The last Ladle was won by sweepers, and that is a first. Centers have won Ladles, attackers have won Ladles and defenders have won Ladles, but sweepers got their first in Ladle 30 and are poised for a repeat. I’m neither crazy nor making typos and your eyes are fine- “sweepers” not “speeders.” Most Ladles can be shown to be won by a teams particular exceptionality at a particular position. Back when we were bad at playing Fortress, pre-2009, defenders most frequently won Ladles. Center attackers became especially dangerous last winter, but by Spring most teams could block center and epsy and Woned (he did get through the first round of L30 finals, but) and akira’s best times were behind them. Today sweepers are the kings.
Holing has made them so. Defenders can only do so much against unintentional holes, and are almost helpless against well executed intentional ones. The duty to stop holing falls upon the sweepers. They need to keep attackers apart from each other, cover the holes that will open, and attempt to kill potential holers before they reach their target.
Unfortunately for the sweepers, practicing is hard; intentional holing is rarely seen in casual games. Furthermore, identifying great sweepers and good teachers is difficult since the multitude of sweeping goals makes it hard to evaluate how well a sweeper is sweeping. We surely can all agree that staying alive is crucial. Indeed Goodygumdrops and 1200, two of the best sweepers in my mind, die less frequently than almost anyone else. Kill rates, however, are misleading, since sweepers often force attackers into defender’s walls rather than their own. Equally as effective, but not a kill that will show up in statistics. Adding to the shaky ground on which high quality analysis stands, sweeping effectiveness can be greatly increased in pairings. We have seen the combination of FoFo and Flex become a greater force than the sum of their individual skills.
Do not think that sweepers will only be the deciders for a team wishing to beat Speeders, I expect holing to be commonplace in Ladle 31. And regardless of your opinion on the strategy, holing should be commonplace. Holing has been proven to be effective at winning fortress matches, sweepers must show themselves to be the same.
zomg holers! 
I think you’re right about the critical importance of sweepers. As a defender, there have been times when I held off 3 attackers who chose not to hole. And I’ve been on teams that can hold down the base with one sweeper and a defender. But going forward, one sweeper probably won’t be enough; you’ll need two. Not only that, they need to be good sweepers.
So maybe holes are now a permanent fixture in Ladle play. Maybe. There is still a lot of room for creative play in Fortress and new, unforeseen strategies. I’m looking forward to the day where I see a team do something that makes my jaw drop in astonishment. I’m sure it’s right around the corner. Lot of good players in the game, man.