WGL APAC-Asia S3 Week 1 Recaps

Game number 1 was played on Himmelsdorf, where we saw a very close exchange between both teams. Long story short, the game ended with PhoeniX victorious as their final tank - which was just a shot away from destruction - successfully hid itself as the seconds counted down to the end of the match. On the other hand, there simply wasn't enough time for the final one-shot tank on Front Mission to get the capture.

In game 2, with Front Mission on defense yet again, Front Mission revamped their offensive, dropping two tanks with their initial offensive and dropping two more with an extended push. They exchanged one tank for seven at the end of the game, bringing the score back to 1-1 as they entered the defense round. With PhoeniX on the offensive, we saw slightly better performance against the team from Thailand, and they gradually turned the game in to a 4 vs 2 scenario, pummeling their way to victory with three tanks remaining on their own team. This brought the score to 2:1 in favor of PhoeniX.

The final map saw PhoeniX on the offensive once again. Eventually it was worn down to a three versus three battle that got turned on its head. The score was 2:2 as we headed in to the second map, Prokhorovka. PhoeniX was put on the defense, but in the end they were no match for Front Mission's coordinated fire and rush tactics. Front Mission took game number 1 on Map number 2 with two tanks remaining.

Repeating the process in game number two on Prokorovka, PhoeniX exchanged a single tank for one of their opponent's early on, and Front Mission couldn’t stay passive as they were the offensive team this round. This time however, PhoeniX was marginally better in the exchange of shots, staying just above Front Mission as the clock hit 00:00, giving PhoeniX the win as the defending team.

With Front Mission on defense once again, they simply had to stay alive. Not only did they do so eventually, but they also managed to turn the game in their favor swiftly and decisively with five tanks remaining at the end of the game. The score was now 4:3 in favor of the Thailand Titans.

Front Mission did very well in the final game, picking off one member of PhoeniX early on and subsequently snowballing with coordinated fire and rush tactics. With Front Mission on Defense and six tanks still standing to the two of Phoenix, they were poised for victory. Front Mission took the Match with an end score of five to three.

Match 1 Winner

Front Mission 5:3 PhoeniX

This matchup can be likened to a classic battle of the titans with our Season 1 finalists going at it in the first day of competition. Map number one was Ruinberg and PVP was on the offensive, initiating a capture and getting shut down quite definitively, with Team Efficiency dropping only a single map.

PVP then tried a rush in game number 2. although they lost a tank early on that brought the game to a seven versus six situation, they pulled off a great exchange subsequently, so much so that they won the game by baiting a capture using their 4 remaining tanks to take down TE_Elite in his AMX 13 90. Flipping to the offensive side, Team Efficiency was much more solid. They didn’t drop a single tank in round one and they baited an ambush point by way of a capture which PVP bought hook, line and sinker.

In the final game of Map one, PVP performed slightly better, taking down 3 tanks on Team Efficiency, but nevertheless falling to the might of T-E. The latter was on the defense in game 1 of Map 2, Himmelsdorf. They performed quite well as PVP was moving in for the capture, only dropping three tanks while they eliminated PVP. In game number two, PVP again attempted to go for capture point two, but this time they approached from the C3 region of the map and did not succeed. Team Efficiency dropped only a single tank and won the match with an end score of five to one.

Match 2 Winner

Team Efficiency 5:1 PVP Super Friends

There was no doubt that this matchup was the highlight of the first day's matches, as both teams were the finalists of the previous season and had clashed many times before. Sadly, a reunion was not to be as ELONG failed to assemble at the appointed time, thus forfeiting the match.

Match 3 Winner

Charlotte Tiger vs ELONG

The first map of the set was played on Prokhorovka. Horsemen were on defense, but they played that standard rush to the center of the map and took a very quick victory, dropping five of their seven light tanks. Game number 2 saw horsemen defeated in a brief turnaround with TCSG possessing two tanks at the end of the game, which came after a chaotic exchange. Game number 3 put Horsemen on the offensive, committing to yet another rush strategy with much more solid coordination. This resulted in a victory with five tanks remaining at the end of the game for our team from Taiwan.

The fourth and final game on Prokhorovka saw Horseman dividing two of their tanks after the initial rush, and the remaining two from TCSG simply stayed together. Needless to say, TCSG took the win. Horseman and TCSG were tied two to two bringing the score to an even 2:2. Map number two was Ruinberg and TCSG initially tried to capture their enemy’s base, but it didn’t work and Horsemen was gradually picking off the Singaporean team one by one. Game number six saw Horseman rush the center-east villa on the map, taking control of it and outplaying TCSG in an almost embarrassing fashion. When game number seven came along, we saw Horsemen rinse and repeat their way to victory.

Match 1 Winner

The Coalition - Singapore 2:5 Horsemen

Map number one was Himmelsdorf and Team Efficiency was on defense for the first two rounds. In round number one we saw the standard defensive setup at the window in spawn, with the rest of the tanks to the Northwest not far from it. T-E eventually became victorious in the first two games; the first one came easily, but Charlotte Tiger made them work a little harder for the second one as the latter slightly improved their coordinated fire. At the end of round one, Team Efficiency had five tanks remaining, and in round two only three.

When Charlotte Tiger was placed on Defense in round three, we saw a new tactic employed by Team Efficiency that we had never seen before: they put pressure on capture point two at the west end of the map, forcing Charlotte Tiger to move in to an ambush that was set up far far away from capture point three, which led to the definitive engagement that gave them a victory. The score was now three to zero.

In game number four, Team Efficiency repeated this process but to less success with some tanks from Charlotte Tiger being relocated. With Charlotte Tiger counter-playing from the beginning, they won the 4^th game. Game number 5 was map number two, which was Prokhorovka. The highlight of this game centered on two severely damaged tanks on Team Efficiency as they mounted an offense against a single AMX 13 90 on Charlotte Tiger in the same condition. At this highly climatic moment, all of Team Efficiency’s shots missed, but Charlotte Tiger’s final tank delivered two killing blows in a row.

The next game was a smooth victory for Team Efficiency. They first rushed to the middle-hill to ensure that their opponents weren’t going to take that route before doubling back to the east, giving Charlotte Tiger a beating while only dropping one tank. In Game number seven we witnessed a graceful comeback from Charlotte tiger, tricking Team Efficiency by initiating a capture and ambushing them without dropping a single tank.

Game number eight was both chaotic and balanced, as both teams tore into each other into a near stalemate. It was only after a few chaotic tank-fights before we saw Team Efficiency take the game with only one tank remaining on the battlefield.

Match 2 Winner

Charlotte Tiger 3:5 Team Efficiency

Unlike their abrupt absence on the first day, ELONG managed to show up on time for the match against PVP Super Friends. The first map was played on Cliff, which became a site for four action packed rounds, with ELONG not losing even a single map. A single paragraph would not do justice to the sheer intensity of the games played on Cliff, but the first game is undeniably the closest of all with ELONG only possessing three tanks at the end of the game. In all three games we saw ELONG using a VK 28 01, four AMX 13 90s, and two T49s while PVP Super friends used five RU-251 tanks and two M41 Bulldogs. With an end score of four to zero, PVP super friends were looking very very grim going in to match one of map two on Steppes.

A glimmer of hope came as PVP Super friends managed to begin a successful defense against ELONG that steadily guided a win to their pockets. The countdown hit 00:00 and PVP was still standing on defense, giving them a win. In order to win the rest of the series, they would have to win the next three games and then the tie breaker game if they wanted to win. Giving it their best shot, PVP Super Friends simply could not perform as ELONG only dropped a single tank while simultaneously almost finishing a capture and eliminating their enemy team.

Match 3 Winner

ELONG 5:1 PVP Super Friends