S28 Power Rankings
1. NOIR Esports (6-0)
Jamie / ShiningStar / Crasian / Grape Juice III / Makkabeus / Tery
A high dm team with lots of experience. Can hang at mid IM and a team dedicated to dominating in open, a definite contender for GF playoffs this season. I haven’t gamed much around ShiningStar but his scout play always seems to produce 2:1 K/D and Grape Juice has some high impact plays on roamer. Solid group of players that seem to have fun with the game and chemistry as a team and my current pick for winning open.
Players to watch: Crasian, ShiningStar, Grape Juice III


2. Black Swan Black (6-0)
ether / rocker / donovin / maelstrahm / reero / cratea
The half of RJWeekly that stayed in open and grabbed some pounders as replacements, these guys are a fast and aggressive team that have the dm to support them. Another team of experienced players with IM material looking to take top open. Despite a high number of FFWs, they still have a lot of potential and would probably have the same current record if they got to play their matches. It looks like their roster has changed out a couple players but if they don’t hit any major issues they will be potentials to win open.
Players to watch: maelstrahm, donovin, ether


3. HLpugs.tf (7-1)
wish / rain / Dongus / Unicorn_Wizard / Mr.DelDongo / blake
Notorious highlander players that are taking over in ESEA 6s, this team is a scout powerhouse that have been dangerous all season. Capable off-classing can make nightmares for any medic, and these players appear to have been in the competitive scene for several years now. My limited highlander experience doesn’t let me say much about them as individuals, but they have proven themselves so far as a team with this season.
Players to watch: wish, rain



4. These Open Players (6-1)
Aria / Callum / BotBoy / lial / -azion / ScrewB
Doing decently in S27, this group has been putting up a great performance so far in S28. Their one loss may possibly be due to some technical difficulties, I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt as a number four spot on these rankings. I’m familiar with Callum being a good scout/offclasser and Screwb always seems to have suspiciously high frags on medic. Aria has done notably well during esea matches, and I believe this team has good potential for Semi Finals.
Players to watch: Aria, Screwb


5. Hidden Clout Village (6-1)
playmo / pissy / rowpieces / akari / conal / tiptoes
With only one loss to NOIR, this team has done well. I haven’t spoken to any of them personally, but from my own scrims and their match results I have faith that this team can go far. A very aggressive team from what I can remember and should be able to secure a spot in the top 8.
Players to watch: pissy, playmo



6. Avoid the Loid (6-1)
allayy / bffl / myk / 1josh / nerdaloid / NicKk
A strong team that has dominated in most of their matches. With a narrow loss to Hidden Clout Village, this team thrives with an effective combo. Allayy being a good dm pocket and nerdaloid doing well on demo, I somewhat know myk from a while ago and remember him nutting on scout/sniper, but an all-around decent team.
Players to watch: allayy, myk


7. Good Night Sweet Prince (6-1)
Randomcookie / Poseidon / saga / MusclesMarinara / DannyBoy / spamGoblin
A somewhat scrim partner to my team and good friends, these guys are a fun group that can put up a good fight. Randomcookie used to be cool but now he’s whatever ;p, poseidon sniper tends to be a respectable threat. Saga can live in most situations on med which is useful and often overlooked. Not sure if number 7 is right on the list but it will depend how they are able to manage the second half of the season.
Players to watch: RandomCookie, Poseidon, MusclesMarinara


8. longboys (5-2)
Honk_honk_mayo / scratchh / squiddie / 1998 san antonio green mustang / zanda / pantherrr
Past My Bedtime returns as longboys after having a successful S27. So far they’ve done well with 2 losses to the current top seats in open, I suspect that they will have some redemption in the second half of the season and close out the back end of the top 8, possibly even ending higher. While they have a few FFWs, they still have good potential and would be seated higher under a different schedule. I don’t know this team super well but they have been fun to scrim against and I think they can do fine for themselves, my guess is their match against Jagermeister will be a big factor in where they are seated by week 8.
Players to watch: sctrachh, squiddie


9. Jagermeister (6-1)
smak / khil / osplo / artist / pagedmov / prc69
Coming up with possibly one of the best combos in open, Smak is currently the highest fragging soldier for rocket frags and artist having surprisingly good demo dm. Osplo, a former roamer, has had a successful season so far on medic. I remember playing smak and khil prior to esea and thinking they were a force, and before they left 7up Esports last season they seemed to be carrying most of the frags. Probably will be higher on the list if they can hold their ground against the top open teams.
Players to watch: smak, khil, artist


10. Team Frantic (6-2)
Ult! / mopsy / Nehcro / MarShan / Zaboomafoo / Sharkitect
Some might say a bit high on the list but I’ve been optimistic about my team this season. We’ve had some close games so far and I think people don’t give us much credit due to not knowing us very well, but hey..I’m the one making the power rankings over here. It’s weird to go into detail about my own team so I’ll just leave it at that.
Players to watch: MarShan is the absolute worst person I’ve met in tf2


11. Can I Get Uhhhhh (6-0)
blak / fahren / neaksie / qualia / Jenkins / Erratic
Despite being undefeated, I think they have had a series of good fortune in their matches of what appears to be 5v6 against DoublePlusGood and beating the subs against These Open Players. While still a talented team I think they will have a tougher time getting through the second half of the season. Jenkins is good, and qualia is a solid player as well. I have a little bit of love for this team since I met neak at TOTH and played with Lysol at Rewind 2 and I want to see them succeed.
Players to watch: blak, jenkins


12. SWOLETOWN (5-2)
Hudsyn / KutchKutch / Meatballer / Jeffington / gloperz / RETRODAVID
A solid team with some IM experience behind them. They were a crowd favorite before the season started but I wouldn’t put them quite as high now we’re in the middle of it. Still easily playoff material but will need more to show for if they want to lock down a top 8 spot. I know very little about this team in general, so I’ll just have to see what happens the rest of the season.
Players to watch: Jeffington, RETRODAVID


13. BUFF Canadian Esports (5-2)
Ted / Revan / virgil / apathy / Lieutenant Lemons / citric
Having improved a good amount since the start of the season, this team moved up in playoffs for me. With the help of Citric’s beautiful soul, and the addition of apathy, they have definitely begun to shine. As much as I don’t care for Ted I will admit that they have a lot of good talent on this team.
Players to watch: apathy / Revan


14. morose meanies (6-1)
bowlMONEY / earthworker / third / sleepy_ / Katthief / bloompi
I can’t say I know a lot about these gamers, but I feel that they’ve earned a spot. I know third is a good scout from last season and they have some IM experience by having earthworker on their team. Their schedule so far has been pretty easy so it’s difficult to gauge how well they can do against tougher teams. If they can find some cohesion and chemistry as a team then they can lock in a spot for playoffs.
Players to watch: earthworker, third


15. The Mongos Bongos (5-1)
griff / frenzy / Connor / townze / bereth / klitscho
This team has not yet gotten the chance to prove themselves against the higher open teams, but I know they like to scrim at an IM level and tend to do deservingly well. There is a lot of potential behind this team but I’m putting them at this spot with the intention that they will have some bigger wins in the second half of the season. I’m sorry you had to sleep on my floor during rewind griff, I didn’t have any more beds..
Players to watch: Connor, Klitscho


16. Cool Dinosaurs (5-3)
green and gold / baocn / KootyKat / Halo / PyschoPsyduck / nucket
My underdog pick of the season. I’m a little bit familiar with baocn from HL, and this newbie mix team has a lot of potential and is my choice for the last slot of playoffs. After getting an upset win against the Big Guys, they’ve proven to be impressive. Even with their losses they have managed not to get rolled by high open teams and if things work out they could be the ones to fulfill the prophesy of “newbie team that makes playoffs”
Players to watch: PyschoPsyduck, green and gold