Risen Rampage Premade — Week 3 Matches to Watch!
by Kurido
In the cold of winter, the flames of battle come to warm all of our souls. The kings of last season, Don’t Go Top, are nowhere to be seen. However, a group of 40, yes, 40 teams look to battle it out again to take the abandoned throne.
New faces and old rivals seek to battle it out over twelve weeks. Today I want to go over how each of the divisions are doing, as well as mention notable teams and matchups for the third week of Rampage!
Division 1: As Day Breaks
Featured Match — Screaming Sun Gaming vs. Mythos Purple
Division 1 has started off with a fiery bang. First seed Screaming Sun Gaming has not dropped a game against either JTP or VICE, their first two weeks matchups. However, a similar story can be said about Mythos Purple, their matchup this week!
It’s almost unsurprising to see both of these teams battling it out to see who’s going to remain undefeated!
Screaming Sun Gaming is comprised of mostly Risen league veterans, Mowglythecat, Dallas, Best Female Sup, and ReecesPieces, providing veteran leadership to this team as well as their own skill. Alongside them is the winner of Risen’s Gold Scouting Grounds, Reedie, who has proven themselves to be a force to be reckoned with in every game they play. So far SSG look like the team to beat in Rampage and they’re the top dogs in their own division. However, there is a challenger coming to fight for the spot.
Mythos Purple is made up of less veterans, however, they’re not lacking in accomplishments. EternalCr1es is coming into Risen hot off their semi-finalist appearance in the Gold Scouting Grounds, only beaten by the eventual winners of the event. Joining them are two familiar faces who made a semi-finals run in last season’s Rampage, the plumber duo A Clogged Toilet and Best Plunger.
While they may not have the full plumbing company this time around, I’m sure A Clogged Toilet is eager to face his former teammate from Scouting Grounds, Reedie. From the start they’ve had going into Week 3, it’s likely that we’re going to see a close and explosive match from both sides. Will Mythos Purple be yet another sacrifice to the sun?
Other Notable Stories
After this weekend there will only be two undefeated teams in Division 1. Eat Our Damage seeks to keep their win streak going against the play-ins team of the returning Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies, hot off a 2–1 win against Diamond Hands and looking to make a playoffs run.
However, Eat Our Damage’s match against BOP Gold showed that they could beat the team that handily beat those palms of diamond. Both teams look to be strong contenders to fight with Mythos Purple and Screaming Sun Gaming to fight for the throne. Beyond that, SFU Academy B took a strike back after their match against Mythos Purple against Disastrous Gang Sword, taking on a 1–1 record and looking to get their revenge on the top teams for giving them a loss in the first place.
With only two weeks down, it’s too early to tell who will be making their deep run, or who’s just had it easy in the first couple weeks. However, the strongest teams are already to show their fangs in the group.
Division 2: United We Stand
Featured Match: The Collective Destiny vs. Limitless Havoc
While Division 2 doesn’t have a battle for the undefeated this weekend, that doesn’t mean this group isn’t looking to be huge contenders for the throne. In fact, Division 2 is looking to be rife with competition between the teams.
The Collective Destiny has returned after their quarterfinals appearance in last season’s Rampage League and just like last year, they’re starting out strong. 2–0 after taking down both Ladtype and 2Turrets Esports, it seems as though fate is on their side for another playoffs run.
The core of Dogster and Monz81 have moved from their places in the solo lanes last season to become a fearsome duo in the bottom lane. The two managed to get a total of 26 kills over two games last week, with only two deaths on the part of Dogster all series! Combined with their new additions in Agony after their finals run during Scouting Grounds, Minnesota from their Top 12 performance last year, and Koarl who became the new captain of the ship, this team has made quite the statement that their team is not to be reckoned with.
The team, The Collective, is up against an even fresher face to the Risen scene, but they’re not going to be pushed aside that easily. Limitless Havoc, or LX, is hot off their first win against Ashen Flight, the second seed of the group. LX showed their versatility during their matches against AF, bringing out multiple strategies such as a Talon Mid/Seraphine Bot strategy, to a fasting senna and farming Leona, to a more standard front-to-back composition. Showing off their versatility, can The Collective pin down the strategy to beat LX? Or is there a tool in their Swiss army knife that can stop the turning wheels of destiny?
Other Notable Stories
While The Collective is one big dog inside of their group, there are two other notable groups standing at the top with them.
DDB, or Dirty Diety Boys, is a team that was formed from the combined Dirty Diet teams from the last season of Rampage, three of which made a semifinals run. So far they look strong and look to make yet another deep run towards the playoffs. Same with the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. These fancy gents are currently undefeated and looking to show just how dapper they can be to bring that class to all the other gold teams around them.
Between the strength of the Dirty Diet Boys and the class of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, not even including the two other 1–1 teams, Division 2 is looking to be very competitive as the ten teams come to make their stand for their positioning in playoffs in the top four in their group.
Are we truly looking at how the group is going to pan out? Or are we going to see a miracle run from one of the teams who had a rough start out of the gate? Only time will tell, but I’m excited to see more.
Division 3: Marching Towards Oblivion
Featured Match: Wichita Oblivion vs. Rome Revolution Esports
Another match between a first seed and a second seed. Two teams with history from last season. Scouting grounds, Rampage Season 9, previous teams and new players. Division 3 is having its clash of the titans this week and the match isn’t looking to disappoint.
Rome Revolution Esports is coming back after just barely not making playoffs last season and they’re starting off strong. Newcomers to the team Truz and Wafer are both showing Division 3 that they’re the real deal.
Truz already had a strong showing in the Gold Scouting Grounds over the winter. But that doesn’t include the two matches they’ve already played, where both Truz and Wafer have shown that they’re the carries of the team and both know how to hold the reins of their team and guide them toward victory. Alongside them are GayForYukihira, sXCyBeast, and Lopp, returning members of the team who are there to help bring their goals of victory to fruition.
It only makes it all the sweeter that they get their chance early this year for revenge on Wichita Oblivion’s captain, Kurido, for knocking them out of playoffs contention last year. I’m sure for Spartans, revenge is a very sweet addition to keeping their win streak going.
On the other side of this coin is a new organization to join Rampage League, Wichita Oblivion. A villain to the hero’s story. Wichita Oblivion have come just as bloodthirsty as the Spartans despite being the only first seeded team to drop a game. Where RRE excels in decision-making and clean play, the team from Kansas matches in their own thirst for every potential play along the map. Coming from a team with only one major newcomer, Ikazuchi, Wichita has brought its own group of experienced players to take on the challenge.
The team has shown its flexibility over multiple strategies in their two matches from the prior weeks, as well as their resilience in the face of a harsh loss. Will that tenacity be nearly a stepping stone for the conquerors? Or will the army find themselves swallowed by the abyss?
Other Notable Stories
There’s a couple interesting other stories bubbling under the surface of Division 3. Abyssal Esports are just joining last week and have already come out of the gate swinging, taking their first win and making sure that people know that they’re here to play despite being at a bit of a handicap.
A silent threat beneath the surface, Abyssal could be the king-slayers that nobody notices until it’s too late. Truly sticking to their organization’s name. The other interesting duo is between Dirty Diet Reaper, sister to the undefeated team Dirty Diet Boys, and Needlessly Large Rods. The two teams met over this past week and the large rods managed to overtake the reapers in an upset!
Despite this, it was a close match, and both teams showed their own strengths within the match. As the season develops, it will be interesting to see if the newly blossoming teams will continue into a full bloom or if there’s a garden yet to burst just beyond the horizon.
Division 4: The Hunt Begins
Featured Match: Not Greedy Corp vs. Tiltbenders
Division 4 is already on the hunt this week, with three teams sitting at undefeated. However, within the ranks of those fighting with a loss, there is a match that proves to be more interesting than it appears on the surface.
Not Greedy Corp has already faced one of the demons of the group in the Grin Reapers, however, they fought hard, with notable performances from Noxian Exile with only one death between two losses, and Diamandis, who showed their prowess on mages. This doesn’t change the fact that going into the week, they had just beaten NKCHS Poke Siege and looked invulnerable while doing it, ending in a quick 2–0.
NGC has a few returning players to the Rampage stage, alongside some fresh talent, all looking to take their position as the next heirs to the throne. So far the team has shown their ability to play both meta and off meta picks, allowing for the ability to pull something out of their pocket that their opponents haven’t prepared for. With a mix of players to provide leadership, as well as fresh ideas to keep their gameplay fresh, these corporate bad boys have the potential to up their company to the next level and punish any team for their sin of greed.
On the other side of the table are the Tiltbenders, seeking to turn that corporate stoicism into uncontrolled rage in their match. The Tiltbenders have already faced a different demon in their group, the winners of last season’s open series, the Iron Chefs, and took them to a three game series.
While they weren’t able to bring down the chefs, they took that energy into their next match against the Red Devils. Once you’ve faced a demon, a devil is no match for you. A quick 2–0 sealed the fate of the devils, with the Tiltbenders showing their love of all things Talon and Neeko. However, their true power showed in the bottom lane with the synergy between Dazedere and Cutie on Duty, showing their prowess as a duo in every game, even the losses against the Iron Chefs.
As long as the Tiltbenders can stay true to their strengths, the corporate overlords should have something to fear. Though, if they can’t figure out their groove and get too greedy, they may get stuck in the mail room forever.
Other Notable Stories
While we touched on what looks to be a close match between two scrappy teams, there is another interesting story coming down the line. Grin Reapers are up this week against NKCHS, who are hot off their own win in the second week of play. Coming in as the first seed, Grin are looking strong as ever to hold onto their position within the group.
So far neither the Blue Saberwolves nor the Iron Chefs have had to face the reaper, but Grin has been making quick work of their opponents. However, the play-ins team of NKCHS are showing to be extremely scrappy in their fight to the top. If there is a fight, they won’t be going quietly with the reaper, but there will be a hunt to see who the top dog really is.
There we have it! A quick preview of the past few weeks with some notable matches to look forward to. Will this be the week where a first seeded team finally takes their first loss? Or will we continue to see the dominance of the top seeded teams over their groups? Will a play-ins team rise to become the new threats in their division? Only time will tell.
Come watch our first featured match, Screaming Sun Gaming vs Mythos Purple on http://www.twitch.tv/risen_esports this Saturday, 2/27, at 7PM ET!
