[CFCL] Week 1 Elite Standings and Analysis

While there were a lot of match results that didn't surprise me, there were definitely a few that made me excited to see how close some of these teams are against one another. Here are the current standings for CFCL Elite after week 1, and some of my opinions on the teams after reflecting on the week 1 match results.

1st Place (2 way tie)
RuLegends and Penta Sports (4-0-0)

To Me its no surprise to see either one of these teams performing well to start off the season. PENTA came out strong taking down the likes of Mindplay and Flipside, both of which were matches that could have seen them taking their first loss, however they proved their consistency and strength with a 4-0 to start off month 1. A lot of people voiced doubts for them no longer having snox, but I think with the line up they have, they are still the strongest roster in EU as they currently have shown with IEM, and a solid start to CFCL.

RuLegends also showed some incredible performances in week 1. They took down Carbon in an intense 16-15 victory, which was even a bit of a shock to me, though their other 3 matches I did expect them to win, as they did. We also got to see their new addition / sub Strey in action. He proved to be quite a solid player in his on stream match vs Rawness, he showed up in a big way for his team, and really helped them solidify a strong showing against Rawness. Overall I think RuLegends has one of the best things a team can have and that's a solid consistent line up. Even with the addition of strey as a sub, the core roster of RuLegends remains to be a strong force in CFCL that's core has been together for many years now and I look forward to seeing how they fair the rest of this season.

3rd Place (2 way tie)
Carbon and Flipsid3 Tactics (3-1-0)

While both of these teams are definitely strong, we also had a chance to see some of the things in week 1 that may have held them back from being in the 4-0 position to start off the month. While Carbon showed strong performance over all, they also showed they are still adjusting to their new line up. Carbon took a 1 round loss, to RuLegends in their match up, a long with a couple matches that almost slipped away from them (Get Brikt and XQ), the most surprising of which to me was their match up vs Get Brikt.

As for Flipside, they came out and performed to what I had expected. A lot of people were expecting PENTA not to take the win against them, but as I mentioned above to me PENTA is currently the team to beat in CFCL, and only time will tell if they are capable of falling this early in the season. However, given the new nature of this edition of F3 I do expect them to only grow stronger as the season progresses, and as they find new ways to challenge the likes of PENTA and other top tier rosters.

5th Place
Final Gaming (2-1-1)

Honestly to me this team being above the likes of Get Brikt, XQ Intense, and Mindplay I found to be a bit surprising to see, however Final Gaming showed some great performances in week 1. Of their matches to me the 7 round spread victory over Mindplay seems to be the most notable. Having now taken down Mindplay, and pulling off a tie against Getbrikt, I am incredibly interested to see how this roster progresses. Week 2 will be a huge chance for this roster to solidify their position and show other teams if they are truly worthy of a top 5 spot this month, with matches against Carbon and F3 coming up for them on Saturday.

6th Place (2 way tie)
MindPlay and ANV Gaming (2-2-0)

Both of these teams to be honest I thought would have a hard time making it anywhere near the front of the pack, however they now have solidified the opportunity to take home at least top 4 finishes this month. Out of these two teams performances the most surprising to me was Mindplays ability to take their NA server map off of PENTA. This to me really showed that this roster has the ability to contend with the best teams in Elite, something I was unsure of with this new line up coming into season 3. ANV also had a head turning score line for me of only falling to PENTA by a single round. This to me proves they may have what it takes to pull of some important upsets down the line and could be a nice line up to shake up the standings as the month progresses.

8th Place
GetBrikt (1-2-1)

While most people may be quick to jump in and say they didn't expect getbrikt to be higher up on this list, I actually have to say given how they played in week 1, this standing doesn't seem to do justice with how well they performed. This roster honestly came into week 1 and shattered my expectations with how they have improved with their new line up this season. Even though they were only able to take home one match win, they held the likes of Final Gaming to a tie, as well as a great match vs Carbon, that unfortunately they weren't able to close out with a win, with some struggles securing final rounds and falling short in OT situations. At the end of the day, this line up definitely impressed me this week and I think with some minor adjustments they may actually be able to claim the title they feel they deserve as the #1 team in NA, however after this week Carbon has earned their right to hold onto that title for now.

9th Place (2 way tie)
!nstinct and Rawness (1-3-0)

Rawness has probably the hardest week schedule out of any team aside from maybe Getbrikt, however they weren't able to pull off any upsets, and only took down !nstinct this week. I had hoped with the announcement of CFS Egypt Qualifiers these guys would come out guns blazing, and better than ever, but this week 1 performance definitely placed some doubt in my mind and I now wonder if they will even be able to contend for a spot in the top half of Elite this month.

As for !nstinct, their performance was essentially what I had expected. They came into this season as probably the least prepared team and still managed to pull off a win, however with it being against a roster now sitting tied for last, I don't see !nstinct as a real contender in Elite without much more practice to develop a playbook to contend with the current powerhouse rosters on top of them in Elite.

11th Place (2 way tie)
Cursive and XQ

Honestly My expectation was for the bottom 2 to be Cursive and !nstinct to kick off the month, so Cursives struggle doesn't surprise me. XQ dropping every match however, is not what I had expected especially after seeing them do so well in IEM qualifiers and at IEM LAN beating F3s old line up. I wont dig at these line ups too much other than to suggest to them to demo review like crazy, and come into week 2 much more prepared.

Overall, I was honestly impressed and surprised to see that Season 3 has more contenders than ever to be #1. With so many close games I am very excited to see how things continue forward for the remainder for Month 1, and want to thank all the teams and viewers for making this first week of season 3 an enjoyable experience. Let me know your thoughts and opinions on week 1 as well in the comments below, and I look forward to seeing everyone tune in again this Saturday as we go into another week of CFCL Elite!