NPL returns Saturday night with Phase Two, following the conclusion of the FaceIt Global Summit in London. We’ll see many familiar faces during Phase Two, but plenty has changed since the last time NPL was in action! I’ll run through the changes made to rosters, along with which teams have been promoted or relegated to give us the 16 NPL Phase Two teams. I’ll give my opinion on these new rosters and who to watch for during this phase.
The end of Phase One wrapped up in London at the FaceIt Global Summit with the best teams from the inaugural phase fighting for cash and an incredible piece of hardware. First, let me acknowledge how much of a success this tournament was for the game in general. The number of views peaked during Saturday and Sunday’s finals at around 147,887. I would assume, as production evolves and in-game promotion of the league improves, new fans will gravitate towards the pro scene. It will be interesting to see if a bump in viewership is noticeable for NPL after the huge global event.
So, following the end of any phase or global event, you’re bound to see teams make adjustments. It’s the perfect time to assess how a team performed and make any necessary moves. After London, it didn’t take long for “roster royale” to begin. It would take ages for me to analyze every transfer and how it affects NPL teams, so I’m going to touch on the most notable.
For starters, Shoot To Kill, who advanced into the Global Summit and placed second during the Grand Finals, had swiftly been signed by Lazarus. The entire STK roster, including their coach, was signed, which is certainly a way to correct Lazarus’ 14th place-Phase One performance. It appears Lazarus has now been crowned, “King’s of Miramar.”
In a move that is much messier than the previously mentioned, Cloud9 released “Lobes” following a Grand Finals appearance that resulted in 12th place. In a tweet poking fun at his release, “Lobes” unintentionally sent PUBG Twitter into the debate about management ethics and morals. This was centered around casters and current players giving their opinions on the timing of the release, along with rumors that “Lobes” had caught wind of his replacement before their Grand Finals. I’ll refrain from weighing in on this topic because without hearing from each side, it’s tough to fairly criticize the move. Regardless, Cloud9 announced that they had signed “hwinn”, who had previously played for Spacestation Gaming.
This was a result of Spacestation Gaming’s decision to, “take a step back and reevaluate [thier] efforts in PUBG.” Meaning, all four players became free agents. After “hwinn” was picked up by Cloud9, the remaining three players stuck together and added an experienced IGL in “Voxsic”, previously playing for the Pittsburgh Knights in PEL, to form Pecadores. Then, Spacestation Gaming made a splash by signing the intimidating Why Tempt Fate roster. Although the veteran “Hypoc” has since retired from competitive play, the remaining three members, “Hetror”, “Valliate”, and “Bahawaka” will be joined by an impressive newcomer, “Jsank”, to form the new Spacestation Gaming roster.
Ultimately, “Lobes” was picked up by Simplicity, the tenth place team after NPL Phase One. They had two vacant roster spots, and after acquiring “CherryPoppins” from Smokin’ Aces, I like their team’s composition a lot. Simplicity evaluated their needs, then went out and got two new fraggers to have at their disposal.
Speaking of Smokin’ Aces, their roster was signed by Denial Esports during the break. With “CherryPoppins” leaving Smokin’ Aces for Simplicity, Denial Esports rounded out their roster with “Shuhroo” from Vicious Gaming. Still with me? I’m not even sure I am at this point.
Rapid fire:
Mustache Dave was promoted to NPL Phase Two and reformed as Rumblers. (R.I.P.)
eUnited signed “Stab” after “Dylhero” retired from competitive play.
BMGaming signed the Oxymoron roster. Minus “Jsank”, who signed with SSG.
Excelerate Gaming joined NPL after signing three ex-members of Denial Esports.
Endemic signed player “Relo”, and coach “Gnomey”. Replacing “Minifridgejr” and “Calz”.
Wildcard Gaming signed “CAD3N” after the departure of “Xtreme”.
With all of that sorted out, here are the sixteen teams competing in NPL Phase Two.
BMGaming
Cloud9
Denial Esports
Endemic Esports
Team Envy
eUnited
Excelerate Gaming
Ghost Gaming
Lazarus
PlayerOne Esports
Pecadores
The Rumblers
Simplicity
Spacestation Gaming
Tempo Storm
Wildcard Gaming
Some teams turned it on late and found success during the closing rounds of Phase One. Whether it was to escape relegation or make a final push for an invite to London, a couple of teams stand out.
Why Tempt Fate (now Spacestation Gaming) was battling for the fourth and final spot to London when they fell short by only three points. Now, they’ve signed another great player in “Jsank”, and expectations are for them to be amongst the toughest teams in Phase Two. Between their three core players, they have as much high-level experience as anyone else in the lobby. As with each team, learning from mistakes during Phase One will be crucial. Along with playing confidently as a new squad, and adjusting to decision making without “Hypoc” involved. It’s tough to gauge the team without seeing them in action with a new member, but based on the factors mentioned, Spacestation Gaming will now be a team to watch out for.
Around Week Three of Phase One, I predicted Endemic to earn an invite to London. Those were lofty expectations, but they had bounced around the top eight and looked very strong at times. As I mentioned, every team is looking to make adjustments or correct mistakes from the first phase. And for what it’s worth, I’m a big fan of Endemic’s IGL and team captain “wo1f”. Based on the moves made by the team, it seems their in-game calls weren’t a concern. So, the team found a new coach, “Gnomey”, who will hopefully help Endemic improve and adjust to playing together after replacing “Minifridgejr” with “Relo”. Adding a new player and a new coach, Endemic may have made the necessary moves to improve from their Phase One standing.
As for the NPL Phase One champions, Tempo Storm wasn’t quite themselves in the Global Summit Grand Finals. The shortened Grand Finals format may not have been kind to the team, but we know what they’re capable of through forty rounds. I believe this phase will be more competitive than the first, but I still expect Tempo Storm to be a team towards the top three of the leaderboard.
After the first weekend of play, I will be posting my predicted placement for every team. I hope this doesn’t offend any of the teams, but based on their play during the first week I’ll give it my best shot.
Phase Two of NPL begins on Saturday at 8:00 PM EST from the OGN Super Arena in Manhatten Beach, California.
