Quick News: Telefragged was added to div3. Also new poll!

The first week of the ENSL season 6 is upon us and the premier division has taken on a new light with many new players preparing themselves for the high-skilled, fast pace matches that can only take place here. For better or for worse, we’re seeing a new revamped and renewed high-skill bracket giving a wealth of new players the opportunity to prove themselves to the somewhat scrutinising eyes of the elite. Without further ado, here’s a little look at each clan.


Group A


Ninelegends (Reigning Champions)

Ones to watch: Fana, wltrs

Ben: Ninelegends have been the team to beat since their formation winning a Night cup, the Mini cup and the last season of ENSL. In the 6th nightcup they hit a hickup and were defeated in the final by the Finnish saunamen and the real question of season 6 is do saunamen have the power to do it again? Ninelegends are driven by Fana and they're not a team that's likely to sit down and roll over, no doubt their defeat in the nightcup will once again drive many of Europe's elite to show us why they earnt that title. A big question looms over Ninelegend's roster though and that is of wltrs, probably the best marine left playing NS. To lose him would be a massive blow and place even more pressure on the new recruits of dux, sub and scale to perform and fill that gap. Can Ninelegends new recruits measure up to the past players? Not a question that would of mattered overly before but with the possible emergence of a new Natural Selection super power it's one that has to be asked. If nL were going to be a beaten this is the season it'll happen. A lot hinges on wltrs, without him I don't believe they'll have what it takes to defeat Saunamen. Everyone else, but not sauna. Prove me wrong, please.

Tweadle: Nine Legends are here and after scaring the community a little with their delayed entry they'll will be looking to take the title this season with a very experienced squad containing the elite of the elite. Nine Legends have been put in a comparatively weak group and will be utterly gutted should they not pass the first stage. They shouldn’t have any problem beating Reflect on home turf and have already proven themselves against la trama del macho, beating them 3-1 in the most recent NSNC final. However, a small roster, a semi-inactive wltrs and three new recruits in dux, Scale and Sublime might really mix things up and I’ve never had less confidence in them than now. Losing to saunamen, though not shocking, also suggests that their inactivity has taken its toll so, if anybody’s planning on usurping them, now’s the time. Needless to say, Fana and company, formidable as they are, are still the team to beat and I can only see saunamen posing any real threat really.


Reflect

Ones to watch: Splinter Steve, Duogodofdeath

Ben: The americans are back and we welcome them back with open arms. Last season reflect had a really solid start defeating xensity, flatline and testicules without any issues and then it all seemed to fall apart for them losing all 8 rounds in their last two matches versus levitacus and ninelegends. They obviously have the ping disadvantage against them but they'll have to perform better if they're going to be North America's sole representive in ENSL. Losing makeveli was obviously a blow to their roster but they still maintain the same core players of Furious, milo, deimos, duo and co so one should imagine their teamwork is tight. They'll need to find more consistancy if they want to win but they'll be comforted by the knowledge that they're playing against a weaker ninelegends than the one that 4-0'ed them before, but I still don't think they have what it takes to beat them or saunamen. To be honest I'm not even sure they'll qualify after the solid performance the spanish put againist Ninelegends in the Nightcup.

Tweadle: Glad to see these guys are sticking around. The current American titleholders should be feeling quite good about themselves but I can’t see them going very far here, especially with their ping disadvantage and recent inactivity. DrFurious won’t want to risk any hopping out of their chair, that’s for sure. With the departure of Makaveli, they have suffered the loss of an awesome marine and fade who, last season, gave the Europeans endless problems, despite playing on foreign servers. Reflect will be looking to players like chuckers to fill his boots but they’re awfully big boots to fill and last season, they carelessly dropped their last eight rounds even with his support. All the best to the foreigners; They’ve got a very tough task ahead and representing the elite of the ansl means they have a big reputation to uphold.


La Trama Del Macho

Ones to watch: Pizza, Tripas

Ben: Watch out spanish about. I have a soft spot for these guys really, they're aggressive tactics and constant pressure make their marine round really formidable and their alien round isn't the weakest about ever, it's just ruined by wreckless lifeform playing. They got to the nightcup in the final and definately showed their class but they're going to need to tighten up their alien play and co-ordination if they want to be a real threat. Wreckless lerking and poor timing really hurt them and they passed up a number of opportunities to really damage Ninelegends and at least force a tiebreaker. Hopefully the addition of Pizza, A highly experienced player will help iron that out. Tripas also showed his prowess in the nightcup and is definately a key player for them, hopefully guito will find the form and the 3 of them will really give teams a problem. If the spanish ever learn teamwork they'd be a really hard team to beat so watch out guys, it could be their season.

Tweadle: The latest in spanish elite, bearing a name akin to that of the mighty KTDM, has rather surprised the community reaching the finals of the night cup and really giving Nine Legends some trouble, showing prowess in both their alien and marine rounds - a must for the premier division. LTDM will be counting their blessings when they review their group knowing that it should only take a win against Reflect with ping disadvantage to secure a place to the semi-final. A marine round with seemingly endless pressure can be expected from this team with JaIvOl usually favouring a four-man pressure team. I’d also be willing to bet money on the sensory chamber being used in their alien rounds which means any game with these guys will definitely be exciting to watch or at the very least, unique. Strong performances from key players like doogie, NyCeR and Pizza will be needed if they want to succeed but who knows, Tripas might decide to turn on the heat like he did against nL and turn the tables all on his own.


Group B


Saunamen

Ones to watch: Tane, Peach

Ben: These guys are my favourites this season, they've got it all: good lerk, good fade, good marines and the best commander. Peach is undoubtedly the best commander left playing NS now and he's has always been exceptionally difficult to beat when he's in the CC, but with a marine team including tane, hopsu, inva and zharp it just got a lot harder. Their alien round has a solid lerk in zharp and a plethora of fading options though I imagine citrus will be first choice, he's a player that's really proven himself in the last few seasons. Saunamen looked really dominating in 6th nightcup but unfortunately didn't get to lineup for the 7th, I wonder if this inability to get players will dappen their efforts this season, I hope not. They've got the squad depth, experience, teamwork and leadership to win this but they'll need to maintain it throughout the entire season if they want to unthrown ninelegends who must be out for revenge. They'll win their group. Will they win the final?

Tweadle: The most recent conglomerate of the Finnish, proving again how much depth the Finnish natural selection community contains, boasting premier division quality players left, right and centre. Having beaten Nine Legends fairly comfortably, they will definitely be setting their sights on top spot this season and anyone would be a fool to bet against them. Players like Tane and zharp, if given the chance to gain momentum are infuriatingly hard to stop and with strong commanding from Peacham and a shotgun or two, pose a real threat to any team. Strong teamwork and fading during alien rounds also make it hard to see them dropping any careless rounds here or there. They should top group B with relative ease facing an inactive flatline and two teams new to this level. If they don’t, I’ll eat my e-hat.


Flatline

Ones to watch: Phil, Morvie

Ben: My opinion hasn't really changed on flatline, solid aliens and no marine round worthy of discussion. Flatline really need to strike a balance between the strength of their two rounds or they'll never make it to the top, they have talented marines with morvie, phil and hivefish but seem to lack coherance from the CC. Could this be the season they iron out these faults? I don't hold my breath; if anything I think flatline will be weaker this season with the changes to alien lifeforms, we'll see if their alien dominance was really down to Phil's extreme lerking or not. All this being said though, they've been together for a long time and they have a good understanding of each others gameplay which should give them an edge in a relatively weak group. They'll not win the group, let alone the league but they should get through comfortably.

Tweadle: Flatline have built up a reputation for tight teamwork and inhuman activity but that seems to have slipped ever since Morvie left for the army. Even since his return, flatline haven’t managed to put up the kind of performance they did before season 5. I’ll be rooting for these guys though, as they’ve proved that it doesn’t take a team of godly players to make it to the top, it can be done with a closely nit group with impeccable teamwork. In their arsenal, they have a squad who can all shotgun, noticeably Morvie who, when on form, is one of the best shotgunners ensl has. Competent fades in Morvie, HiVeFiSh and phil makes a strong alien round but it’s in flatline’s early game skulking where they can really do damage. Phil’s skulking is just awesome, setting trends for new and innovative ways of utilising alien movement creating techniques such as the wall bunnyhop. I’ve yet to see how much flatline will feel the loss of phil as a 3.1 lerk though, that being a large part of their renowned alien round. It’d be great to see this team regain its former level but currently, I don’t see them posing much of a threat to saunamen or Nine Legends.


Emergency Room

Ones to watch: tutu, Ray

Ben: Get the right lineup and this team has a change but why do I get the feeling the better players will be the most inactive of them? Kylma, tutu, lagga and ray have proven themselves to be worthy of premiership level play but a massive question mark looms over the likes of walkingtarget, pitman, vigilante and co who are taking their first steps into higher tier play. Versus the likes of saunamen even with their best lineup it'll just be a painful to watch but this is a weak group with many unproven players in every team (even sauna) so who knows. Looking at the size of their roster I see something I've seen a million times before and I don't expect much from Emergency room. They may buck the trend and make a 20 man roster laden with inactive players work, but I doubt it. Qualify? Nope.

Tweadle: A reasonably new clan that shows the widest variety of players I’ve seen together in a long while. A big gap in skill levels between the players means that, depending on what team they field, the results could vary wildly. A big roster means they’ve been able to keep more active than any other clan in the premier division and hopefully, overall clan activity will outweigh its drawbacks. The mix has given birth to a clan that includes experience and skill but that is still willing to try new things. In tutu- and Maxx, they have the kind of consistency they’ll need to go on far, and in GibbZ and stewy, the leadership to keep the team together. It’ll be interesting to see how ER fares in the premier division – definitely a clan to watch.


Finnish Ranger Pollorna

Ones to watch: Sola, Kilpikonna

Ben: Abstaining from commenting. I don't know the team and I'm unable to research the matter further. Good luck though.

Tweadle: In Finnish Rangers Pöllorna, we see an old team finally reaching the dizzy heights of the top division. It’s a team that’s more than proved itself on occasion but can it take that potential and combine it with consistency? In SoLa, they have a strong marine and fade with high-skilled clan experience whom I will be expecting to tow the line along with Sharpi, an excellent and established leader and Risme, also bringing leadership and experience to the clan. If FRP can maintain activity and put forward a strong A-team they might give teams some trouble but in all honesty I can’t see them taking too many rounds off the other clans in their group, though I wish them luck.


Predictions:


Nine Legends vs La Trama Del Macho

Impact Players:
Nine Legends: wltrs (marine), aA (skulk)
la trama del macho: Guito (fade), Tripas (marine), JaIvOl (comm)

It was recently that these two teams battled it out in a fantastic night cup final with Nine Legends winning 3-1 on eclipse and tanith. It wasn’t a particularly comfortable win however, the spanish team showing some unexpected class in their marine rounds taking down early nodes and maintaining good control on eclipse. They seemed to be dominating (and I don’t use “dominating” loosely), but it was their mid-game that really let them down, forfeiting to many nodes for additional pressure. If LTDM want to tackle nL, they’ll have to make sure they don’t get too carried away with aggression but above all, they’ll need to avoid sloppiness and those little mistakes that make the different between a great team and an awesome one. Nine Legends, on the hand, though taken by surprise initially, showed why they are champions by keeping their cool with relentless node pressure and solid fading by pantsu. These guys aren’t just good at killing things, that’s for sure. Nine Legends coolly countered la trama del macho’s se sory tactics with good coming by sherpa but good fading by la trama del macho gave them a well deserved win. This has the potential to be one of the most enjoyable matches of the season provided that the spaniards perform. An active Nine Legends would give me no doubt as to the score but that’s not currently the case. I’m going to say a Nine Legends win, but not without some drama.

Nine Legends 3 : 1 la trama del macho


Finish Rangers Pöllorna vs Flatline-Ns

Impact Players:
FRP: SoLa (marine/fade)
Flatline: Morvie (shotgun/fade), phil (skulk/fade)

These teams couldn’t be more different in terms of activity at the moment, with FRP sustaining a great level of commitment and flatline being nowhere near their former glory. This will play its part in this match and FRP, who once would have been dominated in all four rounds, aren’t unlikely to take both of their alien rounds. I don’t see them winning any marine rounds against such strong inspanidual performances from phil, morvie and hivefish however, so I’m leaning towards a draw. Flatline’s overall experience cannot be discounted though and rarely do these weathered players make careless mistakes. If FRP are to win any rounds, it will be well-earned through good performances from key players like Risme and SoLa and not from sloppy mistakes from flatline.

Finish Rangers Pöllorna 2 : 2 Flatline-Ns


Saunamen vs Emergency Room

Impact Players:
Saunamen: Tane (marine/fade), Peacham (comm), Citrus (fade)
ER: Zamma (fade), maxx (all-round)

Emergency Room have been unlucky enough to draw the toughest team in their group as their first match. Although active and only receiving one 0 – 4 loss (to saunamen, no less), I can’t see them putting up enough of a fight to take any rounds against such an experienced and strong saunamen, who have equally strong marine and alien rounds and are currently the best team in the ensl if you disregard their forfeiting of the most recent night cup. Emergency Room will have to remain focused if they are to have any chance of causing a stir. They can’t afford to get emotional over silly mistakes and careless rounds because saunamen will be ruthlessly efficient in ending their misery.

Saunamen 4 : 0 Emergency room

by: Tweadle