THL Power Rankings: Week 5

3/16/2016

by TeamHearthLeague AP

The first week of division games have started and what an exciting week it was.

No longer playing teams outside your division, now each team will have to prove itself against those within their division. The stakes for every match skyrocket and those coveted playoff spots will be fiercely fought over. While the top three teams have continued to hold on to their ranks there has been a lot of change below them.

1. Team Rank Five (last week 1) – 1st Orange – 91 pts

In a rematch of last season's championship, Team Rank Five went up against Noob Central, albeit a very different Noob Central team. This series was closer than many expected, including I assume TR5, but they were still able to snare the win and gain 19 points. JesusC came up big once again and is one of the few remaining undefeated players on the season. With both the most points and highest overall PR the monster of the orange division will be tough to take down.

2. The Hairy Generals (last week 2) – 2nd Blue – 88 pts

The team with the best record in THL added to their win total this week after taking down Team Golden Wisp. PokeHer had a nice win over AlecGWPodcast and will man the one seed for as long as he continues winning, allowing Andyrogers and Markshire to be the two and three seeds respectively, which just seems unfair. If there is one weakness for the Generals it is the fourth seed, the only seed to drop a match over the last three weeks as GernBlanston and Detrucci take turns switching spots.

3. Soupreme (last week 3) – 1st Blue – 89 pts

In what was billed as a David versus Goliath type contest, Soupreme went against the winless Top Deck Kings this past week and just ducked a rock to the forehead, escaping with a two point victory. Cheesee10 and DeerJason are the first teammates to both have a 500 PR at the same time after combining for a 6-1 record against the opposition's top two seeds. If that sounds familiar it's because it's the third time it's happened this season.

4. Entropy (last week 7) – 1st Red – 82 pts

After a devastating loss to Team Rank Five, Entropy has bounced back in a big way, putting up the maximum amount of points in back-to-back weeks and as a result are welcomed back into the top five on the rankings. The latest victim of this resurgent Entropy team was the Dream Team. LoadedLux, who replaced Twizz, was able to snag a victory in his first ever THL match and Arthur Rhodes had a big win over the previously undefeated SmokedSalmon.

5. The Gosu Casuals (last week 8) – 1st Green – 73 pts

Another team to enjoy a nice bump in the rankings after wins in weeks four and five is the Gosu Casuals. With two forfeits balancing each other out, the result between the Casuals and Xnergy essentially came down to a three-on-three series. Each match went to game five but the trio of Slimsch, Mykel19XX, and Jingbudda all won, sealing the victory.

6. Continuum (last week 6) – 2nd Red – 76 pts

Week five we saw Continuum go against the up and down Archon Storm, quite literally as every match in this series was streamed this past week. After losing in week one Adidas5482 has regrouped and is now on a four game winning streak, proving to be a valuable asset to Continuum in the one seed. The other win came from Craeon as he ended the impressive streak Gideoneko had procured. However, those wins were not quite enough as Archon Storm won the series by a single point.

7. Those Filthy Roleplayers (last week 10) – 2nd Green – 71 pts

While their fellow teams in the green division Xnergy and Pure Strategy have struggled over the last few weeks, the Roleplayers have flourished and improved their standing in both the power rankings and their division. This past week's opponent was the aforementioned Pure Strategy and the Roleplayers came away with a six point victory. Alexstrasza and arbitraryarmor took down YuruYuri and Hambowen, something that not even Soupreme's 1-2 punch could do, and YamaKiller chipped in with a win over b0rck. What was initially thought of as the weakest team in the Green Division now has an inside track on a playoff spot.

8. Pure Strategy (last week 4) – 3rd Green – 68 pts

After reading the above entry it might seem a little doom and gloom for Pure Strategy but that's not the case at all for Hambowen's squad. Losing their first division game was tough but they are still very much in the race for their division, as is everyone in Green. Also, while the last two weeks has been rough for the top three seeds that's not a trend you expect to continue. Looking at the bottom seeds, ApplSaucFactory and SergeantHendog99 both collected wins this past week—Pure Strategy just needs a week where everyone is on the same page.

9. Xnergy (last week 5) – 4th Green – 64 pts

It seems appropriate to finish the Green Division trilogy with Xnergy. As mentioned before, Xnergy and the Gosu Casuals played a three-on-three series with every match going the distance but ultimately Catota, Pacetry, and VendiClique all came up a single win short. The positive for Xnergy? After playing the second, third, and fifth ranked teams over the past three weeks they still find themselves within striking distance in the Green Division with two weeks left on the season.

10. Boom Squad (last week 11) – 2nd Orange – 65 pts

With their third straight win Boom Squad has clawed their way back into the top 10. The first week of division play had Boom Squad going up against the Super Heroes, a series decided by two points in Boom Squad's favor. DannyWu received the biggest win of his short career with a victory over SuperSam and Dlineman seems to have shaken out of his THL funk. The battle for second place in the Orange Division just got a lot more interesting.

11. Team Golden Wisp (last week 9) – 3rd Blue – 55 pts

In the previous rankings I said the last two weeks hadn't been kind to Team Golden Wisp nor to AlecGWPodcast, now that statement can be updated to say last three weeks. Facing off against the Hairy Generals, Team Golden Wisp struggled to find wins. However, one person who didn't struggle to find a win this week was Chef Sasha, who wasn't cooking up chicken nuggets against the Generals but a sweep.

12. Archon Storm (last week 13) – 4th Red – 60 pts

The votes are in and the award for most bipolar team season two goes to Archon Storm. After a week four which saw another forfeit and no contest, week five had Archon Storm coming out swinging against what was the red division leader at the time in Continuum. Key in this week's victory was n00basaurus who defeated Grim after an odd series of events on stream. If the pattern is to hold I suppose next week we'll see Archon Storm struggle, only to flip the switch the following week—just in time for their rivals Entropy.

13. Noob Central (last week 14) – 3rd Orange – 66 pts

The consistent underdog, Noob Central assumed that role once again week five taking on the team which has seized control of the orange division, Team Rank Five. The series came down to the final match but Noob Central was unable to upset the top ranked team. The series itself wasn't without upsets though as Godsgift6917 took down Mainge. While this is the third consecutive loss for the Noobs, all of their series have been close which has allowed them to stay in playoff contention.

14. Dream Team (last week 12) – 3rd Red – 63 pts

The Dream Team had been able to keep all their series close, that was until this past week going against a determined Entropy team. With an unfortunate disqualification from Leumer and unable to win any of their matches, Dream Team only brought in six points. The low score does hurt when every point matters and there are only two weeks left in the season, but the dream of playoffs is still very much a reality.

15. The Super Heroes (last week 15) – 4th Orange – 57 pts

Although it was a close series against Boom Squad, the slide continues for the Super Heros with their third straight loss. Not all was negative though as THL's favorite drunk, Iamplanb, scored his first win over TinyHippo. Playoffs are still within reach but it won't be easy for the Heroes.

16. Top Deck Kings (last week 16) – 4th Blue – 51 pts

Having to play Soupreme is a tough challenge for any team but the Top Deck Kings rose to the occasion and were just two points short of pulling off one of the biggest upsets of season two. A little short has been the theme for the Kings the past three weeks with a tie, a three point loss, and now a two point loss. I think it says a lot for the league that the lowest ranked team has played many of the top teams so closely.

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