Breaking It Down: Award Winners
by Garren the Barbarian
February 3, 2015
Top Flight and Harris have taken the IFL Season Four Championship Crown, while Darik Warchild surprised the Powerhouse Party competition and secured The Kiowa Belt for himself! What a season. With all of the ballots in, it's time to take a look at Iron Fist's Most Valuable Player, Rookie-of-the-Year, Playoff MVP, and Captain of the Year!
Let's break it down.
Note: Ballots were sent out to each team captain and assistant captain, as well as myself. Several voters abstained, while the remaining ten listed their top three choices for MVP and singular choice for ROTY. Enjoy the results!
Most Valuable Player Award (sponsored by the Jade Dragon Chinese Buffet)
Vincent Smith (8th Place) (Top Flight)
[1 Point: One 3rd Place Vote]
Vincent's stellar season may have been MVP worthy, if but for a loss to another MVP Candidate: Jenny Chae.
Matthiew Algiers Simon (7th Place) (Team Fist)
[2 Points: One 2nd Place Vote]
Matt Simon, the long-time Outback legend, finally managed to fight a Powerhouse season for himself. While he only fought three duels, he dominated in his pair of wins, and went all the way to the finals of the Powerhouse Party tournament.
Hope (6th Place) (Team Dirty
[3 Points: Three 3rd Place Votes]
Hope's contribution towards Team Dirty's first place regular season finish cannot be argued against. The sophomore fell short, though, statistically, and this ultimately kept her from being more competitive in the MVP vote.
Shadow (6th Place) (Team Dirty)
[3 Points: One 1st Place Vote]
Shadow had the most difficult regular season schedule, and like Hope, was a major key to Team Dirty's regular season puzzle. And like many other fighters up for the award, may have only missed the glory of being MVP by a singular loss.
Huma EvilBane (4th Place) (Top Flight)
[4 Points: One 2nd Place Vote, Two 3rd Place Votes]
The second of three Top Flight MVP Candidates, Bane's PDPB put him slightly ahead of Vinny and half of the other nominees, though perhaps he found himself in the shadow of his undefeated captain.
Jenny Chae (3rd Place) (Asian Invasion)
[12 Points: Five 2nd Place Votes, Two 3rd Place Votes]
Jenny's one of two rookie IFL fighters to stand out as true contenders for this season's MVP crown. She is also one of only two undefeated duelists this season, and her success was the difference between AZN going 1-6 and them managing to make the playoffs.
One voter, who selected Jenny Chae as their second place MVP fighter, stated, "[she] led her team in performance and although their off season was cut short there's no question whether they could have made it that far without her."
Skid (3rd Place) (Discombobulators)
[12 Points: Two 1st Place Votes, Two 2nd Place Votes, Two 3rd Place Votes]
The other rookie standout this season, Skid finished regulation 2nd in PDPB, despite going 4-1 with an overtime loss. This is because he averaged scoring 5-to-1.75 in his four wins, looking more dominant in victory than any other fighter this season.
One voter, who listed Skid as their top MVP choice, claimed, "[he is] the only [fighter] to ever rank up twice [in one season, and is], easily the #1 player who had an impact on [their] team. He [was also the only MVP nominee] to perform a shut."
Harris D'Artainian (1st Place) (Top Flight)
[29 Points: Eight 1st Place Votes, Two 2nd Place Votes, One 3rd Place Vote]
After being runner-up to Jake Thrash in last year's IFL MVP race, Harris came back this season, while Jake and The Badside Brawlers sat out. Harris went on to finish two league firsts: a second undefeated season in a row, and a second season with the top PDPB in the league in a row. Unlike last year, he ran away with the MVP Vote, and looks to be the fighter to beat next season!
One voter put it simply when they cast their vote for Harris as MVP, "Undefeated and with a PDPB like that, you can't honestly argue this should go to anyone other than him."
So, after another great MVP race, Harris D'Artainian has won the award for being the Iron Fists League's Season Four Most Valuable Player! Congratulations to him, and to the others who performed outstandingly this season!
Rookie-of-the-Year Award (sponsored by the Jade Dragon Chinese Buffet)
Jenny Chae (Team Dirty)
[2 Votes]
While voters seemed split evenly between ROTY nominees Jenny Chae and Skid when it came to MVP voting, Jenny's more significant Outback fighting experience no doubt held her back in the ROTY vote.
Skid (Discombobulators)
[9 Votes]
No one expected Skid to be this good. And no one can argue, now, that he isn't. There will be a lot of pressure on the young fighter next season to prove that his incredible Rookie-of-the-Year season was more than just flash fire in a pan. It should be exciting!
And so, after the ballots came in, Skid has won the award for being the
Iron Fists League's Rookie-of-the-Year! Congratulations to the many great rookie seasons out there, and I personally hope to see more of these fighters in the future!
Playoff MVP (sponsored by the Jade Dragon Chinese Buffet)
Harris D'Artainian (Discombobulators)
The Playoff MVP is selected by yours truly, based on overall playoff performance, challenge, and impact. The first year for this award is, in this humble Barbarian's opinion, a no-brainer. Harris was the regular season MVP, and so too was he the Playoff's Most Valuable fighter. With two Iron Fist matches and two Iron Fist wins (a 5-3 against opposing captain, Jewell Ravenlock, and a 5-1 domination of enemy captain, Kruger in the championshiops), Harris led Top Flight to a championship title by example, with a league high 8.00 Playoff PDPB.
Captain-of-the-Year (sponsored by the Jade Dragon Chinese Buffet)
Kruger (The Rock Hards)
While many might argue that Harris (Top Flight) should take the title of Captain-of-the-Year, as well as his two MVP Awards, there is more to consider than just winning the championship in blue-haired style. Last season, Kruger's team (The Rock Hards), were arguably the worst, least experienced team in the league. They did not make it into the playoffs. This season, Kruger not only improved his team's position (4-3 in the regular season), he piloted them all the way into the championship game. He did so by upsetting the talented rookie team, Discombobulators, and then by trouncing the number one team of the regular season, Team Dirty, in the semi-finals of the playoffs. In all three of The Rock Hard's playoff games, it was Kruger fighting in the Iron Fist bout, and as Harris knows: that takes some guts. For Kruger, and his team of under-dogs, his savvy captaining when it counted, as well as his gutty playoff performances, made all of the difference.
While Harris and Top Flight may have taken the crown, they did so with an overwhelmingly gifted roster of fighters. Kruger took his team nearly as far, with much less depth and experience, and for that he is my selection for Captain of the Year!
And that's all for IFL Season Four. Until next year, stay sharp, and check back with me as I look at the year's standouts -- and break it all down for you.
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