Drunken Sailor
Xiniu, backwardshello, Drunken Sailor, errormakro, Buzda
This is the kind of team where your first impression depends purely on what your eyes are drawn to first.
You might first notice the 10k player playing with an associate, and realize that said associate is probably the likeliest to get full mileage out of said 10k in ways which may not hold up for other captains, due to elements of comfort and language dynamics.
You might, alternatively, look at the core duo of Xiniu — whose Dotabuff may suggest the validity of the 8k number is dubious when game time rolls around — and backwardshello, who has at this point proven his ability to dominate the lower divisions, but may struggle against much higher MMR players.
My take rests somewhere between these two extremes, insofar as I believe the determining factor to be errormakro’s ability to direct the flow of play for the team, but am working off insufficient information to make a definitive call on whether or not I believe he’s capable of doing so.
Dunkin
Szajtek, Dunkin, jihapse, Olluem, sris
The lowest average stack of the bunch, Dunkin’s roster here quite evidently puts much weight on Szajtek’s shoulders. It’s, with the exceptions of the Polish phenom and Olluem (known to most as X-Ray), a team you’d be surprised — but not outright shocked — to see in Div 2.
On the other hand, there’s a reason why players like jihadi and Sris (aka Karma) get a place in div 1. There’s some trust there in their stability, consistency, and ability to outperform their MMR, bolstered further by their status as veterans.
Whether I feel like they’re likely to make a deep run is another matter entirely. Just based on what I know of the individual players on the team, I believe they might lack the playstyle synergy to enable their star player and to keep up with what is likely to be a high pace of play in the premier division.
Bahoi
Crayon, Flame, Bahoi, Sassy, Murakkin
Despite how…odd this draft was, and despite his status as the most expensive player, Crayon for 75 feels like a steal. While the rest of the team is less inspiring, I have a hard time discounting a team with a player of his talent and ability.
But I’ll try nevertheless: block out Crayon’s name, and I don’t like this stack.
Flame’s a cool fella, but I’m never quite sure how much I believe in him. I’ll watch him hold his own against much higher MMR players, then watch him do nothing whatsoever against 5ks. In an interesting turn of events, the monsters of the division seem to largely occupy sidelanes, with mid turning into a battle of the generic 7k mids, all of whom have been around the block. No, really, look at the teams — it’s all of them. With the Crayons and Rosas (*, we’ll get to this in a bit) of the world expressing an interest in carry, all teams feature a 7k vet in the midlane. That’s honestly going to be very interesting to watch unfold — and I’m keen to see how Flame holds up.
As far as the support duo, I’m a fan of Sassy’s, but it — coming back from a long break into a much higher average division than he’s used to, at that — feels like he’s being thrown to the wolves.
Nevertheless, I suspect that between Bahoi and Crayon there’s enough direction to mould this team into something workable, given individual performances meet a certain minimum level. Just a matter of how much of a given that is.
Crispy Bacon
Cory, Rosa, Crispy Bacon, Zaop, RobMyst
I’ll keep it brief; this is a very good draft. It’s also a draft whose finisher is unconvincing to me, albeit acceptable, what with the role conundrum.
It seemed very much like this was going to be a Rosa 1 Chris 2 Cory 3 stack, in which case I would expect a bit less from them. But my suspicion after the major patch is that Rosa’s boredom with mid might wane, and it’s in this scenario that I believe the division has a big problem.
Rosa vs the 7 7ks. I’ll let you picture it yourself.
Veepo
Mouceen, Water, Veepo, bonjwa, Snufkin
Mouceen, Veepo and bonjwa are the lesser known quantities here (particularly as I’m reticent to elaborate on how representative I believe current-day RD2L performances are), and they might turn out to be simply quite good!
I just don’t know that I believe they will. This team, on paper, needed one more player with significant experience; as is, I assume they’ll struggle to keep up with the best of the best.
Ekken
Marci, Grac, Madsen, Ekken, eisi
A 5k carry, an inflated off-role 3, and a pair of low 7ks. Perhaps if this stack tries quite hard, they will manage a top 4 finish in Division 2.
Except then there’s the Ekken factor.
I’ll level with you: I have genuinely zero fucking clue whether we have any shot whatsoever. The rational side of me says no. The oh wait lol it’s Ekken side of me says yeah probably guaranteed top 3.
Frankly, I can’t even tell if it’s a “or something inbetween” thing or an either-or. Just no fucking clue. I’ll know by the end of Tuesday.
Zuki
Beng, dekaiT, Cho, Crysen, Zuki
This is my absolute best guess at the roles, but it’s a bit of a weird setup.
Regardless, this is a team that I wouldn’t really believe in much generally, but knowing what I know about Beng and Crysen, it’s hard to ignore the potential for star power to push this team into contention. Maybe that’s a bit of an ambitious expectation, and I’m aware I’ve looked at teams of similar composition and concluded they’re unlikely to make a splash; something feels different here though. Call it a gut feeling.
Aresden
Vata, f mega, Thunderdyne, Aresden, Maff
The Luffy situation has complicated matters a bit here with regards to role setup; I’ll note the potential particularly for a swap between Thunderdyne and Vata compared to my initial role guess here.
This, somewhat funnily, is the first team on the list that I look at and think: “Yep, that’s a Div 1 team alright. I’d wish you the most average of seasons, but you’re guaranteed it anyway.”
And, er, yeah. That’s my expectation.
Rankings
I’ll be honest, I had a very hard time with just about every part of this other than #1. Might as well be RNGd for the rest.
8. Veepo
7. Dunkin
6. Ekken
5. Aresden
4. Zuki
3. Drunken
2. Bahoi
1. Crispy Bacon
