Season 3 Rankings - Pocket

 Season 3 Rankings - Pocket

The pockets this season had a really large gap in skill, but mostly because the pockets towards the top of the division were so good. Yup, good at sandbagging. Thanks Rustic. Anyways, here's my top 5 pockets of Season 3 Open. 

5. Roza - Always Pride Month

Hey! It's pride month. Not because its June, but because we're talking about Roza. The gayest MGE lord, Roza is a real gaymer. From the endless novice frag movies, to the shotgun denying in MGE. Roza has always been my favorite patient to study because of his lack of a brain. During his time on Yang Ciao, Roza was always the one taking coinflip 1v1s and sometimes also doing his job as a pocket and taking space. 

Roza seems to have taken a lot of inspiration from MGEMike, with the amazing DM really shining through on a team like Yang Ciao. However, he didn't really seem to take any of the amazing decision- making MGEMike was also known for into account. Despite this, Roza has a lot of potential to still be developed. Like I said, his DM is just so good that he doesn't really need the team behind him to do work. He just needs 30% heals. 

Overall, Roza has the skill to walk into almost any situation trading either 1v1 or 1v2. Even if he won't stop literally sucking dick on Badlands Spire, Roza has the potential to win Division Three, or even go Division Two in the future. 

4. Drugs - Literally on Drugs

Adderall, Percocet, Oxycontin. That's right, we're talking about Drugs. A pocket soldier straight from hell, he even listens to hellish Doom music when airshotting 1600 elo hopefuls on Badlands Spire. Another specimen from the breed of ShaDowBurn/MGEMike-inspired Asian soldiers along with Roza, fany, GreenShaDow and Acesty. Drugs had always been a bit of a wildcard. Not much of a speaker, he is one of the remnants of the original ABNA Black roster pre-Rustic-dropping-sandbags. Playing pocket soldier for the team until W5, he transitioned to pocket scout until W7 when he was finally moved to sub after Tissueman was brought into the roster. 

As one of the more passive people in Emonemo's posse, Drugs carries this passivity into his playstyle on pocket. The insane DM he has carries very well into his playstyle whenever he decides to go aggressive, or whenever he decides his medic needs protection. What sold Drugs over fany to me was his jumps. Drugs always managed to bomb at times that would result in an advantageous situation, even if it seemed like a fluke. However, what prevents Drugs from moving up this list is a lack of communication. The top 2 pockets on this list spoke a lot. They were the maincallers for their team, which allowed them to really shine along with their DM and jumps. Drugs just simply didn't have that coordination with his team, which is what sadly prevents him from moving up. Overall, I was happy to see that Drugs finally got the win he deserved after an endless stream of participants, even if he did not play in playoffs.

3. Dax - Yeah, sex is cool but have you ever beaten a Tier 6?

There are two breeds of soldier in the Asian 6v6 scene. One devotes their life to MGE, the other devotes their life to rocket jumping and breaking Tempus records. Dax is the second one. But unlike the other jumper mains today, Dax has something that sets him apart from the others - he has pretty good DM. As the number one Tempus jumper in Hong Kong, you would imagine that Dax has good jumps, which he does. When playing Medic, the scariest thing is a soldier that you have to look all the way up at in the sky because his bombs are so high, and Dax is exactly that. However, there were some issues I had with Dax's gameplay.

When put in the right environment, Dax can pound hard. The problem is, when playing for Krankenwagen and when scrimming and playing matches against organized teams Dax did not get the same opportunities to shine. Dax thrives the most against unorganized teams where his double roamer playstyle with Hellstarry wreaks havoc. Dax didn't really play to his full potential in my opinion. He never really seemed to be communicating with his team. He had the same problem as Drugs, where he just seemed to do whatever he wanted and although he coordinated well with Hellstarry, it sometimes felt like he was playing his own game while his team was playing another. Again, with the talent that Dax has, especially with jumps, it would be a shame to see it go to waste. Perhaps in a future season, Dax will have the flexibility to play with his team freely without getting mommy destroyed.

2. dddd4444 - Tears of Pain

Long hair? Indonesian? Divison 1 sub? The sandiest of the baggers? We're talking about dddd4444, or D4LE, the most controversial transfer in Open. "Why is this guy allowed in Open?", people asked. Then, RSL played some matches and all questions were quelled. RSL never failed to disappoint D4le, as tie after tie, tear after tear, clawing through the hardest of matches for the smallest of victories, and it seems that D4LE's mank ass simply didn't have enough razzle-dazzle to get RSL to do some shit and pull their weight. However, once the transfer week passed and D4le had the opportunity to move to soldier with a reliable scout in Cabby, RSL really began to shine. 

The D4le/Cabby combo really seems to be the x-factor in RSL's wins and losses, and D4le's gamesense and experience really shined through on the soldier class. His map knowledge on jumps always brought new and frightening experiences for enemy medics, and being able to leave his medic for a while really brought the team together. Despite this, even though D4le previously played in Division One, he's not number one on this list. And the reason is simple - a player named Spud, a sandier and baggier sandbagger.

1. Spud - Division Tw-Three Pocket

Friend of the toxic prodigy, Spud was both the pocket and maincaller for ABNA Black, after Rustic left the team out of guilt. (little bitch) Spud never really stood out because of his mechanics. That is not to say that he has none, but Spud was a player known for his huge fucking brain. This really showed on ABNA Black, where his calls elevated ABNA Black from a mid-division two team to a high division two team. The skill he showed in managing his division two players in a division three match was truly magnificent. 

Overall, Spud doesn't necessarily have amazing DM or mechanics. But the way he reads the game and situation raises his gameplay to a level where he doesn't need to hit every airshot to get 400DPM. The opportunities he creates and capitalizes on is enough for him, which is why I believe that Spud was the best player in PURE Open Season 3.