The good, the bad, and the ugly (and everything in between)

Season 17 has been one heck of a rollercoaster from start to finish, and I’m here to help break down a couple of teams that have made it one step closer to the promised land… A.K.A. a chance at the coveted MLE Championship and the prize of a glorious thirst quenching case of your favorite gaming beverage, BAWLS Guarana!  To help catch you up to speed on the most interesting and fun to watch league in all of MLE (Foundation League), I will be breaking it down into 5 different categories; a team I like, a team I dislike, a team to keep an eye on, an underdog story and one team that you shouldn’t buy the hype for (queue overrated chants)!  So buckle up and prepare for the disaster-piece of… Quilli’s thoughts on Foundation League playoffs!

Overrated

What better way to start a Quilli decided list than to kick it off with some controversy.  The most overrated team is… the #1 seeded Comets Standard team, HOLD FOR GASPS!  I know what you’re thinking… “How could a 30 win, #1 seeded, with a top 3 goal differential be overrated?!”  Well, may I interest you in the fact that they are the ONLY team in the entirety of the FL playoffs with a negative series record, or the fact that 3 out of the 4 series wins they have are against teams that aren’t even in the playoffs.  They are a team that has been keeping series close with teams below them in rankings, but unable to find the series wins more than finding the series loss.  On top of that, their 3 highest salaried players (Papercut 9.5, 1337 8.5 and Swanson 8.0) have played a single series where they dominated their 3rd place divisional rival Eclipse that didn’t even make playoffs.  So assuming this is the roster they send out they are lacking the in game preparation you’d expect out of a #1 seed.  I believe their opponent, the 4 seeded Puffins, will be more than a challenge for them.  They faced earlier in the season in week 5 where the Comets took a 2-3 series loss against the Puffins in a matchup where both teams sent out 2 of their 3 most played players in the Standard gamemode.

Comets GM ‘Stoofy’s comments on their Standard roster: It’s been a wild season, they dominated 2s but started 3s with a 1-6 series record, but still cleared 30 wins and a #1 seed. Everyone on this FL roster is over 30 years old, proving even the retirement home community still has hands.

Keep an eye out

Alright, now that I’ve stirred the pot a little bit with a hot take, it is now time for some simplicity.  A team I think you should keep an eye on going into these playoffs that I think has an interesting chance at making something happen is the Tyrants Doubles team.  Before you get up in arms about me naming the FL team of the team I’m on, just hear me out first.  This #2 seed is no joke, boasting a 76 goal differential, a 7-3 series record and 2 of the best players for chemistry and comms between ‘TyTheGuy’ and ‘Yenyen’. Now one of those two names has been on fire all season, Yenyen is a powerhouse in both doubles and standard, and after losing their teammate ‘Lanxbaby’ in a controversial end of season rank out, it is now a next man up scenario where Ty now has prove themself to this league as a more than capable second man in this gauntlet of a bracket.

Tyrants Interim FM ‘YTStorm’s comments on their Doubles roster: They have been a feisty team all season with many road bumps with all that happened this season and they stayed together and played really well.

Underrated

So now that I got the two most controversial takes out of the way, it’s time to show some love to an under the radar team.  Some would even say they’re… dodging… the spotlight… THAT’S RIGHT, I’M TALKING ABOUT THE DODGERS!  Ok, I know what you’re thinking, “Quilli, how do you expect the team with the worst record, third worst goal differential and  in the FL standard playoffs to do anything?” Well I rebuttal you with the fact that they are the only team in all of standard playoffs with a 7-3 series record!  Do they have the 3rd worst goal differential?  Yes.  Did one of their arguably best players (Pikachew_RL) rank out into the Academy League?  Yes.  DO THEY HAVE THAT DOG IN THEM?  ABSOLUTELY!!!  Sometimes a good gameplan, a chip on your shoulder, and some good ol’ fashion will to do what it takes to win could be a recipe to upset the heavy favorite.  There’s an old saying in the sports world, the only thing scarier than someone with everything to lose is someone with nothing to lose.  ‘Stickly’ at a 10.0 salary and ‘ImDemoing’ at a respectable 8.5 with whoever they select for a third have their backs against the wall and will be tested on their fight, but boy do I believe!  Don’t let this team get hot!

Dodgers GM ‘DeathShadow’s comments on their Standard roster: The Dodgers are ready, they have all beaten ‘NotADuck’ in a 1v1 in preparation for this week.

Dislike

That’s enough being nice for now, let’s hop back into the toxic territory, the team I don’t like… coming in hot we have the Ducks Standard team!  A #3 seed that I am doubting, which makes it even worse on my end when i mention they are the 2nd place team overall in standard.  But hidden in the grass, they are tied with 6 out of 8 teams at a 6-4 record, so while not looking special there, they have the WORST goal differential in all of FL standard at just 1.  In the final week of matches, the Ducks just barely beat the first placed Pirates 3-2, but the Pirates only played 1 of their top sals, while the other two players were a 7.0 and a 6.0 sal.  So to struggle to get a defining win in the final week against a (statistically) lesser opponent is not moving me in a positive direction when choosing favorites to win it all!  I still love ‘DeskJockey’ though.

Ducks GM ‘Thunderca’s comment on their Standard roster: I Think we have what it takes, because even though our roster has changed numerous times with rank outs and trades, i believe the core players we based the team off of are more than good enough to take the chip, but it’s anyone’s game here in the much more heavily stacked orange conference.  So anything can happen, But i’m confident in my ducklings.

Quilli Approved

Last, but certainly not least, a team I like and a potential Quilli favorite to win it all in their respective gamemode… the Sharks Doubles team!  What’s a safer pick than picking the only team with two 10.0 salary players?  There isn’t one, but that wasn’t the leading factor in my decision (but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t help).  On paper though, this team being just at the #3 seed has a lot left to be desired as a pick for a ‘favorite to win it all,’ I am very aware.  While they may have a goal differential of -3, something I’ve been harping on a lot in this read, I believe theirs has a lot to do with sharing the load on player uses.  ‘Narutox’ has a more than impressive 19-6 record in doubles as an active Sharks player, only suffering 1 series loss to the (#1 seed) Duck’s Doubles team.  This absolute dominance just shows what they are capable of when they’re on the pitch.  With a fellow 10.0 salary as their teammate in ‘September’, who has definitely struggled throughout the season, I firmly believe that this duo has what it takes to do it all and get the Sharks a highly sought after MLE Championship!

Sharks FM ‘Kkube’s comments on their Doubles roster: I think they have a great chance this season! They have been on the grind especially down the stretch and they have put themselves in a great position to potentially bring Sharks their first championship!

Team I Like: #3 seed Sharks 2s

Eyes On: #2 seed Tyrants 2s

Underdog: #4 seed dodgers 3s

Overrated: #1 seed Comets 3s

Dislike: #3 seed Ducks 3s