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| Amateur League round one squad report - season XIII (15.8.2005) |
-FINAL-
Last season: Didn't play AML
Preseason record: 0-3
Victories against: NONE
Losses to: Warlords (3-12), Hitlist (noshow), AMLlamasery (noshow)
Friendly MVPs: NONE
Comments: -FINAL- is one of the few squads that had trouble showing in preseason. I don't think they'll last long in league if they won't already be kicked out with two noshows in two weeks. Their roster has been taken out, so Mizerie has probably decided to scrap them from this season's league.
Ideal starting lineup: None
Prediction for the season: Already out of the league
Alcoholism
Last season: Didn't play AML
Preseason record: 2-1
Victories against: StarFire Academy (12-3), Externals (12-9)
Losses to: Obsessed (8-11)
Friendly MVPs: bongman 7:0, Rei- 3:1
Comments: Meditation has brought Alcoholism back in to Premier league after being gone for a couple of seasons. It looks like they've managed to gather a pretty decent roster. Bongman opened up nicely with a 7:0 MVP in preseason and SEAL used to be a very dominant player with hideous lag. The squad also has good backup pilots in Big Brother, Megus, Rei-, recreance and Meditation. I'm not certain how AML's playoffs are decided this season, but I'd guess it's four teams from both divisions and Alcoholism does have a shot at a playoff spot if they can manage to win some close matches against squads like Obsessed and Secret.
Ideal starting lineup: SEAL, recreance, bongman, Rei-
Prediction for the season: A playoff spot is within reach.
AMLlamasery
Last season: Llamasery's second string pilots from IML. Didn't play AML.
Preseason record: 2-1
Victories against: Enigma (12-4), -FINAL- (noshow)
Losses to: Hitlist (7-8 ot)
Friendly MVPs: Shimako 4:2
Comments: Llamasery's area of expertise now extends in to AML, again. Last time Llamasery was in AML they reached the finals. Still, this time the roster they're fielding is slightly less impressive as their top pilots have stayed in IML. They've got a decent roster in AML terms with standout players like CASHonFLASH, Street Fighter and Shimako. ReDS-AML and Warlords will probably be too strong for the llamas, but the squad has a good chance of making the playoffs from Pharaohs-division.
Ideal starting lineup: Street Fighter, CASHonFLASH, Shimako, Sachiko
Prediction for the season: A playoff spot is within reach.
Anarchists
Last season: Were in AML playoffs. Eliminated in the semis by the champions, Gods.
Preseason record: 2-1
Victories against: SkyRakers (12-7), Chaos Chronics (noshow)
Losses to: Secret (7-8)
Friendly MVPs: clockworked 4:2
Comments: Anarchists are now playing their third season in AML. It seemed like they'd be moving up to IML and splitting to two squads but that didn't happen and now they're back to AML. They've basically lost a whole starting lineup with Tertain, G_bone, Serrate, Scythe, krellin and Shadowslayer gone from the roster. This will, of course, hurt the squad a lot and they haven't really been able to replace the losses adequately. I think nismo and Clockworked will be their top pilots with Ender^Wiggin and DarkDenizen providing some decent backup. Anarchists might just make the playoffs if they manage to win key games - the Kings division looks slightly weaker in terms of top squads than Pharaohs. Most of their roster is very low on SVS league experience and that might lose them some close matches.
Ideal starting lineup: nismo, DarkDenizen, Clockworked, Machinehead, Ender^Wiggin
Prediction for the season: A playoff spot is within reach.
Enigma
Last season: Didn't play AML.
Preseason record: 0-3
Victories against: NONE
Losses to: Obsessed (noshow), AMLlamasery (4-12), Externals (2-12)
Friendly MVPs: NONE
Comments: Enigma's a squad with a small roster of eight pilots and they've had some trouble showing four for matches in preseason. I think the squad'll have a very hard first season in Amateur league unless they can recruit some skilled pilots before the round three rosterlock. They don't have the depth nor the skill to compete with most other squads and I fear they might drop out of league early in the season unless they can add a couple of active pilots to the roster.
Ideal starting lineup: Agent, death skull, Price, Supermarket
Prediction for the season: Hopefully they won't noshow out of the league early in the season. A playoff spot would be a miracle with this roster.
Externals
Last season: Lost in playoffs round one to Gods.
Preseason record: 2-1
Victories against: Militancy (12-3), Enigma (12-2)
Losses to: Alcoholism (9-12)
Friendly MVPs: A-soul (4:0), Combat (2:0)
Comments: Externals lost to Gods in the first round of AML playoffs last season. Still, they had a good season and will be looking to recapture a playoff spot this season. They've got a roster with plenty of talent - Jocker, Combat and A-soul are clear standouts who would be starters in most AML squads. I think that Externals will be fighting for the third and fourth playoff spots with AMLlamasery, Hitlist and Militancy. If Externals can win the important matches against those squads, they'll make the playoffs clearly. It could be a very close run in the Pharaohs-division near the end of the regular season.
Ideal starting lineup: Jocker, Combat, A-soul, tico
Prediction for the season: Very close to the playoff line. Which side, it'll depend on the important matches against other mid-tier squads.
Hitlist
Last season: Eliminated from the playoff in seeding rounds
Preseason record: 3-0
Victories against: AMLlamasery (8-7ot), -FINAL- (noshow), Militancy (12-9)
Losses to: NONE
Friendly MVPs: Sparklin (4:2), CurSe! (5:2)
Comments: Hitlist was one of the few squads to finish preseason 3-0. They didn't face any of the top-tier squads and cut it really close against AMLlamasery and Militancy, but who cares about the k-d if you have a three in your W-column. Hitlist was very close to reaching the playoffs last season in AML and they were eliminated from the playoffs on the seeding rounds. They're back now with a slightly smaller, but pretty impressive roster. Adding a pilot like chaoticsky can only be good for any AML squad and Sparklin can be pretty decent in AML enviroment. When you add the old pilots like Spinoza, Gunstar and DMD to the mix, you got a squad that should be able to reach the playoffs in AML. The middle-tier of Pharaohs-division is pretty close, though, and Hitlist will have to win the important matches against AMLlamasery, Externals and Militancy.
Ideal starting lineup: chaoticsky, Sparklin, Wh!te W!dow, Spinoza
Prediction for the season: I think above the playoff line. On a good day they can challenge any squad in this season's AML.
Jr. Gods
Last season: Gods won AML. The squad split between AML and IML.
Preseason record: 3-0
Victories against: Liquid Inc. (12-3), Warlords (12-8), StarFire Academy (12-7)
Losses to: NONE
Friendly MVPs: Surrey (5:1, 4:1), Pot (5:3)
Comments: Gods won AML last season and their top-tier pilots moved to IML, leaving the rest for another season of AML and a very fitting squadname. Jr. Gods finished the preseason with a solid 3-0 record. Especially their victory against Warlords was a good indication that they're, again, willing to really compete for the AML championship. They've got a powerful starting lineup, but do appear a little thin on the subs - this won't trouble them much during the season as long as their top pilots stay active, but could end up costing the dearly deep in the playoffs if they'll face a squad that's capable of fielding a good secondary lineup. Still, I think they should be on top of the Kings-division when we're done with regular season and after that it all depends on the day's form.
Ideal starting lineup: Surrey, Pot, the white rose, Fog (or Ten Tigers if he's active)
Prediction for the season: They're still one of the top contenders this season. Should win Kings-division unless something very unexpected happens.
Liquid Inc.
Last season: One of the worse squads in AML. Far from the playoffs
Preseason record: 1-2
Victories against: StarFire Academy (12-8)
Losses to: Jr. Gods (3-12), SkyRakers (7-12)
Friendly MVPs: black psycho (3:0)
Comments: Liquid Inc. is a squad that's been in AML for years. They were a championship contender four seasons back but have now fallen to a lower-midcard squad. Although things looked pretty bleak in preseason with the squad losing to SkyRakers there's still hope. Liquid Inc has been placed to the Kings-division and if they can kick up their gameplay just a notch for the regular season, they could quite well be contending for a playoff spot with Alcoholism, Obsessed and Secret. The squad has some extreme 4v4 league experience in pilots like black psycho, Faid and Rane!, who have all played Pro for different squads. Avaruusmies, LadyGaladriel, Malmox and Proxy are also dependable pilots. A squad with a roster like this should have no trouble reaching the playoffs, but something just hasn't gone right for them the past few seasons. Maybe we'll see a real comeback this season?
Ideal starting lineup: black psycho, Faid, Rane!, Proxy
Prediction for the season: I believe Liquid Inc. could very well make the playoffs this season in the slightly weakened AML if they can get their gameplay back in shape
Militancy
Last season: Didn't play AML.
Preseason record: 1-2
Victories against: SkyRakers (12-4)
Losses to: Externals (3-12), Hitlist (9-12)
Friendly MVPs: targeter2 (5:1)
Comments: Militancy returns to AML after being gone for.. a couple of years. They've gathered a decent roster with Largo and Symbsters the clear standouts. The playoff race in Pharaohs division will be very close and Militancy, despite looking slightly weaker on paper than AMLlamasery, Externals and Hitlist, might be able to clinch a playoff spot if they can manage to win the important matches against other mid-tier squads in the division.
Ideal starting lineup: Largo, Symbsters, targeter2, freakmonger
Prediction for the season: A playoff spot's within reach
Obsessed
Last season: Didn't play AML.
Preseason record: 3-0
Victories against: Enigma (noshow), Secret (8-7), Alcoholism (11-8)
Losses to: NONE
Friendly MVPs: Stress (3:2), extrude (3:1)
Comments: Obsessed is a squad which took the spot of CHAOS*ZONE in AML. The only thing that really remains is the captain, WarEngine. Obsessed had a solid 3-0 preseason, but they didn't really face any upper-tier squads. They're in the Kings-division which is slightly weaker than the Pharaohs, so I believe Obsessed should be able to make the playoffs. Their roster has some recognizable names like Medicus and Zash, who were in Ferrum, Stress, who was my squadmate back in AlphaWin*, Sagum, who played for Blasphemy and a couple of others. Despite not having any excellent pilots, they have a wide array of medicore talent and that's quite enough to do well in this season's weakened AML.
Ideal starting lineup: Medicus, Stress, Sagum, Zash
Prediction for the season: Should make the playoffs.
ReDS-AML
Last season: ReDS lost in the playoffs to Victimise. Now they're split between AML and IML.
Preseason record: 1-2
Victories against: Chaos Chronics (noshow)
Losses to: BlackNike (5-12), Warlords (4-6)
Friendly MVPs: NONE
Comments: ReDS-AML didn't win a single actual match in preseason. They did face BlackNike, who are now in IML and lost a close struggle against Warlords so we shouldn't wipe ReDS out of the AML championship picture just yet. They'll have to be on their guard against middle-tier squads, but should be able to be close to the top of the Pharaohs-division when the regular season's done. The squad looks relatively active and I see them praccing quite a bit, so they should be in good form when the season begins. We'll get some very good indicators of the way ReDS'll be ranked this season when they face Warlords and Hitlist on rounds one and two. I expect ReDS to be around when the final rounds of the playoffs begin.
Ideal starting lineup: voltage, 5ass, vik, MC Simon
Prediction for the season: Deep in the playoffs and near the top of the Pharaohs-division.
Secret
Last season: Eliminated in regular season.
Preseason record: 1-2
Victories against: Anarchists (8-7)
Losses to: BlackNike (2-12), Obsessed (7-8)
Friendly MVPs: Trash-killer (4:2)
Comments: Secret is returning for yet another season of AML. Most of Secret's players all long term veterans in the squad and have been around for, well, many many years. The squad has never enjoyed great success, but they've been a solid playoff or close-to-playoffs squad for a long time now. Secret has a roster which could definitely mount a serious playoff run if all their pilots were in top form. Tjatte, Trash-killer and Tursiops have all been very good in the past and have many seasons of league experience on their belts. Secet has a chance of making the playoffs this season if they can manage to win the close matches. Unfortunately I believe Secret will struggle this season too. They just don't have enough quality starters to really challenge any of the league's top squads.
Ideal starting lineup: Tursiops, Trash-killer, cose, SwEeT pIeCe Of AsS
Prediction for the season: With a slightly weaker division Secret could challenge for a playoff spot.
SkyRakers
Last season: Didn't play AML
Preseason record: 1-2
Victories against: Liquid Inc. (12-7)
Losses to: Anarchists (7-12), Militancy (4-12)
Friendly MVPs: Static Burn (5:2)
Comments: This must be the dozenth time SkyRakers have entered AML. On most of their prior visits they've noshowed out relatively quickly. However, this time things seem a little different as the squad has a roster of active league veterans with various amounts of league experience. Obvious stand-outs from the roster are Static Burn, the ex-Pro Stone, Disturbance and Yoki. All four pilots who can be excellent on a good day. With good backup pilots like gypo, RazB and Crudgiver, SkyRakers can field a pretty decent lineup in AML terms. Their first round match against StarFire Academy will probably be a good indicator about how good SkyRakers's chances of a playoff spot are this season. If they can win some close matches, they'll be in the playoffs.
Ideal starting lineup: Yoki, Static Burn, Stone, Disturbance
Prediction for the season: SkyRakers might challenge for a playoff spot if they can win the close matches.
StarFire Academy
Last season: Missed out on playoffs
Preseason record: 0-3
Victories against: NONE
Losses to: Alcoholism (3-12), Liquid Inc. (8-12), Jr. Gods (7-12)
Friendly MVPs: NONE
Comments: StarFire Academy returns for their second season with some slight roster changes. They finished preseason with 0-3, but only took close losses against Liquid Inc. and Jr. Gods, so we shouldn't jump in to conclusions just yet. The squad has a fairly large roster of 18 pilots and they can field a pretty good starting lineup. I believe a playoff spot is within reach of the squad can improve their gameplay and teamwork for the season.
Ideal starting lineup: deaths razor, H.A.M, Panny., Excell
Prediction for the season: Although they've had difficulties winning matches, a playoff spot might be within reach with some improvement.
Warlords
Last season: Lost to Victimise in the playoffs.
Preseason record: 2-1
Victories against: -FINAL- (12-3), ReDS-AML (6-4)
Losses to: Jr. Gods (8-12)
Friendly MVPs: Terrierized (2:0), acidreign (2:0)
Comments: Warlords were one of the top squads last season and will definitely be big contenders this season too. They had clashes with both of their top competitors in preseason, losing 8-12 to Jr. Gods and beating ReDS-AML 6-4. The squad has been in AML for many seasons now and I've heard they'll move up to IML after this one, so they'll definitely throw it all in for this one. They've got a roster full of top-AML level pilots like acidreign, Gazelle and V and guys like Miz, Terrierized and Foreign for backup. Definitely close to the top when the season's over.
Ideal starting lineup: acidreign, V, Miz, Gazelle
Prediction for the season: Surely one of the top contenders.
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