The CSL Championship is now here. We had an eventful season starting with 6 teams and now we are left with just 2, and we sure will get our money’s worth as these teams are the Wildcats and Yankees. The series will not only be the rematch of the ages, but both teams have only become more power this year, dominating the rest of the league. While there were some worthy opponents during the season, there was no doubt on opening day that we would have this scenario in the final series. Let’s take a look at the teams and matchup:
Regular Season Record
The Wildcats have the better record at 16-4 vs the Yankees 13-7, but the few losses that these teams have tell a more meaningful story. The Wildcats, for example, have 4 losses, of which 3 of them were against their finals opponent, Yankees. On the other hand, most of the Yankees losses came on the hands of the Flying Dutchmen, which they finally beat in the semi-finals round.
Qualified Roster Pickups since Last Year’s Finals
For the Wildcats, 8 of their qualified 13 players in their playoff roster were carried over to this year. Who are the other 5? The biggest pickups for them are without a doubt the Liang brothers, Jerry and Mike, who add so much in terms of both fielding and batting. In addition, Irfan further adds to the strong defense, and Waqas Ali and Yamin add icing on the cake with their power in the lineup.
For the Yankees, they actually have a deeper qualified roster at 17-strong, of which 9 carried over from last year. The other 8 certainly include game changers such as Dan Dilorio, Halimi and rookie Vinny Florido. In addition, the roster also feature veteran Kunal and the return of Harp Chadha. The remaining 3, Ali A, Ali G and Zeshan further add to an already powerful group.
Key players
If you take a look at the Top Player Stats page, the key categories are led by all Wildcats and Yankees players, but 2 names stand out: Jerry Liang of the Wildcats and Dan Dilorio of the Yankees. Both have impressive numbers in the regular season and both will be the key players to watch in the series.
What We Can Expect?
We can expect a lot of offense as both teams can generate runs quick. The Yankees have boppers with Dan, Halimi and Ramy mixed in with veterans like Pops, Kunal, and Masoom who can be difference makers. The Wildcats have line drive hitters mostly who kill you with speed led by Jerry who should be a lock for MVP. Throw in veterans such as Leo and Junior (multiple MVP winner), the Wildcats should be considered favorite on paper. However, games are NOT played on paper.
What the Experts are saying?
The Yankees are too poised, too offensively deep, and have the biggest X factor in Dan to lose this one. Wildcats have a lot of talent and heart, but whether they can beat the Yankees is not a done deal. The likes of Billal, Vinny, Ibrahim, and company will give them a challenge of a lifetime.
Prediction and Scores
When we say we will get our money’s worth with this series, we sure will. Expect this series to go 3 games with all of them being close. As far who comes out on top in the end? This will be so hard to predict that we will let the broader community predict it via website poll, which is already equally divided at the time this preview is written.
Series will go 3 games
Game 1: Wildcats 8, Yankees 7
Game 2: Yankees 10, Wildcats 9
Game 3: (see poll results)
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