Brice joins me with predictions this season. You can go read his blog here.
We have some good match-ups in our opening week, let's get right into it...
Freedom vs 8BallCrushers
Going back to last season, FR and 8BC have a little bit of history going between the two. They were both in the same division and find themselves in the same one again. FR finished well-ahead of 8BC, but 8BC stung FR by ending their perfect streak two weeks before the end. By the end of it all, FR got the upper hand by beating 8BC in the semi-finals.
Well this is a new season, obviously, and both teams are coming in looking changed. Even though FR is the reigning champion, it seems many of the talented players aren't so reliable nowadays. Ben hadn't played at all during the finals. Trav, Adam, Sid seem to show up only when they remember. It could get ugly early on for FR until Petey and his guys get settled in.
As for 8BC, Niks has passed the reigns over to JJ to captain the team. This isn't such an extreme change as JJ is one of the more reliable players for the team, but lets see how he does keeping consistency throughout the team. 8BC has a tough hill to climb in this division, but they will surely put up a fight, starting with versus the defending champions.
Prediction: 4-3 8BC
Break and Run vs Sexy Poolerz
Last season BNR finished 2nd in their division with a respectable 7-3 and SP was dead last in theirs with a 2-8. So, this match ought to be a blow out for BNR then, right? Wrong. This will be a lot closer than what the previous season's records might show. BNR may have remained the same, but SP is practically a revamped team.
BNR has a few key talented players in the lineup. I might even go as far as considering Croz, Jordy, Daru as the team's Big 3. But what I fear, however, is where do we go from there if any of those 3 slips up during the match? Ross finished out last season strong, Mina is pretty solid, and Saf can be good when trying. BNR will need to keep up their consistency to make it deep.
Last night SP was moved up with the Eastern teams, taking EC's spot. The move was made because any replacement team just wouldn't be able to compete with the big dogs. Brice knew this and Brice has a lot of confidence in his team that they will be able to hold their own in this division. And with the additions of a few PFN players, I don't see why this SPFN hybrid can't have a great season either way.
Prediction: 4-3 SP
Simply Pool Souls vs Ultimate Outlaws
Looking at the results from last season, you might call this one the battle of the bottom feeders. Both teams had abysmal seasons with 1-9 records with their only win coming against each other. However, this is a new season and SPS and UO should benefit from this new division format. Both teams have new leadership, and it might get a bit heated seeing who those captains are...
Leading the SPS squad is the duo of Jason and Joe. With Monte passing the reigns over to them two shows he has confidence in them both. This Week 1 match-up has the captains watering at the mouth. You must be living under a rock if you haven't heard the drama behind the Jason-Heather ex-relationship. He has already warned me this could get ugly. Hopefully the team will be able to put that to the side, however, and focus on winning the match.
UO also has a new pair of captains with Heather and TJ. This was possibly the best move for UO because it gives them a star player in TJ and he and Heather can work at building up the team to solid form. I'm not so sure who will show up for the team, but it can't really be any worse than last season. Heather and TJ should both know this can get out of hand quickly, so hopefully they too will keep focused on the games and get the job done.
Prediction: 4-3 SPS
Regul8ors vs Xtreme8Ball
It's awkward predicting for my own team, but here it is. The 4th match of the week features two teams new to WSOP with REG and X8B. It should be interesting to see how well they fare in the division because both teams will be using players unfamiliar with the interleague scene (for the most part).
Even though Regul8ors has been around since 2003, I don't know the last time they have been a part of an interleague, if at all. What I do know, however, is that the REG captain Brian is eager to have a great showing for his team. Having supposedly entered every interleague there is coming up, he has been pushing hard to make a name for his team. No idea who's all on the team, but whoever does show up they'll give it their all I'm sure.
Unlike REG, I do remember the last time X8B was in interleague (obviously because I was captain of it). That previous team won the final season of MLP and had a high caliber type team. However, this new X8B team coming in is nothing like the old and is a hodgepodge not-so-well-known league members. Hopefully that will turn out to be a good thing though. Bringing in the new players mixed with a few others can potentially catch our opponent's by surprise, right? Hey, I said hopefully.
Prediction: 4-2 X8B
Straightshots vs Deadstrokes
The last of the week is a Cross-Divisional match between SS and DS. One down side of this divisional switch up that we should see if that the Eastern division should always have the upper-hand over the Western division in these Cross-Division matches. That doesn't mean the West won't put up a fight, though.
After winning their division in Season 3, SS had a fairly mediocre Season 4 with a 5-5 record and lost Round 1 of the playoffs. I'm sure Shelle and her guys will be hoping for a rebound and finish a bit better this time around. I assume the same team is returning for Season 5, and looks like Craig joins the WSOP team. Even if he might bring some negative energy to the team, there's no doubt he has potential to rise up and become a key player. I don't see any reason why SS shouldn't be able to start off in the W column tonight.
They were with us in Season 1, they made it to finals in Season 2, and tried to make a playoff return in Season 3. And now they're back for Season 5. Coming into the season, I figured Thomas was going to lead the team. But last night, Chele told me he's moving on (no big surprise) and she's taking over. DS has what it takes to finish top 3 in this division, probably with ease especially if they can return with their Season 2 playoff team. They have a tough match here versus SS, but I wouldn't be surprised if DS some how pulls it off.
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