Club Power Rankings [7/17/24]

The Pro-Elite Challenges gave us a first look at many of the continent's top teams - and shook up the rankings accordingly

July 18, 2024 by Ultiworld in Rankings with 0 comments

Each week, we’ll post an updated edition of our Power Rankings here on the front page to facilitate discussion in the comments and help us share each week’s rankings via social media. The most up-to-date version can always be found on our permanent rankings page.

Women’s Discussion

• That didn’t take long: #1 has fallen. Boston Brute Squad got dropped 13-8 by Phoenix at Pro-Elite Challenge East. They won a title in 2023 with some regular season flubs along the way, but hard to justify them staying at the top.
• It was mixed results for much of the rest of the Northeast: Quebec Iris impressed and was the weekend’s highest riser, into the top 10. 6ixers also fared well, including topping Phoenix. But Siege stumbled out of the gates, with consolation losses to Vengeance and Grit in a blowout. Neither Starling nor BENT made moves.
• Traffic, Nemesis, and Pop each fell a handful of spots after sizable Sunday losses in bracket play. Pop and Nemesis both lost by double-digits while Traffic took their lumps 15-11 to Schwa in quarterfinals of PEC West.
• New team Colorado Kelp and well established club Seattle Underground both entered the top 25 after each earning a pair of wins at PEC West, including one apiece over Small Batch.

Men’s Discussion

• Canada check-in, with big moves for some of the teams from the great north. Furious George’s 10-spot drop was the worst for any team staying in the top 25, came from dropping games to Oakgrove Boys and Dark Star. On the other hand, Ottawa Phoenix busted in at #16 after a 3-3 weekend where they beat Sub Zero. GOAT got a +4 with a 4-2 showing, while General Strike fell from the top 25.
• Both Condors and Vault lost to the eventual tourney winner in the bracket, with Condors reaching a semifinal before getting outscored by Rhino and Vault losing to Machine in quarterfinals. While each went 3-3, there were enough positive signs to move both up five spots.
• The back end of the top 25 saw healthy turnover. Oakgrove Boys, Trident, Phantom, and Boston Invite winner, Sprout, all got in, while Mallard, Mad Men, Zyzzyva, Beacon, and aforementioned General Strike got the boot.

Mixed Discussion

• In the weekend’s biggest surprise, Austin Disco Club – formerly Waterloo – won PEC East and passed the eye test with flying colors, vaulting them up 14 places to #5. They did it all with some really talented players not in the lineup. Their ceiling is extremely intriguing.
• Early season hype for Hybrid, XIST, and Slow has taken a hti after underwhelming turns at PEC East. Despite all coming in as top four seeds, they finished 5th (Hybrid), 7th (XIST), and 11th (Slow). While there’s no need to panic yet, concern is justified.
• With a 4-2 record, including wins over XIST and Sprocket, Durham Toro went from unranked to top 10, earning #9. They’ve had strong early seasons before, but the questions will be about how they close, as the talent on the roster has been pretty consistent the past few years.
• Speaking of Sprocket, they dropped seven spots with losses to Space Force and Toro in their 3-3 record. The plot thickens in the Northeast, as they may be looking over their shoulder at clubs like Big Rig.

Subscribers, after our first look at the top teams, we have one burning question for each