PHASE 7 Playoff Preview (Weeks 11-13 Recap) - Long Live The King
“He will never eat. He will never sleep. He will never stop.” - Ardeth Bay. Iron Man ends the season 3 wins above the closest manager. With strong contenders abound, they’re coming for his crown in the opening round of our ultimate gauntlet. In the end, record means nothing. Champions are made here and it all comes down to this..
Playoff Injury Report
JK Dobbins (MAAM)
Dallas Goedert (MIKE)
Romeo Doubs (MIKE)
Austin Seibert (MIKE)
CMC (AGAIN, MIKE)
Trevor Lawrence (ORH)
Taysom Hill (STC)
Josh Down (GMEN)
Austin Ekeler (GMEN)
Jordan Mason (GRONK)
Cedric Tillman (OHMA)
SFI Semi-Final (Winner’s Bracket)
#1 Peyton’s Forehead Shiner (11-2) vs #4 Suh-Tang Clan (8-5)
The King and the Duke; A Duel of Royal Blood - Part DeuX
It’s treason, then. Round 1 is a 2023 Championship rematch, as he’ll take on Suh-Tang Clan once again. After ending the season 2-1 and two separate 5 game win-streaks to set him up as the undisputed #1 contender, Peyton looks for the clean sweep against his own brother. On the gridiron battlefield; there are no gods, no masters, only man. He’ll be without the man responsible for it all in King Henry in the first week. In search of his 4th championship game in 5 seasons, can Peyton continue to defy the limits of the possible?
Here we go again. Losing 4 of 6 to finish the season, this isn’t the hot entrance you’d want from an underdog. Missing one of the golden tickets that got him here for the first week, he needs everything he’s got versus a manager he’s dropped his last 4 games against.
The very essence he’s based his team upon has been defying odds. Well, consider this the penultimate test of that very sentiment. Vision can’t change the past, but he can set a course for redemption in Round 1.
SFI Semi-Final (Winner’s Bracket)
#2 Pull The Lever, Gronk! (8-5) vs #3 Odell’s Rusty Hip (8-5)
The Witch and the Warrior; the light of the fire versus the might of the sword
Regardless of result, her reclamation project is complete. Making the playoffs and doing so one game above our projections.
Before her lies one of the most successful and experienced postseason opponents. Their regular season meetings ended at 1-1 with both games decided by 10 points or less in the regular season . Her path to victory? She must unburden herself by what has been and embrace what she will become. The time is nigh for the Scarlet Witch. With fire at her fingertips and a merigold spirit, she will press on to her first playoff appearance since 2021.
Another successful regular season in the books. Valkyrie is the highest scoring manager this season. Our projections were right on the money with Odell, right down to the win total. She’ll cap off her 5th winning season in league history, tied only with Sledge Hammer in this statistic.
Despite her 4th 200+ point outing, she lost to Peyton in Split 6.
Following this, she ended her regular season with two wins against Sledge Hammer and ITS.
Odell’s Rusty Hip
She has taken on the mantle as the most consistently successful regular season team. In her 5th postseason appearance, she’ll enter as the #3 seed against the Scarlet Witch.
If any manager is up for the task, it may well be her.
With 5 starters on bye in the first week, she just needs to keep it close and it could be all hers. Valkyrie will draw her sword in a duel for her 3rd Championship appearance.
SFI Semi-Final (Consolation Bracket)
#5 Bradshank Redemption (6-7) vs #8 Sledge Hammer (3-10)
Pride and well, just more pride - A Household Divided
Bradshank
Bradshank finishes the season on a 3-game win streak and 6-2 in her last 8 contests. It wasn’t the season we’d hoped, thought it certainly would have been if this team had this kind of success earlier on. Round 1 of the consolation bracket sees her in the tiebreaker against Sledge Hammer. This time, the #1 overall selection is on the line. Interestingly, Bradshank is 8-4 in postseason play across all brackets, a rather impressive record considering her regular season woes. Considering the injuries to her opponent’s squad and her incredible 2nd half, she probably deserves the nod in this matchup.
Sledge Hammer
…the harder they fall. Championship loss, first round loss, missed playoffs, last place. These are the results of the last 4 seasons of the Mad Titan. Each year we’ve witnessed regression. This time, he ends it with double digit losses. On the bright side, there’s nowhere to go but up.
After finishing 1-2 in the final split, he squares off against Bradshank Redemption in Round 1.
He’ll have to do so without 3 of his first 4 selections due to injury and bye-weeks.
9-3 all-time in postseason play, Thanos brings a wealth of experience into this first postseason game, all of which will be required to end Phase 7 with a solid postseason.
SFI Semi-Final (Consolation Bracket)
#6 Team GMEN (6-7) vs #7 Is This Soccer? (3-10)
The revolutionary war, a gladiatorial reenactment
Captain America wins 3 out of their last 5 to end the season. Unable to reach his ‘22 win total in the last two seasons combined, it’s not the comeback year we’d hoped for. However, he kept his team swinging for the fences to the end. Already 2-0 against ITS this season, he seems to have the upper hand. Although, the first week of this round has decimated his roster with multiple injuries and nearly half-a-dozen bye-weeks. If his shield holds, he can overcome this and fight for the #1 Pick.
They say brick is common in England to trap in the heat. With this fact in mind, his team still doesn’t handle the colder months well. ITS? More like IBS, as he’ll lose 9 out of his last 10 games to end a truly dismal season.
With their manager abandoning the roster over the back half of the season, we doubt any further alterations will be made in the consolation bracket. At 0-4 all-time in Round 1 play, now is his best chance to finally vanquish this dark cloud looming over his roster. He takes on an American hero in the GMEN to begin his postseason. With his opponent suffering considerable losses due to injury and subsequent bye-weeks, he may not have a choice but to succeed.