[deL]

Mid-Season SEAL4 Review

Awards
Award	Winner	Reason
MVT	KFC	30 map wins
MVP	TADivinity	7-0 record
Reliability	ToT	0 w.o, 1 wc
Economical	AsG	1 wc, 1 sub

After 5 hard fought weeks and 7 grueling rounds of SEAL Tier 4 competition, we find ourselves at what could be considered half way. With four weeks and 8 rounds to go the ladder is well fleshed out with distinct groups of teams. While the fight is still very close between teams in some of the groups, the table can probably be broken up in to 3 separate batches. The top group, teams with 14 or more ladder points, are clear leaders and consitiute the favourites of the competition. The next pack have to overcome each other to prove they belong in the top tier, while the strugglers of the competition on 5 points or less make up the bottom of the ladder and hope for a miracle run to get back in contention. Currently, the ladder stands as follows:

Current Standings

Team	Played	W-D-L	Record	Points
1. KFC	7	7-0-0	30/12 (+18)	21
2. TA	6	5-1-0	26/10 (+16)	16
3. ToT	7	5-1-1	29/13 (+16)	16
4. AsG	7	5-1-1	28/14 (+14)	16
5. FaDe 1	7	4-2-1	26/16 (+10)	14
6. Imperium	7	4-0-3	21/19 (+2)	12
7. HDMD-KT	7	3-2-2	21/21 (±0)	11
8. ZeroCraft	6	3-1-2	22/14 (+8)	10
9. iRL	7	2-1-4	17/25 (-8)	7
10. eXofG	7	1-2-4	17/25 (-8)	5
11. TCP	5	1-1-3	12/18 (-6)	4
12. SCT	6	1-1-4	15/21 (-6)	4
13. VB	7	1-1-5	15/27 (-12)	4
14. FaDe 2	7	1-1-5	11/31 (-20)	4
15. NaZ	6	0-3-3	13/23 (-10)	3
16. ToR	7	0-2-5	13/27 (-14)	2

A total of five teams inhabit the top of the ladder, all withing striking distance of each other. A few wins or losses between these teams could completely reshuffle the top of the league. Newcomers KFC top the ladder with an impressive 7-0 record and are one of two undefeated teams alongside familiar faces TA, who take 2nd place with ToT. While only a win or two separate these teams, last season's defending champions AsG sit in a similar position on 16 ladder points trailing behind only on for-and-against. With 5 wins apiece these teams have some catching up to do to dislodge frontrunners KFC but there are plenty of rounds left to accomplish this.

In particular the final round, Round 15, will be of interest as the current one and two on the ladder, TA and KFC, will play off - this could certainly be the deciding game and more than makes up for the lack of a playoff round! Both teams have very strong ace players, with TA boasting the tag team zerg duo of TADivinity and TASlowHands who have put TA in a commanding lead in most matches so far, taking pressure off of the other less active players. KFC has arguably even more ace match options with an impressive number of Masters players populating their roster. Nightmare, KFCBukket and KFCTrinion all represent great options for an ace match and CbBTreAd ensures they have depth in every race.

AsG are making a late surge for the top after a disappointing week 1 where they were outmuscled by ToT, but with a great run early in this season they are looking to finish strong. While they are yet to play many of the other top teams they can't be ruled out as defending champions, especially with nasch hitting some form again. They were, however, taken out by new faces ToT. Like their tier 1 counterparts, ToT have impressed so far with a varied lineup and some talented ace players. When their lineup can include Alopex, Chanel, droptheworld and RedNight they will stretch the depth of any team as was seen in their draw against fellow 2nd place holders TA.

FaDe 1 with a slow start to the season punctuated only by an impressive 6-0 victory over NaZ are still very much in the running. However, they still have several of the top clans to face so they will have to step up their game from previous weeks and make sure their whole top lineup can play.

Statistics:

Statistics
Average Subs used	1
Average Wildcards used	3
Average For-Against Score	+14.8
Average Ladder Points	16.6

Predictions: I don't see the top 3 of KFC, ToT and TA being dislodged any time soon. AsG can make a push for the top but these top 3 teams seem to have all the momentum.

There are four teams inhabiting the tedious mid-point of the ladder, treading water above the bottom few positions but still within striking range of the top few teams. Imperium and HDMD-kT have both had mixed success mostly due to up and down performances from players like AZKmokss and Scrubzor and a few walkovers here or there. Had things gone only slightly differently these teams might be counting themselves among the top 4.

ZeroCraft have also been up and down, but that is perhaps expected from a team of mercenaries. They have had a little bit of trouble with scheduling and communication but nothing seasoned captain suman can't handle. This is no BSG league, however, and the titan of the BSGCL is struggling to bring in as many wins for his team as he did in the lower leagues. With the injection of some Master League talent into the squad I expect them to make a real push for the top of the ladder late in this season, but unfortunately they have a very tough assignment with a lot of top teams coming up on their schedule. They will have to try their best to keep their head above water and group together if they don't want to slide down the rankings.

One might write iRL off considering an unflattering record and the lowest ladder points of the mid-table teams, but when you consider the teams they have had to face up to this point they could definitely make a late push.

Statistics:

Statistics
Average Subs used	2.75
Average Wildcards used	2.25
Average For-Against Score	+0.5
Average Ladder Points	10

Predictions: I think HDMD-kT and Imperium have the best chance at breaking in to the top of the ladder. While ZeroCraft certainly has an abundance of talent, especially with two new untested Masters players subbed in, they have a very rough road to the finals. ZeroCraft and iRL will most likely hover around the middle of the league unless they hit some form. iRL has an easier road than they have had coming up and if they can recognise this and put in the extra effort late in the season they could sneak in a top position!

Currently a total of 7 teams sit on only 1 or fewer wins, with only for-and-against or draw points separating the bottom dwellers. TCP, SCT, eXofG and VB top these struggling teams for points and all have promising lineups but haven't yet hit the favourable matchups they desire. VB recently got their first win, and TCP and SCT have been hovering around the middle to bottom for a while. However, eXofG are on the slide after a bunch of noshows in the last few rounds of competition.

eXofG really want to stop the rot and try to carry the name of their well-known A-Team proudly. They also have Filipino pride on the line as fellow Philippines team HDMD-kT may lay claim to the best Pinoy clan in the league! If their top players like Ceephyr and Lynxer can show up week to week they are definitely still a chance in this league.

TCP and SCT similarly have promising lineups with the likes of MegaFonzie and TragicHero pulling more than their share of the weight in the matches so far. If the rest of the team can post similar performances they are by no means down and out of this competition.

The outlook is a little more dire for FaDe 2, NaZ and ToR. The second FaDe team struggled for a long time with attendance as a lot of players became inactive or otherwise unavailable to the point that they considered withdrawing fromt he league. The addition of two new players kept them alive in the competition and could be their key to a miraculous comeback in this later half. NaZ and ToR have struggled with walkovers, ruining their for-and-against and decimating their win rate but hope is not yet lost. They both have the rosters to compete and just need to make sure their players turn up each week for the reast of the season if they want to be counted among the top contenders.

Statistics:

Statistics
Average Subs used	2
Average Wildcards used	2.6
Average For-Against Score	-10.85
Average Ladder Points	3.7

Predictions: It is hard to predict when the teams are all so close here, but I feel that walkovers in the end are more damaging than a weaker roster. NaZ, eXofG and ToR have all conceded walkovers and I feel they will be the first to be put out of the race if they continue on this path. Things are looking up for FaDe 2 as they inject some enthusiasm into their roster with 2 new players. With a large playerpool to draw from, FaDe should be the team most likely to claw themselves out of this pit.

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Quick Comments

	Volition:	So gosu. Thanks for running this league, it looks like a nightmare to organise so many teams
	AlopexToT:	always like deL's write up
	TADivinity:	big writeup nice effort man
	x5.Arrival:
	zenabi:	its ok, NaZ will be mid-table finishers xD
	crAzerk:	+1 for peloton
	Dracover:	Awesome
	TCPKiaSu:	nice
	ZC.EvilSWAT:	DAT WRITEUP
	Trinion:
	syfChadMann:	boss
	nirvAnA:
	Maynarde:	Amazing