the playoffs on a 36-34 record and will have to try to overcome a tough challenge in the first round. Zime will be the likely Spartans MVP scoring 53 goals during the season which is the second most in the league. For the Jets, they have multiple players who could lead the team with four players averaging over a 3.0 MVPR this season.

Those are the series that you will see on day one of the Champion League wild card round. Be sure to stop in throughout the weekend for more previews of this weekend’s matches and tune into all our twitch channels to catch all the MLE action.

Three days of wild card weekend are ahead of us. That means three days of previewing great playoff matchups. We’re here to give you a glimpse of what you’ll see for every series this weekend. Here are all the Acadamy League matchups happening today, July 23rd.

DOUBLES

Rhinos (2) vs. Pandas (7): 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

Our first matchup in the Orange Conference consists of a scrap between a 2 and 7 seed. On paper, the Sun Division winner Rhinos appear to have the advantage with a phenomenal goal differential of 91. However, the Pandas boast very similar averages to the Rhinos, meaning we’ll likely get a great game out of the two.  I’d expect to see The End Of You make a big impact for the Rhinos as he boasts a whopping 5.92 MVPR and only 6 losses on the season. As for the Pandas, Bearhawk02 will probably step out as the Pandas leader, holding a strong 5.15 MVPR and a relentless 4.4 shots per game.

Sabres (2) vs. Spartans (7) 7:00 pm on mlesportsgg3

Heading over to the Blue Conference, we have the Arctic Division winning Sabres against the 7th seeded Spartans. Despite their seedings, the teams come in matched up fairly evenly, with only one game separating their records. For the Sabres, Little Sauctin stands out to me with an MVPR just under 5. If I had to pick an MVP for the Spartans I’d have to go with TheSouthPawRyan. Despite his lower salary, he commands a solid 5.02 MVPR over 15 games.

Standard

Pirates (2) vs. Rhinos (7) 8:00 pm on mlesportsgg

As we head into standard we go back to the Orange Conference where we see a divisional battle between the Pirates and Rhinos. There seems to be a large gap in the odds, as the Pirates lead the Rhinos by 9 games. However, the late-season loss of Hakuu may shorten the gap a bit. With the Pirates that remain, however, Finicko is certainly a player to be wary of as he leads the Pirates in all major stats. For the Rhinos, Yurek is the player to watch, as he holds an MVPR of just under 3.

Lightning (2) vs Jets (7)  8:00 pm on mlesportsgg2

Swapping over to the Blue Conference, we have a matchup between the 7th seeded Jets and the 2nd seeded Lightning. While the Lightning have found dominance in their division in 3s, some midseason roster changes may prove detrimental against the Jets. One of the Jet’s greatest strengths has always been their team chemistry and comradery. A postseason push is certainly not out of range for this group. The Lightning have been led in 3s by the offensive fanatic Aatxe, who nearly has a 3.5 MVPR and 57 goals. For the Jets, it’s the Micah show, boasting a 3.17 MVPR over 30 games.

Those are the series that you will see on day one of the Academy League wild card round. Be sure to stop in throughout the weekend for more previews of this weekend’s matches and tune into all our twitch channels to catch all the MLE action.

Ok, so they might not be the best that MLE has in terms of technical skill. But, as you look deep into the Foundation League you might find that there are some of the best and biggest up-and-comers.  That being said, it’s time to look at the Teams to Watch for this great Season 12.

Standard Predictions

HAWKS

 Standard Record:5-0

Roster: IncogNeato, GAMbro, Dawicow, Monty, Sttowe, Beepbingbongbop

This prediction might not be as bold as others, but especially after their performance in week one, they are probably on most people’s watch list. While it might look at first glance like the entire Hawks team is high salary (44.5 total), a look at the Pandas for instance (43 total salary) shows that they aren’t too far ahead, and after the Pandas 0-5 loss it just goes to show that there is some skill hiding in the Hawks ranks.

Now it is easy to say that they had close games and might not be as good as a 5-0 win looks, but when we dive deeper into their scrim stats, we see a different story. They have all three players in the top 25 for avg MVPR! This out of a stonks sheet with 238 rows of players.  In terms of win percentage that changes to 2 in the top 50 and the last in the top 100, but if you ask me scrims aren’t the same as playing with your team and the lowest win pct for them individually is .5 so still better than half of the Foundation League. So put all the pieces together and I think you will likely see a strong Hawks team all the way to the playoffs this season. That’s as long as they are ready to handle a rank out or two.

AVIATORS 

Standard Record: 4-1

Roster: bluemagemikey, Chief,  jacobjtl, doorz, SinfulEnvy

On to the bold prediction for season 12.  Now I say this is bold because they don’t have the highest salary, and they didn’t go 5-0 week 1 but hear me out. As we look into the draft and see they didn’t take a 10 salary as their first pick in FL, we see a team that isn’t afraid to sport some lower salary players and is looking for them to improve but hopefully stay in FL and carry the franchise to a season Championship.

Let’s talk about their match.  They headed in with a lower total salary against a team manned with players who have been to AL just this offseason, and a solid retention in their team captain.  Not only were they able to pull out 4 wins and clinch the series but they joined the elite group with the Hawks where everyone on the team had an assist proving that they are really meshing and already a team. Looking at scrims paints a picture of some true sleepers as the team leads off with an avg MVPR of 3.69, which is higher than 2/3rds of Foundation League players! With all players sporting a .5 win percentage or higher, they once again join the likes of the Hawks. Lastly, they bring home a top 10 4mans player, and their #1 draft pick, Jacobjtl, has yet to miss the playoffs on his teams. With plenty of room in their salary cap at 41.5, they should have plenty of room for their players to progress and I expect they will go far.

Doubles Predictions

HIVE

Record:5-0

Roster: Cracker904, Ota, Novanta, OneHandMedic, HoospitalBall

With the easy choice, we see the Hive move up to the top of the leaderboard, The reigning FL Champions are proving they have what it takes. The Hive, keeping with that bee family mentality, appear to have built a team that is as sweet as honey! Once again going with a low salary draft in pick number 2, they have proven why so many tryouts were crucial.

Circling around to the match, the Hive was another team that was way out salaried but this time they sweep with a combined 21 goals. They turned, what by their salary should have been a loss into a lock. I won’t call it a shut out but when you almost double your opponent’s MVPR it’s something to write home about!  Moving into the scrim bot, we see an average win pct of .64 which puts them so far ahead it doesn’t even bring you to sheet 2 of the stonks card. I think they really shine in the goals per game slot though, where we see one player 2nd in FL and the other in the top 50. Proving match 1 was not a fluke these players do it every time they drive on the field.  Not that it will be a surprise to the community but I expect you might see this team in the announcements as back-to-back champions.

WIZARDS

Recrod:3-2

Roster: Panas, Eskimo, Ph4yt3, 1.0_Mpi, thepiggybuggy, GurglingRL, Porky

Were there teams that had more wins? Yes. Were there higher MVPRs? Yes. But this pick is all about hidden talent. In terms of their week 1 performance, we see what some might say was an average performance. But let’s dive deeper, 16 combined saves, 4 or more goals scored in the games they won, and an avg MVPR of 4.23! Showing that even though it took to game 4 they are close to end-of-season form.  When we look at each player’s scrims we see one player in the top 20 of almost every category from goals per game to assists. The best part, the other player is in the top 50% for the other category (saves per game). Proving that the best thing about the Wizards isn’t a single player but their ability to build a TEAM that compliments each other and makes up for the weaknesses they might have. Their only weakness could be a rank out, but looking at their drafting mentality, even with a rank out or two you might find yourself yelling “Go Wiz” by the end of the season.

The Academy League is always a tight race with so many active players and so many talented players improving each day. It’s hard to predict what this league will look like at the end of the season. But we won’t let that stop us from making some bold predictions about who might be playoff-bound.

Doubles Predictions

Pirates 

Doubles Record: 5-0

Roster: xCHEF,  hakuu, Tez, Icy_Fatal, Venturi, Kuick Knight, Finicko

For most franchises, week one is tough. New rosters are trying to become familiar with each other. Scrims being played at a blinding rate in order to figure out specific pairings. Who is going to play 3’s, who is going to play 2’s? None of these things seemed to be an issue for the Pirates. Second-year Pirate and team captain Hakuu said  “Our strong points would be preparation. Whether we lose games or win them, we’re going to be prepared before the next game and that’s something we pride ourselves on.”  Kuick Knight and Finicko came out firing on all cylinders with 18 goals, 7 assists, 14 saves, and an astonishing 51 shots in their series against a strong Outlaws team.  Three out of the five games being decided by one goal, the Pirates rose to the challenge that is week one. Kuick Knight had an especially special series, scoring 10 of the 18 goals for his team, with a  43% shooting percentage, and an incredible 5.12 MVPR. This is a pairing on a team that will be extremely frightening for the rest of the Academy League as the season progresses.

Wolves

Doubles Record: 10-0

Roster: Phi Sig, DrStein, Fo0f, Mike Raphone, fasterthanfalcon, CaptainRomeo

Another team that went 10-0 in their first two Doubles series’, Fo0f, Phi Sig, and fasterthanfalcon have made a statement that they mean business. In the doubles series against the Jets, the Wolves won every game by two or more goals, scoring a total of 21, and only allowing 12. In that series, fasterthanfalcon also laid down an insane 6.59 MVPR, scoring 17 of the 21 goals, and saving 8 shots. In their series against the Foxes, both Phi Sig and Fo0f had MVPR’s over 6, with a 6.72 and a 6.25 respectively. This is a roster that does not appear to have a weak point and will be a force to be reckoned with in MLE Season 12. AGM and AL roster player Phi Sig said “Fasterthanfalcon plays very fast for AL and when he is paired with a strong team member that plays position he really shines. He and Fo0f got both of those roles so they did great together.  I tend to play that same fast-paced role so when I played with Fo0f we were able to get the most out of both our play styles.  The most important thing is that our team is extremely relaxed and just happy to play together, regardless of the outcome.  We have a great time playing together and it really shows in our comms and how we are able to talk with each other.”

Standard Predictions

Dodgers 

Standard Record: 5-0

Roster: Ondo, OwnerOfTheWhiteSedan, Dopenose, Smalls, Solo

The Dodgers are another team that is off to a perfect start in the Standard game mode. They fought off the Elite in a tight series, only winning the first two games by 1 goal, then breaking out to defeat them by two or more goals in the following three games. With only a 10.5 salary, Smalls led the Dodgers in MVPR and Assists, as well as tying for most shots on the net in the lobby. “The 3s squad is pretty much my whole roster, since I don’t have anyone I would call a 2s specialist on the team. Considering that the majority of the players have been in Champion League before, I expect that all of them should be standouts as the season goes on.” says Franchise Manager InanimateJ. As a team, they also held the Elite Roster to a combined 5.90 MVPR, and only eight goals in the entire series. This is a roster that has limitless potential, and the ability to be one of, if not the best team in Academy League this season. 

Demolition 

Standard Record: 4-1

Roster: Deejay, DK, LuxuriusPoverty, Hammy, Hems, Scooter_Dom, Mileunders, Skye

Despite playing a three’s pairing with two 10.5’s and an 11.0, the Demolition made a statement in their first five standard games of the season. Going 4-1 against a strong Spectre lineup in AptFox, Wayne Finkle and Jordak, the Pirates dropped game one, and never looked back, out-scoring the Spectre 17-9 in the series. Deejay, the Franchise Manager of the Demolition said “MileUnder And Scooter_Dom caught my eye during scrims and tryouts during the offseason. I knew that they had great 3’s ability even though their salaries were low. We have a lot of skilled players across the spectrum and we can plug and play almost anyone to be a confident and solid team. I, myself, have been excited to play 3’s this season and have felt good about my 3’s play so far this season.” Scooter_Dom, Deejay, and Mileunders want it to be known that salary is only a number, and this team is not to be taken lightly, no matter who on the roster is playing. 

Champion League is where chemistry and strategy begin to be pivotal in what rosters succeed in MLE. There is plenty of talent to go around but the difference between winning and losing comes down to which team can play like a team and which teams struggle to find their rhythm. There’s a lot of games to play this season but after week one we think we have some idea of who you might see in season 12s postseason.

Standard Predictions 

Tyrants

Standard Record: 9-1

Roster: Chimpanalton, T-rex, Frosty, Veni, Ambitious Apple

Last season the CL tyrants made it to the semifinals before losing to the eventual champions, the Elite. This season’s roster looks to return with vengeance. Alton, Frosty and Veni are all returning starters continuing to grow their chemistry with each game. T-Rex has played in the first three series for the team in both 3s and 2s and there’s a good reason.  At 19 goals and 20 saves T-rex has the makings of an MVP for the league. If this season’s Tyrants continue to put up high-scoring games they’ll be early favorites and serious playoff contenders.  For my money, I’m looking for Ambitious Apple to be the x-factor this season. They seem to fit well with the existing roster and with a 3.3 standard MVPR, they add enough of a bump to make a difference in a close series. 

Hurricanes

Standard Record: 4-1

Roster: Hyper, Barnabas_, Sci_Frye, Underdogger, Intergalactic Turtle, Bombin

In the pre-season I said that Sci_Frye was a top player because of their MLE experience and potential leadership. They lead a Hurricanes team that is looking to return to the CL playoffs after winning the league in season 10 only to miss out on playoffs the following season. In the first 3s series the team combined for 29 goals. While most lopsided results usually point to a standout player the Hurricanes played their series as a team. No other team has two players currently in the top 10 for standard MVPR, the Hurricanes have three players. It’s true we haven’t seen much from this team but what we have seen gives us reason to think the Hurricanes could be serious title contenders. 

Doubles Predictions

Hawks

Doubles Record:9-1

Roster: KH, Staas, Linke., Appa, Squintle

The Hawks seem to be an obvious safe pick for an early playoff prediction. A 9-1 record stands out. But the Pandas also put up the same record over two series so why put one team on the list over the other? To put it bluntly, competition. Nipping on the heels of the Pandas are their division rivals, the Sharks. When the Hawks look around at their Sky division rivals they have yet to see a serious threat to their early-season run. They’ve got clear skies ahead. And even if they lose a player to an early-season rank out I don’t see them slowing down. The Depth of the Hawks is already one of their strengths as they’ve played four different starters in their first two doubles series. These four put up an average MVPR of a 6.23. That stat, of course, is helped by KH who put up 19 goals 7 assists and 12 saves in their series.

Elite

Doubles Record: 3-2

Roster: NoVa Matty, cordiaL, bossanova, TeaboneJones, rudy, Krypt, Anti

The Elite will return to the CL Finals. There’s my bold prediction. From week two to the playoffs I’m carrying this one with me. I know there were more offseason roster changes on this team than a lot of other teams in the league. They saw the rank outs of PandaMazing and Wubby, the two players who played in the season 11 final. But the roster they do have looks very impressive. Rudy and Cordial went 3-2 in their first week which doesn’t seem like an impressive result for a playoff frontrunner. But despite playing a tough Dodgers squad the players put up some impressive stats. Rudy scored 7 goals and got 12 saves while Cordials put up 13 goals and 5 saves making them a great balanced duo. I’m also looking for TeaboneJones to have a stellar season and help the Elite return to defend their title. 

Retentions in the leagues were a big story this offseason. The change in roster sizes allowed the possibility for more team retentions than ever before. Yet when making this list there seemed to be a combination of existing rosters and new emerging stars that are making an impact in the Master League. This makes it difficult to predict who will continue to collect wins as the season wears on. But that doesn’t discourage us from taking a swing at some bold predictions. Here are a few of our picks for who is playoff-bound in season 12.

Standard Predictions

Rhinos

Standard Record: 8-2

Roster: Iso, Xequter001, Foretrix, TmanRL, EllectroZx, Reverse Fridge

The Rhinos could be a contender for both doubles and standard playoff predictions but they are notable in 3s for their depth on the roster. Playing 5 players in their first two series the Rhinos showed they could win with just about anyone on their team. No one on the team has put up large numbers in a series but the team is winning close games in tough series. With the speed, talent, and depth they are an early favorite to be the sun division frontrunner. Notably, this team made playoffs last season with mostly the same roster but lost in the opening round to the Outlaws. Keeping their team together means this roster thinks they have a shot at redemption and even a championship in season 12. 

Wolves

Standard Record: 5-0

Roster: Haimgame, Turkey, Spooks, Chase, Theory, Wray, Alex

The Wolves have one standard series under their belt but that one series was perhaps the best display of defense seen in week one. Posting three shutouts and only allowing four goals over five games, the Wolves look like a team that can stop a lot of high-powered offenses this season. There’s a good history of defensive teams making playoffs in the MLE.  Where the offense is concerned it looks like Spooks is the person to look out for. With a 4.92 Spooks is first overall in standard MVPR. While we have only seen Spooks, Haimgame, and Theory take the field it seems that they’ve wasted no time in showing what their starting lineup is capable of. 

Doubles Predictions 

Bulls

Doubles Record: 5-0

Roster: Nate., Skyler, Sho, ESTO, Hiimly

There’s a lot of talent on this five-player roster for the Bulls. While just five players make for a lack of depth in master league, every player on this roster is showing a lot of talent. In their first doubles match, Skyler and Nate combined for 28 goals and 13 assists. The pair have shown a dominance that puts them both in the top 10 for doubles MVPR. It will be interesting to see if the consistency of this team holds up throughout the season but so far they’re impressing the rest of the league out of the gates. Doubles is a mode that puts a player’s mechanics on display and the mechanical ability on this team is something we can’t wait to see on stream throughout the season and most likely into the playoffs. 

Blizzard

Doubles Record: 8-2

Roster: Jahex, Aztra., GoodJobOwen, Jephph, Who, FacelessTurtles, Janu

The Blizzard has not only taken two series early in the season but they’ve done it against two tough opponents who were outranking them in salary. With 38 goals in 10 games, the Blizzard have been winning high scoring series and with different lineups. Jahex and Aztra teamed up for an impressive sweep over the Lightning while Facelessturtles and GoodJobOwen triumphed 3-2 in a tough battle with the Hawks. If the Blizzard can keep winning against favored opponents they’ll have a great chance at the postseason. Though some of these names may be new to the MLE playoffs I think this group will quickly become regular faces in the postseason.  

The top teams in Premier League can sometimes be easy to spot. But season 12 has shown early on just how competitive this league can be. Many teams grabbed top players and are quickly attempting to build powerhouse teams around them. But in a league with such a high skill ceiling, it’s likely to be the depth that separates the good from the great teams.  There’s a long road to the playoffs for these Premier League teams, but that won’t discourage us from making some early season playoff predictions.

Standard Predictions

Blizzard

Standard Record: 4-1

Roster: BraidedAxe, Danger, Tagmata, UnearthlyLegend, Gratz

The Blizard won both series in 2s and 3s in their first week in convincing fashion. Of their five-player roster, they have only played the top three salary starters but those three players have put on some great performances. Tagmata and Danger both had great performances last season but it was BraidedAxe who had the notable playoff run. This season the three of them combined will be a powerful force. Tagmata may be the rising star in this season’s run for the Blizzard with a 6.47 MVPR in doubles and a 3.76 in standard. In Standard, you are sometimes only as good as your weakest teammate and with the starting roster of the Blizzard, I don’t see a weak spot on any of their starters.

Pirates

Standard Record: 3-2

Roster: Tater, Taki, Kruncho, Tunloink, Easy

The sun division is perhaps one of the most interesting in the Premier League. The competition between the Outlaws and the Pirates especially will be one to watch. But in the competition for the best standard team, I think the Pirates have the edge. Tater and Taki are reuniting this season after a playoff run in season 10. Their chemistry and mechanical ability will likely be the thing that carries the Pirates through tough series. The two both posted above a 3.2 MVPR in their first match and are likely to improve their stats as they take on easier opponents than their division rival Outlaws. Add a talented roster surrounding the pair and you have the makings of a serious playoff contender.

Double Predictions

Knights

Doubles Record: 3-2

Roster: Comp, Perma, Ryker, QDWAZAR, Pandy

The Knights haven’t swept an opponent or run up the score on a match. But what they have done is walk away with hard-fought wins in a forge division that looks to be the most competitive in the Premier League. Their star player being the returning champion Comp who has played both series. This season their likely partner in doubles is Perma who put up 11 goals and 15 saves in their first match against the Jets. With a tough division schedule, the Knights likely won’t emerge as a front-runner until the middle of their season. With Comp on the roster, however, I have no doubt that the Knights will be doing a lot of winning.

Tyrants

Doubles Record: 5-0

Roster: Wein_22, Ls, Antzu, Lefty

The Tyrants were bound to make the list in doubles or standard after their great week one performance. But if the Tyrants are going to make the postseason in one mode I think it will be doubles. Ls was a dominant force in MLE last season and it looked in the preseason that all it would take for them to make another run at the postseason was to find a good 2s partner. They seem to have found that partner in Wein_22. Wein_22 posted 13 goals and 11 saves in a 5-0 sweep against the defending champion Bulls. It’s too soon to tell if this roster will rotate significantly for 2s but if the Tyrants starting lineup plays that well every week they’ll be a lock for a playoff spot.

For Premier League the top 3 prospects are perhaps the most important to secure. These players are nearing or in the bubble scene for RLCS and can make your season if you are lucky enough to pick them up. Teams like the Bulls who have last season’s champion in Deluxe are not eager to let them go. While others will take their chances with a great draft pick. The Jets, Pirates, and Knights will have the first 3 picks respectively after retentions. Their picks will likely determine the direction of the rest of the draft. While we don’t know for certain who those picks will be, we have a few educated guesses. In no particular order, are our five picks for who will be chosen early. 

Braided Axe

The first of many top players to have lost their franchise due to rotations, It was all but sure that if the Shadow had an opportunity to hang on to Braided Axe they probably would have taken it. Braided ended last season with 46 assists in the regular season (2nd in the league) and a semifinal playoff appearance where they lost to the eventual champions, the Bulls. Not only is Braided Axe a great team player but they’re also a defensive force. Braided elevates any team they’re on and after falling short last season you know that they will be hungry for another shot at the title game. There’s no doubt that Braided is a top pick given their ability and experience.

xSauce

It’s always fun to see a new player on the PL scene. It’s even more fun when I get to make a pun about how xSauce could be the x-factor on a Premier League team this season. Though they don’t have MLE season experience their record in Premiere scrims speaks for itself. Quickly shooting up to a 20.5 salary with a 19-5 win-loss record in 2s, xSauce is looking to make a splash in season 12 and will likely be a first-round pick for a team that wants to take a chance to find a future PL MVP. We don’t know for sure how xSauce’s season will go but we’re eager to see them match up against the other top players on this list.  

Taki

I’d like to take this opportunity for a moment of silence for the Wolves franchise in season 12. Surely if the duo from season 11 had another shot at it they would be retained on the wolves and a shoo-in to go back to the finals together. But due to franchise rotations, Taki and LottyLettuce are now free agents and will likely be top draft picks as a result. Taki is out to prove that they’re making it back no matter what, lighting up preseason scrims with a 36-9 win-loss record. That’s a winning percentage of 80%. There’s no doubting the motivation of Taki this season and based on their history of smart adaptive player they’ll likely be an MVP of whatever team they get picked up for.

Lotty Lettuce

The other half of the Wolves duo is another player to watch. Lotty puts on a lot of shots (5.57 per game last season) and makes a lot of those shots as well.  Consistently dominant throughout season 11, Lotty is a player most franchises will be eyeing to lead their team this time around. While not as active as their former teammate in the preseason, Lotty is a known commodity in MLE and was likely on every team’s draft board before season 12 was even announced. Lotty and Taki won’t end up teaming once again because both will surely be first-round picks. But LottyLuttuce likely isn’t concerned because they have the talent and speed to do well with whoever they play with. I for one am excited for the inevitable series where the dynamic duo meet on opposing sides in the postseason. 

Comp

How do you not put the former champion on this list? After winning last season’s title with the Bulls, Comp has somehow ended up on the free agents list and teams with the top draft picks are all grinning ear to ear as a result. To even have the chance at picking up a player like Comp is basically a chance to pick up a title in the draft. Comp is just that skilled of a player. Fast, mechanical, and smart, Comp showed game after game in season 11 why they lead the pack in MLE. Perhaps the only worry for potential teams is that Comp is essentially a bubble scene player and his commitment to his other team may at times make playing for MLE complicated. But if Comp is able to make games, they will punch their team’s ticket to the postseason guaranteed.

With the removal of the salary cap for the top league, the Premier League has become a spectacular showcase of top-level talent. For the teams with early-round picks, they will be praying that the right player is available when their time comes. For teams at the bottom of the list, they aren’t holding their breath that these top picks will sneak by unpicked. Be sure to not miss all the drama when the Premier League draft happens this Saturday on MLE’s twitch channel.

If I was a Franchise or General Manager the job I would least like to have is to pick my draft board for this year’s Master League draft. The amount of talent at the top is so stacked and competitive that it’s hard to see who will come out on top in the long run. Sure there are front runners but to narrow those front runners down to just 5 players is a challenge. Even when I turned to the league for opinions I didn’t get much of a consensus. Three players that showed up repeatedly when talking to the community as standouts all ranked out on Monday, opening the field up even more for a wild first round of picks.   But luckily for you, I managed to wade through all the stats and opinions to pluck five stars out of the pack. These are the five players that you’ll likely see get picked up in the first round on Saturday.

Akina

Akina is a player that shows up on many lists but might sneak by as a steal in the bottom half of round one. Their scrim stats show a player that could be trying to lay low after their eligibility games or they simply haven’t had the time to grind in scrims the way some of their other peers have. But with a 10-2 winning record in standard they can’t hide how talented they are in this league. Akina saw playtime late in season 11 for the Shadow. Putting in two solid playoff performances with a 4.67 average MVPR, Akina showed they can perform well in the postseason. Now Akina has another shot to get back to the playoffs and take the next step towards a championship.

Uorodin

That last time we saw Uorodin play in MLE was in season 9 when there was no Master League. They managed to put up 30 shots and 35 saves in just 20 games with the Puffins. Now as Uorodin makes their return they are in a newly named league but are bringing the same top-level of talent. Putting in 4.24 shots per game and 1.9 saves per game in 2s Uorodin continues to show they’re a strong force on both sides of the pitch. From Uorodin’s preseason stats and 16.5 salary, this seems like a breakout season for them, and with the buzz from GMs and players, it seems like teams are counting on Uorodin to make a playoff appearance this season.

Roman

With the start of season 12, teams will be expected to look for more versatile players that can succeed at both 2s and 3s. Roman may be just such a player that can get wins for a franchise in either game mode. At 11-4 their win record in 2s stands out with just a few games played. Most of their buzz, however, is coming from tryouts where multiple GMs and players have talked about their speed and aerial mechanics in 3s. Once people start talking about your tryout performances word tends to spread pretty fast. Roman has gone from a relatively unknown newcomer to a potential top 5 pick in a short time. Now it’s up to them to deliver in the season and prove they can be a rookie MVP because that is what several franchises will be betting on this Saturday.

JangosGotaMango

While I was talking to the community for this article I started to get the impression that most players mentioned JangosGotAMango simply because they wanted to talk about how much they enjoyed playing with him. The number one thing that stood out to me was just how much people mentioned Jango’s personality as a reason they would go early in the draft. Being the kind of player that is fun to play with in a lobby counts for more than most people think. Chemistry is key to both 2s and 3s and when you’re struggling through a tough series you want a player on your team who can keep spirits high and help prevent your teammates from getting tilted. That’s not to say that the only thing JangosGotAMango brings to a team is a good attitude. With a 16.5 salary and a 3s preseason record of 20-13 Jango is sitting at the top of the pack in terms of ML talent. No doubt Jango will perform well on the pitch and be a great person to have in your franchise server as well.

Vital

Not to be confused with Vitali, the Premier League player who is also a potential top pick this Saturday, Vital is a new free agent who is making waves in preseason scrims. Posting an impressive record of 21-9 in 2s Vital has proven why they deserve to be a top salary in ML. Right now Vital is averaging 4.7 shots per game and posting an MVPR of 5.17. Their offensive skills have got them the attention of a few fellow players and at least one GM in the league that I spoke to. When it comes to putting together a winning team, recognizing new talent is key but only one franchise can claim Vital on their roster, so seizing the opportunity and picking them up early will be a priority for many FMs on Saturday.

It’s going to be a long season with many great players emerging and competing for the title. We may not know who the most valuable player is in the preseason but we know that there is no shortage of talent in the running. The only thing left to do is to see where everyone will go this Saturday during the Master League draft on MLE’s twitch channel.

Champion League this season saw a record 70 retentions, which means most every CL team will be starting with some form of the roster to build on. We can’t say for sure how this will change the top of the draft board but we can tell you that there are a few standouts in this season’s draft. There are a number of players that are making impressions in preseason scrims but to truly find the top five draft picks we needed to look at unique players that teams and players are talking about. So here are the top five players in no particular order that stand out to us.

SCI_FRYE

CL teams looking for a good leader just might find one in Sci_Frye. With four seasons of experience and two playoff appearances, they are in a good position to take another team on a CL run. With a 5.01 MVPR in twos, this preseason Sci_frye has been performing well while not topping the leader boards. Their winning percentage at 67% is impressive. There are plenty of players that seem great on paper but franchises won’t know how well they mesh until the season starts. But Sci_Frye knows what it takes to win in the league which is always valuable.

ALTON

Entering the league in season 9, Alton has risen up consistently from the Foundation League through Academy, Champion and last season performed well in Master League. With the new elo system, they have been placed squarely at the top salary of the Champion League. This makes Alton a great candidate for a top 5 draft pick. Any team looking for an experienced player that can keep up with the speed of Master League players is going to be a big difference-maker in Champion League matchups.

WaffleKing

I kept having to run to my kitchen to grab a snack while researching these prospects. I think that was a bit of a Pavlovian response because I kept hearing about the name Waffleking everywhere and then thought about food. Waffleking is an MLE rookie but that hasn’t stopped them from being a part of most draft board conversations. While not having that many standard games under their belt, WaffleKing has an impressive 81% winning record in 2s. In a league like CL having a player that wants to dedicate their time to just one game mode could be very valuable, especially if they’re dominating that mode the way that Waffleking seems to be dominating scrims. While still being untested in the league the buzz around this player seems to be enough that franchises are more than willing to take a chance with this player for an early pick.

Fittz

Far from an unknown, the quality that Fittz brings to the table is MLE experience. Both as a player and a General Manager Fittz has helped out his team, the Flames, win games for four seasons. Now Fittz is once again a free agent and It’s safe to say an FA with a good amount of attention. Fittz sits at a 14 salary and while their stat lines don’t scream top 5 pick, they are player who is known to play smart and fast. Most importantly Fittz seems to be held in high regard by every player and FM that I spoke to. Not only is Fittz a solid player but a good leader. In a new season where the league is expanding captains may be more important than ever and that is where the potential value of a player like Fittz really shines.

Isaaac13003

Isaac13003 is another player that has been around the league for a few seasons but this may be the first season they find themselves in this position. Not seeing playtime in season 11 and only playing one series in season 12, in which they put up an impressive 16 goals in 5 games, they managed to fly largely under the radar in the league. But this season Isaac13003 finds themselves at a 14.5 salary sitting on a great record in scrims and suddenly their name is beginning to make its way around the early draft talk circles. Most of their preseason playtime has been spent in 3s where they have put up a 15-8 winning record. Posting 3.3 shots per game and 1.8 saves per game across both game modes Isaac13003 is a talented player on both sides of the pitch and has the potential to be the difference-maker in quite a few early season matches.

With the expansions to 3s and so many retentions the CL draft is sure to be unlike any other before it. Franchises will have a tough job navigating their own draft boards and making the right choices. We can’t wait to watch how it all unfolds this Saturday on the MLE twitch channel.

This season Academy League features a few standout veterans as well as a handful of newcomers already gathering some decent buzz. With a 2s and 3s league, it will be more important than ever to find the right players to fill out the roster. So who is the real deal and who is the future AL MVP. Here are our top 5 picks in no particular order of who we think will be picked early in the draft.

Silen7 

Going into their third season in the MLE, Silen7 will be an impact player in Academy League for Season 12. This player has proven his value tenfold, posting 63 wins with only 28 losses in scrims for a 0.69 win %. In these wins, they have averaged 2.11 goals per game, as well as 1.51 saves per game, and an average MVPR of 5.11. Silen7 will be a dominant player for the early part of the season and will be able to set a good example of top-tier performance for the team that is lucky enough to draft them.

Mellow

This is a player that is worth more than his salary, and then a little bit more. Going into his first full season in the MLE, Mellow will blow the competition away with his quick and aggressive playstyle. Averaging 4.87 shots per game in scrims so far, this player will relentlessly pressure the most resilient of defenses. It would be a shock to see Mellow drop below the first 10 picks in the Academy League draft on Saturday and will be an early favorite for Season 12 Academy League MVP. 

Xtarasenko91x

Four seasons in the MLE is nothing to be taken lightly. Since joining the MLE in Season 9, Xtarasenko91x has climbed his way to become a 12 salary in Academy League and will look to fly through the competition with his stellar aerial mechanics and lightning speed. Posting an average of 1.52 saves per game in scrims, their combination of mechanics, speed, and smart play looks to be the perfect recipe for a spicy season. There are few players in Academy League that are as well-rounded as Xtarasenko91x, and anyone on the other side of the pitch will have a tough time facing off against them. 

Pander

There is no such thing as a dull 4mans session when Pander is around. With this player’s positive attitude and outgoing personality, paired with their natural rocket league ability, it is no wonder why they were the Double-A end-of-season Invitational Champion. Winning the 4mans invitational is no easy feat. Pander had to overcome three different soon-to-be Champion League rank outs in the invitational alone, and countless during the 4mans regular season in order to qualify. At an 11.5 salary, Pander will be an extremely valuable player to have on your roster for Season 12. 

MockHD

As a new face in the league, MockHD has wasted no time at all making a name for himself. As the current leader in total scrim wins, it would be a crime to dismiss a player as mechanically solid as them. In the 98 wins that they have accrued in scrims, MockHD has averaged a 4.62 MVPR, and boasts 323 total goals. Having nearly reached Champ 2 in 1’s, hitting Champ 1 Div 4, this player has the potential to be a top player in Academy League in the upcoming season. Another player that is constantly active in 4mans and scrims, MockHD will be a leader to build a solid foundation on. 

There are even more players that were in contention for this list and no doubt AL mock drafts will be hotly debated right up until Saturday. Be sure to tune into the MLE twitch channel and catch all the action as we find out where our stand-out players will land.

Foundation League is the wild west of the draft boards. Anything goes and anything can happen. Some top picks rank out days before or days after the draft. Some top picks will be 7s that turn into 10s. Some third-round picks will be MVPs. Some of the best picks of the season won’t happen until week 6 of the season when one lucky franchise will find a fresh new Foundation player to carry them to a late playoff run. It’s impossible to predict what will happen in the Foundation League. But there are a few players that are sure to help franchises pick up some early season wins and set them on the right path. In no particular order, here are our predictions for who you will see at the top of the board on Saturday. 

TheLouzer 

It’s rare to find an FL player whose record speaks for itself but Louzer’s record shouts from the mountains. One of very few players in the MLE who can call themselves a two-time Champion. TheLouzer spent last season in Academy before the new elo system change put him back into FL. But before that, he won back-to-back championships with the FL Tyrants. TheLouzer won FL titles by being a consistent player with a good first touch mentality. If a franchise wants to know what it takes to win a championship, Louzer is a good first pick and likely leader of yet another successful FL team.

Cris-twa 

It’s tough to pick from the pack of top-salary players when it comes to FL. It’s hard to know who will be the early rank outs and who will stick around long enough to win a few games for your franchise. Cris-twa has already gone through a rank out once and then elected to drop down again. They are yet another player who spent last season in Academy League and gained experience playing against AL level players. Now in starting in FL, they seem to be a dominant force that will score some early season wins for any franchise. Cris-twa is one of the faster players in FL who can make clutch shots and goal-line saves. They adapt well in scrims and will likely continue to improve and get exponentially better over the course of the season. There aren’t a lot of guarantees when it comes to the FL draft. But I’d say the safest bet I know right now is that Cris-twa goes early in round one. 

Clory 

There are certain players in MLE that tend to stay quiet for a season or two and then explode to the top of the league. This season my money is on Clory being that player. Season 11 saw Clory’s coming in at a mid to low salary and only playing in one series. But this season they have shown just how much they’ve been on the grind. Clory is now a 10 salary player with impressive scrim stats to back up their claim at a top draft pick. His mechanical ability and great stat lines across the board have most scouts putting him near the top of every draft board. It’s a position that I think is well earned as Clory has clearly put in the time in the offseason to greatly improve and will likely continue to move up throughout the season.

Meerkat!

Meerkat is going into his fourth season in MLE which marks him among the few FL veterans. At a 10 salary, this is likely their last shot at FL before the rank-out comes for them. Meerkat has had multiple playoff appearances including last season where he lost in the second round to the eventual champion Hive team. No doubt they will want to go out of FL with one more run at the title. Even if Meerkat ranks out midseason he is a smart pick-up for teams looking for a consistent FL player with experience winning in the league. Any team with Meerkat on the roster is a team I’d rank highly in power rankings this season.

Logicc

It’s hard to say Logicc is flying under the radar with a 15-6 record in their doubles scrims. When you ask around there might be a few other names that come up before Logicc’s. But I think Logicc’s stats are the kind that shows MVP potential. With one season of play under their belt Loggic posted a 4.54 average MVPR over just three series. They are yet another player that has been on the line between Academy League Foundation but at a 9.5 salary as of this week, they don’t seem to be in immediate danger of a rank out. Logicc leads FL in average shots per game with 5 in the preseason and converts a consistent 50% of those. All those numbers put Logicc in a perfect position to be not only a great steal but a star FL player for whoever takes them. 

There is still a laundry list of FL talent that could have warranted a spot on this list. Likely even now a new free agent is earning their eligibility who may be the true best pick in the draft. When the Foundation League draft kicks off Saturday it will be up to Franchise and General managers to navigate a field of up-and-coming talent. It’s not a position we envy but we can’t wait to see how it all shakes out.