We are officially half way through the CBJ Summer Cup. I have found it hard to write anything for the event to be honest. It’s probably due to the massive amount of teams in one division (103 and counting), and with the randomness of the swiss schedule, it’s difficult to properly rank a team’s performance if two comparable teams have had completely different paths to where they currently are. I’m just going to go through some storylines of different groups of teams, as I think the top 16 will simply come down to the final game of the season with the current swiss format. Headlines New Found Value of Top 6 With the introduction of Northern Arena’s upcoming 6v6 tournament, and with the top 6(ish) teams gaining automatic qualification to the top 32 of the tournament, there has some new found motivation for a high placement after this week. The idea of invitations from previous events and/or ranking adds a much need stability throughout events. This also should give some more incentive for teams sticking together, as the constant shuffling after events is a tough point for growth. On the other hand, with the current swiss format, and the randomness of strength of schedule, it poses the problem of teams catching hot in the right week only to potentially not make top 16 after week 4, but gain promotion to Northern Arena. The Top 16 Gauntlet With the system being as it is, there have been plenty of movement across the standings. One place of interest, is of course the top 16 playoff picture. This is where you will find the best of the best, the favourites to make the playoffs and go as far as you can. With these teams, though, you will find a wide array of teams stepping into the “gauntlet” of said teams. Catch an easier week and go 4-0? You may find yourself going up against top level teams, and the potential of a disastrous 0-4 week. Teams such as Chilltown (9-6-1 30th), Denial (10-4-2 22nd), or Tropix (9-5-2 38th) are top rated teams who started off hot and then had one tough night against top teams and it pushed them out of the playoff picture. Perhaps it allows them to bounce back against technically lower rated teams, or make their road to the playoffs that much more difficult. Slow Starts Reap Rewards On the other side of the coin, teams who had slow starts have slowly come back into the playoff picture. Perhaps the effect of a tough opening matchups, or just one bad night/week, some teams have been backed into a corner and forced to claw their way back into the playoff picture. The most prominent one is (13-2-1 4th), who had a rough night one, going 1-2-1 against Entourage (12-3-1 15th) and a now defunct but still solid lineup in No Sympathy. They have not lost since that night, rallying off an event high 13 straight wins on route to a current 4th place ranking in the standings. With their tournament back on track, they’ll have to fend off the top teams again to potentially continue the streak and maintain a high position. Another team taking the long route is Most Wanted (10-5-1, 24th place). The french squad reunited for the first time since ESHL S12, and had high expectations after making playoffs for that season, but stumbled out of the gate with a 3-4-1 record after week 1. Perhaps it was the quality of competition in the beginning or a sluggish start, they have rallied off 7 straight wins and have suddenly found themselves in the thick of the playoff hunt at 24th place. They’ll need another big week to push into the top 16. Some other teams who have made a pseudo comeback in the second week are The Krusty Krab (9-4-3, 6 Win Streak, 32nd place), True North (9-6-1, 6 Win Streak, 37th Place), and ARS HC (11-3-2, 8 Win Streak, 14th Place). Look for more teams to have bounce back weeks to keep pace with the teams above them. Top 16 Spotlight The Leaders Composure - 15-0-1 - 1st Place Composure brings their momentum into CBJ Summer Cup and has been at the top since day 1. Besides the very interesting 39-0 win, they still have the lowest goals against with 18 in 16 games. No reason for this team not to be considered as a lock for a top 6 spot. Underdogs - 15-0-1 - 2nd Place If not for the 39-0 blowout, a 76 goals for from the French squad would be an impressive feat given their quality of competition. This team always seems to top the regular season with great numbers, it almost seems tradition at this point. Entering the Gauntlet Cracked - 12-3-1 - 8th Place Cracked is definitely the right name choice for this team, as they have quietly been rising the ranks into a top 10 position. While some may question their schedule, it has not been very coddling, as they have had to go through some fairly solid squads and respected LGHLers in the process. Their true test will come on Wednesday against 6th Sense and Underdogs. Resignation - 12-2-2 - 12th Place Resignation always seems to be trending, but never due to their play. Fortunately for them, their play has lived up to their chatter this event, as they enter the top 16 heading into an important week. This will be their chance to prove they belong. And please stop tweeting. On the Fringe Entourage - 12-3-1 - 15th Place It’s strange to see the boys in teal so low, especially with 12 wins while others above them only have 11. The 3-2-0-1 System has not been kind to Entourage, as they have had a tough road so far, with 4 overtime wins over some good opponents. I don’t see it being an issue for them going forward, and even dodge the upper group by being this low for one more day at least. Montage Moment - 11-4-1 - 16th Place MtM’s event has been filled with ups and downs, but they have managed to secure the final top 16 spot heading into week 3. The biggest issue for them seems to be that no matter the opponent they seem to have close games for the most part. Whether this will hurt them once they go up against top ranked teams, or will spell competitiveness heading into the big games remains to be seen for Montage Moment, That’s it from me for this. It’s tough to make media with so many teams/games going on at once, but I’ll have some more stuff out around playoffs. If you want to read my CBJ Event Preview, check it out here: https://www.leaguegaming.com/forums/index.php?threads/wingels-cbj-summer-cup-preview.315490/ Thanks for reading!
