OP
Advisor
⭐ x8
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good guys
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<b><u>Aerith's Pre-Season Power Rankings (and other Junk)</u></b>
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<b>1.</b> K Dude
<b>2.</b> Cocaine
<b>3.</b> Darkslayers
<b>4.</b> Francotiradores
<b>5.</b> Evolution
<b>6.</b> Macrodata Refinement
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<b>1.</b> K Dude
I don't have much of an interest in diving too deep into K Dude, what with being on the squad. Bunch of stackers. You ain't seen nothing yet. Just wait till Rio, Sol and skm join. Biggest question mark is where do Rio, Sol and skm slot in when everyone shows?
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<b>2.</b> Cocaine
Jersey Boys with two strong additions in easoe and Shasta and an unknown addition in dave. Hard to argue against a team that made it to the finals bringing back all eight starters and then adding three quality players on top of it. My biggest question mark here is how do easoe and Shasta slot in? If I'm not mistaken, all eight started played the entirety of every game last season save for danny (somera) missing one game. Easoe is an instant starter on this squad so who's getting benched for him? Will the chemistry be disrupted with the new additions and play time potentially being spread? This is further an issue if dave devices to become active (though I'm skeptical) and then you're looking at 11 starters for 8 spots. Either way, expect Cocaine to make another finals run.
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<b>3.</b> Darkslayers
Darkslayers had a very impressive showing to end season 25 and look to carry that momentum into season 26. They bring back their entire roster which is a mix of USL veterans (including strong leadership) and CTF crossovers. I'd have liked to have seen another addition or two to shore up the lineup (and that's still a possibility), but perhaps it's a not a necessity and their late season success will continue despite that. Biggest question mark here is questioning whether the game against birds was a one off on the great map equalizer (EC) or if it's something that will translate beyond EC. If it's the latter, they're more than capable of pulling an upset or two vs Cocaine and K Dude.
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<b>4.</b> Francotiradores
This is easily the most talent Backs has ever had on one of his squads and it'll be interesting to see how things develop throughout the season, both from the perspective of Backs' leading and from the squad development as a cohesive unit. Biggest question mark here revolves around backs leadership (and that's not meant to be negative). He's used to playing with less skilled players so can he adapt to leading championship mvps (Sabotage) and medic award winners (Stavudine), etc? Will the play style become less ambushy or stay the same? If it stays the same, will the veteran players be comfortable with an ambush play style? Time will tell.
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<b>5.</b> Evolution
On paper, these guys have enough USL experience to compete with any squad, but it'll come down to leadership and chemistry if they wish to do so. If Bowen can reign them in and get people organized, the scores can stay close but if he fails to do so, things <i>will</i> get away from Evolution very quickly. The biggest question mark for Evolution revolves around what was stated above. Can he keep people in check? There's a few players on this squad that like to run off and start doing their own thing despite it being a deteriment to the squad as a whole. This is where the wheels truly come off and the wreck begins. Prevent this and things will look much better.
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<b>6.</b> Macrodata Refinement
I predominantly have them in last place mostly because they're full of unknowns, though I don't think they'll end the season here. The additions of yosh and bonds were HUGE for this squad and will provide them a veteran presence in both the combat and medic department. I am not well versed in CTF and haven't truly played since CTFx years ago, but even I still recognize names like Herthbul and Angelus who're undoubtedly CTF legends. It's no secret that CTF is much more complex zone, thus if they can perform well there, given enough practice, they'll be able to perform well in USL. None of those pesky turrets, repulsors or buy macros to worry about. Biggest question mark for Macrodata Refinement will revolve around activity. As talented as a lot of these players likely are, practice and familiarity is still a necessity. When it comes down to choosing CTF mix or USL SB, will they have enough committed to the USL SB or will the draw of their home zone be too strong?
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<b><u>Aerith's Pre-Season (Individual) Award Predictions</u></b>
<b>1.</b> Deadliest
<b>2.</b> Top Medic
<b>3.</b> MVP
<b>4.</b> Top Support
<b>5.</b> Best New Player
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<b><u>Deadliest</u></b>
<b>1.</b> Colossal
It was hard to pick one player from K Dude that I thought would win deadliest solely because there's five or so players that could potentially do so. I'm gonna go with Jeff though. If he's able to make every game, he's likely to put up the most meaningful kills and look good doing it.
<b>2.</b> Easoe
Easoe is always a deadliest competitor and assuming he shows to every game, that won't change this season with Cocaine. He'll have to do better vs play-off tier squads to overtake the K Dude players though and he's obviously more than capable. If he does this, he's not only capable of propelling himself to deadliest, but potentially K Dude to a championship.
<b>3.</b> Typhoon
I wanted to include one player from my top three squads and Typhoon was the obvious candidate here as Darkslayer's killer. If he can build on last season and put himself in smarter positions, there's a very real possibility he could win deadliest. Even putting up slightly weaker numbers than players on K Dude or Cocaine would give him the edge being he faced stronger competition.
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<b><u>Top Medic</u></b>
<b>1.</b> iron
The best medic. I'm not sure anything else needs to be said here. I know it, you know it, he knows it. The only thing standing in his way from winning this award again is not playing enough games.
<b>2.</b> simp (havok)
I look for havok to mantain his kill output while decreasing his deaths. Deaths (in comparison to victim) were the only thing that kept him from winning the med award last season and if he drops those, he'll be in the running all season. I'm not sure if he can surpass iron, but he'll give it his best shot.
<b>3.</b> victim
I don't expect much change for victim. He'll be a medic anchor for cocaine and almost always make the smart play that prioritizes healing over kills. Additionally, he's expected to play 30 minutes every game (like last season) which'll help boost his numbers. Unfortunately, he probably doesn't have the benefit of Iron missing too many games this season so going back to back will be extremely difficult, especially when it was razor thin between him and his squad mate last season.
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<b><u>MVP</u></b>
<b>1.</u></b> Sov
Insert Chapelle dylan meme .gif here, but replace dylan with Sov. If Sov is playing, he's probably the MVP. Hell, even when Sov didn't play last season you could make a case for him being MVP based solely on how it affected the players he normally plays with. Best leader. Plays ever class. Yadda yadda yadda. We've heard it all before.
<b>2.</u></b> Iron
As far as I know, he's playing medic this season. If he's active the entire season, he's not only a lock for the med award but is in the running for MVP. The Medic tier list starts with iron at SS, skip S and then there's a few others in A and the rest are B are below. Either way, Iron is a step and a half above everyone else.
<b>3.</u></b> Backs
This one might be a long shot but I'm predicting Backs to step up big time and lead his squad to forth seed at worst and potentially even the third seed. If he can do that and keep himself in check, he'll be a talking point come end-of-season awards discussion time.
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<b><u>Top Support</u></b>
<i>To preface this one, not everyone agrees on how this award should be voted, but I tend to lean towards voting non marine/lmg classes here.</i>
<b>1.</b> K
I personally thought K was good enough last season to warrant MVP discussion and in fact, had him in my MVP list. He, of course, won best support player and should be at the top of the list for support in season 26 as well. I expect another full season of nader since he proved he'll play it regardless of map.
<b>2.</b> Oct
Oct put up good numbers before he had quality players surrounding him. Now that he has these players, he should technically put up even better numbers. plays a large assortment of support classes and I don't see a switch to marine anytime soon.
<b>3.</b> Tactical
I am expecting Ernie to switch back and forth between marine and multiple support classes pending on if Chris is available or not and who else shows. If Ernie supported full time, I think he wins this award, but he'll miss out on some support/demo games due to the squad make up.
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<b><u>Best New Player</u></b>
<b>1a.</b> Herthbul
<b>1b.</b> Angelus
These are the two names that stand out the most to be as far as recognizable CTFers go. I know they're both CTF Legends so it wouldn't surprise me if either or both jumped in and were great SK players from the get go.
<b>3.</b> X5
I <i>think</i> X5 will still qualify here as Darkslayers, despite being a good squad, still have a lot of newer players. He didn't play a lot last season but he did well when he did. With more play time and practice, I could see him becoming a very solid contributor.
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<b><u>Aerith's Pre-Season (Individual) Award Predictions</u></b>
<b>1.</b> Deadliest
<b>2.</b> Top Medic
<b>3.</b> MVP
<b>4.</b> Top Support
<b>5.</b> Best New Player
--- --- ---
<b><u>Deadliest</u></b>
<b>1.</b> Colossal
It was hard to pick one player from K Dude that I thought would win deadliest solely because there's five or so players that could potentially do so. I'm gonna go with Jeff though. If he's able to make every game, he's likely to put up the most meaningful kills and look good doing it.
<b>2.</b> Easoe
Easoe is always a deadliest competitor and assuming he shows to every game, that won't change this season with Cocaine. He'll have to do better vs play-off tier squads to overtake the K Dude players though and he's obviously more than capable. If he does this, he's not only capable of propelling himself to deadliest, but potentially K Dude to a championship.
<b>3.</b> Typhoon
I wanted to include one player from my top three squads and Typhoon was the obvious candidate here as Darkslayer's killer. If he can build on last season and put himself in smarter positions, there's a very real possibility he could win deadliest. Even putting up slightly weaker numbers than players on K Dude or Cocaine would give him the edge being he faced stronger competition.
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<b><u>Top Medic</u></b>
<b>1.</b> iron
The best medic. I'm not sure anything else needs to be said here. I know it, you know it, he knows it. The only thing standing in his way from winning this award again is not playing enough games.
<b>2.</b> simp (havok)
I look for havok to mantain his kill output while decreasing his deaths. Deaths (in comparison to victim) were the only thing that kept him from winning the med award last season and if he drops those, he'll be in the running all season. I'm not sure if he can surpass iron, but he'll give it his best shot.
<b>3.</b> victim
I don't expect much change for victim. He'll be a medic anchor for cocaine and almost always make the smart play that prioritizes healing over kills. Additionally, he's expected to play 30 minutes every game (like last season) which'll help boost his numbers. Unfortunately, he probably doesn't have the benefit of Iron missing too many games this season so going back to back will be extremely difficult, especially when it was razor thin between him and his squad mate last season.
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<b><u>MVP</u></b>
<b>1.</u></b> Sov
Insert Chapelle dylan meme .gif here, but replace dylan with Sov. If Sov is playing, he's probably the MVP. Hell, even when Sov didn't play last season you could make a case for him being MVP based solely on how it affected the players he normally plays with. Best leader. Plays ever class. Yadda yadda yadda. We've heard it all before.
<b>2.</u></b> Iron
As far as I know, he's playing medic this season. If he's active the entire season, he's not only a lock for the med award but is in the running for MVP. The Medic tier list starts with iron at SS, skip S and then there's a few others in A and the rest are B are below. Either way, Iron is a step and a half above everyone else.
<b>3.</u></b> Backs
This one might be a long shot but I'm predicting Backs to step up big time and lead his squad to forth seed at worst and potentially even the third seed. If he can do that and keep himself in check, he'll be a talking point come end-of-season awards discussion time.
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<b><u>Top Support</u></b>
<i>To preface this one, not everyone agrees on how this award should be voted, but I tend to lean towards voting non marine/lmg classes here.</i>
<b>1.</b> K
I personally thought K was good enough last season to warrant MVP discussion and in fact, had him in my MVP list. He, of course, won best support player and should be at the top of the list for support in season 26 as well. I expect another full season of nader since he proved he'll play it regardless of map.
<b>2.</b> Oct
Oct put up good numbers before he had quality players surrounding him. Now that he has these players, he should technically put up even better numbers. plays a large assortment of support classes and I don't see a switch to marine anytime soon.
<b>3.</b> Tactical
I am expecting Ernie to switch back and forth between marine and multiple support classes pending on if Chris is available or not and who else shows. If Ernie supported full time, I think he wins this award, but he'll miss out on some support/demo games due to the squad make up.
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<b><u>Best New Player</u></b>
<b>1a.</b> Herthbul
<b>1b.</b> Angelus
These are the two names that stand out the most to be as far as recognizable CTFers go. I know they're both CTF Legends so it wouldn't surprise me if either or both jumped in and were great SK players from the get go.
<b>3.</b> X5
I <i>think</i> X5 will still qualify here as Darkslayers, despite being a good squad, still have a lot of newer players. He didn't play a lot last season but he did well when he did. With more play time and practice, I could see him becoming a very solid contributer.
<b><u>Aerith's Pre-Season Power Rankings (and other Junk)</u></b>
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<b>1.</b> K Dude
<b>2.</b> Cocaine
<b>3.</b> Darkslayers
<b>4.</b> Francotiradores
<b>5.</b> Evolution
<b>6.</b> Macrodata Refinement
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<b>1.</b> K Dude
I don't have much of an interest in diving too deep into K Dude, what with being on the squad. Bunch of stackers. You ain't seen nothing yet. Just wait till Rio, Sol and skm join. Biggest question mark is where do Rio, Sol and skm slot in when everyone shows?
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<b>2.</b> Cocaine
Jersey Boys with two strong additions in easoe and Shasta and an unknown addition in dave. Hard to argue against a team that made it to the finals bringing back all eight starters and then adding three quality players on top of it. My biggest question mark here is how do easoe and Shasta slot in? If I'm not mistaken, all eight started played the entirety of every game last season save for danny (somera) missing one game. Easoe is an instant starter on this squad so who's getting benched for him? Will the chemistry be disrupted with the new additions and play time potentially being spread? This is further an issue if dave devices to become active (though I'm skeptical) and then you're looking at 11 starters for 8 spots. Either way, expect Cocaine to make another finals run.
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<b>3.</b> Darkslayers
Darkslayers had a very impressive showing to end season 25 and look to carry that momentum into season 26. They bring back their entire roster which is a mix of USL veterans (including strong leadership) and CTF crossovers. I'd have liked to have seen another addition or two to shore up the lineup (and that's still a possibility), but perhaps it's a not a necessity and their late season success will continue despite that. Biggest question mark here is questioning whether the game against birds was a one off on the great map equalizer (EC) or if it's something that will translate beyond EC. If it's the latter, they're more than capable of pulling an upset or two vs Cocaine and K Dude.
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<b>4.</b> Francotiradores
This is easily the most talent Backs has ever had on one of his squads and it'll be interesting to see how things develop throughout the season, both from the perspective of Backs' leading and from the squad development as a cohesive unit. Biggest question mark here revolves around backs leadership (and that's not meant to be negative). He's used to playing with less skilled players so can he adapt to leading championship mvps (Sabotage) and medic award winners (Stavudine), etc? Will the play style become less ambushy or stay the same? If it stays the same, will the veteran players be comfortable with an ambush play style? Time will tell.
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<b>5.</b> Evolution
On paper, these guys have enough USL experience to compete with any squad, but it'll come down to leadership and chemistry if they wish to do so. If Bowen can reign them in and get people organized, the scores can stay close but if he fails to do so, things <i>will</i> get away from Evolution very quickly. The biggest question mark for Evolution revolves around what was stated above. Can he keep people in check? There's a few players on this squad that like to run off and start doing their own thing despite it being a deteriment to the squad as a whole. This is where the wheels truly come off and the wreck begins. Prevent this and things will look much better.
-
<b>6.</b> Macrodata Refinement
I predominantly have them in last place mostly because they're full of unknowns, though I don't think they'll end the season here. The additions of yosh and bonds were HUGE for this squad and will provide them a veteran presence in both the combat and medic department. I am not well versed in CTF and haven't truly played since CTFx years ago, but even I still recognize names like Herthbul and Angelus who're undoubtedly CTF legends. It's no secret that CTF is much more complex zone, thus if they can perform well there, given enough practice, they'll be able to perform well in USL. None of those pesky turrets, repulsors or buy macros to worry about. Biggest question mark for Macrodata Refinement will revolve around activity. As talented as a lot of these players likely are, practice and familiarity is still a necessity. When it comes down to choosing CTF mix or USL SB, will they have enough committed to the USL SB or will the draw of their home zone be too strong?
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<b><u>Aerith's Pre-Season (Individual) Award Predictions</u></b>
<b>1.</b> Deadliest
<b>2.</b> Top Medic
<b>3.</b> MVP
<b>4.</b> Top Support
<b>5.</b> Best New Player
--- --- ---
<b><u>Deadliest</u></b>
<b>1.</b> Colossal
It was hard to pick one player from K Dude that I thought would win deadliest solely because there's five or so players that could potentially do so. I'm gonna go with Jeff though. If he's able to make every game, he's likely to put up the most meaningful kills and look good doing it.
<b>2.</b> Easoe
Easoe is always a deadliest competitor and assuming he shows to every game, that won't change this season with Cocaine. He'll have to do better vs play-off tier squads to overtake the K Dude players though and he's obviously more than capable. If he does this, he's not only capable of propelling himself to deadliest, but potentially K Dude to a championship.
<b>3.</b> Typhoon
I wanted to include one player from my top three squads and Typhoon was the obvious candidate here as Darkslayer's killer. If he can build on last season and put himself in smarter positions, there's a very real possibility he could win deadliest. Even putting up slightly weaker numbers than players on K Dude or Cocaine would give him the edge being he faced stronger competition.
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<b><u>Top Medic</u></b>
<b>1.</b> iron
The best medic. I'm not sure anything else needs to be said here. I know it, you know it, he knows it. The only thing standing in his way from winning this award again is not playing enough games.
<b>2.</b> simp (havok)
I look for havok to mantain his kill output while decreasing his deaths. Deaths (in comparison to victim) were the only thing that kept him from winning the med award last season and if he drops those, he'll be in the running all season. I'm not sure if he can surpass iron, but he'll give it his best shot.
<b>3.</b> victim
I don't expect much change for victim. He'll be a medic anchor for cocaine and almost always make the smart play that prioritizes healing over kills. Additionally, he's expected to play 30 minutes every game (like last season) which'll help boost his numbers. Unfortunately, he probably doesn't have the benefit of Iron missing too many games this season so going back to back will be extremely difficult, especially when it was razor thin between him and his squad mate last season.
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<b><u>MVP</u></b>
<b>1.</u></b> Sov
Insert Chapelle dylan meme .gif here, but replace dylan with Sov. If Sov is playing, he's probably the MVP. Hell, even when Sov didn't play last season you could make a case for him being MVP based solely on how it affected the players he normally plays with. Best leader. Plays ever class. Yadda yadda yadda. We've heard it all before.
<b>2.</u></b> Iron
As far as I know, he's playing medic this season. If he's active the entire season, he's not only a lock for the med award but is in the running for MVP. The Medic tier list starts with iron at SS, skip S and then there's a few others in A and the rest are B are below. Either way, Iron is a step and a half above everyone else.
<b>3.</u></b> Backs
This one might be a long shot but I'm predicting Backs to step up big time and lead his squad to forth seed at worst and potentially even the third seed. If he can do that and keep himself in check, he'll be a talking point come end-of-season awards discussion time.
-
<b><u>Top Support</u></b>
<i>To preface this one, not everyone agrees on how this award should be voted, but I tend to lean towards voting non marine/lmg classes here.</i>
<b>1.</b> K
I personally thought K was good enough last season to warrant MVP discussion and in fact, had him in my MVP list. He, of course, won best support player and should be at the top of the list for support in season 26 as well. I expect another full season of nader since he proved he'll play it regardless of map.
<b>2.</b> Oct
Oct put up good numbers before he had quality players surrounding him. Now that he has these players, he should technically put up even better numbers. plays a large assortment of support classes and I don't see a switch to marine anytime soon.
<b>3.</b> Tactical
I am expecting Ernie to switch back and forth between marine and multiple support classes pending on if Chris is available or not and who else shows. If Ernie supported full time, I think he wins this award, but he'll miss out on some support/demo games due to the squad make up.
-
<b><u>Best New Player</u></b>
<b>1a.</b> Herthbul
<b>1b.</b> Angelus
These are the two names that stand out the most to be as far as recognizable CTFers go. I know they're both CTF Legends so it wouldn't surprise me if either or both jumped in and were great SK players from the get go.
<b>3.</b> X5
I <i>think</i> X5 will still qualify here as Darkslayers, despite being a good squad, still have a lot of newer players. He didn't play a lot last season but he did well when he did. With more play time and practice, I could see him becoming a very solid contributor.
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<b><u>Aerith's Pre-Season (Individual) Award Predictions</u></b>
<b>1.</b> Deadliest
<b>2.</b> Top Medic
<b>3.</b> MVP
<b>4.</b> Top Support
<b>5.</b> Best New Player
--- --- ---
<b><u>Deadliest</u></b>
<b>1.</b> Colossal
It was hard to pick one player from K Dude that I thought would win deadliest solely because there's five or so players that could potentially do so. I'm gonna go with Jeff though. If he's able to make every game, he's likely to put up the most meaningful kills and look good doing it.
<b>2.</b> Easoe
Easoe is always a deadliest competitor and assuming he shows to every game, that won't change this season with Cocaine. He'll have to do better vs play-off tier squads to overtake the K Dude players though and he's obviously more than capable. If he does this, he's not only capable of propelling himself to deadliest, but potentially K Dude to a championship.
<b>3.</b> Typhoon
I wanted to include one player from my top three squads and Typhoon was the obvious candidate here as Darkslayer's killer. If he can build on last season and put himself in smarter positions, there's a very real possibility he could win deadliest. Even putting up slightly weaker numbers than players on K Dude or Cocaine would give him the edge being he faced stronger competition.
-
<b><u>Top Medic</u></b>
<b>1.</b> iron
The best medic. I'm not sure anything else needs to be said here. I know it, you know it, he knows it. The only thing standing in his way from winning this award again is not playing enough games.
<b>2.</b> simp (havok)
I look for havok to mantain his kill output while decreasing his deaths. Deaths (in comparison to victim) were the only thing that kept him from winning the med award last season and if he drops those, he'll be in the running all season. I'm not sure if he can surpass iron, but he'll give it his best shot.
<b>3.</b> victim
I don't expect much change for victim. He'll be a medic anchor for cocaine and almost always make the smart play that prioritizes healing over kills. Additionally, he's expected to play 30 minutes every game (like last season) which'll help boost his numbers. Unfortunately, he probably doesn't have the benefit of Iron missing too many games this season so going back to back will be extremely difficult, especially when it was razor thin between him and his squad mate last season.
-
<b><u>MVP</u></b>
<b>1.</u></b> Sov
Insert Chapelle dylan meme .gif here, but replace dylan with Sov. If Sov is playing, he's probably the MVP. Hell, even when Sov didn't play last season you could make a case for him being MVP based solely on how it affected the players he normally plays with. Best leader. Plays ever class. Yadda yadda yadda. We've heard it all before.
<b>2.</u></b> Iron
As far as I know, he's playing medic this season. If he's active the entire season, he's not only a lock for the med award but is in the running for MVP. The Medic tier list starts with iron at SS, skip S and then there's a few others in A and the rest are B are below. Either way, Iron is a step and a half above everyone else.
<b>3.</u></b> Backs
This one might be a long shot but I'm predicting Backs to step up big time and lead his squad to forth seed at worst and potentially even the third seed. If he can do that and keep himself in check, he'll be a talking point come end-of-season awards discussion time.
-
<b><u>Top Support</u></b>
<i>To preface this one, not everyone agrees on how this award should be voted, but I tend to lean towards voting non marine/lmg classes here.</i>
<b>1.</b> K
I personally thought K was good enough last season to warrant MVP discussion and in fact, had him in my MVP list. He, of course, won best support player and should be at the top of the list for support in season 26 as well. I expect another full season of nader since he proved he'll play it regardless of map.
<b>2.</b> Oct
Oct put up good numbers before he had quality players surrounding him. Now that he has these players, he should technically put up even better numbers. plays a large assortment of support classes and I don't see a switch to marine anytime soon.
<b>3.</b> Tactical
I am expecting Ernie to switch back and forth between marine and multiple support classes pending on if Chris is available or not and who else shows. If Ernie supported full time, I think he wins this award, but he'll miss out on some support/demo games due to the squad make up.
-
<b><u>Best New Player</u></b>
<b>1a.</b> Herthbul
<b>1b.</b> Angelus
These are the two names that stand out the most to be as far as recognizable CTFers go. I know they're both CTF Legends so it wouldn't surprise me if either or both jumped in and were great SK players from the get go.
<b>3.</b> X5
I <i>think</i> X5 will still qualify here as Darkslayers, despite being a good squad, still have a lot of newer players. He didn't play a lot last season but he did well when he did. With more play time and practice, I could see him becoming a very solid contributer.
Clique