This week….. how can I say it? My fellow Gearsheads, we’ve been completely devastated this week. Before we get to your Power Rankings, let’s relive the issues we’ve witnessed this week.

• Rod Fergusson is leaving The Coalition for Blizzard.
• NRG left the scene (Second Time. Left in Gears of War 4 – Season 1). Yet they dropped what was the dynasty team of Gears of War 4.
• The Winter Ladder Playoffs happened today, yet many amateurs didn’t know it was even an opportunity to be had. So only minimal teams played it, with Rebel winning the North American region.

Twitter is lit up. Everyone from professionals to amateurs are losing their marbles. Gears Esports is failing once again, but we have to look at all of the areas that are issues. Gears 5 as a game is still half baked. Not finished. The developers keep making changes that affect parts of the player base and then have to try and fix it. This is unacceptable and continues to create trouble in the Esports scene.

Meanwhile, you got Gears Esports not reminding players of tournaments or important dates that are coming up. When they do, it is always a day or less before. So tell me how a reminder works that is suppose to be effective? You need time and multiple posts to make the point clear and get your community to see it. This wasn’t the case and now multiple teams who could have played ladder matches and compete for travel coverage (only for the 5 players and not a coach), are now ousted to the winds.

Now back to PGL. I’m absolutely floored with the many messages multiple administrators have given to players as of late. Check the rule book. Please, check the rule book. I know the answer, check the rule book. Look, if you are organizing events and running them, you need to know the game. Need to know the rules inside out, not just point to literature and hope for the best. If I went to a doctor and stated my issue and they told me “look at our website link”, how the hell is that going to help me in the moment?

At this point, it is hard to root for the Esports scene or the game in general. We are entering a time that is reminiscent of the end of the Gears of War 2 MLG run. So now that we have your attention, let’s point out a few minor great things in Gears.

• Gears Emergence Days from UMG is golden. As well as them showcasing the finals every Wednesday Kudos to that amazing team over there for loving and supporting Gears of War. Another shout out to Ryan Foolz, as he has always cared for the franchise and community.
• Astro 2v2 / Beyond. They are hosting the 2v2 tournaments constantly and are doing a great job of keeping the games moving and working with players to bring a healthy tournament week in and out.
• Mazer Gaming. Your a great organization that continues getting the short stick from Gears Esports. Yet, you also love the game, your team, and franchise enough to still stand through it all. You even hosted your own 2v2 tournament Saturday, which was a huge hit. We love you, even if the organizers don’t. Never change/
• Guy Blaze for still keeping it professional when truly, everything around the scene feels like it is falling apart. He stays cool, calm, and composed for what feels like the last season we get of Gears. He also does a ton of extra work preparing for casting, doing videos for the scene, taking personal time to talk to the community, and more. Speaking of which…
• Ashes. He constantly has been talking to community members as of late and outsiders about what the scene holds in its future. He is currently working on his own game mode for Gears since we need something fresh and unique.
• Everyone Who Follows Me. You’ve all shown a ton of support as of late. Helped me have a chance to speak with many qualified and wonderful people over the last month. Three podcast and multiple conversations later and somehow, I feel even more invested in trying to dig us out of the hole we all feel we are in. Teamwork makes the dream work and as a community, that’s what we need to keep saying to make things right. Although I am optimistic sometimes far too much, I thank you all for appreciating the work and effort I try to stay professional no matter the situation.

With all of that out of the way (take a deep breath now), let’s hop over to our #GetJipped Power Rankings!

Power Rankings Week 4 – North American Winter Quarter

1. Rebel (Checked In for Week 4) (+1)

Roster: Krash, Sleepytime, Zerpting, ReziK, Jerppy, (Eskamani)

“Rebel Rebel, how could they know?”. After a dominating victory over their opponents in Simplicity, this Rebel squad has shown why they belong at the top. The first week again was seen as a fluke, as this team for the past two weeks has paved its way all the way to the top. Simplicity didn’t even look like a team that should of been in the finals because of how dismantling Rebel was. I wanted a revenge game, not a blunder. Oh well. Jerppy went ballistic, but his team also did everything right. On top of that, Rebel just wont the Winter Quarter Ladder Playoff, which gives them travel coverage to Mexico. However, we do want to reach our hand out and let the fine lads of Rebel know that your travel coverage only includes “five players”. Let Eskamani know that as soon as possible so he can book accordingly!

Question of the Week: Three weeks of Power Rankings (we don’t count the first week of a quarter) and three different head honchos. Will anyone slow down Rebel this week? They are one of the few teams to watch that will be battling it out at the top.

2. InC – InControl (Checked In for Week 4) (-1)

Roster: Acells, HNC Precision, Exist JC, God Dazed, QG Rocky (Purpatrate)

Here’s the truth. InControl is a fantastic team. They got the pieces in place to be a powerhouse contender in any match they play in. Yet, I wasn’t left happy with how last week played out whatsoever. “It’s Super Bowl Sunday”. Come on guys, don’t do that to me now. This team is young, talented, bold, and is currently going against pro caliber teams every day for scrims. However, you guys just lost to Simplicity and blamed Super Sunday? Don’t do that again, but instead do what you’ve been doing. Stay calm, cool , collected, and learn from every game you run no matter the situation. Just because they lost to Simplicity early in the tournament last week, I don’t feel any right to drop them lower than a spot. The benefit of the doubt of their true commitment and game will come out this week and I think they will win the tournament as long as they stay focused and not blame something out of line for why they lost. Grow, don’t make excuses young warriors.

Question of the Week: Was it a fluke? I think so. Yet, I would love to see what Incontrol has in store tomorrow. Hopefully they end up going against Simplicity at one point. I think this narrative would be delightful t see unravel. A young team that is respected by the professionals come into tournament Sunday and wreak havoc. I’m all for it.

3. Soaked (Checked In for Week 4) (+1)

Roster: VitalTheOne, ProPeLLs 24, Kryo TYB, k3soto, Aversuh

After three weeks, Soaked is your leader of the overall standings by a slim margin. Maybe this time, Slim Pickens will do the right thing and ride the bomb to hell and on to their way to maintain that top spot. The opportunity to break away from Incontrol being on their tails after they advance a round further was all nullified when Rebels came through and wreaked havoc. Yet, this team still has everything they need to be successful and more. It’ll come down to fine tuning and making sure they learn from their past mistakes because they will likely, meet a greater opponent in InControl or Rebels come tomorrow.

Question of the Week: No doubt in my mind that the Soaked roster has what it takes to say in thr Top 3 of the challenger point standings. The only question left to ask is a simple one, do they have enough juice to fight off Rebel or InControl? They will be the two other teams that will constantly jockey for position at the top as we head into the second half of the Winter Quarter Challenger Tournament.

4. Simplicity (Checked In for Week 4) (+5)

Roster: Yogurt, Toti, Ozby Romero, Cellz, Jackal Tenebris (Hudsonz)

Let me get this straight. Simplicity just dominated multiple teams on their way to getting to the finals this past tournament, but then failed to show up on that day? Don’t get me wrong, Simplicity balled out on Sunday, but laid a giant goose egg on Wednesday against Rebels. You can’t allow a single player to have 33 eliminations compared to 1 death and expect much success…. thanks Jerppy. With all of that being said, look for this team to be in the final four this week. Got to hand it to them and put respect on their name, they kicked Incontrol to the curb last week. However, I wonder why these guys STILL haven’t correctly changed their roster to Jackal Tenebris being a coach and not the player. What random team out there on Sunday will challenge that ruling?

Question of the Week: Although Victoreez was dropped right away after the loss on Wednesday, can Simplicity improve on what they did last week and make a statement win for the weekly championship starting tomorrow? They got the tools to be lethal, but will they make it work?

5. TechniqueV2 (Checked In for Week 4) (+6)

Roster: CREA7i0N, Outsider Del, Cee Tips, Vo1kZ, OZ

#TwinningisWinning. This is the team I want to watch tomorrow. Technique is that unique and oddball team that comes out of left field. You don’t hear from them for a day or two trying to contact them through solo cups on a string, but then they come ramping over the landscape to wreck your day. It’s nice to see this team back on the map and with the addition of Cee Tips from last week and Vo1kZ just showing out, this team has a ton of potential and momentum heading into this week. It’ll be interesting to see how this week plays out for the squad, as they can solidify their ranking this week with another solid finish and hold everyone else off until the locks come in a few weeks from now.

Question of the Week: Does TechniqueV2 make another fantastic run in the tournament and make it an official statement that they are not leaving anytime soon? We saw this team last quarter go on a roller coaster throughout the points, but we want to see the same deflowering team we saw last Sunday pull up two weeks in a row.

6. OneForAll (Checked In for Week 4) (0)

Roster: Scavzy, Yachtyy, FYC Flash, blastgod, Envyz4871

OneForAll was on a roll last week, but ran into the Simplicity train and bowed out of the tournament. Yet with better seeding this week, I feel OneForAll with their young squad can truly make an impact on how the tournament will play out. They are still one of the more skilled teams in the tournament series, so I expect them to still come out of the gate swinging and making another good placing by the end of this one.

Question of the Week: Will OneForAll make the deep break into the tournament? They are better than a majority of amateur teams, but they need to solidify themselves by likely beating a top team in the tournament series to certify them as a dangerous team to play for the higher tier talent that is above them on the standings.

7. #THEGRIND (Checked In for Week 4) (0)

Roster: Advanced iP, Movemxnts, AhToMic, SickestGOW, Xelerates (TraMa Said No)

FreeBurger got them last week, but they won’t get knocked out this week by that roster. According to sources, FreeBurger isn’t playing this week and is potentially becoming a defunct team the rest of this quarter in the tournament series. Back to #THEGRIND. This team is rather a hard one to pinpoint as of late. They got a lot of talent on the team and even a player that is absent currently, but is also good at the game in the coaching position. As of last week, it seemed this team was calling it a day, but now it looks like they are sticking it through and will continue to work on it for Mexico maybe? Honestly, I’m lost in the sauce with this team when it comes to are they together or not in the long run, but make no mistake. Having #THEGRIND ranked seventh in a pool of already talented teams, just shows you how Sunday should be epic.

Question of the Week: Is this team truly together? Last week, team members like Movemxnts and others tweeted out Free Agent. Yet here we are with the gang all back together. So we making plays or are we opting out?

8. IDK (Checked In For Week 4) (-3)

Roster: REPSOLID, Flash Movez, Dirty, Mental, Bloodated, (Heavy Bodies)

IDK was a strong team heading into last week, but got stung by TechniqueV2. Some might consider that an upset, but make no mistake, TechniqueV2 is a sneaky good team and not expecting them to be will make you look like a fool. The trap was set last week and IDK fell right into it, being knocked out early on Sunday. As this team looks to bounce back this upcoming tournament, they will have the hired guns of Dirty and Mental this time around, letting Not Grump and Heavy Bodies sit on the bench or completely off it. On paper, this team should have it together. However…

Question of the Week: Will having Dirty and Mental play work out well? Any issues that might linger up from the early defeat of last week? IDK is a good overall team, but they’ve constantly had switches on the roster throughout all weeks so far in the tournament. Only REPSOLID, Flash Movez, and Bloodated have stuck it out, with a few of them saying Free Agent at one point. So what’s in store this week squad?

9. Lucid Gaming (Checked In for Week 3) (NR)

Roster: Sli Tree, JdoggTheOne, Namor, oSo Smxy, og Snaz (SR Laxx, xlL E G l O Nlx)

Quietly coming out of nowhere and immediately into the Top 10 of the ranking is Lucid Gaming. With their fast play style, quick rotations, and dog pile mentality, this team will attack you at will. Sometimes they might have too much aggression, but most of the time, it will pay off in their favor if you undermine the aggressive precedence they set. Although the team has been switching roster around a bit, they got a main core that is dedicated to the game and growing. They are also one of the few amateur teams that have a coach in place to help them grow along the way. At the end of the day, this team can truly let it rip if underestimated.

Question of the Week: Will this be the week Lucid Gaming makes a bigger splash. In their last few appearances, they’ve been eliminated quickly because they tend to go against top tier teams out of the gate. So will they run into trouble early or strike some gold and run with it?

10. #StayDeviant (Checked In for Week 4) (+6)

Roster: Abyss, BDG Vibiez, TD Poetic, Elemxntals, WP Jippery (Jippery McCloud)

Upset of the week? #StayDeviant took out a star studded roster led by Pushyz last week in a game that went to Round 9 For the Bread. Ever since Gears 5 has started, this team (even though a few roster switches since San Diego) has been another team not to fully sleep on. If they tend to get hot, they will roll off more rounds than one might expect, as Pushyz and company learned last week. In an alright spot in the standings, #StayDeviant is in position to stay in the running for a Top 10 in the standings by the end.

Question of the Week: #StayDeviant has been a roller coaster ride since the Winter Quarter has started. Last week, we saw composure from the team, as they had to win three rounds straight to stay alive in the tournament. So does that version of the roster come in tomorrow’s tournament guns blazing or does their flame sizzle out early?

11. OptimumGG (Checked In for Week 4) (NR)

Roster: Generatixns, Traumatize 5, Plucksy Kalamity, Chrisoligy

Going against Simplicity Round 1 of the tournament almost seems unfair for a team that’s been together for a few weeks. However, OptimumGG is back in the Gears of War scene and we couldn’t be any happier to have them. Looking ahead for tomorrow, OptimumGG is looking to mend more as a team, but also hoping to get a more even match to start the day off with.

Question of the Week: Will the roster of OptimumGG shock some teams in the early going? They have plenty of players on the team that are optimistic and can hit their shots, but we want to see them excel against a more well known team to assert their name into the amateur scene a bit more!

12. The Jackson 5 (Didn’t Check In for Week 4) (-2)

Roster: Tristan Dougherty, GODPLAY5, Kyle, ClizzYClouts, DeMo Beezy

Simple. If this roster was checked in at the time of writing this blurb (3:25 AM EST.), they would be higher on the rankings. The Jackson 5 played their hearts out in Saturday’s tournament, but ultimately lost to the same team that beat them in the challenger tournament last week, which was Rebels. So time to nut up or shut up for a team that is filled with talent from top to bottom. At the end of the day though, they might need a bit more guidance.

Question of the Week:By guidance, I mean getting a coach. A team like The Jackson 5 has a lot of passionate players on the roster, which can lead to many issues in identity at times. Can this team go out of their way, stick together, and find a coach that will help them see through the issues? Other than that, the truth I feel is not what you want to hear, this talented team will likely drop and swap more players before the end of their journey.

13. Grinders (Didn’t Check In for Week 4) (+2)

Roster: Br KeNz, eden montes, Distract, Zeantre, Aiplex

Speaking of The Jackson 5, it was last week’s tournament in which Grinders got knocked out early because of the team above them on the rankings. Yet, this team now has a full week under their belt and the machine is well oiled. I would expect them to come out with some nasty fights on the competition, as Zeantre and Aiplex being added to this roster, has now officially made it a team that moves well together in fights and can throw multiple play styles at you before you can think of the correct answer to retaliate. Don’t sleep on this team.

Question of the Week: With a week of practice in, how far can Grinders go? This is one of those teams with a ton of young and untapped potential, but I wonder how close to the brink of breaking it wide open they are currently. Tomorrow will give us a great gauge to rate them on!

14. PublicEnemys (Didn’t Check In for Week 4) (-1)

Roster: KILLEM SZN, QG Reliant, Zizel, QG Zet, Dizect YKTV

Not checked in yet, so it brought them down a few spots. Yet PublicEnemys is one of the youngest rosters on this overall list. They can truly bring the heat on any team they fight against, but can also take a step back and recalculate what is needed to beat the opposition. Lots of trickery and quick play from this team of young shot hitters. They are in the same boat as The Jackson 5 is though. Which leads us to our question.

Question of the Week: No matter who they go against in the first two rounds, can PublicEnemys smack their opponents around and advance far into the tournament? This team has a great chance of becoming one of the better teams in the near future, but we want to see them cause a shuffle in the bracket this week. Let’s get it done! However, they need to sign up first for that to happen.

15. No Remorse (Checked In for Week 4) (NR)

Roster: SinuateZ, Nate8130, Kyng Switzer, Killersound1725, MurkatronN

No matter how this team shows up on paper or rosters, every time I see a few of these familiar names, I go back to thinking about Hog Whippers in San Diego. Here’s what you need to know. This team has officially signed up this week under a new name I believe, so they will start with 0 points for seeding. However, don’t think they can’t throw down. The base of the team has a solid track record when it comes to online tournaments and can catch even the better teams off guard.

Question of the Week: What type of impact can we expect from a team like No Remorse? They got play makers of all type on the roster, but who can they upset and put a dent into on this bracket that would hurt the oppositions chances of a pro league qualifier spot down the line?

16. Shot Hitters (Checked In for Week 4) (NR)

Roster: Red9ne, Lux Morality, Bodjes, Tankks, J Predicts

A team with Red9ne on it is one you never count out. Especially when pared with Morality. Yet this team has rarely shown it’s face since the Winter Quarter started, so it is hard to judge them correctly. It’s been two weeks since they last played and now back armed with a few different players, they look to cause a shake up on the standings.

Question of the Week: I smell an upset brewing. Shot Hitters is the perfect team to come out of nowhere and knock a team down and out before they can say Mario Kart. So who will it be and when will it happen this week?

Just Missed Out

Teams: Atomic eSports, FreeBurger, TEAM ROCK, GorillasOD, Randoms

Omissions and Extra Information

FreeBurger is apparently no more this quarter. So they are thrown out of the rankings and into the omission drawer. Atomic eSports may not show again and hasn’t been consistent as of late. TEAM ROCK played well last week, but some of that roster is juggling their next step and who knows if they will make it on in time for the tournament. GorillasOD is that team that needs a good first match to play to make it further. They’ve been up against stiff competition each opener of the tournaments as of late. Randoms… I’ll just stay mum about this one until tomorrow. I need to see it to believe it.

18 teams are signed up for this week, but we got until 1:00 PM EST today to see who else pulls through. Currently, the NA tournament almost has the same amount that last week had from Super Bowl Sunday.

4 new teams registered this week. Some of them with stacked rosters, others with players that are ready to grow and grind.

Something evil lurks in the shadows of this week. I have a rather bad feeling about something coming true that I won’t spoil until it happens. Time will tell.

Your Teams With Professionals on Them: Rebels, Simplicity, #THEGRIND, Simplicity, and maybe Randoms?

#CaseClosed

Honest writing here. Some of this information will change when I wake up tomorrow with more teams registering and some juicy material maybe if it is floating out there. So we are going to call it a night here, timestamp it, and update tomorrow! See you around noon or so! Please, make sure you tuck yourself in the bed sheets before you #getjipped.

Posted: February 9th, 2020 (03:50 AM EST)