Gears 5 Esports Circuit: Season 3, Split 2 Power Rankings (Preseason)

New Year, New Split, and New Rosters. What a difference a split can make! We’ve seen the older generation of pro players leave the scene to chase greater heights in other Esport circuits, content creation, retirement, and everything in between. From a generational talent era that produced arguably the greatest of Gears players such as Xplosive, Solurs, Kenny Bounce, Icy, Lava, Precision, and Sumuns (with others that could be added to the list), we are truly entering a new era of Gears Talent. For any of the aspiring amateurs that want to reach the newest heights and even for some of the young guns taking center stage this upcoming split that qualified for the Pro League, we are in for a treat.

Now for those who haven’t been following the scene, you might also be curious about what teams won’t appear in the Pro League for this split. Currently, we have the team of Noble that fully disbanded, leading to the organization out of the circuit. After requalifying for Pro League, we also have seen Hive see the team quickly break up, losing their team in the process. Oxygen Esports has also bowed out of the scene for the time being with multiple players of the prior roster (Abo stepping away from Gears, Rocky becoming a F/A and fighting back with a new amateur team, Bronny joining the likes of the current favorite in the league, and Scavzy currently competing in Halo) calling it a day. That catches you up with the current changes to some organizations, teams, and players that you won’t see this time around.

However, many folks haven’t realized how crazy Rostermania in Gears has witnessed with all of these new changes. So let’s quickly show you the rosters (without coaches as I learn of all the new changes that are incoming for teams as they assign and fine their coaches) before diving into the Power Rankings. The teams are as follows:

Kansas City Pioneers: Acells, Hndles, Xysho, Bronny
eUnited: Powerz, TJForce, Dys, Demize
Rise: Detox, Avexys, Rushiez, Inzem
Rebel: Crack, Demon, Identivez, Xploidz
Pittsburgh Knights: Fearzly, Monkey, Raver, Dezo
Fire N Ice: Rapidz, Toxiq, Soler, Gnash
Fury One: Aimboot, Jaled, Ventry, Saer
Team Queso: Problems, Sleafer, Crista, Chavii
Retribution: Addvers, Toti, Kardia, Gary
Discipline: Gimmo, Juhvon, Innovates, Tatis 00

Fun Note: We will see 4 NA and 6 LATAM teams this split. Will LATAM finally get to end the drought and win a championship? In due time, we will see. Without further to do, though, it’s time for the #GetJipped Pro Power Rankings!

#GetJipped Pre Season Pro League Power Rankings

1. Kansas City Pioneers (Acells, Hndles, Xysho, Bronny)

Back to Back. Winner of many. Kansas City Pioneers have the team to beat going into this split. The roster’s core is passionate about Gears of War, loves to always improve from their latest efforts out on the battlefield, and continues to show up and do the work needed to have an edge on all competitors nipping at their heels.

However, some might bring up the point that the Pioneers have work to do heading into this split, as Precision has stepped away from playing Gears in favor of running Halo. With the open roster spot on the squad, the Pioneers have arguably brought in a player called a journeyman in the league in Bronny. We’ve seen Bronny in several different situations throughout the last few seasons of Gears Esports, but also have seen him on multiple teams throughout that duration, whether it was top amateur teams or a Pro caliber team, which many would easily agree with he deserves to be on in the first place.

From an outsider’s perspective, I will state that Bronny easily has the raw mechanics and skill to be on an elite team. With all due respect, though, this will be the first time he should have a team surrounding him that can compliment his skill, talents, and the growth he needs to endure to gel with what is currently Gears Esport’s elite roster. Never mind that, though, as the Pioneers still have Coach Jackal ready to bring the whole squad together and into their new era of what should still be a dominant bunch. Until we see otherwise, I expect the Pioneers to remain a top-caliber team in the league. Still, I’m sure there will be some hiccups and growing pains for the squad ahead that will be rectified with the team reviewing VOD, going over their starts, weaknesses, and the whole package that the coach brings to the table.

Keep An Eye On: As explained above, Bronny is now on a roster fueled with champions and greatness. Having a disbanding roster on an Oxygen Esports squad that couldn’t hit the next benchmark in becoming a top tier Pro team, to requalifying on a Hive roster that just as quickly fell apart when Bronny was offered a spot on Pioneers (at least from an outsider looking in that’s what it feels like happen, but might not tell the whole story of what happened to the rest of the Hive roster disbanding. After all Lava’s announcement of retirement and Cellz pursuing Halo, these are also reasons for this team falling apart); Bronny now has no excuses to fall short of greatness. I believe the foundation of the Pioneers roster will welcome him with open arms and bring him up to the speed on what it takes to be on a championship-winning team. With only three splits left for the Gears Esports Circuit for this season and no guarantee on a fourth season, it needs to be a “win now” mentality for Bronny to claim a slice of greatness, but the good news is you couldn’t ask to be on a better roster heading into this split.

2.eUnited (Powerz, TJForce, Dys, Demize)

For the next several spots on the power rankings, one could argue flipping and switching positions between several teams. The main reason for this situation is because every single team that’s still the pro league from the last split has had a significant change to their roster from retirements. Players are pursuing Halo or other adventures outside of the circuit. However, it is truly hard for me to look outside of the updated roster that eUnited is currently representing, heading into this next split.

Powerz has always been a phenom on the map ever since he entered the circuit and will continue to make something out of nothing and continue to make the traditional plays needed for the team to exceed. Then you have the deadly duo of TJForce and Demize running out of spawn together that will continue to create havoc and bring that duo experience of winning prior Astro Battle Tournaments together to the team environment as they did in the prior split. So having that core of three that have grown immensely together as a trio with Kenny Bounce showing the ropes and mending them together over the prior split has truly paid off. Now all three of these players will bring and take their experiences of the last split and now acclimate what some will call “The New King of LATAM,” Dys to the roster.

Dys has been one of the best players in the pro league recently. For every team he has been a part of, he brings confidence, slaying power, map knowledge, and other techniques and skills that it takes several players to grow into in rather a short amount of time. His raw skill and the situations he can create positively for his team and negatively for the other team have been unmatched throughout most recent events and matches, except the Pioneers. Although for those watching, the prior Noble roster was arguably the one team that consistently did well against the Pioneers roster, which included Dys. Overall of the roster updates that happened throughout this Rostermania and Offseason, I truly do believe eUnited was the one that got the best deal. Time will tell, though, if this is fact or fiction.

Keep An Eye On: It might take a bit of time for these new rosters to mesh and get everything in a standing that shows their true form (which goes for most of the rosters on this list), but one has to wonder in regards to this updated roster, is there anyone player taking the reigns or will it be a committee leadership? With Kenny Bounce stepping away from his favorite franchise to pursuit a new Esports career in the bustling and growing HCS (Halo Championship Series – which is honestly super exciting and fun to watch even as someone who loves Gears), I’m curious about how the IGL (in-game leader) role will work for this team. From an outsider’s perspective, all four of these pro players are dominant and have learned a ton over their being in the pro league, but I want to watch and see who stands up as the “captain” for this team moving forward. This alone could lead to some adapting, growing, and learning as a team, but I also believe as confident players with the coaching staff to help, they will quickly learn their roles in their new respective roles.

3. Pittsburgh Knights (Monkey, Raver, Dezo, Fearzly)

What can you say about the Pittsburgh Knights over their course in Gears Esports? Consistency has been one of the best words to describe this team’s tenure in the league, even with the roster ever-evolving and switching players over time. For that, the players, staff of the league, and audience are ever thankful. However, the organization still has that one ever-eluding chip on their shoulder, hoisting a Major trophy over their heads and showcasing that LATAM pride that any Gears fan knows his intense passion for the love of the game and league. Even when you count them out throughout the Pro League matches, they always come to show and shine during the tournament, yet again finishing second in another major, falling to the Pioneers. Yet, they still employ the quick playability and slaying power of Monkey, Raver, and Dezo, which allows PK the chance to bring another slaying power onto their team that could complement their play style and could be even better than what they had.

Starting the prior split, we welcomed back the well-known Chaoz to say so long and thanks for the memories heading into this split of the season as he stepped away from competing. With his departure, a roster spot was opened for the PK Knights to fill, which they filled with another scary good player from the former Noble roster in the form of Fearzly. As we spoke about Dys in the prior ranking with eUnited, Fearzly was another player that brought hellfire and flame to the Noble roster, and now his services have carried over to the PK Knights. Now I got to tell you truthfully, with the firepower and difference-making plays Fearzly has concocted throughout his pro league experience, I think it is safe to say that if you are a fan of kick-ass LATAM teams, you should see this roster prosper and continue to stay high on the rankings, if not finally toppling the kings they see before them. Chaoz has always been a fantastic player, but with the current meta and where each of these respective players is in their careers at the time, I think the addition of Fearzly will bring that extra spark PK will need to become arguably the best team this split. Again, it’s exciting because with all of these rosters changing, it will get strange real quick, but we are all for it!

Keep An Eye On: Consistency. As explained above, Pittsburgh Knights have a storied reputation regarding being one of the top teams in the pro league. With that much talent on their roster and always coming one spot short of what should be their first championship, as well as what would be LATAM’s first trophy, the same consistency will matter moving forward. I truly can’t recall the last time we’ve seen an inconsistent PK in terms of the pro league and tournament play (especially the latter). This key feature, plus the extra growth that this roster will entail, will improve to the league’s top and become champions. You have to start with the building blocks of the consistent foundation they have built, but how do you take the next step to topple the current champions and other rosters who stand in their way?

4.Rise (Avexys, Inzem, DeTox, Rushiez)

With the departure of Icy, many fans of the organization speculated on who Rise would go after regarding a fourth player that compliments the group and the players on the squad. Many might not have guessed the direction and play style Rise wanted to head towards regarding this new split, as that might have told the story on some of the talents they were seeking to take over Icy’s spot. So when news came out that Inzem was back in action, some were surprised while others saw it coming from a few miles away.

Inzem, even though he has showcased his raw gaming abilities by switching to Dragon Ball FighterZ during the last split and not with the team daily, he was still Rise’s permanent substitute because he knew the ins and outs of the team from being a part of the roster here and there. The interesting thing about Inzem coming back to play is what Avexys recently stated on his update video about Gears Esports and everything else that has happened during the offseason. Rise is looking to become a team that plays more upbeat and constantly moves quickly as a unit compared to the style they formed when Icy and other older generational players were on the team. So with this news that Inzem fits well into the mold of playing the game at a fast, brisk, and consistent speed, it will be fun to watch how much this team as a unit flies into battle.

Rise has the firepower to do that with each player on the team, especially with Rushiez and Detox being part of your roster; you are always guaranteed to see bodies flying with arguably these two making montages and clutching up for their squad. Yet I believe we will get to see a lot of this in the coming split since the whole squad seems to be on board with the aggressive playstyle that we’ve seen a lot throughout the Gears Esports scene as of late. Rise officially wraps up my top-tier preseason teams.

Keep An Eye On: With the new aggressive playstyle coming into play, one might ask how long it will take to implement this strategy? Rise, I believe, expects it will be rather a quick turnaround since most of the roster already had the idea of playing aggressively and pinning their opponents in horrible situations from that style. However, will this type of playstyle come with issues and mistakes? Likely so. On the flip side of that thought process, though, if a team can get the balance down of how aggressive to be and when to use it to their best plays, they will tend to be top dog and unstoppable. I see some growing pains as they get this down into a science, but I think it will grow throughout the split and become a hard out for any team to go against this roster when they turn into their true overall form.

5.Rebel (Crack, Demon, Identivez, Xploidz)

This feisty Rebel team has been another staple of the LATAM community for many splits. Like most teams that are returning to the pro league, it turns out that this roster ended up losing Sumuns rather recently, as he announced he would be taking a break (not officially a retirement statement, mind you) to work on becoming a content creator and grinding on the side to as he sees fit. So as a continued trend that you will see with this Rebel roster, they were able to pick up another member of the prior Noble team in Xploidz

Like the rest of the previous Noble roster, Xploidz should bring slaying power that should create issues for any team that goes against this roster. The “Original King of LATAM” in Identivez is still leading the charge with this roster. He continues to be one of the best mentors and idols that the LATAM community has seen throughout Gears Esports, but with him comes the ever-dangerous duo of Crack and Demon. So looking at how this roster is built regarding slaying power, it is an assumption that Rebel will be another team with an aggressive approach heading into this upcoming split.

On a side note, some, if not all, Esports has an upper, middle, and lower tier of pros that compete in their circuit. However, there are ten teams in the Pro League. I want to point out that, in my opinion, Rebel is the first team to show on the power rankings that represent the “middle tier” teams. The teams above them on this list currently serve, in my perspective, as the cream of the crop for Gears Esports. I truly believe Rebel will have more success this upcoming split and show us that they are not to forget about the LATAM scene, usually being overshadowed by the likes of Pittsburgh Knights or what was Noble. So overall, this should be a squad to watch out for that can win some big games and slip up on games one wouldn’t expect.

Keep An Eye On: “The Original King of LATAM” Identivez. Throughout the last split and heading into this one, it seems there has been some tension if you are an outsider looking in. Whether it has been some rumors of him being traded or released from Rebel back in the prior split, to him now on social media getting into arguments about “what a true champion is” and discrediting the current champions of the Pro League as a talented bunch, it seems like a ton of thoughts have been flowing from his mind as of late. He has often been caught talking about how Gears 5 isn’t a skillful game at all and how “it’s garbage.”

Indeed, Gears 5, like all other Gears of War games (even my favorite ones, which was Gears of War or Gears of War 3), had issues that didn’t go unnoticed from the player base. The original Gears of War didn’t have much debate on issues because it was the first of the franchise. Still, every Gears title has different play styles, tactics, mechanics, and actions that have constantly created new iterations that don’t align with what some old players loved about the older titles in the franchise compared to the newer ones we play today. Overall, my point is Identivez is heading into another pro league split play with a lot of anger, frustration, and issues with others in the league. Watch for him to play with a chip on his shoulder (although he has already proved himself a champion in his own right with Ghost Gaming back in Gears of War 4) to either silence those he believes doesn’t belong in the talk of being “champions” or fold under pressure and continue to become more frustrated from the current format of the circuit and how there is no LAN in the site.

6. Team Queso (Problems, Sleafer, Crista, Chavii)

Cheeseheads rejoice (and I don’t mean the Green Bay Packers)! Team Queso, another organization that has put down its roots into Gears Esports, has returned to its rightful spot in the Pro League with wins over top amateur and pro talent throughout the relegation tournament. Although there have been a few changes since they were last in the spotlight, Team Queso looks to make some noise throughout this split with the addition of Chavis from Fire n Ice. To clarify, the spot that opened up on this team was a void that Xclusive left after officially stepping away from Gears at the end of the Fall Major Tournament. So Chavii switched over to Team Queso and made the same impact on Fire N Ice. He is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, but he also does an amazing job tuning in and playing with his teammates as they work to slay out opposing forces.

Then you turn over to the rest of the cast, players you’ve seen many times before throughout Pro League and highly sought out amateur teams in Sleafer and Crista. Add that with a touch of Problem CY coming up big in multiple clutch situations and hitting shots, and you are down to have a great roster ahead for the split. Although the ceiling could be the potential for Team Cheese in their coming back party of the Pro League, we must also come to terms that this team will have some growing pains to accommodate their outings. I expect this group of players to impact together in the upcoming split, but I don’t see them getting that many wins from the teams above them on this list.

Keep An Eye On: Team Queso did a great job in the relegation tournament, taking out the two teams that stood in their way to qualify. One of them is the Fire N Ice team that sits inside the Pro League setting alongside them from that same tournament. The thing that cheeseheads have to be watching out for is Team Queso finishing fights against inferior opponents. Watch them carefully against teams below them on this list starting the split. We talked about the idea of consistency when speaking about Pittsburgh Knights just in general terms. Still, I’m looking for Team Queso if they want to stay in Pro League and not be relegated moving forward, keeping their head above water beating the teams that should be realistically underneath them. If they can do that, I see no reason this team couldn’t stay in the Pro League and continue to improve to take down the tougher competition in the future.

7. Fire N Ice (Rapidz, Toxiq, Soler, Gnash)

We speak of amateur teams that get a chance to climb to the top of the ranks to overcome the adversity of the challenger series and qualify rounds to make their shot at being in the Pro League. Fire N Ice had a truly rough go at this throughout the prior split in Pro League, being the one team in the circuit that produced zero wins throughout the entirety of the process. Yet this team truly learned a lot through the grind and grew with every game they took to the field, for better or worse, and it shows how they came out during the Split 1 Major.

They were able to come into the tournament that weekend, qualify to champ bracket, barely lose to Oxygen Esports by a final map count of 3-2 before taking out Team Queso 3-1, to end their run in a 7-8th placement to Rebel by one map. Although Fire N Ice would have been higher in the power rankings if they could retain Chavii (which makes an upgrade and improvement, in my opinion from the departing Xclusive), they are still incapable hands of Ex-Elevate coach, Gnash. Coming over to fill the spot for Chavii might not be the easiest thing to do, but plenty of times, Gnash has shown his gravitas in situations that put him front and center. I can see this being something that he unexpectedly shows to those who might doubt him for the skills that he harbors.

Although this split should have been bringing together a completed product to come out and surprise many players and fans this upcoming split, I believe it will take some time for Fire N Ice to reacclimate and get their click back. Rapidz, Toxiq, and Soler are a trio of players growing together for many splits, which I got to first-hand witness competing against them multiple times in the Challenger Series. Their teamwork and understanding of how one another will play is the key to their success and has always created overwhelming situations if they get into that rhythm. I expect to see the Fire N Ice squad working together to have Gnash come in and fill that fourth player void Chavii left behind and continue to grow and eventually start making the noise we would like to see from them later in this split.

Keep An Eye On: The last two teams are the ones that become relegated, and this time around, we want to keep an eye on Fire N Ice, staying away from the treacherous relegation tournament. This will truly be a testament to how far they’ve come from and grown through the Challenger Series and into the Pro League, which is one of the things we continue to see not happen as likely as fans would want. There have only been a few teams that have come out of the Challenger Series that have made an impact, but is Fire N Ice ready to become one of them this split?

8. Retribution (Addvers, Toti, Kardia, Gary)

What was once Elevate is no more, and with that, a ton of backlash on social media has recently come out between former Elevate player Pushyz and some of the players that remain on the squad (mainly Gary). This was one of the more perplexing teams during the offseason, as several different rumors started to swirl about who would make the roster and who wouldn’t be on it at the end of the day. Folks can speculate between all of the behind-the-scenes talks that happened, but at the end of the day, the former Elevate roster saw an opportunity to bring on a player from the former Noble team in the likes of Toti. As rumors fly through social media, this was another shock to some circuit fans, as many believed Toti was moving over to Halo for good.

So here’s the real question for all that watched the last split, and I’m asking honestly. What is the potential we see with this iteration of the ex Elevate team? Sure, they got some good players regarding Addvers and Kardia being a menacing duo on the maps, but they also got Gary, who tends to slay out and gets caught doing so more times than needed note. Now you bring in Toti, who has always been a good support player and can clutch up in several different facets, but it feels raw that when the pieces fell to what was Nobel, that it looked like from an outsider perspective, he was the last one chosen to fill a roster.

Mind you for some more conversing points, the former Elevate team without Toti and with Pushyz during the last split went 3-6, with their only impressive win coming against Pittsburgh Knights, but then preceded to get double eliminated in the tournament when they made Championship Bracket. Which if you want to dig even deeper, the only two wins they got throughout tournament weekend was against a hot start FuryOne Esports that lost to them by a map and then the amateur team of Certified (Speedy, Jmxbs, Emissives, Exceedingz for context purposes) which as should be expected, they beat them 3-0.

So does Toti add an element that Pushyz didn’t have? Will Gary work better with teammates and play more along with them? It will be a time to ask and answer questions when this split gets underway and one that we can look forward to watching.

Keep An Eye On: As stated above, there is a lot of drama currently on the timeline with this team. It will be interesting to see if they pull the right strings to make the motor go or if they are going to fall further into the abyss. I truly do think they will get the ball rolling for this split and can make an impact, but they need to make sure sooner rather than later that they are ready to roll out of the gates. With barely beating FuryOne in the Pool Play of the Fall Major and knowing there are only a few teams they are at this moment better than on paper, you got to start hot and not fall off the wagon, especially since they would qualify as the last team moving into the following split if they were to finish eighth.

9. FuryOne Esports (Aimboot, Jaled, Ventry, LastMove)

Welcome to the Pro League FuryOne! This is one of those great success stories of staying consistent and together to grow and prosper over several splits. The number of times I got to scrim against these guys as they learned the ropes and how they wanted to attack the scene was fascinating and fun to watch. If you want to see a team that has grown throughout Gears 5 and has some amazing teamwork, I would like to tip my hat to these gentlemen for their constant growth and effort.

FuryOne Esports came up just a few maps short of making the Championship Bracket when the Fall Major was in play. They were in a highly contested pool with Noble, Team Queso, and Certified (again, for purposes of this write-up, Certified was a team made up of Speedy, Jmxbs, Emissives, Exceedingz), but to each of these teams, lost by one map. Every team in this pool ended up on the wrong side of the 3-2. Now talk about close moments and make some eyebrows raise. However, it is strange to see that FuryOne Esports played to their opponent’s skill level, as one could state, going against a top, middle, and low caliber team but ended up matching them and not overcoming them.

Now with a full split ahead of them, we can watch as Jaled and Aimboot show their slaying abilities, Ventry letting everyone see his specialists skill with secondary weapons and playing as a teammate, with LastMove being the all-around player that brings them all together in harmony. I truly love to see that FuryOne Esports made the Pro League, and I think it is a golden opportunity for them to take in the quality of play the other pro teams possess and how they can continue to adapt and grow with the knowledge they can review and see through the games they play and record.

Keep An Eye On: With this team making their first appearance in Pro League, it will be a developmental phase of watching them grow and become more into their facing top and middle-tier talent throughout the Pro League. Yet if we could take any notes from their showing in the Fall Major, the key for FuryOne Esports to break the mold of being an amateur team heading into the league for the first time is learning how to overcome teams they go against instead of just matching their skill and potential. One would imagine that a team that went against the former Noble would knock off an amateur team like Certified, but seeing that not being the case throughout those pool play matches is intriguing.

FuryOne is a team that watches VOD and prepares for their opponent extremely well by almost matching and mimicking their opponents. Still, now, if they can learn how to exploit the teams they go against, it will be the key to taking that next step to their climb in the Pro League.

Fun Note: FuryOne Esports is one of only TWO teams heading into this split with the same roster as they did the prior split. Believe it or not, the only other team in the league that remained the same is the other new addition to the league, which is Discipline. All other eight teams had at least one roster change throughout the offseason. Pretty strange.

10. Discipline (Gimmo, Juhvon, Innovates, Tatis 00)

Throughout the week, the other social media drama we’ve seen involves the last roster that makes up the Pro League, this young roster of Discipline. Let’s take you through a quick journey of how they got here to explain why the timeline has been speaking louder than normal about them qualifying for the league. When the relegation tournament went off, the final standings of that tournament would have FuryOne Esports and Team Queso finishing undefeated as a first and second place—followed by Outcast (which was the former Hive team after they were not with the organization anymore, which consisted of Cellz, Lava, Yachty, and Bronny) grabbing the last spot for the Pro League by finishing third and beating out Fire N Ice.

So if you are still following along to this point, there were three positions up for grabs, which would have gone to FuryOne Esports, Team Queso, and Outcast. Note that in this original final standing and situation, the Fire N Ice team would have also not made Pro League. Once the relegation tournament was finished, and results were in, Outcast broke up (might have been from KCP picking up Bronny, Lava wanting to take a step down from Gears, but I honestly don’t know the truth and can only speculate), allowing for another spot to be available. Fire N Ice filled this up because, within the relegation tournament, they finished the next best spot throughout the tournament.

Still with me? If you are, you will notice that Discipline is still not qualified for the Pro League! However, another twist! I can’t explain why Noble decided to break apart anymore because all four of the players on the roster last split are now on four other Pro League teams! The biggest DO WHAT moment of the offseason and one that I have no answer for, so don’t come looking for it here! One more spot opened up for Pro League with these changes in place. This came down to two teams that could grab the spot up, which was the teams that finished tied for fifth-sixth in the Relegation Tournament!

The teams that made this cut were Discipline and Primal Instinct. Yet as one last thing to fall into place accordingly for Discipline to cut, the Primal Instinct roster cut two of its prior players, making them an ineligible selection for Pro League. So that’s how the cookie crumbles, and the pieces have fallen accordingly to make our last Pro League team qualify. Now let the controversial conversations you’ve seen on Twitter continue, as I do not doubt in my mind they will.

However, to make a case and point before I continue with the deep dive of what to expect, the reason you continue to play to your best and utmost highest of expectations is that you never know when your chance will come up. Sometimes it does truly show up from hard work and dedication; other times, that same hard work and dedication go unnoticed because unprecedented situations make it possible. In this situation, I’ve seen many amateur teams, fans, and others make harsh comments on this matter, and I can see the viewpoint of it, but also don’t discredit a team that qualified for the relegation tournament from beating the same amateur teams and players complaining about them making it in the first place. How about instead, you field a team and beat them yourselves? Last note… Gears Esports could have run a tournament for these last spots, technically. Still, I’d imagine they defer that situation because of the many changes we’ve already seen happen in the landscape, and also to showcase new blood instead of getting a super pickup team in the last spot creates a sense of growth and development in a community that could use all the help they can get.

Now let’s look at this roster. Juhvon has consistently been a player that can slay out and take out some top amateur talent and others that come across his path. He was one of the biggest reasons Discipline made some noise in the Relegation Tournament and continued to stay in games that others may not have expected constantly. Innovates continues to be a team player who sticks to the script and shows big-play potential and calmness while the games are in session. You then can move over to Tatis 00, who tends to look for great crossing angles and, although he could use his gnasher, tends to work with being the support beams of this overall team. Then you have Gimmo, a player that likes to head down, fly, and be in the trenches more than anything else I’ve ever seen. He does this formation of the team from time to time and will bring out some crossing weapons, though to also help support.

So what does this all mean?  Discipline has a lot to be proud of in making the Pro League, even through the unconventional methods that we’ve witnessed being thrown to us through the rules and regulations of Gears Esports. However, I think this team will have a ton of growing to do, as these guys are for sure the underdogs of the league heading into this split, but they need to keep an open mind to continue learning and growing. So whatever they can do to grab VOD, go over what other pro teams are doing during maps and modes, and everything in between, these young guns have a lot to work on and improve, but they should be well prepared to take a few hard licks going into the split.

Keep An Eye On: One word. Maturity. This team has a roster that could make an upset or two this split, but it will depend on if all four of the players on the roster don’t get into their heads and listen to the many community members and other teams that will be bullying them. Gears of War has always been a game that soars off emotions more than any other game I’ve seen in  Esports, even through internet play. As a young team, I’ve witnessed and seen the maturity of the players on this team go from being calm and collected to the lowest of lows, sometimes in the past, even going as far as rage quitting.

This is a new dawn for the roster, but it will be up to the guys to stay calm and learn from their mistakes. It’s going to be rather a long split. Still, these guys need to understand how they can improve from one game to another and how to come up with new strategies and ways to improve their roster so when they go to defend their spot next split (if they fall into Relegation), their prepared.

#CaseClosed

It is good to be back with this column, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for our circuit now that our usual suspects have scattered, and we will start witnessing the next crop of Gears of War players. As always, I look forward to seeing how this split of the Pro League will play and can’t wait to talk to you all about it in the coming days. Feel free to message me or comment on Twitter at @jipperymccloud. Until then…. #getjipped.