Full Wrap #5

Rostermania is in full swing. After reaching the halfway point of the season, teams are finally making the changes we’ve been expecting since early on. Let’s just say some changes are more promising than others.

ROSTERMANIA CONTENDERS AND PRETENDERS

The final Champs push is on, and a few teams will be left out. Let’s break down the winners and losers of this midseason roster shuffling and see what teams are contenders to make Champs or just pretenders masquerading as hopefuls.

OpTic Texas

Contender: Pred getting dropped was the first domino of rostermania. The fourth and hopefully final roster move for OpTic this season puts Huke back into the lineup. All of their success this season was found with Huke, who helped OpTic earn 85 of their 110 CDL points. If Champs qualification was a worry, this move should allow OpTic to find more wins than the previous stage, although that’s not saying much. From “OpTic Pred” chants with Huke on the roster, to Huke replacing Pred for a second time.

This season rides on the back of Shotzzy finding MVP form again. After starting the year hot with a 1.20 and the 1st seed, he dropped to a 0.95 in Stage 2 and failed to make the Winners’ Bracket. Has Shotzzy lost superstar status?

A 7-1 map count victory over FaZe in scrims with the new roster at least gives the Green Wall a little hope. Is OpTic so back or online merchants?

Vegas Falcons

Pretender: The Saudi experiment is over. Despite matchups with Stage 2 powerhouses OpTic and LAGM8, the Falcons have still yet to win a series. With that, they have decided to upgrade their roster with not just one, but three former World Champions. Unfortunately for them, two of those champions have not won a series on LAN since MW2. Exnid is the lone Falcon survivor as Pred, Arcitys, and Priestahh fill out the roster.

These moves might allow them to make some noise at EWC and could be an indication of their willingness to go after world-class talent next year. The best they can hope for out of this season is a Hardpoint victory.

Minnesota Rokkr

Contender: Finally. A change from Rokkr. This one has been a long time coming, but it may have been worth the wait. Kenny stepping into the roster for PaulEhx gives Rokkr the championship experience they’ve been missing. What they haven’t been missing is poor slaying. Paul’s 0.86 was a problem for Rokkr, and Kenny currently sits at a 0.84 on the season, a stat Kenny will need to improve for success. Get the headband ready for online matches.

Rokkr’s first match back is against OpTic this Friday. The OpTic reaper could be back sooner than expected. Sitting only 10 CDL points out of the 8th and final Champs spot, the stakes are only getting higher.

Miami Heretics

Pretender: Despite only four series wins outside of Major 1, Miami's top 3 run has proven enough to keep them in Champs contention. Can those points be chalked up to home event cheese? They followed that up with a stage where they were a lousy 2-5 in qualifiers and finished top 12 at the Major. Unfortunately for the Heretics, not every event is played in Spain.

Miami decided to drop their worst-performing player in Lucky for highly touted prospect SupeR. No change was made to upgrade MettalZ, who has been inconsistent all season, currently sitting with a 0.89 K/D. Opting to keep an all-Spanish roster instead of surrounding their duo of ReeaL and RenKoR with more talent could be their downfall. If they fail to make Champs, it could mark an end to the all-Spanish roster anyway, with very little in the way of prospects and ReeaL’s contract expiring at the end of the year. Vamos or adios?

LA Guerrillas M8

Pretender: Gentlemates fans have been clamoring for wins, but as the season has waxed, their passion has waned. Finally, after a Stage 2 where they picked up 10 CDL points, the team has reached a breaking point (dot gg). 

After previously releasing Skyz, Priestahh is now out, along with assumed franchise cornerstone Lynz. In addition to their earlier change of Lunarz the team is also adding FeLo and oJohnny. Heading into Stage 3, they have flipped their roster construction from three former Subliners and a Frenchman to three former OMiT players and a bulldog. Lunarz, FeLo, and oJohnny ran Challengers, but with just 30 CDL points LAGM8 might find France to be a long way from Kitchener.

Carolina Royal Ravens

Pretender: Even though the Ravens are already set to make Champs, they’re still pretenders. Kenny was initially linked to Carolina, and dropping Vivid seemed imminent, but the small price tag on Kenny’s buyout was too much. Despite the players offering to pay.

Sitting in 4th place isn’t the worst place to be, but how is Vivid feeling after finding out his teammates wanted to pay to drop him for somebody playing as poorly as Kenny? The only thing not chalked for Carolina is their Gwinnternet.

BREAKING POINT FANTASY

League Customization is Here

Beating your friends in Fantasy CDL has never been sweeter. Originally releasing with 11 categories, there are now 42, allowing you to make some interesting combinations. These categories have three different types, which include function, sum, and high.

Stage 3 Sleeper Picks

Not everybody can draft the big names like Simp or Scrap, which makes drafting the unexpectedly high-value players the best way to win your fantasy league for Stage 3.

I’m not sure JoeDeceives can be called a sleeper pick anymore but if he’s available late in the first round make sure to snag him. He currently has the 2nd highest overall average, only trailing Scrap. Joe’s pace will make him an even better pick in leagues using the new sum and high categories as well. The only thing that can hold Joe back is if Ultra keep slamming their opponents.

Where would you pick Estreal? The third round, maybe second? Think earlier. A lot earlier. Sitting at 4th in overall average, Estreal is trending upwards and the addition of Kenny could help him reach his full potential. Expect great respawn stats and a player who will plant the bomb if you pick Estreal up.

Another player finding form for Ultra is Beans, who ranks 14th in overall average. Solid stats across the board for Beans but where he excels is Hardpoint damage per ten minutes. If you’re looking for an AR Beans is your player with only Scrap, Dashy and Ghosty ranking higher.

If your team lacks Search and Destroy, Kremp is the perfect pick. Think of Kremp as a pseudo aBeZy, ranking one spot behind him in 21st. He has similar stat placings in Search and better respawn stats other than objective play. Dropped by LAT but don’t drop him in fantasy.