War Is Coming will be getting a lot more exciting in the coming weeks, as match-ups between high-level teams will be abundant, and one-sided, easy games will be a rarity rather than an expectation. We as a gaming community will again be able to witness the best of the best players from around the world fight to the last GG to determine who is the greatest of them all! The TyRanT Legends will be looking to solidify their hold on the #1 spot that they first achieved in WCL 7: 2011, and maintained in both TTW2012 and TMW2013. Some of their more noteworthy challengers include SY, TyRanT Warlords, Legion Clan, Dreamers, and Nadya's Boys. Only time will tell who will survive the upcoming War... which has only just begun!
Quoting the Official WiC Rules:
Duel Stage:
The goal of any team in the duel stage is to situate themselves in a bracket position in which they will be able to win 1 out of 2 games. 2 consecutive losses will mean an early farewell to the tournament. If they find their current position overwhelming, they have the option of moving to a more manageable position.
There are four possible matchups for the Duel Stage:
(czech) STr8 vs Chinese Kung Fu
It would be very advantageous for STr8 to request a Duel versus the CKF team. If STr8 defeats CKF in the duel, the pool of possible opponents becomes significantly more manageable. Instead of facing off versus the #1 seeded TyRanT Legends and then either Nadya’s Boys or SY B, they will face off vs L_Clan, and then either KGB or PL.
Prediction: STr8 will request a duel and defeat CKF 4-3
SY B vs PL
It may also be a good idea for SY B to request a Duel versus PL due to the same reasons outlined above. Note: if both STr8 and SY B were to request a Duel and win, they may still end up facing each other in the second round. Perhaps some decisions on “To Duel or not to Duel” will be reliant on the decisions of other teams.
Prediction: Neither team will request a duel
nC & friends vs Poison of Zone (hong kong)
nC is currently positioned in a very overwhelming group. They will be facing off versus Dreamers in the first round and then either TyRanT Warlords or VNS A in the next. If they were to swap places with poZ, they would be facing off versus PoJ and probably either VN or SY. nC needs to decide in which group they will be most capable of winning 1 set of games.
Prediction: nC will request a duel and be defeated by poZ 4-2
Vikingos Nomadas vs Vietnam Strategy
I don’t think that either team will gain any advantage from swapping spots. Even if VN were to consider a duel, they may be better off avoiding the consternation of scheduling with VNS.
Prediction: Neither team will request a duel
Double Elimination Stage:
Quoting from the Rules:
Round 1:
TyRanT Legends vs STr8 (czech)
STr8 will have a difficult time even taking a game versus the behemoth that is the TyRanT Legends. STr8 is a good team with legitimate chances of making it into the Round Robin stage, but even with all gears meshing perfectly, defeating the Legends is a much too difficult task. The DM games will definitely be competitive, as Jordan and Viper will be up against two seasoned DM players in Interdimension and Xuma.
Players to look out for: TheViper, DauT, Emin, jugband
Score: Legends 4 : 0 STr8
(czech)Nadya’s Boys vs PL
Nadya’s Boys have been practicing together in hundreds of games and have reached a high level together due to very strong communication and teamwork. PL, led by Dziamdziak, will need to rely on their own teamwork abilities to come out with a win, so they will be looking to win maps such as Land Nomad and other WIC Maps that are more strategy-oriented.
Players to look out for: Zuppi, Lojza, Remi, Dziamdziak
Score: NaBs 4 : 1 PL
Dreamers vs nC & friends
Dreamers, like NaBs, have practiced together in hundreds of games in a short amount of time. They will overpower nC in every phase of the game due to their great teamwork. However, after seeing Nilpferd and Shine face off vs TyRanT Legends on DM, they may be able to take Game 3. Judging from the games between Dreamers and Str8 in the Group Stage, casters may want to pay close attention whenever Nicov is bringing a boar to his town center.
Players to look out for: Nicov, Gary, Skittle, Nilpferd
Score: Dreamers 4 : 1 nC
TyRanT Warlords vs Vietnam Strategy
VNS is an experienced team, but their roster has looked very different through their history. Does anyone know what happened to some of the guys on their TTW2012 team, like novalily and All?
Regardless, VNS will have to step up their game to defeat BacT & friends in a showdown that I certainly look forward to!
Players to look out for: RiuT, slam, Yellow, ACCM
Score: Warlords 4 : 0 VNS
SY vs Vikingos Nomadas
VN is an old and experienced team, but they will find their hands full with the Nation’s Cups reigning champs. VN’s best hopes for a win will come from Game 3, where SY will need to put their DM skills to the test. Though SY plays at a very high level on RM, their underwhelming DM abilities will make it difficult for them to reach the top spot in this tournament.
Players to look out for: Mr_Yo, Fengxin (VG_Paladin), Rob3rStinson (Tatoh), Dark_Knight
Score: SY 4 : 1 VN
Power of Japan vs Poison of Zone (hong kong)
The matchup between these teams is both historic and competitive, and I expect it to produce great games. These two teams faced off during the Final Stage of WCL 7, a tournament which began almost four years ago! poZ managed to defeat PoJ 4-3 in that matchup, but they will need to practice a lot in the coming days to replicate that. PoJ meanwhile has been practicing a lot and has DM-specific players to get the point of Game 3.
Players to look out for: Chocobo, Escape, Tammy (Ding), Tsunami (bvirus)
Score: poZ 3 : 4 PoJ
KGB vs SY B
As KGB and SY B scheduled early in the week, I was unable to update these predictions in time. I must say that both teams exceeded my expectations. Well played to both!
Final Score: KGB 4 : 3 SY B
Legion Clan vs CKF
The newest iteration of RVK have joined together to again see how high they can reach in the current AoC tournament. Fortunately, this time around they won’t be trying it without any practice at all. L_Clan will have an upper hand on any water maps as they have more experience there, with Miguel and dogao being very good players on that setting. Game 3 will definitely be won by L_Clan as CKF has no powerful DM players to put up a fight against Kellan and RaGE. L_Clan has shown some weaknesses in teamwork in previous matches, and CKF will need to exploit that in order to win this matchup.
Players to look out for: doeliabl (Chris), dogao, Tim, IamOK
Score: L_Clan 4 : 1 CKF
Round 2:
Winners Bracket
(Predictions only, analysis may be added later)
TyRanT Legends 4 : 1 Nadya’s Boys
TyRanT Warlords 4 : 2 Dreamers
SY 4 : 1 Power of Japan
KGB 0 : 4 Legion Clan
Loser’s Bracket:
Chinese Kung Fu 4 : 2 SY B
nC & friends 1 : 4 Vietnam Strategy
Vikingos Nomadas 3 : 4 Poison of Zone
STr8 4 : 2 PL
Round 2:
STr8 2 : 4 KGB
Vietnam Strategy 4 : 3 Power of Japan
Poison of Zone 1 : 4 Dreamers
CKF 3 : 4 Nadya’s Boys
Teams Qualified for Round Robin Stage:
Legends, Warlords, SY, L_Clan, KGB, VNS, Dreamers, Nadya’s Boys
Quoting the Official WiC Rules:
Predictions:The WiC Duel Stage is to be played as a Best of 7 in the following manner:
Game 1: 4v4, WiC_Map_Pack_v4, Hidden Different Civilizations per Team. (See Rule D under "Gaming Rules")
Game 2: 4v4, WiC_El_Dorado_v5, "Team Random", MegaRandom Start.
Game 3: 2v2 DM, WiC_DM_GA Best of 3 (2-0 or 2-1 Winning Team gets 1 point). Game 1: Goths and aztecs; Game 2: "Team Random"; Game 3: Hidden different Civilizations per Team.
Game 4: 4v4, WiC_Sand_Maze_v2, Set Civilizations: Vikings, Huns, Celts and Spanish VS Persians, Japanese, Saracens and Goths. Losing team chooses Civilizations set.
Game 5: 4v4, WiC_Land_Nomad, Free Choice of different Civilizations per team.
Game 6: 4v4, WiC_Team_Migration_v2. Free Choice of different Civilizations per team.
Game 7: 4v4, WiC_Arabia, Free Choice of different Civilizations per team.
Duel Stage:
The goal of any team in the duel stage is to situate themselves in a bracket position in which they will be able to win 1 out of 2 games. 2 consecutive losses will mean an early farewell to the tournament. If they find their current position overwhelming, they have the option of moving to a more manageable position.
There are four possible matchups for the Duel Stage:
(czech) STr8 vs Chinese Kung Fu
It would be very advantageous for STr8 to request a Duel versus the CKF team. If STr8 defeats CKF in the duel, the pool of possible opponents becomes significantly more manageable. Instead of facing off versus the #1 seeded TyRanT Legends and then either Nadya’s Boys or SY B, they will face off vs L_Clan, and then either KGB or PL.
Prediction: STr8 will request a duel and defeat CKF 4-3
SY B vs PL
It may also be a good idea for SY B to request a Duel versus PL due to the same reasons outlined above. Note: if both STr8 and SY B were to request a Duel and win, they may still end up facing each other in the second round. Perhaps some decisions on “To Duel or not to Duel” will be reliant on the decisions of other teams.
Prediction: Neither team will request a duel
nC & friends vs Poison of Zone (hong kong)
nC is currently positioned in a very overwhelming group. They will be facing off versus Dreamers in the first round and then either TyRanT Warlords or VNS A in the next. If they were to swap places with poZ, they would be facing off versus PoJ and probably either VN or SY. nC needs to decide in which group they will be most capable of winning 1 set of games.
Prediction: nC will request a duel and be defeated by poZ 4-2
Vikingos Nomadas vs Vietnam Strategy
I don’t think that either team will gain any advantage from swapping spots. Even if VN were to consider a duel, they may be better off avoiding the consternation of scheduling with VNS.
Prediction: Neither team will request a duel
Double Elimination Stage:
Quoting from the Rules:
The Double Elimination is played as a non-standard double-elimination bracket, starting with the 16 teams that advanced from the Group Stage. This stage unlike other standard Double Eliminations, ends at the Semi Finals of both Winner and Loser Brackets. The four semifinalists of the Winner Bracket advance to the Round Robin stage as 1st tier qualifiers, while the four semifinalists of the Loser Bracket advance to Round Robin Stage as 2nd tier qualifiers. There will be two 1st tier teams and two 2nd tier teams in each Round Robin group.
Round 1:
Game 1: 4v4, WiC_Map_Pack_v4, "Team Random". (See Rule D under "Gaming Rules")
Game 2: 4v4, WiC_Land_Nomad, "Team Random"
Game 3: 2v2 DM, WiC_DM_GA Best of 3 (2-0 or 2-1 Winning Team gets 1 point). Game 1: Turks and Koreans; Game 2 "Team Random"; Game 3 Hidden different Civilizations per Team.
Game 4: 4v4, WiC_Flood_v2, Free Choice of different Civilizations per team. MegaRandom Start.
Game 5: 4v4, WiC_Hills, Hidden Different Civilizations per Team.
Game 6: 4v4, WiC_Arabia, Set Civilizations: Huns,Chinese, Spanish and Celts VS Mongols, Mayans, Persians and Britons. Losing team chooses Civilizations set.
Game 7: 4v4, WiC_Map_Pack_v4, Free Choice of different Civilizations per team. (See Rule D under "Gaming Rules")
Round 2: Also 1st stage of Losers Bracket
Game 1: 4v4, WiC_Map_Pack_v4, Hidden Different Civilizations per Team. (See Rule D under "Gaming Rules")
Game 2: 4v4, WiC_Bedouins, "Team Random".
Game 3: 2v2 DM, WiC_DM_GA Best of 3 (2-0 or 2-1 Winning Team gets 1 point). Game 1: Mongols and Saracens; Game 2: "Team Random"; Game 3: Hidden different Civilizations per Team.
Game 4: 4v4, WiC_Team_Continental_v3, Free Choice of different Civilizations per team.
Game 5: 4v4, WiC_Atacama, Hidden Different Civilizations per Team.
Game 6: 4v4, WiC_Arabia, Set Civilizations: Japanese, Teutons, Turks, Koreans VS Goths, Franks, Byzantines and Saracens. Losing team chooses Civilizations set.
Game 7: 4v4, WiC_Map_Pack_v4, Free Choice of different Civilizations per team. (See Rule D under "Gaming Rules")
Round 3: Only used on Losers Bracket to decide Semi Finalists
Game 1: 4v4, WiC_Map_Pack_v4, Hidden Different Civilizations per Team. (See Rule D under "Gaming Rules")
Game 2: 4v4, WiC_Golden_Hill, "Team Random".
Game 3: 2v2 DM, WiC_DM_GA Best of 3 (2-0 or 2-1 Winning Team gets 1 point). Game 1: Celts and Spanish; Game 2: "Team Random"; Game 3: Hidden different Civilizations per Team.
Game 4: 4v4, WiC_Pond_Inspection, Hidden Different Civilizations per Team.
Game 5: 4v4, WiC_MFOFOURSEAS, Hidden Different Civilizations per Team.
Game 6: 4v4, WiC_Arabia, Set Civilizations: Huns, Koreans, Teutons and Britons VS Mongols, Saracens, Franks and Celts. Losing team chooses Civilizations set.
Game 7: 4v4, WiC_Map_Pack_v4, Free Choice of different Civilizations per team. (See Rule D under "Gaming Rules")
Round 1:
TyRanT Legends vs STr8 (czech)
STr8 will have a difficult time even taking a game versus the behemoth that is the TyRanT Legends. STr8 is a good team with legitimate chances of making it into the Round Robin stage, but even with all gears meshing perfectly, defeating the Legends is a much too difficult task. The DM games will definitely be competitive, as Jordan and Viper will be up against two seasoned DM players in Interdimension and Xuma.
Players to look out for: TheViper, DauT, Emin, jugband
Score: Legends 4 : 0 STr8
(czech)Nadya’s Boys vs PL
Nadya’s Boys have been practicing together in hundreds of games and have reached a high level together due to very strong communication and teamwork. PL, led by Dziamdziak, will need to rely on their own teamwork abilities to come out with a win, so they will be looking to win maps such as Land Nomad and other WIC Maps that are more strategy-oriented.
Players to look out for: Zuppi, Lojza, Remi, Dziamdziak
Score: NaBs 4 : 1 PL
Dreamers vs nC & friends
Dreamers, like NaBs, have practiced together in hundreds of games in a short amount of time. They will overpower nC in every phase of the game due to their great teamwork. However, after seeing Nilpferd and Shine face off vs TyRanT Legends on DM, they may be able to take Game 3. Judging from the games between Dreamers and Str8 in the Group Stage, casters may want to pay close attention whenever Nicov is bringing a boar to his town center.
Players to look out for: Nicov, Gary, Skittle, Nilpferd
Score: Dreamers 4 : 1 nC
TyRanT Warlords vs Vietnam Strategy
VNS is an experienced team, but their roster has looked very different through their history. Does anyone know what happened to some of the guys on their TTW2012 team, like novalily and All?
Regardless, VNS will have to step up their game to defeat BacT & friends in a showdown that I certainly look forward to!
Players to look out for: RiuT, slam, Yellow, ACCM
Score: Warlords 4 : 0 VNS
SY vs Vikingos Nomadas
VN is an old and experienced team, but they will find their hands full with the Nation’s Cups reigning champs. VN’s best hopes for a win will come from Game 3, where SY will need to put their DM skills to the test. Though SY plays at a very high level on RM, their underwhelming DM abilities will make it difficult for them to reach the top spot in this tournament.
Players to look out for: Mr_Yo, Fengxin (VG_Paladin), Rob3rStinson (Tatoh), Dark_Knight
Score: SY 4 : 1 VN
Power of Japan vs Poison of Zone (hong kong)
The matchup between these teams is both historic and competitive, and I expect it to produce great games. These two teams faced off during the Final Stage of WCL 7, a tournament which began almost four years ago! poZ managed to defeat PoJ 4-3 in that matchup, but they will need to practice a lot in the coming days to replicate that. PoJ meanwhile has been practicing a lot and has DM-specific players to get the point of Game 3.
Players to look out for: Chocobo, Escape, Tammy (Ding), Tsunami (bvirus)
Score: poZ 3 : 4 PoJ
KGB vs SY B
As KGB and SY B scheduled early in the week, I was unable to update these predictions in time. I must say that both teams exceeded my expectations. Well played to both!
Final Score: KGB 4 : 3 SY B
Legion Clan vs CKF
The newest iteration of RVK have joined together to again see how high they can reach in the current AoC tournament. Fortunately, this time around they won’t be trying it without any practice at all. L_Clan will have an upper hand on any water maps as they have more experience there, with Miguel and dogao being very good players on that setting. Game 3 will definitely be won by L_Clan as CKF has no powerful DM players to put up a fight against Kellan and RaGE. L_Clan has shown some weaknesses in teamwork in previous matches, and CKF will need to exploit that in order to win this matchup.
Players to look out for: doeliabl (Chris), dogao, Tim, IamOK
Score: L_Clan 4 : 1 CKF
Round 2:
Winners Bracket
(Predictions only, analysis may be added later)
TyRanT Legends 4 : 1 Nadya’s Boys
TyRanT Warlords 4 : 2 Dreamers
SY 4 : 1 Power of Japan
KGB 0 : 4 Legion Clan
Loser’s Bracket:
Chinese Kung Fu 4 : 2 SY B
nC & friends 1 : 4 Vietnam Strategy
Vikingos Nomadas 3 : 4 Poison of Zone
STr8 4 : 2 PL
Round 2:
STr8 2 : 4 KGB
Vietnam Strategy 4 : 3 Power of Japan
Poison of Zone 1 : 4 Dreamers
CKF 3 : 4 Nadya’s Boys
Teams Qualified for Round Robin Stage:
Legends, Warlords, SY, L_Clan, KGB, VNS, Dreamers, Nadya’s Boys