#o7 orange ocelots

Okay there’s two parts to the storybook majesty of MCC17. There’s the beauty of event itself, and the numerous significances of the win

First of all, the timing and structure of this event. MCC17 was notably earlier in the month than previous events, and now we know it’s because of MCC Rising. And there were two benefits to having the event earlier:

1. It let SB participate! Because of his schedule, SB didn’t expect to join another MCC until MCC19. So having the event earlier meant having SB! :D SB is another criminally underrated MCC participant. He scored in the top 20 his past two events, and his movement skill combined with his ridiculous amounts of grinding make him a serious competitor. Also he’s just a really cool dude and got along super well with his teammates, in both MCC17 and in general.

2. To make up for the timing and assure viewers it wouldn’t affect the quality of the event, Scott put together some AMAZING teams. Three new players were introduced, and fans got to see many heavily requested duos, namely Fruitninja and tommy and dream. And these were just really well-balanced teams. Everyone had the potential to pop off, and it was truly the case where any team could make Dodgebolt. Having said that, I think it’s only when there’s an event like this where Orange would be considered legal, because DAMN. Even with Fruitninja and teams like Cyan and Red, they still had the highest coin average for this event. Many participants themselves even recognized that Orange was cracked as all hell.

And I wanna point out that part of why Orange COULD team- and again why the event’s timing was so perfect- was False. So, I’ve seen a few people lamenting False’s scores in MCC S2 events, but we should know that having these lower scores IS what enabled her to team with Pete and SB and Grian. I don’t wanna get into the theory of participants “throwing” to get good teams, and honestly I don’t really care about False’s score as long as she has fun. But we need to recognize that her lower average (for individual coins in MCC) resulted in her being considered a potential “nerf” for team building. Even though being the team nerf is generally an insult, in this case, I honestly just think it’s hilarious. You’re telling me Ms. Falsesymmetry, Ms. Best PvPer on Hermitcraft,   Ms. FIRST BACK TO BACK MCC Winner is a nerf?! ......okaaayyy. So having the event at a time, where one of the overall better players could be misconstrued as weak, worked out well for Orange.

That covers most of what I think worked out well for Orange, event-wise. I’m intentionally not going to say much about the games or how they performed day of (minus Dodgebolt), because my goal is ONLY to talk about how fate was on their side. Contrary to what I’ve heard some people say, I really don’t think Orange’s performance and overall score in MCC17 was dependent on chance, specifically game order. I’m not denying that game order is crucial to a team’s score, and I know Orange was fortunate to avoid Battle Box and Parkour Tag. HOWEVER this is where the beauty of MCC17 Orange comes in. Even from just looking at them, it was clear that this was a well-rounded team. Put simply, they did not have a bad game. Certainly they’re not the most PvP oriented, BUT their past performances prove that their teamwork was enough to carry them through. What made Orange powerful was not a ridiculous amount of skill in a certain area, but that they were ALL strong enough to do well in any potential situation. And we saw this on event day! MCC17 Orange got Top 3 in SEVEN out of 8 games AND held 1st place overall for FOUR consecutive games. So I’d argue that even if the game order got switched around, the odds of Orange in Dodgebolt are still pretty high. MCC17 was a wonderful collision of coincidence, but Orange’s stellar performance was not one of them.

The remaining poeticism of MCC17 then lies in Orange’s victory and what it meant to everyone.

The obvious focus here has been Grian. Ever since he joined MCC, but especially with the start of Season 2, Grian’s become progressively more interested in winning. It’s clear this season that he was determined to get his coin. Also for Grian, part of it could be that he’d come so close to winning at the end of S1 with MCC13. But it wasn’t just personal motivation that was pushing him. Although I can’t pinpoint exactly when, because of his newfound drive, Grian started putting himself down as fully competitive on the MCC applications. Which then led to him getting really STACKED teams. All of his teams so far in S2 have had him with an S-tier player and two strong participants that he knows well personally, including MCCP’21. For MCC16 Hbomb even mentioned that- for the teammate request section of the MCC application- Grian asked for, “Pete, Quig, Hbomb. Anyone else who’s really good at the game”.

Yet even with such great teams, something always seemed to get in the way. MCC15 is notorious as the event where Pete’s internet bombed, throwing off his team and forcing him to sub out for Hbomb halfway. Grian’s team in MCCP’21- where they were favorite by FAR- were a heartbreaking (in Grian’s own words) 2 coins short of the finale. But FINALLY, finally in MCC16 his team made it to Dodgebolt. But it... didn’t go well. With the opposition eagerly feeding arrows to their best shot, Purple lost to Pink 1-3.

So up to this point, Grian’s journey through MCC S2 has been painfully unlucky, to the point where it genuinely started affecting him. (I’m not going to try and speculate on Grian’s specific mentality towards MCC, as honestly that’s just a pretty weird thing to do, especially as someone who doesn’t know him personally.) BUT what I can say is that you can see how his teams’ dynamics slowly change, even in just S2 alone. Previously, Grian’s goal in MCC was the straightforward: Let’s do our best and have fun. Yet as things continued, his focus eventually changed to: How do we win. You can see his teams become more strategic and competitive as the season goes on. And the joke changes from “Let’s not be last” to “______ will carry us to the win!”.

Also, I specifically bring up the “carrying” joke, because it seems to be something that Grian fixates on. I noticed that whenever Grian’s teamed with a highly skilled participant- be it Fruity B, Pete, or Techno- he’s always quick to either praise them for scoring high OR apologize if he does poorly. And this behavior is likely related to his fear of being a deadweight. Grian’s said on multiple occasions that his biggest worry is just bringing the team down. So it’s this personal pressure to succeed combined with his poor luck that really starts getting to him. And it all comes to a head in MCC16, when he has an actual panic attack in Dodgebolt. The weight of being the only member left on your team- in an event watched live by hundreds of thousands of people- in addition to everything that’s built up months beforehand, culminated into one of the most stressful experiences possible. And EVEN THEN, even though they pushed through that round, it ended the same way. With his team coming so close, only to fall at the last minute.

And that brings us to MCC17. Fortunately, Grian learned from what happened and made a direct effort to take things more casually this time around. At the beginning, he explicitly said “We’re not going to put any pressure on anyone today”. And with that, the Orange Ocelots embarked on their journey through MCC17. Right from the get go, they made it clear they were going to do things casually. Unlike before, this team wasn’t using tactics or excessively strategizing. All they did was just pick whatever game they wanted at the time. And luckily, they usually got it. While (of course) everyone’s doing their best, Orange really just went with the flow and never tried making a grand game plan for the entire event.

And you know what? It worked. Even though they were playing MUCH more casually than Grian’s previous teams, they were winning. Without much planning or strategy, this team was doing as well as the competitive ones, who’d practiced for hours on end. Throughout the event, they kept popping off and getting Top 3. Even before Dodgebolt, Grian was doing AMAZINGLY.  He got FIRST individual on Sky Battle (hello??!!?) AND was one of the last ones standing at the end of Survival Games, earning him a coveted spot in the Top 10 individual. Not to mention, being THE CEO of Buildmart. By taking things game-by-game and just doing their best, Orange snagged First Place with a massive 3k lead.

And that’s what was so beautiful about MCC17 Orange overall. The fact they did THIS WELL without putting pressure on themselves... wow. That’s what made this event so wholesome and so meaningful, most of all for Grian. Grian. The one who’d gone through so much this past season. The one who always seemed to come this close to winning. The one who put all the pressure on himself. GRIAN was the one to cinch the win. He carried his team through the final round of Dodgebolt- in what is now considered the BEST MCC finale- by clutching a sick 1 v 3 against two of the strongest players.

We all knew, both participants and the audience, that Grian is a fantastic, brilliant player (as if Lord Dreamslayer would be anything less). But HERE in this moment is when Grian proves it to himself. Once again with all eyes on him and his entire team counting on him- right back to where he was last event- Grian sheds the pressure and nails three players singlehandedly. With that round, he finally sees what an amazing player he is. And I cannot tell you how heartwarming it was to hear him say on repeat “I actually feel like I earned that!”. After blaming himself for all this season’s misfortunes, here he’s faced with the undeniable truth: He deserved to win. And the fact that he got his coin, not by using tactics or relying on someone to “carry” him, but by being unabashedly confident and just having a great time with his team. THAT is the win Grian deserved. He finally, finally, gets to see that he had it in him all along. All it took was just a little more confidence and a LOT less pressure.

But you know how Grian was able to lose that pressure? His team. False and SB did SO well with communicating to everyone and keeping up morale. But PETE. Dude, Pete was an absolute S-Tier leader this MCC, and I think it’s time to talk about what this win meant to him.  

So I’m not sure how many people know, but much like Grian, Pete’s been going through a lot these past events. As I mentioned before, the increased competitiveness of MCC S2 has really gotten to the participants. (Pete talked about this openly on a Vault Hunters stream the day his MCC17 team got announced, so the following is just an echo of what he said then. Not me trying to psychoanalyze him.) Considered by some as the best player in the event and having never dropped below Top 5 Individual, there’s a lot of focus on Pete performing well. Even though this brought a lot of interest to him and his channel, the pressure started weighing on him, overwhelmingly so. Over time he got increasingly more invested in the analyses posted on the Reddit and started holding himself to a ridiculous standard.

While he never got outright toxic, there was a clear change in his demeanor, most notably in MCC16. His attitude throughout all of MCC16 was extremely competitive, using numerous tactics and overanalyzing his team’s performances the MOMENT the game ended. And this behavior really started bringing down his team. Even though his teammates never got overly upset, looking back, Pete saw that his attitude only brought negativity and served to make them feel worse, which is the exact opposite of what he wants to do. Furthermore, he just felt awful (Pete’s own words). Not just when looking back, but even in the moment. He couldn’t enjoy himself due to all the stress and pressure. And even his fans quickly picked up on his lack of enjoyment. So, much like Grian, the pressure of MCC and the competitiveness really weighed on Pete. And so for MCC17, he made a similar vow to take things more casually and just focus on having a fun time with his team, and that’s exactly what happened.  

MCC17 Orange had a great time under the leadership of Pete, and I’m so, so proud of how Pete stepped up this event. He did so good at checking in on everyone and keeping up morale. We all knew that after MCC16, what Grian needed most (other than an MCC coin) was support. While of course his team last event was really fun and helpful, it’s clear he could’ve done well with a little more support. And that’s exactly where MCC17 Orange comes in. In EVERY minigame, SB and False were always right there to help out Grian when needed. But Pete was overflowing with support and kind words for everyone. He was always the first to praise his teammates whenever they made a good play. Hyping up SB and Grian for reaching Top 10 Individual. Constantly checking in on False and encouraging her to speak up. Pushing Grian to unleash his inner CEO in Buildmart. Countering his team’s negativity whenever they started to get down on themselves (most hilariously in round 2 of Dodgebolt). Even in the downtime between Games 7 and 8, when Grian started theorizing about Dodgebolt, Pete gently encouraged him to just focus on Game 8 and not get ahead of himself. And LOOK how it paid off!

Keeping the team in good spirits lifted everyone’s confidence and motivated them to play to their fullest potential, resulting in the win AND 3/4 team members making Top 10 Individual. And again, this is EXACTLY what Pete needed after MCC16. Not only was it rewarding to just take it easy and have fun, after being stressed out for most of the season. But I can’t imagine how satisfying it was for him to see his teammates pop off. At his core, Pete seems like a really team-oriented person. Something that struck me about Pete, when I first watched him in MCC10, was how invested he was in his teammates’ performances. Typically with competitive players, they only look at what their team needs overall to score well. If they need to stack one player and have everyone else play support, then so be it. Whereas with Pete, he just wants to see every single person do well. In his eyes, success is when everyone plays to their best ability, regardless of team score. And so MCC17 with Orange felt like a good callback to that.

Seeing how much his teammates were able to succeed when they felt confident, was a reminder of how important it is for teams to have that support. Pete fulfilled his goal of being a ray of positivity for his team, and it paid off in spades. So for him I think MCC17 was just a really grounding moment. THIS is what it’s all about. Having a good time with your team and being there when they need you. Because as long as you’re having fun, no one’s really losing. ...but if you happen to get a coin along the way, LFG!!

And of course, we’ve got Mr. SB737 and Falsie. GG of course to False for being a 3-time winner (#FalseforFive next? 👀). But SB definitely deserves more love for his first win. It’s been clear since he joined the tournament in MCC8 that he’s absolutely cracked, and I’m SO glad he finally has the win AND 7th place to show for it. I’m still impressed he managed to make Top 20 Individual when his teams were always Bottom 5. But now his skill is undeniable. This man took AN ENTIRE WEEK off just to practice for MCC17! Like???? He’s put in more practice than any of his teammates by FAR, and WOW did it pay off. Also, he just did so well communicating with everyone?! Like looking back on the VODs, he got along really well with his teammates, frequently joking with Pete and Grian. Personally, I’m also so proud of how he did in Buildmart as their floater, especially since it was his first time in that role. Not only did he communicate really well, but it also just showed off his SICK movement skills. I’m so happy the event took place when it did, and we got to have SB on Orange, since he’s an absolute delight. Hopefully we get to see him more in the upcoming MCCs since he’s a force to be reckoned with!