Took a week off from doing rankings, and my team loses. I guess karma caught up to me. For the sake of my team, I am back in the saddle again.
Last week saw some incredible games with some shocking outcomes. As a result, the rankings are all kinds of shuffled around now. Since WJ took the time to do a top ten, I am going to use his ranking for the previous ranking portion # in ( ) after this week's ranking. Enjoy!
Top Ten
#1 (4) - Banzai Pipeline Nites (4-0) - Clearly WJ had a better read on BPN than I did, as he moved them up even before their game against SoCal. Regardless of whether SoCal was slightly over-rated at #1 or not, the margin of victory in favor of BPN is more than a little surprising and makes putting them at #1 a no-brainer. BPN will be heavily favored to win in their next 4 games, and thus will be hard to unseed before the halfway point of the season. Next opponent - San Diego Scorpions (Prediction - BPN by a ton)
#2 (3) - Buda Pests (4-0) - Buda got a key win over Devonport that will definitely help them in the playoff seeding. Buda likes to talk like they hate playing the Devils, but they own the all-time series 3 wins to 1 loss. In fact, in OPL games, they have not lost to Devonport. Were it not for the margin of victory by BPN, I might have put Buda at #1, since they have played a tougher opening schedule. Still, they are on the heels of Banzai and will overtake them, should BPN falter. Next opponent - Bora Bora (Prediction - Buda by a landslide).
#3 (2) - Devonport Devils (3-1) - Devonport has played the toughest opening 4 games of any other top 10 team, having played 3 top 10 teams already. By virtue of the win over Asau and keeping it fairly close against Buda, the Devils only drop a spot. Time will tell if GCMM or SoCal should be ranked over Devonport. However, if the games were played in a different order and Devonport had just beaten Asau instead of losing to Buda, I think this ranking would not be questioned. The schedule is a bit easier over the next two games, as the Devils face two newcomers to OPL. However, if Dev looks past these teams for SoCal, it could be upset city. Next opponent - Holland Pinoy All Star Jrs (Prediction - Devonport by 28)
#4 (5) - Asau Pirates (3-1) - Asau gets a small bump based on how handily they just beat a very good GCV. In my opinion, Asau just won the top seed in Zeta with that win. They beat Amsterdam pretty handily in a ranked scrimmage, so it stands to reason they will beat them again in the regular season. As the Alpha slugfest progresses, Asau may continue to get small bumps and could end up the top team. They have 3 easy wins before their game with Amsterdam. Next opponent - Compton Panthers (Prediction - Asau by a lot)
#5 (1) - SoCal BDC (3-1) - Even with that loss, I feel like SoCal should probably be ranked higher. Still, I try to use logic and reason in my rankings, and it does not seem logical to rank SoCal above any of the other teams after the big loss to BPN. Not sure what was up in that game, but they get an easier opponent this week to solve any issues that may have arisen. Next opponent - Tampa Bay Puganeers (Prediction - SoCal by 42)
#6 (6) - Gold Coast Michelin Men (4-0) - WJ's boys have beaten all the teams put in front of them. As one of the last 3 undefeated teams, they certainly could make an argument that they deserve a higher ranking. In the end, I just put more weight in the results against top opponents. They do have the win over Hong Kong, but HKV has not looked as strong, so that win is losing a little of its luster. Their schedule remains fairly easy for two more games, and then they face off with Buda and can prove my low ranking wrong. Next opponent - Offtopica Miracle (Prediction - GCMM by 31)
#7 (7) - Gold Coast Vipers (3-1) - Regardless of the outcome against Asau, GCV still looks to me like the 2nd best team in Zeta. Thus, they do not drop with the loss. With that said, I think the difference between GCV and the other top Zeta teams is not real big, so they need to stay focused and not let the disappointment of losing to Asau cost them more than the one game. They get a winnable game to lick their wounds, so I think they will be fine. Next opponent - Deadwood Mules (Prediction - Gold Coast by 63)
#8 (8) - Kingston Uprising (2-2) - Kingston has played a pretty brutal opening schedule (other than their week 1 game), and altho they have dropped two games thus far, they are both to top 3 teams, and were not one-sided losses. Their win over Holland solidifies this ranking a bit, as it shows that they are not simply capable of sticking close to the top teams, but of beating the mid-tier teams. They get another mid-tier opponent, then face SoCal. Next opponent - SWAT City Vigilantes (Prediction - Kingston by 35)
#9 (10) - Amsterdam Bulls (3-1) - After their opening loss to SoCal, Amsterdam has rattled off 3 wins, but they are all against low tier Zeta teams. As WJ stated in his ranking thread, Amsterdam really needs to get a statement win or two to solidify their ranking. They get another easy opponent though, and should easily extend their winning streak to 4. Next opponent - The Sacred Order of the Crimson Dragon (Prediction - Amsterdam by a whole bunch)
#10 (17) - Komodo Dragon (3-1) - I have no idea how to rank the next 4 or 5 teams. They all lost to top 6 teams and none have any signature wins. In the end, I am giving the nod to Komodo simply because they beat 3 human teams, and did so by reasonable margins. The other teams had somewhat or very questionable victory margins against teams I would have expected to see easy wins. Komodo gets to prove if it belongs here this week, as they face one of the teams I considered putting at #10 in their place. Next opponent - South Bend Rhinocopters (Prediction - Komodo by 14)
The Rest
#11 (14) - Offtopica Miracle (3-1) - Might be underrating the win over Florida.
#12 (9) - Hong Kong Voodoo (3-1) - 4 point win over a CPU team?
#13 (15) - South Bend Rhicopters (3-1) - Maybe SDSC solved a problem and will perform better now, but I expected a bigger win by South Bend.
#14 (18) - Tampa Bay Puganeers (2-2)
#15 (16) - SWAT City Vigilantes (2-2)
#16 (13) - Holland Pinoy All Stars Jrs (1-3)
#17 (12) - Kona Gold (2-2)
#18 (20) - Deadwood Mules (2-2)
#19 (11) - Prague Panthers (2-2)
#20 (22) - Oberon Bulls (2-2)
#21 (24) - Florida BeachDogz (1-3)
#22 (21) - Asylum Maulers (1-3)
#23 (19) - San Diego Supa Chargers (1-3)
#24 (25) - Compton Panthers (1-3)
#25 (32) - The Sacred Order of the Crimson Dragon (2-2)
#26 (26) - All Good Things (2-2)
#27 (28) - Syracuse Synergy (0-4)
#28 (29) - Bora Bora Bangaroos (0-4)
#29 (23) - Nerfed Team (1-3)
#30 (27) - Guam Chamoros Rising Sun Devils (1-3)
#31 (31) - San Diego Scorpions (0-4)
#32 (30) - TCU Super Frogs (0-4)
Last week saw some incredible games with some shocking outcomes. As a result, the rankings are all kinds of shuffled around now. Since WJ took the time to do a top ten, I am going to use his ranking for the previous ranking portion # in ( ) after this week's ranking. Enjoy!
Top Ten
#1 (4) - Banzai Pipeline Nites (4-0) - Clearly WJ had a better read on BPN than I did, as he moved them up even before their game against SoCal. Regardless of whether SoCal was slightly over-rated at #1 or not, the margin of victory in favor of BPN is more than a little surprising and makes putting them at #1 a no-brainer. BPN will be heavily favored to win in their next 4 games, and thus will be hard to unseed before the halfway point of the season. Next opponent - San Diego Scorpions (Prediction - BPN by a ton)
#2 (3) - Buda Pests (4-0) - Buda got a key win over Devonport that will definitely help them in the playoff seeding. Buda likes to talk like they hate playing the Devils, but they own the all-time series 3 wins to 1 loss. In fact, in OPL games, they have not lost to Devonport. Were it not for the margin of victory by BPN, I might have put Buda at #1, since they have played a tougher opening schedule. Still, they are on the heels of Banzai and will overtake them, should BPN falter. Next opponent - Bora Bora (Prediction - Buda by a landslide).
#3 (2) - Devonport Devils (3-1) - Devonport has played the toughest opening 4 games of any other top 10 team, having played 3 top 10 teams already. By virtue of the win over Asau and keeping it fairly close against Buda, the Devils only drop a spot. Time will tell if GCMM or SoCal should be ranked over Devonport. However, if the games were played in a different order and Devonport had just beaten Asau instead of losing to Buda, I think this ranking would not be questioned. The schedule is a bit easier over the next two games, as the Devils face two newcomers to OPL. However, if Dev looks past these teams for SoCal, it could be upset city. Next opponent - Holland Pinoy All Star Jrs (Prediction - Devonport by 28)
#4 (5) - Asau Pirates (3-1) - Asau gets a small bump based on how handily they just beat a very good GCV. In my opinion, Asau just won the top seed in Zeta with that win. They beat Amsterdam pretty handily in a ranked scrimmage, so it stands to reason they will beat them again in the regular season. As the Alpha slugfest progresses, Asau may continue to get small bumps and could end up the top team. They have 3 easy wins before their game with Amsterdam. Next opponent - Compton Panthers (Prediction - Asau by a lot)
#5 (1) - SoCal BDC (3-1) - Even with that loss, I feel like SoCal should probably be ranked higher. Still, I try to use logic and reason in my rankings, and it does not seem logical to rank SoCal above any of the other teams after the big loss to BPN. Not sure what was up in that game, but they get an easier opponent this week to solve any issues that may have arisen. Next opponent - Tampa Bay Puganeers (Prediction - SoCal by 42)
#6 (6) - Gold Coast Michelin Men (4-0) - WJ's boys have beaten all the teams put in front of them. As one of the last 3 undefeated teams, they certainly could make an argument that they deserve a higher ranking. In the end, I just put more weight in the results against top opponents. They do have the win over Hong Kong, but HKV has not looked as strong, so that win is losing a little of its luster. Their schedule remains fairly easy for two more games, and then they face off with Buda and can prove my low ranking wrong. Next opponent - Offtopica Miracle (Prediction - GCMM by 31)
#7 (7) - Gold Coast Vipers (3-1) - Regardless of the outcome against Asau, GCV still looks to me like the 2nd best team in Zeta. Thus, they do not drop with the loss. With that said, I think the difference between GCV and the other top Zeta teams is not real big, so they need to stay focused and not let the disappointment of losing to Asau cost them more than the one game. They get a winnable game to lick their wounds, so I think they will be fine. Next opponent - Deadwood Mules (Prediction - Gold Coast by 63)
#8 (8) - Kingston Uprising (2-2) - Kingston has played a pretty brutal opening schedule (other than their week 1 game), and altho they have dropped two games thus far, they are both to top 3 teams, and were not one-sided losses. Their win over Holland solidifies this ranking a bit, as it shows that they are not simply capable of sticking close to the top teams, but of beating the mid-tier teams. They get another mid-tier opponent, then face SoCal. Next opponent - SWAT City Vigilantes (Prediction - Kingston by 35)
#9 (10) - Amsterdam Bulls (3-1) - After their opening loss to SoCal, Amsterdam has rattled off 3 wins, but they are all against low tier Zeta teams. As WJ stated in his ranking thread, Amsterdam really needs to get a statement win or two to solidify their ranking. They get another easy opponent though, and should easily extend their winning streak to 4. Next opponent - The Sacred Order of the Crimson Dragon (Prediction - Amsterdam by a whole bunch)
#10 (17) - Komodo Dragon (3-1) - I have no idea how to rank the next 4 or 5 teams. They all lost to top 6 teams and none have any signature wins. In the end, I am giving the nod to Komodo simply because they beat 3 human teams, and did so by reasonable margins. The other teams had somewhat or very questionable victory margins against teams I would have expected to see easy wins. Komodo gets to prove if it belongs here this week, as they face one of the teams I considered putting at #10 in their place. Next opponent - South Bend Rhinocopters (Prediction - Komodo by 14)
The Rest
#11 (14) - Offtopica Miracle (3-1) - Might be underrating the win over Florida.
#12 (9) - Hong Kong Voodoo (3-1) - 4 point win over a CPU team?
#13 (15) - South Bend Rhicopters (3-1) - Maybe SDSC solved a problem and will perform better now, but I expected a bigger win by South Bend.
#14 (18) - Tampa Bay Puganeers (2-2)
#15 (16) - SWAT City Vigilantes (2-2)
#16 (13) - Holland Pinoy All Stars Jrs (1-3)
#17 (12) - Kona Gold (2-2)
#18 (20) - Deadwood Mules (2-2)
#19 (11) - Prague Panthers (2-2)
#20 (22) - Oberon Bulls (2-2)
#21 (24) - Florida BeachDogz (1-3)
#22 (21) - Asylum Maulers (1-3)
#23 (19) - San Diego Supa Chargers (1-3)
#24 (25) - Compton Panthers (1-3)
#25 (32) - The Sacred Order of the Crimson Dragon (2-2)
#26 (26) - All Good Things (2-2)
#27 (28) - Syracuse Synergy (0-4)
#28 (29) - Bora Bora Bangaroos (0-4)
#29 (23) - Nerfed Team (1-3)
#30 (27) - Guam Chamoros Rising Sun Devils (1-3)
#31 (31) - San Diego Scorpions (0-4)
#32 (30) - TCU Super Frogs (0-4)
Edited by Plankton on May 20, 2011 21:37:46
Edited by Plankton on May 20, 2011 21:37:03
Edited by Plankton on May 20, 2011 21:36:53
Edited by Plankton on May 20, 2011 21:36:34
