Hello, fellow Warhammer 40k fans! SaltyJohn from TFG Radio, and one of the Las Vegas Open Head Judges, here to bring you another article reviewing the ITC Standings for the 2019 season with the new scoring method in place.
It’s been a few weeks since my last weekly article on the ITC. I was on vacation so I apologize for the lack of weekly articles, but I’m back and there’s been some shifts in the ITC in my absence. The Top 10 Overall looks similar, but the team rankings have had some interesting movement so I wanted to focus on that this week with an emphasis on a part of the the team rankings I rarely discuss; the regional rankings. Before we jump into that let’s look at the top 10 overall in the ITC right now.
Jim Vesal continues his reign of terror this season but the Tj Lanigan express is hot on his heels with numerous great finishes. Just behind those two are a slew of great players. Mani and Nick cannot be counted out, they’re only around 100 points behind Jim. In fact Matthew Allee in 10th is only about 164 points behing Jim. This is a marekdly different race for the championship than the previous 3 years under the former scoring system. Say what you want, and many of you have been saying alot even though the most vocal are often the least well informed (ahem), the new scoring system has provided us a much closer race for the prize. That, is a really good thing for the ITC. The Team Rankings are always interesting to me but in the past it’s always been the Beast Coast show from about July onwards. This year though here we are in August and we have Team Battle Brothers edging out Beast Coast with Can Hammer right behind.
Team Battle Brothers picked up the huge boost the winners of the ATC get every year in the race to win best team in the ITC. Again though, with the new scoring system this season winning the ATC has not proven to be as massive an influence on winning Best Team as it has in years past. That said StephenFore, Chris Blackman, Sean Nayden, Kelsey Haley, and Austin Wingfield are putting in major work to keep that team in the running. Every Region in the US, and the UK/Europe/Canada are also represented in the top 10. CanHammer represents Canada, Team Draco the UK/Europe, the West Coast of the US has two teams in the top 10 Team Zero Comp and #REKT. Unlike last year at this time it is conceivable with LVO, So Cal Open, and London GT finishes garnering massive points for players that this top 10 could see big movement.
The West of the US has been dominated for several years now by Team Zero Comp, #REKT, and Relentless D but the other clubs on this list are not to be taken for granted, they are all packed with high caliber players.
I don’t know what the deal with the Blank name is, but I think it’s fitting the South West get represented by a club with no name. I’m sure it’s just the excessive heat getting to them, too delirious to sign in properly at events.
The South has 4 teams representing it in the top 10, but several of them also appear in other region rankings. The way the United States is laid out, with the states getting larger the further West you go (which is a history lesson I can absolutely bore you with another time if you’d like) it makes sense that the further East you go in the ITC the more regions clubs will represent. Brohammer, Team Battle Bros, Beast Coast, and the General Staff all are stacked with great players and this Region has some serious competition.
The North East is traditonally the stomping grounds of Beast Coast so it’s no surprise that they’re number one. However, Peace through Dakka and Team Battle Brothers are amazing teams too.
I was a little surprised to see Beast Coast atop two regional ranking boards. But when you look at the events some of their players like TJ and Nick have been performing well at you can see why they’d be on top in both the North East and Mid-West. Frozen North Gaming is also a club that should not be counted out as they too have some big hitters who sometimes come into the season late.
I love that the ITC gains a larger presence in the International Community year after year. Two International Clubs, CanHammer and Team Draco, are not only tearing it up in their regions but they also are on the Top 10 Overall in the ITC Club Rankings! When you take a closer look at their scores it isn’t hard to see why these teams are doing so well both Regionally and Globally.
Congratulations to all the teams who have been doing so well so far! This season has an actual race for the top spot and that trophy at LVO so don’t count yourselves out!
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