Midseason Club Power Rankings

August 5, 2013 by Charlie Eisenhood and Wes Cronk in Analysis, Rankings with 17 comments

The beginning of club season is an exciting time, as rookies break out, former rookies become veteran studs, and the scene begins to take shape. Figuring out just what all of this means, with so many teams in transitional periods, is a challenge itself. Our Power Rankings are weighted heavily by results, but with an eye towards a team’s potential to perform.

Here is a look at the midseason Power Rankings in each Division.

MEN’S

1. San Francisco Revolver: The most successful team of the past five years started their 2013 campaign with a tournament title at the very competitive US Open. Questions remain about their turnover, but they looked sharp against Ironside.
2. Boston Ironside: Perhaps the preseason favorite, Ironside defeated Revolver (and everyone else) at the US Open before falling on double game point in the finals. Consistency is the hallmark of this team.
3. Austin Doublewide: The reigning National Champions had a small roster at the US Open but still managed wins against everyone except Revolver and Ironside. Rookies Alex Thorne and Tyler Degirolamo played a big role for them. They’ll be challenged at Colorado Cup.
4. Raleigh Ring of Fire: While their pool play performance at the US Open wasn’t impressive, Ring looked strong in a narrow loss to Ironside in the semifinals. Opposing coaches said this team is for real again this year.
5. New York PoNY: A team that couldn’t win a close game last year surprised the elite scene with a Terminus victory after coming in as the bottom seed. Was their performance an early-season fluke or is this a new PoNY squad sharpened with lots of rookie talent?
6. Atlanta Chain Lightning: At Terminus, their home tournament, Chain looked outstanding until the finals where they ran into a red hot PoNY team. The deep and talented roster lacked some conditioning that showed in that game.
7. Seattle Sockeye: Despite being plagued by injuries and absences, Sockeye still had an excellent weekend at Terminus, only falling to PoNY. If they get healthy, they will be very strong come September.
8. Chicago Machine: Machine had an up-and-down weekend in Atlanta but showed moments of top-level play. A weird, rain-delayed loss to Johnny Bravo kept them from having a very strong weekend.
9. Denver Johnny Bravo: Playing without many of their top new recruits, Johnny Bravo started the weekend slow with a loss to Boost Mobile but finished strong with wins over Machine and GOAT. They will be dangerous with Bart Watson and Matty Zemel on the field.
10. Toronto GOAT: Like many teams, GOAT was missing some key players at Terminus, but still had a decent 3-3 showing.
11. Washington DC Truck Stop: Like PoNY, Truck looks stronger than last year. They were the only team on the weekend to beat the eventual Terminus champions.
12. San Francisco Boost Mobile: After beating Johnny Bravo, Boost Mobile looked poised for a massive weekend when they had a late lead against Machine. But Machine scored six straight to win. A 3-3 appearance is a solid start for the second San Francisco team.
13. Portland Rhino: Rhino is dealing with heavy turnover this season and their 2-4 Terminus weekend showed some struggles.
14. Vancouver Furious George: Yes, Furious was missing a lot of players at Terminus, but their offense looked stagnant and out of rhythm. They managed just a single win over Madison Club.
15. Santa Barbara Condors: The Condors missed Nationals last year but are off to a hot 14-1 start in 2013. They have beaten Boost Mobile at a tryout tournament and, more recently, Voodoo and Streetgang.
16. Minneapolis Sub Zero: Like Furious, Sub Zero got just one win at Terminus, over Madison Club. Four of their five losses, however, came by three points or fewer. Mentality may be an issue.
17. Florida United: A vastly improved Florida United team dominated a late June tournament, including wins over Tanasi and Cash Crop. Do they have what it takes to compete with Ring and Chain in the Southeast?
18. Madison Club: The only team to go winless at Terminus, Madison Club was in the game with most teams but could not get big scores when they needed them.
19. Seattle Voodoo: The second Seattle team lost to Rhino 15-13 in a showcase game this weekend. That matchup could be a preview of a Regionals battle.
20. Amherst Dark or Light: The surprise bubble team at 2012 Northeast Regionals, Dark or Light won the Boston Invite and will look to shock a team at Regionals this season.
21. Pittsburgh Oakland: Oakland opened their 2013 campaign with a tournament victory at the Chesapeake Open. They started slow but improved dramatically during the weekend, culminating in a blowout win over Garuda.
22. Raleigh Cash Crop: After an upset win over Ring of Fire at Sectionals last year, Cash Crop looks to break through to Nationals this year. They lost to Tanasi and Florida United at an early season tournament.
23. Michigan High Five: In the wake of the now-defunct Overhaul, High Five, a new men’s team out of Michigan, roared onto the scene with a Motown Throwdown tournament win over Madcow in the finals.
24. Columbus Madcow: Consistently a strong team, Madcow has just one loss this year: to High Five.
25. Boston Garuda: The second-tier Boston team has come up short in two straight tournament finals. After a disappointing finish to their 2012 Series, they are looking to challenge the top Northeast competitors this season.

WOMEN’S

1. San Francisco Fury: Reigning champs have a single loss (to the #3 ranked Riot) and won the first Triple Crown Tour event at the US Open.
2. Washington DC Scandal: A win at Winston Cup Challenge was a nice start, and some early stumbles at the US Open were made up for by a great win over Riot. A strong Final performance against Fury helped push them up.
3. Seattle Riot: The discrepancy between Riot and Scandal is so thin it barely exists. Seattle beat Fury at Solstice and stomped Scandal in US Open pool play.
4. Chicago Nemesis: Early hype looks justified after Nemesis was crowned Terminus champ, with strong play from their new recruits. A fully armed Nemesis looks like a contender.
5. Atlanta Ozone: Probably the most impressive team at Terminus until their struggles in the second half of the Final, Ozone looks well constructed and re-energized.
6. Vancouver Traffic: Early season victims include Heist, Molly Brown, and Brute Squad, all by good margins. Those wins were managed without some of the team’s top talent.
7. Boston Brute Squad: An as-of-yet incomplete Boston squad has shown a lot of potential, dominating Molly Brown and topping Capitals.
8. Madison Heist: A one point loss to Nemesis looks good, especially when their comeback was cut short by a storm. Add in wins against Nightlock and Capitals.
9. Toronto Capitals: The 3-3 Terminus performance doesn’t speak to how well they played; three of those L’s were by 3 points or less. That’s without some of their top talent, too.
10. Austin Showdown: There’s no shame in losing to the top three teams, but getting blown out in three of those four games doesn’t look good. Eyes are on them at Colorado Cup.
11. New York Bent: Its easy to forget this Select team almost made it to the Show last season. They’ve beaten Brute Squad and Green Means Go at Boston Invite.
12. Denver Molly Brown: Terminus struggles serve as a pockmark on Molly’s early returns.
13. San Francisco Nightlock: No marquee wins yet for Nightlock, though they did beat Schwa and Hot Metal. They’ve been competitive with nearly all of the top teams they’ve challenged.
14. Portland Schwa: Head to head losses to Nightlock and Molly Brown, but wins over Safari, Phoenix, and Underground. Emilie McKain and the Fugue contingent may be able to help this team get in gear.
15. San Diego Safari: Solstice showed positive trends for Safari, who beat Nightlock and Underground (twice). It’ll be interesting to see where the Southwest Region goes.
16. Raleigh Phoenix: A slow start was definitely expected for Phoenix, who has made a habit of being thumped by good teams. They have notched wins against Hot Metal, Green Means Go, and Nova already.
17. Quebéc Nova: New teams often struggle to get their footing. Nova’s talent is evident, having beaten Bent and playing well against Riot.
18. Seattle Underground: W’s have been tough to come by for Underground, with a lot of very close games they in which got edged out.
19. Pittsburgh Hot Metal: A 4-2 showing at Winston Cup Challenge shows this team can compete, but 0-6 at Terminus shows there’s a lot of work to be done.
20. Philadelphia Green Means Go: After coming close to taking the second bid in their region to the 2012 Club Championships, they’ve already beaten the Hot Metal team that took that spot.
21. Nashville DeSoto: With just three losses (all to teams from last year’s Club Championships) and having beaten Inferno and Tabby Rosa, DeSoto will have some expectations when they head to Heavyweights.
22. Houston Inferno: Inferno’s Huckfest performance left them with just one loss (to DeSoto) and a 2nd place finish. They just won the Chesapeake Open. It’s an impressive start for the Houston team.
23. Nova Scotia The Collective: Tough to knock a team that’s 7-0, especially when almost all of those wins are blowouts. Rumor has it windy conditions favored their experience.
24. Chicago Dish: Dish doesn’t have any quality wins so far this season, but they also haven’t lost a game yet. They won the Motown Throwdown tournament last week.
25. Vancouver Zephyr: Vancouver’s second team has some tight games against Underground and Safari, but some odd losses are cause for concern.

MIXED

1. Philadelphia AMP: AMP was outstanding at the Philly Invite, notching wins over Chad Larson Experience, The Ghosts, and US Open winner Odyssée. This weekend, they went undefeated at the Chesapeake Open. It’s early, but AMP is looking great to start the 2013 season.
2. Ames Chad Larson Experience: CLX came up short in the Philly Invite finals, but they beat AMP earlier in the tournament and didn’t have another loss. Long known for their strong women, the Iowa-based team looks poised for another deep run this year.
3. Boston Slow White: One of the many excellent Boston teams, Slow White currently stands above the crowd. With just three losses this season (each by two points), they have to be considered the Northeast’s best.
4. Montréal Odyssée: Odyssée surprised everyone with a run to the US Open title broadcast live on ESPN3. Though they had three losses at the tournament, they won when it mattered. They had less success with a very limited squad at the Philly Invite.
5. Boston Ghosts: A consistent title contender, the Ghosts have just three losses since mid June. Crosstown rival Slow White has had their number so far this season. Expect them to ramp up their level of play significantly later this season.
6. San Francisco Mischief: The best Bay Area team so far this season, Mischief lost to Odyssée in the finals of the US Open. They have both some great wins and some odd losses.
7. San Francisco Polar Bears: The Polar Bears came out of round robin play at the US Open as the #1 seed before falling by two to Odyssée in semifinals in a chippy, heated game.
8. Minneapolis Drag’N Thrust: The Drag’Ns were inconsistent at the US Open, finishing 5-3. They got quality wins over Cahoots and Blackbird.
9. San Francisco Blackbird: The defending National Champions are not known for a dominant regular season performance. That said, they went 3-4 at the US Open.
10. Asheville Cahoots: Cahoots has played in more tournaments than most teams at this point in the season. They’ve racked up a lot of wins, but many against lower quality competition. They went 3-4 at the US Open.
11. Boston Lions: The Lions haven’t played since late June, but they are one of the few teams with a win over Slow White. They played well at the Boston Invite, losing only to the Ghosts and Odyssée.
12. Washington DC Ambiguous Grey: The DC team had a poor showing at the US Open but followed it up with a strong 4-2 performance at the Philly Invite.
13. Austin Cosa Nostra: Cosa Nostra went 3-4 at the Philly Invite, but it was their first tournament of the year. They scored double digits in each of their losses.
14. Missoula Mental Toss Flycoons: The Flycoons made the long trip to the Philly Invite and went 3-4.
15. Boston Wild Card: The surprise 2012 Club Championships qualifiers don’t have any great wins yet this season, but they are competing in every game.
16. Los Angeles 7 Figures: Despite going 1-6 at the Philly Invite, the 7 Figures had strong losses. They were within five points in every loss.
17. Raleighwood: Raleighwood doesn’t have any quality wins, but they’ve lost just twice, both times to Cahoots.
18. Atlanta Southern Revival: Southern Revival has a pair of wins over Bucket and just one loss, to Raleighwood at Glazed Daze.
19. Atlanta Bucket: The legacy Atlanta mixed team always comes on strong in the series. They went 2-5 at the Philly Invite with a good win over Odyssée.
20. San Francisco American BBQ: The Bay Area team had just one win at the Philly Invite, their first and only tournament of the year.
21. Philadelphia Termite’s Entourage: Termite’s lost by just one to AMP in the finals of the Chesapeake Open this weekend. They got a good win over Columbus’ Santa Maria, who fell out of the Top 25.
22. Boulder Love Tractor: Love Tractor opened their 2013 season with a late June tournament victory, with two wins over Mesteno.
23. Seattle The DOH Abides: The new Seattle mixed team came into the Kleinman Eruption with the one seed. They showed they earned it with a 15-14 win over Portland’s Engine 45 in the finals.
24. Vancouver Stache: Stache qualified to the Canadian Ultimate Championships with a tournament win at the British Columbia champs.
25. San Francisco Groove: Formerly known as GrasSFace, Groove lost by one to Mischief in the finals of Revolution last week.