TNL Season Seven Preview: The Dawn of a New Era

A new season of TNL is upon us and a new era to go along with it. New stories. New teams. New venues. Here's some pieces of the puzzle that you should watch out for.

BOSTON LOOKS FOR REDEMPTION

Boston looked unbeatable for much of last season. With a 22–9 record, a regular-season championship, and a first-round matchup with No. 10 Houston, things looked promising for a team aiming to take the final step. However, the defending champions, the Houston Ignition, overcame a subpar regular season to stun Boston in a seven-game series — the sixth seven-game series loss for captain ToNS011. "Even if you think you've won, you haven't," ToNS said. Boston (1–0) has started Season Seven similarly to last season, defeating DC in the opener by double digits. The question is whether this season will have a different ending. 

DC HAS ROUGH GOING AHEAD

After a rough 17–14 season left popular captain Jybern in eighth place, the season collapsed as the DC Defenders dropped two straight — first to No. 7 Oakland, then to No. 10 Houston — leaving them on the outside looking in for the playoffs. DC (0–1) didn’t get off to a great start this season either, losing once again in the opener to Boston, 49–29. After parting ways with longtime Defender Jay Lewis in the offseason, DC now hopes trading him doesn’t come back to haunt them. 

PORTLAND LOOKS TO DEFEND THEIR CROWN

In an anticlimactic finish to Season Six, the Portland Riptide dispatched the Houston Ignition in the finals, 4–1, to claim their first championship. Though Portland finished the regular season as the No. 3 seed, tied in record with No. 1 Boston and No. 2 New Jersey, they didn’t face a single top-five team en route to their title. This season brings plenty of questions: Can they defeat teams like Los Angeles and Boston? Do they have what it takes to be the first team to go back-to-back? So far, the Riptide (1–0) have started strong with a Round 1 win over Pittsburgh, 64–54, but the jury’s still out on how far they can go .

HOUSTON LOOKS TO MAKE HISTORY

The Houston Ignition have been trailblazers in history. In their first season, they were the first to hoist the championship. Four seasons later, they became the first to win it twice. They’ve never missed the playoffs, and this past campaign, they became not only the first team to make the finals for a third time but also the first with a double-digit seed (No. 10) to do so. This season, led once again by two-time TNL MVP Kaden Lebsack and All-TNL member Josiah Pippel, Houston aims to make the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season and continue to make history.

DOES PITTSBURGH HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?

Following a mid-season captain change in Season Five, the Pittsburgh Iron entered a new stratosphere. Not only did they reach the playoffs for the first time, but they also made an improbable run to the TNL Finals before falling in a seven-game slugfest. Since then, it’s been rough for Pittsburgh. Despite finishing last season in fifth, they were quickly swept by No. 4 Los Angeles in a series that was far from competitive. After several moves — including reacquiring defending MVP Yamamoto Yoshiyuki from the Detroit Chargers — Pittsburgh aims to get back to basics and rekindle their Season Five magic. 

OAKLAND LOOKS TO CONTINUE RISING

Each season, the Oakland Invaders have improved. In their first season, the Invaders, led by captain SunnysideSplash, nabbed the sixth seed before falling to No. 3 Miami in the first round. Although they dropped to the seventh seed this past season, they defeated No. 2 New Jersey to reach their first semifinal. Unfortunately, their journey ended there, losing to No. 3 Portland — the eventual champions — in six games. Led by All-TNL player Jackson Erdos, the Invaders are looking to take the next step, or perhaps two, to claim the ultimate prize.

"I think we have one of the most well-rounded rosters in the league. Everyone here knows their role and does it to the best of their ability," said Sunny. "Last season, though it was an improvement Season Five, showed that there were holes in our roster, particularly at the Stage Three spot beside our star Jackson [Erdos]. However, I feel like the changes that we've made have made our team more cohesive and less reliant on just one player." Oakland (1–0) began the season strong with a victory over Los Angeles, 75–68, but they'll need to keep that up over the course of the season to cement themselves as contenders.

NEW JERSEY OUT TO PROVE THEY'RE NO CINDERELLA

Despite a second-seed run that saw the Generals near the top of the standings at the end of the regular season, New Jersey was dispatched easily by No. 7 Oakland in six games. The team flew under the radar for much of the season. Though they were near the front for most of the year, the Generals didn’t have a single player finish in the top 20 for points per game, with Stefano Ghisolfi as their highest-placed player at 11.43 PPG. The jury’s still out on whether their high seed last season was due to luck or talent. This season will provide more clarity as to how good New Jersey really is.

LOS ANGELES LOOKING TO DISPATCH OLD GHOSTS

The Eclipse have one main criticism against them: they can win in the regular season but can't perform in the postseason. Apart from a Season Four in which LA was the best team by far and a catastrophic Season Five that saw team captain Oof be temporarily dismissed, the Eclipse have seen their hopes dashed early in the postseason almost every go-around. Los Angeles (0–1) had a rough start to begin Season Seven, losing a tough game to fellow contender Oakland, 68–75. Though the Eclipse should bounce back, performances like these are why belief in Los Angeles should be held in check.

OTHER TEAMS TO LOOK FOR

Several other teams have key storylines to follow. Detroit looks to build on their Play-In Tournament appearance and take the next step to make the postseason for the first time. Alaska is rebuilding with an all-new unit, and several key acquisitions, such as True Becker (from Oklahoma City) and Joe Moravsky (Miami), could be the difference-makers for this team. Sacramento also looks to capitalize off a 14–3 run to end Season Six. Finally, Austin aims to build off a miracle Season Six run to the postseason with new stars Dohyun Lee and Bassa Mawem.

UP NEXT!

Season Seven returns for Week 2 at ANW 8 on Nov. 10.