GYL WEST- WEEK 2 DAY 2 WRAP UP

It was another exciting day of graveyard graveyard graveyard in Graveyard League. In the three matches played, there were 8 sets, 17 battles and 34 decks used, of which 1,447 were graveyard. Many of us only see what happens on our screens, but we forget that each team has professionals known as "analysts" who decide which deck their players should be running. These people are experts in their field who spend many hours compiling and studying data, before leaning into a player's ear and saying "Graveyard" just before a match starts. I, myself, have considered becoming a caster simply because of my uncanny ability to pick a players deck BEFORE SEEING A SINGLE CARD Rich Slaton: "And joining me today is my friend Gramps" Me: "G'day Rich. Looks like the first match is all set to begin" Rich: "What do you think the SSG guys are running?" Me: "Graveyard" Rich: "And their opponents?" Me: "Graveyard" *one minute later* Rich: "I don't know how you do it, Gramps, but you were right again" Me: "I'm only a caster and not an analyst because it pays more" CHIVAS vs LIQUID - The Graveyard Festival It's no secret that I think Liquid dumped the wrong player to make way for Razzer. Lets not beat around the bush and mince our words here. Despite the incredibly gracious departure of DiegoB, he was dumped. I can think of 2 players who should have gone before him, and neither of them is called Egor. It might have been all lovey-dovey and polite in public, but this was most definitely a grudge match. If Chivas were to only win one game all year, this is the one they would have picked, and I was all aboard with them. I wanted them to win. In the end it wasn't to be, but Diego still proved my point. He did more than enough by winning the 2v2 and taking a leg in KOTH. Diego and Pomp came out all guns-a-blazin in the first game of 2v2 and destroyed Razzer and Kanny "Among Us" Roo. They used graveyard, and from memory, so did their opponents. 2 more games were played, Chivas won 2-1, lots of graveyard was used. The fairy tale was looking a distinct possibility. BTW, can someone explain to me why Kanny can stream Among Us 9 times a day with a face cam but doesn't have one for GYL? The reason I like Diego so much as a player, as I keep saying, is because he is one of the absolute very best in tough, high pressure, clutch situations, and he demonstrated that in a magnificent win against Kanny. To be fair to the future Among Us pro, he too played a great game, but Diego's defence against raged up Sparkies in both lanes was sublime. Someone messaged me and said it was predictable for Pomp to run his trademark deck against Surge. I don't think it was such a bad call. I mean, he should have used GY like everyone else, and like Surge did, but to come so close against a GY deck was a valiant effort. Egor remains a beast, and sending in Richard to battle him in 1v1, well... I'd rather be a Christian entering the Colosseum against a pack of lions. I reckon I would have more chance. I read some tweets as this was unfolding, and Miniminter said they should have used Adrian. I'm not so sure. Chivas are a team in a building season, so get some high pressure games into the kid and see what he has got. That is the only way to unearth a gem. Just look back at Liquid's world title and the faith Erick showed in Egor. So, the Cinderella story wasn't to be. The Among Us crew walked away with the W, but Diego and the Chivas crew can hold their heads high. They took it right up to them. SUMMARY - I heard Liquid were working incredibly hard in the off season but I just don't buy it. They don't look like a team who have been grinding. It was for this reason that I put them at No #2 in my power rankings, a decision I now regret. They have taken a big dive as far as I am concerned. As for Chivas, I see a future. You can actually build a good roster around Diego and Pomp. I also love their camaraderie. These guys look happy and supportive of each other in their CR. You know, how Liquid once were. TRIBE vs MISFITS - Graveyardapalooza. You know that meme where the guy gets angry at the outdoor party and starts slapping his way through all the guests, children included? That is how I see Tribe at the moment. They are simply bitch-slapping everyone who crosses their path. This Misfits outfit is not too shabby, but despite some outstanding play from Airsurfer (trust yourself, Jack) they were manhandled by Tribe. Imagine getting past a white hot TNT, Boof returning to his 1v1 best, and then being confronted by Jupiter King. The only thing that nightmare is lacking is some Freddy Kruger. I was surprised to see Sunshine Bob and May the Schwarz Be With You evicted from the 2v2 house. I believe they can still become a formidable duo with time, but I guess if you're going to experiment, it might as well be against Tribe. Airsurfer and Wings were great against a combo looking to bounce back after being defeated by SSG. The mystery of why Wings isn't playing KOTH continues to deepen. I'm baffled. Nervous Jack dropped his adjective this week and played the kind of CR we all know he is capable of. It was just Jack, and who knows what could have been but for 64 hp against Boof. Not much else to talk about. Lots of GY was used etc etc All we need is for Supercell to Amazon some face cams to Sth Korea. I'm sure Bezos delivers there too. There is no excuse for using still images at this point of the season. SUMMARY - The Tribe locomotive steams on, but lots of good signs for Misfits. That said, they have to go back to Bob and Schwarz in the 2v2 because the former simply isn't up to 1v1 at this level. He has to take on the AC role in this roster. Just suck it up and get some more 2v2 games into them. If they come good, Jack controls his nerves, and Wings reignites his KOTH dominance, suddenly Misfits return to being one of the real power players again. PAIN vs SK This match was as predictable as Lil' Gramps calling me a "moron" every 5 minutes on my stream (Come say high - we're generally online Friday nights US time) I might as well fill this space with some self plugs because this match put me to sleep. The 2v2 was a cakewalk for SK and showed the difference in class. Washed Sergio bounced back with his first 1v1 win in a decade, but does it really count? It was against Sweep using Sparky. A little too predictable from the 70's porn star and no chance against you know what. I like this kid Wallace. He showed some good signs in the individual events and has not been intimidated at all by the jump up to GYL. Ultimately it came down to Lucas against Morts to keep Pain alive. If you have some trouble understanding Lucas' hair, the answers are all on his Twitter. He's trying to look like his idol Jesus Sadly, his lord chose to forsake poor Lucas today, and he got crucified by Morts. SUMMARY - There's nothing new to say about SK. Same roster, same team, same strengths, same weakness. Pain showed that there's a significant gap between themselves and the best teams. This will be nothing but a learning season for them. *********************************************************************************** Fantasy Royale - We picked up another 13 crowns with our selections of Azilys, Javi, Morten and Michifu. It could have been glorious had I known that Bouefmac was going to play KOTH and not Azilys. With a total of 26, we are sitting 10th global, so still well in the hunt to win those precious 100 gems. As for this week, I think 3 players are an absolute lock. Cream and SSG both have 2 games, so you have to include Michy, Rf and Lapo. I am loathe to add a second from Cream simply because you can't be sure they will win both 2v2s and one of their KOTHs is against Queso. So that 4th spot is going to require a bit of good judgement and a healthy dose of luck. I settled with Razzer. I think he can get a 2v2 win vs Dig, and then based on rotation, is set to play KOTH in place of Kanny.

Good luck, and thanks for reading, Gramps.