After 2 round of qualifiers, 16 teams have entered the WDC main event.
The first match will be played live today, the remaining Ro16 matches in the following 7 days.
The Ro8, semifinals and final will happen on the weekends of May 15, 16, 22 and 23.
Directly qualified as the 6 highest-rated teams to make overlap with the Two Pools 2 top 4 unlikely:
- Tempo Storm (Hera, Liereyy, Hearttt)
- Infinitive Afterpets (MbL, Nicov, Daniel, Capoch)
- GamerLegion A (TheViper, TaToH, JorDan)
- White Wolf Palace (Mr Yo, Lyx, vivi)
- Suomi (Zuppi, Villese, TheMax, Rubenstock)
- Heresy (miguel, dogao, LaN, Sitaux)
And those 10 teams made it through the qualifiers:
- Vietnam Legends (ACCM, saymyname, BadBoy, SongSong)
- GamerLegion B (DauT, slam, Nili)
- Jamaika Z (FreakinAndy, BruH, Kasva)
- Home Sweet Rome (AngelinaJolie, Hallis, PraYs, PROject_Belgium)
- KGB A (GoKu, F1Re, RiuT, Alive, Blink182, LoneStarr)
- Wisecourtmelsick (Whitecourt, Noisick, neromelnick, Wisepii)
- Czech Team (Ovenka, Skull, yezris, DracKeN, Janik)
- Rulers of Rome (Ganji, Kamigawa, Vodka_L, Nanimaren)
- Kyo All Fallen (Sora Kuma, GKT_cloud, DemonSheep, z40305125)
- Deceptive Cadence (Annotoph, S3Kingcat, Locke, LemonJack)
These are the Round of 16 matches:
Now we will see how much the qualifier experience will help some teams on the new maps of which some only were created a month ago and most see their first big tournament light in the WDC.
The current prize pool is $6600. Since WDC also wants to draw attention to environmental problems of the featured regions, especially human-caused water scarceness, $200 and and 50 % of all further donations during the tournament will go to Trees for the Future. 25 % will go to the prize pool and 25 % to the map creators.
Streaming is completely open, but please mention that we are collecting money for Trees for the Future when you stream the event. Here is a guide about environmental problems to talk about for 14 of the areas.
Charity Navigator - Rating for Trees for the Future
Trees for the Future has earned a 4/4 Star rating on Charity Navigator. This Charitable Organization is headquartered in Silver Spring, MD.
www.charitynavigator.org
If you want to contribute, you can message me here, or on Discord (Huehuecoyotl22#3717).
The $350 Sand League featuring 28 teams that did not make the top 16 also starts this week.
Check out the matches and progress on Liquipedia: https://liquipedia.net/ageofempires/World_Desert_Championship/Sand_League
@Black Adder streamed many of the qualification matches and provided a summary of his impressions:
* (Based on matches seen, so the list will suffer from not seeing all - sorry to all I didn't get to watch!) *
After seeing about half the matches in the first stage of the new team game tournament by Huehuecoyotl22 and SeanT, assisted by Lord Patito, and getting to know the settings and new maps, I can say we're in for an interesting set of games coming the main event (and Sand League). After all, the line-ups, many of them already showing their skill in Qualification, are promising tight battles that may bring some unexpected results due to the format and different level of experience with playing on the tournament maps.
Maps, created by a group of talented creators (Cebdos, Chrazini, HenkDeSuperNerd, TheMadCADer, Zetnus and from the map creation contest placements (MingudaiLee, Rorrik, MyteaLancer, green eggs)) and themed around globally distributed arid places (aka world deserts, who would have guessed), focusing also on providing some knowledge about these real places to the players and viewers as well, bring in general highly aggressive gameplay, or at least set up for that.
While most of the qualification games were fairly aggressive, we have seen some attempts to move the meta elsewhere, for example with Wisecourtmelsick and Good Boys deciding Mount Bromo (Gold Rushy type map) would be a good one for full team wall and collective faster Castle Ages, or a bit increased number of Fast Castles in the second round of qualifications in general (at least from my perception). It's obvious players are learning the maps and how to play them more efficiently, so some try that, some try double cav civs (e.g. Good Boys again), some try suicidal double FC on probably the most open and unwallable map ever (Umm al Samim - Czech Team), or an extremely hard (due to multiple conditions from the map and the game) triple boar lure (Greedy Dragons - what a fitting name, eh?) with different level of success. All of that, though informs their, and the other teams', gameplay further, allowing them to gain experience with how to play the tournament settings and how to possibly succeed in the next matches. One has to wonder if this experience won't be missing for the teams joining only now for the main event, as the maps really are tricky with many hidden crevices and mechanisms (SalzZ could say) that can use experience to uncover (even with just how the maps spawn).
* PS: Gobi would like to exclude itself from this "aggressive play" nonsense, only hour-long games, please. *
From the players and teams perspective, only teams that managed to brave both the qualification rounds (some teams started in the second round) were Czech Team, Kyo All Fallen, Deceptive Cadence, Rulers of Rome and Wisecourtmelsick. Deceptive Cadence clearly beating Dark Side and PL (3:1, 3:1) and making it into their first big TG tournament, was the biggest surprise.
For the other teams, when you look at their line-ups and performances in previous events, you can see why. However, when you look at who they had to overcome, sometimes that is not that clear, and one that stands out is certainly Kyo All Fallen, who had to overcome SalzZ in Round 2 - in a tight battle they started 0-2 and then the ride began, with already their Round 1 versus Denmark A being rather interesting. The Taiwanese are up there in the team game territory, already proving it in Summer AoElympics last year from the same tournament host.
Other notable results and especially whole matches are the Japanese team All hail nomonomo vs. the British Good Boys, decided on a long Gobi, Greedy Dragons vs. Czech Team (mentioned above, plus curious Aztec mirror DracKeN vs. Dragonstar on Jalapão), Suomi A (their first map vs. Home Sweet Rome was also fun) vs. I dont know, or Pizza Pasta Pretzel (guess where the name comes from) vs. Rulers of Rome (bit of an intra-clan war pretty much :d) - this one's special, probably the most epic, at the same time weird, awesome, questionable, longest (?), downright insane and "what?" game between Running and Vodka. Do yourself a favour and watch this one unfold to cheer the players on every new villager. Maybe let's also mention trolly Mor ho! vs. VLAN Power with actually not a bad douche! :d (And basically every other match had some curious moments as well, just hard to choose and more attention needed! :-)) Oh, and some DauT Castles happened of course (the ones I could find and remember: last game of SalzZ vs. Kyo all fallen and game 3 of Greedy Dragons vs. Czech Team, though they weren't that influential, but maybe someone has a fetish :-)).
All hail nomonomo vs. Good Boys on Gobi:
Greedy Dragons vs. Czech Team on Mount Bromo:
Boar Lure (Greedy Dragons) on Simpson Desert:
Running vs. Vodka (Technology Achievements):
Wisecourtmelsick vs. Good Boys on Umm al Samim:
Exactly the introduction of 1v1s talked about above into the mix throws a wrench into many a standard prediction of matches' results, as quite obviously who can be excellent in team games, might not be exceptional enough in 1v1, and vice versa - puts a level of importance onto the depth of the line-ups, as some teams have already successfully used that. This probably will favour the established good teams waiting in the brackets of the main competition, which should put more thought into special strategy preparation for the team games then for the ones standing up to them - however, random mapsets in the matches are making it quite some of a challenge, not talking about specific civilisation lists for pre-set or home maps - but that, on the other hand, yet again favours the preparation. Interesting balance, isn't it. And all of this is probably going to be playing out completely different in the Sand League.
The civilisation usage has certainly seen some meta develop, where the Holy Trinity of Brits, Franks and Mayans rules the battlefield in the first match of almost every set, however Chinese, Ethiopians, Huns and Lithuanians are usually the B choices, or interspersed between the games for tactical effect, trying to outsmart the opponents. Pre-set civilisations usually have some clearer choices as well for the specific maps they are assigned to, however the variety does provide some options for trying to think of something, we have seen some odd choices from the norm here and there for specific strategies (some Celts, Italians, Japanese, Koreans, Portuguese). Also Random Mirror in some games is fun, e.g. when are you going to see Turk Mirror on Gold Rush (Mount Bromo - VNA vs. VLAN Power)?
Well, while this summary of things going on so far in the World Desert Championship by Huehuecoyotl22, SeanT with Lord Patito is certainly burdened by lack of knowledge on all the games played (for which I am sorry to all of you I could not highlight the feats of prowess of - do highlight yourself if you had some good games or moments, or someone who has seen them!), hope it shows you there's a lot to be looking forward to in the main event - and the Sand League! A competition for the teams that could not make it all the way through, but still have a burning desire and heart to fight it out in more battles to come :- ).
Gl&hf everyone!
After seeing about half the matches in the first stage of the new team game tournament by Huehuecoyotl22 and SeanT, assisted by Lord Patito, and getting to know the settings and new maps, I can say we're in for an interesting set of games coming the main event (and Sand League). After all, the line-ups, many of them already showing their skill in Qualification, are promising tight battles that may bring some unexpected results due to the format and different level of experience with playing on the tournament maps.
Maps, created by a group of talented creators (Cebdos, Chrazini, HenkDeSuperNerd, TheMadCADer, Zetnus and from the map creation contest placements (MingudaiLee, Rorrik, MyteaLancer, green eggs)) and themed around globally distributed arid places (aka world deserts, who would have guessed), focusing also on providing some knowledge about these real places to the players and viewers as well, bring in general highly aggressive gameplay, or at least set up for that.
While most of the qualification games were fairly aggressive, we have seen some attempts to move the meta elsewhere, for example with Wisecourtmelsick and Good Boys deciding Mount Bromo (Gold Rushy type map) would be a good one for full team wall and collective faster Castle Ages, or a bit increased number of Fast Castles in the second round of qualifications in general (at least from my perception). It's obvious players are learning the maps and how to play them more efficiently, so some try that, some try double cav civs (e.g. Good Boys again), some try suicidal double FC on probably the most open and unwallable map ever (Umm al Samim - Czech Team), or an extremely hard (due to multiple conditions from the map and the game) triple boar lure (Greedy Dragons - what a fitting name, eh?) with different level of success. All of that, though informs their, and the other teams', gameplay further, allowing them to gain experience with how to play the tournament settings and how to possibly succeed in the next matches. One has to wonder if this experience won't be missing for the teams joining only now for the main event, as the maps really are tricky with many hidden crevices and mechanisms (SalzZ could say) that can use experience to uncover (even with just how the maps spawn).
* PS: Gobi would like to exclude itself from this "aggressive play" nonsense, only hour-long games, please. *
From the players and teams perspective, only teams that managed to brave both the qualification rounds (some teams started in the second round) were Czech Team, Kyo All Fallen, Deceptive Cadence, Rulers of Rome and Wisecourtmelsick. Deceptive Cadence clearly beating Dark Side and PL (3:1, 3:1) and making it into their first big TG tournament, was the biggest surprise.
For the other teams, when you look at their line-ups and performances in previous events, you can see why. However, when you look at who they had to overcome, sometimes that is not that clear, and one that stands out is certainly Kyo All Fallen, who had to overcome SalzZ in Round 2 - in a tight battle they started 0-2 and then the ride began, with already their Round 1 versus Denmark A being rather interesting. The Taiwanese are up there in the team game territory, already proving it in Summer AoElympics last year from the same tournament host.
Other notable results and especially whole matches are the Japanese team All hail nomonomo vs. the British Good Boys, decided on a long Gobi, Greedy Dragons vs. Czech Team (mentioned above, plus curious Aztec mirror DracKeN vs. Dragonstar on Jalapão), Suomi A (their first map vs. Home Sweet Rome was also fun) vs. I dont know, or Pizza Pasta Pretzel (guess where the name comes from) vs. Rulers of Rome (bit of an intra-clan war pretty much :d) - this one's special, probably the most epic, at the same time weird, awesome, questionable, longest (?), downright insane and "what?" game between Running and Vodka. Do yourself a favour and watch this one unfold to cheer the players on every new villager. Maybe let's also mention trolly Mor ho! vs. VLAN Power with actually not a bad douche! :d (And basically every other match had some curious moments as well, just hard to choose and more attention needed! :-)) Oh, and some DauT Castles happened of course (the ones I could find and remember: last game of SalzZ vs. Kyo all fallen and game 3 of Greedy Dragons vs. Czech Team, though they weren't that influential, but maybe someone has a fetish :-)).
All hail nomonomo vs. Good Boys on Gobi:
Greedy Dragons vs. Czech Team on Mount Bromo:
Boar Lure (Greedy Dragons) on Simpson Desert:
Running vs. Vodka (Technology Achievements):
Wisecourtmelsick vs. Good Boys on Umm al Samim:
Exactly the introduction of 1v1s talked about above into the mix throws a wrench into many a standard prediction of matches' results, as quite obviously who can be excellent in team games, might not be exceptional enough in 1v1, and vice versa - puts a level of importance onto the depth of the line-ups, as some teams have already successfully used that. This probably will favour the established good teams waiting in the brackets of the main competition, which should put more thought into special strategy preparation for the team games then for the ones standing up to them - however, random mapsets in the matches are making it quite some of a challenge, not talking about specific civilisation lists for pre-set or home maps - but that, on the other hand, yet again favours the preparation. Interesting balance, isn't it. And all of this is probably going to be playing out completely different in the Sand League.
The civilisation usage has certainly seen some meta develop, where the Holy Trinity of Brits, Franks and Mayans rules the battlefield in the first match of almost every set, however Chinese, Ethiopians, Huns and Lithuanians are usually the B choices, or interspersed between the games for tactical effect, trying to outsmart the opponents. Pre-set civilisations usually have some clearer choices as well for the specific maps they are assigned to, however the variety does provide some options for trying to think of something, we have seen some odd choices from the norm here and there for specific strategies (some Celts, Italians, Japanese, Koreans, Portuguese). Also Random Mirror in some games is fun, e.g. when are you going to see Turk Mirror on Gold Rush (Mount Bromo - VNA vs. VLAN Power)?
Well, while this summary of things going on so far in the World Desert Championship by Huehuecoyotl22, SeanT with Lord Patito is certainly burdened by lack of knowledge on all the games played (for which I am sorry to all of you I could not highlight the feats of prowess of - do highlight yourself if you had some good games or moments, or someone who has seen them!), hope it shows you there's a lot to be looking forward to in the main event - and the Sand League! A competition for the teams that could not make it all the way through, but still have a burning desire and heart to fight it out in more battles to come :- ).
Gl&hf everyone!