ESEA S42 Advanced pre-season player rankings
Players participating in S42 of ADV were asked to give their opinions as to who the ten best players were in the league ahead of this season’s action. Limitless shined bright in this vote as the only team with multiple players in the top ten, with three members making the list. Here are the ten best players entering S42 of ADV, as voted by players:
(Note: This poll was done prior to ESEA's decision to shift Victorum up to ECL to replace BHOP. As such, their players were eligible to be voted on. Additionally, Dust2.us knows that paiN will not be playing Advanced, therefore their players were not eligible to be voted on.)
#10 - Bradley “Slugy” Kohler (Victorum)
Slugy has a wealth of experience compared to his ADV constituents, especially at 19 years old. His 35 matches over two seasons with Mythic in ECL helped him garner a wealth of experience that has rewarded him with impressive individual performances with Northern Forces and X13. Slugy has performed above 80.6 ADR and 11.5 RWS (Round Win Score) each of the three seasons since ECL, giving him a good case for claim as the tenth best player in ADV ahead of the new season. While he will no longer be playing Advanced, he is well esteemed among his former Advanced colleagues.
#9 - Joshua “Wo0o0o” Neidert (Eclectiq)
Ecletiq’s AWPer takes the number nine position, which should come as no surprise to anyone aware of his presence with the big green. Wo0o0o led all of his peers in ADV last season in AWP frags with a whopping 178 over 20 maps. His dominant play with the AWP netted him an impressive 91.8 ADR and 12.8 RWS, as well as a fourth-best .91 frags per round in the regular season. The impact offered from Wo0o0o helped take his team to 9th-12th place last season. Now under the Eclectiq banner, the 19-year-old AWPer and his team will look to build off the success into new heights.
#8 - Matthew “scaar” Bruni (Limitless)
Limitless makes their first of three appearances with star rifler scaar, who enjoyed a strong playoff showing with X13, closing the season with 83.4 ADR, 11.7 RWS, and .77 frags per round over 21 matches with his former team, X13. He did well offering impact with his team while finishing 9th-12th. Now with a bolstered Limitless squad, everything is in place for scaar to prove himself as a top talent in ADV and get back to ECL.
#7 - Dwight “Calix” Nguyen (FPL & Ellison)
The fifteen year old prodigy Calix is next on the list, making a strong argument for the most exciting youth talent in the region. At just fifteen, he ended S41 with 92.2 ADR and 13.1 RWS, ranking him slightly higher in both categories than ONET4P’s star rifler Gage “Infinite” Green. With S42 set to begin, he’s statistically one of the best talents last season to not receive a call up, opening the doors for the growing talent to stretch his dominance further.
#6 - Alvin “Alvin” Bui (Villainous)
Alvin had a rough go at it last season inside of ECL as a part of ex-UYU, closing the season without a single win and ultimately being relegated to ADV. After a couple of teammate changes and finding a new home in Villainous, Alvin looks poised to return to his impactful ways similar to his last run in ADV where he closed the season with 83.6 ADR and 11.9 RWS. Despite the rough run in ECL, his ADV peers are well aware of the skill ceiling the 20 year old possesses.
#5 - Dave “sezi” Schrage (X13)
The X13 star rifler starts the second half of the list, looking to build off the S41 showing that took his former team, Limitless, into the playoffs with 88.8 ADR and 11.7 RWS. Now under the X13 banner, and with new addition James “Gonzo” Madden joining the lineup to bolster firepower, sezi looks poised to enter new heights for his team and re-achieve the goal of qualifying for ECL for his fifth time.
#4 - Bobby “stamina” Eitrem (Limitless)
The second showing of Limitless has arrived in the form of respected in-game leader stamina, who enters the Limitless lineup after an impressive run with Strife that saw his stock as a leader shoot to the moon. Last season in ECL, stamina led his team to a perfect 7-0 regular season record, ultimately clinching a S42 ECL seat for his former team. While leading, he finished with 79.5 ADR and 11.5 RWS, impressive individual numbers in isolation. Now a part of a stacked Limitless team in ADV, stamina should have a heyday this season.
#3 - Austin “AJaxz” Janocha (Earlybirds)
The EarlyBirds rifler performed at levels few ADV players could achieve once on a consistent basis. When digging into the numbers, AJaxz was otherworldly on an individual level. His 96.7 ADR last season lands him in the top ten, as does his 13.5 RWS. When the ECL call ups are filtered out, he lands top 3-5 in both categories, cementing him as one of the highest skilled talents in the league. Now in his fourth season with EarlyBirds, AJaxz has the tools to be a superstar in the trenches of ADV and possibly ECL.
#2 - Umar “Umar” Qaiser (Electrify Steel)
Umar was a wrecking ball for his former team of Take Flyte last season, leading the team in performance to enter the playoffs with a solid 11-3 record behind an impressive 82.7 ADR and 12.9 RWS. Not only has he been a force in the league, but he was also dominant last month at LAN, earning him a place in July’s Team of the Month. Earning this honor as an ADV talent is a sure fire way to separate yourself amongst the rest of the talent. All of this culminates in Umar being the second best talent as voted by his peers. Now under the Electrify Steel banner with a new lineup, time will tell if Umar and company can put it together as a team and make ECL.
#1 - Josh “JBa” Barutt (Limitless)
JBa takes the top spot as the most impressive talent in ADV according to his fellow players. When you look at his resume, it’s not surprising how highly they value him. He’s entering only his sixth season of ADV at 18 years of age and already looks like a superstar amongst his peers with 89.3 ADR and 12.4 RWS last season. Now under the tutelage of stamina, JBa looks poised to lead the Limitless charge as the best player in ADV entering the season.
