Round 1 of the Goat Format War League Playoffs has concluded! Two teams have moved on to the next round to face Rampage (#3) and Oversweep (#4), and two teams have had their Season 1 dreams ended. Ultra Instinct (#8) finished with 2 lives remaining in an upset over LRG (#5), and the Enraged Pandas (#6) feasted on Eloteros (#7), finishing with 3 lives remaining. Congratulations to the two winning teams for their hard-fought victories. Before we get into the round 2 matchups, let’s take a moment to remember the two teams we’ve lost in round 1.
Obituaries
Here lies LRG. The team with the highest pre-season expectations receives a premature burial in round 1 of the playoffs. Haunted by their week 15 loss to team Beam Tones, it seems that LRG still had some skeletons in their closet heading into the post-season. One lost game was the deciding factor between two free byes and a first-round goodbye. Mistakes were made. Excuses won’t be. After losing 4 core members in a shocking turn of events in Week 6, many proclaimed LRG dead. The team regrouped and retooled, pulling a key member off the bench and into starting the lineup (FDS_), and making 3 valuable additions to the team (Prowaite, SolMasterMatt, and Gangsterbro). As a result of these changes, they finished with an impressive 7-3 record in the final 10 weeks of the season. The disappointing end to their run will only leave them hungrier for success in Season 2.
Here lies Eloteros. For a team with zero pre-season expectations, this loss is surprisingly painful. The Corn Men weren’t just happy to be in the playoffs, they wanted to win. For a brief moment, after Joey Neutral Grounds knocked out Don’t Copy and Eloteros gained the lead, it looked like they just might pull it off. They exit the playoffs now with an uncertain future. Zoidberg, their captain, has been added to the LRG roster. Other members who wowed the league with their performances may get signed by different teams as well, leaving the existence of Eloteros for Season 2 a question mark. Regardless of what happens next, the Corn Men have a lot to be proud of in Season 1.
