One week and eight rounds into NPL Phase Two and we have an interesting leaderboard. Last week, spectators primarily focused on the large number of roster adjustments, and although it's still early, we started to see the ripple effects from the offseason shuffle in the first week.
To no one's surprise, Tempo Storm, Cloud9, and Lazarus have already found the top of the leaderboard. However, many of us did not expect to see eUnited leading the pack. Flaunting a 13 point lead after the first weekend of Phase Two, the guys from eUnited have looked confident executing their game plan so far.
There will always be growing pains within a team after an adjustment is made to their roster. It’s rare to see a team replace a player and instantly see improvement. Notwithstanding, there are some exceptions to this trend. The example that comes to mind most recently is “Moody” joining Team Envy during Phase One. During their first outing, the revitalized team took back-to-back rounds, putting everyone on notice. They continued their success, eventually getting their invitation to the PUBG Classic.
Judging a team’s roster decision after two days of competition would be premature. However, I’d like to take a look at one team that found success, and one team that struggled during Week One of Phase Two.
eUnited was forced to battle through relegation due to their less than ideal play during Phase One. The roster was talented and well-known, but things never seemed to click throughout five weeks of competition. Even after a roster change, the perception around eUnited didn’t change much. Fast forward to now, and they're currently sitting in first place after a big opening weekend. The addition of “Stab”, stepping in for the now-retired “Dylhero”, gave eUnited the spark they needed. eUnited and Tempo Storm were the only teams with multiple wins in Week One, securing a win on each day.
I can’t stress enough that we’ve only observed one week, and the three teams trailing eUnited are have been favorites to win the phase. With that being said, if eUnited is able to maintain their strategy and efficient play calls, I see them in Stockholm for the GLL Grand Slam come July. Unfortunately, that’s a big “if”.
On the other side, Simplicity struggled to put it together in week one. Running into some of the same obstacles they encountered in the previous phase. This team narrowly escaped relegation throughout Phase One, despite having a tie in points with Spacestation Gaming in tenth/eleventh place. Consequently, the team got involved in roster royale over the break. Two roster spots opened up after “Linksy” and “Woo1y” stepped down, leaving “Pentalol” and “Czechshooter” to find their replacements. The team announced their new roster, as “Lobes” and “CherryPoppins” joined the squad.
My biggest take away from week one is that Simplicity surely has the right players, but still needs to execute their gameplan. Now, whether that’s an in-game decision-making issue, poor circle luck, or any variety of other issues, I’m not sure. The players are much more talented than their ranking after week one insists. The same caution I recommend when evaluating the success of a team should be applied to the struggles a team may find early on. Ultimately, the lads have had a week to study the vods and correct any naive errors. I’m eager to see these four players perform the way we’ve witnessed in the past.
Week Two of NPL Phase Two returns this Saturday at 2:00 PM PST or 6:00 PM EST, live from the OGN Super Arena in Manhatten Beach, California.
Thanks for reading!
