Review [Issue 54] EN Success: All Kind

[GoldRock 6,165]

 

Welcome, tankers, to an exclusive look into the competitive world of eSports. This Issue, we bring you the latest from All Kind, as they push forwards from their stunning 2nd place achievement in the Master of Swords tournament. Beating strong Russian clans along the way including tournament favourites, AK has established themselves among the greats. We've interviewed All Kind player @Lankbouv to bring you a detailed perspective on the clan's achievement.

 

Hi there, thanks very much for taking part in this interview. Can you introduce a bit about yourself and your role in AK?

 

@Lankbouv: I am Harry from the UK. I have been in AK for 1.5 years roughly, give or take a month; and during Pro Series Seasons 3 and 4, I was very much a reserve but took the Gladiator paint. The fact that some other players earned a paint for me made me work harder and so after sticking through hard time with AK, such as when PAKISTANII had to leave for a while, I honed my aiming skills. But more importantly, I developed a brain for defensive play. 

 

Previously, I had swapped between attack and defence, and my best piece of advice for any player is to pick a position and play for it. So for a long time, I worked on playing defence and became main player for AK and played all matches to help my clan win Gladiator and Silver paints. These wins are my proudest moment in AK so far.

 

It sounds like you’ve had a really rich history in terms of developing as a player! On the subject of your past wins, while AK is a famous name in the EN community, there are likely some players out there who aren't really aware of your eSports history. Could you share a few of your most impressive past achievements prior to entering the Master of Swords tournament?

 

@Lankbouv: As a clan, our main achievements have been participating in Star Series Season 1 and the paints that came with it, reaching the finals of Pro Series Season 2 and winning Pro Series Season 4.  These achievements come of course along with a multitude of Ranking Cups and Blitz tournaments.

The past achievements of your clan are certainly impressive… and now let’s move onto the biggest one to date. AK got off to a great start once the Master of Swords tournament began, which was really exciting for those interested in eSports to follow. How did you manage to battle your way through the group stage, including beating old legends eGuards?

 

@Lankbouv: In all honesty, as we entered the group stage we did not know what to expect.  Tanki eSports had been inactive for a while.  It is definitely true to say that eGuards are a shadow of their former self – however, they boasted new names such as Arakelyan and TomRedl.

 

Our first match against them in Parma was an exciting game, with our clan falling into our routine: 3 Wasps, 3 XP tactic for the tournament.  Parma provides an entertaining game in every single round, often with flags almost being returned.  It can be one of the most frustrating maps in TO but when you're winning, especially vs eGuards, it feels amazing. 

 

We came up against an obstacle in the form of INV clan who protested and forced us to replay a round in one of our matches against them. Another interesting point from the group stage is that we always fell 1 flag behind but then came back to win. I have to say compared with older squads for the first time we had the capability not to be angry when we lost but instead comeback and stay calm in call.  A particular moment I recall which illustrates this is when I didn't notice the flag behind me and could have capped. No one shouted at me, and we ended up winning the round.

It’s great to hear the maturity and teamwork skills you guys developed even further, despite already being a pro clan. Once you guys managed to battle your way past the group stage, can you describe to our readers how you managed to overcome your first play-off opponents, STAR WARRIORS?

 

@Lankbouv: This was the only match that was not streamed and after crossing the maps we ended up playing Tribute, a map notorious for its 1 sided nature. The battle was hard and extremely frustrating, yet we played well and won 2-1 in rounds.  The tension was certainly high, but SW had clearly come to play for the draw; hence why they had aimed to play us in a map such as Tribute, where they could get a draw and potentially win in the 3v3 penalty round. 

 

However, we were even strong enough to beat them in Tribute. It wasn't our most glamorous win, yet it was satisfying to grind out a win against a side playing for a draw.

 

Hm well, I’ve heard after AK got past the quarter-final stage, the semi-final match against Synergy was rather more dramatic. At the time, they were favourites to win the whole tournament. How did you manage to overcome such a strong team with renowned names?

 

@Lankbouv: We were naturally happy to play in Parma, as so far in MOS, we had performed exceptionally well there, brushing aside eGuards with ease.  We came away with a 2-1 win after playing a penalty round which we let our 3 Wasp attackers play, as speed is often vital in a small map like Sandal where the penalty round was played. 

 

Of course controversy erupted, Synergy being used to Silver or Champion paints in the Star Series protested 1 round. We drew 1-1 in the single round we replayed which allowed us to win the overall match, taking us to the final.  I won't expand further about the protest, but I can honestly say that AK deserved to win and justice prevailed.

I remember hearing about your win and seeing the screenshots, and I was extremely impressed with your success! It would seem AK managed to continue momentum right up till the final… when Arm Power unfortunately managed to beat you to the top spot. How do you think AK will learn from this experience to become even better?

 

@Lankbouv: The final was disappointing for a number of reasons.  Firstly, none of our players felt like they played even near our best, which is always a massive shame. This was especially true given the amazing support we had received prior to the game, with a constant stream of goodwishes from both RU and EN players alike. 

 

The main lesson we learnt is to train a far wider variety of maps.  Usually you need 4 maps to train, as that way you can be assured to play one of the maps you were used to.  Kungur was our weakest map by far and we got punished for essentially not preparing well enough.  It was sad not to give our best in such a prestigious final but we looked to the future. 

Again, we reacted well and no one was blamed for our loss and we have moved on. You refer to how we will learn from this – well, we trained hard for the Kungur ‘Blitz’ tournament in the following weeks and we won it. To use an old saying: "We got back on the horse".

 

It just goes to show that every clan, even the best ones, have areas for improvement – and kudos to you guys at AK for understanding and acting upon this. It really does look like you have the level-headedness to go even further in the future. Apart from this aspect, what would you say were the major factors of your success in the Master of Swords tournament?

 

@Lankbouv: The main factor was our unity as a team and also being able to have strong reserves if 1 main player wasn't available.  Also, our attackers and defenders were like 2 units which welded perfectly together. Once again, praise has to be given to PAKISTANII for bringing together new players into a force capable of beating even the old greats of Star Series. However, as the final proved, we still have a goal to work for: the Champion paint.

Ooh, I can speak for a lot of us here in the EN community when we wish you the best of luck in that mission. And finally, now that you have established yourselves as one of the best clans across all Tanki communities, what are AK's plans for the future?

@Lankbouv: Our long distant plans are to win Champion, as that is all there is left to achieve in TO for us. However, doing well in one tournament alone is not enough - we want to sustain our victories, which we have already started doing in the Blitz tournaments. A couple of players have left recently due to real life issues, but I am wholly confident we will find other good players soon. We still have a strong base of players for the future.

I hope All Kind manages to continue being such a successful clan, as role models for many eSports players in the EN community. Thanks once again for sharing your answers to these questions with the community! Oh, and thanks for this too  :wub: 

 

@Lankbouv: You're welcome for the interview now pay me 10,000 crystals. Oh, and here's my YouTube channel.

 

(cough) Since there's nothing more that's worthy of concern, that brings our interview to a close!

 

 

To read more general insight from All Kind players, I would recommend you check out a high-quality interview conducted by @Mr.Latvian (a member of the Newspaper's 'Amateur Writing Club' project) here: click me!

 

 

And that just about covers everything. Feel free to leave your comments and thoughts below, or to start up a discussion here about this noteworthy success. A remarkable eSports moment for the EN community, I'm sure this won't be forgotten for a long time to come as AK move onto even greater things. Thank you for reading!
 

Edited April 25, 2018 by GoldRock

[need.higher.rank 3,491]

Great love you AK wish you win champion paint

[Quarks 2,255]

Loved that this got in paper recognition. Very good job Latvian.

[Mr.Latvian 3,597]

^Thanks! 
Glad to see that my article mentioned here!
Great job Goldie! 

[Zenyth 6,494]

^Thanks! 

Glad to see that my article mentioned here!

Great job Goldie! 

told ya :ph34r:

[Hex 11,520]

All Kind, go get that Champion paint and make the EN community proud! Keep it up AK, EN is always with you...

 

 

 

At least I am :P

 

 

[VivaPalestina 168]

Entire En community is with you.
Best wishes.

[i..AlphaWolf 2]

AK for days :P

[ToHoYoNTaDa 1,147]

AK is Best ever!

[Coat 2,280]

#rip, low likes and comments :c

[Vegas 960]

AK Rispakt ;)