WSVG World Championship 2015- Unofficial Write UP |
Here is the write-up for the Play-off stage of the WSVG tournament. It's a bit shorter than the others, however I plan for the showdown stage write-up to a have a more detailed summary of each series, so stay tuned! Thx for reading as always, and feedback is always welcome! :D
In the WSVG play-offs, three players, one from each continent, were playing in a bracket for a spot in the Showdown stage. In this fierce competition, only a third of the players would thereby progress, securing harsh competition. In the first, Argentinian JuaNNN had to pull back form his 4-0 defeat the RiuT in the regional final, while facing Zuppi, who had lost to The Viper, and CooL, who had lost to country-mate ACCM. First off, Wolfpack JuaNNN faced NaBs player Zuppi. The series started with a JuaNNN victory in an hour long Dry Arabia game. Zuppi then picked Double Arabia as a home map, but, this proved a much shorter affair, JuaNNN pulling the victory in just 26 minutes. In the next game, JuaNNN steadily made his way towards victory, by winning his own home map of Rooster. Zuppi pulled one back in a game of Nomad, but the game ended up going in the favor of JuaNNN, winning 4-1, and practically eliminating Zuppi. Next, JuaNNN faced CooL, and once again whon the long game of Dry Arabia. Subsequently, CooL pulled the score back in Baltic, while JuaNNN pulled ahead in Rooster. In Migration, CooL won again, pulling the score level. However in the final to games, of Arena and Pond Arena, JuaNNN was superior, and with a 4-2 victory, ready for the showdown stage, while the game between CooL and Zuppi was obsolete, and not played.
In the next bracket, another NaBs player, 8th Wonder, faced opposition in the persons of GoKu of Brazil and IamOk from China. Wonder started against IamOk, winning the first three games of Dry Arabia, Islands and Nomad, putting himself in pole position. IamOk pulled one back by winning Sand Maze, but the final game of Rooster went in the favor of Wonder, giving him a 4-1 victory in a game, where one could not help but feel IamOk didn't play up to his best. That he did, however, in the game vs. GoKu, which proved a truly great game, as GoKu struggled to be level with Wonder before their head to head match. In the close game, IamOk won Dry Arabia, Migration, and Baltic, while Rooster, Atacama and Arena went in the favor of GoKu. The final game was technically obsolete though, but both players went to their full to win the game of Gold Rush, which eventually went to the hands of GoKu, who with 4-3 was ready to face Wonder in the battle for qualification. In this, Wonder proved his strength, winning Dry Arabia, Migration, Duopoly, and Baltic, to make his loss in Rooster meaningless. With two 4-1 victories, Wonder was ready for the showdown stage, while IamOk and GoKu were eliminated.
The third bracket included the only TyRanT in the play-offs, in the person of F1re. He faced SY player LoveCheng, as well as NaBs player MbL. First, F1re proved his strength against MbL. Though MbL as usual won his BF game, F1re proved superior in the other games, getting a 4-1 victory. Next, the virtually eliminated MbL faced LoveCheng, in a game that followed a similar pattern. MbL won BF, as well as Nomad, but losses in four other games meant that LoveCheng was ready to face F1re in a direct duel for a showdown spot, while MbL was eliminated. The battle between F1re and LoveCheng, proved one of the greatest games of the entire tournament. Both players were clsoe to victory numerous times, with LoveCheng winning Dry Arabia, but F1re turning the score 2-1 with Rooster and Nomad victories. LoveCheng equalized with a game of Baltic, only for F1re to put the score at 3-2 by winning RF. Next, F1re won the water in Pond Arena, and was stumblingly close to victory, but over-committed to make a landing using the water. With great defense, LoveCheng repelled F1re, and enabled himself to use woad raiders to win the game. In the final battle for showdown participation, LoveChengs aggressive style in Gold Rush put him ahead, and with a 4-3 victory, LoveCheng was, perhaps surprisingly, ready for the showdown stage, while the second TyRanT, after Slam, was eliminated.
The last bracket had two favorites in Wolfpack players Spanish TaToH and Brazilian FeAge, with SY player Xiaoxiong, providing their main competition. TaToH opened up with meeting Xiaoxiong, and proved to be able to play at a high level. Though Xiaoxiong won his home map of Nomad, TaToH won the four other games, putting himself ahead with a 4-1 victory. Next FeAge faced Xiaoxiong, but as the Chinese player failed to turn up, the game ended up as an AW to FeAge. That set up the final between TaToH and FeAge, which also had the potential to be a classic. FeAge won the Dry Arabia game to put himself ahead, but TaToH took home and equalizer in Baltic. TaToH then proceeded to win both Duopoly and Team Islands, to put himself ahead at 3-1, and very close to a spot in the showdown stage. However, now FeAge woke up, and won Nomad to pull one back. Next, FeAge won the game of Pond Arena as well, setting up a final in Meatballs. FeAge had failed to prepare for this map however, and was dumbfounded while playing it. This enabled TaToH to pull ahead, ending in what many perceived as a premature GG from FeAge after 28 minutes. With a 4-3 victory, TaToH was ready for the Showdown stage, while FeAge was out, despite a memorable performance in the tournament.