DIVISION C East
Analyst: Hoku
C East is starting to show a large gap between the top half of the ladder and the bottom half. While the season is still young, and much can change, it is starting to appear that the top 4 spots will be the teams in contention when the playoffs roll around.
Once again, most matches this week were dominations, but several series were closer than the final score would suggest.
Clips of the Week
Peldor shows his love for C East with a fun series between The High Inquisitors and CM Daybreak.
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxumLcRyieZz_1Cz2RQbf7oQEobS6OptJP?si=7W68qO6z5ZBbuZtE
Next up, peldor casts our Game of Week 4 between Winter is Coming and Heavy Greg. Time for Lucio nerfs?
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxUvYq35mWjVs-VYOTytDo-LAR9Hjx-hpB?si=70GL9kMDuC2wHD7l
Wrapping up the casted matches for this week, Conflicted with a strong showing by Hot(s) Dads facing Protectors of Shakuras.
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxuLgAj2etzJ13IFuUOA9T06TY3Z4K6UWA?si=D9ebckjZo5q5HHig
Fun Fact of the Week That May Only Be of Interest to Me
Artanis currently has a 90% win rate in Div C East. Viable!
Things to Watch for in Week 5
Two of the teams lurking behind the top 4 have matches against them, and could break into their ranks with big wins. This week will go a long way to demonstrating whether the top 4 are that much ahead of the rest of the league, or if we will see dramatic shake ups as we move closer to the halfway point of the season. We may also start seeing even more off-meta picks and comps, as many of the teams in this division aren’t afraid to dig deeper into their hero pools. We have seen everything from Arthas to Li Li, so is this the week we see a certain two-headed ogre? I can only hope!
Games of the Week
We actually have two matches this week that look like they should provide a great deal of entertainment, one from the regular schedule and one flex match. Unfortunately, none of the Div C East matches are currently scheduled to be casted, but it is still early, so keep an eye on the calendar and hope these two get picked up.
For the regularly scheduled match, Business of Ferrets: CCS9 will face off against Frank’s Furters on Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 9:00pm ET. Both teams are new to Div C, and Frank’s Furters loves to get creative with their front line draft. What will we see this week? Be prepared for anything!
In our flex Game of the Week, two of the top teams will be going head to head in what is sure to be a well-executed series. While Winter is Coming currently has more points, Team Cringe has played fewer matches as of this writing, so on paper, it looks to be very even. Which team will dominate the standings? We will find out on Wednesday, March 13, 2024 9:00pm ET!
Let’s go C East!
DIVISION C West
Analyst: Valkamer
Match Recaps
Ana Maniacs continues to steamroll through the season, this week dominating Cats On My Keyboard. Valla was hotly contested in this match. Ana Maniacs was able to control kills and overpower Cats On My Keyboard before the latter was able to hit level twenty in either game. Game two held some fierce revenge between both players in the offlane. Ana was in fact played twice – can you guess which team(s) played her?
CEEEEEEEEEEEEBBB!!! held out for a reverse sweep against The Nine Avatara. The Nine Avatara won a long Garden of Terror – yet they only banned two Heroes according to the match link. CEEEEEEEEEEEEBBB!!! had a zero death game two on Infernal Shrines with great control and healing from the Auriel. TLV brought insurmountable pressure in game three on Alterac Pass.
U.S. Army Esports started the Wednesday reverse sweeps in a comeback against Roll1 Esports. Velvet’s Hanzo with Dragonstrike led the damage in game one. Roll1 Esports had three players with zero deaths on Infernal Shrines. The script flipped for the remaining games. There are folks that say now that Frackshure has hit an old age, that his Greymane has lost a step, but with only two deaths in the final two games, one could say he was Running Wild.
Can’t Counterpick Stupid added in another reverse sweep victory to their record in the match with Spooky Ghosts this week. Game one showcased big fights from Spooky Ghosts and superior chase with Lucio and Leoric. Game two held some big teamfights with the combo of Warlord’s Challenge and Mighty Gust giving Can’t Counterpick Stupid superior control. Game three brought an extremely defensive Can’t Counterpick Stupid that avoided the Lightbomb/Genji combo from Spooky Ghosts, ultimately seeing overwhelming pressure leading to a six cap.
COSMOS defeated Rolling Thunder for a domination victory on Thursday in the spotlight match of the week. COSMOS had some big teamfights in game one to include one with double Devouring Maw casts to finish out Volskaya Foundry. Game two was a more aggressive comp from Rolling Thunder, but they succumbed to the map pressure brought by COSMOS.
Clouded Minds came away with a reverse sweep against Roll1 Esports. Roll1 Esports had a slow burn victory on Tomb, using the boss and staggered kills to eventually get the core to zero. Clouded Minds brought full force to bear in a massive win on Towers. Battlefield was the final map and saw a big kill advantage for Clouded Minds that allowed them to cap a final immortal to end the series. Stukov was very impactful in game three with the Lurking Arm.
Bork Side of the Moon split the match with Macro Machines. Bork Side of the Moon kept a macro advantage on Towers. Macro Machines was able to body their way to a victory on Battlefield. Bork stood back up and held command on Dragon Shire, only giving up a single death on their way to victory.
Standings
(Rank, Team, Points, Maximum Possible, Movement)
1. Ana Maniacs 15, 47, ⏺️
2. Can’t Counterpick Stupid 13, 45, ⏺️
3. CEEEEEEEEEEEEBBB!!! 13, 41, ⏺️
4. U.S. Army Esports 11, 43, ⏺️
5. Spooky Ghosts 9, 41 ⬇️
6. Bork Side of the Moon 8, 40, ⬆️
6. Clouded Minds 8, 40 ⬆️
6. Macro Machines 8, 36, ⏺️
6. COSMOS 8, 36, ⬆️
10. Roll 1 Esports 7, 35, ⬇️
11.The Nine Avatara 6, 34, ⬆️
12. Rolling Thunder 5, 37, ⬆️
12. Cats on My Keyboard 5, 33, ⬆️
The Playoff Hunt
Thirty-six points are required to lock a playoff seed. The required value will continue to drop two to five points per work (depending on total number of matches played out within the week). I haven’t done the exact math, but I estimate that about twenty-five points will create a lock.
Week 5 Schedule (11 Mar – 17 Mar 2024)
(All times are posted in Pacific time. Welcome to the West.)
Monday – 8:00 PM – COSMOS vs. Clouded Minds
Tuesday – 7:15 PM – The Nine Avatara vs. Rolling Thunder
8:00 PM – CEEEEEEEEEEEEBBB!!! vs. Can’t Counterpick Stupid
Wednesday – No matches scheduled.
Thursday – 7:30 PM – Macro Machines vs Cats On My Keyboard
8:00 PM – Roll 1 Esports vs. Can’t Counterpick Stupid
Friday – 9:00 PM – NGS Rewind featuring C West
https://www.twitch.tv/valkamerccs
Saturday – No matches scheduled.
Sunday – No matches scheduled.
Highlight Match of the Week
Longtime frenemies Roll1 Esports and Can’t Counterpick Stupid face off this Thursday night. Five times these two stalwarts have met in the arenas of NGS (even more if we were to include NEXOMANIA, Storm League, and Unranked – yes, I remember that URD on Volskaya from years ago). Roll1 Esports has always managed to best Can’t Counterpick Stupid. Will this fated match prove any different? Tune in Thursday night. POV streams from RockYourWorlds and ValkamerCCS on Twitch.
Final Notes
- Broadcasting is starting to slow down, which is natural as the season goes on. Consider becoming a caster. NGS Rewind was a blast on Friday. Special thanks to Raka and LimeBus for their work.
- NGS Rewind returns on Friday.
- Rayvenx’s probability sheet can be found in the Division C chat channel in the NGS Discord!