The top 4 in each division were:

1. Rising Storm (8-0)
2. Dropouts (5-2-1)
3. Unreasonable Ownage (5-3)
4. That's Dope (4-3-1)

1. overRated (8-0)
2. IceNine (6-2)
3. Mediocrity (5-1-1-1)
4. Lost Cause (4-3-1)

Round 1 Previews

Rising Storm vs That's Dope

This matchup is really looking like David vs The Goliath, except this time the Goliath will likely squash David's little head. That's Dope has always only played TWL leagues, and they normally finish better than most would expect. This season was no different, they managed a couple of impressive results, 1st a tie vs Dropouts on border, then a big win over Slow Reaction on tunnel, and another nice win vs Fragweiser on sandstorm. Rising Storm had an impressive perfect 8-0 season. In the only head-to-head matchup rS won 8-4 on IC, which is tD's top map. tD can be bold and pick this map for the playoffs, hoping to adjust to the mistakes they made, or they can go with another mid-range map they aren't bad at, perhaps even tunnel would be a good pick. No matter what map they end up picking I don't think it would matter, if I were to bet on it, I'd pick rS to win both maps around rather handily and sweep the series. 2-0 series win for rS > tD.

Dropouts vs Unreasonable Ownage

Dropouts have the slightly higher rank here giving them home advantage, if that really is an advantage. There wasn't much in terms of surprises in Dropouts results this season, they handled most teams quite easily. Unreasonable Ownage had a slow start, but finished off quite strong by winning 4 of their last 5 matches. These 2 teams faced each other twice this season with drp dominating the first encounter 11-1 on tunnel and uO winning the second time around on sandstorm 7-5 to split the season series. Both these teams like to play fast paced matches and are both solid cqb. You can expect more CQB action in this playoff series for sure. There's a good chance they will split the first 2 sets, and the winner will be determined in the 3rd set. drp > uO in a 2-1 series win.

overRated vs Lost Cause

Not exactly a Clash of the Titans. overRated is simply miles ahead of Lost Cause in both experience and talent. overRated completed their 8-0 perfect season last week when Team 69 did not even show up to battle. Lost Cause managed a couple of nice wins early on, then squeaked in down the stretch when Conviction folded and FightClub layed some rotten eggs. It's good to see new blood in the inter playoffs with Lost Cause making it in. I fully expect scarface and his MOB to slay their enemies in a most vicious and gory fashion. Every round won by Lost Cause in this match will be a minor victory. Looking at their roster I recognize some of their names from forum warrioring, so at least they are probably active. oR > Lc in a 2-0 series victory

IceNine vs Mediocrity

IceNine slightly edged out Mediocrity in the standings thanks to one no-show by med during the season giving them -1 pts for that match, otherwise med probably would have finished ahead. Mediocrity only suffered 1 true loss during the season where they we beat by rivals overRated 8-4 on tunnel, their only other blemish was a tie vs Lc. IceNine only suffered 2 losses all season, once early on vs med on border 8-4 and the other recently to oR on SS 8-4. For the most part IceNine walked over their opponents with whiz likely being their top killer for the season. The 8-4 victory on border by med was the only head-to-head matchup they had in TWL. The only other times I recall them facing each other this season was in CAL-I when i9 won 7-6-1 on urban, plus during the CAL-I semis match which just took place and med won this rather easily 8-4. This match is most definitely the MOTW. Both these teams can play well on every map in the rotation, so there's no telling what maps each team will choose to play. I think some Urban Assault and maybe some IC is in order, but I have no say :P. No matter what gets picked, the 2 team MVP's (chris and whiz) are sure to have some outstanding rounds with some important clutches. IceNine has the edge in depth, but sani will have to keep up with rabb if they are going to win this thing. If med can get spanker back into form before this match then med has the slight edge. med > i9 in a tight 2-1 series win