Late Season Club Power Rankings

August 21, 2013 by Charlie Eisenhood in Analysis, Rankings with 8 comments

Now just a week and half out from the Pro Flight Finale, the club regular season is humming along with some wild upsets and exciting performances from legacy powerhouses and up-and-comers alike.

Here is a look at this week’s Club Power Rankings with the Chesapeake Invite and West Coast Cup now in the rear view mirror.

MEN’S DIVISION

1. San Francisco Revolver: Revolver finished at the West Coast Cup with a 3-1 record, losing to Sockeye but beating Johnny Bravo and the Buzz Bullets. Lots of parity, but Revolver’s US Open win keeps them planted at the top.
2. Austin Doublewide: Strong performances at the US Open and Colorado Cup are particularly impressive in light of their very short roster at those tournaments.
3. Denver Johnny Bravo: Perhaps the team with the highest ceiling this year, Bravo was good at the WCC, beating Sockeye and losing close to Revolver.
4. Minneapolis Sub Zero: Two head-to-head wins against Ironside, a win against PoNY, and a Chesapeake Invite title vaults Sub Zero into the top 5. Their only loss this weekend was by on DGP to GOAT. Can they stay at this level?
5. Seattle Sockeye: Despite missing a lot of starters, Sockeye played very well at the WCC, taking down Revolver and falling only to Johnny Bravo.
6. Boston Ironside: This isn’t the regular season Ironside of the past two years. They had to grind out wins all weekend and lost twice to Sub Zero. But they were missing a number of starters including George Stubbs.
7. New York PoNY: Another great weekend for PoNY was marred only by a loss to Sub Zero in the semis. There’s a case for them higher in the rankings.
8. Toronto GOAT: The strong Northeast region is rounded out by GOAT at #8, who missed the championship bracket at Chesapeake by just one point. Their only loss was to Ironside.
9. Atlanta Chain Lightning: Dominated regional rival Ring of Fire, but fell to PoNY and GOAT. Seem like they’re still searching for an identity.
10. Chicago Machine: Did not play.
11. Michigan High Five: High Five burst onto the scene this weekend with some huge wins over Ring and Truck Stop. They have clearly showed they belong in the elite scene.
12. Raleigh Ring of Fire: A low point in Ring’s season, Chesapeake was a brutal tournament for them. They mustered wins against Oakland and Madcow. They’re better than they played this weekend.
13. Washington DC Truck Stop: Truck’s momentum after Colorado Cup stalled out at Chesapeake. An 0-4 Saturday left them playing for 9th. Their offense needs serious work.
14. San Francisco Boost Mobile: Did not play.
15. Portland Rhino: Rhino went 0-4 at the West Coast Cup but put up good games on Sockeye and Johnny Bravo.
16. Vancouver Furious George: Furious won the Canadian Ultimate Championships, but that doesn’t mean much in the USA context.
17. Kansas City Prairie Fire: Had a great weekend at Colorado Cup and landed in the middle of the rankings last week.
18. Florida United: Did not play.
19. Madison Club: Did not play.
20. Seattle Voodoo: Did not play.
21. Amherst Dark or Light: Did not play.
22. Pittsburgh Oakland: The young team only managed wins against Madcow, but did put up decent games against higher ranked teams.
23. Santa Barbara Condors: Did not play.
24. Columbus Madcow: Madcow continues to compete at the top level, but never quite finds ways to win against the elite.
25. Dallas Plex: Did not play.

WOMEN’S DIVISION

1. San Francisco Fury: Beating the only team you’ve lost to twice at ECC (making you 3-1 against them this season) is always a good way to stay atop the heap. Especially if that team is (now) #2.
2. Seattle Riot: Added a double game point loss to Fury and a pair of solid wins over Traffic to their resume, pushing them above inactive Scandal.
3. Washington DC Scandal: Being #3 is mostly cosmetic, as an argument could still be made to put them over Riot. Won Chesapeake without Alicia White, but suffered a 15-14 loss to Ozone.
4. Chicago Nemesis: Waiting their turn to show where they are with a more complete roster at Chicago Heavyweights in two weeks.
5. Atlanta Ozone: Another 2nd place finish for the Ozone women, who snagged a big win over Scandal in pool play. Nearly lost to Bent, but clearly makes them a semifinals contender.
6. Boston Brute Squad: Winning Colorado Cup helps Boston get over Traffic, with three nice wins. Pity the format didn’t let them get more cracks at top 15 teams.
7. Vancouver Traffic: It is hard to knock them for not beating the top two teams; this is a strong team capable of beating almost any team on any given day; won Canadian Nationals with 7-0 weekend.
8. Madison Heist: A one loss weekend (to Brute Squad) at Colorado Cup yieled 3rd place for Heist, who got a nice win over Showdown.
9. Toronto Capitals: No reason to move them, but they’ll get harder to rank as weeks go about without them playing.
10. Denver Molly Brown: Second place at Colorado Cup is a nice way to balance out their Terminus foibles. The real key is beating regional rival Showdown.
11. Austin Showdown: Holding their 11th spot, their only Colorado Cup losses were to Molly (who jumps them) and Heist, both by two points. Only impressive victory was (13-2 v. Underground), so jury’s still out.
12. New York Bent:They were a point away from beating Ozone at Chesapeake and their three wins there were decisive. Beat Green Means Go twice.
13. Bay Area Nightlock: A 4-3 Colorado Cup is not going to help their case, but they move up by beating Bent and the Pop team that also beat Bent. The loss they took to Green Means Go hurts, though.
14. Raleigh Phoenix: Tough to interpret Phoenix’s Colorado Cup, where every notable game they had was a two point loss or victory. Makes them look middling, but they could really break either way.
15. Portland Schwa: Every team they lost to is (now) ranked above them, and they pounded Safari, but they’re going to need to push top teams to climb the ladder.
16. San Diego Safari: Like Bent, had the chance to show up and prove something, but were far less successful. A 2-1 season edge over Underground keeps them from dropping dramatically.
17. Quebéc Nova: Finished 4th at CUC 2013, taking three losses (one to Traffic and two to Fusion).
18. Seattle Underground: Colorado Cup had Underground struggling to compete with top dogs, but their 13-11 win over Green Means Go looks even better following Chesapeake.
19. Philadelphia Green Means Go: Despite only winning two games at Chesapeake, they played Ozone tight and beat Hot Metal twice.
20. Minneapolis Pop: Making their first appearance onto the list is Pop, who brings to the table wins over Bent and Green Means Go from Colorado Cup on Saturday. Their Sunday performance far weaker, though.
21. Pittsburgh Hot Metal: Chesapeake was a struggle for Pittsburgh, failing to register a win and taking some blowouts losses. Lost to Bent twice, who Pop beat, and Green Means Go.
22. Nashville DeSoto: It was unfortunate we couldn’t see them in Colorado, but they’ll be in the power pool at Heavyweights, meaning its their turn to show their strong record is more than a mirage.
23. Houston Inferno: They’ll get to play Dish in pool play at Heavyweights, but will need to earn a shot at a top tier team if they want to create some upward thrust.
24. Nova Scotia The Collective: As the value of those early season wins decay, so does the luster of this mysterious competitor.
25. Chicago Dish: The top seed in the lower pool at Heavyweights, Dish has to be aching to get the chance to prove they belong in the power pool.

MIXED DIVISION

1. Ames Chad Larson Experience: Did not play.
2. Boston Slow White: Slow White won their third tournament this season at Chesapeake this weekend. Convincing wins over everyone they faced keeps them right at the top of the Mixed Division.
3. Philadelphia AMP: Did not play.
4. Montréal Odyssée: Did not play.
5. San Francisco Mischief: Did not play.
6. Boston Ghosts: Did not play.
7. Boston Wild Card: Did not play.
8. San Francisco Polar Bears: Did not play.
9. Minneapolis Drag’N Thrust: Did not play.
10. San Francisco Blackbird: Did not play.
11. San Francisco Groove: Did not play.
12. Austin Cosa Nostra: Did not play.
13. Seattle The DOH Abides: Did not play.
14. Portland Engine 45: Did not play.
15. Raleighwood: The only Southern team to have success at Chesapeake, Raleighwood had one bad loss but got a good win over SHUYAMOUF and dominated the 5th place bracket.
16. New York SHUYAMOUF: Joining the rankings this week at #16, SHUYAMOUF had an impressive weekend, making the finals and getting a critical win over Ambiguous Grey.
17. Asheville Cahoots: Did not play.
18. New York 7 Express: Another Northeast team with a strong weekend, 7X played close against Slow White and beat Ambiguous Grey in the third place game.
19. Washington DC Ambiguous Grey: After a great 5-0 pool play performance, Ambiguous Grey came up short to two Northeast teams in the bracket, endangering their shot at a strength bid.
20. Missoula Mental Toss Flycoons: Did not play.
21. Los Angeles 7 Figures: Did not play.
22. Washington DC Ant Madness: Ant Madness got a good win over Boston’s Lions but got smoked by Raleighwood in the final game on Sunday, 15-4.
23. Atlanta Bucket: Did not play.
24. San Francisco American BBQ: Did not play.
25. Boston Lions: After a great Boston Invite, the Lions had a rough weekend at Chesapeake, going 3-4 and finishing with no quality wins.