B-Team

Eastern Conference

The B-Team conference has not lacked any of the excitement of it’s counterpart in the A-Team. With a more focused rotation than in seasons past, individuals are starting to shine as teams make their mark. Notably, our of the 8 teams to make A or B Team playoffs, six belonged to three franchises, displaying tthe level of depth in the team. After ten weeks, the standings:

Seed Team 1 The Witnesses (15-3-2) 2 Shareef Don’t Like It (12-6-2) 3 The Brigade (14-6) 4 College Pop Out (12-6-2)

MATCHUP 1: The Brigade versus Shareef Don’t Like It

The first matchup between the two occurred all the way in back three - SDL eked out two victories, helping them solidify a strong opening to the season.

The Brigade (Blockwork Orange)

Offense Defense Jagdpanther Prjct Hammertime Thanos Atheist dandandandan archedrapier

The Brigade has had quite the interesting season - starting off the first three weeks with a record of 1-5, the team had much to be desired as it appeared nothing was working. However, after the week of losses to SDL, the team began a winning streak interrupted by a sole loss to The Witnesses, entering a 13-1 streak of games that launched it into playoff contention. While the team sits at the third seed, it maintains the second highest number of points in the conference.

The foundation of the team’s offense was built on experience, but coupled with the introduction of a couple of new players. Jagdpanther is a player who has made his mark in NLTP in seasons past, making it to the Nuperball with his team before earning an MLTP captaincy in S7. Following a season break, he returned to NLTP where his experience and more conservative style of play has seemed to be a boon for the team. Coupled in the experience tier is Atheist, who has had a series of solid performances in seasons past, albeit on struggling teams. With the newfound strength on the team, he’s also been able to perform well when called upon.

On the other side of the offense is HammerTime and archedrapier - HammerTime began his season in ALTP prior to being called up, where he has had a successful start thus far. His slightly more aggressive style complements others on the team. Archedrapier is a perennial pubber who made his first foray into competitive this season - while his availability on Wednesdays has been limited, he’s still had impressive showings in the minutes he’s earned thus far, and his mechanics have been impressive.

Arguably, the main issue this team struggled early on in the season, and has had any close performances thus far, is the offensive consistency. Even within halves, performances can vary greatly - but if the team can find its momentum, and keep it, it will prove a challenge for opposing defenses.

Defensively, The Brigade has also seen improving performances over its seven week streak. Thanos and Prjct sit at the 98 and 99 D Nish, putting forward competitive numbers in prevent and returns - as individuals, they’re both talented, but have worked well together as a pair. Each have some of the top numbers in prevent and returns, and have done a great job at setting up opportunities. The defense also finds strength and depth in dandandandan. While he’s quite a bit more risky than either of the other defense members, his decisions often have the benefit of paying off.

A main area of improvement for the team over the past few weeks has been the definition of roles - While each member puts forward impressive stats in their standard position, they limit the time they find themselves temporarily playing another, allowing for the team to find full resets and perform where best. Prjct, with one cap his season, nearly is perfect with a 0 ONSIH and 99DNISH.

Results on Wormy

In Week 9, The Brigade squeaked out an overtime victory against the Balls on Parade B team, while Week 10 saw a more decisive win over the Whitecaps, earning them a place in the playoffs.

Shareef Don’t Like It (Block the Capsbah)

Offense Defense Ballsagnia Business TheIndian Xx360NoSwagx Adarssh fx=sum(bawl) Grill_Gamer VetDave

Perhaps one of the more interesting storylines this season is the success of SDL. The initial roster consisted of a series of individuals who haven’t exactly had the most impressive performances in seasons past, and no real star to the team. However, when playing alongside their partners, they delivered strong and noteworthy performances that exemplified the strengths of each team.

The past few weeks have seen a series of strong pickups to shore up some of the team’s depth - however it’s also seen a series of blowout victories and losses against unexpected opponents. If we relied on their comments on /r/NLTP, I’d suppose they’re undergoing an apocalypse of some sort.



Offensively, the success of this team early in the season came from Adarssh and TheIndian, who both had an initial few explosive weeks, but have slowed down a bit during this second half of the season. Both B-Teamers last season, they entered this season showing quite a bit of improvement over the off-season, and with something to prove, rarely disappointing.

As spots opened up on the team, Some Man 7 filled them with experience. Ballsagnia was picked up midway through and has already worked his way up to #5 in caps with a CPM of .17. While his experience from several seasons of competitive coupled with his individual talent is definitely a bonus for the team, it does appear as though his success was marked with the slowing in performances from the previous two, as they were spiraled more into support roles. While in his initial performance and one week since the team delivered explosive numbers, other weeks have shown lower numbers put forth by the team. Experience was also added in the form of Grill_Gamer, who has provided a steady presence in his minutes each week, shoring up the offense.

Statistically, the defense is the weaker side of the team, ranked 12th in WIP. While they have the lowest prevent in the league, they also notch the highest return rate, which I think can be seen in their style of their play, as they consistently and somewhat successfully exert pressure in chasing and closing down enemy flag carriers, although the idea that they are repeatedly forced to can severely limit the successes of their offense, for though they are competent at finding the returns, maintain one of the highest hold against numbers in the league, with the flag too often out of base.

Two pickups midway through the season, Xx360NoSwagx and Rexer both aided in the defensive depth on A and B team following the departure of a few key members of the team - with both tied in A team minutes, I’m just taking a guess that Xx360 will be the one playing B Team in the post-season. Likely part of the success behind the team’s high returns, he has earned the weekly record three times since the end of the last season, and has earned the 10 DGASP two of the three weeks he has played. Impressing in a major’s call up earlier in the season, his aggression has had a huge impact on the defense of the team.

While Business has had some good performances on defense, he is also an important factor of the team in other areas, taking 11 caps and maintaining a healthy powerup percentage to keep the team in contention. VetDave hasn’t had the best numbers performance, but from what I’m aware of him I’m sure his awareness and communications are aiding the team in keeping on track and moving forward in individual halves. Likewise fx has also performed similarly to the rest of his defense, allowing for rotation without sacrifice.

Results on Wormy

The team notched a huge 9-2 victory over College Popout in week 9, prior to an overtime loss against the resurgent Kitty Caps in Week 10 - which team will show up on Wormy?

The Matchup of the Two

These two teams have had quite the opposite trajectory this season - SDL starting hot as the top team prior to slowing down with some surprising losses. The Brigade started poorly, and followed with a definitive streak of wins.

On defense, the advantage goes to BGD. Thanos, Prjct, and dandandandan have developed a strong and complementary trio that consistently pressures offenses inside and outside of base. While Wormy is a naturally offensive map, I think the three will be able to play smartly in limiting opportunities of SDL. The fact that SDL has such a low prevent, coupled with a map that is naturally easy to get out on, provides a few warning signs of a holdfest for BGD, but perhaps the team will be able to find quick returns.

I think the offensive matchup is slightly closer, with Ballsagnia having strong performances during his time on the team, but he’ll need strong performances from his partners. The match might turn into how well BGD can hold, on the assumption that they’ll be out of base frequently.

MATCHUP 2: The Witnesses vs College Popout

Meeting in Week 8, the two teams began with a tie before College Popout earned a 1 point victory.

The Witnesses (Balladega Nights)

Offense Defense Shabba M.Forcier memeganoob Jormunagand gingerdg popsic DaEvil1 duck

Statistically, this is the top team in the league, holding an advantage in a wide range of areas across the spectrum. Individual players have shown strong performances, and have helped lead this team to its current position atop the league.

Shabba, memeganoob, and gingerdg have slowly rotated into one of the more formidable offenses in the league. Each bring to the team a healthy amount of experience coupled with seasons’ worth of talent at higher levels, and have been able to apply these advantages into a successful season. Shabba leads the league in caps, with the second highest number of powerups, a factor that contributes to the team’s dominance. Memega and ginger both also have an impressive 23 and 21 caps, contributing to the consistent high scoring games of the team.

If questions of depth arise, the team benefits from a series of defenders who are also comfortable on offense, such as popsic having nearly identical stats in each area of the map.

While the offensive skill of this team has been solidified, the defense raises more questions merely from such a long line of qualified players to rotate into the lineup. M.Forcier has been a consistent presence, playing 284 minutes and leading the defense in the league for much of the season. He does of a style of play that his counterparts often need to be aware of, known for taking the risky opportunities to earn the team quick resets.

DaEvil1 is a more recent pickup for the team, acquired near the end of the free agency, and has been playing well thus far, seemingly and smoothless complimenting his partners - he has quite the long and illustrious career having played in both ELTP and MLTP, and further contributing to the long-tenured list of players on the team.

In his limited play, Jormunagand has delivered fantastic per minute stats, average over 20 seconds of prevent and 1.3 returns - if he shows, it will be a boon for M. Forcier, as he can also cover any aggressive plays well.

Results on Wormy

In week 9 the team escaped with a close 3-2 victory over the Whitecaps. Week 10 had the team earned a forfeit victory after BOP played A-Teamers in the B-Team game.

College Popout (Gate Registration)

Offense Defense ThadCastle SmallTownBal Thirsty Raptor_Jesus TPK Kevin Bacon TennisBall Fence StufedBurger

College Popout’s B Team has seen a long list of players actively play, and mostly doing well week in and week out. A series of trades and pickups midway through the season has added a bit of power, specifically on the defensive side of the team.

The offense of the team is led by ThadCastle, a player who has shown his two-way prowess on his A-Team. Leading the league in powerups, he’s also competitive in a variety of other areas. While he’s likely going to be a stalwart for the offense during playoffs, he has a vast selection of partners who are all equally good choices - given fewer minutes, Thirsty has arguably put up more impressive stats in his limited time, and seems to have a more refined but aggressive offensive style.

TPK seems to have split his time between offense and defense during the season, but regardless of position has been an important player in maintaining the structure and consistency of the team. While the two others have had substantially fewer minutes, they still contribute to the offensive depth of the team, with StufedBurger providing a valuable 10 caps over the course of the season.

The defense of this team is a bit more liquid for me, and perhaps is a reason as to TPK’s split time. SmallTownBal entered the season as a Buperball Champion, while Raptor came off of a captaincy, and as such each bring an interesting perspective to the team. Neither has had overly impressive seasons thus far, and from limited watching it appears the defense hasn’t quite found the chemistry that others in the league have. Both Raptor and Kevin are mid-season pickups, yet neither have been able to put forward the results to allow the entire team to succeed.

I do think that the main advantage the defense poses is a sense of the game - while they’ve struggled in base, they do perform fairly well when out, and play smartly to limit opportunities for enemy offenses, while providing enough time for their offense to set up a proper defense.

Results on Wormy

Week 9 saw the team suffer a blowout at the hands of SDL - while the team played without their arguable starting four, it raises questions about the depth levels in the team. Week 10 saw a return of such players, with a victory over the Soviets.

The Matchup of the Two

Important to this matchup will be each team’s control of powerups - they both have had dominant performances with around 55% - if one team can tip the scale in their favor, it will negate a contributing factor to either team’s success.

On defense, the advantage probably goes to The Witnesses - the list of defenders offer consistency and stability, important assets on a map like Wormy and with an offense such as theirs.

Much like in the earlier matchup, the offensive comparison is substantially closer. Thad and Shabba share nearly identical stats, exchanging leads and advantages in a variety of categories. Likewise, I think memega, ginger, Thirsty, TPK, and Stufed can all deliver impressive performances as needed - making this matchup fascinating between the two.

CP’s offense will probably face quite a bit of pressure as I predict their flag will consistently be out of base - If they can play smartly and earn the early leads, I suspect they’ll be able to maintain them. If TW wind up with strong starts, I don’t particularly see these being close, as I think CP will fall apart.

CP does have the ability to challenge TW, as evident by their earlier matchup during the season, although I think their ability to rotate will be limited.

While the first few games may be close, The Witnesses will ultimately win out, probably in 3 with an OT.