Three Up | Three Down: Week One Recap 2024-02-06

Good morning y'all, Wzia here.

Week One of the Caps Gaming Showcase is over and done with and there's already a 40-point gap between highest and lowest +/-. We saw 99 different teams suit up, so it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise. But either way, the fact that we're well on pace to seeing some impressive and abysmal +/-'s is a little bit interesting to see.


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Before going into the storylines of the week, let's take a quick look at our storylines from last week:
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- IslesGT only played two games this week, throttling North End HC 8-0 and 10-0. North End had merely 10 shots in two games, and while they are not nearly at the same level as IslesGT, the ease in which IGT slapped them back down the board is impressive to see. IGT took care of business, and it's onto next week.

- Chappy's Champions are not participating in the Showcase, but a number of their former players are. @Keenis VII and @Overly Salty had winning weeks as part of Area 51 Aliens, while @Mayers and @TopCheddr had nights to forget playing in the main stage and Contender's, respectively. It was very unfortunate to not have C|C back together this go around, so it'll be interesting to monitor how the former members do this event.
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- underperformed a bit this week, dropping a set to 9thhh and needing 3 games to fend off Mean X Machine. It might not be talked about as much, but barely squeaking into the playoffs is not a fun boat to be on, as underperforming nights could be the difference in seeing what these guys are capable of doing once playoffs come around. While their defensive efforts have been sound (2.6 GA/G), the lack of goals this week will be a storyline to watch in case the playoffs come down to goal differential tiebreakers.

- Accuracy returned to the Contender's Cup, but finished just 1-1, dropping their series to CR0SS CREASE CHEESE. While also still in a playoff spot, Accuracy had a 1-0-2 record in 1 goal games this week. Being able to finish out those 1 goal games can make or break a team, and dropping a set to a team that you beat by 8 goals in game one is an extremely tough pill to swallow.
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- @Ethancy may not have had the offensive production that'd be ideal, but Caps Gaming will always take the 2-0 record for the week with their new signee. When a team can have such a concentrated effort defensively on a nightly basis, having a quality player like Ethancy is such a game changer. After being at RW, Ethancy gets to return to his natural position of Center to look and claim a third Esports title.
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And now, onto T|T Week One:

ONE

Up: Scary Hours had perhaps the best showing of any of the 99 teams in the showcase, finishing the week with a highly impressive goal differential of +14. Any concerns of lineup turnover for Scary Hours was quickly put to rest, as new pickups @Jxson71 and @Sitful helped to make quick work of Drywall Ducks and Notorious. Sitful played the last two events at RD, so seeing him return to forward is going to be a fun thing to watch going forward.

Down: @Keenis VII is ON FIRE. Even after switching from RD to RW, Keenis continues to do nothing but impress. Now owning Area 51 Aliens, Keenis' effective puck protection has lended well in his move to the front 3. At 34:50, he's averaging over 5:30 TwP per game and putting up a great 2.5ppg clip. While listed at RD, Keenis' positional versatility adds to his value as a top 5 player in the Contender's Cup.



TWO

Up: @Reidxrs had a brutal week to forget. Despite having 69 shots+shot attempts this week, Reidxrs managed merely 4 goals. This works out to a true shooting percentage of only 5.8%. Sure, things could be worse. SJSharks Gaming split their week to go 1-1, but if Reidxrs continues to outpace his shot totals from Pacific Cup, the poor shooting percentage could be a big thing to keep an eye on. Reidxrs is their target man, and his shot needs to be on point for SJSharks Gaming to build off their Quarterfinal win against IslesGT in the IGT Open.

Down: @Mooner2019 stole victory from the jaws of defeat last week, putting up impressive numbers against the backdrop of an extreme workload. Mooner faced a staggering 132 shots last week, averaging 22 shots against per game. This high workload was influenced heavily by his winning series against Accuracy. Despite getting hammered 9-1 in game 1, Mooner responded with 44 saves and only 3 goals allowed in the remaining two games to lead CR0SS CREASE CHEESE to the massive upset over Accuracy. Mooner already has 3 Quality Starts (.850sv% or higher against 18+ shots) in the Showcase and is on his best start to an Esports event in his entire career.



THREE

Up: The Contender's Cup is a great place for people to play when breaking into Esports, because it allows newer players to be protected from facing the big boys in the Main Stage. Unfortunately for North End HC, Dutch Ovens, and Goof Troops, their week one performance may have them wondering if they shouldn't have entered the mainstage. The three teams combined for a goal differential of -74 week one while managing only three goals in the 12 games between the clubs. It's a brutal, brutal, start for sure, but the event isn't over. Dutch Ovens, in particular, has the roster to bounce back and get to a respectable level, but it's an uphill climb from here on out.

Down: One goal games are a staple of NHL 24, and a team's success in pulling wins from these games is paramount in knowing what teams are the contenders and what teams are pretenders. BeAn ToWn BraWleRs have cemented themselves as a credible threat in the Contender's Cup after going 4-1-0 in one goal games this week. With guys like @D4D USA and @Mr WorldWlde 69 returning to Esports for the first time in a while, bringing in this extra talent has provided BTB with an amazing calming presence to make them, in my eyes, a very dangerous team to watch going forward.

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And with that, we've reached the end of this week's installment of Three Up | Three Down! We're only one week into the Caps Gaming Showcase, and the one-series-a-night schedule has a lot of storylines yet to be determined. Week two will help us clear the picture even more going forward, and I'm looking forward to learning more about all the teams. Thank y'all once again for taking your time to read this, it truly means a lot. Thanks as well to @xFUNKx-_- for the graphics to help make everything pop a little bit more.

If you have any comments or things to add on, let me know! My Discord DM's are always open (wzia.), and I'm always down to talk shop here as well.
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Your very own Enforcer Enthusiast,
Wzia

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