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

The first week of the Gears Esports Pro League is in the book for the second split of the third season, and we were treated to some great matches in the opening week. We got to see the new version of all returning Pro League teams but were also able to watch as newer faces got their introduction lesson to the skills that the league’s top players possess. The popcorn was popping, the fireworks were exploding, and the nonstop action that we got to see the best in the business show from Tuesday to Thursday was lights out.

With bringing the #GetJipped Pro League Power Rankings back into the fold for this split, I wanted to try my best to bring more information to the Gears Fam regarding team statistics that cover map win % across all modes; game mode win %. Individual map wins % on maps across the circuit. However, I will need to give a disclaimer that I’ve done my best to dig through the Xbox, UMG Gaming, and Pro Player Streams to collect this data, which has led to some situations where the data from my end couldn’t be compiled because I couldn’t find a team streaming the matches that were off stream. These will be noted in my documentation in what I would like to share with you, my #GetJipped Statistic Sheet for the current split. This could be used as a valuable tool to understand the different game modes that teams are struggling on, maps they should avoid or pick depending on their opponent, and other ways for teams to self-evaluate themselves, as well as us viewers at home to analyze what these teams could improve on. So, please sit down, pull up a glass of your favorite drink, and let’s get to ranking the Gears Esports Pro League teams after Week 1 of the split.

#GetJipped Pre Season Pro League Power Rankings

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

Coming out of the stable with the horsepower (so what if I like puns and play on words?), the Kansas City Pioneers, for all purposes and intent, did what they needed to do to continue being the dominating force we all have grown accustomed to. There were for sure times in some matches that one had to question, “Would that have happened if Precision was still playing with the squad?” Yet the truth was easy to see, that the Pioneers, like the rest of the teams in the Pro League, just needed a little bit of time to settle down and see what was on their plate to start the split with the new addition of Bronny. Which if you are a fan of food (which I believe every Gears Esports fan is because of how much Colin talks about food in his commentating and Blaze talks about cooking it up), you could say that the Pioneers plate was filled to the brim with the best entrées in the land. With so much to talk about through their gameplay, the Kansas City Pioneers will receive our deeper dive in this edition of the Power Rankings, as we are going to talk out multiple matches, playstyles, and how each member of the roster works together. 

During their first match of Pro League against newcomer organization in the Gears scene Purified Gaming (@PurifiedLLC on Twitter), the Kansas City Pioneers didn’t hold back any punches. They wreaked havoc against Kardia, Toti, Gary, and Addvers. With the first map being one of the Pioneers favorite maps (or at least they perform on the map at a high winning %, with currently them winning it 67% of the time in this split), in Regency, the Pioneers were able to stomp the mudhole out of the competition by winning the match 300 to 119. Throughout the matchup, Acells and Bronny were able to look and play the part together as Acells and Precision did in prior splits. It was poetry in motion between the two throughout the map, with Hndles constantly being a menace to Purified with a few instances of being a hindrance to them getting to their next rotation, sometimes able to take kill two birds with one stone, and just created a constant pressure and tension on the enemy team. Yet don’t forget about the fourth player in the Pioneers, as Xysho became the support player of the game. You could see him throughout the map, always making sure to pair up with a teammate, hold the choke points on the map, and confirm he was on the same page with his other teammates to take the next appropriate move. Control as a game mode is all about playing as a team in all game assets, which is exactly the perfection Xysho was able to show throughout the first map. You could look at the stat line at the end of the game for each of the players and see that Xysho is all about winning as a team, dropping a stat line K/D/A of 4/8/19, which is something that was highly undervalued in older Gears games that didn’t show assist as a statistic.

Moving over to Execution on Checkout, KCP again showed no respect, as Bronny and Acells combined drew seven first bloods on their way to a 6-3 victory. Even looking at this map footage, it was more of the same regarding the breakdown stated above for the Regency gameplay. The duo of Bronny and Acells made life miserable for their opponents, constantly breaking open the round by taking out a member of Purified before adding that constant support fire pressure from Xysho (12K damage that game and the only one to have over 10K+) and you had Hndles playing the flex position to perfection, being able to jump n jive between whoever on the team needed the extra assistance.

The only map that looked a bit out of hand for KCP during their first match of Pro League was Escalation on Vasgar. There were multiple times during the match that Bronny and Hndles got too aggressive without having the support from other teammates they needed or didn’t realize the number count heading into situations. Xysho, on the other hand, was at his most vulnerable spot throughout the series; although he still got 11 assists for his team, he was the only person in the lobby with less than 20K damage, even being below the 15k damage mark. So, it was rather an off game for the support player and one that happens on an asymmetrical map like Vasgar. There are more opportunities on that map to out rotate, create several advantages for fights, and other strategies and strange fighting scenarios you can put your opponent in to exploit them. Purified did a great job of keeping the Pioneers in a spot where they were uncomfortable throughout the map, but they still found a way to get over their misplays during the match not to drop it. Even when they are down, a championship-caliber team will find a way to win, even if it’s ugly.

Yet it is important to point out another factor to continue looking out for in our champions moving further into this split. They only dropped two maps throughout all the games they played in the first week. Their opponents from the Pro League matches and E Days were Purified (one for Pro League and once for E Day, FuryOne, Team Queso, and Pittsburgh Knights. If you didn’t watch any of these events as they went off, one would likely suggest that the two maps they lost likely came from Pittsburgh Knights (some thinking both losses came from this team alone) and Team Queso. Yet, one of the times that KCP put their guard down, they were met with a ferocious and aggressive squad in FuryOne that took down the champions on Regency of all maps. It was mind-boggling for all to watch it happen, as this is one of the new teams in the Pro League this split, but they did the unthinkable. However, although impressive against the champs, one map doesn’t mean a thing when you got to win three, which the Pioneers came storming back and breezed to the finish line the next several matches to win the series 3-1. So, with watching the match live, I would like to see the Pioneers go out and take every game they play like a championship game (which I believe they do). Still, it seemed there were more textbook mistakes and issues than we normally don’t see from them during the first map of the series against FuryOne.

Then we were able to see the Pioneers play a spectacular E Day tournament, one that saw matches beat downs being given to the likes of Team Queso and Purified, but also close matches that were more intense from the likes of the Pittsburgh Knights and Team Queso to their credit, were close in both Execution and Escalation, losing to KCP 4-6 and 4-5. At the end of the week, though, the Kansas City Pioneers were able to stick to the game plan they’ve formulated to be the top team in the league and continue to acclimate Bronny into the team, which has so far looked smooth, which is a warning call to all of the other teams in the league.

Prior Week Ranking: 1st (Same)

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

The Pittsburgh Knights got off to a roaring start and as expected, have brought the heat and sizzle when it comes to their gameplay. If you thought this group was going to lose a step with this new version of the roster, you were sorely mistaken as Fearzly brings yet another confident slayer to the favorite LATAM squad. It is interesting to note, that the Knights have a roster that is built with the mindset of individual players that can pop off at any time against the opposition, which reminds me of the dominant OpTic Gaming roster from Gears of War 4. You grab the best players on the market and those that can hold their own not only in a 1v1 battle, but even an outnumbered fight, and put them together on the same roster to form a slaying powerhouse that could at anytime turn the tide of the game.

This proved true, as an overmatched Discipline was quickly wiped off the face of the Earth in becoming trampled by the Knights, which was easily one of the most lopsided matches of the first week. Yet the Knights were not going to miss a beat as they did in prior splits, where they let an inferior opponent blindside them and take a victory away from their overall Pro League record. The in the E Day tournament, the Pittsburgh Knights again did what they needed to do and were expected, as they knocked out both FuryOne and Rebel, before falling to the champion Pioneers. However, it is important to note the work that the Knights did and show in their Pro League match against eUnited.

Other than the match they had against the Pioneers, the battle against eUnited was the first match that I believed would test their mettle and show us what version of the Knights we would be seeing this split. Although I expected the aggressive playstyle of the Knights to come out and try to overwhelm eUnited, I quickly saw an unusual trend from the matches that were being played, which led me to break down which maps were played, the scores, and how all of the teams were doing throughout the Pro League. After collecting the data, I noticed that the Knights, an aggressive team that I knew could slay out the competition, have been constantly struggling against teams on Control.

eUnited in both of their Control matches against the Knights were able to defeat them in their Pro League match, with FuryOne, Pioneers, and Rebel also being able to make matches from them. Despite what the footage may show, the results will tell viewers that the Knights are currently 4-5 on Control. However, as eUnited was treated too, the Knights record on both Execution and Escalationis a marvel to hold. Currently, they hold a 5-1 and a 4-1 record between the two game modes, meaning teams that go against the Knights, need to use the weakness of their Control game mode to an advantage to build momentum and try to apply that going into the next match. No matter the case though, the mechanical game skills that all four players, Monkey, Raver, Dezo, and Fearzly possess, will always allow them to be on every map they play.

Prior Week Ranking: 3rd (+1)

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

Most of the teams in the Pro League have played several matches because they were able to fulfill their Pro League matches, as well as participating in the first E Day of the split, giving us a lot of maps and opponents to base the rankings from. However, placing eUnited anywhere lower than the third slot in our rankings, currently makes no sense from the data presented. When you decisively beat Rebel in the first Pro League match you play of the season and follow that up by a narrow defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Knights, you don’t expect to have much movement to happen with your spot. Originally eUnited was scheduled to play in the E Day tournament but ended up having to bow out of the competition because of a power outage issue for one of the players.

The great news for what has become a youthful squad this split is the fact that the communication and play styles are meshing extremely well together, for the most part, making the two duos that became a full team a potential powerhouse when they are constantly shooting on all cylinders. There were times while watching the matches that eUnited was involved in, that I could see different thought processes from players as they went to make a move which resulted in someone becoming singled out or the target for the other team to lock onto, but with more practice and growth as a full unit, this team is going to understand how to feed and play off one another more consistently. So a team that had minor mistakes against one of the best in the league (which is all it takes to lose a series in the Pro League) isn’t a bad sign at all. However, doing a deep dive into eUnited through the few matches they did play, does showcase that this team is going to be a huge favorite every time they play Control, but they seem to be missing the ingredient to play Execution currently, having a 1-2 record, with two of those losses coming from the hands of the Pittsburgh Knights.

This is one of the things I would keep an eye on, as the idea of a life per round game mode for what has now become younger professionals and those that had more experience on the newest trilogy compared to the older one, I believe the slow methodical strategies and thoughts from Execution is something this team will need to improve and work on. You shouldn’t worry currently about the respawn game modes for eUnited, but I’d like to see them improve on their Execution to leap to pass some of the higher-ranked teams on the list.

Prior Week Ranking: 2nd (-1)

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

This might come as a surprise to many (which I even took surprise from myself with this one), but Rebel despite their Pro League record, as well as how they performed in the E Day tournament, gets the nod to hop up a spot this week. With Xploidz coming over to this roster, there seems to be a new style of spunk and confidence in this team that didn’t fully connect during the last split. Call it the idea of building a traditional team, with having a few slayers and some support, but the truth is any of these players can go off on a highlight reel if you don’t play fundamental Gears.

Looking back at the games that Rebel ran this past week, you will notice that the two teams they went against that beat them, are the defending champs in the Pittsburgh Knights (which the Control maps were close, but not the others) and eUnited (all of these matches were closer than expected, with Rebel only losing by a few rounds in Execution and Escalation.). Being able to bring a great showing to a team that was expected to have an upper advantage and play you out easily in eUnited, Rebel showed that this new roster isn’t joking around. Give them a few more weeks to gel and you are going to see a sneaky dark horse team heading into the later part of this split, as well as the Winter Major.

It is also worthy to note that Rebel like many of the other teams above them on this week’s ranking, wins the games that they are supposed to and continues to make improvements to beat the teams that they are expected not to beat. Currently, Rebel is pretty even across the board in all of their game modes and might be one of the most balanced teams throughout the Pro League currently in terms of records, play style, and talent. So keep an eye on some wins you wouldn’t expect from this team to pull through, as well as them being one of the better teams throughout the entirety of this split.

Prior Week Ranking: 5th (+1)

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

Rise fans should have a lot of excitement for this new version of the team and rightfully so, as they continue to bring the smash-mouth type of aggressiveness that can smother teams out of the game. This past week though seemed like a building period, one that allowed this team to bring their new thought process to the table and test the waters. Yet viewers got a chance to see one of the first substitutions of the split, with Icy coming out to play a match against Fire N Ice as Rushiez was out sick. Although Rise was able to go out and defeat both Team Queso and Fire N Ice in the Pro League (with a substitute nevertheless for the FNI match) we truly didn’t get a sense of what this new team has in store for us.

It was expected for Rise to come out and knock both of those teams off their feet in the Pro League matches, but we truly haven’t seen a high-caliber opponent yet for this roster to go against. This is why it’s troublesome for this roster to go into the E Day tournament and drop the series against what is considered a lower-skill team in Purified . This might just be a blip in the system, Rushiez playing through a cold, Rise trying to still work on implementing the new playstyle, but whatever the situation might be, losing to a team you are supposed to defeat on paper is never a good feeling. Especially in a highly contested Pro League, you have to win the matches that you are slated to be one of the best in the league. For now, let’s call this a blip until we see more Rise, as well as continue to watch the development of the Purified roster.

Prior Week Ranking: 4th (-1)

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

For most of the teams that I get to watch over and analyze in the Pro League, I can quickly determine what type of playstyle they want to stick with to outwit and play their opponents. However, every time I feel like I understand what Team Queso is going for, I soon come to learn that they might be one of the most adaptive teams in the Pro League. There are a lot of teams that tend to stick with what they do best to beat their opponents, but Team Queso with this roster seems to take an approach that they constantly are looking for edges in each match they play, depending on the rosters and the teams they see.

Team Queso was able to walk out onto the battlefield and rightfully knock Discipline down and out as expected, but their playstyle against that team compared to how they ran their game against Rise, followed by their match against the Pioneers in the E Day tournament, was constantly evolving or changing throughout the match. This could easily make them one of the most versatile in the Pro League, which means all teams that go against these guys, have to be ready for things to be well-matched against them. Both the Pioneers and Rise had matches closer than expected even if the series was a 3-0 or 3-1 favor, as the scores of those games other than one of them were only a few seconds or a round or two short for Team Queso to take the victory. So it’ll be important to continue watching how this team continues to try and throw its adaptable styles to each game they play to steal victories that the normal viewer might not understand how it could be accomplished. This will be a fun team to watch going through the rest of the split.

Prior Week Ranking: 6th (Same)

7. FuryOne (Aimboot, Jaled, Ventry, LastMove)

A big statement to come out of their first week, FuryOne was able to show the Gears Esports circuit that they worked hard to be in this position and want to make sure they stay in the running for the Pro League going into the next split. Not only was this dynamic team able to take down an opponent that was arguably around the same skill level as them in Fire N Ice, but FuryOne also was able to take a map from both Pioneers and Knights. Now it is one thing to note, that FuryOne was able to do this with their top-notch teamwork and map presence in the Control game mode. However, FuryOne will need to work more on their Execution and Escalation game modes moving forward while maintaining their Control skill.

The strange thing about FuryOne that will need to grow throughout the split is the level of confidence they showed between the game modes. There didn’t seem to be any fear or worries when they ran around the map taking out members of arguably the two top teams in Pro League while on Control, but after that, their Execution and Escalation matches it was a different team. In a blink of an eye, they went from high flying and pressure to standing down and playing scared. So monitor their improvement in the latter two game modes heading into the rest of the split, but I do believe in this team and can see them not fall into Relegation.

Prior Week Ranking: 9th (+2)

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

Although I could just as easily see Purified being above FuryOne and eventually when they go against each other, it should be one hell of a match. However, the matches that each of these teams played and the expectations for what we believed they should have accomplished, is what knocks Purified down a rung. The roster going into the split was a bit of a mystery and conversation point after Pushyz was dropped, but it seems these guys are trying to find their correct footing going into this week. Yet, they were able to show a ton of life throughout the week.

They started with a match against Kansas City Pioneers that although the Control match wasn’t close, Purified made both Execution and Escalation close. Yet they turned around in their next showing in the Pro League to be smacked around by Rebel, far worse than what KCP did to them. Then came the E Day tournament, where Purified was able to make an upset out of Rise (which was an intense and close match), only to have Pioneers kick them around worse than the first time these two teams met. Overall, Purified is currently a team in transition, one that will likely become better as they have more time to develop, but they are showing inconsistency across all game modes and opponents at this current time. So they will become a wild card team that one series could be hot, but the next to be cold.

Prior Week Ranking: 8th (Same)

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

This isn’t what you want to see out of the gates if you are a Fire N Ice fan. To remain in Pro League without having to go through the Relegation tournament, a team needs to not finish in the bottom two of the standings, and currently with losing a match to the new Pro League team of FuryOne and a Rise roster that has played closer matches to the chest than expected, Fire N Ice although not a team that won’t go down without a fight, is looking to end in the bottom two.

You have to give credit where it is due though and look back at how close some of their matches have been to appreciate and understand why one can continue to root for this team, that could potentially create upsets and other shake-ups in the standings that you might not initially see. Fire N Ice lost by around in both Execution and Escalation to Rise (who had a sub in Icy with those matches) and another close defeat to FuryOne by a round on Escalation. Yet with losing their player in Chavii and Gnash trying to fill the void, it seems like the first week of Pro League is showing a lower expectation for this team to grasp heading into Week 2 matches. I believe Fire N Ice can make some quality starts and even win some of their games, but they are currently looking to dig themselves out of an early hole.

Prior Week Ranking: 7th (-2)

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

The voices of the community are getting louder around a team that most didn’t feel deserved the chance to be in Pro League. It only took about a week of work for all credibility or any positive thoughts of a new underdog coming into the Pro League and playing as a well-rounded and mature team. You only had to look around on Twitter a few days throughout the week to know from a mentality standpoint, this roster has already sunk.

Despite their play through the first week (which was the team receiving a beating that most would have expected because of the talent gap between the pro teams and the newcomers), Discipline has the exact issues out of the gate that I explained would render them helpless in this league. Maturity. Maturity. One more time for good measure, Maturity. From an outsider looking into the situation, we truly don’t know the full story of what is happening behind the monitors of these players, but you constantly hear the rumors spread far and between about the team internally breaking apart and not wanting to play at all.

Even rumors that specified that certain players on the team were going to be dropped for other players that are available in the challenger series that they’d rather play with. Multiple Twitter tirades that you wish you could “undo” and not send in the first place, that truly show the most dysfunctional team we’ve seen in Pro League. It’s a true shame because when these things start to happen quickly, they grow a whole persona of their own, run with all of the extra drama between the players and social media, and quickly devolve into a situation that devalues the player’s for future teams and their stocks to go along with it.

The last thing to note is when I went to write this article, I was excited to add Hayabusa back to the Gears Esports circuit as the team signed on with them. Before I even got finished the introduction to this edition of the Power Rankings, Hayabusa issued a message just a day or two later that the team was dropped for immaturity, irresponsible, and misrepresentation issues. If the prior things before this whole sequence happened didn’t tank the player’s stock, that was the final nail in the coffin.

At this juncture, if you are on this team, you’ve lost all hope. You don’t trust the team dynamic anymore. Yet, you got eight more games to play unless you break up and cause Gears Esports to have to elevate a team from Challengers into Pro League. Which if you are a fan of Gears Esports, you would want that immediately, as the team is most likely to be moved into the spot? Team Enemies. A team made up of 3 professional players (Pushyz, Rocky, Zoom), a highly sought out amateur player in Bodiez, and they are constantly scrimmaging against the top teams as it is and winning a good bit of them. So unless you got anything left to show us that won’t be embarrassing or even a growth in maturity or just a shred of pride, this Discipline roster won’t climb out of the cellar or even have a chance. Why do you work so hard just for this to happen? It’s truly a damn shame, but we will see if they can bring anything to the table in the coming weeks if they do stick it out.

Pro League Picks of the Week

The goal of this split is for me to pick winners and losers from all of the Pro League matches. I also have one underlying rule, which is to pick an upset to happen every night (meaning a team I believe is lower on my #GetJipped Power Rankings to beat a team above them). Currently so far this split, I’ve gone 10-0 with my upset picks being Pittsburgh Knights over eUnited and FuryOne over FNI. So without further to do, here are my picks for the next two days of play.

January 18, 2022

Rebel over Fire N Ice
eUnited over Discipline
Pittsburgh Knights over FuryOne
Kansas City Pioneers over Rise
Upset Pick: Purified over Team Queso

January 19, 2022

Kansas City Pioneers over Discipline
FuryOne over Purified 
eUnited over Fire N Ice
Pittsburgh Knights over Rise
Upset Pick: Team Queso over Rebel

#CaseClosed

This week of Pro League matches will help cement the Power Rankings more as we move forward. Currently, the overall standings can constantly flex and move positions rather easily since we are working off minimal data of the first week of matches. There are only a few spots throughout the rankings that should in everyone’s version of the standings, be cemented in place, but most of the meats and potatoes in between can continue to quickly and rapidly change depending on what results in we witness in the coming days. Other than that, you know the drill. Let me know your thoughts on Twitter @JipperyMcCloud and I can’t wait to see you all in the stream as you witness another slate of great action. 5 PM on a Tuesday you say? You know what time it is. It’s time to #getjipped.