Fast Takes with Fast Break: MLQ Championships Power Ranking Pt. 1
PC: Major League Quidditch
12. Kansas City - Naresh Edala
Coming into this season, the Stampede was projected as the third-best team in the South Division. While the season brought forth many scares, Kansas City still achieved the expected result, with the highlight being a series win over the San Antonio Soldados. In this series, the Stampede was able to use clutch snitch catches and lock down defense in the last few possessions to complete the comeback. This opening series for them set the stage for KC to have the inside track for the #2 seed in the South. However, a sweep to the hands of League City kept the South Division contentious until the very last regular season weekend. At several points during the season, this team showed how they can hold their own against any team (see games 1 and 2 against the Outlaws). Both games against Austin saw this KC team within 40 points of Austin where a snitch catch could have made it a much closer affair.
The full Kansas City roster probably makes a lot more noise, but with only 10 players, it is difficult to ask them to get a win against either Indianapolis or Charlotte. Charlotte has been widely recognized as the best 3-9 team in MLQ this season with their deep beater corp allowing them to be as aggressive as needed, and their physical style of play. It might be too much for the Stampede to try and match. If Indianapolis is able to beat Charlotte, this becomes a more interesting matchup because Indianapolis has shown less physicality than Charlotte. 6 of the 10 people on the KC roster are beaters (of the 6, two are utility as chaser), so moving people around can be difficult as they may have to go from the quaffle game immediately into the beater game. This is a hard ask for anyone, and in the style of MLQ, this could replicate their performance against League City as a similarly sized roster was swept as the fatigue was clearly evident for Kansas City.
However, something going in the Stampede’s favor is that they will be more rested, and the grueling task that play-in teams are subject to won’t have hit them yet. With their ability to scout their opponent, they have a competitive advantage, which in a single game can be extremely beneficial. While I don’t see Kansas City getting out of the playin bracket, their best case can be their ability to take that first game against either Indianapolis or Charlotte. We will have to wait and see if they have the quaffle depth to continue running— which is the type of style they have implemented this year. Before rosters came out, it could be argued that a full rostered Stampede team could make a lot of noise and even come out of the play in the bracket, but unfortunately, we won’t see that this year.
11. Toronto - Ittaana Krow
The Raiders return to Championship Weekend after a bit of an up and down season. Securing the 4th seed in the North Division with a 5-5 record, the Raiders showed resilience when it mattered most to give themselves a shot at extending their season. The season started hot with a sweep of the Cleveland Riff and a whopping score differential of +118.3, where the Raiders showed a propensity to show a high press defense that led to many transition scores, but the road ahead would prove more difficult. They then faced off against the Rochester Whiteout, and the level of physicality combined with a full-court press slowed any momentum as the Raiders fell in a sweep. Heading into the inaugural North Division Championships, they matched up against the Indianapolis Intensity and while the first game of the series was relatively close, the depth of the Intensity pulled through, leaving the Raiders to have to play the Detroit Innovators in their biggest series yet. In a tight matchup that had multiple lead changes, the Raiders were able to grind away consecutive victories for the first time in over a month.
Their first match this weekend is against the New Orleans Curse, and while the Curse record might be just 3-9, underestimating them would be a recipe for disaster. Success on the field for the Raiders this season has been their ability to operate in transition and that starts with causing turnovers on the defensive end. Their beating core, especially the standout pair Derek Taylor and Brittany Kahane, is going to have to establish the fast tempo play style. The return of Tyler Vindua and Jeremy Burrows-Balka couldn’t have come at a better time as their physicality on the defensive end and mid-range shooting are very much needed for a team that has struggled to score consistently in the half-court. An ideal weekend is coming away with a win against any of the play-in teams while being competitive in any potential losses. A question asked earlier this season is what will this team’s identity be? This weekend Coach Howard will have the opportunity to lead the Raiders to be the best version of themselves and their resilience is something to be looking forward to.
10. New Orleans - Naresh Edala
The 2022 summer is definitely one to remember for the New Orleans Curse. Making it to MLQ Champs for the first time since 2017 showed how much progress this team has made after fighting for the final spot for years in the South Division. Backed by a strong beater corp with smart coaching and lock-down defense, the Curse have set the foundation for future success, and this opportunity to play at Champs this year will allow for the franchise to gain valuable experience. That was the theme for this team this entire summer because in every series, they had looked like a team that was coming together. While they got swept in their opening weekend matchup, the games were a lot closer than the final scores indicated. They followed up this performance with a sweep of League City— one of the first “upsets” that the South division saw this summer. After weeks off, they came back to the South Super Series; and while it wasn’t the results they wanted, they were able to remain competitive against Austin and Kansas City.
Their opening matchup for MLQ Champs will be against Toronto and will be the opportunity for the Curse to cement the notion that they are a team to fear from here on out. This should be a much closer matchup than expected, as Toronto has shown all year that they struggle to move the ball efficiently. This could get even tougher for the Raiders with the combined efforts of Sarah Kneiling/Joshua Mansfield & Alex Pucciarelli/Michael Sanders-Valdes; beater pairs that should be able to control the pace of play and create transition opportunities for the quaffle game. Unless Toronto can find an efficient way to move the ball and not rely on solo efforts by a few quaffle players, this could be a tough ask for the Raiders to break the 1-3 zone that the Curse implement.
Beating Toronto will be a chance for the Curse program to have their signature win at Champs. However, it will be a tough test as the winner of this matchup will go up against Washington. While I don’t see this being a favorable matchup for the Curse, they have the chance to do what League City was able to do last year and make a deep play-in run. Regardless of what happens this weekend, the future is bright for this Curse team, and this experience will only help them in future seasons.
9. Rochester - Jack Moseley & Tyler Beckman
Whiteout won the North Division’s second seed this season with a 6-3 record, sweeping Toronto and Cleveland and being swept by Minneapolis. While great initial success and standout performances from young players like Kit Powpour, Mike Pirrall, and Ashley Wilson are outstanding achievements to celebrate, a streak of injuries and absences over the latter half of the season left Rochester disappointed over what could have been. Up next is a matchup against the New York Titans, another clash in the storied rivalry between the equally great quidditch cities of NYC and Rochester.
After a promising start to the season, Whiteout traveled to North Champs with a depleted roster missing several key players. The good news is that between North Champs and MLQ Champs they’ve received reinforcements (Sollie Gominiak, Ashley Wilson, Erin Parkinson and Mitch Brown). The bad news is that they’re still without Basem Ashkar and Mitchell Vargas, and they’re facing a less-than-ideal matchup against a team that Fastbreak’s staff views as one of the best in the league. After struggling against Minneapolis, offensive consistency has to be the biggest focus for Whiteout this series. That might be tough, but the return of Brown and Gominiak and more time to prepare for life without Ashkar and Vargas should increase the comfort level of Whiteout’s chasers. In the beating game, Whiteout faces a steep challenge in the Titans’ deep rotation of beaters. Whiteout can counter with Hickmott, Callanan, and Gominiak, but they’ll need depth behind them to step up and possibly some utility chasers as well. The beaters will need to play better than they did against Minneapolis, especially on the offensive end, creating space for their chasers. If Whiteout’s beaters can’t hold their ground in this series, their chasers will struggle to find their rhythm, and Jon Jackson and New York’s chasers will run wild.
Rochester’s best shot to win this series is to bank on their physicality and seeking (five catches through nine games). Whiteout has several capable defenders and a defensive-minded focus that’s helped them to limit other teams’ success in the half-court all season. New York undoubtedly has the athletic advantage, but they’ve shown a tendency to favor finesse over physicality at times that can benefit Rochester if they’re able to limit fast breaks. Like we saw in Rochester’s third game against Minneapolis, a team that can keep scoring low and catch the snitch always has a chance to make things interesting. Still, unless they can find consistency on the offensive end, they’ll have a tough time making it past the quarterfinals. If the quarter-final matchup against New York wasn’t daunting enough, a (probable) matchup against Austin in the semis would take a Herculean effort from Rochester to upset. The best case scenario for Whiteout at champs is to steal a win from Titans and win the gift certificate for the after-party.
8. Indianapolis - Sam Nielson
The Indianapolis Intensity has had somewhat of an up-and-down year in 2022, with convincing wins against Detroit and Toronto sandwiching a disappointing 0-3 regular season loss to North Division champions Minneapolis. All season long, they have leaned on their experienced and deep beating roster to create space on offense and lock down their opponents while on defense. When they have been in sync, their newer chasing roster has held up admirably, turning defensive turnovers into easy fast break goals and moving the ball well in a methodical half-court offense. When they are not in sync with their beaters, and especially without their veteran leadership on the field, the quaffle players have struggled to consistently get stops and create their own goals on offense.
Indy’s first matchup is against the Charlotte Aviators in what could be a very close match to open Saturday’s play. If Indianapolis can solidify the chaser-beater cohesion, as they did for their season peaks; they could win this solidly. However, Charlotte brings success in the seeking game that Indy has not shown this season, and could use that to snag a win or put an otherwise close game out of reach. The winner of this match is likely the favorite to join the Washington Admirals in advancing out of the play-in bracket, and could easily find themselves in a rematch of this game for that spot later in the day.
Regardless of the results of their first game, The highest likely finish for Indianapolis this weekend is a trip out of the play-in bracket followed by a loss to Austin or Boston in the Championship Bracket quarterfinals. While a win against anyone in the play-in bracket is very achievable for this team, they have not shown thus far either the consistency or top-end playmaking required to win a best-of-three series against one of the top teams in the league, especially after already playing a minimum of three games that day and facing a fresh opponent.
7. Charlotte - Serena Monteiro
The Charlotte Aviators faced a tough regular season in the notoriously competitive East Division, winning just three games, all against the Ottawa Black Bears. The final outcome of their games does not do justice to the grit and hard work that the Aviators are putting on the pitch game after game. As a team, Charlotte has the athleticism and drive-to-win that makes their team a difficult one to face come game-day. Playing a team outside of the East Division will hopefully inspire confidence in the Aviators squad. They are easily the scariest fourth seed to face at this tournament. They can keep teams close during the seeker floor and have proven time and time again that their tireless beating corps and elite seekers can maintain their pace in close and high-stakes games. One key to Charlotte’s offensive success this weekend will be patience. Often they can be a shot-happy team with low percentage conversion into goals. With many teams expected to play some form of hoop zone defenses, Charlotte’s physicality and heads-up last-minute passing abilities will need to be polished before hitting the pitch this weekend.
Their first matchup of Day 1 is the Indianapolis Intensity. This is likely to be a close game, but I think Charlotte’s beating ability can give them the edge that they need to win this game. The East division is known for its elite beating, which has given Charlotte an advantage going into the Championship. The Charlotte beaters have seen a multitude of high-level beating styles and have been able to hone in on their own strengths against a variety of matchups during the regular season. They have also been able to give significant minutes to beaters all along their roster, which has them well-poised to use that talented depth this weekend when fresh legs are a valuable commodity. Quick substitutions along the Aviator’s beating depth in order to create the best beater match-ups could help turn the tide of any game in their favor. A win against the Intensity would lead Charlotte to play the pared-down roster of Kansas City. Typically I would favor Kansas City to out-run and be the physically dominant team over Charlotte; however, without their roster at full strength, Kansas will need to slow down their pace of play, which will allow the Charlotte squad to dictate how they want to play the game, likely using their beaters to cause turnovers and creating fast break opportunities to out-score Kansas. Unfortunately, the Aviator’s potential victorious entrance into the Championship bracket will likely match them up with East Division rival the Washington Admirals. The Admirals swept Charlotte in their season opener and are well poised to repeat those results as Charlotte cannot always rely on their beaters to cause chaos in the chaser game when the Admirals play their disciplined, patient and highly physical defense at the hoops. What we can hope for is an exciting best of three series with a Charlotte upset to lead to an absolute nail-biter of a game three and series decider.
