We’re previewing Schmoedown Spectacular this week with a look at the four title matches. Today is the battle for the Teams championship between the current champion, Shazam!, and the number one contender, King Arthur.
What’s At Stake
The one blemish on Shazam’s legacy is their inability to defend at Spectacular, the Schmoedown’s biggest stage. While many make an argument as Shazam! being the GOAT team, it’s tough to overlook this discrepancy compared to the Patriots. This also would be Shazam’s third defense which is a huge milestone. The only team that has defended three times in a row is the Patriots. (Alex Damon also achieved this milestone in the Star Wars division.) With a win Shazam! moves into that caliber of dominance as a champion. With the defense gap between the Patriots and Shazam! shrinking, it becomes easier and easier to make the case for Shazam! as the GOAT team. After all, what the Patriots have over Shazam! are their defenses, yet many may argue Shazam! defeating Korruption in Sudden Death, KOing Lightning Time, and now winning against King Arthur would be more impressive due to the different caliber of their opponents. For personal glory, a third defense leaves Bibbiani with three championships won and three title defenses, a stat that easily puts him the legacy class as Samm Levine (two belts with three defenses), Jeff Sneider (two belts and six defenses), John Rocha (four belts and one defense), etc., etc. As for Meyer, Meyer will reach two belts and three defenses, which could easily lead to him cracking into the list of most accomplished Schmoedown legacies of all time. A win also gives Meyer more chances to get opportunities in the singles division despite his singles record. While the Mercs are out of the faction race, Shazam! is looking to cement their legacies.
On the other side, King Arthur is playing for more than just their own legacies. Both the Exchange and Koruption have two matches at Spectacular, and for The Exchange to win the faction race they need to at least tie Korruption in matches won at the event. A loss here puts all the pressure on Newman to beat Marisol Mckee because should he not, the Exchange is guaranteed to lose the faction race. That’s a lot of pressure for Newman especially since he must play soon after this match (assuming that the singles match is after this one). While King Arthur is playing for more than just their own legacies, that doesn’t mean they don’t have a lot of gain legacy-wise. Newman is currently having a historic rookie season and any belt win puts him clearly in the argument for the greatest rookie season of all time. If Newman can beat arguably the GOAT team, then some may argue it’s having one of the best legacies of all time after one season! As for Kan, a win is even more crucial. He needs to bounce back from that odd #1 contender match, and while Newman’s legacy is already clearly cemented, Kan’s isn’t. There’s no guarantee he can improve his record in singles from 2-1 given the cutthroat nature of the division. Ask players like Chance Ellison, Brendan Meyer, and Jeannine the Machine how tough it is to break through in singles. While King Arthur has a very strong foundation to be a championship team, no player/team is ever guaranteed to return to the title. Who’s the Boss is the perfect example of this. However, a win cements Kan as a champion and with that his place within the Schmoedown. King Arthur is playing both for their faction and themselves, and I would argue a loss is more costly than most think.
The Argument for Shazam! Winning
Shazam’s biggest strength is experience. They have been in these high-pressure games multiple times, played as a team in a live event, played in the buzzer round multiple times. This will be the first time Newman and Kan will be playing as a team in person, and with that, there may be some stumbles or figuring stuff out. Against Shazam! you cannot miss a beat. Any mistake can be costly. Plus, I do not think we talked enough about Shazam! knocking out Lightning Time. Ethan Erwin and Liz Shannon Miller. We’ve seen this story too many times, the new promising team heads to a match against Shazam! and ultimately loses. The only teams that have beat Shazam! are The Founding Fathers and The Odd Couple and I do not think it’s a coincidence that their only losses are to veteran teams with two legacy players. While it is weird to say given Shazam! 0-2 Spectacular record, I do think history is on their side. Also, it should be noted Coy and the Mercs have an insane 6-1 record in title matches this season. On the other hand, the Exchange is playing their first title match of the season and has been inconsistent in their high-pressure matchups. Even their win against Press Room, Kan looked shaky in the first round and that type of first round can easily lose you the game against Shazam! It’s just tough to bet against Shazam!
The Argument for King Arthur Winning
While it is tough to bet against Shazam! It is even tougher to bet against Griffin Newman. Currently, Newman has missed one round one question in teams. It’s a stat that’s almost hard to believe that’s how impressive it is. I’ve doubted Newman every step of the way and every step of the way he has proved me wrong. We may just be seeing a current unstoppable force within the Schmoedown like Samm Levine’s legendary run. I do believe most are taking too much stock into Kan’s performance in the #1 contender match. Given this was the biggest match he’s ever participated in, it was understandable he might struggle. Newman is not a normal competitor because not everyone walks into their first big match and knocks it out of the park. That performance might even wake Kan up and given his accuracy in round one (excluding that match) it’s very probable that Kan will have a much better game against Shazam! Plus people don’t realize how well Kan bounced back from that initial start, going 5/5 in the fast money round is nothing to scoff at given how we’ve seen some competitors fall apart in that round. Another scary idea about King Arthur is I have a feeling Newman is going to be lights out in the speed round. With Barbarian training him and how seemingly fast he reaches the right answer, Shazam! can easily lose the betting round. What it all comes down to is the last round. One weakness is Shazam’s game is they haven’t always been lights out in the last round. If King Arthur can keep the score within 5 heading into the final round they are still very much in the game. And I do believe they are good enough to do that. Not to mention Newman has not missed a final-round question yet which can come crucial when it reaches the 5 pointers. The question becomes do you believe Newman and Khan are transcendent enough rookies to not be fazed by the environment and aspects of the game.
Predictions
Have I learned anything from my mistakes? Will I finally pick Newman to win? Not really, I’m still going with Shazam! In general, I have a tough time picking against seniority. I truly think experience matters, especially in teams. There’s a reason in my opinion there has been a shortage of teams winning the belt on their first try. Even Shazam! lost their first title match. I think King Arthur easily has the potential to beat Shazam! But before they win that teams belt, they must have one loss to learn from. I think it will come at Spectacular. Plus, I do believe Shazam! is the GOAT team and finally proves that to most at Spectacular.
