This is the full text of cstarleague, 10/12/2017.

Heading into the holidays is a jolly time every single year. The players get a chance to look at their victories in celebration as well as recap their losses with Yuletide Fires in their respective eyes. Although there is a drought of Dota, there is never a drought of CSL content. We are back with the pre-holiday-break Power Rankings to see where the dust (or snow) has settled across the league as well as in each division.

1. UBC - WEST 2

University of British Columbia (6-0/12-0) continues their first place reign in the CSL by topping the WEST 2 group as well as this Power Ranking. UBC's flawless record so far this season follows their Grand Champion performance from last season. Unlike the professional teams which fall victim to the "TI Curse" and fail to continue their streak of success after taking home first place, UBC has made it clear that they are not interested in sharing their throne with any other ancient defenders.

2. ESPORTTS - EAST 2

École de Technologie Supérieure (7-0/14-0) lead the EAST 2 group undefeated. Their achievement in EAST 2 has earned them second place on the power rankings. École de Technologie Supérieure has terrorized their group and given a taste of what they are capable of to the unfortunate schools of East 2. The playoffs will be in our midst almost as fast as I finish optional readings, and ESPORTTS is a team that will definitely be going into the playoffs with many eyes on them because their success has placed a target on their back.

3. MCMASTER ESPORTS DOTA - NORTH

McMaster University's (7-0/14-2) streak is tarnished by two strong teams from the NORTH group: University of Toronto (6-1/13-3) and Université de Montréal (3-4/8-8). Placing third over 3 teams with better scores, McMaster has earned their place on the podium because of the difficulty of the teams in the NORTH group this year. With University of Toronto biting at their heels for a first-place finish in the group, McMaster has more than demonstrated their capability, and therefore earned their third-place standing as we head into the holidays.

4. TEAM TEXAS - MIDWEST 1

University of Texas at Austin (7-0/14-0) has achieved a perfect score and ended the first part of this CSL season flawlessly. Team Texas is the obvious leader of the pack in MIDWEST 1, but they still have some competition for the MIDWEST 1 crown when we return after the holidays. Until then, the rest of the group has plenty of time to watch the tapes and figure out why this group has gone so incredibly well for Team Texas.

5. CPP BRONCOS - WEST 1

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (7-0/14-1) is the indisputable champion of WEST 1 because of their nearly flawless record, suffering only a single loss all season. Because of their prowess, the CPP Broncos have established themselves above the other schools in WEST 1. While other schools in WEST 1 fight for the scraps of second place, the CPP Broncos sit proudly in first, awaiting the season - and their ownage - to continue.

6. RIT DOTA - EAST 3

Rochester Institute of Technology (7-0/14-2) has ended the first portion of the season without losing a single series. Fittingly, RIT's only two lost matches are against teams in second and third place in the group. As it stands, RIT Dota's CSL season is going swimmingly. When the season picks up after the holidays, my eyes will be on RIT to see if they got their fill during a holiday dinner, or if they will return with the same hunger and get their fill on the players of the opposing teams!

7. THE UNDERDOGS - NORTH

Ironically named, University of Toronto (6-1/13-3) takes the 7th spot on the Power Rankings as the highest ranked team that is currently second-place in their group. The Underdogs claim one of the two matches victories against McMaster, NORTH's top team. Université de Montréal was swept clean in a 2 to 0 series against Toronto. Montréal is the only other team in NORTH that has accomplished taking a game off of McMaster so far this year. Toronto's only other loss is the third-place team in the group, Mcgill University (5-2/11-4).

8. U OF WISCONSIN-MADISON - MIDWEST 2

MIDWEST 2 has concluded the first portion of the season with University of Wisconsin-Madison (6-1/13-3) firmly planting their standard in first place with a nearly flawless record. UW-Madison's only lost match is to Purdue University (4-3/10-8). MIDWEST 2 is an extremely competitive group this season and a first-place finish from UW-Madison has earned them early acclaim and a difficult road ahead of them when we return from the break. MIDWEST 2's competitors will not allow slacking when the season starts up. UW-Madison has proven themselves thus far and I am counting down the days until collegiate Dota so we can see if they can keep up their dominance in their group.

9. GAME OF THROWS - EAST 1

EAST 1 is sharing the love: University of Central Florida (6-1/12-3) and University of Georgia's Game of Throws (6-1/12-3) are both in first place at the end of this half of the season. University of Georgia takes the spot in the power rankings because they have less FF victories and therefore more dominations than UCF Dota. Game of Throws has a recorded win against UCF in their favour as well, but it was one of the forfeit games. When the season returns with more hard-fought collegiate Dota, UCF and Game of Throws will have an opportunity to duke it out and decisively claim the top position in East 1.

10. RU BUS DRIVERS - EAST 2

Rutgers University (5-2/11-2) ended the season with a makeup match against Villanova University (0-7/0-14) to secure their second-place finish in the group as well as a top 10 finish overall! Rutgers player Stormsoldat took the little, robotic Keen named Clockwork and dominated Villanova's lane supports in game 1 the same way Rutgers dominated their group thus far. Rutgers knows their way around a draft the same way their know their way around Godlike sprees, therefore there is no doubt in my mind that Rutgers will continue to sit atop their group and the Power Rankings in the future.

In my books, every team is a winner, but that is about as fun as a month without collegiate Dota is. Competition obviously thrives at the top of the CSL rankings; but, that is not to say that the rest of the schools have not been putting in the time to win lanes and defend ancients, and it definitely does not mean that the rankings will keep the same pattern. Enjoy the break and rest up because there'll be plenty of collegiate Dota once the spring season rolls around. We'll be back after some holiday celebrations!