FastBreak News Power Rankings: Week 7

Power rankings went out on MLQ's social. Now that they've had a week to marinate, let's look at where teams stand going in the final two weekends of MLQ Series

New York Titans (149) (9)

Chicago Prowl (135) (1)

Boston Forge (135)

San Antonio Soldados (117)

Austin Outlaws (110)

Detroit Innovators (100)

New Orleans Curse (80)

League City Legends (80)

Washington Admirals (68)

Minneapolis Monarchs (66)

Kansas City Stampede (54)

Charlotte Aviators (42)

Toronto Raiders (37)

Ottawa Black Bears (16)

Cleveland Riff (14)

Methodology:

Voters rank every team 1-15. For each ballot, each team is assigned a point value based on where they were placed on the ballot. Points are summed for each team across all ballots and then totals are sorted in descending order, resulting in the final ranking. First number after each team represents the total number of points the team received. Second number represents the number of first place votes (if any) the team received.

Analysis:

In the weeks since the last article, most teams in MLQ have had chances to work hard and show off for our rankers. We saw some consolidation at the top and smoothing out through the top half of MLQ. With Austin Outlaws showing they can put more work away- leading to their series win over San Antonio Soldados this past weekend, they return to a top 5 position in the rankings. Detroit Innovators was the likely second in the North at the time of the rankings, though the home SuperSeries this weekend established it for champs. In the East Division, it’s been business as usual- New York sits at the top, though Boston is showing top talent right on their heels. This remains an MLQ season with parity all over the place, and championship is shaping up to be a very interesting venture.

Speaking of championship, the play-in bracket and quarterfinal could be very interesting. All eyes will be on the San Antonio v New Orleans series this weekend to see who clinches first in the South. If San Antonio sweeps New Orleans, they take the division despite a series loss to Austin Outlaws. For New Orleans, they'll be working against all competition to increase the cohesion we've seen woven into this year's iteration of Curse- a team that had no USQ club team to build from this past season.

As we move closer to championship weekend, there are still a number of important series with bearing on championships. As you get ready to watch today and next Saturday, keep these in mind:

East Division: CLT hosting NYC July 27 6pm EST-

With a lighter roster and the furthest travel this summer, NYC has its last chance to show that it deserves this #1 ranked spot down the line. Playing more of it's depth at chaser on the Aviators home turf, the Titans will need to show just how much they've grown since Boston or they risk entering champs without battle tested chemistry. For Aviators, this series may show them how far they can go, or at least what they need to use the next 2 weeks preparing to run the gauntlet of the day 1 play in. If they survive the blender of 3s and 4s, they'll have to play a powerhouse just like Titans to advance. For a team that tries to reach new heights each year, they'll do everything in their power not to stay grounded.

South Division: SA hosting NO July 27 7pm EST-

The Soldados are looking to dominate at home, knowing that their performance here decides whether they walk away as 1 or 2 seed. Has MLQ ever had a divisional winner lose a series? If not, this might be the first year if San Antonio can take all 3 games. New Orleans is the strongest it's ever looked, and seeks to clear past League City in all standings to a high a seed as possible on championship weekend. With both teams’ mastery at running in transition, the beater battles that create them will be even more important. In the seeker period, San Antonio has had average success and will need to work overtime to disrupt Curses's magic fingers at seeking this season. Very deserving of series of the week, a sweep by San Antonio could change the entire top bracket- does NYC care between San Antonio and Austin? If they choose to Detroit, we could see Austin, Boston, and Chicago all on the same side of the bracket. Results of this series will be electrifying to say the least, and have far reaching effects on the Benepe Cup.

North Division: TOR hosting MPLS Aug 3 12pm EST

Minneapolis has been down bad this season. With a late start and facing the division winners first, to Crowdstrike flight cancellations affecting their second competition weekend, surely they're due some good fortune at this point…right? We may yet find that migrating across the border may find the odds ever in their favor. A win against Toronto (and what it'll take to get there) will be great practice if the Monarchs hope to repeat their performance last year as champions of the gauntlet. Maybe Monarchs just need a little time to get their flow in and the best is yet to come. On the Canadian side of MLQ, Toronto Raiders have proven this season that they've still got fight. Though they definitively benefited from the old North Division schedule, they've gone blow for blow moving up the North Division. This and next week will show how they stand against a Benepe Cup contender, and then decide just how deep in the play-in they start. With a later Day 1 start on the line, Toronto will be looking to use everything they threw at Detroit and more to clinch third in the division.

This MLQ season starts and ends with series that matter leading all the way up to champs, and it's been a great time following. In preparation for this weekend, we reached out to San Antonio's leadership to get their thoughts on perhaps the most important series left over these two weeks.

Fast Break: Currently, the South Division is the most tumultuous. With the series this weekend, San Antonio only needs one game to be on track for top seed. What are you thinking in 2 sentences about getting ready for NOLA next weekend?

SA: We have to come at them in full force, no hesitation. We have no time for mistakes or anything less than our best.

Fast Break: This year, the East Division 1 seed gets to choose who they play first going into champs. If the roles were reversed, and you were choosing the East 2 seed (BOS) or North 2 seed (projected DET), who would you pick?

We saw a split decision between the Head Coaches in this answer!

Milena: I would want to take out the 2nd seed east out early, this years championship belongs to anyone, I think getting good competitors out early will help us in the long run

Avila: I’d probably take projected Detroit, I love a challenge and I’d love to play a team I don’t get to often