WGL APAC-Asia S3 Week 2 Recaps

Map number 1 was played on Steppes, potentially the least played map in all of Season 1 and Season 2 of WGL, with Team Efficiency on offense for the first two rounds. In round number one, we saw a very strongly coordinated rush from T-E, while PhoeniX had one or two light tanks to the Northeast end of the map which were too far away and out of position to add their firepower to the defense. Round one ends with Team Efficiency in possession of 5 tanks, two of them essentially one shot away from dying. In game number two however, PhoeniX employed a counter-rush strategy designed specifically to crush Team Efficiency. It was effective in giving them a win with only two tanks remaining at the end of the game.

In game number one on offense, team PhoeniX lost Grivyn very early on in the game, putting them down one tank in the early game. They tried proceeding to capture zone one in the northwest, but Team Efficiency had an ambush ready to go from the start. Team Efficiency subsequently takes the game without dropping a single tank. The final round on Steppes was perhaps the closest. The exchanges were constantly one for one, until a 4 v 3 quickly escalated in to a 3 v 1, and then the final three tanks on Team Efficiency took the game.

Map number 2 was Himmelsdorf and round number one saw Team Efficiency on offense, who proceeded to change the meta completely by employing an M44 Artillery, . If Phoenix didn’t move out to attack, they were mostly likely going to gradually take damage from artillery. In offense game 2, Comix switched out his SPG for a T37 and proceeded to the western hill to both perform sniping and provide vision for his teammates. The end game was very very close, as Team Efficiency had four tanks where one shot could kill them, and one with about 40% of its HP remaining. Team Efficiency took the Set 5-1.

Match 1 Winner

T-E 5:1 PhoeniX

The first map of this game was decided on Prokhorovka. Charlotte Tiger was on defense for the first two rounds, using two T32s to absorb enemy firepower and distract while the rest of their own team attempted to snipe from a secure location. During the first two games, we saw Horseman making the moves necessary to win the game, but they were carried out just moments too late. Because of this issue with timing, Horseman lost both Round 1 and 2. Charlotte Tiger on the other hand claimed victory by having one tank remaining when the time elapsed, as they were on Defense.

Game number three saw a change of tactics from both teams, as they rushed to the center of the map for an all-out brawl. Unfortunately for Charlotte Tiger, the coordinated fire from Horseman was too much to bear, and they crumbled into pieces soon after the engagement. Game number four saw yet another change of tactics by Charlotte Tiger: deploying a T32 and an IS-3 to rush the center of the map while the rest of their light tanks rushed the F6 quadrant of the map. With Horseman focusing on the heavy tanks in the center of the map, Charlotte Tiger quickly rushed them down and secured a victory with four tanks remaining on their team.

Steppes was the next map to be picked for the second rotation. In the first game, Charlotte Tiger first initiated a capture to ambush Horseman. The latter initially thought that they knew enough about their enemy’s position to initiate a rush and destroy all of them - a miscalculation that soon led to disastrous results. At the end of the game, Charlotte Tiger still had three tanks up and running, with four points to their name.

Game number two once again saw Charlotte Tiger on offense. Horseman, however, showed strong coordinated fire and rush tactics to get the win on defense in this game, bringing the score back to 4:2. With the switch to offense from Horseman, we saw them again using strong rush tactics and coordinated fire to secure an even 1-for-1 exchange in the engagements until we saw the 5 v 5 scale in to a 5:3. At this point, Charlotte Tiger attempted one last bait by starting a capture while setting up an almost-diabolical ambush to end the game in a two vs. two scenario, which came into an end with CT_Poly getting chased down by the last T-49 on Horseman.

In game number 8, Horseman initiated a 3 tank capture at the North-east capture point, which is no doubt an unorthodox tactic in a professional level, where most attempted captures took place at the northwest end of the map. Horseman's ploy was almost successful with the capture reaching 100% at one point, but it was thwarted at the last minute by Charlotte Tiger's tanks, dismantling the assault with a hit that reset the capture. The resulting exchange initially seemed to lean heavily in favor of Horseman, but Charlotte Tiger quickly turned the fight around by rotating out their weakened tanks with others that still had sufficicent HP to absorb the damage. Charlotte Tiger eventually won the game and the match with an end score of 5:3.

Match 2 Winner

Charlotte Tiger 5:3 Horseman

Game 1 of map one was played on Prokhorovka. Initially, TCSG just rushed straight up north on their offensive play and initiated a capture, but the divide of the tanks for TCSG worked against them. Initially they were not all in the correct position to intercept ELONG’s counter rush, which gave ELONG the edge in the game and a better position, coordination, and firepower. In game number two, a couple of mispositioned tanks gave ELONG the edge early on with a five-to-seven scenario, who proceeded to steamroll the opposition without incurring any casualties of their own. The score was now 2:0 and with ELONG going on offense, we wanted to see if TCSG’s luck could change.

At the start of the next game, ELONG begun a capture at capture point 2 and had some sniper support at the northern part of the map. TCSG was ready to intercept, but their tactics were no match for the perfect coordination of fire and leadership style of ELONG, who proceeded to win the game. Game number four showed TCSG’s strongest performance yet. ELONG once again tried capturing capture point 2, and TCSG was ready to intercept. Unfortunately for them, their best just wasn’t good enough to topple the Chinese team. In the end ELONG had three tanks left standing, while TCSG conceeded a loss for the fourth game in a row.

Steppes was chosen yet again as map number two, and game number one saw TCSG on defense. Initially, ELONG began a capture at capture point 2 on the map using their heavy tanks, and then following Lup this offensive using their AMX 13 90s. The exchange of fire was efficient for TCSG in the beginning by taking out the heavies on ELONG, but they stumbled yet again and failed to close the game before their opponents recovered enough to secure the last victory. ELONG therefore takes the set with a perfect score of 5:0.

Match 3 Winner

ELONG vs The Coalition - Singapore

There are too many close moments in this set to describe, so the best way one can put it is that both sides were trading wins quite effectively. The score went from 0-0 to 4-4 in a series that was just too epic for words. The one thing that stood out the most from Front-Mission was that they really liked to use the Object 416. The tie-breaker, however, was played on Elenberg, and although PVP Super Friends had the defensive advantage, they simply could not pull out the win vs. Front Mission, giving them a win of two points, as opposed to the usual three.

Match 2 Winner

Front Mission 5:4 PVP Super Friends