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.
