EQL 19 preview

2014-10-15 14:05 by Hooraytio

Here is a preview of the clans in EQL 19.

EQL 19 is under way already but I thought I would share my thoughts on the teams in this preview anyway.

Let’s get right to it.


Suddendeath

Suddendeath is back for their 19th straight season and look just as strong as before. This season rio and lethalwiz will step up from Suddendeath 2 to learn from bps, ganon, mawe and carapace and so far things has been going good for them. They have faced low and mid skilled Division 99 and felia-020 without bumping into any problems. Suddendeath is always a contender for the title having won EQL 18 and EQL 16 while reaching the final in EQL 17. Last season was their easiest win but for this season a serious rival in Fragomatic has emerged, also Experience can be seen as somewhat of a dark horse. Suddendeath will most likely reach the final but in order to beat teams like Fragomatic and perhaps Experience they will need to rely heavily on carapace, bps and ganon. Suddendeaths lineup has so much skill and will perform well on all three maps. Their weakness might be shifting lineups between their stars and backup players but I don’t see them doing this versus the better teams so this should be a non-issue.


Experience

Comprised of experienced players, hence the name?, this clan emerged just as the signups where about to close. For a while Suddendeath looked like the only contender for the title but this team with kingpin, rikoll and mm as the core being backed by ovr or pericles could really do some damage to the battle tested Suddendeath. Also this clan has plenty of skill on all three maps but will most likely lack some teamplay when compared to Suddendeath and Fragomatic. I can definitely see these guys cause a small upset and reach the final, Rikoll won’t like it when I call it an upset but that’s how I see it. The key to their success will be focus and consistency and I also hope that mm is on teamspeak for their sake as it has been a problem in the past. Experience have started with an easy 2-0 win versus Division 99 as expected.


Fragomatic

Two time EQL winners Fragomatic are back sporting star players like valla, milton and xantom alongside other good players xterm, maga and creature. This team will settle for nothing less than the EQL 19 title and to be honest anything else would be a big letdown for their fans. Suddendeath will however have a say in the matter and I am seeing a classic 5 mapper before the dust has settled. These guys are a little rusty for sure and I don’t see them taking on Suddendeath or Experience the first few weeks of the season for practice reasons. A good position in the final table is crucial as we will see two of the best teams pitted against each other in one of the semifinals directly without previous playoff games to build up the steam. This is why I suspect all the top three teams to wait out each other a little until the end of the season is nearing. Fragomatic are strong all around the three maps and their disadvantage is being quite rusty.


Felia-020

A true mix clan if there ever was one this clan has added players from all around. Shaka, muffin and raket are the only ones with somewhat fresh EQL experience while players like aikon and xorcist haven’t seen any action for quite some years. Other prominent players are rkd and nas who has been on and off during the later years of quakeworld. Aside from these players we will also see dopas and p4le who are more known from 2on2 and ffa/mixes. This team looks good enough to get into the B playoffs and could quite possibly reach the final there. From the pracs I have seen these guys look pretty well organized and are strong at DM2. If they get their things together they will do quite well.


Division 99

Started more or less as a teambulding project a few seasons back these guys have stuck with it and tried to play qw no matter what has been put infront of them. Last season was a rough ride losing 8 games and 16 straight maps. During EQL 17 they won a few games but back then they had way better players in adde and lethalwiz for example. Their best chances for points will be against Earwax and Paras even though these clans might prove to be too hard. These players are in it for the laughs and to learn and I hope they will continue learning this season and from mixes with better players.


Chosen

Alongside Suddendeath the only team to have played in all EQL seasons. This team is back again after a long summer break. Mostly the same lineup as last season, a season that saw them end up in second place after Suddendeath, they are back to make an impact on qw 4on4 yet again. EQL 17 was also a big success for this team as it saw them end up on top of division 2 after beating Klaphat 3-0 in the final. A big question mark for Chosen will be the lineup as it isn’t entirely clear who will actually be playing but it seems like ake_vader, elguapo, flintheart and hooraytio are the most interested ones. Theevildog and krab would mean a great deal for their chances to reach the A playoffs but if that doesn’t happen I can surely see them winning the B playoffs. It is not sure at this time if pollox, 187, xero and kalma will play and there is a possibility that one of them will be replaced by hagge if he shows up at IRC. Chosen are equally skilled on all three maps but has had a tendency in the past to favour E1M2 or DM2 depending on their lineup. Hooraytio will gladly blanda saft and let others play if the choice falls on DM3. So, all things considered, possibly A playoffs but otherwise a place in the B playoffs final.


Earwax

This team is more or less Mob of Oddballs from previous seasons. A team with mixed results and their best season was EQL 14 where they ended up on top of division 3 during the regular season. Yes, some of the players where the same back then. This clan has some good players in gijs, mushi, sae and dirtbox while faustov, norules and eb will provide stable backup without taking on a leading role. This team could possibly reach the B playoffs if they use their best players and focus on their teamplay. These players know their way around all three maps but I wouldn’t be surprised if they favoured DM3.


Fraggers United

The oldest active clan featuring the oldest active player, anza! This clan has been around the block, missing only EQL 3, and I am happy to see them return for this season as they had some problems in the past getting 4 guys to show up at the server. It looks like they have scaled down their lineup heavily and this might prove to be successful as this puts more pressure on each player to actually show up for games. Persu, kippo, hell and culkey is their best lineup but anza will do well on DM2 and E1M2 if called upon. Last season they managed to win 3 games and lose 1 which sent them to the quarterfinals were Chosen proved to be too tough. During the regular season they also faced 3 relatively easy clans and perhaps they just didn’t get enough games to really excel as a team. During EQL 17 they also made it to the playoffs in division but lost in the semifinals to Chosen. This team will always give it their best and they might just be that 4th team that makes it into A playoffs. If not, then they will most likely make it to the B playoffs final. Their best map is DM2 as usual while they might struggle some on the other maps. This is most due to them being rusty and not because they don’t know how to play these maps.


Ping is no good

Another good team from North America this clan brings a lot of skill to the table. These players have played for many different teams throughout the EQL history and especially squeeze, blood_dog, greco and sane will be a hard opponent for many of the mid and low tier teams. The ping will work to their disadvantage but squeeze has proved in the past that it isn’t a big problem during his games for TVS amongst others. This is also one of the teams that compete for the B playoffs title but it means using their best 4 guys all the time since bogojoker isn’t known for 4on4 and rline is completely unknown in Europe 4on4 atleast.


Paras

Paras has been active for years now, always playing in EQL and searching for pracs when no one else does. Being a punch bag for their first seasons they have evolved and are a constant threat in the mid and low parts of the league. They did really well in EQL 17 reaching the division 2 quarterfinal and in EQL 16 where they lost the division 2 final to Pew Pew Blasters. Paniagua, panjabi, feari and spz will be their 4 best players while I hope to see rookie, tenhi, heag and final from time to time. They had really nice performances on all maps versus good teams in the past but with feari being a beast on DM3 and E1M2 they will mostly go for these maps. They could reach the B playoffs but it will require a serious effort since the competition is strong this season.


Suddendeath 2

Under the watchful eyes of trash Suddendeath 2 is back with a really good lineup. Molle, locktar, andeh, ok98, trash and feffe are all good players but none of them has been playing a lot of 4on4 lately. I feel I am repeating myself but this is also one of the teams that could make it into A playoffs or win the B playoffs. In the end it will all come down to which team will go for it and utilize a consistent good lineup. Suddendeath 2 will have the best chance of performing well with molle andeh, locktar and ok98 on the field but they shouldn’t be afraid of using trash and feffe now and then since very few teams can rely on only 4 players nowadays to get the games played. These guys are good all around and when they are on top of their game they have no weak map compared to equally skilled clans.


Projected end of season table

Suddendeath
Fragomatic
Experience
Suddendeath2 (I had to pick one)
Chosen
Fraggers United
Ping is no good
Felia-020
Paras
Earwax
Division 99

That’s it, good luck to all teams

/Hooraytio

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