Note: Spoilers ahead! Read at your own risk!
The finals weekend of DM World Cup 3 (DMWC3) occurred starting last Friday and culminated in a grand final where we saw the reigning DM champion @TheViper hold on to his crown on Sunday. Sticking with the tradition of writing a ridiculously long post after each world cup, I would like to take a (long) moment here to reflect on the tournament and thank all of the people who made it such a great experience.
After the release of AoE2:DE last winter, deathmatch was off to a rocky start. Players who were buying the game were often complaining about the matchmaking system - who wants to play DM on those maps anyway? At first, this led to a decline in the already small number of DM players out there. However, with the unexpected Coronavirus issue plaguing the world beginning in the spring, many of us DM players found ourselves back at it again! This time, with the help of a few small events such as DM Saturday Knockout and The Redemption Cup, competition began to increase. We even saw several newer DMers rise to a high level due to @SpoolyGaming's (KD or KDanJuro) marvelous job hosting the trainer/trainee tournament that culminated in the Next Generation Cup. It was at this point that I began asking around: what do you guys think of starting DM World Cup 3? There has been rare occasions (if any) that I have had such resounding support from the community. This led to conversations with @Nili_AoE and @robo about garnering Microsoft sponsorship for the event; two weeks and five-thousand dollars in DM community donations later, we found our support from Microsoft to make this tournament! And thus began the biggest (in terms of prize) DM 1v1 tournament in all of AoE2 history.
Tribute
DM World Cup 1 was in spring/summer 2016 where I managed to defeat @ELLaS_Jidba in the grand finals after he completely destroyed me in the winner bracket finals. DM World Cup 2 last fall saw TheViper take the DM crown off my head with a fantastic performance in a grand finals vs @TheCode in a narrow 5:3 final score. This time in DM World Cup 3, TheViper has proven his mettle and has returned the champion yet again with a awe-inspiring performance vs TheCode in the grand finals, winning 6:0 in convincing fashion. Hat's off to you my friend, your skill in our beloved game is truly amazing.
As some of you may have heard on Nili's twitch channel where I was co-casting the grand finals, I had really wished for a shot at playing vs TheViper in DMWC3; shortly after the conclusion of the grand finals, a spur of the moment community-driven showmatch ensued. To play a show-match directly after a grand final is no easy task, and so I would also like to thank TheViper for giving the AoE2 community even more amazing DM content. Hopefully next time we meet will be in DM World Cup 4!
One cannot give tributes to players in DMWC3 without mentioning @Ator (TaToH). Back in 2015 I began training TaToH for a DM tournament The Uprising, in which he was teamed with I2aGE and I. Since that time, TaToH has made great strides in his AoE2 talent in general, going all the way to 4th place in DMWC3. Congrats Rob, I hope we get chances to play together more often!
My last tribute goes to both @FreakinChris and @FRoST_8 for their great performances in the Silver league. FreakinChris is now the Silver league champion, following Zaryab (DMWC2) and Vinchester (DMWC1). FreakinChris has come out of seemingly nowhere in the DM community, making a meaningful impact first in the Redemption Cup with a close series vs Daywalker, and even making an interesting series vs TheCode in DMWC3. Frost_9 on the other hand made a great run all the way to 1st on the DM 1v1 ladder, beating many of the top DM players along the way. I look forward to both of your progressions, and hopefully next DMWC we will see you both in the final 16!
Acknowledgements
Several years ago when I first began hosting tournaments, I can recall meeting with @robo about working on DM tournaments. From that time until now, I am still surprised by the amount of work and effort that guy puts into the game we all love! If it weren't for Robo, DMWC3 would have garnered much less attention, and have ran much less smoothly. Thank you again, for the millionth time Robo! Really can't thank you enough.
The man, the legend, the hippo @Nili_AoE needs no introduction for anyone in the aoe community. Not only a great player, but this guy puts fourth the best commentary on his stream that DM has ever seen. If there is one streamer that any given player in the DM community follows regularly, it is Nili. His comments are so widely heard in the community that it is not uncommon for me to hear "nili said ..." or common Nili phrases such as "Nili oh boy". Even TheViper might have room to thank Nili, for if it were not for Nili's prediction that Viper beats Leash, Leash may have had more confidence! Thank you Nili for not only being a leader of the DM community, but also for continuing to be such an instrumental figure in AoE2.
My next thank you goes to my good friend @Clemensor , who I now call Coach Clem. This guy is a secret AoE2 strategic mastermind, taking time and effort to train me and spot places where I may improve throughout DMWC3. Not only that, but he might be the only guy who knows how to cut through all the crap and make me sound like a noob with all the mistakes I made in any particular game. Last DMWC2 post, I mentioned that he was a player that I trained in DM some years ago. Now, I can safely say Clem has trained me more than I ever trained him. If only you would put the time/effort into playing the way you know how, I bet it would be an easy walk to the top! Thank you Clem for all the effort and always keeping faith in me, It's more valuable to me than you know.
Now for my long-time team game partner and good friend @bouncer Wayne also known as I2aGE. Back in DM World Cup 1, I vividly recall how well Wayne was playing, playing so good that I even thought he had decent chances to win the whole tournament! However, nerves got the best of him where he ended up having a rough performance against Nili_AoE. Fast forward four years to DMWC3, and Wayne has finally conquered this issue. In what I believe everyone in the tournament felt was the biggest upset in DMWC3, Wayne completed his revenge in taking out Nili_AoE in the losers bracket in a series that featured all 7 games. Following that great series, Wayne nearly pulled it off again vs TaToH, only narrowly losing 3-4 in that series. Of all tournament matches I saw throughout DMWC3, I believe watching Wayne's games against Nili and TaToH were the most enjoyable. Even after being knocked out by TaToH, Wayne continued to support me by constantly offering to train. Congrats on the top 8 finish my man, looking forward to seeing more in the future!
This year has not exactly been an easy year to have the letters M.D. before your name, but despite some terribly long hours at work, DM's very own @cortical_, who goes by Jamal put on a great performance. He is a player that I really love to watch: fast and overly aggressive to the point of suicidal. After being knocked out by TaToH in Losers Round 2 (Should we be calling TaToH the QuEnDi slayer now?), Jamal didn't lose his enthusiasm for the tournament. In particular, he was strongly motivated to convince all the remaining DM players to give it our best for the remainder of the tournament. One memory that sticks out to me was while I was travelling back to my home (a 5 hour car ride). Jamal and I ended up talking on the phone about AoE2 for at least half of it! At that time, my motivation for AoE2 was wavering; however, that conversation gave me new found motivation to finish the tournament strong. Thank you again for everything Jamal, and congrats on the top 12 finish!
Next up is DM's quote generating machine @PaladiNz, who goes by Saïd. For any of you who has spent any time in the DM Gaming Discord during the past months, you're likely to hear phrases such as "premium tactics" or "smooth like baby powder". Saïd's enthusiasm in the DM community is contagious, where it's safe to say that his never-give-up attitude has made an impact on us all (or at least made some games last way too long). On top of this, his semi-formal approach to conversations regarding new tournaments has been fundamental in driving DM's growth behind the scenes. DM World Cup 2 was Saïd's first major DM tournament, where similarly to Wayne, he had issues with nerves in order to perform his best. In DMWC3 we witnessed a piece of the potential that rests with this guy, giving strong performances that led to a fantastic series vs Jidba that will be mentioned for years to come.This guy is both one hell of a competitor as well as a great friend to have. Congrats on the strong finish Saïd, looking forward to seeing a great deal more from you in the future!
Now for DM's favorite soldier, @LeAsH__ (Austin). Fun fact: anytime you see a DM player with nick names that look LiKeThISs, it usually means that player was an AoK frank war player. Austin began playing AoC in 2015, where over the course of roughly 6 months (and a lot of 1v1s vs me) he became one of the greatest DM players to play the game. During DMWC3, Leash began playing so phenomenal that I really believed he would crush anyone in his path; unfortunately being that he is in the United States Navy, he was deployed prior to the tournament ending. Even after being deployed, Leash would touch base with me every few days (if he had service) to ask how training is going, giving his two cents about different strategy choices for my upcoming games. Really wish you could have been in the remainder of the tournament Austin, and thanks for pushing DM to new heights with your crazy tactics. Looking forward to the next one!
Throughout DMWC3, I spent a lot of time training with @TheCode . One of the first things I learned while training with him was the massive difference in the way we approach the game. The differences of our opinion could and still can be heard in the co-casting I did with him in some of the DMWC games he streamed on his twitch channel. So long as Code doesn't quit AoE2 to pursue a lucrative career in providing ASMR voices, I foresee him continuing to be one of the greatest players of all time. On top of all of this, TheCode has continued to provide valuable insight for tournament creation, playing an instrumental role in DMWC3 where he could have easily been added to the list of admins. Thank you for all you do Orkut.
Possibly the most under-appreciated player in the AoE2 community, @JRed_Deathmatch deserves a big thank you for creating the awesome trailer for DMWC3! This guy selflessly made great DM content throughout the years; without him, I wonder how many would have dropped DM before even starting. Thank you JReD! Hope to see more of your content in the future! If anyone has not seen the trailer, here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XDtNYuwXxY
Every few years I find myself training a player who I believe has phenomenal potential. When I find these players, I usually dub them the nickname "The DM Prodigy". During the DM trainer/trainee tournament this past spring, my trainee was @Hydra, and oh boy does this guy have potential! During the course of the trainer/trainee tournament, I witnessed Hydra skyrocket from a mediocre player (around 1500 1v1 rating) to a top 20 player. Although his performance in DMWC3 did not live up to his own expectations, I am really looking forward to his progression over the next few months. Since being his trainer, Hydra and I still chat now and then, where he has been yet another proponent to my run in DMWC3. Thank you for the support my friend, and looking forward to seeing you becoming the king of DM next year!
How could anyone forget the man with a legacy in DM rivaled by none, Dan the english DM bulldog SuNo_Daywalker @Fu12ious_NoW. Ask anyone in the aoe2 community who has been around for any significant amount of time who Daywalker is, and they will instantly mention "top 5 DM player". One can go all the way back to Juno Cup 2, the second of the three biggest DM 1v1 tournaments during zone times in which L_Clan_Bender won all three. In Juno Cup 2, the finals had Daywalker against Bender in the finals, where Bender managed the narrowest victory possible. Fast forward 10+ years, and Daywalker has continued to finish in the top 5 in every since DM 1v1 tournament that I can recall. He is an amazing player and a true legend of the game. It was great to see you performing in DMWC3 Dan, looking forward to the next one.
A long time QuEnDi member who has largely stayed out of the tournament scene, DMWC3 saw @rgz0903 QuEnDi ffavorite_1 (Roger) compete. Throughout the tournament, Roger and I had a few late-night long conversations about the evolution of the game, crazy to look back at all the great memories. His final match vs Bruh in the Round of 32 went all the way to the last game, making it one of the most exciting series of the whole tournament. Prior to DMWC3 Roger and I had only spoken occasionally and never for very long; one of the great things to come out of this tournament for me was getting to know Roger better. Thanks for the great times Roger, hope we have more occasions to hang out in the future!
My final acknowledgements go out to the wider DM community. When DMWC3 was only an idea, I began asking around for who would be willing to donate to a DM World Cup. To my surprise, within two days I was able to gain 5,000$ in pledges to make DMWC3 happen. Donors include @Oracle455, who gave an amazing 2,500$ of the prize and has become one of the biggest drivers to DM's rapid growth. Another major donation came from @aNiMaLs__ (Army); Army has become a pillar of the DM community where you would be hard pressed to find anyone that doesn't love him. He also plays a big role in both creating DM tournaments, as well as helping newer players learn the game. The final donor I would like to mention is Lost_Crusader (aka Giggles): a lesser known player to the wider AoE2 community yet unavoidable personality in the DM community. Lost contributes to the DM community with both his humor and welcoming personality, leading to some players sticking around the DM Gaming Discord just to hear him make fun of himself or others. Besides donors, DMWC3 also had many working behind the scenes in one way or another to help promote this great event. Although there are too many people to name here, one that stands out to me is @GoldiGlock (Zach). Zach is owner of the DM discord where he puts an extroardinary amount of effort to welcome as many players to the server as possible. On top of this, he made sure to post a short weekly breakdown of the scheduled matches as well as a short summary of the prior week's scores. Two more names I have to include here are @SteBron_James and @bo0mstik, both of whom are up and coming great DM players while also being some of my personal favorite people to hang out with. SteBron also made a new twitch channel www.twitch.tv/stebron_james midway through DMWC3, delivering a nice blend of DM analysis and humor giving DM yet another outlet for promoting the event. On the other hand, @StonePleaseAoE also casted many of the big DMWC3 matches with a much more analytic-heavy approach. I cannot name StonePlease without mentioning his own fast climb in the DM ranks; on top of the players mentioned earlier in this post, in recent months DM has witnessed StonePlease, @100Dragonstar, @FreakinAndy and @joro make huge advancements in the DM leaderboards. I'm very excited to see where these players end up! And of course, I must mention Brazil's DM comedian @brunin who by now has developed a reputation for not only being a fantastic DM player, but also randomly popping in to give a few laughs. Finally, my last acknowledgement goes to @PoLaR for providing an amazing break down of many of the DMWC3 matches on his twitch channel www.twitch.tv/wb_polar, where his analysis and insights are capable of rivaling that of Nili_AoE's.
The Future
The future is bright in DM! I don't believe I have seen such excitement and eagerness to learn deathmatch since the days of War is Coming and DM World Cup 1. Many great DM events are coming, including DM Rising Star 3 hosted by DM's latest and greatest contributor @brisolyn, as well as DM's up and coming figure @p0ni_b0i. Another event is being hosted by none other than DM's greatest legend @ELLaS_Jidba, where one can view the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBXm2Cr71BQ (we all know the king loves his horses). Furthermore, we have a couple other events that are in the pipeline which I hope to share with the AoE2 community as soon as they are ready.
I have also received a few messages from random players who wish to support DM's future events; I love that we are such momentum, we need as much of this as we can get! As always, please feel free to reach out to me if you wish to support DM events or if you wish to create a DM event of your own! I am more than willing to help gain traction for all things DM.
As always, I have managed to make the possibly longest post on aoezone for the year. At first I was not planning to make this post again, but in the days after DMWC3 ended I recieved messages asking for when I would make my (now traditional) tributes and acknowledgements post! My final thank you goes out to each and every AoE2 player out there! We all have one thing in common, which I believe @MembTV said it best: We love this game. Long live AoC!
The finals weekend of DM World Cup 3 (DMWC3) occurred starting last Friday and culminated in a grand final where we saw the reigning DM champion @TheViper hold on to his crown on Sunday. Sticking with the tradition of writing a ridiculously long post after each world cup, I would like to take a (long) moment here to reflect on the tournament and thank all of the people who made it such a great experience.
After the release of AoE2:DE last winter, deathmatch was off to a rocky start. Players who were buying the game were often complaining about the matchmaking system - who wants to play DM on those maps anyway? At first, this led to a decline in the already small number of DM players out there. However, with the unexpected Coronavirus issue plaguing the world beginning in the spring, many of us DM players found ourselves back at it again! This time, with the help of a few small events such as DM Saturday Knockout and The Redemption Cup, competition began to increase. We even saw several newer DMers rise to a high level due to @SpoolyGaming's (KD or KDanJuro) marvelous job hosting the trainer/trainee tournament that culminated in the Next Generation Cup. It was at this point that I began asking around: what do you guys think of starting DM World Cup 3? There has been rare occasions (if any) that I have had such resounding support from the community. This led to conversations with @Nili_AoE and @robo about garnering Microsoft sponsorship for the event; two weeks and five-thousand dollars in DM community donations later, we found our support from Microsoft to make this tournament! And thus began the biggest (in terms of prize) DM 1v1 tournament in all of AoE2 history.
Tribute
DM World Cup 1 was in spring/summer 2016 where I managed to defeat @ELLaS_Jidba in the grand finals after he completely destroyed me in the winner bracket finals. DM World Cup 2 last fall saw TheViper take the DM crown off my head with a fantastic performance in a grand finals vs @TheCode in a narrow 5:3 final score. This time in DM World Cup 3, TheViper has proven his mettle and has returned the champion yet again with a awe-inspiring performance vs TheCode in the grand finals, winning 6:0 in convincing fashion. Hat's off to you my friend, your skill in our beloved game is truly amazing.
As some of you may have heard on Nili's twitch channel where I was co-casting the grand finals, I had really wished for a shot at playing vs TheViper in DMWC3; shortly after the conclusion of the grand finals, a spur of the moment community-driven showmatch ensued. To play a show-match directly after a grand final is no easy task, and so I would also like to thank TheViper for giving the AoE2 community even more amazing DM content. Hopefully next time we meet will be in DM World Cup 4!
One cannot give tributes to players in DMWC3 without mentioning @Ator (TaToH). Back in 2015 I began training TaToH for a DM tournament The Uprising, in which he was teamed with I2aGE and I. Since that time, TaToH has made great strides in his AoE2 talent in general, going all the way to 4th place in DMWC3. Congrats Rob, I hope we get chances to play together more often!
My last tribute goes to both @FreakinChris and @FRoST_8 for their great performances in the Silver league. FreakinChris is now the Silver league champion, following Zaryab (DMWC2) and Vinchester (DMWC1). FreakinChris has come out of seemingly nowhere in the DM community, making a meaningful impact first in the Redemption Cup with a close series vs Daywalker, and even making an interesting series vs TheCode in DMWC3. Frost_9 on the other hand made a great run all the way to 1st on the DM 1v1 ladder, beating many of the top DM players along the way. I look forward to both of your progressions, and hopefully next DMWC we will see you both in the final 16!
Acknowledgements
Several years ago when I first began hosting tournaments, I can recall meeting with @robo about working on DM tournaments. From that time until now, I am still surprised by the amount of work and effort that guy puts into the game we all love! If it weren't for Robo, DMWC3 would have garnered much less attention, and have ran much less smoothly. Thank you again, for the millionth time Robo! Really can't thank you enough.
The man, the legend, the hippo @Nili_AoE needs no introduction for anyone in the aoe community. Not only a great player, but this guy puts fourth the best commentary on his stream that DM has ever seen. If there is one streamer that any given player in the DM community follows regularly, it is Nili. His comments are so widely heard in the community that it is not uncommon for me to hear "nili said ..." or common Nili phrases such as "Nili oh boy". Even TheViper might have room to thank Nili, for if it were not for Nili's prediction that Viper beats Leash, Leash may have had more confidence! Thank you Nili for not only being a leader of the DM community, but also for continuing to be such an instrumental figure in AoE2.
My next thank you goes to my good friend @Clemensor , who I now call Coach Clem. This guy is a secret AoE2 strategic mastermind, taking time and effort to train me and spot places where I may improve throughout DMWC3. Not only that, but he might be the only guy who knows how to cut through all the crap and make me sound like a noob with all the mistakes I made in any particular game. Last DMWC2 post, I mentioned that he was a player that I trained in DM some years ago. Now, I can safely say Clem has trained me more than I ever trained him. If only you would put the time/effort into playing the way you know how, I bet it would be an easy walk to the top! Thank you Clem for all the effort and always keeping faith in me, It's more valuable to me than you know.
Now for my long-time team game partner and good friend @bouncer Wayne also known as I2aGE. Back in DM World Cup 1, I vividly recall how well Wayne was playing, playing so good that I even thought he had decent chances to win the whole tournament! However, nerves got the best of him where he ended up having a rough performance against Nili_AoE. Fast forward four years to DMWC3, and Wayne has finally conquered this issue. In what I believe everyone in the tournament felt was the biggest upset in DMWC3, Wayne completed his revenge in taking out Nili_AoE in the losers bracket in a series that featured all 7 games. Following that great series, Wayne nearly pulled it off again vs TaToH, only narrowly losing 3-4 in that series. Of all tournament matches I saw throughout DMWC3, I believe watching Wayne's games against Nili and TaToH were the most enjoyable. Even after being knocked out by TaToH, Wayne continued to support me by constantly offering to train. Congrats on the top 8 finish my man, looking forward to seeing more in the future!
This year has not exactly been an easy year to have the letters M.D. before your name, but despite some terribly long hours at work, DM's very own @cortical_, who goes by Jamal put on a great performance. He is a player that I really love to watch: fast and overly aggressive to the point of suicidal. After being knocked out by TaToH in Losers Round 2 (Should we be calling TaToH the QuEnDi slayer now?), Jamal didn't lose his enthusiasm for the tournament. In particular, he was strongly motivated to convince all the remaining DM players to give it our best for the remainder of the tournament. One memory that sticks out to me was while I was travelling back to my home (a 5 hour car ride). Jamal and I ended up talking on the phone about AoE2 for at least half of it! At that time, my motivation for AoE2 was wavering; however, that conversation gave me new found motivation to finish the tournament strong. Thank you again for everything Jamal, and congrats on the top 12 finish!
Next up is DM's quote generating machine @PaladiNz, who goes by Saïd. For any of you who has spent any time in the DM Gaming Discord during the past months, you're likely to hear phrases such as "premium tactics" or "smooth like baby powder". Saïd's enthusiasm in the DM community is contagious, where it's safe to say that his never-give-up attitude has made an impact on us all (or at least made some games last way too long). On top of this, his semi-formal approach to conversations regarding new tournaments has been fundamental in driving DM's growth behind the scenes. DM World Cup 2 was Saïd's first major DM tournament, where similarly to Wayne, he had issues with nerves in order to perform his best. In DMWC3 we witnessed a piece of the potential that rests with this guy, giving strong performances that led to a fantastic series vs Jidba that will be mentioned for years to come.This guy is both one hell of a competitor as well as a great friend to have. Congrats on the strong finish Saïd, looking forward to seeing a great deal more from you in the future!
Now for DM's favorite soldier, @LeAsH__ (Austin). Fun fact: anytime you see a DM player with nick names that look LiKeThISs, it usually means that player was an AoK frank war player. Austin began playing AoC in 2015, where over the course of roughly 6 months (and a lot of 1v1s vs me) he became one of the greatest DM players to play the game. During DMWC3, Leash began playing so phenomenal that I really believed he would crush anyone in his path; unfortunately being that he is in the United States Navy, he was deployed prior to the tournament ending. Even after being deployed, Leash would touch base with me every few days (if he had service) to ask how training is going, giving his two cents about different strategy choices for my upcoming games. Really wish you could have been in the remainder of the tournament Austin, and thanks for pushing DM to new heights with your crazy tactics. Looking forward to the next one!
Throughout DMWC3, I spent a lot of time training with @TheCode . One of the first things I learned while training with him was the massive difference in the way we approach the game. The differences of our opinion could and still can be heard in the co-casting I did with him in some of the DMWC games he streamed on his twitch channel. So long as Code doesn't quit AoE2 to pursue a lucrative career in providing ASMR voices, I foresee him continuing to be one of the greatest players of all time. On top of all of this, TheCode has continued to provide valuable insight for tournament creation, playing an instrumental role in DMWC3 where he could have easily been added to the list of admins. Thank you for all you do Orkut.
Possibly the most under-appreciated player in the AoE2 community, @JRed_Deathmatch deserves a big thank you for creating the awesome trailer for DMWC3! This guy selflessly made great DM content throughout the years; without him, I wonder how many would have dropped DM before even starting. Thank you JReD! Hope to see more of your content in the future! If anyone has not seen the trailer, here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XDtNYuwXxY
Every few years I find myself training a player who I believe has phenomenal potential. When I find these players, I usually dub them the nickname "The DM Prodigy". During the DM trainer/trainee tournament this past spring, my trainee was @Hydra, and oh boy does this guy have potential! During the course of the trainer/trainee tournament, I witnessed Hydra skyrocket from a mediocre player (around 1500 1v1 rating) to a top 20 player. Although his performance in DMWC3 did not live up to his own expectations, I am really looking forward to his progression over the next few months. Since being his trainer, Hydra and I still chat now and then, where he has been yet another proponent to my run in DMWC3. Thank you for the support my friend, and looking forward to seeing you becoming the king of DM next year!
How could anyone forget the man with a legacy in DM rivaled by none, Dan the english DM bulldog SuNo_Daywalker @Fu12ious_NoW. Ask anyone in the aoe2 community who has been around for any significant amount of time who Daywalker is, and they will instantly mention "top 5 DM player". One can go all the way back to Juno Cup 2, the second of the three biggest DM 1v1 tournaments during zone times in which L_Clan_Bender won all three. In Juno Cup 2, the finals had Daywalker against Bender in the finals, where Bender managed the narrowest victory possible. Fast forward 10+ years, and Daywalker has continued to finish in the top 5 in every since DM 1v1 tournament that I can recall. He is an amazing player and a true legend of the game. It was great to see you performing in DMWC3 Dan, looking forward to the next one.
A long time QuEnDi member who has largely stayed out of the tournament scene, DMWC3 saw @rgz0903 QuEnDi ffavorite_1 (Roger) compete. Throughout the tournament, Roger and I had a few late-night long conversations about the evolution of the game, crazy to look back at all the great memories. His final match vs Bruh in the Round of 32 went all the way to the last game, making it one of the most exciting series of the whole tournament. Prior to DMWC3 Roger and I had only spoken occasionally and never for very long; one of the great things to come out of this tournament for me was getting to know Roger better. Thanks for the great times Roger, hope we have more occasions to hang out in the future!
My final acknowledgements go out to the wider DM community. When DMWC3 was only an idea, I began asking around for who would be willing to donate to a DM World Cup. To my surprise, within two days I was able to gain 5,000$ in pledges to make DMWC3 happen. Donors include @Oracle455, who gave an amazing 2,500$ of the prize and has become one of the biggest drivers to DM's rapid growth. Another major donation came from @aNiMaLs__ (Army); Army has become a pillar of the DM community where you would be hard pressed to find anyone that doesn't love him. He also plays a big role in both creating DM tournaments, as well as helping newer players learn the game. The final donor I would like to mention is Lost_Crusader (aka Giggles): a lesser known player to the wider AoE2 community yet unavoidable personality in the DM community. Lost contributes to the DM community with both his humor and welcoming personality, leading to some players sticking around the DM Gaming Discord just to hear him make fun of himself or others. Besides donors, DMWC3 also had many working behind the scenes in one way or another to help promote this great event. Although there are too many people to name here, one that stands out to me is @GoldiGlock (Zach). Zach is owner of the DM discord where he puts an extroardinary amount of effort to welcome as many players to the server as possible. On top of this, he made sure to post a short weekly breakdown of the scheduled matches as well as a short summary of the prior week's scores. Two more names I have to include here are @SteBron_James and @bo0mstik, both of whom are up and coming great DM players while also being some of my personal favorite people to hang out with. SteBron also made a new twitch channel www.twitch.tv/stebron_james midway through DMWC3, delivering a nice blend of DM analysis and humor giving DM yet another outlet for promoting the event. On the other hand, @StonePleaseAoE also casted many of the big DMWC3 matches with a much more analytic-heavy approach. I cannot name StonePlease without mentioning his own fast climb in the DM ranks; on top of the players mentioned earlier in this post, in recent months DM has witnessed StonePlease, @100Dragonstar, @FreakinAndy and @joro make huge advancements in the DM leaderboards. I'm very excited to see where these players end up! And of course, I must mention Brazil's DM comedian @brunin who by now has developed a reputation for not only being a fantastic DM player, but also randomly popping in to give a few laughs. Finally, my last acknowledgement goes to @PoLaR for providing an amazing break down of many of the DMWC3 matches on his twitch channel www.twitch.tv/wb_polar, where his analysis and insights are capable of rivaling that of Nili_AoE's.
The Future
The future is bright in DM! I don't believe I have seen such excitement and eagerness to learn deathmatch since the days of War is Coming and DM World Cup 1. Many great DM events are coming, including DM Rising Star 3 hosted by DM's latest and greatest contributor @brisolyn, as well as DM's up and coming figure @p0ni_b0i. Another event is being hosted by none other than DM's greatest legend @ELLaS_Jidba, where one can view the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBXm2Cr71BQ (we all know the king loves his horses). Furthermore, we have a couple other events that are in the pipeline which I hope to share with the AoE2 community as soon as they are ready.
I have also received a few messages from random players who wish to support DM's future events; I love that we are such momentum, we need as much of this as we can get! As always, please feel free to reach out to me if you wish to support DM events or if you wish to create a DM event of your own! I am more than willing to help gain traction for all things DM.
As always, I have managed to make the possibly longest post on aoezone for the year. At first I was not planning to make this post again, but in the days after DMWC3 ended I recieved messages asking for when I would make my (now traditional) tributes and acknowledgements post! My final thank you goes out to each and every AoE2 player out there! We all have one thing in common, which I believe @MembTV said it best: We love this game. Long live AoC!
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