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Note: Spoilers ahead (please don't make me fill the page with spoiler icons)
The final for DM World Cup 2 Gold Cup was earlier today, bringing an end to the month long tournament that brought many of us top DM players back to compete. Given that after the first DM World Cup I wrote a long tribute to Jidba, and I have many people who I would like to thank, I felt I should make a post.
Tribute
For many here on aoezone, the tournament was something small and different. However, for a small section of the community often jokingly called "DM World", this was an unexpected tournament with a name that carries a lot of weight. In the last DM World Cup in 2016, I had managed to defeat Jidba in the grand final, leading many to call me the best DM player. In the conclusion of this tournament, TheViper defeated TheCode in a narrow 5:3 victory that really could have gone either way. Given that @TheViper is now our new DM World Champion, I'd like to pass off the title to him with a few words.
First and foremost, despite the things I have said around here about how I hope an old-school DM player defeats Viper, I really cannot give this title to a more worthy player. On top of being amazingly talented, he is also a nice and approachable guy. I can remember back when Viper first played a lot of DM with us some time around 2012-13. It did not take him long back then to be able to compete with the very best of us; in fact, he had positive records against nearly all top DM players. At this time he had made a couple great posts here on aoezone about the positives of DM, which I believe contributed to it's growth during that period. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find them in my brief search here, but if someone can find it that would be great! (they may be comments on recorded games iirc). After that, him and I met in The Awakening DM 1v1 tournament in the losers bracket final, where he defeated me on his way to take 2nd. Unfortunately, this is still the only time we've had the opportunity to compete against each other in a tournament setting. Congratulations @TheViper , you're a fantastic player and I hope you continue to play DM into the future. Also, I hope we find an opportunity to meet when you visit Seattle.
Acknowledgements
After the conclusion of The Legacy Cup 2, I had announced that I retire from AoE2. However, our very own local hippo @Nili_AoE informed me about the upcoming DM World Cup 2, and I simply could not resist the opportunity to compete again. Therefore, my first thank you is to Nili himself: thank you for putting on this tournament, even in the face of so much drama from a few key players. You are truly a force within this community that does not get acknowledged nearly enough. Looking forward to your future DM tournaments!
I would like to give a shoutout to @TheCode for putting on a truly inspiring performance throughout this tournament. Like me, he had not played in the past 1.5 years, which is an extremely difficult hurdle to overcome. If there was any one of us DM players who really came close to showcasing what high level DM is capable of, it was him. If given another opportunity (especially not right after playing 4 hour series vs me), I think he could be our DM champion. On top of this, TheCode went above anyone's expectations in helping Nili with the tournament setup. Hat's off to you man, you played great, and thank you for all you do.
Next I would like to thank @Clemensor , the Clemenator himself. Since the time that we became friends several years ago stemming from his interest in learning DM, every conversation I have with the guy is great. Not only that, but he was instrumental in pointing out many of the weaknesses in my current game-play that I was struggling to see for myself. At this point, I'm not entirely sure who has trained the other more. Thank you for all the effort man, it meant a lot to me. If only you put more effort into becoming good at DM! You are DM's prodigy.
A long time legend of the game, and a guy I looked up to during the zone.com days, @Fu12ious_NoW (SuNo_Daywalker) gave yet another great performance in this tournament. Yet he would never tell you that, I don't think there's a more humble AoE2 player out there! Thanks for the kind words during the tournament Dan, and I hope we have the chance to compete again!
When I first came back, I played some games on HD (yuck). From there, I found two players who at this point I believe are the rising stars of deathmatch: @Dkc_Incredibles and @PaladiNz .
@Dkc_Incredibles : You're amazingly talented, and your insights into the game played a key role in helping me get back to the level I was able to. On top of that, you're almost too nice of a person. I hope we have the chance to train for a tournament again in the future! Keep going man, I want to see you become the future #1.
@PaladiNz : I know I give you a lot of crap sometimes man, but I'll admit it, you're a good player too haha. On top of that, I believe you have the kind of ideas that could actually make DM grow. I hope you find the time and motivation in not only becoming a top player, but also following through on some of your ideas for DM.
If you ask many DM players who the current top DM players are, there's always one name that seems to not be there but really deserves to be: @__zaryab__ . Zary is the newest member of the QuEnDi team, having joined three years ago already. He played against @LaaaaaN in the qualification stage, and just barely lost the series in a close one. As some of you may know, one of the biggest hurdles in competing is knowing how to bring out your full potential during a tournament series. I think this tournament is a turning point for Zary, and I'm looking forward to seeing his performance at the end of the silver bracket. Common Zary, you got this man!
Some years ago around the time War is Coming was announced, I ran into this player who I remember had a very campy-friendly play-style. At first I thought he might just be another random 1800-ish player; but this guy was different. He actively played 1v1 against me and many other good players. This led to him and I having many long conversations while watching recorded games, constantly learning from each other's mistakes. After a year or two, he began to play RM as well, and I distinctly remember telling him "I bet you'll be a 2k+ player in no time". Today, @Ruubenstock is not only a top player in both RM and DM, but also a great behind the scenes contributor to DM World Cup 2. Cheers to you my friend, and thank you.
Now for the soldier himself, @LeAsH__ . Upon getting the news of the upcoming tournament from Nili, I immediately called Leash. His first words were "Hell yeah, lets do this". I don't think this community can find a more willing AoE2 player. Even if you could, that person wouldn't be able to match Leash's charisma. One of the worst parts of this tournament for me was when we were forced to play against each other not only in the winner's bracket, but again in the loser's bracket! But even after narrowly losing to me 5:3, Leash immediately began encouraging me to push for 1st. In my opinion, he's one of AoE2's very best. Thank you for everything Aus.
Last and certainly not least, I would like to thank my good friend and long-time teammate QuEnDi_RaGE (Wayne). Back in the War is Coming days, Wayne and I almost by accident began teaming together, and subsequently played together for L_Clan. In the years that followed, we had a great run where we managed to place 1st in a string of tournaments, eventually having our run ended in The Legacy Cup. In DM World Cup 2, he did not go nearly as far as he would have liked. However, in the weeks that followed, Wayne kept up with my games and was constantly watching recs and giving me his analysis over facebook messages. On top of this, he was always the first one to give me words of encouragement after losing both of my series vs TheCode. An AoE2 player really couldn't ask for a better teammate. Thank you Wayne, I hope we get the chance to team in a tournament again some day.
EDIT: Now for the man that everyone so easily forgets, thank you @robo for helping so much with being the admin of this tournament! You are always willing to take on the tasks that no one else is willing to do. I could thank you a thousand times, and it still wouldn't be enough.
This turned out to be a huge essay haha. Thank you ALL in the aoe2 community, I have really enjoyed my time coming out of retirement to play this tournament! The heartfelt welcome that I received was far better than I could have asked for. Love you all, Long Live AoC!
The final for DM World Cup 2 Gold Cup was earlier today, bringing an end to the month long tournament that brought many of us top DM players back to compete. Given that after the first DM World Cup I wrote a long tribute to Jidba, and I have many people who I would like to thank, I felt I should make a post.
Tribute
For many here on aoezone, the tournament was something small and different. However, for a small section of the community often jokingly called "DM World", this was an unexpected tournament with a name that carries a lot of weight. In the last DM World Cup in 2016, I had managed to defeat Jidba in the grand final, leading many to call me the best DM player. In the conclusion of this tournament, TheViper defeated TheCode in a narrow 5:3 victory that really could have gone either way. Given that @TheViper is now our new DM World Champion, I'd like to pass off the title to him with a few words.
First and foremost, despite the things I have said around here about how I hope an old-school DM player defeats Viper, I really cannot give this title to a more worthy player. On top of being amazingly talented, he is also a nice and approachable guy. I can remember back when Viper first played a lot of DM with us some time around 2012-13. It did not take him long back then to be able to compete with the very best of us; in fact, he had positive records against nearly all top DM players. At this time he had made a couple great posts here on aoezone about the positives of DM, which I believe contributed to it's growth during that period. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find them in my brief search here, but if someone can find it that would be great! (they may be comments on recorded games iirc). After that, him and I met in The Awakening DM 1v1 tournament in the losers bracket final, where he defeated me on his way to take 2nd. Unfortunately, this is still the only time we've had the opportunity to compete against each other in a tournament setting. Congratulations @TheViper , you're a fantastic player and I hope you continue to play DM into the future. Also, I hope we find an opportunity to meet when you visit Seattle.
Acknowledgements
After the conclusion of The Legacy Cup 2, I had announced that I retire from AoE2. However, our very own local hippo @Nili_AoE informed me about the upcoming DM World Cup 2, and I simply could not resist the opportunity to compete again. Therefore, my first thank you is to Nili himself: thank you for putting on this tournament, even in the face of so much drama from a few key players. You are truly a force within this community that does not get acknowledged nearly enough. Looking forward to your future DM tournaments!
I would like to give a shoutout to @TheCode for putting on a truly inspiring performance throughout this tournament. Like me, he had not played in the past 1.5 years, which is an extremely difficult hurdle to overcome. If there was any one of us DM players who really came close to showcasing what high level DM is capable of, it was him. If given another opportunity (especially not right after playing 4 hour series vs me), I think he could be our DM champion. On top of this, TheCode went above anyone's expectations in helping Nili with the tournament setup. Hat's off to you man, you played great, and thank you for all you do.
Next I would like to thank @Clemensor , the Clemenator himself. Since the time that we became friends several years ago stemming from his interest in learning DM, every conversation I have with the guy is great. Not only that, but he was instrumental in pointing out many of the weaknesses in my current game-play that I was struggling to see for myself. At this point, I'm not entirely sure who has trained the other more. Thank you for all the effort man, it meant a lot to me. If only you put more effort into becoming good at DM! You are DM's prodigy.
A long time legend of the game, and a guy I looked up to during the zone.com days, @Fu12ious_NoW (SuNo_Daywalker) gave yet another great performance in this tournament. Yet he would never tell you that, I don't think there's a more humble AoE2 player out there! Thanks for the kind words during the tournament Dan, and I hope we have the chance to compete again!
When I first came back, I played some games on HD (yuck). From there, I found two players who at this point I believe are the rising stars of deathmatch: @Dkc_Incredibles and @PaladiNz .
@Dkc_Incredibles : You're amazingly talented, and your insights into the game played a key role in helping me get back to the level I was able to. On top of that, you're almost too nice of a person. I hope we have the chance to train for a tournament again in the future! Keep going man, I want to see you become the future #1.
@PaladiNz : I know I give you a lot of crap sometimes man, but I'll admit it, you're a good player too haha. On top of that, I believe you have the kind of ideas that could actually make DM grow. I hope you find the time and motivation in not only becoming a top player, but also following through on some of your ideas for DM.
If you ask many DM players who the current top DM players are, there's always one name that seems to not be there but really deserves to be: @__zaryab__ . Zary is the newest member of the QuEnDi team, having joined three years ago already. He played against @LaaaaaN in the qualification stage, and just barely lost the series in a close one. As some of you may know, one of the biggest hurdles in competing is knowing how to bring out your full potential during a tournament series. I think this tournament is a turning point for Zary, and I'm looking forward to seeing his performance at the end of the silver bracket. Common Zary, you got this man!
Some years ago around the time War is Coming was announced, I ran into this player who I remember had a very campy-friendly play-style. At first I thought he might just be another random 1800-ish player; but this guy was different. He actively played 1v1 against me and many other good players. This led to him and I having many long conversations while watching recorded games, constantly learning from each other's mistakes. After a year or two, he began to play RM as well, and I distinctly remember telling him "I bet you'll be a 2k+ player in no time". Today, @Ruubenstock is not only a top player in both RM and DM, but also a great behind the scenes contributor to DM World Cup 2. Cheers to you my friend, and thank you.
Now for the soldier himself, @LeAsH__ . Upon getting the news of the upcoming tournament from Nili, I immediately called Leash. His first words were "Hell yeah, lets do this". I don't think this community can find a more willing AoE2 player. Even if you could, that person wouldn't be able to match Leash's charisma. One of the worst parts of this tournament for me was when we were forced to play against each other not only in the winner's bracket, but again in the loser's bracket! But even after narrowly losing to me 5:3, Leash immediately began encouraging me to push for 1st. In my opinion, he's one of AoE2's very best. Thank you for everything Aus.
Last and certainly not least, I would like to thank my good friend and long-time teammate QuEnDi_RaGE (Wayne). Back in the War is Coming days, Wayne and I almost by accident began teaming together, and subsequently played together for L_Clan. In the years that followed, we had a great run where we managed to place 1st in a string of tournaments, eventually having our run ended in The Legacy Cup. In DM World Cup 2, he did not go nearly as far as he would have liked. However, in the weeks that followed, Wayne kept up with my games and was constantly watching recs and giving me his analysis over facebook messages. On top of this, he was always the first one to give me words of encouragement after losing both of my series vs TheCode. An AoE2 player really couldn't ask for a better teammate. Thank you Wayne, I hope we get the chance to team in a tournament again some day.
EDIT: Now for the man that everyone so easily forgets, thank you @robo for helping so much with being the admin of this tournament! You are always willing to take on the tasks that no one else is willing to do. I could thank you a thousand times, and it still wouldn't be enough.
This turned out to be a huge essay haha. Thank you ALL in the aoe2 community, I have really enjoyed my time coming out of retirement to play this tournament! The heartfelt welcome that I received was far better than I could have asked for. Love you all, Long Live AoC!
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Clemensor
Lovee
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F1Re vs. Nili 
MUHAMMEDD 
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Villese 
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