FREE AGENT FRENZY: Who Will Each Manager Pick?

With the voting closed for the Schmoedown Awards, which will be announced shrtly, it’s time to start looking ahead to season 8 and all-out WAR. Stage 1 of the war will begin 1 week after the Awards show in a Free Agent Special, which will end with each of the 8 factions having secured the services of 3 Schmoedown Pros ahead of the 2021 Draft.

But who will end up where? It’s not just a matter of the manager wanting a certain Schmoedown Pro, that person has to also decide that said manager is the right one for them. My predictions for tournament brackets were woefully off in season 7, so hopefully I can kick off season 8 with a bit more accuracy.

KOrruption

Not really a prediction here as Shannon Barney’s prize for winning the Faction Championship last season was the chance to lock in her 3 before Free Agency even opened for any other manager. In no real shock, Shannon chose to keep hold of Mike Kalinowski, Chance Ellison and Adam Collins, securing herself 2 triple-threats, one of the 3 longest-tenured teams (and arguably one of the elite teams) remaining in the league and the undefeated Singles Champion, who will be a solid lead to a second team.

mts teams division KOrruption mike kalinowski chance ellison

Stars

I’m making Roxy the first of my actual predictions as I can’t help feel that her trio is pretty obvious. I’m assuming that with big names like Chris Jericho there will be some unspoken agreement that other managers won’t come after them allowing Roxy to not have to use one of her 3 spots on him and being able to pick him up a couple of rounds into the draft. This will allow Roxy to pick up her 3 champions in Jeff Sneider, Marc Andreyko and Alex Damon. While Andreyko may only be featuring in Teams so may be on the bench early in the season, it gives Roxy an elite team once that division gets going, with a strong chance of defending for big points, while Sneider already has a #1 Contender Match scheduled. Similarly, Alex will likely still be the favourite in his upcoming title match, and can also look to push on after a great first season in IG and could also be a solid B player on a team, utilising the IG-specific wheel slices.

mts teams division the odd couple marc andreyko jeff sneider

Quirky Mercs

Next up is Coy Jandreau, as he is in a relatively similar situation to Roxy. Like Jericho, I am assuming that Coy will be able to pick up Kevin Smith in the draft, allowing him to get quality cover for 3 divisions with his 3 picks. Keeping hold of the Shazam! pairing of William Bibbiani and Brendan Meyer appears a no-brainer for all parties involved – Coy gets an elite team and 2 elite Singles competitors (as well as the master of FreeForAlls, while Shazam stick with the manager who got them over the hump and helped them win their first Team Title. For his final pick, I see Coy sticking with his top 3 from last year’s draft by picking Mara Knopic, who has a Title Match early in the season, and I can see Mara showing some loyalty to Coy for keeping her on the faction through season 7 despite being inactive.

MTS Shazam Announcers william bibbiani brendan meyer

S.W.A.G.

This is where things get interesting. Winston Marshall and Chandru Dhandapani look like a solid match so I envision the Innergeekdom Champion sticking with S.W.A.G. Paul Oyama looked revitalised with Winston and is a former champion with solid strategy, so I can see the pair also agreeing to stick together. However, I can see Final Exam coming to an end after twice failing to get the win against the elite teams, with Winston Marshall bringing in Ben Bateman as his third pick. I feel that Bateman will respect the effort that Winston puts into the league and his players, while a pairing with Oyama would cover some of his weaker areas like Classics and family movies, while he knows that Oyama will put in the same effort he will. Don’t be shocked to see Winston looking to secure Ace in the opening round of the draft.

mts chandru dhandapani innergeekdom entrance

The Den

The Den was hard to call as it feels like there will be big changes here with Kate now having a year of experience under her belt. Ben Goddard impressed over 3 divisions before being left out in the second half of the season, but I think that a fired-up Kate could convince him to stay as one of the leads within the faction. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Paul Preston move on after a disappointing season, but I think that she could convince him to stay by proving she has learned from last season and pairing him with the GOAT Dan Murrell. A shock move for Murrell? Maybe, but the faction feels like it has good quality and was just missing an elite veteran to lead them.

feat mts Movie-Trivia-Schmoedown-Dangerous-Dan-Murrell

Finstock Exchange

What a difference a year makes. Tom Dagnino kicked off 2020 by drafting all 4 Horsemen and future star “The Barbarian”. Now hehas to start almost from scratch after losing the support of Ben Bateman and then throwing out Dan Murrell. By doing so though, he appears to have secured the services of John Rocha to lead the faction. Early in the offseason, I had thoughts that Ben Bateman may convince The Barbarian to follow him to a new faction where they could pair up, but I now see Dagnino holding onto him by offering him a partnership with Rocha as the lead team. Barbarian’s ability to also cover IG means that Dagnino will look to cover all 4 divisions with his 3 picks by holding onto Andrew Dimalanta, who has a guaranteed title shot early in the season.

Usual Suspects

So much was expected from the Suspects last season, but the early retirement of Drew McWeeny and the impact of COVID seriously hampered their season. One good thing did come of it though: a trade with the Burning Droogs that involved Ethan Erwin joining the Suspects at the cost of their 1ˢᵗ round draft pick. Well the dissolution of the Droogs has allowed Samm to keep his draft pick and I’m sure he will also be keeping Ethan Erwin. However, it looks like he may be getting a new partner as Andrew Ghai has been MIA on the Schmoedown scene since Spectacular, while he has also previously talked about how he is focused on Teams but struggles in the online environment. For that reason, I see Samm looking for a new partner for Erwin, and who better than someone who he already knows well: Liz Shannon Miller, who had a great run in the Singles Tournament. For the final spot, I see Samm also showing faith in someone whose 1-2 record this season does not match up with her quality, Jeannine “The Machine”, who could become a legitimate triple threat if she looks to carry on from her foray into the IG tournament.

The Dungeon

And so that brings us to The Dungeon, who probably have a little more wiggle room here as they own the 1ˢᵗ overall pick in the draft to supplement their 3 picks here. Last season, Kaiser chose to try dominating the IG Division with his early draft picks, picking up Kevin Smets and Robert Parker with his first 2 picks. Well Smets will be inactive this year as he continues to smash cancer, so I see Robert Parker stepping into the role of the team’s IG leader. I expect the IG focus to continue though with the acquisition of Brandon Hanna, who is the 4ᵗʰ most accurate of all time in IG (min 5 matches) and hinted at his quality outside the division with his foray into Teams with Jader Paramo. Hanna is an underrated player and as a triple threat, he could cause some havoc under Kaiser’s tutelage. For his final spot, I can see Kaiser showing loyalty with one of his originals and holding onto Eric Zipper, who is another legitimate triple threat and has improved year on year. Don’t be shocked to see Kaiser looking to pick up the best available Singles/Teams competitor on the board with his opening pick to pair with Zipper/Hanna.

So those are my predictions. Who you think each manager will pick up?

Draft Kings: Looking at the new Factions

The New Era began on Saturday with the Movie Trivia Schmoedown’s first ever Draft. 9 Factions will be facing off this season and between Saturday’s live rounds and Sunday’s non-televised final rounds, the initial line-ups for each faction are set.

Now that the Draft is available for all to see, it’s time to cast an eye over the new factions and give my thoughts on the rosters each manager has put together. Now I’ll say before we start: my knowledge of the 2020 rookie class will be limited, so if I gloss over the next Ethan Erwin/Mara Knopic/Kevin Smets/Paul Oyama, then I apologise in advance!

Also before we begin, I just need to give a massive shoutout to Jacob Patrick for putting together such awesome graphics to summarise each faction’s draft.

The Usual Suspects

While I still think that Shazam! were a better option with the 1ˢᵗ overall pick, The Family are still a great selection and given Samm Levine’s history with Drew McWeeny it is no surprise to see him go for them. McWeeny never technically lost the Teams Title, vacating it due to Samm’s decision to step away, so I am sure that he will be keen to get McWeeny a title again, while I think that Ghai and Levine will get the best out of “The Godfather” this season. Jeannine is arguably now one of the best to have never won a belt, but I can see her forming a great team and if paired with Matt Atchity, her knowledge of the game will be a great foil for him. Jen Kempe is a rookie who I heard good things about and she already has some experience under the lights with an appearance at Free 4 All 3, so she could be a steal with Samm’s 8ᵗʰ pick, while Jader Paramo impressed in Orlando and will benefit from having a former champion as his manager. Napzok will also be a great presence in this group, while also providing a great mouthpiece to help take the pressure off of the rookies, and while I don’t know about Cameron Rice’s trivia abilities, I believe that he has been close to the game for a while so will know how to play the game.

Roxstars

This is a very strong roster for Roxy Striar, who has chosen to go for proven talent rather than take any rookies. The Odd Couple remain a top-tier team and she really gets the best out of them, while both Andreyko and Sneider can put together strong Singles runs. Alex Damon looks hard to beat in the Star Wars Division and I think that he will also have a strong season in Innergeekdom. Stacy Howard has been a little inconsistent recently, but I think that could make Roxy the perfect manager for her and she could be a contender for Comeback Player of the Year. JTE and Jim Vejvoda seemed odd picks to me – they are both great talents in the game, but JTE is not based locally anymore and Vejvoda’s investment in the game ahs been questioned previously – however I heard Roxy say on SEN Live that she had spoken to everyone that she drafted, which suggests to me that she is confident that they will not be wasted picks, which gives her a very strong top 6 picks. Beyond that, Del Rio and Haibon have both had success previously and could do well with such an invested manager, while it is nice to see a reunion for The League with Adam Gertler making the squad, someone who could be an underrated B-player in a team.

The Mouthy Mercs

I had Shazam! going with the 1ˢᵗ overall pick, so to see them drop to Coy with the 3ʳᵈ overall pick was great news for him. Bibbs and “The Kid” are both legitimate threats in both the Teams and Singles Division and will be kicking off the season in a Triple Threat #1 Contender Match against Dan Murrell. Mara is a great 3ʳᵈ pick and hopefully she will recover soon to challenge Smets for the IG Title. To get Tim Franco and Haleigh Foutch with his 4ᵗʰ and 5ᵗʰ picks gives him a fantastic 2ⁿᵈ team who could even be a dark horse for a title run. As one of the few to push Alex Damon close in the Star Wars Division and with experience in the 5-round format, Joseph Scrimshaw was a steal in the 7ᵗʰ round, and the Reel Rejects can never be taken lightly, while their fun personalities will help them get matches even after a loss. Coy is in a very strong position here and with 2 spaces left to fill, he could snap up someone who kicks off the season strongly or look for another IG competitor.

The Dungeon

This was a very interesting draft for Kaiser. With protected pick Smets in the 1ˢᵗ round and then Robert Parker in the 2ⁿᵈ round, it looks like the Dungeon are looking to dominate the Innergeekdom Division this season, but it does leave them without a clear superstar in the Singles Division – although it may be that he has some diamonds in the rough with his rookies. Of the rookies, the only one I have any knowledge of is Britney Young, who impressed in the GLOW Celebrity match, and it will be interesting to see how she does in regular competition (and how often she is available). As for Eric Zipper and Adam Witt, I would have considered them both good B-players on teams, but I think that could be undervaluing them due to limited tape and they could be a dark horse team. While not as initially star-studded as most other squads, The Dungeon may find themselves going under the radar and it must be remembered that Kaiser managed 2 rookies to titles in 2019, so don’t be surprised if they have a great season.

The Finstock Exchange

With the Horsemen all protected with Dagnino’s first 4 picks, The Finstock Exchange were already in a fantastic position and their remaining picks look to have just made them even stronger. The Horsemen alone gave good cover over the 3 main divisions with Dan Murrell entering IG, while he now has a #1 Contender Match against both halves of Shazam! to open the season. Andrew Dimalanta is a great competitor whose 0-2 record in the Star Wars Division really doesn’t do him justice, while I was shocked to see Emily Rose Jacobson fall as far as she did given her upcoming match against Alex Damon – she could be a great sleeper pick in IG. Beyond that, Cody Hall will always be a fan favourite and his knowledge is underrated – he took Lon Harris to Sudden Death following a perfect first round – while “The Barbarian” has been highly touted by people in the know. I’m a bit skeptical of Grae Drake, but as a late-round pick she could still prove a steal, while BC will have good tactical knowledge from the time that he spends around the Schmoedown.

KOrruption

Before anything, we need to acknowledge that Shannon Barney has already won Heel of the Year by breaking up the Wildberries… Have you no heart?!!!

Moving beyond that, this looks a strong squad for KOrruption. Mike and Chance provide 2 legitimate triple threats (Singles, Teams, IG) with the first 2 picks. Marc Edward Heuck has looked extremely knowledgeable in his limited matches so far and could pair well with Dewberry, who is a quality option as a B-player and a very experienced player. Laura Kelly brings a high-level talent to the Star Wars Division, while Bonnie Somerville could be a steal with the 8ᵗʰ pick… assuming that she turns up to her matches! I’ve not heard much about any of the rookies’ talent, but one thing can be guaranteed: taking Nerd Chronic with their final pick has just guaranteed KOrruption will have the most epic promos this season.

S.W.A.G.

With no teams remaining by the time it got to Winston, Paul Oyama was the obvious first round pick, and pairing him with Lon Harris makes a very strong team. Chandru will be a threat in IG and Liz Shannon Miller has great knowledge and could benefit from a manager that will be learning the tactics from the Chairman himself on SEN Live. Adam Hlavac could be a steal at 6 with his strength in IG, while he is also a good option in the Teams Division. Josh Macuga may have been picked a bit high, due to other commitments leaving him unavailable, but he will get matches when he is free. RB3 could be a sleeper pick at 7 picking up a lot of tips while engineering SEN Live, while Andres Cabrera could be a steal with Winston’s final pick. And that leaves Demi Adejuyigbe, who performed well on debut and Ed Greer, who is currently an unknown commodity. S.W.A.G could be an dangerous squad, but if nothing else, they’ll be fun to watch! Drip Drip!

The Den

Watch out for The Den this season! Kate Mulligan may be an inexperienced manager, but will benefit from being paired with Grace Hancock. Assuming they have good chemistry, “Tom” and Paul Preston make a very dangerous team, while I expect strong runs in the Singles Division from both of them this season. Brandon Hanna is a great talent in IG and will be looking to prove himself after a disappointing end to season 6. Rachel Silvestrini was an absolute steal in the 5ᵗʰ round and I expect great things from her this season. Ben Goddard is somewhat of an unknown but has already shown himself to be a student of the game and will learn a lot from being on SEN Live and Schmoedown Backstage, while Alex Marzoña was often shown to have good knowledge on Collider Live. Sean Sullivan and Diane Ademu-John are unknowns for me but Kate and Grace must have heard good things to draft them in their top 5, while if nothing else, we will get some great fun watching Saul and the sniper himself Brett Sheridan. Sleep on this squad at your peril.

The Burning Droogs

Trust Robert Meyer Burnett to go wild in the second round. While Ethan Erwin was an obvious pick in round 1, the second round feels very high for a rookie – though I have heard good things about James White. “The Captain” has got good value for his next 3 picks though, with Duralde, Seibold and VIDEODREW all being strong presences in Singles and Teams. The Warfather looked a good talent on his IG debut and I think his character will help him get matches. The final 3 picks are unknowns to me, but with such a knowledgeable and experienced group ahead of them, they will have some talent to learn from.

So who looks in the best position following the draft? Right now, my top 3 squads would be The Finstock Exchange, The Mouthy Mercs and the Roxstars, while The Dungeon would hold the bottom spot. Will that be the case? Only time will tell…

Draft Day! Schmoedown Mock Draft v2

It’s Draft Day!

Today will see The Magic Season come to an end with the 2019 Schmoedown Awards and The New Era kick off with the Schmoedown’s first ever live draft!

Last week, I put out my first ever Mock Draft for the 6 rounds that are planned to be televised, but as I began to promote it on social media, I saw that a trade had already been announced that made my draft wrong. So with the draft just hours away, I have taken a second* shot at predicting how things will go.

*It’s actually probably more like a version 7, due to manager changes, trades and some other announcements, but this will be the second published version

So here are the big news points that have had an effect on this new mock draft:

Due to other commitments, Emma Fyffe has had to drop out as a manager. The Fyffe Club has been rebranded as The Den and will be managed by Kate Mulligan, with Grace Hancock as her advisor
Tom Dagnino’s prize of a pick swap with Kaiser/Fyffe does not transfer over to Mulligan, so he can now only pick swap with Kaiser
John Kaiser and Robert Meyer Burnett agreed a trade that saw them swap places in the first 2 rounds of the Draft – The Dungeon now has the 9ᵗʰ & 10ᵗʰ overall picks, The Burning Droogs have the 4ᵗʰ & 15ᵗʰ overall picks
John Kaiser and Kate Mulligan agreed a trade that saw The Den give up their 3ʳᵈ round pick (26ᵗʰ overall) for The Dungeon’s 4ᵗʰ & 5ᵗʰ round picks (33ʳᵈ & 40ᵗʰ overall)

So, the big talking points from this one:

With the way the Dungeon’s trades have worked out, Tom Dagnino would not gain any benefit from a pick swap with Kaiser until the 7ᵗʰ round, which would only see him move up one spot. Instead, he will use it to sabotage Kaiser in the early rounds as he looks a dangerous rival, swapping positions in the 2ⁿᵈ round. Tom not get a pick here as it is sacrificed to hold onto his champions, but it makes it less likely that Kaiser will be able to pick up an elite Singles competitor
Coy Jandreau will still attempt a trade with KOrruption, but will sweeten it by throwing in his 5ᵗʰ round pick to make it more attractive to Shannon Barney
Josh Macuga drops to the 6ᵗʰ round due to questions over his availability, but his experience of the game will see him picked up to Roxy Striar. Though I have her picking Dewberry, it may be that she pairs him with Lon Harris rather than keep the Wildberries together.
“The Barbarian” was one of the rookies recently announced by Kristian Harloff, but what makes him stand out was a comment on the announcement from Ethan Erwin praising him. Kate Mulligan was present on SEN Live when this was discussed and will take a chance on him with her 6ᵗʰ round pick.
Kate will be in a strong position following the Draft. “Tom” and Jeannine make a strong 1ˢᵗ team, she has one of the dark horses of the IG Division this season in Robert Parker and a former Star Wars Champion in Ken Napzok. If Ken is also entering teams, he will be an experienced partner who knows the game to pair with Matt Atchity. Ben Goddard would also make a fine teammate for Atchity, as he is a student of the game and will be picking up a lot of tactical knowledge from being on SEN Live and Schmoedown Backstage. If Napzok will enter teams, then he, Atchity, Goddard and the Barbarian could make 2 strong teams.
The Finstock Exchange will pick up an elite Star Wars specialist in the 5ᵗʰ round in case Rocha and Reilly choose to focus on the bigger divisions this year, then pick up Keetin Marchi – who is often overlooked when discussing IG but has had some help previously from Rocha, putting her on their radar
VIDEODREW will drop to the 5ᵗʰ round due to questions over her availability. While splitting up The Loony Bin will not prove popular with the fans, it would put Samm Levine in a good position following the draft (or even in the later rounds) to offer a trade with The Den to get a couple of competitors/picks from them.

How do you see this draft going? Bring on The New Era!