DIVISION C WEST
Analyst: Valkamer
The first round of matches are complete. The stories of Season Seventeen have begun! Four teams earned dominations and lead the standings at four points. Two teams have three points. Two have one point. Four teams have yet to score a map victory. One team has not yet played a match. One flex match down.
Match Recaps
Clouded Minds came out strong and walked away with a 2-0 victory in their flex match against CEEEEEEEEEEEEBBB!!!, the runners up of C West last season. Clouded Minds hung on in game one through the scary lead that CEEEEEEEEEEEEBBB!!! built to then have a late game teamfight that quickly turned into a game winning push. Game two was more one-sided as Clouded Minds never let up with brutal kill combos and some rather humorous Pyroblasts.
Bork Side of the Moon played well against some of the unconventional comps of COSMOS, coming away with the 2-0 win. Both teams ran heavy frontline combos in game one. Some spicy picks included Alarak and Kerrigan. Towers of Doom looked particuarly close. Both teams are anticipated to be threats throughout the season.
U.S. Army Esports came in a with a 2-1 reverse sweep over The Nine Avatara. The Nine Avatara played a no tank game that created bombastic teamfights in game one. U.S. Army Esports flipped the script with their own triple frontline and a crushing Zeratul pickup in both games two and three. Watch out for both of these formidable squads.
Roll1 Esports came away with one of the cleanest victories of the week with only eight deaths in their 2-0 domination over Cats On My Keyboard. The most noteworthy pick may actually be a ban. The Lost Vikings were banned in game two. Roll1Esports looks to have another strong run this season. I am sure that Cats On My Keyboard will land on their feet.
Can’t Counterpick Stupid was the victor in the longest match of the week in a 2-1 reverse sweep against Rolling Thunder. Illidan, Kerrigan, massive Li-Ming combos all created an explosive match that could have gone either way. Rolling Thunder came in with their signature aggression. Can’t Counterpick Stupid displayed a heavy macro focus that turned into big late game teamfights.
Ana Maniacs bested Macro Machines in the final match played this week, coming away with the clean 2-0. Neither game was high on death counts for either side. The pressure from Ana Maniacs proved to be too much for Macro Machines to handle.
The match between Spooky Ghosts and CEEEEEEEEEEEEBBB!!! is scheduled to be played during Week Two.
Standings
(Rank, Team, Points, Maximum Possible, Movement)
1. Ana Maniacs 4, 48, ⏺️
1. Bork Side of the Moon 4, 48, ⏺️
1. Clouded Minds 4, 48, ⏺️
1. Roll1 Esports 4, 48, ⏺️
5. Can’t Counterpick Stupid 3, 47 ⬇️
5. U.S. Army Esports 3, 47, ⬇️
7. Rolling Thunder 1, 45, ⬇️
7. The Nine Avatara 1, 45 ⬇️
9. Spooky Ghosts 0, 48 ⬇️
10. Cats on My Keyboard 0, 44, ⬇️
10. CEEEEEEEEEEEEBBB!!! 0, 44, ⬇️
10. COSMOS 0, 44, ⬇️
10. Macro Machines 0, 44, ⬇️
The Playoff Hunt
No upsets or surprises exist from the first week of the season. Everybody is in the running. We will see loads of shuffling over the coming weeks and the storylines will build themselves. No teams have sealed a playoff position at this time. The required number to lock a spot currently sits at forty-six points.
Week 2 Schedule (19 Feb – 25 Feb 2024)
(All times are posted in Pacific time. Welcome to the West.)
Monday – 6:00 PM – Spooky Ghosts vs. CEEEEEEEEEEEEBBB!!! https://twitch.tv/Irakaf.
Tuesday – 7:30 PM – Macro Machines vs. The Nine Avatarra https://www.twitch.tv/peldor_hots.
Wednesday – 7:15 PM – Rolling Thunder vs. Spooky Ghosts
https://www.twitch.tv/thelimebus
Thursday – 7:00 PM – Bork Side of the Moon vs. The Nine Avatarra
7:15 PM – CEEEEEEEEEEEEBBB!!! VS. Roll 1 Esports
8:00 PM – Cats on My Keyboard vs. COSMOS
Clouded Minds vs. Can’t Counterpick Stupid
https://twitch.tv/Irakaf.
Friday – 7:00 PM – Division C Open House.
Saturday – No matches scheduled.
Sunday – No matches scheduled.
The match between U.S. Army Esports and Ana Maniacs has yet to be scheduled.
Highlight Match of the Week
Thursday night we will see two teams from C West in Season 16 have a big rematch. CEEEEEEEEEEEEBBB!!! and Roll1 Esports will face for the third time in their history. Roll1 Esports won their initial meeting and CEEEEEEEEEEEEBBB!!! won their playoff match. Both teams have members with long histories in NGS and I am certain it will be an epic clash. Somebody sign up to broadcast this match!
Final Notes
Friday is the Division C Open House at 7:00 PM Pacific. Any and all players are welcome, but Division C players will be given priority for any games. Please meet up in the General (VuDu Lounge) voice channel. We plan to have games for about two hours.
Special thanks to our broadcast team. All but one Div C West match was cast during Week One. Thank you Raka, TheSound51, KingAndrew, and Conflicted for being so awesome for us.
Looking for ways to volunteer to help the league? Please visit the help_wanted channel in the NGS Discord and talk with a member of the Hiring Committee. And that’s a wrap! Thank you, Division C West.
DIVISION C EAST
Analyst: Hoku
Roundup
While dominations were the name of the game, many of those matches were closer than the final score would suggest. One thing that stood out in week 1 was the extreme diversity of the offlane pool in C East. Fourteen of the “normal” offlane heroes were played, and we saw a little of the non-meta heroes soloing it up including Samuro, Abathur, and good ol’ Jimmy Laynor. This focus on macro play was also seen in the map pool, with most of the matches being played on the bigger maps, such as Infernal Shrines, Dragon Shire, and Sky Temple. We even saw Kentucky Fried Falstad take Heavy Greg to Garden of Terror where Samuro and Dehaka gave us the MOBA version of “Everything Everywhere All at Once”! Will this trend continue for the rest of the season? These teams have certainly shaken up that aspect of the meta!
Clip of the Week
We didn’t see many of the C East games casted this week (casters, take note, here is a great opportunity for week 2!), but we did see a dynamic series between Wait Till 10 and The High Inquisitors called by peldor . A tense keep defense resulted in a 5 man team wipe, with the star of the show being a certain gnoll.
Fun Fact of the Week That May Only Be of Interest to Me
While Johanna continues to dominate the tank role (8 matches played), a certain Prime Evil was seen in an equal number of games. Of course I am talking about Mei. Who did you think I meant?
Things to Watch for in Week 2
While it is early in the season, we will see a bit of parity come to the standings as 4 of the undefeated teams will be facing each other. You can expect longer matches as the spotlight on macro will likely continue, and the teams will have at least some data as to what to expect in their games. With the emphasis on Johanna and Mei in the tank role, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Varian show up more often. Let’s see some C Smash, C East!
Game of the Week
Thursday night will see a showdown between two teams new to C East this season: Hot(s) Dads will face Deep Waters in what is sure to be a fun one. Stay tuned as the fireworks start February 22, 2024 at 9:45 PM. This one is not currently scheduled to be casted, but if someone is looking to pick up a game, this should be a thriller!
Valkamer is hosting a Division C open house on Friday, February 23, 2024! Join him and the rest of the division at 10:00pm ET/7:00pm PT in the General (VuDu Lounge) voice channel in the NGS Discord for some inter-coast shenanigans!”