Esports Minor League: Fall 2016 Week 2 Preview

After an interesting start filled with upsets, the league’s first five game series, and some drama, the Esports Minor League comes back at a very interesting time: one week before the Halo Fall Finals.

We still have you covered for this week’s Minor League action, and here are the games that will be on tap for another exciting week of play:

Day One:

Dynasty vs. Abusement Park

Setting The Scene

This is a battle between two teams who had two completely different starts to their Minor League. On one end, you have Dynasty, an all-star roster that was expected to be one of the top teams in the league along with 3sUp, Most Wanted, and PNDA. It delivered that in spades during week one, sweeping PNDA and taking away a close five game series against Scion.

For Abusement Park, though, things could not start worse, as they saw Joey “Juziro” Bartholomay suspended from league play until the middle of week four, and dropped their first game of the year because of this.

However, they did bounce back against Fly Society thanks to Swish rolling in and sparking some new life for this team.

Prediction

This honestly looks like a very ugly game for the Abusement Park.

After the hot start that Dynasty had, it’s tough to predict against them, and even tougher to qualify Abusement Park as a team that will take a game away in this series.

The return of Swish was something that the community was looking forward to, and while I truly respect that whole roster, I don’t see them taking a game against the Dynasty.

DYN 3 – 0 ABP

Most Wanted vs. Fly Society

Setting The Scene

Wait, WHO IS FLY SOCIETY AND HOW DID THEY GET IN THIS LEAGUE?

I’m kidding, of course. In week one, Fly Society played as Orgless due to some paperwork issues, but no matter what you call them, they are a team that sailed through their first game against Solstice before dropping a shocker to the Abusement Park.

Most Wanted had the toughest opponent on day one, facing off against relegation bound 3sUp before taking down PNDA later that Friday. Their strength of schedule has been strong through week one, which does give them an advantage heading into this week.

Prediction

Both of these teams showed a lot of parity in the first two days of competition, making this match a toss-up between these sides.

However, Most Wanted had the tougher schedule on paper, and for that reason, I see them taking this series, but dropping a game or two due to some shaky play that was seen against PNDA.

MW 3 – 1 FS

Scion Esports vs. Solstice

Setting The Scene

Before the league started, I saw this as one of the weaker games on the slate for week two. However, the power of Scion was clearly underestimated.

Taking down a weakened Abusement Park may not have been as impressive, but taking Dynasty to five games clearly shows that they are not a team to look over during this season.

As for Solstice, they need to have a short term memory after last week, not winning a single game in either of their matches against Fly Society (Orgless) or 3sUp.

Prediction

I’ll give Solstice their first map win of the season in this series, but the play of Scion in week one definitely makes me a believer.

Many will call Solstice an easy win on paper, as they looked depleted against 3sUp, however, they should be given enough credit as a team to at least take a game away from Scion.

SCI 3 – 1 SOL

PNDA Gaming vs. 3sUp

Setting The Scene

As the two favorites coming into this league, both of these sides saw very different starts to their seasons.

3sUp dominated in week one, only dropping a single game to Most Wanted and wiping the floor with Solstice.

Meanwhile, PNDA got swept out by Dynasty, and only took a single game away from Most Wanted on the second day of play.

Prediction

3sUp is a team on a mission, and their minor league stint this week is just a warm-up.

Unfortunately, they are going to have to take it out on both PNDA and the Abusement Park (which I’ll get to in a moment), and those teams will be the victims of a relegation bound super-squad.

Plus, by way of the transitive property, if 3sUp beats Most Wanted, a team that PNDA lost to, its safe to say that they’ll win this game too.

3sUp 3 – 0 PNDA

Day Two:

3sUp vs. Abusement Park

Setting The Scene

Due to 3sUp playing in the relegation tournament, this game will be played on Wednesday, Dec. 7.

3sUp is a relegation bound team, and by this point, they will already have their bags packed. Before they hop on a plane to LAX, with their dreams and some cardigans, they’ll have to play one more match in the minors.

The Abusement Park, who wants to keep rolling after taking out Fly Society, will be their opponent, and they will be playing this team on short rest due to the schedule changes.

Prediction

First, the league did a great job by scheduling this game at a fair time for 3sUp, who have to travel out to Burbank on that Friday for the relegation tournament.

With that said, this is not Abusement Park’s week to pick up a win.

Then again, Abusement Park could be receiving a huge thank you from Enigma6 if they take this series away from 3sUp, but I just don’t see it happening.

3sUp 3 – 0 ABP

Dynasty vs. Fly Society

Setting The Scene

Two open qualifier teams are set to kick off the three Friday games, and this one will definitely see if one tournament was a bit tougher than the other.

Fly Society will definitely be over their upset loss to the Abusement Park in week one, while Dynasty will be facing off against that exact team earlier this week.

Prediction

While it is easier to get a pulse on this series after Monday’s matches, I’ll give this one to Dynasty due to the way they’ve played in week one.

Unless the Abusement Park starts handing out upsets like funnel cakes, I don’t see this being a very good week to be Fly Society.

DYN 3 – 1 FS

Most Wanted vs. Solstice

Setting The Scene

Both of these sides could have had better first weeks of play, however, both dealt with some tough competition against 3sUp.

The way both teams played against them, however, does give some insight into how this series will go, as Most Wanted was able to take a game away from them and stayed competitive, while Solstice looked shaky.

Prediction

With Most Wanted most likely coming into this one hot off of a win over Fly Society, and because of these teams’ games against 3sUp, I see Most Wanted earning a clean sweep of Solstice in a game that will thankfully see Solstice keeping it close.

Unfortunately for Solstice, they may have to sit at the bottom of a talented league, and their map count or rank may not reflect the fact that they turned it around this week.

MW 3 – 0 SOL

Scion Esports vs. PNDA Gaming

Setting The Scene

If you asked me before the season started, I expected both teams to have each other’s record. However, PNDA fell flat in week one, while Scion rose to the occassion, with the only game of crossover being against Dynasty. In those games, PNDA was swept, while Scion took them to five games.

Prediction

I believe this is the time for PNDA to finally show what they bring to the minors, as they definitely have talent, with names like Scott “Cloud“ Holste Jr. and Gabriel “Gabriel“ Funes-Soto, on their roster.

At the same time though, Scion has been too hot and was dangerously close to taking out a powerhouse in Dynasty, and I see this game as an “upset” over PNDA Gaming, as well as the only five game series of the week.

SCI 3 – 2 PNDA

For all your Halo and esports updates, make sure you are following us on Twitter, @GAMURScom.

James Mattone is a journalist for GAMURS and can be contacted on Twitter –@TheJamesMattone.