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Season 3 draws to a close:
Div 1. The Crunch.
In Div 1 the Terrifying turtles of TFC seek an unbeaten season,
with 3 games still to go it looks on. But the final 3 games are
against the 3 highest placed other teams. The Crimson Scales are
batting slightly above their usual inconsistencies but should
be the least troublesome, the other 2 promise more. Pictish Punishers
may be past their best but still pose a threat to any team with
their solidity and experience while The Champion 'Grunters' are
no slouch either and top the table with a single loss. A slip
now could burst the tortoises bubble and any team fielding sdellboy
has a weakness for all to see. Anaraknophobia are having a solid
settling season and will be hoping the inspirational signing of
league topper 'Hero Boy' will continue their rise while .AMD and
the 99ers should have little to fear spoon wise so congratulations
to them for taking part. The once mighty Worms that turned have
a right to expect more from a lineup that boasts the other recent
league topper pelleTm, Can it really be a comfort to know that
safety comes through not having default points removed? RnR Suicides
struggle gamely on, the Minaldi of Alliance, hovering above Doomed
by virtue of playing the games a bit more. Like getting a mark
for writing your name, the teams festering in the mire of relegation
woes struggle to muster more than a casual attempt at playing.
For members of the Doom clan all i can say is its the button betwixt
F4 and F6. Finally the Dragons. For Shame. Which Brings me too
'The Least Surprising thing in Alliance (Part 1)' : If you take
the 2 best players out of a top flight team they become s**t.
Div 2. 'The Least Surprising thing in Alliance (part
2)'
Dragons Ringers seek to go unbeaten. yawn. 'The Least Surprising
thing in Alliance (part 2)': if you put top notch quality players
into a team among second division clans and new clans they do
very well. Yawn.
Elsewhere an exciting season is underway, the 8-bit fanatics
have added steel to their proven loyalty to quality avatars and
both Wolfs Dragoons and the Invincible Crazy Fists are right in
there. All with only one game lost. Rougue Element have much to
boast about on the newcomer front while alone in the dark aftershock
and the cursed clowns turn in respectable seasons. The hippo Squirrels
continue to amuse and hopefully are learning in the school of
hard knocks. The Phoenix hasn't risen, it isn't going to. -389.
Ouch. Brigantes will have to do well to avoid the pointless shame
that seems their fate. Can a team with this long a history really
only merit the wooden spoon?
Season 3: New Faces, Old Faces, A few surprises...
Division 1
The new season started where the last one ended in Division 1
with the Grunts and Punishers slugging it out in a tough season
opener. The Punishers won 3 out of 5 but the Grunts took the match
by a mere 2 points. A sign of things to come? Not likely if the
Grunts capitulation to the seemingly reborn 99ers in match 2 is
anything to go by.
So 99ers for the title? Bzzzt! Wrong! If you can’t beat
the Worms you can’t win the title. Which leaves the Faceless
Consortium. An impressive opening win was accompanied by little
of their usual trash talking. Surely they can’t be overawed
by the rest of Division 1, after all its not like Division 1 is
the powerhouse of LSN greatness that it was.
At the wrong end of the table Dragons and Doomed got their campaigns
to avoid relegation off to bad starts with losses to the average
at best Crimson Scales, AMD and Anaraks.
Division 2
Dragons Rising flexed both talent and ego to sweep to the top
of Division 2. Can anything stop them? Well, even with Kaleb leaving
to represent the Faeroe Islands in the World Risk Championships
and joergensen’s current form suggesting he’s taken
to playing blindfolded I fear not.
Elsewhere the Invisible Crazy Fists materialized in unexpected
good form, showing strength throughout their lineup to post a
100% start. Speaking of shocks Disaster Area showed he can actually
play as well as talk a good game and with help from Nimzomitch
and DaveB carried the 8-Bits to a perfect start. Will it last?
Will it hell!
Elsewhere most of the new boys didn’t disgrace themselves
whilst the Brigantes and Aftershock show that losing can be habit
forming.
Season 3 predictions: With 11 teams in each
of the 2 divisions only a fool would try to predict the winners,
so here goes.
Div 1:
- Grunts on the Edge - Bob696 has not been suitably replaced
in my opinion, so no repeat win for the Grunters.
- Pictish Punishers - Overseer and Alien8 should have more help
from their increasingly experienced team this season and I fancy
they'll challenge again.
- 99ers - I'm not convinced, mediocrity can become a habit.
- The Worms That Turned - A solid line up that could do well,
but why is the impressive Renoiro only a sub?
- Rock N Roll Suicides - A stable team may finally pay off,
with a season where they don't fear relegation.
- Crimson Scales - A deceptively strong and experienced line
up but history tells us they can't handle the pressure of Div
1.
- Anaraknophobia - another settled team, but they may find the
heat of Div 1 too much.
- The Dragons - with key players leaving for their sister team
a lot will hinge on the form of Hellbound and Valar Morghulis.
- Alice's Mighty Dischord - Surely must be asking themselves
what exactly they are doing in the top flight. I certainly am.
- Doomed - Yes, they are.
- The Faceless Consortium - With Moshter replacing Headcase
in the main line up the only weakness looks to be sdellboy.
But will Div 1 prove harder than Div 3 for the scary tortoises?
My bet is yes, though probably only marginally.
My pick for the top three:
- 1: Pictish Punishers
- 2: The Faceless Consortium
- 3: The Worms That Turned
- Outside bet - The Grunts on the Edge
- Wooden Spoon - Doomed with Alice's Mighty Dischord just above
them.
Div 2.
- Brigantes - While outclassed last season the division drop
should help them to a better outcome, the team has experience
by the boatload and it should see them do well.
- Pheonix Rising - A new name for the Classical Collective,
yet I'm unconvinced it will change anything else.
- Wolf's Dragoons - A solid season 2, and a strong line up.
Could do well.
- Invincible Crazy Fists - There is quality there, can it be
relied upon? maybe.
- The 8 Bit fanatics - Nice guys, but nice guys rarely win.
- Aftershock Reloaded - Well unlike the Matirx sequel, they
can only improve and I fancy this season they may well do that.
Anything else would be frankly laughable.
- Alone In The Dark - Unknown quantities with my new favorite
Alliance avatar. But experience says good avatar = bad team.
- Dragons Rising - Or 'The Ringers'. With kaleb and joergensen
fleeing here from sister team 'The Dragons' are they this years
tFC?
- Hippo-Squirrels - Another great avatar and an even better
name. Unknown quantities.
- Rogue Element - Another new team and a 'learning season'
will probably suit them.
- The Cursed Clowns - Redeem returns to Alliance to captain
the cursed ones. Will his luck change? Sadly I think not.
Picking winners and losers with so many unknown quantities is
madness, so here I go:
- 1: Dragons Ringers
- 2: Brigantes
- 3: Wolf's Dragoons
And the wooden Spoon? I fear the new teams Hippo-Squirrels, Rogue
Element and The Cursed Clowns will all have to do well to avoid
this distinction. If I had to pick one, then I'd stick a pin in
a bit of paper with all their names on it. I did, and it came
out as Rogue Element.
So there ya go. For those as yet unconvinced by my powers try
this...
The English Premier League:
1: Arsenal
2: Chelsea
3: Manchester United
And Real Marid will win the European Champions League.
'Clan Mole'
Season 2 Round up.
Well that was season 2 then and wasn't it a corker.
Div 1: Well my predictions were scarily close with the Grunts
and PP battling it out for the top spot, won well by by the Grunts
with a line up as solid as a girl from Barnsley. The indomitable
Bob696 led the way as always but its the quality in depth that
told in the end with even their worst player losing only 2 points
per game. Thats what it takes to top the pile. The Pictish Punishers,
tasting the bitter pill of defeat for the first time, cannot blame
the faultless Alien8 or Overseer, who as always weighed in with
the heavy points. But 2 good players finally didnt prove to be
enough. Elsewhere the risable Brigantes managed only 1 player
with a positive average, so Kudos to Jospee, but a -260 point
differnece speaks for itself. With 3 wins in 10 the Rock N Roll
suicide team once again lived up to their name and must count
themselves lucky that Brigantes were even worse. Solid mid table
performances for the Worms and 99ers but surely they had a right
to each expect more from Welshtroll and Aragorn, well maybe not
as these teams must be accustomed to mediocrity by now.
Div 2: Again my crystal ball did the job and Crimson Scales were
clear champions. They ran it closer than I had predicted though
and questions must be asked as to why their sub has the best average
and so called stallwarts like PurpleChest and The Firing Squad
performed well below expectation. Strangely it was Anaraknophobia
that pushed them all the way with Vasco in searing form while
the Dragons in 3rd place flattered to decieve and ultimately kaleb
arrived to late to make up for early season dissapointments. AMD
and Doomed both ended with more losses than wins but with 11 and
10 players used maybe their instability was their downfall. The
Classical Collective were simply outclassed in this league and
outside of the form of Redbeard its hard to find a positive for
them and frankly why bother?
Div 3: Well the story here was The Faceless Consortium, both
for their quality of play and ceaseless bragging. They won few
friends but won every match. With one of the most stable line
ups in Alliance the only question is why they carried sdellboy
all season. Don't get me wrong he would probably be welcomed in
most other teams but with the generally low quality of Div 3 teams
is a 5 wins from 8 games record good enough for the self styled
'best alliance team ever'. Wolf's Dragoons were the only other
team to not embarass themsleves in Div 3 with killrbeaz doing
especially well and if only Barong and Terrier could live up to
their potencial this team could have actually challenged. The
Invincible Crazy fists were anything but and maybe someone should
tell Killjoy that he cant do it alone, its a team game after all.
Lower still were my pre season picks the 8 Bit fanatics who fankly
underwhelmed all season. A stylish avatar doesnt equal success
(just ask tFC) but at least they played with pride, well with
the possible exception of Redeem who may have confused alliance
with suicide chess. Though if the 2bits were bad then what can
one say of the Naughty Saints ? Well little except that if this
were a primary school sports day they'd be going home with a medal
for taking part while their mum says they are still special and
their dad gently weeps. Finally we come to Aftershock. They now
own a wooden spoon and maybe it should have a place in the team
because it cant play a lot worse than this sorry bunch. When even
Lex (9th in the elite league!) only manages to average 2 points
over the season then something is very very wrong. Better luck
next season, my advice is to hit keys randomly and see what happens
because surely it can't get worse.
'Clan Mole'
Month 3: Pictish Punishers Pipedream Popped!!
A second defeat for the once mighty Pictish Punishers, by perenial
mid table crew the '99'ers' allied with a narrow win over the
struggling 'Rock N Roll Suicides' leaves the 'PP's' in third spot.
Looks like 3 straight league championships are beyond them. 2
wins each for 'The Worms that turned' and 'Grunts on the Edge'
see the grunts top the table at this crucial stage and the worms
slip into second. With the grunts facing PP and the worms this
month, will their bubble burst too? Clan Mole says not. Their
sub trebor will have settle in quickly but in the main their line
up is stong and I think they'll go on to win the championship.
Whereas it looks strongly like the Brigantes will be challenging
for the Division 2 medal next term in spite of the inspired form
of Alark, an island of solidity in an otherwise dissapointing
campaign.
In division 2 the big news is 'Alice's Mighty Dischord' and their
mighty comeback. 2 straight wins in a winless season take them
above The 'Classical Collective' and off the bottom slot. Even
more impressive was that one win came against table topping promotion
favorites the 'Crimson Scales'. That loss makes the tie between
CS and second place 'Anaraknophobia' this month a possible division
decider. Yet every team in Div 2 seems to have strengths and form
in the last 4 matches could see big changes. I still see CS going
on to top the table but wouldn't surprised to see 'The Dragons'
put in a solid run if they can sort their default loss problem
out. The battle at the bottom is harder to call but I think the
'Classical Collective' will find it hard this month with matches
against CS and Doomed leaving them looking a a bleak future.
Division 3 and the seasons last 100% record resides with the awesome
'Faceless Consortium'. 6 wins from 6. Double the points of the
second placed team and a + 283 point difference. The 'Scary Tortoises'
may have the
leagues dullest avatar, but there is no denying they are a bit
handy at LSN. In surely the finest team performance seen in a
single league game they beat the increasingly ironicly named 'Invincible
Crazy Fists' by 100 - 27. Though one was a defualt, there's no
denying thats a special scoreline right there. Their exact opposites
are clan 'Aftershock' who with no wins and 9 points from safety
can already start planning the many uses they can puty their wooden
spood to. Between these clans lie the rest, all on 9 points and
all with plenty to play for. Hard to put a ciggarette paper between
them but if forced at gun point to predict second place I'd plumb
for 'Wolf's Dragoons' as their line up looks slightly stronger
on paper. Will anyone beat the
'Scary Tortoises' this season? No.
Clan Mole
Month 2: THEY ARE HUMAN!
Shock news from division 1 as the 'Pictish Punishers' lose, yes
LOSE to 'the Worms that Turned'. 'PP's usually reliable opening
pair of Overseer and Alien8 both going down heavily to Heska and
Renoiro. Elsewhere in the
division the 'Grunts On The Edge' stormed 2 wins with the form
of longtime LSN legend Bob696 a key factor. With 'PP' and 'GotE'
both on 3 wins and facing seemingly weaker opponents they'll be
looking for big solid wins, with Overseer of 'PP' absent this
month the pressure is on for sub Windshaper. My prediction is
he crumbles but 'PP' win both matches anyway.
Division 2 saw the pre season favorites 'Crimson Scales' go 4-0
with a key win over main rivals Anaraknophobia. Special mention
this month to joergensen who managed the worst of good results
by winning 19-18 over PurpleChest and 1-0 over LC. If the real
fight is for second place then the
'Anaraknophobia' v 'Dragons' match this month could be vital.
'Alice's Mighty Dischord' are sporting a shiny new line up but
I dont see it saving them from a mauling this season, a season
of 'rebuilding' may be in order.
Division 3 news. 'the Faceless Consortium' are romping ahead
with a 4-0 record and a massive point difference. The pressure
now must be on the members of the roster not performing as well.
Can this line up last the season, let alone div 2 next term? The
rest are divisible only by a range of colourful avatars save lone
'Aftershock' who languish at the bottom of the whole pile with
no wins to date, but with a line up that includes top elite players
Tomcat and Caskey, 2 veterans and league topper Lex can it be
long before they solve their alliance form woes? If not there
are bound to be red faces come wooden spoon time.
Clan Mole digs out more dirt next month.
Month 1: And they're off!
Division 1 sees the 'Pictish Punishers' take an early lead with
2 from 2, Overseer and Alien8 their usual reliable selves leading
the team through all comers. With the 'Rock and Roll suicides'
clan bringing up the rear with a 100% loss record at this early
stage. Special mention goes to the '99'ers' win over clan 'Brigantes'
- a stunning shutout victory with all 5 '99'ers' winning! Going
to take more than that to stop the PP's though.
Division 2 and the 'Crimson Scales' have a 2 win record but either
'The Dragons' or 'Anaraknophobia' will join them once the final
result of their match is settled. 'Classical Collective' and 'Alice's
Mighty Dischord' bring up the rear at this early point. The point
differences seem to indicate a very tight league here though.
One result that seems to beg attention is the relatively unknown
GruzzyGrumby from clan 'Doomed' winning 20-5 over the 'Classical
Collective' team captain SlaveOfSeven.
Division 3 and its 'the facless consortium' and '8 Bit fanatics'
who set the pace while 'Aftershock' suffer two shocking defeats
and 'Invincible Crazy Fists' prove not to be so invincible with
2 losses and a massive -104 point difference. Its impossible not
to be impressed with Matrix from 'the faceless consortium; who
managed a 24-2 win over Zombra. Thats a +22 point difference from
a single battle. Wow.
Predictions for matches 3 and 4 - The 'Pictish Punishers' face
2 tough games with 'the Worms that turned' and 'Brigantes', if
they are going to be stopped it may well be this month. Division
2 sees the 'Crimson Scales' take on both 'Anaraknophobia' and
'The Dragons' so we should see how real their promotion push is,
and Division 3 sees 'The faceless consortium' and '8 bit fanatics'
each face an 'easy' match against teams with 100% loss records
but also a important looking match against each other. Will the
real contenders please stand up!
Pre Season Musings....
Well as season 1 falls into the distant past of mellow fruitfullness
we are left wondering what it all meant and what happens next.
Division 1 saw the awesome Pictish Punishers triumph and retain
their title while the dismal Crimson Scales were deservedly dumped
into division 2. Honourable mention for The Worms that turned
in second place, better luck next time for the Wormers. Division
2 saw The Grunts on the edge pip Rock and Roll suicides to the
title on points scored, a fight as tight as they come. Smokescreen
proved to be hot air though and were demoted without a single
win. The third division saw Alices Mighty Discord romp home while
the Dragons also went winless and the shambolic 4th division was
topped by Anaraknophobia.
Surprisingly the MVP this season was Bosco from Gozer's Godzillers
in division 4 with a huge 18 point average! while Alien8 led the
way in the big hitters chart with a massive 92 positive points,
this combined with his teams triumph in retaining the title earned
him the Star Player award.
Predictions for the coming season: Division 1 Hard to see past
The Pictish Punishers for a third successive triumph, but The
Grunts and Worms (both in great form in Season 1) will want a
say too. Division 2 and clearly The Crimson Scales must be favorites
to bounce back up but with the larger divisions this season, competition
will be fierce and I've a sneaky feeling Alice's Mighty Discord
may do well. Division 3 is full of unknown quantities, but if
forum avatars are any guide then the 8 bit Fanatics could well
be a force.
More next month as things develop.
'Clanmole' |
