Don't think Prestige has much of a challenge for the Conference phase, shouldn't drop a game honestly. Euphorya is a solid 2nd pick having a good Amplify. Star Clan bigger sleeper pick imo think they'll make it through (but please get rid of that Silver the Hedgehog from your logo LOL)
Conference B
1st World Friend Star
2nd High Definition
W2 Arcadia Sky
Same as prestige, think World Friend doesn't have much of an issue in the conference phase unless Rookie dedicates himself to playing MK8, but I see that being unlikely. Arcadia will get through, they just always pull through when they need it (heh)
Bracket
Round 1
Euphorya Anubis v Arcadia Sky
High Definition v Star Clan
Round 2
Euphorya Anubis v World Friend Star Prestige vs Star Clan
Finals
Prestige v Euphorya Anubis
-
1: Prestige
2: Euphorya Anubis
3: Star Clan & World Friend Star
5: High Definition & Arcadia Sky
First time for everything, so I'll give this a go. Couldn't do D4 or under due to newer teams or teams that I didn't feel comfortable giving a rating because I didn't know enough.
Division 1
Conference A
Prestige
Requiem
Star Clan
Euphorya Anubis
Rozando la Katastrofe
Jean-Pierre Pernaut
Prestige doesn't necessarily have the strongest teamplay compared to others in D1, but it does have enough outstanding players to likely take home any western title. I always love to see an upset though and I do think both World Friend and Requiem are capable of pulling one out the bag if the situation calls for it. Because of what I just said, Requiem takes 2nd place provided they continue with the strong team-focused playstyle that's been evolving through JBZZ and Vestoid. Star Clan's best potential LU is massively underrated but let's hope management doesn't make some regrettable decisions on the day. Euophorya Anubis and Rozando la Katastrofe take 4/5 solely because of transfers post-Amplify. Both teams have a really strong core but I don't quite see the full LU from either team capable of pushing higher into the conference standings. Jean-Pierre Pernaut gets hit with the 6th which is expected due to their D2 promotion last season but I like to think they can push a lot of teams throughout the season.
Conference B
World Friend Star
High Definition
Vertex
Blizzard
Arcadia Sky
Mushroom Team Mind
Honestly this was the hardest conference out of the 6 for me. That said, World Friend Star is a no brainer since their roster consists of just throwing raw french talent at an MKU match until the other team concedes. High Definition, Vertex and Blizzard are all very interchangable with High Definition and Blizzard getting really strong pick-ups in James and Kay respectively. Vertex also gains Tynan but I'm hesitant to give them a clear #3 spot unless Felix's bootcamp shows its worth in the results. Arcadia Sky and Mushroom Team Mind again could go either way as Arcadia picks up the ever-lovable Ace and Mushroom Team pulls in NVgs. I do have Arcadia on top solely because of their communication but who knows.
Division 2
Conference A
World Friend Moon
Inflow
NOVÆ
Arcadia Terra
Princess Monarchy
Banana Legion
World Friend looking for gold and silver this season as their Moon LU is nothing to scoff at with some not-so-hidden gems likely to make active appearances. Inflow loses Lez' and Ronan but does gain Javier, Orochi and Delta for another D2 with a consistently strong foundation. NOVÆ has a good number of players with extensive MKU experience but I don't know enough about their Japanese players or their willingness to play to comfortably place them any lower/higher. Arcadia Terra is being 4th on this list is probably going to come back to bite me, with their addition of mikkel. Strong communication from ARC will always guide them to some sneaky wins that nobody expects. Princess Monarchy gets 5th because of their D3 promotion however grabbing Ownesy from Vertex could make for a really underrated lineup. Banana Legion 6th on the assumption that onim isn't consistently playing however Eliam is another notable add so I'm fully open to being wrong here.
Conference B
Dynamite Alpha
Horizon
Euphorya Ra
Yoshi Family Galaxy
Mushroom Team Soul Cherish
Even without James, Dynamite Alpha has the consistent talent to pull out ahead in this division. The UK core of Jordie, Leon and Alfie alongside talent like Nick, Varo and Pana with European back-up makes for a frightening roster. Horizon has the strongest core in the division (and they're not afraid to say it) with Rhys, LMDS, Alpaco and Ster however I don't think they have the full LU necessary to comfortably take home the title. If some of their other members end up making plays they can certainly win but for now I think 2nd is safe. Euphorya Ra has extremely strong Victory Racers vibes coming from their core so I have a lot of faith in them to show up, but they don't quite have the raw talent as those mentioned above. Yoshi Family Galaxy and Mushroom Team Soul are another interchangable pair however I've put Yoshi Family ahead because of their synergy and activity. Soul does transfer in IceMan, Centels and Butter into the mix though so this is yet another team with upset potential turned up to 11. Cherish obviously isn't ranked but I do think we're comfortable in the division. Certainly not a free run to the banner but I hope we provide a good challenge to all the other teams playing.
Division 3
Conference A
Special 7
Melodya Aria
AfterDark
Version 2
Yoshi Family Odyssey
Jean-Pierre Papin
Special 7 wins. Melodya Aria has the Babou factor which may prove fatal in D3 with the correct back-up from the likes of Sig and ScraT but I don't think one player can hold up a team so 2nd is the limit. AfterDark suffers from Horizon syndrome in the sense that their core is fantastic but I can't quite see a full 6 to break the division. Version 2 has great talent in Anthony, Mooden and Zenith but I sadly don't know enough about their other Australian and Japanese members to seed them any higher than 4th. Yoshi Family Odyssey and Jean-Pierre Papin for 5 and 6 simply because I think a lot of their star players were drafted into their first teams. Papin notably gains Wailtor but the loss of Aswizz means I can't justify moving them higher.
Conference B
Pirates of Duisburg
Equivoke
Black Wolves
Wii Elite Clan
Dynamite Omega
Snow Angel
Pirats <3. In all seriousness though, Denno in D3 with the support of Yoshi and Mickey is going to hit hard in this conference. If they're able to pull strong LUs every week they have a good shot of getting redemption for last season. Equivoke is the closest 2nd, if not 1st, in my predictions. With all the new, notably German, talent picked up with the guidance of the ever-strong DUGO this could potentially be an open-and-shut case. The only reason Pirates of Duisburg gets first seed is because I'm biased. Black Wolves takes 3rd with a consistent roster with DaniPro at the helm but sadly consistency never won a D3 title. Wii Elite Clan goes 4th but that of course entirely depends on which players choose to play. The loss of some active talent may take a hit on results but maybe we can count on a sleeping giant to come in clutch. Dynamite Omega and Snow Angel sit in a joint 5-6 if for no other reason than that I couldn't see any players in both rosters than I think can turn the division on its head. Both definitely have the potential to grab wins though but the competition they face seems a little daunting.
Prestige
Requiem
Euphorya Anubis
Star Clan
Rozando la Katastrofe
Jean-Pierre Pernaut
Prestige and Re should be definitely winning this conference as all of the other teams are mediocre and basically on the same weak lvl. I still see Euphoria getting 3rd because they played lots of wars in the past. Who are the other 3 teams tho ?
Conference B
World Friend Star
Blizzard
High Definition
Arcadia Sky
Vertex
Mushroom Team Mind
Pretty sure wf and Bz will finish top2 here, depending on how consistant Bz plays without their best player this upcoming season. Nevertheless they got great recruits with Kay and the best non Jpn player rn aka Maxim; hoping that those two can conpensate the drop of the greatest player this game has seen which I personally doubt. . Depending on how well their teamwork works out and depending on toas activity Bz has great potential. HD and ARC should get the wildcard spots if nothing goes wrong as both of those teams seem stronger than the teams in conf A. HD basically has the same roster with one irrelevant addition but i doubt they will beat Bz and wf. Unfortunately Arcadia has to play without Tomsu this upcoming season. Depending on their luck and shock hacks they could make some upsets but luck runs out at some point and I feel like that time has come this season. The other two teams arent worth being mentioned by me.
Overall Winner : Prestige
I do think they will lose 1-2 matches during the conference phase but i doubt they will lose the important ones as this season only consists of pretty weak and inconsistent teams. This will be over in Season10 tho.
Mvp : Maxim or Cynda 110avr every other player would be a joke.
Conference A
Prestige
Requiem
Euphorya Anubis
Star Clan
Rozando la Katastrofe
Jean-Pierre Pernaut
Lo más interesante aquí quizá sea ver ragear españoles.
Conference B
Arcadia Sky
Blizzard
High Definition
Mushroom Team Mind
Vertex
World Friend Star
No digo nada de esta conferencia porque no quiero salar al monfas.
Division 2
Conference A World Friend Moon
Arcadia Terra
Inflow
NOVÆ
Banana Legion
Princess Monarchy
npi de esta conferencia, pero me gustan los nombres.
Que csm el Aran, por cierto.
Conference B Horizon
Dynamite Alpha
Euphorya Ra
Cherish
Mushroom Team Soul
Yoshi Family Galaxy
qué kk es jugar vs teams que tienen inwards como sus jugadores más relevantes.
las otras divs entre la 2 y la 5 son irrelevantes.
Division 5
Conference A Sunset Inka Warriors Runner's Fusion
Gomaespuma
Melodya Pirouette
Team APE
No me gusta el nombre del Team APE, así que los pongo últimos.
Conference B Karnita Asada Synchronized Higher Octave
Equilibre
Kame House
X Project
Qué decepción si KA no gana esta división, debería ser completamente free para ellos.
Conference A
Prestige
Requiem
Euphorya Anubis
Star Clan
Rozando la Katastrofe
Jean-Pierre Pernaut
Lo más interesante aquí quizá sea ver ragear españoles.
Conference B
Arcadia Sky
Blizzard
High Definition
Mushroom Team Mind
Vertex
World Friend Star
No digo nada de esta conferencia porque no quiero salar al monfas.
Division 2
Conference A
World Friend Moon
Arcadia Terra
Inflow
NOVÆ
Banana Legion
Princess Monarchy
npi de esta conferencia, pero me gustan los nombres.
Que csm el Aran, por cierto.
Conference B
Horizon
Dynamite Alpha
Euphorya Ra
Cherish
Mushroom Team Soul
Yoshi Family Galaxy
qué kk es jugar vs teams que tienen inwards como sus jugadores más relevantes.
las otras divs entre la 2 y la 5 son irrelevantes.
Division 5
Conference A
Sunset
Inka Warriors
Runner's Fusion
Gomaespuma
Melodya Pirouette
Team APE
No me gusta el nombre del Team APE, así que los pongo últimos.
Conference B
Karnita Asada
Synchronized
Higher Octave
Equilibre
Kame House
X Project
Qué decepción si KA no gana esta división, debería ser completamente free para ellos.
(I think Spain will have the top3 in this div. I bet Rebirth can surprise more than one right here.
@NoobReborn Si hacéis directo me los veré toditos )
Division 5
Conference A Gomaespuma
Inka Warriors
Melodya Pirouette
Runner's Fusion
Sunset
Team APE
Conference B
Karnita Asada
Synchronized
Kame House
Higher Octave
X Project
Equilibre
(I want to point out how underrated are SYN and APE, both teams are able to get a spot in D4 for next season
GL everyone here from Go)
Division 6
Making Llajua
Hardcore Noobs
Kev03's Gamers
Milobellus Assembly
Kartvengers Team
Team Cafe
(Im a bit confussed here as long as teams like HN, ML or 03 dont usually play friendly wars.
Welcome back everyone to the exciting 9th season of the Mario Kart Hockey League (MKHL). Per usual, the competition seems to have gotten stronger overall compared to the past season and there should be some good content to go into it. The rise of the Oil Money discoveries from last year are also impacting the league as well as some teams. Due to this extra income, there is now an MKU primetime match every week to help grow the sport. I couldn’t be happier and hopefully, I’ll be able to help cast some of this gamer content to the masses that are the MKHL fans. As usual, my analysis of how the season will roll out is shown and explained below. Also, the seasonal reminder that predictions for everyone are more for fun and people shouldn’t get upset about them or brag about stuff if myself or anyone else on the thread underrated your team once the season ends. There’s nothing wrong with using consistent low predictions for team motivation though! Let’s get to it.
Division 1:
Conference A
Prestige (1 seed)
Requiem (3 seed)
Star Clan
Euphorya Anubis
Jean-Pierre Pernaut
Rozando la Katastrofe
Conference B
World Friend Star (2 Seed)
High Definition (4 Seed)
Blizzard (5 seed)
Arcadia Sky (6 seed)
Vertex
Mushroom Team Mind
Quarter-Finals
High Definition 2-1 over Blizzard
Requiem 2-1 over Arcadia Sky
Semi-Finals
Prestige 2-0 vs High Definition
World Friend Star 2-1 over Requiem
Finals
Prestige 2-0 over World Friend Star
MVP: Bz Kay [104.8]
Breakthrough Candidates: JPP Falso / MT Eru / ARC Ricke
Starting with conference A we have Prestige in the first place. The oil bomb of 2018 affecting the league hit this team in spades as Saad Sherida al-Kaabi himself is the owner of the franchise. Endless money has been shoved out to get any players that want to get a payday. Luxury tax? That’s pocket change, money is no issues for this franchise and they aren’t afraid to flex it. With a roster like Despair / Julian / K4I / Roberto / Ryan’s / Sketch and endless bench depth of the likes of Sebas / Dragon / Millan / Neo / Thimo / Angel anything but the title would be considered a massive choke. The unfortunate part about this is that many players will get cut playing time they would have on other teams but the other side is a ring is, indeed, a ring. How many Jeremy Lin’s will happen? Stay tuned. In the second place, I have Requiem. If anyone can be considered Prestige’s threats it’s Requiem as they are the only team who have beaten Prestige multiple times, I’m pretty sure, both in and out of league formats. That being said, I can’t see Requiem beating Prestige in any Bo3 scenario. Athaway / Dayem / Impo / Nitroco / Ro / Lez or the sorts is nothing to scoff at however, it’s unfortunate the oil money happened here for this squad as they have not been able to monopolize on it much as their whole roster was already signed beforehand. In third place I have Star Clan, this is one of the two big wild card teams for me and also last seasons Calder Cup champions. I’m always skeptical about rosters that have 20+ active players when there is a large skill gap in said people. The batch and Energy duo will be important for this team how well they can perform. There are also players like Blake and Ryan5 that can help round out the lineup and old veterans coming out of retirement such as Angry Fast. Lots of X factors for this team but the biggest one is if they can use their Japanese players which would bolster this lineup immensely. The international money was used but will it be able to be optimized? In 4th place, I have Euphorya Anubis. Coming off a great amplify performance there is tons of hype for this squad and they are looking to translate a similar performance into MKU. A line-up of Manster / Spyke / Leo / Frogger / Brye +1 could get themselves into the playoffs but I’m banking on the previous results, not solely Amplify. I think the recency hype will not live up to expectations. Leo’s uncanny ability to stay out of the penalty box when interfering with his opponents could be a giant X factor though. In 5th I have Jean-Pierre Pernaut. JPP gets the knock into D1 a season later than anticipated but alas they are here. Bowen / Falso / Hamano / Nyx / Origin +1 will get some wins people will consider as upsets. The ceiling is higher than 5th for JPP but that’s what I will be going with for this season. I expect this team to grow a lot during this season and no one should be sleeping on them. This leaves RK in last. On paper, RK deserves more than that with the likes of Alexony / Canoso / DRACK / Lugieon / Miguel / Section / Wemex. I’m confident I’ll get burned on this one but I just can’t trust a team that has to be organized and ran by someone who isn’t even registered for the squad.
Moving on to Conference B I have the defending Stanley Cup champions as first, World Friend. Led by Mars who also was the recipient of the Jack Adams Award and Swift who received the Conn Smythe. The one-year bridge deal with Swift worked wonders for the squad and after getting a ring they were able to resign him long-term. The Addition of Thomas will be huge as well when you win people are interested, that’s a fact of life. Top these 3 with Valer / Linkos / Flowx and newly acquired FuFu this team has nothing but another ring on their eyes. In 2nd I have High Definition. The major I think only change HD got was signing James. Some luxury tax needed to be paid for this addition but it wasn’t something the team could handle easily. A lineup of Cynda (Last year Rocket Richard Winner) / Chibi / James / Zebe / Miguelowned / Rookie / Bryce and a pocket Joebo that is consistently on and off the IR could make an appearance in big games as well. This is more than enough talent to secure the 2nd spot in the conference and give themselves another playoff to try and push their way to their first finals appearance. In the third position, I have Blizzard. Blizzard is another team that benefited greatly from the oil money and have bolstered their roster tremendously. On paper it’s scary but we’ll see how it has meshed and turns out for the season, I honestly have no idea what to expect here but it looks great on paper. The additions of Kay / Maxim / Toa on top of already owning Devoty and Waenot and I assume the last spot will be occupied by either Paul or Jinny. Some of the local fans are a bit skeptical of the Maxim signing due to his negative history with some of the roster but they won’t care if the results come in. In 4th I have Arcadia Sky. The only change to this squad is Tomsu is on the IR. The roster isn’t a long one here and this will be the team's biggest challenge yet. The Ace Tman signing has worked out well from last season and throwing in Brandon / Corazon / Monfi / Ricke / Stevens / Teeples looks to be the overall rotation with potentially a pocket Cuj and in dire states, a Japanese Goblin appearance. This team still has the cap space to make another supermax offer in the off-season so their goal should be going as good as they can here to hopefully become more appealing suitors next off-season. In 5th place I have Vertex. Tricky / Felix / Marc has been the backbone of this team in 8d and veteran Attila is back in full health which is huge for this team. The signing of a Stanley cup winner Tynan will only help as well. Lots of potential pocket players here to round out the lineup like LS_ Ghost / Ryou / Christo. Vertex is also known for always making one huge upset in the season and this always helps in the overall standings. This leaves Mushroom Team Mind in the last place. I feel dirty doing this as the team looks the strongest it has been. Neykan / yfm / Kokote and new pickups Juls / NVgs are solid alongside Sergio and Eru promoted from their minor affiliate. Pocket FalcoX is always a potential too. I trust vertex to make more upsets which is why MT is in last.
In the Quarterfinals, I have High Definition taking a 2-1 series win over Blizzard. HD will win game 3 500-484 on a Ribbon Road walk off where Bz was unable to pull the rod. This will be a super close series where all games are w/n 20 or fewer points. I have Requiem taking a 2-1 series win over Arcadia Sky in quarters but this series won’t be as close as the other one. ARC’s win will be a single-digit and Re’s wins will be +30 and +62 with Dayem slaying with a 126 in game 3. For the semi-finals, I have Prestige beating HD 2-0 with the first war being really tight but the second one a blowout in the 80’s range. I have World Friend Star beating Requiem 2-1 as well. The defending champs will take their ticket back to the finals. This series will play like their last final where games 1 and 2 are blowouts (but not as big as the final) and game 3 being a walk-off win for World Friend gaining heat in the final few races. For the finals, I have Prestige with a 2-0 series sweep on the defending champions to take the Stanley Cup for themselves. Neither war will be a blowout but I gotta respect the head2head record at the moment as passed behaviour is the most consistent predictor of future behaviour.
Division 2
Conference A
World Friend Moon (2 seed)
Arcadia Terra (4 seed)
Inflow (6 seed)
NOVAE
Banana Legion
Princess Monarchy
Conference B
Horizon (1 seed)
Dynamite Alpha (3 seed)
Cherish (5 seed)
Mushroom Team Soul
Yoshi Family Galaxy
Euphorya Ra
Quarter-Finals
Arcadia Terra 2-1 Cherish
Dynamite Alpha 2-0 Inflow
Semi-Finals
Horizon 2-0 Arcadia Terra
Dynamite Alpha 2-1 World Friend Moon
Finals
Horizon 2-1 Dynamite Alpha
MVP: Hz Rhyz [108.9]
Breakthrough Candidates: YF Hollend / DY Jordie / iF Sparky
The race for the Calder Cup is underway. For Conference A I have World Friend Moon in first place. Sparks was sent down to the minors and should be a huge help on top of already the likes of Flaco / Lucky / master / Starlow / Elie and others. This is a team that has done better than projected in multiple tournaments outside MKU and they are under the wings of the current champions. I’m expecting a strong season out of this team. For 2nd I have Arcadia Terra. Not sure how high the bias factor is here. Kevin / Dew combo going to be on fleek lowkey. Gdin is on his final year before becoming an RFA and will be looking for that huge paycheck so he will pop off. Tikkel my Pikkel Bikkel is a nice addition in the off-season too. 6ran / Biz / Sayan to fill out the roster with some depth after that too. Terra’s been getting stronger each season and they will be looking to make a statement. I have Inflow third. I did this before I remembered Jez’s ban was lifted so I kinda doubt but I’ll keep it what I had. Orochi pickup in the off-season and Sparky getting better is going to be huge for this squad and I think it lowkey might have more pressure than the squad with the Frenchies. Aran / Orochi / Sparky / Big Dick Wisch / Jez +1 will be more than okay here. In 4th I have NOVAE. Lots of hype has been put around this team but I feel it’s not a playoff team in division 2 personally. Unless they abuse their international signings from Japan but I’m expecting that is more unlikely to happen. Aure / Engel / Hiska / Rougee is a solid core. I could see this team making playoffs if they are consistent but I’m under the impression they aren’t. I have BL in fifth. This is the team that got affected the most negatively by the oil money boom. Julian and Sebas went to Prestige under huge contacts, money talks. Juls decided to walk and join Mushroom Team Mind and CanosoJr took the same route and went to the RK. Hometown Hero and favourite Royal is still there but there’s not much support after that. The key factor again is if Onim and Maxarx can play MKU. If they can, BL will finish higher and could even slip into the playoffs. This leaves Princess Monarchy in last place. Coming off a strong division 3 season and getting the chance to play for the Calder Cup brings back MK8U vibes. However, I think the roster isn’t quite as strong as the rest overall. Last season’s Hart winner Samovar will need to carry the load in this division. Myt / Clembec / flo +2 will make ok support but I feel the competition may be a bit too tough this season, I hope I am wrong though.
For conference B I have Horizon taking the bye. Rhyz has improved significantly over the past while. LMDS also very strong. There is a threatening duo, especially when the track picker is in Hz’s favour. The signing of Sebi is huge on paper, but he’s been known to create awkward locker room situations and has cycled between teams frequently. On top of that Ster and Oscar who is on the come-up. Unfortunately, last year Norris Winner TSM8 was banned in the off-season for a misdemeanor. I feel this team has their eyes on the Calder and I think they will achieve that goal in the end. In second I have Dynamite Alpha. A lineup of like Erik / Jordie who has been on the come up, Pana / Varo / Zeta / Alfie is solid for this division and there are depth options as well so this team should never field a “weak” version of the squad which is huge. In third I have Cherish. Fuko is back which is nice / Jasmie / Mitch / Paka / Shin / Peaqs or the sort looks really strong. Upside with this team is evident. In fourth, I have Mushroom Team Soul. The vintage MT name/roster changes to keep a team in D1 and D2 is on fleek. This is probably the strongest MT2 has been, and MT as a whole overall. Centels / Iceman / Ky / Kaori +2 will be solid but I don’t think there’s enough power to get into the playoffs. In 5th I have Yoshi Family Galaxy. On paper, this roster is weaker than the ones above but the experience will be a big factor. Can see YF finishing as high as third if the cards are played right. Hollend / Ti_C / Johann / Alexxx / Loic / Yoan looks pretty solid. This leaves EU2 in last. Brox / Maj / Marki is a solid big 3 and again this team could finish higher but someone had to be here. I feel like no team deserves to be placed here though and the more I look at it, the more I see this conference being strong.
For the Quarterfinals, I have Arcadia Terra 2-1 over Cherish. This will be a tight series and Mikkel will bail out the boys’ game 3 with a couple of clutch shocks. I have Dynamite Alpha over Inflow 2-0. This won’t be a super stressful 2-0. For the semi-finals, I have Horizon over Arcadia Terra 2-0. Horizon’s roster just has too much running ability currently. For the other semifinals, I have Dynamite Alpha 2-1 over World Friend Moon. This will be the series of the division and will be super hype with all 3 games being w/n 30 pts. For the finals, I have Horizon 2-1 over Dynamite Alpha. I believe the first two games will be close but game 3 won’t be stressful and Rhyz will lay the pen_hands:.
Division 3
Conference A
Jean-Pierre Papin (1 seed)
Melodya Aria (3 seed)
Version 2
Special 7
Yoshi Family Odyssey
After Dark
Breakthrough Candidates: PoD Yoshi / δk ChristianMK / JPP Crunchy
For conference A I got the papins of the Jean-Pierre variety claiming the bye. Crunchy / Flo / John Lennon / Wailtor / HyTs +1 looks solid. This team has good chemistry as well from what I have seen; I think they will have a great season here. I have Melodya Aria in the second position. Babou will be strong here and will have a supporting cast like narky / Pris / ScraT / Sigorn / Teqzo. Not seeing any issues here. In third place, I have Version 2. A squad I like to see do well and I think they will punch a ticket to the playoffs. Anthony / Hayashi / last season’s Calder Trophy winner Mooden / Zenith looks like a solid core. Not sure how well the latter 2 slots will be filled out which is why I have them below the other two teams, less depth. Not sure if the Japanese additions will play or how good they are but that’s always an X factor. In the fourth place, I have Special 7. Another victim of the oil strike. Losing Sorata / Loic / Kimo / Aswizz from last seasons run hurts a lot and nothing much was done to replenish that. Arukay / Beni / Kuzu / Vegan / Tristian +1 is what I’m expecting. Not a bad roster but I don’t think it’s strong enough to compete with the top teams in this division. In fifth place I have Yoshi Family Odyssey. I see this team in a similar position as their first squad. Got a nice balanced squad with solid team play but I feel like there aren’t enough “carriers” that other teams have. That being said, the sum of the parts being stronger than the individual parts could be a factor. Fifi / Lion / Puz / ruscof / Storm / Thib is what I’m expecting to see. This leaves After Dark in the last slot. Daniel “Piper” Talents is solid but I don’t think there’s enough overall strength on this roster. SantyJr will be the biggest X factor for this squad. Had massive success in lower divisions but will it translate up here? There are Azuza and Italic as well but the back end of the lineup will be hard to fill, I think.
For conference B I have Snow Angel in first. Snow Angel got the better of the S7/SA situation in my opinion in terms of strengths. Denix / Ethan_ / Loic / Sofian / Sorata / Winter looks like some nice $$$ for this division. In 2nd I have Black Wolves. They have been doing work lately and I think I’m putting them a little higher than I should but I’m going to stick with it. Colchonetta, the first Spanish player to win anything outside Spanish only events (should be S+ ESP) / DaniPro / Diego / Hydra / Kratos +1 will be solid here. In third I have Equivoke. After a really impressive season last season. This team has grown fast and had respectable results in Amplify against teams in the higher divisions. I feel like this team has upside for the 2nd seed and maybe even the 1 seed but I think SA is just a tad better than the rest here. Dugo (Last season’s Lady Byng Winner) / Craig / Leo / jack / Akiko the former AG splash brothers Xeter and Xabob. Lots of people registered here as well so that worries me a bit. In 4th I have the Pirates of Duisburg. Aexo / Dark / Denno / Jin / Mickey / Yoshi looks nice and I can see this making playoff or getting higher. This conferences 2-4 slots are super hype for me, one of the most hype trios in the league. In fifth I have WEC. Losing Denno hurts. I also feel the squad will not focus as hard on using their best people like they initially planned to last one. Aplex / Damian / Mio / Alex +2 what I’m expecting to see. It could finish higher as well but this conference seems stronger every time, I look at it. In last place I have Dynamite Omega. Gucci / Mitch / Fox / Batboo +2 will get wins on the board but the lack of a back end will probably hurt. I feel dirty putting anyone last in this conference but it be like that sometimes.
For the Quarter Finals, I have MA over PoD 2-1 series. It will be a respectable series but Babou will be too much to handle in the end. I have Equivoke getting revenge on BW in playoffs and 2-0ing them despite finishing lower during the season. Call it a gut feeling but I feel qk will grow more during the season than BW. For the semi-finals, I have JPP2 2-1 over Equivoke. This will be a hard-fought series but JPP will be too much to handle in the end. For the other series, I have Snow Angel 2-0ing Melody Aria in a rather stress-free playoff series. This leads to the finals where I have JPP2 beating SA 2-1. Like last D3, this will be a hype final but the longevity of JPP2’s connections will be the difference at the end of the day and will secure the banner.
Division 4
Conference A
Team Rocket (1 seed)
Kira Team (3 seed)
Re-Birth (6 seed)
Silence Eclipse
Sweatyzard
Final Emblem
Kira Team 2-1 Re-Birth
Pirate Hackers 2-0 Noob Reborn
Semi-Finals
Team Rocket 2-1 Pirate Hackers
Kira Team 2-1 Fenix
Finals
Team Rocket 2-0 Kira Team
MVP: pH Darky [118.7]
Breakthrough Candidates: RB FlorentSanchez / pH Ty / TR DG_14
For conference A I have the eSports boys. Unai / Bermus / SuperDreams / viZen / Brantios +1 highkey looking kinda fire. These teams had success the passed while but never could grasp that final step and I feel like this is the season. The roster has been consistent and only getting better with each other and that trust will go a long way as a true eSport Team should be. In second I have Kira Team. After a good run last season, they are looking to keep it going. The pickup of Draco will be nice. All the players from last seasons still are there to: Tiger / InNfer / cft / Javizz / Akagi. This is a roster that has been improving fast and I think they’ll get another solid run here. In third I have Re-Birth, this is purely off the assumption they roll with their best and not cycle lineups, otherwise, they will be at the bottom-most likely. Raph / Kyllios / FlorentSanchez / Frank / ScarTax / Wantvd looks solid. A name could be made for themselves this season if the cards are played right and I’m banking on they do. In fourth I have Silence Eclipse. Akasia / Cazador / Celestialz / dz / Flaps / Jair potential something like this. Most have experience in this level on previous teams but we’ll see if it can mesh together here. Could see this team finishing at the bottom if there’s no chemistry built though. In 5th I have Sweatyzard. Losing Aure and Ares their top 2 last season will hurt a lot. Beast / Janti / Kiki / Mel +2 is what I’m expecting. I just feel this roster is weaker than the others but hopefully, I’m wrong. This leaves Final Emblem in last. Like Sz, they lost their top players from last season. NVgs / Brox / Lapis. The roster having 28 people is a strike for me because there may not be consistent lineups and that’s something I always prefer to see in teams.
For conference B I have Fenix first. Camilo / Rolex / Ruben / Vic / Adeleine / Ale / Gabe looks solid. This team has had a consistent roster the past few seasons too and been getting better. Rolex with flash the leather and be wearing a Rolex on each arm during MKU hours. In second I have Pirate Hackers. The Darky / Ember duo will be an unmatched duo in this division. Kyret and Ty have been improving too. This team will do well but I feel will fall a bit short of the title due to the back end of the lineup. For third I have Noob Reborn. Another team that has been consistent with their roster over time. Blaex / Dalos / KurobaK / Egeon / Eli / Lobo (doubt he plays but would be huge). NRB also made a couple new registrations that could play a role, not certain how good those people are. This is a well-balanced roster but I feel it’s a bit worse than Fenix’s and will struggle to tame Darky/Ember. I have Zten in 4th. Anima / Bymoe / nyanyamilk / Raven is a decent core, not sure how they will round it out though. Also, some new players were registered. I feel like this team works like X and NRB does but is just not quite as strong overall. In 5th I have eXodus. Like pH, they have a power duo of Haupi and Lukas, which isn’t as strong as pH’s power duo but nothing to sneeze at. pH also has more depth after those top 2 I feel so in other words I see eXodus as a weaker version of pH currently. This leaves Mad Racers as last. Jhonny / Skynet / Doriva / Mata / Dani / D. AraN is what I expect. This roster is better than last on paper but the penalty box seems to be a second home and this will cost the team some matches playing on the Penalty Kill.
For the Quarterfinals, I have KT 2-1 over Rebirth. This will be a competitive series but KT will come out on top game 3 with a convincing +42 win. Pirate Hackers will 2-0 Noob Reborn in a series that ends up not being super competitive. For the semi-finals, I have TR eSports 2-1 over Pirate Hackers. The overall strength of TR will outbattle the dynamic duo in a long series. I have Kira Team claiming another 2-1 series win but this time over Fenix. KT will ride their wave to the finals but fall one step short of another division title after getting swept by the eSports Crew. SuperDreams will make the dream a reality and have a clutch finals performance.
Division 5
Conference A
Team APE (2 seed)
Sunset (4 seed)
Gomaespuma (5 seed)
Runners Fusion (6 seed)
Inka Warriors
Melodya Pirouette
Conference B
Kartnita Asada (1 seed)
Kame House (3 seed)
Higher Octave
Equilibre
Synchronized
X Project
Quarter-Finals
Kame House 2-0 Runner’s Fusion
Gomaespuma 2-1 Sunset
Semi-Finals
Kartnita Asada 2-0 Gomaespuma
Kame House 2-1 Team APE
Finals
Kartnita Asada 2-1 Kame House
MVP: KA Kevo [120.1]
Breakthrough Candidates: APE nicolocom / EQ Neemo / 8va Antwann X
For conference A I have Team APE. Zatlo / nicolocom / cuky / reddo / rober +1 seems really underrated. I’m giving my push that the Apes will get dirty and get themselves noticed. In second I have Sunset. Marsh apparently only can play week 1 but I’m banking he plays more than that. Throw on a Carty/Icefox / MLJP / Yoshiracer / Miles or something of the sort and you get a solid lineup. The team will still handle most games without Marsh too. In third I have Gomeaspuma. RubenD / Benjax / DemonBeater seems like a solid 3 but don't know after that for sure. This team has a large roster and not certain of the abilities of the back half of the line up so the upside is there. In fourth I have Runner’s Fusion. Ozeil / Sweet / Hernan Black / A.J +2 seems underrated as well. The 2-4 in this division is really close and could see these teams finishing in any order. I have all 3 making the post-season regardless. In fifth I have Inka Warriors. I just feel like this team hasn’t had great results in MKU overall and the roster doesn’t scare me as much as the others would. Bauu / Dari / J0hn / Kenobi +2 is what I’m expecting to be pulled out. This will win some games but won’t be a playoff contender. This leaves Melodya Pirouette in last. This is one of the only teams I don’t really know anything about. I just know DJR will have pressure but I don’t know the rest of the roster. So, there’s a chance this team could actually be really good for this division and I’m completely wrong. I’m hoping that is the case.
For conference B I have Kartnita Asada in first, I believe they will grill away the competition. Kevo / Rem / Pepe / Osmar +2 seems like money here. Rem will only be able to play half due to workload management but even considering that the team should hold their own on most opponents without him. Kame House I have in second, another strong team for this conference. Goku / Kinopio / Vikler / Polimar +2 is what I project. This is a little worse than KA’s but still solid. I think these two teams will have a fairly easy time in this conference but hopefully, that is not the case. In third I have Higher Octave. Antwann X / GSCornith / Galley seems like a big 3 for the team but they won’t be able to sustain the extra pressure from the 4-man threats on the teams above them. Unfortunately, this third place won’t be enough to qualify to the playoffs either. In 4th I have Equilibre. I have mixed feelings about this one. Yazid / Neemo / Chamingo / Shubuno / TroyMK / HouWar should do decent in this division from what I’ve seen with upside to grow together. However, with the team's extremely strong feelings of wanting to be lower, I get the impression challenge is demotivating more than motivating for this squad and if that is true than it won’t end well at all. I have Synchronized in fifth. Ridge and Javi seem solid. The rest seem like new players to the community overall (outside Crause but I doubt he will play at this hour) so we’ll see what happens. I’m not expecting a good run here but there’s a chance some gems could emerge during this season and there is upside due to that. I hope TheTacoTimeBomb is a beast solely for the awesome name. This leads to X-Project as last. Quique and Secret is a nice duo and Mariescu is decent support but I’m struggling to see a back end of the lineup that will be able to help push the team far in this division. The losses of Oziel and Cloud will hurt a lot too.
For the quarter-finals, I have Kame House sweeping Runner’s Fusion 2-0. I don’t think this series will be that entertaining from a spectator's point of view. For the other match, I have Gomaespuma knocking out Sunset 2-1. I feel this team will improve more over the season than Sunset does which will make them stronger come playoff time. RubenD and the boys will be saying Gomen Punetas to the boys of Sunset. In the semi-finals that Gomen punetas will be flipped back around as the Mexican BBQ boys add some spicy sauce on their run and sweep 2-0. Kevo and Rem will nut up. The other semi-final I have Kame House taking out Team APE 2-1. This will lowkey be one of the most epic playoff series of the season overall but no one will know about it sadly. In the finals, the boys of KA will host a team victory BBQ at Osmar’s pad after they clutch up a 2-1 series win to hoist the banner over Kame House after dropping the first game.
Division 6
Making Llujua
Milobellus Assembly
Kev03’s Gamers
Kartvengers Team
Hardcore Noobs
Team Café
MVP: ML AlvArO [111.1]
Breakthrough Candidates: HN Semako / ML ChocKek / MBA Kbueno
I will be putting faith in the Bolivian squad to put Bolivia on the board. Their roster is the same as last season and although they missed playoffs last year in division 6, I believe this division 6 is weaker overall and this team probably has only grown. AlvArO and Ghost have always been big players for ML and urcarus / ChocKek / Chocolop / ELICEO have been nice support. I’m predicting an 8-2. I think for the first time in the old format, the bottom division won’t be a blowout. In second I have the Assembly of the Milobellus’. This roster has a few people who have played higher up such as kbueno / Maxx / BDSM. This is a great starting 3 and Axel showed good results in Amplify for the team. Not confident in how the lineup can round out but 4 expected threats are very good for the bottom division. I could see this team taking the Gold as well. In third I have the 03 Gamers. This is the one team I feel like I have little grasp on for their ability. Arti and Justin are a good duo for this division but I’m uncertain how the rest of the lineup can round it out. This team has upside potential to finish higher based on how much others have improved since their last MKU season. In 4th I have the Kartvengers. This team has had some forfeits in passed tournaments so I’m a little skeptical but I believe they have kept improving and have had some players do decent in amplify. Bomba / Kaph / Ganon / JL / Jonax and newly acquired MATUS are what I expect to see as the lineup. This is another team that has upside but I can’t see them getting higher than 3rd. In 5th I have Hardcore Noobs. Coming off a rough division 5 stint, I feel like that trend may continue. Insider sources have stated that this team only plays MKU and doesn’t play outside of it which is a big hindrance knowing the other teams in the division play scrims and enter other tournaments. I don’t think Hajime and Falco will get enough support. This leaves Team Café in last place. I’ll be honest and say this is the one team I probably know nothing about players wise but based on results I’ve seen I think this is the appropriate placement.
Welcome back everyone to the exciting 9th season of the Mario Kart Hockey League (MKHL). Per usual, the competition seems to have gotten stronger overall compared to the past season and there should be some good content to go into it. The rise of the Oil Money discoveries from last year are also impacting the league as well as some teams. Due to this extra income, there is now an MKU primetime match every week to help grow the sport. I couldn’t be happier and hopefully, I’ll be able to help cast some of this gamer content to the masses that are the MKHL fans. As usual, my analysis of how the season will roll out is shown and explained below. Also, the seasonal reminder that predictions for everyone are more for fun and people shouldn’t get upset about them or brag about stuff if myself or anyone else on the thread underrated your team once the season ends. There’s nothing wrong with using consistent low predictions for team motivation though! Let’s get to it.
Division 1:
Conference A
Prestige (1 seed)
Requiem (3 seed)
Star Clan
Euphorya Anubis
Jean-Pierre Pernaut
Rozando la Katastrofe
Conference B
World Friend Star (2 Seed)
High Definition (4 Seed)
Blizzard (5 seed)
Arcadia Sky (6 seed)
Vertex
Mushroom Team Mind
Quarter-Finals
High Definition 2-1 over Blizzard
Requiem 2-1 over Arcadia Sky
Semi-Finals
Prestige 2-0 vs High Definition
World Friend Star 2-1 over Requiem
Finals
Prestige 2-0 over World Friend Star
MVP: Bz Kay [104.8]
Breakthrough Candidates: JPP Falso / MT Eru / ARC Ricke
Starting with conference A we have Prestige in the first place. The oil bomb of 2018 affecting the league hit this team in spades as Saad Sherida al-Kaabi himself is the owner of the franchise. Endless money has been shoved out to get any players that want to get a payday. Luxury tax? That’s pocket change, money is no issues for this franchise and they aren’t afraid to flex it. With a roster like Despair / Julian / K4I / Roberto / Ryan’s / Sketch and endless bench depth of the likes of Sebas / Dragon / Millan / Neo / Thimo / Angel anything but the title would be considered a massive choke. The unfortunate part about this is that many players will get cut playing time they would have on other teams but the other side is a ring is, indeed, a ring. How many Jeremy Lin’s will happen? Stay tuned. In the second place, I have Requiem. If anyone can be considered Prestige’s threats it’s Requiem as they are the only team who have beaten Prestige multiple times, I’m pretty sure, both in and out of league formats. That being said, I can’t see Requiem beating Prestige in any Bo3 scenario. Athaway / Dayem / Impo / Nitroco / Ro / Lez or the sorts is nothing to scoff at however, it’s unfortunate the oil money happened here for this squad as they have not been able to monopolize on it much as their whole roster was already signed beforehand. In third place I have Star Clan, this is one of the two big wild card teams for me and also last seasons Calder Cup champions. I’m always skeptical about rosters that have 20+ active players when there is a large skill gap in said people. The batch and Energy duo will be important for this team how well they can perform. There are also players like Blake and Ryan5 that can help round out the lineup and old veterans coming out of retirement such as Angry Fast. Lots of X factors for this team but the biggest one is if they can use their Japanese players which would bolster this lineup immensely. The international money was used but will it be able to be optimized? In 4th place, I have Euphorya Anubis. Coming off a great amplify performance there is tons of hype for this squad and they are looking to translate a similar performance into MKU. A line-up of Manster / Spyke / Leo / Frogger / Brye +1 could get themselves into the playoffs but I’m banking on the previous results, not solely Amplify. I think the recency hype will not live up to expectations. Leo’s uncanny ability to stay out of the penalty box when interfering with his opponents could be a giant X factor though. In 5th I have Jean-Pierre Pernaut. JPP gets the knock into D1 a season later than anticipated but alas they are here. Bowen / Falso / Hamano / Nyx / Origin +1 will get some wins people will consider as upsets. The ceiling is higher than 5th for JPP but that’s what I will be going with for this season. I expect this team to grow a lot during this season and no one should be sleeping on them. This leaves RK in last. On paper, RK deserves more than that with the likes of Alexony / Canoso / DRACK / Lugieon / Miguel / Section / Wemex. I’m confident I’ll get burned on this one but I just can’t trust a team that has to be organized and ran by someone who isn’t even registered for the squad.
Moving on to Conference B I have the defending Stanley Cup champions as first, World Friend. Led by Mars who also was the recipient of the Jack Adams Award and Swift who received the Conn Smythe. The one-year bridge deal with Swift worked wonders for the squad and after getting a ring they were able to resign him long-term. The Addition of Thomas will be huge as well when you win people are interested, that’s a fact of life. Top these 3 with Valer / Linkos / Flowx and newly acquired FuFu this team has nothing but another ring on their eyes. In 2nd I have High Definition. The major I think only change HD got was signing James. Some luxury tax needed to be paid for this addition but it wasn’t something the team could handle easily. A lineup of Cynda (Last year Rocket Richard Winner) / Chibi / James / Zebe / Miguelowned / Rookie / Bryce and a pocket Joebo that is consistently on and off the IR could make an appearance in big games as well. This is more than enough talent to secure the 2nd spot in the conference and give themselves another playoff to try and push their way to their first finals appearance. In the third position, I have Blizzard. Blizzard is another team that benefited greatly from the oil money and have bolstered their roster tremendously. On paper it’s scary but we’ll see how it has meshed and turns out for the season, I honestly have no idea what to expect here but it looks great on paper. The additions of Kay / Maxim / Toa on top of already owning Devoty and Waenot and I assume the last spot will be occupied by either Paul or Jinny. Some of the local fans are a bit skeptical of the Maxim signing due to his negative history with some of the roster but they won’t care if the results come in. In 4th I have Arcadia Sky. The only change to this squad is Tomsu is on the IR. The roster isn’t a long one here and this will be the team's biggest challenge yet. The Ace Tman signing has worked out well from last season and throwing in Brandon / Corazon / Monfi / Ricke / Stevens / Teeples looks to be the overall rotation with potentially a pocket Cuj and in dire states, a Japanese Goblin appearance. This team still has the cap space to make another supermax offer in the off-season so their goal should be going as good as they can here to hopefully become more appealing suitors next off-season. In 5th place I have Vertex. Tricky / Felix / Marc has been the backbone of this team in 8d and veteran Attila is back in full health which is huge for this team. The signing of a Stanley cup winner Tynan will only help as well. Lots of potential pocket players here to round out the lineup like LS_ Ghost / Ryou / Christo. Vertex is also known for always making one huge upset in the season and this always helps in the overall standings. This leaves Mushroom Team Mind in the last place. I feel dirty doing this as the team looks the strongest it has been. Neykan / yfm / Kokote and new pickups Juls / NVgs are solid alongside Sergio and Eru promoted from their minor affiliate. Pocket FalcoX is always a potential too. I trust vertex to make more upsets which is why MT is in last.
In the Quarterfinals, I have High Definition taking a 2-1 series win over Blizzard. HD will win game 3 500-484 on a Ribbon Road walk off where Bz was unable to pull the rod. This will be a super close series where all games are w/n 20 or fewer points. I have Requiem taking a 2-1 series win over Arcadia Sky in quarters but this series won’t be as close as the other one. ARC’s win will be a single-digit and Re’s wins will be +30 and +62 with Dayem slaying with a 126 in game 3. For the semi-finals, I have Prestige beating HD 2-0 with the first war being really tight but the second one a blowout in the 80’s range. I have World Friend Star beating Requiem 2-1 as well. The defending champs will take their ticket back to the finals. This series will play like their last final where games 1 and 2 are blowouts (but not as big as the final) and game 3 being a walk-off win for World Friend gaining heat in the final few races. For the finals, I have Prestige with a 2-0 series sweep on the defending champions to take the Stanley Cup for themselves. Neither war will be a blowout but I gotta respect the head2head record at the moment as passed behaviour is the most consistent predictor of future behaviour.
Division 2
Conference A
World Friend Moon (2 seed)
Arcadia Terra (4 seed)
Inflow (6 seed)
NOVAE
Banana Legion
Princess Monarchy
Conference B
Horizon (1 seed)
Dynamite Alpha (3 seed)
Cherish (5 seed)
Mushroom Team Soul
Yoshi Family Galaxy
Euphorya Ra
Quarter-Finals
Arcadia Terra 2-1 Cherish
Dynamite Alpha 2-0 Inflow
Semi-Finals
Horizon 2-0 Arcadia Terra
Dynamite Alpha 2-1 World Friend Moon
Finals
Horizon 2-1 Dynamite Alpha
MVP: Hz Rhyz [108.9]
Breakthrough Candidates: YF Hollend / DY Jordie / iF Sparky
The race for the Calder Cup is underway. For Conference A I have World Friend Moon in first place. Sparks was sent down to the minors and should be a huge help on top of already the likes of Flaco / Lucky / master / Starlow / Elie and others. This is a team that has done better than projected in multiple tournaments outside MKU and they are under the wings of the current champions. I’m expecting a strong season out of this team. For 2nd I have Arcadia Terra. Not sure how high the bias factor is here. Kevin / Dew combo going to be on fleek lowkey. Gdin is on his final year before becoming an RFA and will be looking for that huge paycheck so he will pop off. Tikkel my Pikkel Bikkel is a nice addition in the off-season too. 6ran / Biz / Sayan to fill out the roster with some depth after that too. Terra’s been getting stronger each season and they will be looking to make a statement. I have Inflow third. I did this before I remembered Jez’s ban was lifted so I kinda doubt but I’ll keep it what I had. Orochi pickup in the off-season and Sparky getting better is going to be huge for this squad and I think it lowkey might have more pressure than the squad with the Frenchies. Aran / Orochi / Sparky / Big Dick Wisch / Jez +1 will be more than okay here. In 4th I have NOVAE. Lots of hype has been put around this team but I feel it’s not a playoff team in division 2 personally. Unless they abuse their international signings from Japan but I’m expecting that is more unlikely to happen. Aure / Engel / Hiska / Rougee is a solid core. I could see this team making playoffs if they are consistent but I’m under the impression they aren’t. I have BL in fifth. This is the team that got affected the most negatively by the oil money boom. Julian and Sebas went to Prestige under huge contacts, money talks. Juls decided to walk and join Mushroom Team Mind and CanosoJr took the same route and went to the RK. Hometown Hero and favourite Royal is still there but there’s not much support after that. The key factor again is if Onim and Maxarx can play MKU. If they can, BL will finish higher and could even slip into the playoffs. This leaves Princess Monarchy in last place. Coming off a strong division 3 season and getting the chance to play for the Calder Cup brings back MK8U vibes. However, I think the roster isn’t quite as strong as the rest overall. Last season’s Hart winner Samovar will need to carry the load in this division. Myt / Clembec / flo +2 will make ok support but I feel the competition may be a bit too tough this season, I hope I am wrong though.
For conference B I have Horizon taking the bye. Rhyz has improved significantly over the past while. LMDS also very strong. There is a threatening duo, especially when the track picker is in Hz’s favour. The signing of Sebi is huge on paper, but he’s been known to create awkward locker room situations and has cycled between teams frequently. On top of that Ster and Oscar who is on the come-up. Unfortunately, last year Norris Winner TSM8 was banned in the off-season for a misdemeanor. I feel this team has their eyes on the Calder and I think they will achieve that goal in the end. In second I have Dynamite Alpha. A lineup of like Erik / Jordie who has been on the come up, Pana / Varo / Zeta / Alfie is solid for this division and there are depth options as well so this team should never field a “weak” version of the squad which is huge. In third I have Cherish. Fuko is back which is nice / Jasmie / Mitch / Paka / Shin / Peaqs or the sort looks really strong. Upside with this team is evident. In fourth, I have Mushroom Team Soul. The vintage MT name/roster changes to keep a team in D1 and D2 is on fleek. This is probably the strongest MT2 has been, and MT as a whole overall. Centels / Iceman / Ky / Kaori +2 will be solid but I don’t think there’s enough power to get into the playoffs. In 5th I have Yoshi Family Galaxy. On paper, this roster is weaker than the ones above but the experience will be a big factor. Can see YF finishing as high as third if the cards are played right. Hollend / Ti_C / Johann / Alexxx / Loic / Yoan looks pretty solid. This leaves EU2 in last. Brox / Maj / Marki is a solid big 3 and again this team could finish higher but someone had to be here. I feel like no team deserves to be placed here though and the more I look at it, the more I see this conference being strong.
For the Quarterfinals, I have Arcadia Terra 2-1 over Cherish. This will be a tight series and Mikkel will bail out the boys’ game 3 with a couple of clutch shocks. I have Dynamite Alpha over Inflow 2-0. This won’t be a super stressful 2-0. For the semi-finals, I have Horizon over Arcadia Terra 2-0. Horizon’s roster just has too much running ability currently. For the other semifinals, I have Dynamite Alpha 2-1 over World Friend Moon. This will be the series of the division and will be super hype with all 3 games being w/n 30 pts. For the finals, I have Horizon 2-1 over Dynamite Alpha. I believe the first two games will be close but game 3 won’t be stressful and Rhyz will lay the pen_hands:.
Division 3
Conference A
Jean-Pierre Papin (1 seed)
Melodya Aria (3 seed)
Version 2
Special 7
Yoshi Family Odyssey
After Dark
Breakthrough Candidates: PoD Yoshi / δk ChristianMK / JPP Crunchy
For conference A I got the papins of the Jean-Pierre variety claiming the bye. Crunchy / Flo / John Lennon / Wailtor / HyTs +1 looks solid. This team has good chemistry as well from what I have seen; I think they will have a great season here. I have Melodya Aria in the second position. Babou will be strong here and will have a supporting cast like narky / Pris / ScraT / Sigorn / Teqzo. Not seeing any issues here. In third place, I have Version 2. A squad I like to see do well and I think they will punch a ticket to the playoffs. Anthony / Hayashi / last season’s Calder Trophy winner Mooden / Zenith looks like a solid core. Not sure how well the latter 2 slots will be filled out which is why I have them below the other two teams, less depth. Not sure if the Japanese additions will play or how good they are but that’s always an X factor. In the fourth place, I have Special 7. Another victim of the oil strike. Losing Sorata / Loic / Kimo / Aswizz from last seasons run hurts a lot and nothing much was done to replenish that. Arukay / Beni / Kuzu / Vegan / Tristian +1 is what I’m expecting. Not a bad roster but I don’t think it’s strong enough to compete with the top teams in this division. In fifth place I have Yoshi Family Odyssey. I see this team in a similar position as their first squad. Got a nice balanced squad with solid team play but I feel like there aren’t enough “carriers” that other teams have. That being said, the sum of the parts being stronger than the individual parts could be a factor. Fifi / Lion / Puz / ruscof / Storm / Thib is what I’m expecting to see. This leaves After Dark in the last slot. Daniel “Piper” Talents is solid but I don’t think there’s enough overall strength on this roster. SantyJr will be the biggest X factor for this squad. Had massive success in lower divisions but will it translate up here? There are Azuza and Italic as well but the back end of the lineup will be hard to fill, I think.
For conference B I have Snow Angel in first. Snow Angel got the better of the S7/SA situation in my opinion in terms of strengths. Denix / Ethan_ / Loic / Sofian / Sorata / Winter looks like some nice $$$ for this division. In 2nd I have Black Wolves. They have been doing work lately and I think I’m putting them a little higher than I should but I’m going to stick with it. Colchonetta, the first Spanish player to win anything outside Spanish only events (should be S+ ESP) / DaniPro / Diego / Hydra / Kratos +1 will be solid here. In third I have Equivoke. After a really impressive season last season. This team has grown fast and had respectable results in Amplify against teams in the higher divisions. I feel like this team has upside for the 2nd seed and maybe even the 1 seed but I think SA is just a tad better than the rest here. Dugo (Last season’s Lady Byng Winner) / Craig / Leo / jack / Akiko the former AG splash brothers Xeter and Xabob. Lots of people registered here as well so that worries me a bit. In 4th I have the Pirates of Duisburg. Aexo / Dark / Denno / Jin / Mickey / Yoshi looks nice and I can see this making playoff or getting higher. This conferences 2-4 slots are super hype for me, one of the most hype trios in the league. In fifth I have WEC. Losing Denno hurts. I also feel the squad will not focus as hard on using their best people like they initially planned to last one. Aplex / Damian / Mio / Alex +2 what I’m expecting to see. It could finish higher as well but this conference seems stronger every time, I look at it. In last place I have Dynamite Omega. Gucci / Mitch / Fox / Batboo +2 will get wins on the board but the lack of a back end will probably hurt. I feel dirty putting anyone last in this conference but it be like that sometimes.
For the Quarter Finals, I have MA over PoD 2-1 series. It will be a respectable series but Babou will be too much to handle in the end. I have Equivoke getting revenge on BW in playoffs and 2-0ing them despite finishing lower during the season. Call it a gut feeling but I feel qk will grow more during the season than BW. For the semi-finals, I have JPP2 2-1 over Equivoke. This will be a hard-fought series but JPP will be too much to handle in the end. For the other series, I have Snow Angel 2-0ing Melody Aria in a rather stress-free playoff series. This leads to the finals where I have JPP2 beating SA 2-1. Like last D3, this will be a hype final but the longevity of JPP2’s connections will be the difference at the end of the day and will secure the banner.
Division 4
Conference A
Team Rocket (1 seed)
Kira Team (3 seed)
Re-Birth (6 seed)
Silence Eclipse
Sweatyzard
Final Emblem
Kira Team 2-1 Re-Birth
Pirate Hackers 2-0 Noob Reborn
Semi-Finals
Team Rocket 2-1 Pirate Hackers
Kira Team 2-1 Fenix
Finals
Team Rocket 2-0 Kira Team
MVP: pH Darky [118.7]
Breakthrough Candidates: RB FlorentSanchez / pH Ty / TR DG_14
For conference A I have the eSports boys. Unai / Bermus / SuperDreams / viZen / Brantios +1 highkey looking kinda fire. These teams had success the passed while but never could grasp that final step and I feel like this is the season. The roster has been consistent and only getting better with each other and that trust will go a long way as a true eSport Team should be. In second I have Kira Team. After a good run last season, they are looking to keep it going. The pickup of Draco will be nice. All the players from last seasons still are there to: Tiger / InNfer / cft / Javizz / Akagi. This is a roster that has been improving fast and I think they’ll get another solid run here. In third I have Re-Birth, this is purely off the assumption they roll with their best and not cycle lineups, otherwise, they will be at the bottom-most likely. Raph / Kyllios / FlorentSanchez / Frank / ScarTax / Wantvd looks solid. A name could be made for themselves this season if the cards are played right and I’m banking on they do. In fourth I have Silence Eclipse. Akasia / Cazador / Celestialz / dz / Flaps / Jair potential something like this. Most have experience in this level on previous teams but we’ll see if it can mesh together here. Could see this team finishing at the bottom if there’s no chemistry built though. In 5th I have Sweatyzard. Losing Aure and Ares their top 2 last season will hurt a lot. Beast / Janti / Kiki / Mel +2 is what I’m expecting. I just feel this roster is weaker than the others but hopefully, I’m wrong. This leaves Final Emblem in last. Like Sz, they lost their top players from last season. NVgs / Brox / Lapis. The roster having 28 people is a strike for me because there may not be consistent lineups and that’s something I always prefer to see in teams.
For conference B I have Fenix first. Camilo / Rolex / Ruben / Vic / Adeleine / Ale / Gabe looks solid. This team has had a consistent roster the past few seasons too and been getting better. Rolex with flash the leather and be wearing a Rolex on each arm during MKU hours. In second I have Pirate Hackers. The Darky / Ember duo will be an unmatched duo in this division. Kyret and Ty have been improving too. This team will do well but I feel will fall a bit short of the title due to the back end of the lineup. For third I have Noob Reborn. Another team that has been consistent with their roster over time. Blaex / Dalos / KurobaK / Egeon / Eli / Lobo (doubt he plays but would be huge). NRB also made a couple new registrations that could play a role, not certain how good those people are. This is a well-balanced roster but I feel it’s a bit worse than Fenix’s and will struggle to tame Darky/Ember. I have Zten in 4th. Anima / Bymoe / nyanyamilk / Raven is a decent core, not sure how they will round it out though. Also, some new players were registered. I feel like this team works like X and NRB does but is just not quite as strong overall. In 5th I have eXodus. Like pH, they have a power duo of Haupi and Lukas, which isn’t as strong as pH’s power duo but nothing to sneeze at. pH also has more depth after those top 2 I feel so in other words I see eXodus as a weaker version of pH currently. This leaves Mad Racers as last. Jhonny / Skynet / Doriva / Mata / Dani / D. AraN is what I expect. This roster is better than last on paper but the penalty box seems to be a second home and this will cost the team some matches playing on the Penalty Kill.
For the Quarterfinals, I have KT 2-1 over Rebirth. This will be a competitive series but KT will come out on top game 3 with a convincing +42 win. Pirate Hackers will 2-0 Noob Reborn in a series that ends up not being super competitive. For the semi-finals, I have TR eSports 2-1 over Pirate Hackers. The overall strength of TR will outbattle the dynamic duo in a long series. I have Kira Team claiming another 2-1 series win but this time over Fenix. KT will ride their wave to the finals but fall one step short of another division title after getting swept by the eSports Crew. SuperDreams will make the dream a reality and have a clutch finals performance.
Division 5
Conference A
Team APE (2 seed)
Sunset (4 seed)
Gomaespuma (5 seed)
Runners Fusion (6 seed)
Inka Warriors
Melodya Pirouette
Conference B
Kartnita Asada (1 seed)
Kame House (3 seed)
Higher Octave
Equilibre
Synchronized
X Project
Quarter-Finals
Kame House 2-0 Runner’s Fusion
Gomaespuma 2-1 Sunset
Semi-Finals
Kartnita Asada 2-0 Gomaespuma
Kame House 2-1 Team APE
Finals
Kartnita Asada 2-1 Kame House
MVP: KA Kevo [120.1]
Breakthrough Candidates: APE nicolocom / EQ Neemo / 8va Antwann X
For conference A I have Team APE. Zatlo / nicolocom / cuky / reddo / rober +1 seems really underrated. I’m giving my push that the Apes will get dirty and get themselves noticed. In second I have Sunset. Marsh apparently only can play week 1 but I’m banking he plays more than that. Throw on a Carty/Icefox / MLJP / Yoshiracer / Miles or something of the sort and you get a solid lineup. The team will still handle most games without Marsh too. In third I have Gomeaspuma. RubenD / Benjax / DemonBeater seems like a solid 3 but don't know after that for sure. This team has a large roster and not certain of the abilities of the back half of the line up so the upside is there. In fourth I have Runner’s Fusion. Ozeil / Sweet / Hernan Black / A.J +2 seems underrated as well. The 2-4 in this division is really close and could see these teams finishing in any order. I have all 3 making the post-season regardless. In fifth I have Inka Warriors. I just feel like this team hasn’t had great results in MKU overall and the roster doesn’t scare me as much as the others would. Bauu / Dari / J0hn / Kenobi +2 is what I’m expecting to be pulled out. This will win some games but won’t be a playoff contender. This leaves Melodya Pirouette in last. This is one of the only teams I don’t really know anything about. I just know DJR will have pressure but I don’t know the rest of the roster. So, there’s a chance this team could actually be really good for this division and I’m completely wrong. I’m hoping that is the case.
For conference B I have Kartnita Asada in first, I believe they will grill away the competition. Kevo / Rem / Pepe / Osmar +2 seems like money here. Rem will only be able to play half due to workload management but even considering that the team should hold their own on most opponents without him. Kame House I have in second, another strong team for this conference. Goku / Kinopio / Vikler / Polimar +2 is what I project. This is a little worse than KA’s but still solid. I think these two teams will have a fairly easy time in this conference but hopefully, that is not the case. In third I have Higher Octave. Antwann X / GSCornith / Galley seems like a big 3 for the team but they won’t be able to sustain the extra pressure from the 4-man threats on the teams above them. Unfortunately, this third place won’t be enough to qualify to the playoffs either. In 4th I have Equilibre. I have mixed feelings about this one. Yazid / Neemo / Chamingo / Shubuno / TroyMK / HouWar should do decent in this division from what I’ve seen with upside to grow together. However, with the team's extremely strong feelings of wanting to be lower, I get the impression challenge is demotivating more than motivating for this squad and if that is true than it won’t end well at all. I have Synchronized in fifth. Ridge and Javi seem solid. The rest seem like new players to the community overall (outside Crause but I doubt he will play at this hour) so we’ll see what happens. I’m not expecting a good run here but there’s a chance some gems could emerge during this season and there is upside due to that. I hope TheTacoTimeBomb is a beast solely for the awesome name. This leads to X-Project as last. Quique and Secret is a nice duo and Mariescu is decent support but I’m struggling to see a back end of the lineup that will be able to help push the team far in this division. The losses of Oziel and Cloud will hurt a lot too.
For the quarter-finals, I have Kame House sweeping Runner’s Fusion 2-0. I don’t think this series will be that entertaining from a spectator's point of view. For the other match, I have Gomaespuma knocking out Sunset 2-1. I feel this team will improve more over the season than Sunset does which will make them stronger come playoff time. RubenD and the boys will be saying Gomen Punetas to the boys of Sunset. In the semi-finals that Gomen punetas will be flipped back around as the Mexican BBQ boys add some spicy sauce on their run and sweep 2-0. Kevo and Rem will nut up. The other semi-final I have Kame House taking out Team APE 2-1. This will lowkey be one of the most epic playoff series of the season overall but no one will know about it sadly. In the finals, the boys of KA will host a team victory BBQ at Osmar’s pad after they clutch up a 2-1 series win to hoist the banner over Kame House after dropping the first game.
Division 6
Making Llujua
Milobellus Assembly
Kev03’s Gamers
Kartvengers Team
Hardcore Noobs
Team Café
MVP: ML AlvArO [111.1]
Breakthrough Candidates: HN Semako / ML ChocKek / MBA Kbueno
I will be putting faith in the Bolivian squad to put Bolivia on the board. Their roster is the same as last season and although they missed playoffs last year in division 6, I believe this division 6 is weaker overall and this team probably has only grown. AlvArO and Ghost have always been big players for ML and urcarus / ChocKek / Chocolop / ELICEO have been nice support. I’m predicting an 8-2. I think for the first time in the old format, the bottom division won’t be a blowout. In second I have the Assembly of the Milobellus’. This roster has a few people who have played higher up such as kbueno / Maxx / BDSM. This is a great starting 3 and Axel showed good results in Amplify for the team. Not confident in how the lineup can round out but 4 expected threats are very good for the bottom division. I could see this team taking the Gold as well. In third I have the 03 Gamers. This is the one team I feel like I have little grasp on for their ability. Arti and Justin are a good duo for this division but I’m uncertain how the rest of the lineup can round it out. This team has upside potential to finish higher based on how much others have improved since their last MKU season. In 4th I have the Kartvengers. This team has had some forfeits in passed tournaments so I’m a little skeptical but I believe they have kept improving and have had some players do decent in amplify. Bomba / Kaph / Ganon / JL / Jonax and newly acquired MATUS are what I expect to see as the lineup. This is another team that has upside but I can’t see them getting higher than 3rd. In 5th I have Hardcore Noobs. Coming off a rough division 5 stint, I feel like that trend may continue. Insider sources have stated that this team only plays MKU and doesn’t play outside of it which is a big hindrance knowing the other teams in the division play scrims and enter other tournaments. I don’t think Hajime and Falco will get enough support. This leaves Team Café in last place. I’ll be honest and say this is the one team I probably know nothing about players wise but based on results I’ve seen I think this is the appropriate placement.
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