ELF Divisions 2025 and their problems
So there you have it, the new divisions for the 2025 ELF season. Now, of course, the usual complaining starts again. The Vienna Vikings are the main focus. They’re already being talked into the playoffs. Somehow I see it a little bit the same way. But there is a “problem” with this completely polemical view. Last year, both the Panthers and the Thunder were considered possible finalists before the season (sure, that was an exaggeration, but in principle it was something like that). Nobody knew, or rather, very few people knew, that the two of them, like some other teams, would fall completely short of their expectations. It’s always easy to say that at the end of a season. But let’s be honest. Who can claim to have known that the following teams were “underperforming”: Munich Ravens, Berling Thunder, Wroclaw Panthers, Cologne Centurions, Frankfurt Galaxy and Hamburg Sea Devils. Yes, you could kind of see it coming with the other teams. But to be honest, you’d have to doubt Rhein Fire, Surge, Paris Musketeers, etc. in the same way. And just because Surge lost a close game to Rhein Fire doesn’t mean they didn’t have an easy schedule. It’s not about whether or who deserves it. It’s simply about the easy schedule. We simply had a few “total failures” last season. Of course, every fan wants to be able to say, “We had the asskicking hard schedule and still made the playoffs,” but to some extent you just can’t predict it. Ultimately, we can only hope that the Interconference Games will make up for this. And for me personally, the problem with the first in the group is the smaller problem. The Vikings definitely deserved to make the playoffs. I’m much more worried about the best runners-up making the playoffs. If nothing changes with regard to tie breakers (see Balou and his constant and justified criticism of the system), things will get really chaotic again. Just imagine teams like the Bravos, Ravens, Raiders, Musketeers not making the playoffs because they are in a tough group, The Enthroners as an example would only drop 2 games to the Vikings. Then the Enthroners might be in the playoffs instead of the Ravens. That’s why I’m hoping for a change. Apart from that, I think the division into 4 divisions is perfect, as is the geographical division. There are simply more “derbies” this way and it also makes the most sense.
What do you think of the division?
