[Boromir88]

THE TWO TOWERS NETWORK
Boromir the 88th

Welcome readers, with Round 1 friendlies complete TTN would like to bring the next installment of the power rankings. Our formula takes into account the result (Win, Draw, or Loss), the strength of the opponent, and the strength of victory (or goal differential). Also, we take into account past results, and that way your team keeps winning, they will rise more quickly than teams that are less consistent.

This time we will add some commentary, with the numbers since there are clear results to look at. (Further note: in our next issue TTN will address the spurious accusations by the AKM, that somehow we are a "mediocre" network, but at this time, we will go ahead with only our just released Power Rankings).

Key: (Rank. Team. (w-d-l) - Points).

Power Rankings

01. Real Valinor (1-0-0) - 40.0
The solid 2-goal win over 22nd ranked Gondolin puts Real Valinor ahead of all other winners after Round 1.
(Last: W 3-1, Gondolin)

02. FC Valinor (1-0-0) - 39.5
With our previous ranking mainly based on team salary and how the rosters looked on paper, all teams were relatively close together. Despite FC Valinor's 3-2 win over 19th ranked Havens, it wasn't quite enough to hold on to the #1 spot after computing all numbers. But it is tight at the top for sure.
(Last: W 3-2, Havens)

03. Valimar (1-0-0) - 37.0
Valimar also fell a spot after beating Anduin (23rd) only by a 1-0 margin.
(Last: W 1-0, Anduin)

04. AC Beleriand (1-0-0) - 34.0
After defeating Inter Beleriand (25th) 2-0, AC rose 4 places in the rankings, but ultimately Inter Beleriand, at least at the moment, was not a strong enough team to see Feanor's team rise any higher.
(Last: W 2-0, Inter Beleriand)

05. Armenolos (0-1-0) - 32.5
Gondor was certainly one of the tougher opponents played by our top-ranked teams, but after a disappointing result, Armenolos falls 2 places. And barely remains above the surging Rohan.
(Last: D 1-1, Gondor)

06. Rohan (1-0-0) - 32.0
Convincing victory over Barad Dur, but Barad dur is at the bottom of our rankings, so if Rohan seeks to crack the top 5, they will have to beat tougher opponents, or Barad-dur will seriously have to step up and start winning some matches themselves.
(Last: W 2-0, Barad-dur)

07. Angband (0-1-0) - 32.0
Another disappointing draw from a Top 5 team, means Angband also fell a few places. Technically, they are tied for 6th with Rohan, but since Rohan has a win, Angband only a draw, Rohan moves ahead.
(Last: D 1-1, Doriath)

08. Eriador (1-0-0) - 30.5
Despite a win against Isengard in Round 1, we see Eriador fall 1 place. Simply put, they have to beat better opponents than the 27th ranked Isengard, and more than by a 1-0 score if they wish to remain in the Top 10.
(Last: W 1-0, Isengard)

09. The Sea (0-1-0) - 30.0
After a draw with Tirion (16th), The Sea does fall some, making way for a few teams below them who won their Round 1. Still, Tirion is a difficult opponent so The Sea shouldn't be too upset coming away with the draw.
(Last: D 2-2, Tirion)

10. Imladris (1-0-0) - 26.0
A 2-0 win against Arnor saw Imladris rise 3 spots. There is still quite a bit of distance between them and our 9th ranked team this week. If Imladris wants to improve, they must show they can beat better teams.
(Last: W 2-0, Arnor)

11. Wilderland (1-0-0) - 25.5
Wilderlands 2-1 win against last weeks 9th ranked Erebor, means Wilderland jumped ahead 7 places, and are right behind Imladris. We will point out, however, this is also why we recalculate all points from round to round. Wilderland benefitted the most from beating a Top 10 team, but if Erebor continues to fall, this win will start looking less and less impressive. (*For fuller explanation on how we recalculate go to bottom of the page)
(Last: W 2-1, Erebor)

12. Hithlum (1-0-0) - 25.0
Based on some teams ahead of them drawing, or losing, Hithlum did see a slight jump after a 4-2 win over The Downer. But not as significant as Wilderland, because of the strength of opponent.
(Last: W 4-2, The Downer)

13. Nargothrond (0-1-0) - 24.0
Not a terrible result, as Nargothrond was able to score a throng of goals against Shire-Bree. But it still ended in a draw, and those are teams Nargothrond has to beat if they want to make it past the group stage this year.
(Last: D 4-4, SB-United)

14. Erebor (0-0-1) - 24.0
And this is where Ereborn ends up after a loss to the lower ranked Wilderland. Wilderland was still a decent team in the pre-rankings, which is why Erebor still stays slightly ahead of the host of teams who had Round 1 draws.
(Last: L 1-2, Wilderland)

15. Doriath (0-1-0) - 22.5
Ends up tied with Angfauglith, but we will place one spot ahead based upon their draw with the stronger Angband, and also because of scoring a goal.
(Last: D 1-1, Angband)

16. Angfauglith (0-1-0) - 22.5
A pretty disappointing result, just an all around ho-hum performance with no energy against the weaker TIG squad. However, this is also why we assign friendly matches with an Importance value of 1. Some teams simply play better when the games mean more, and so if Angfauglith shows up in the group stage, their lack of spirit in the friendlies won't be as important.
(Last: D 0-0, Tol-in-Gaurhoth)

17. Tirion (0-1-0) - 21.0
Not bad, getting a drawing against the higher-ranked Sea, but not great either. And so Tirion stayed pretty much the same from their previous ranking.
(Last: D 2-2, The Sea)

18. Gondor (0-1-0) - 17.5
Gondor was able to rise a couple spots based on drawing with 3rd ranked Armenolos. And just nudge ahead of Dwarves United.
(Last: D 1-1, Armenolos)

19. Dwarves United (0-1-0) - 17.0
Frankly, we were disappointed with Dwarves United complete lack of scoring ability against the much lower ranked Misty Mountains. We knew the Dwarves would have a difficult time scoring, but did not realize it would be this bad.
(Last: D 0-0, Misty Mts)

20. The Havens (0-0-1) - 14.0
Losing to a difficult opponent means The Havens won't drop too far in our power-rankings, at least this week. But losing is losing, and if that continues, Havens will start falling more dramatically.
(Last: L 2-3, FC Valinor)

21. Minas Tirith (0-1-0) - 13.0
Draw with Mordor, not horrible, but it will keep the White Tower exactly where they were previously. Really, they need better performances against Mordor if they hope to advance, but we can see why they played conservatives, since they will see Mordor again.
(Last: D 1-1, Mordor)

22. Shire Bree Utd (0-1-0) - 12.5
A draw against Nargothrond was pretty good for the Shire team, good enough they jumped a couple places, at least, and are closing in on Minas Tirith.
(Last: D 4-4, Nargothrond)

23. Gondolin (0-0-1) - 11.0
Gondolin barely hangs on from falling any further based on they played a really tough Real Valinor, and Tol-in-Gaurhoth showed absolutely no effort against Angfauglith.
(Last: L 1-3, Real Valinor)

24. Tol in Gaurhoth (0-1-0) - 10.5
As a continuance form the above point, TIG jumped up a few spots, but must deliver better performances than 0-0 draws when playing so-so competition.
(Last: D 0-0, Angfauglith)

25. Anduin (0-0-1) - 10.0
Played Valimar tough, still came out with nothing to show for it. That's what matters most in this tournament, and Anduin appears to have no teeth to their offense.
(Last: L 0-1, Valimar)

26. Inter Beleriand (0-0-1) - 8.0
Difficult opponent, so they may be better than their current power ranking. However, likely not much better, unless they can improve quickly after a few more friendlies.
(Last: L 0-2, AC Beleriand)

27. Isengard (0-0-1) - 6.0
No shame in losing to Eriador 0-1. That is afterall, what we essentially expected. So, what do we expect from Isengard? Well, much the same. Staying down near the bottom of the rankings.
(Last: L 0-1, Eriador)

28. Mordor (0-1-0) - 5.0
Decent result, getting a draw with Minas Tirith. The team of Nazgul and co, certainly seems to be stronger than Barad Dur at the moment.
(Last: D 1-1, Minas Tirith)

29. Barad Dur (0-0-1) - 5.0
Not at all the start that we expected out of Barad dur. Rohan looks to be an extremely strong team, but Barad-dur showed no backbone at all in Round 1.
(Last: L 0-2, Rohan)

30. Misty Mts (0-1-0) - 4.5
The draw allowed Misty Mts to jump ahead of Arnor, but how good is Dwarves United? That is yet to be determined. And how bad is it, that Misty Mts could only forge a 0-0 tie?
(Last: D 0-0, Dwarves Utd.)

31. Arnor (0-0-1) - 4.0
Arnor may be even worse off than we imagined. Imladris was a tough opponent, but losing straight up 2-0? Arnor will have difficulties advancing.
(Last: L 0-2, Imladris)

32. The Downer (0-0-1) - 1.0
When their heads are in it, The Downer definitely showed an ability to score, but even when their heads are in it...still same results. A loss.
(Last: L 2-4, Hithlum)
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*RECALCULATIONS: Since our Pre-friendly rankings were based without any results, we recalculate points from round to round. That way, if we ranked a team too high (or too low) before seeing any matches, our power-rankings are the most true and accurate. Fully based upon match results, and not how we ranked them prior. We noted the Wilderland-Erebor match.

Based on beating the 9th ranked Erebor, Wilderland earned 21 points in Round 1. And they certainly benefitted from beating a Top 10 team (hence jumping up a full 7 spots in the power rankings). However, Erebor is no longer the 9th ranked, team but now 14th. Based on this, when we recalculate the points for the next power-rankings, Wilderland will get 15 points for beating Erebor. Their win, will mean less, since Erebor fell in the rankings. That trend will continue if Erebor continues to fall. Or if Erebor bounces back with wins of their own, than Wilderland's victory will just look all the more impressive.

After Round 2, we will of course immediately publish the next Power Rankings, so stay tuned for that. But once Round 2 friendlies are released to the press, read TTN's preview and insight. I think you will find it to be much more accurate, with it's spot-on analysis and predictions than AKM, or TENT will try to make you believe.