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| Intermediate League round one squad report - season X (25.1.2006) |
Alcoholism
Last season: AML finalist, lost to AMLlamasery
Last season MVP: Bongman (15:10)
Pre-season MVP: Coast (4:0)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: Alcoholism is entering IML after returning to league a couple of seasons back. Last season they suprised everyone and went all the way to the AML finals. A loss to AMLlamasery was probably a bitter one, but the squad had already surpassed any expectations I had for them before the season began. Meditation captained his squad well and even got a good performance out of Cerium. Alcoholism had a middle-tier preseason with a bad 0-12 loss to Disavowed, a 7-7 tie with Warlords and finally a 12-4 win over CR Virgins. Obviously they'll be facing bigger opponents during the season and will definitely need to step up their play to stay in the playoff race early on. Luckily for Alcoholism, Omicron is clearly the weaker division and Alcoholism will be looking strong if they can gather a good deal of wins from the early matches. Coast was the squad's best player in preseason. With adequate help from players like Rei- and recreance along with the new, hopefully active, recruits Joe Bane and Dagger, Alcoholism can field a strong starting lineup and can challenge most squads in Omicron.
Ideal starting lineup: Coast, Rei-, Joe Bane, Dagger
Prediction for the season: Challenging for the fourth playoff spot from Omicron with EForces, Nightwatch and CR Virgins - I'd say they miss the playoffs with a couple of points.
CR Virgins
Last season: Not in league
Pre-season MVP: Digweed (5:4)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: CR Virgins are entering Premier league for the first time. Some might consider them a descendant of the only Cosmic Rift squad before them, Idiosyncrasy. I've heard that only three of their pilots were on the squad, so we can pretty much forget that theory. CR Virgins had a pretty rough preseason with losses to Externals (8-12), Typhoon (5-7) and Alcoholism (4-12). Especially the Alcoholism match showed that the Virgins are going to have to work hard to hold their own when the season begins. Corrupt Cop and SKITCHIT!!!, both ex-Pros will have to be on their top form to help CR Virgins win some matches this season. They've got a tough schedule early in the season, so we might expect a couple of losses in the beginning. Near the end of the season they should be looking a lot more better if they keep practicing and improving like they have so far. If they can upset some veteran squads early on they might even challenge for a playoff spot.
Ideal starting lineup: Digweed, G_BoNe, Corrupt Cop, SKITCHIT!!!
Prediction for the season: Most likely no playoffs for CR Virgins. I expect them to do well and win a couple good ones.
Disavowed
Last season: Finished sixth in IML. Eliminated by ReDS in the first playoff round.
Last season MVP: Plareplane (18:13)
Pre-season MVP: the seven year itch (10:3)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: Another season begins for Disavowed. I still remember Gold and Silver playing against The BodyCount in Euro league and winning 2v4. That must've been seven years back. Anyways, Disavowed has been in IML for a while now and last season they reached the playoffs as the sixth and final seed. ReDS were too strong in the first playoff round and Disavowed was eliminated with a 3-12 score. This season Disavowed's starting with a slightly altered roster. They looked pretty good in preseason, beating Alcoholism comfortably 12-0 and winning a hard fought match over StarFire Elite 3-2. The loss to EForces in the last preseason round (7-12) could've been avoided, but Dongle went out in 20 minutes. Still, Disavowed's looking pretty good in Omicron division with Llamasery as their biggest competition. The squad will have to have good activity from their top pilots to be succesful this season. The seven year itch racked one of the best records in the league in preseason and if Kurtz and Dequadin are active the squad can field a very strong lineup. They should be fighting for the top seed in Omicron division when the season progresses.
Ideal starting lineup: the seven year itch, Plareplane, Kurtz, Dequadin
Prediction for the season: Close to the top of Omicron division. Matches against EForces, Llamasery and Invidium are vital.
EForces
Last season: Lost to Van Buren in the playoffs.
Pre-season MVP: crzyman (7:4)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: Well, ElementalForces have split to two IML teams with most of their top pilots joining this one, EForces. This is why their first preseason match suprised me greatly as they took a 7-12 loss against ElementalForces. EForces, however improved towards the end of preseason as they took a 12-4 win over SkyRaker X and a 12-7 one over Disavowed. EForces is in Omicron division and will be battling closely with Disavowed, Llamasery and Invidium for the four playoff spots. They'll have to be on guard against the middle-tier squads in the division as well, as getting points from those matches is vital too. EForces spread the playing time for the whole squad in preseason, but they'll definitely have to build around their strongest pilots when regular season starts as the squad doesn't have the best depth in the league. The subs have to step their game up a notch in the matches against other top squads in the division. I believe EForces will do pretty well throughout the season, winning the matches they have to to reach the playoffs - I don't think they'll win Omicron division, though.
Ideal starting lineup: Aramen, Tricho, DeathKnight, crzyman
Prediction for the season: Close to the top of Omicron division. Matches against Disavowed, Llamasery and Invidium are vital.
ElementalForces
Last season: Finished sixth in IML. Eliminated by ReDS in the first playoff round.
Pre-season MVP: targeter2 (8:1)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: The second ElementalForces squad. They beat EForces 12-7 and Secret 12-4 in preseason, but didn't field their best lineup against Externals and lost pretty badly with a score of 4-12. It seems the squad can count on the performances of targeter2 and Sparklin, but lack a strong third and fourth. This will definitely be a problem as the season progresses and they face the top squads of Persei division. ElementalForces kick their season off with a pretty tough match against Hitlist and will have to fight hard for wins to challenge for a playoff spot. With some luck they should be able to challenge for the division's fourth playoff spot. I, however, don't think they'll quite reach it as they'd have to beat one of the top four-five squads to realistically have a shot. Still, they'll have a pretty good season in the middle of Persei division.
Ideal starting lineup: targeter2, Sparklin, Maytag Man, Savman
Prediction for the season: I don't really expect them to reach the playoffs. Somewhat under that line.
Externals
Last season: AML playoffs. Eliminated in overtime by AMLlamasery in the first round.
Last season MVP: Jocker (24:12)
Pre-season MVP: jocker (10:3)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: Externals are entering IML after a good AML season which saw them lose to AMLlamasery in overtime and as we all know, AMLlamasery won the championship a couple of weeks later. Externals have picked up a couple of new pilots and seem to be well prepared for their first IML season. Preseason saw Externals take comfortable victories over CR Virgins (12-8), Prospect (12-1) and ElementalForces (12-4). Jocker was very good in preseason and will definitely be the squad's top pilot this season. He'll get some help carrying the squad from guys like RooR with his hideous lag and veteran pilots like Banner, Blink, fresh and hopefully active Bob Marley. Dusk and A-Soul had pretty good seasons in AML - it'll be interesting to see how well they can adapt to the IML style of SubSpace. Overall Externals are looking pretty well geared up. They'll have to work hard to challenge for a playoff spot in the tougher Persei division, but if they can win some important matches against other middle-tier IML squads, they could very well still be in the competition after regular season ends.
Ideal starting lineup: jocker, Bob Marley, Banner, Primacy
Prediction for the season: While a playoff spot is within reach, they'll have to work hard for it and win the important matches.
Hitlist
Last season: AML playoffs.
Last season MVP: Ghostbuster17 (14:9)
Pre-season MVP: krell (8:2), Pretender (8:2)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: Hitlist have lost a bunch of players from last season and they're now moving to IML with some new talent. They don't really have a big talent pool from which to draw subs, but they can field a pretty strong starting lineup. Preseason was very lenient on Hitlist with matches against SkyRaker X (12-7 win), OUTLAWS (12-1 win) and IMLlamasery (12-2 win). A 3-0 record is nice going in to the season, but we'll have to wait and see how Hitlist fares against the top squads in Persei before we can lock them for the playoffs. I hope for Hitlist's sake that Matt will be active in matches. His experience and decent play would definitely boost the squad's lineup. Krell and Pretender were very good in preseason, but now it seems Pretender joined Stalkers in Pro, so that'll leave a big gap in to Hitlist's lineup. Also, it seems that Dawdling, who MVP:ed with a solid 6:0 against OUTLAWS, has also left. Hitlist will have to work hard to replace these losses. Without losing Pretender Hitlist would be amongst my favourites for a high ranked playoff seed from Persei division, but now things look slightly grimmer and Hitlist will now have to work hard to fight for a playoff spot with mid-tier squads.
Ideal starting lineup: krell, Spinoza, Matt, Mitsubishi
Prediction for the season: While a playoff spot is within reach, they'll have to work hard for it and win the important matches.
IMLlamasery
Last season: In IML playoffs. Eliminated by ReDS.
Last season MVP: Tea-Baggin-Bodians (17:6)
Pre-season MVP: R.O.C.K. (1:3), Suppoko (1:3)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: IMLlamasery was in the IML playoffs last season. They were eliminated in one of the closest matches of the season 3-4 in overtime by ReDS. Now it seems like the squad has stacked most of their talent to Llamasery and IMLlamasery's preseason was a very grim one with a 0-3 record, losing to Llamasery (2-12), Opulence (0-12) and Hitlist (2-12). It looks like a very hard season for IMLlamasery as they aren't even close to having the pilot material to challenge for a playoff spot, not to mention winning many matches. A huge amount of work and practice will be needed for IMLlamasery to avoid finishing dead last in the hard Persei division. Beating Secret, Warlords, or Opulence is possible, so everything's not lost - they'll just have to be extra sharp when facing those squads. It'd be great to see these guys prove me wrong, though.
Ideal starting lineup: Suppoko, R.O.C.K., Wado Kai, StormKat
Prediction for the season: A couple of wins would make for a succesful season.
Invidium
Last season: Intrinsic was one of the worse squads in IML, finishing 10th.
Last season MVP: Nightwasp (13:11)
Pre-season MVP: 7-E (9:4)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: Last season was simply horrible for Intrinsic's IML squad, Intrinsic IML. They've now renamed to Invidium and picked up a couple of new players. I still have trouble understanding how a team with Nightwasp, Bad-News and Varsity managed to be so bad last season. Anyways, this season things should be a bit different. Invidium finished preseason 2-1 with victories over Prospect and Nightwatch and a loss against Llamasery. While they failed last season, I have faith that the squad can rebound for this season and play seriously for a spot close to the top of Omicron division. The squad has a good amount of depth and can count of decent subbing too. By first glance I'd rank them very close to the top of Omicron, but last season still makes me a little sceptical. I suppose Disavowed and Llamasery will be Invidium's main rivals this season. They'll have to be ready for good matches against squads like EForces and Alcoholism as well. The first three weeks will be very important for the squad as they face EForces, Nightwatch and Llamasery. Two wins from those three matches would set Invidium off to a good start.
Ideal starting lineup: Nightwasp, Bad-News, RPG, Rex
Prediction for the season: I say one of the playoff squads from Omicron.
Llamasery
Last season: Won AML as AMLlamasery.
Last season MVP: Shimako (21:10)
Pre-season MVP: Street Fighter (6:0)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: Llamasery inherits the spot of AMLlamasery, the squad which won AML last season. Now it seems that the best talent from the two Llamasery squads is stacked in to this squad. A roster of eleven active pilots should take the squad through the season without any mentionable trouble. Llamasery is a squad that doesn't thrive on individual talent, but rather the concept of teamwork. This also allows them to do some very good subbing as most of their pilots are dependable and will put up good performances at all times. Most of them are long-term league veterans as well, so experience isn't what'll stop Llamasery from succeeding. Llamasery is in Omicron, the slightly weaker division, so they should reach the playoffs without too much trouble. The squad's matches are rarely high scoring, but they have the tendency to win the close matches. Llamasery can consider themselves as the top contenders from Omicron division after their last season's success, so all the other squads should be preparing extra hard for their Llamasery-match. Llamasery start their season with a slightly easier match and after that everything's in the air.
Ideal starting lineup: Street Fighter, Perceptor, esox, Cha Siu Bao
Prediction for the season: One of the playoff squads from Omicron - their seeding will depend on matches against other top squads.
Massacre
Last season: Not in league
Pre-season MVP: Sabatage (6:9)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: I guess Massacre could be considered somehow related to Jr. Gods or Gods with Surrey, Sabatage and tsing tao captaining the squad. Still, they're mostly a brand new squad with players with varying amounts of Online Asteroids experience from past seasons. They've even got a couple of ex-Pros on the squad. In preseason Massacre didn't do too well with losses to Secret (7-12), Llamasery (6-11) and Nightwatch (2-12). Still, I think they're better than the results might suggest as long as they get their best lineup out there. Madness is a very high quality IML player when in good form and Sabatage played decent in preseason. Deleterious was terrible with a total record of 0:5. I know that he can play better. Now if calm and Bootsy Collins are active, Massacre can field a pretty solid starting lineup.
Ideal starting lineup: Madness, Sabatage, calm, Bootsy Collins
Prediction for the season: Probably no playoffs for Massacre. They should be quite capable to win a couple.
Nightwatch
Last season: Not the best of seasons for the old squad. Finished 9th in IML.
Last season MVP: Kejami (25:24)
Pre-season MVP: Covert Agent (4:6)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: Nightwatch enters season 10 with 1-2 from preseason. They beat Massacre and lost to StarFire Elite and Invidium. Against Massacre Covert Agent finally stepped up his game and grabbed a 3:0 MVP after two rather poor matches. He's still the leading player of the squad and will definitely put up top notch performances if Nightwatch want to go anywhere this season. The squad has a fairly large roster, but unfortunately many of their better players from the past have gone inactive. Whatever happened to a suicidal dentist and where is Tarnished Silver? The squad now counts on pilots like Czechmate, Division by Zero and Neon Lights who aren't quite as capable as the lineups from the past. Nightwatch will have to work hard to challenge for a playoff spot. I doubt they'll be active enough to reach it this season, much like last season. To avoid dropping very low in the standings, they'll have to beat squads like Massacre, OUTLAWS and SkyRaker X.
Ideal starting lineup: Covert Agent, Czechmate, Division by Zero, Neon Lights
Prediction for the season: Probably no playoffs again for Nightwatch. They should be able to win a couple.
Opulence
Last season: Finished 7th in IML, just missing the playoffs.
Last season MVP: StonedStupid (10:8)
Pre-season MVP: Enforcer (4:0)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: Opulence has had a hard time showing pilots lately. It's a shame, since the squad could compete on a very high level in IML with some added activity. A squad with StoneCold and Verified could challenge most IML squads when backed up with pilots like Hollyweed and Morale. In the squad's final preseason match they only managed to show two pilots. I'd guess blur's got his finger on the trigger for Opulence and something really has to happen soon if the squad wants to survive through season 10 of IML. It's a shame.
Ideal starting lineup: Verified, StoneCold, Morale, Hollyweed
Prediction for the season: If activity picks up drastically, they could even challenge for a playoff spot. As things stand, they'll probably be out of the league before round five.
OUTLAWS
Last season: New to the league.
Pre-season MVP: Turek (6:1)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: I don't really recognize too many of OUTLAWS's pilots. MaDz I remember from a long time back, but that's pretty much it. OUTLAWS did a 1-2 preseason with a 11-1 win over Opulence and a 1-12 loss to Hitlist and 6-12 against Typhoon. They didn't look too solid, but are definitely not completely new to league. My memory fails me when I try to recall how OUTLAW'S did last time they were in league, but this is probably a completely different set of players anyways. Ithor and Dire Pup seem decent and Turek was excellent in the single preseason match he played. We'll have to wait a couple of rounds to see how good OUTLAWS really are. I believe they'll have a relatively good season, but will finish close to the bottom of Omicron division.
Ideal starting lineup: ithor, Dire Pup, Turek, Charcutron
Prediction for the season: I have very little knowledge of them, so this'll be interesting to see. I'll say near the bottom of Omicron.
Prospect
Last season: Finished second to last in Pro.
Last season MVP: schlong (3:6)
Pre-season MVP: Rezzin (3:0)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: Prospect, last season they went as Accipiters are now down to IML from Pro and I really have to say on a more correct level of SubSpace league. In preseason they started out badly with a 2-12 loss to Invidium followed by a 1-12 loss to Externals. Thankfully they ended preseason on a positive note by winning 12-1 against Secret. I saw Sumi say something along the lines of "our first win in three seasons" in the Secret match. Prospect has picked up some new talent in Polizei, Rezzin and Chronic and they seem to be able to field a good IML level starting lineup. I think they really could've used SKITCHIT!!! this season, but he joined CR Virgins instead. I'm also looking forward to seeing whether COJONES!! can return to the level of play he was on back when Birds of Prey were in AML. It'll be very interesting to see how Prospect start their season in Persei division as they have to face the top contender, Typhoon, in round one. Imagine the shock if they could pull a big upset in that match. Anyways, the first weeks of the season will probably show quite well how Prospect'll fare in IML. A couple of wins early on and we could be talking about a playoff squad here.
Ideal starting lineup: Chronic, Rezzin, Polizei, COJONES!!
Prediction for the season: I have very little knowledge of them, so this'll be interesting to see. I'll say near the bottom of Omicron.
Secret
Last season: Played a good season in AML and made the playoffs. Eliminated by Alcoholism.
Last season MVP: Tjatte (12:9)
Pre-season MVP: Tjatte (6:3)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: Secret is up to IML from AML. They were a lot better last season than what I anticipated before the AML season began. This is an old squad with roots ranging as far as the old fukengruvy and Euro league's early seasons. And there are even some pilots left from that time era. Tursiops didn't play in preseason and he has been on a decline for quite a while now. It'd be great to see him back in top form. Tjatte was good last season and was Secret's top pilot in preseason, the squad should probably build around him. SwEeT pIeCe Of AsS, that's Freaky Flow, has also been a good weasel for a while now and can win matches for his squad. Finally there's Trash-killer, who was looking very out of place in preseason with a total record of 0:7. Secret desperately needs him back on his game if they want to win any matches in IML. In preseason the squad recorded a 1-2 with a win over Massacre and losses to ElementalForces and Prospect. Secret's probably looking at a very tough season out of AML. I don't expect them to challenge for a playoff spot.
Ideal starting lineup: Tjatte, SwEeT pIeCe Of AsS, Tursiops, Trash-killer (if he can shake preseason's bad form)
Prediction for the season: Secret could grab a couple of good victories, but won't challenge for a playoff spot.
SkyRaker X
Last season: Eliminated from AML playoffs in seeding rounds.
Last season MVP: Yoki (18:9)
Pre-season MVP: ShootDown (4:3)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: SkyRakers came up to IML mostly because their top pilot, Yoki, was forced out of AML by the rankings panel. How ironic is it that Yoki didn't play a single match in preseason as SkyRaker X finished 0-3 after losses to Hitlist (7-12), EForces (4-12) and StarFire Elite (0-12). I don't think the results tell the whole truth, though, since SkyRaker X put a real fight and it took us around 40 minutes to finally eliminate them, despite the convincing-looking 12-0. The squad has Sapphire & Tonic and schlong, two pilots with Pro experience from bottom-level Pro squads. They'll definitely be valuable. SkyRaker X will probably have a pretty tough season in IML, but I don't think the squad'll give up and stop showing this time around. Their roster looks pretty good and if Yoki starts showing for matches they can challenge most IML squads to good matches.
Ideal starting lineup: Yoki, Sapphire & Tonic, schlong, FUZION!
Prediction for the season: Some good fights, maybe even a couple of wins.
StarFire Elite
Last season: Finished 8th in IML.
Last season MVP: The Deist- (24:14)
Pre-season MVP: Bow (4:1), Inno A Satana (4:1) Mauler (4:1)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: Will definitely be an interesting season for StarFire Elite with some new recruits and some new pilots from StarFire Academy.
Ideal starting lineup: Let's see if we can show four.
Prediction for the season: I'll get back to you.
Typhoon
Last season: Not in league.
Pre-season MVP: Colt (7:2), hedcase8 (7:2)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: I hear the IML season's been cancelled since Typhoon has already won. Typhoon is clearly the strongest squad this season with a bunch of Pro players from Dissent, some from Van Buren and some from various squads. They've been dubbed the favourites for this season and I can't really argue with that. Typhoon finished preseason with a flawless 3-0. The only real contest they got was from CR Virgins as they only won 7-5. And so far they haven't faced an opponent which could be considered top IML level, so don't start preparing your "gongraz Typhoon" macros just yet. Typhoon has a really light beginning to their season with Prospect being their biggest problem early in the season. The squad even has a fairly deep roster of which to count on when substituting. Hedcase8 should be the spearhead of their offense, one of the better weasels in the game. When paired with Inno, Kurt and Nelson, the squad can field a starting lineup which could win matches in Pro. Typhoon is currently the squad to beat.
Ideal starting lineup: hedcase8, Inno, Kurt, Nel
Prediction for the season: Right now the biggest championship favourite.
Warlords
Last season: They were supposed to win AML. Eliminated in semis by Alcoholism.
Last season MVP: acidreign (24:9)
Pre-season MVP: ZoAnimus (2:0)
Pre-season Stats
Comments: Warlords got to start last season in AML with their roster intact. Conspiracy theories were blooming left and right as the league sysop obviously wanted to win the championship and therefore got rid of the competition. Suddenly it was time for the finals and Warlords had been eliminated in the semis by Alcoholism. Now Warlords have to face a brand new challenge. They've been a dominant force in their respective league for the past couple of seasons, but now they'll have to get used to being bottom-tier again. Preseason wasn't great for Warlords as they finished 1-1-1 with a loss to Typhoon, a tie against Alcoholism and an unconvincing win over the two-player Opulence and tt doesn't really help Warlords that they've been placed in the tougher Persei division. In preseason Gazelle and Spawn were pretty good, but acidreign played far below his usual level. Warlords will need him to be in top form if they are to challenge squads in IML. If everything goes well for Warlords, they might challenge for a playoff spot. However, I think they'll finish a little below the playoff line.
Ideal starting lineup: acidreign, Gazelle, Spawn, V
Prediction for the season: With a lot of luck they could reach the playoffs.
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