Breaking It Down: Week Three
by Garren the Barbarian
November 18, 2013
Let's not waste time, purveyors of punching! We saw, perhaps, our most intense week of fighting yet in IFL Week Three. We had shake-ups, shake-downs, and a few duelists who just got shook-all-around.
So let's break it down.
Power Rankings
#1 Champions of Mythos [last week, ranked #2] (3-0 in matches) (9-3 in duels)
COM and AZN were the first number one and number two ranked teams to meet this season, and the level of competition did not disappoint. From break-out Lena Choi's gutsy comeback from being down 1-4 to beat Joku Shoyia, to Hoi Mei's dominating 5-1 upset against IFL great Kelten Tarkenstone, to Aenlyn Hollow's 5-2 drumming of Outback climber Morgan Chae, to Rakeesh Sah Tarna's 5-1 beatdown of AZN Captain Kimone Kidd -- this was an instant classic. In the end, COM won themselves a narrow 2-to-2 victory by two points against AZN, and is now the only undefeated team left in the league. They'll go up against Top Flight this week, and their IFL Season Two rival, the Badside Brawlers, next week. With the competition level so high this season, it seems unlikely that they'll pass their gauntlet with an unblemished record. Right now, though, COM appears to be the team to beat this season.
And it's important to remember just how close the Champs were to losing this week. Going into the final Main Event, they were down one duel to two, and Rakeesh Sah Tarna needed a 5-3 win over Kimone Kidd, or better, for COM to prevail. I'm not even sure Rakeesh is capable of doing math anymore, but he was almost untouchable in this match, and his 5-1 win gave COM the victory over AZN. This marks him as the clear Team MVP of the Week.
The regular season's just less than half over, and COM fans have a long way to go before they'll know whether or not these fighters will take home a Championship. A win this week against TOP would basically seal the deal on the Champions of Mythos going to the playoffs, and I am betting that new Captain, Aenlyn Hollow, is looking to make it happen. She's put COM's top two best-performing fighters so far this season, Xanth and Rakeesh, into the overcard matches for Week Four. The Champions of Mythos versus Top Flight is shaping up to be another nail-biting, must-see match.
#2 Team Asian [last week, ranked #1] (2-1 in matches) (8-4 in duels)
AZN dropped a spot this week after a narrow loss to the Champions of Mythos. Still, AZN was only a total of three points away from winning Week Three's match, and there's no reason to think that they aren't one of the most dangerous teams in the league right now. This gaggle of exotic beauties has shown up to fight each week so far, and I wouldn't look for them to falter any time soon.
Despite Lena Choi's continued success this season, her teammate Hoi Mei is also standing undefeated going into Week Four. Hoi Mei's known as a solid fighter in the Outback, but she may have had the biggest win of her young career this week, when she upset Powerhouse Kelten Tarkenstone 5-1. She's the definite choice for Team MVP of the Week on Team Asian. Any questions of whether or not her mandatory team dance rehearsals have taken away from her focus in the ring has to be negated at this point in the season.
Team Asian has a lot to look forward to in the rest of the season. With one of their toughest matches already out of the way, they get a bit of a respite this week against an embattled Team Mercenarii. Despite perhaps touting the most anticipated Main Event of the week, it's hard to imagine AZN losing this match against a team that's performed so poorly thus far this season.
#3 Top Flight [last week, ranked #3] (2-1 in matches) (8-4 in duels)
TOP retains their number three ranking this week, if only because of a lack of impressive wins from TMF and BAD below them. They lost to Team Dirty, in a narrow 2-to-2 slip by two points, and Week Three has to sting for Harris' crew. Previously undefeated fighters, Vincent Smith and Melanie Rostol, were both stomped in huge upsets this week (out-scored 2-to-10 between them). If those upsets had even been a little closer, TOP would have taken the week, instead of losing to a DRT crew that looked as though its playoff hopes were already dashed after being swept the week before.
Harris D'Artainian made his IFL debut for the season this week in the Main Event, and managed an impressive comeback against Rand al'Tan, digging deep after being down 1-3 to score four unanswered points. Even though Harris needed a 5-1 win to save the week for his team, his effort in the Iron Fist Match makes him TOP's definite Team MVP of the Week.
Top Flight's shown that it's not invincible. As the season moves forward into its most competitive stretch, it's going to take a lot of effort from TOP to prove that it can win consistently. Harris and his gang still have to fight COM, AZN, BAD and TMF this season -- and all of those teams are going to be competing to make it into this year's playoffs. This week, TOP will get a chance for redemption, when they take on undefeated COM. A win here puts TOP easily back into the conversation of favorites to take home a League Championship, while a loss could begin to make fans nervous about the playoffs.
#4 Badside Brawlers [last week, ranked #5] (2-1 in matches) (7-5 in duels)
The Brawlers, IFL Season Two's Champions, continue to climb the rankings after their biggest win yet this season, a solid 3-to-1 victory of the win-less Rock Hards. Despite TMF's win this week, BAD's looking stronger each week, while TMF has yet to score a strong team win. This puts BAD ahead in my books, despite their narrow early season loss to Matt Simon's team. Still, this week was closer than it looked for the Brawlers, and they've yet to beat a team that looks like it is headed for the playoffs.
Despite a solid win by Candy Hart, and another thrashing by Jake, BAD's win this week rested on the shoulders of a less famous fighter. Down 3-1 after four rounds, Lilly Hyde had to win her match to avoid a 2-to-2 upset from a team that's yet to put a scratch in the win column. Over the next five rounds, Lilly mounted a 5-4 comeback victory over a solid fighter in Tex Wellington. She saved the win for the Brawlers, and is their Team MVP of the Week.
Brawlers fans are still waiting for their favorite team to show just how dominant they can be. They'll have to wait another week for the re-match of the IFL Season Two Champions, as the Brawlers will go up against DRT this week. Claire's team is hot off of an upset against Top Flight, and is looking for another upset this week against Jake's veteran team. A win here will put BAD into a good position as they move into the later half of the season, but a loss before they hit the tough part of their schedule could threaten hopes of taking home another League Championship this year.
#5 Team Fist [last week, ranked #4] (2-1 in matches) (5-7 in duels)
Team Fist Nation breathed a sigh of relief at the end of this week, no doubt. After being beaten by AZN in Week Two, TMF was down 1-to-2 going into their Main Event against the league's other win-less team, Mercenarii. Kheldar, who has looked strong this year, was fortunate enough to be paired against perhaps the least impressive fighter so far this season. After eight rounds, and a solid 5-to-3 win after looking dominant all match against Gaius of the Cassii, TMF squeaked out another narrow victory to keep itself in the playoff conversation.
It's hard to keep giving fighters accolades for beating Cassius, but when push comes to shove, Kheldar Drasinia had the pressure of saving Team Fist from an upset on his shoulders. And he saved the win convincingly enough, in the Iron Fist Match, making him the top choice for Team MVP of the Week. Kheldar's shaping up to be a force to be reckoned with, and you can be sure that we'll be seeing more of him in the late season.
Team Fist gets to face another team without a win this week, when they go toe-to-toe with the inexperienced Rock Hards. Blondie Eastwood's looked very competitive so far this season, and he gets to fight in the Main Event against Team Dueling League veteran, Onyx Solare. While this match could go either way, it looks good for TMF's chances in the rest of the matchups. Keep praying, Team Fist Nation; TMF can't afford to be upset with such a competitive play-off race in the works.
#6 Team Dirty [last week, ranked #8] (1-2 in matches) (3-9 in duels)
Last week, I mentioned that Claire's team of mostly spell-casters desperately needed to make something happen if they had any hopes of making the playoffs. Coming off of being swept by COM in Week Two, DRT had to step it up hard if they wanted to defeat an intimidating team in Top Flight. And they did just that, sneaking their way into a close 2-to-2 victory. How did they do it? Well, DRT surprised TOP by handily upsetting two of its early-season stars, Vincent Smith and Melanie Rostol. I've never heard of Juliane Smith before, but keep an eye on her as this season progresses. Between Claire's upset of Vincent, and such a dominant win from her newest acquisition, Juliane, Team Dirty must be feeling good right about now.
Going into this week, Vincent Smith was fighting like he belonged in the conversation for League MVP, giving up only three points in two duels. Claire Farron, known best for her current holding of the title of Archmage on Twilight Isle, shocked TOP in the Push Match by delivering a 5-2 pounding to the veteran. Not only is this the Upset of the Week, Claire's performance also earns her my nod for Team MVP of the Week.
DRT has a long hill to climb yet this season. They looked extremely vulnerable in Week Two, and while they beat a top team last week, they've yet to score a dominating win. As they are likely contending for the fourth play-off spot, at best, Week Four may prove to be the most important week of their season. Unfortunately for DRT, not only do they need to beat the Badside Brawlers this week, they need to win commandingly to make up the ground that they lost early on in the season. Claire's putting a lot of pressure on new duelist Gothrak this week in the Iron Fist Match. With what could prove to be solid match-ups otherwise, a win by Gothrak could just nudge Claire's team towards play-off contention.
#7 Mercenarii [last week, ranked #6] (0-3 in matches) (5-7 in duels)
Ah, Mercenarii. Mercenarii. What can you say about Mercenarii? This team shouldn't be struggling as much as it is. Their narrow 2-to-2 loss to Team Fist in Week Three was all but the nail-in-the-coffin of any play-off hopes for Cassius' team of misfits. I have to wonder about the team's morale moving forward.
Despite another victory by Vanion this week, he's not the only fighter on the team that's looking strong this season. Rookie Jin Sin upset dangerous veteran, Sartan, with a 5-4 comeback win that no one predicted, making him the Team MVP of the Week. Jin and Vanion are the only two fighters to win for Mercenarii so far this season (with an impressive combined record of 5-0 over four ex-Diamonds).
A lot of journalists questioned Cassius' positioning himself into the Main Event this week, after he'd scored only a total of one point in his first two duels of the season. While he did manage to score three points against Kheldar, he still looked as reckless in the ring as he did in his previous bouts - and proved recent previews right by losing the Iron Fist Match. If Cassius had won any of his matches this season, even in over-time, Mercenarii would have also won that week. But the team's struggles can't be chalked up entirely to the veteran Captain, despite his worst-in-league record. If Mercenarii wants to win, it needs the whole team to start winning duels. Because its top fighters have kept Merc's losses close, Cassius does still have a chance to make it to the play-offs this season. But it will take Mercenarii winning every match from here on out, and that hope looks slim with upcoming bouts against AZN and COM.
#8 The Rock Hards [last week, ranked #7] (0-3 in matches) (3-9 in duels)
The Rock Hards have yet to give up a sweep so far this season, but Kruger's team of (mostly) young fighters has also yet to put together two wins in the same week. This is the only reason that they find themselves at the bottom of the barrel now, in my rankings. Still, there have been some inspiring individual performances and wins, and you have to imagine that this team will grow as the season progresses. Unfortunately, unless Kruger begins to put together sweeping wins, it is all but mathematically impossible for the Rock Hards to make the play-offs this season after losing their first three matches. What will be most interesting for these young, fun scrappers, is to see how the team reacts despite that realization.
Well-known Outback veteran, Rachael Douglas, provided the Rock Hards with their only win this week. That said, Rachael's win was a 5-1 face-smashing of current Bearer of ShadoWeaver, Kalamere Ar'Din, in the Iron Fist Match. It's a no-brainer; she's the Rock Hard's Team MVP of the Week. If Kruger can get that sort of consistency out of Rachael for the rest of the season, he may be able to bring home some victories yet.
Week Four offers Kruger's crew as good an opportunity as any to earn their first victory, as they go up against Team Fist, who has looked inconsistent so far this season. Onyx stands a good chance of winning the Main Event, and Rachael gets a shot against Matthew Simon. While the over-all match-ups don't look good for the Rock Hards, on paper, an upset and a Main Event win could be enough to play spoiler to the hopes of Team Fist Nation this week. We'll see if they are up to the challenge.
Power Fighters of the Week
#1 Rakeesh Sah Tarna
There were a number of dominant 5-1 victories this week, making these rankings a tough choice. For Rakeesh, his 5-1 victory over AZN's Captain in the Iron Fist Match vaulted COM into first place in the rankings. He's had one of the best individual starts of the season so far, and he's twice stepped up to keep the Champions of Mythos undefeated. He's your Power Fighter of the Week.
#2 Claire Farron
Our next two most notable performances this week come from two big upsets. Claire Farron is a young captain, who proved that her team can compete outside of Twilight Isle this past Hydra season. She kept her team's play-off hopes alive this week with an extremely impressive 5-2 win over Vincent Smith this week, after he'd looked almost untouchable in his first two bouts of the season. What's more? Her win provided Team Dirty with enough points to upset Top Flight, a number of peoples' pre-season pick to take home the IFL crown this year. That's some good fighting!
#3 Hoi Mei
While Hoi Mei's team may have lost the week, her performance was so strong that Rakeesh had to win big to upset Team Asian. While Lena Choi has looked like the darling of AZN so far this season, Hoi Mei's efforts in the undercards can't go unnoticed. This week, she upset IFL Season Two Kiowa Belt, Kelten Tarkenstone, in an unforgiving 5-1 win that was the first against a Powerhouse duelist so far this season. If she continues to fight at this level, Team Asian could still very well be the team to beat come play-off time.
MVP Watch (sponsored by the Jade Dragon Chinese Buffet)
After three weeks, we're beginning to see some separation at the top in terms of individual performances this season. While there are many names left in the running for League MVP, these three pugilists are still the ones that have impressed the most so far this season.
Vanion Shadowcast (3-0, 6.33 PDPB, 2 Iron Fist wins, 1 Push win)
Cassius is continuing to rely on the Gelf to keep Mercenarii competitive in its continued losing streak. While Merc's yet to win, Vanion's overcome some tough competition to represent the majority of Mercenarii's wins thus far. This week, he came back from a 3-1 hole against a strong-looking Darik Warchild to manage an unlikely win. Whether or not the Bearer of FireStar continues to win is yet to be seen, as he's unlikely to draw many easy opponents for the rest of the season.
Lena Choi (3-0, 5.67 PDPB, 1 Iron Fist win, 2 Push wins)
Lena's the only other fighter, besides Vanion, to break the three win mark already this season. Team Asian captain, Kimone Kidd, is also consistently putting her in the overcard fights, much in the same way that Cassius is using Vanion. While AZN is undoubtedly a more well-rounded team, there's no question that Lena Choi is the biggest reason why they currently sit at number two in my power rankings. This week, she'll go up against Vanion in her team's Iron Fist Match, in what is maybe the most anticipated single match so far this season. Look for a shake-up here next week, as only one of these duelists can continue on undefeated!
Jake Thrash (2-0, 9.50 PDPB, 1 Push win, 1 Crutch win)
There are a number of 2-0 fighters still this season, and while Diamond Jake's yet to see a Main Event, there's no question that he's been the most dominant fighter in the league thus far. He's certain to face more dangerous fighters later on in the season than he's had to so far, but his IFL record speaks for itself. Amongst fighters with ten or more duels in the league, Jake is number one in career PDPB, number one in career winning percentage, and tied for number two in career wins. And so far this season, he's fought like an MVP, giving up only one point. Ouch.
Rookie-of-the-Year Watch (sponsored by the Jade Dragon Chinese Buffet)
Lena Choi (3-0, 5.67 PDPB, 1 Iron Fist win, 2 Push wins)
I've said everything that you need to know about Lena above. That she's having an MVP-worthy season so far, and is a rookie, is just all the more impressive.
Hoi Mei (2-0, 4.50 PDPB, 1 Crutch win, 1 Anchor win)
While Lena's been cleaning up in the overcard bouts, Hoi Mei's been providing a strong presence for AZN in its undercard bouts. She has an overtime win against old-timer Tarl Cabot, and the distinction of being the first to beat a Powerhouse fighter this season, with her jaw-dropping 5-1 win over Kelten Tarkenstone. These two rookies are the major reasons why Team Asian is one of the very best teams in the League so far this season.
Jin Sin (2-0, 4.50 PDPB, 1 Crutch win, 1 Anchor win)
Besides Lena Choi and Hoi Mei, Jin's half of what's been, perhaps, the other best one-two punch in the league this year, fighting alongside Vanion for Mercenarii. With undercard wins over ex-Diamonds Gren Blockman and Sartan, Jin's impressive season start is only over-shadowed by Mercenarii's failings at large. That said, he's proven that he's a rookie to look out for. Don't look for his opponents to take him lightly for the rest of this season.
Well Iron Fist League fans, that's it for the Week Three edition of Breaking It Down, with Rhydin's most bombastic barbarian. Check in with me next week, because Week Four's shaping up to be the most explosive week so far of the season!
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