Rampage Open Week 7 Featured Matchup: Stinkmeister Supreme vs. Mag!c

by Unbound

As Rampage Open enters the back half of it’s season, Stinkmeister Supreme and Mag!c both find themselves on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. If either one of these teams want to make it into the playoffs they will need to pull off a string of wins as well as get a little bit of help from the rest of the table to avoid any tiebreakers.

Unfortunately, for SMS, they don’t sit very far behind One Man Dance Party but since they have already lost to them as well as LND earlier in the season their fate is not completely in their hands. And as for MGC, they are not mathematically eliminated yet but it would require them to win out and also receive a few helping hands to get in.

Because of these playoff implications, this is pretty much an elimination match this week. Neither of these teams can afford to lose any more games if they have any aspirations of making playoffs.

Divison I Standings

*Featured teams

EOD: Crab Wranglers (EOD)	(5-0)
Looking For Subs (LFS)	(5-0)
Legends Never Die (LND)	(4-1)
One Man Dance Party (ODP)	(3-2)

Stinkmeister Supreme (SMS)*	(2-3)
Psychedelic Penguins (PP)	(2-3)
Natural Passion (NP)	(1-4)
Mag!c (MGC)*	(1-4)
Order of the Noble Chicken (ONC)	(1-4)
INTERIOR CROCODILE ALLIGATOR (ICA)	(1-4)

Featured Matchup: SMS vs. MGC

At the beginning of the season, I thought that SMS would have been one of the top teams in Division I. Because of some familiar faces on the team as well as a pretty balanced average rank. Unfortunately, though things didn’t click in the first half, now they have a chance to redeem themselves. It is a tougher road than they would like but there is hope of this team still making playoffs. Stinkmeister Supreme will play MGC, NP, LFS, and ONC in the last 4 weeks. 3 of these teams currently sit below SMS in the standings with 1-4 records while LFS is 5-0. If LFS even manages a 3-1 record against these teams it will give them a chance.

	Kills	Deaths	Assists	KDA
Scorch RC1262	35	39	64	2.54
GladaFrog	44	31	104	4.77
Nobyi	57	51	114	3.35
Shreddermen57	94	53	91	3.49
stuns	15	44	140	3.52

While Shreddermen57 and Nobyi are SMS’s more traditional bot and mid lane carries, I want to highlight the team’s jungler, GladaFrog. SMS are 2-1 with GladaFrog since they joined in Week 3 and he has put in a ton of work for their team. GladaFrog leads the team in KDA and despite missing two weeks still has solid kills and assist numbers. The most notable champ for GladaFrog has been Zac. Each time they have gotten their hands on this champion they’ve put on a clinic getting their teammates fed or fed themselves. SMS have reliable laners and if GladaFrog can continue to have big performances and snowball their games this team has a very legit shot at still making playoffs.

As for the side of MGC it’s been a pretty rough season. Their only win of the season so far has come from an FF. And they really needed to win their match against the winless ICA last week to keep their playoff hopes alive but ended up losing a heartbreaking game 3.

It’s arguable that MGC probably had the toughest first half of the schedule, though, playing teams like EOD, LFS, and ODP who are all currently in the top 4. They still have to face LND in the coming weeks but the rest of their games will be against other teams sitting lower in the table. MGC are not currently eliminated from the playoffs but will have to win out as well as get a ton of help from other teams to make it in. Hopefully Mag!c will finish this season strong and with their heads high, and try to play spoiler for other teams wanting to make it into the playoffs.

	Kills	Deaths	Assists	KDA
odukomaster	31	49	25	1.14
Psychoiogy	23	52	25	0.92
BobbyTarantino 2	15	27	41	2.07
Pretzelkiller	6	22	6	0.54
Revelle	12	37	29	1.11

Kin3x

9

16

27

2.25

Mag!c’s first half stats obviously suggest some struggles. Hopefully the team has had a bit of a reset during the bye week and can go into the 2nd half with a clear mind. BobbyTarantino 2 reps the highest KDA on their team but it also doesn’t seem like the mid laner is doing much for their team in these games, but it also doesn’t help that it seems like MGC’s jungler is always staring at a grey screen. The team is either lacking in synergy or just a game plan in general. MGC just needs to get back to some basics, trust their calls, play for comfort rather than meta, and stay focused. It can be easy to get nervous during competitive matches and not play like your normal self.

Keys to Victory

SMS

Stinkmeister Supreme has shown some promise in the last 3 weeks and needs to stay hot. SMS love to play early game heavy comps to snowball their leads and that can be so overwhelming for most silver/gold teams to deal with. SMS need to keep their foot on the gas and play aggressive early. But don’t forget to keep their mid and late game clean as one mistake can really screw themselves up.

MGC

Just keep your heads high. Get back to some basics, and make sure you’re having fun. Trust your teammates voices, play easy to execute team compositions.

Predictions for Week 7

SHT	<	RS
DFW	>	PLG
ATS	>	DS
T9	<	SF
PP	<	LND
SMS	>	MGC
ICA	>	NP
ODP	>	ONC

*No Prediction for EOD vs LFS to avoid any bias

Rampage Open Week 5 Featured Matchup: Pendulum Gaming vs. Apes Strong Together

by Unbound

It’s been a little over a month now since teams have been formed and players met each other for the first time. And now that we are at the midway point in the season things are really starting to heat up. Teams are neck and neck jostling for playoff positioning as only the top 4 teams in their respective divisions will make it. Heading into week 5 there are 5 teams who are 2-2 in Division 1, sitting right on the edge of a playoff spot. 

Division 1 Standings

*Featured Teams

1. Stay Free (SF)	(4-0)
2. Apes Together Strong (ATS)*	(3-1)
3. Rock Solid (RS)	(3-1)
4. Three Point Game (TPG)	(2-2)

 

5. Delicate Snowflakes (DS)	(2-2)
6. Down For Whatever (DFW)	(2-2)
7. Pendulum Gaming (PLG)*	(2-2)
8. Team 9 (T9)	(2-2)
9. Someone had to be Captain (SHT)	(0-4)

Featured Matchup: PLG vs ATS

Every matchup this week means so much for these teams, as falling behind this week could take things out of your own hands when it comes to qualifying for the playoffs. In the case of Pendulum Gaming vs. Apes Together Strong, ATS will want to win this week’s matchup to further cement their own position while a PLG win will send the table into madness. Apes Strong Together and Pendulum Gaming moving to a 3-2 record would result in chaos and break the playoff chase wide open in Division I, creating some super fun storylines heading into the last handful of weeks.

However, it won’t exactly be easy for Pendulum Gaming to pull off this feat. Apes Together Strong are indeed looking like one of the strongest teams in all of Rampage Open at the moment. After their loss in week 1, ATS have gone on a 3 game tear putting up a 6-1 match scoreline. ATS’s recipe for success during this run has been dominance through their top, mid, and jungle. DepresShen and ShawnsBeard having been running over their opposing laners in the past 3 weeks while Binks08 has also had a string of good performances.

ATS’s botlane on the other hand has not been playing their best and is probably this team’s most exploitable weakness. BNJ’s overall damage share has not been very high compared to the rest of their team, which is not ideal for what is supposed to be one of your team’s most consistent damage dealers.

	Kills	Deaths	Assists	KDA
DepresShen	70	26	67	5.27
Binks08	32	38	96	3.37
ShawnsBeard	91	35	80	4.89
BNJ	36	33	80	3.51
ToastedCrayons	11	27	75	3.19

Luckily for ATS this hasn’t actually mattered too much since their top and mid laners seem to get so extremely fed every game recently. But unfortunately getting super fed every game is also not the most consistent strategy going into every game. We actually saw the ATS botlane start to pick a more utility based bot lane last week with champions like Ashe and Leona that can easily find picks on the enemy team and enable their solo laners to hard carry them to victory.

Now on the side of Pendulum Gaming their season has not exactly gone as they were expecting. They started slow with a 0-2 record to Stay Free (4-0) and Three Point Game (2-2) who are both currently sitting in the top 4 of the division. PLG lost close games to both of these teams but also received quite a heavy beating from TPG in Game 1.

It’s tough to gauge where this team is really at right now with the recent two weeks off as well as what looks like a new starting bot lane. PLG’s games also seem to go either one of two ways – total beatdown or total clown fiesta. Sadly I couldn’t find their second game against Stay Free but two of their games have been 30-40 minute slugfests with 70+ kills while the other was a quick 25 minute loss. Of games I can view PLG was actually giving up 30+ kills a game their first two weeks. The team is definitely not afraid to fight but there could also be some shotcalling errors or map awareness problems going on that are leading to these high death counts.

	Kills	Deaths	Assists	KDA
Spenc74321	20	15	27	3.13
Fornoni	19	21	39	2.76
howling tornado	22	23	33	2.39

*Missing stats from Game 2 vs Stay Free (SF)

Keys to Victory

ATS: Keep feeding solo lanes

Apes Together Strong’s strengths lie with their solo laners. Slap top and mid on one of their carry champs and then draft around setting them up for success. Things like the Ashe and Leona we saw from them last week as well as the Zac we see their jungler play every single week. Bottom lane needs to stay out of trouble early and constantly look for picks to make with their utility.

PLG: Embrace the clown fiesta

PLG have shown they are not hesitant to fight, they just have to make sure they are taking WINNING fights, rather than fighting the first opponent they see on their screen. Remember that this is Rampage, and that at this level players are bound to mess up eventually. 

Predictions for Week 5

TPG	>	SHT
DS	>	T9
PLG	<	ATS
RS	>	DFW
LFS	>	ODP
ONC	<	PP
MGC	<	ICA
LND	<	SMS

*No Prediction for EOD vs NP to avoid any bias

Rampage Open Finals Interview: Team Name Pending (TNP)

by Focus

What’s your favorite moment from this season?

PolarBearMinion: Anytime we played was a fun time hanging out with some randoms. It was cool and I hope to make more memories like these next Risen season.

2 cute 2 gag: After our series with LS hanging out in call and chatting with them about the series and the season was one of my favorite Risen moments ever. 

Nobyl: Spending 20 minutes on stream paused. Nothing beats cooking brunch in the middle of a Risen Championship run.

Prince Pucci: There was so much pause time in certain games and us just laughing in them was absolutely hilarious.

Who would you give season MVP to and why?

PolarBearMinion: 2c2g, he was great on the court and off the court if you catch my vibe

2 cute 2 gag: Kennen, for sacrificing himself every ban phase.

Nobyl: Prince Pucci for his diverse champion pool drawing bans.

Prince Pucci: The other teams for allowing us to get as far as we did (also 2c2g).

Is this your first time playing competitively? Did you enjoy playing in Risen?

PolarBearMinion: First time in Risen, yeah. I think it was pretty cool. Team OP

2 cute 2 gag: No. Yes. 

Nobyl: No, Blade Gaming for lyfe.

Prince Pucci: I’ve played a bit of Risen but nothing as fun as this season and Risen is usually a good ass time. 

What did you learn about yourself in Season 9? What are your plans for Season 10?

PolarBearMinion: When your team gets kicked out of Premade because we forgot to sign someone up, you also decide to join Open.

2 cute 2 gag: I learned it’s possible to find a girlfriend playing solo queue. My Season 10 plans are to find another one. Also, I wanna play in Premade but that requires friends so TBD. 

Nobyl: That when Risen doesn’t let your team play in Premade, you join a bunch of randos and win Open.

Prince Pucci: I learned that I absolutely still hate League of Legends. I plan to learn the exact same thing in Season 10.

Any final words for your team or for your opponents?

PolarBearMinion: paypal.me/WavvyyPaSta

2 cute 2 gag: Use lube. 

Nobyl: You can try to ban out Pucci, but you can’t ban out Pucci.

Prince Pucci: I am the cream, yeah, the cream of the crop. And there is no-one that does it better than the Prince Pucci! On balance, off balance, doesn’t matter. I’m better than you are, yeah and I’m talking everyone in the World Risen Federation

Rampage Open Interview with Fat Booty Inspectors

by Kruckow

For our first Rampage Open interview of Season 7 we have undefeated Fat Booty Inspectors (FBI) talking about their split so far as well as there critical match on stream against WP tonight.

So you’re 4-0 to start the split, is this where you expected to be before Week 1?

Feathers and Fur: Truthfully, most certainly not. Due to how effectively the League tries to match the teams, one can only be confident in one’s own self coming in. I just wanted a playoff spot and to be in this position with one already clinched is something I consider myself fortunate to be in.

Rapp16: I totally expected to be 4-0. This team consists of the best of the best in Rampage Open right now.

xXC4N4D4Xx: I don’t think any of us expected to go 4-0, but it’s nice that we just sorta keep on winning.

CaptainBootyHo: I wasn’t expecting a 4-0 start for sure, but I was pretty confident in at least a 2-2 start with my duo bot partner. He is my brother and we normally have pretty good synergy in everything we do.

Major BootyyHole: Heck no, this is my first time playing competitively, not to mention me and my brother decided to go off role to have a good synergy bot lane. I am usually pretty confident, however, and I think our team is as well, that helped us win those early matches.

You have a big match tonight against WP on stream. You beat them 2-1 last time and a win will clinch 1st in your group. How are you feeling about?

Feathers and Fur: We’re not without our flaws and I wonder how much of it is due to our group. I respect them and I think they’ll give us a good fight. There’s no doubt anymore that we are the two strongest teams in our Division.

Rapp16: With comp masterminds (also known as the duo in botlane), I’m not really worried about any game anymore. As long as we don’t lose in pick/ban we have the skill to win any game.

xXC4N4D4Xx: I don’t think we will struggle too hard. Honestly, since our first set I feel we have improved immensely on what we want to do each game, but they are still the best team to contest us, and we won’t take the match lightly.

CaptainBootyHo: I definitely think they are a good team, every game with them I felt could’ve gone either way. I’m glad our streamed game is Week 5 as it shows the clear top two teams from our group. We get to play each other in a pretty crucial game. I’m pretty excited about it.

Major BootyyHole: They were the toughest series so far, and we both had a sub in the first time. I hope both teams are able to come out in full form and really show each other’s limits. Should be a great series. But we should be able to pull away with the W.

Who do you feel will be your biggest competition outside of your group heading into the playoffs?

Feathers and Fur: Looking at the other undefeated teams, Team Name Pending stands out as they have a lot of strong consistent players who can all carry a game. Low Standards is a major threat as well, having practiced against them. My sleeper pick is Space Thieves. I think their record doesn’t reflect their talent.

Rapp16: The only thing that matters is this team. I don’t even look at the other teams because they are not worth my time.

xXC4N4D4Xx: I would assume the other top teams in the other groups. maybe Group C has a lot of good teams that got a group of death, who knows. I haven’t really been able to see any of the other teams play.

CaptainBootyHo: Looking at the other groups, TNP looks pretty strong at 4-0 and they seem to be pretty dominant. Although I don’t know much about other teams as I tried to just focus on my own play and on the enemy team for the current week

Major BootyyHole: Of course, the other 4-0 teams, TNP and LS, stand out as the clear competitors. Hopefully, we get some good scrims with them before playoffs start and figure out how to beat them.

Not to get into too much strategy but you have some very off meta picks in the top half of the map while the bot lane is standard meta and consistent game to game. Are you trying to just stick to comfort picks or do you feel unconventional picks like Udyr and Illaoi give you an edge your opponents have to plan for?

Feathers and Fur: I think part of it is to force opposing teams to spend numerous first round picks against those unconventional options. If they are forced to ban it, it enables the rest of our team to get on comfortable champions or counter picks. It is never bad to be paid respect.

Rapp16: Everyone on this team is flexible enough to pick and carry on multiple champs, so the “comfort picks” are there to soak bans and allow us to play what we truly want too.

xXC4N4D4Xx: Well, when we can build a comp around these unconventional picks, it can really show the strength of some of our players. It will force bans if teams are unprepared.

CaptainBootyHo: I feel like when our top gets Illaoi (which it usually is banned) he is pretty dominant, and we can split pretty effectively in a 1-4 or 1-3-1. When it is banned, though, the games are a little harder but I think we play to our strengths pretty well, otherwise. I think the Illaoi and Ddyr picks dont really seem too unconventional at this level, and seems to be pretty common. It does eat some bans up, though, which is nice for bott lane. I pretty much stick to Xayah and Kaisa because our team feels like that’s what we need to win, so I play them.

Major BootyyHole: Flexing on others with these power picks really enables our drafts to be easier by forcing bans that allow us to get stronger lanes elsewhere.

Any closing remarks for tonight and the rest of the split going forward?

Feathers and Fur: No matter how the split ends for us, I’m proud of everyone here on my team. We’ve kept cool heads and played for the fun of the game which is crucial to my mental state. I think the fact that every other division has playoff spots still up for grabs is a testament to the parity in Rampage Open this split.

Rapp16: C4N4D4 is the best mid laner.

xXC4N4D4Xx: EZ Clap.

CaptainBootyHo: At this point, I feel pretty confident we will get into play-offs. I think we can definitely win tonight if we just stick to our game plans, and keep our mentals straight. I think our team has the potential to take it all the way this year. Also a quick shout-out to Risen Ssports as I believe I have become a stronger player because of them.

Major BootyyHole – Come out and watch the game. And spam “FBI OPEN UP” in Twitch chat for us. 

Rampage Open Midseason Report

by Smug

Hi, it’s me, Smug, jungler for TNP, Roster Staff member, and overall degenerate. You might know me for my questionable gameplay and my even more questionable Summoner Names. As we’re just over the halfway point in Rampage Open, I’m here to bring you a primer on how the league is shaping up as we enter the second half of the season and teams push for playoffs. 

**All of this was done by hand. If I made mistakes, and I’m sure I did, PM me and I’ll change it ASAP.