[eSports Review] The Masters of the Sword - Group Stage Review: EN Clans

[St.Guardian 514]

 

Hello EN Community! This article was conceived because of the success of our EN clans in the 'Masters of the Sword' tournament. With only 6 clans out of a total of 32, our community's clans were scarce but, as the results proved, they were powerful and competitive with the Russian Clans. Indeed, 4 of them -Penguins, Biological Hazard, Serenity, Dynasty- qualified for the quarter-finals in their respective divisions (unfortunately  Knights and Evil Geniuses could not qualify). Let's take a more detailed, collective look into how they did it!

 

*Note- this article combines results from each team's top 3 matches of the group stage, which had 2 parts:*

First League 1   First League 2   Major League 1   Major League 2

 

Major League

Most of these clans placed either second or first in their groups and thus auto-qualified for the Gladiator paint, a symbol of a true warrior clan in the game.

 

Penguins

Placed in a group comprising of Biological Hazard, Synergy, and Star Warriors, Penguins knew from the start that they would need to fight their best fight to break from this group into the next stage. That is precisely what they did. Though their selected match against Star Warriors was an apparent breeze as they blew their opponents out with a score of 2:0, the others were quite a bit more intense. For example, their match against Biological Hazard was definitely more shaky, with their enemies having gotten an early lead in the match by winning the first round. Penguins came back to win the second round though and they tied the third round, but they could not shake the wrath of Biological Hazard who ended up beating them.

 

 

Penguins' match versus Synergy was probably the most nail-biting and eye-gluing of the three, as they managed to draw the first three rounds against the ex-champion clan and a few last second captures were performed throughout the entire match. In fact, beating Synergy in the fourth round was Penguins' ticket out of the group (statistically speaking of course). Hats off to this clan, perhaps they can waddle their way into the champion's spot!

 

Knights

Onto the next clan, this team known as Knights certainly gave it their all. For a clan's first major tournament, Knights produced quite the spectacle after battling heatedly against the other clans in their group who were also of a similar level. For example, in a match against Invincible, one of the top clans in the tournament, Knights' players were probably feeling quite tense. They ended up drawing the first three rounds in a fashion similar to that of Penguins' match against Synergy. It was only by a few small errors in the last round that cost them the victory. However, when this clan loaded into the map to play Cadets, an increasingly massive blowout in each round ensued, allowing Knights to take an easy win 2-1, 4-0, and 7-0 over their opponents.

 

 

Their last match against Perci was clearly not one that this clan took for granted. Full of epic captures, supply-riddled players, and lasting a whopping 50 minutes, I was gripped from the first Railgun shot to the last capture. Although their opponents got an early lead by winning the first round, Knights managed to stand their ground and take back two rounds in a show of skill and persistence. However, though they fought hard in the matches they played, in the final group stage Invincible lost to Perci which gave Perci greater total points (over the two group stages). So unfortunately, Knights did not make it out of the group stage.

 

Biological Hazard

Few words need to be said about this talented group of individuals known as Biological Hazard. Even if you do not know them, just their name has connotations of "death to all who oppose" or the more simple "d3s". All right, perhaps that was a little exaggerated, but it does have some truth to it, and the current results of MOS prove this. When Biological Hazard battled against Star Warriors, they got an early start but were counter-played in the second round when Star Warriors proved that this clan would truly need to apply themselves to the match. The rounds that followed were a solidification of this request, which lead HZD to beat SW 2:1. Their selected match against fellow EN clan Penguins was also quite a show for the community, but it was most likely Biological Hazard's experience that allowed them to defeat their enemies in a turbulent match that ended with a final score of 3:1.

 

 

Their selected match against Synergy, oddly enough, was the most brief of all and contained only 30 minutes of gameplay. They bashed their opponents with an outstanding final score of 2:0. HZD only allowed their opponents one flag capture! Well played Biological Hazard, you all certainly showed what you are capable of. Hopefully we can see more of you in the finals!

 

 

First League

These two clans (who, interestingly, have a history together) represented the EN community well in the First League and placed either first or second in their respective groups and move to play the quarter finals.

 

Serenity

For such a new clan, Serenity is quite the hot-shot of a team. Technically, they are the First League equivalent of Biological Hazards, having won 5 of their first matches by stringing together their skills with co-ordination. Of their triple clean-sweep matches selected, their match against International was probably the most quickly executed as they beat their opponents in three rounds straight, in slightly decreasing order by 6-0, 5-0 and 1-1. Serenity's battle versus the clan Evil Geniuses was a bit less straightforward. The first round was won comfortably by the clan, but the second round was stolen by Evil Geniuses whose players fought back valiantly. However, the last two rounds were conquered by Serenity who won with a final score of 3:1.

 

 

Their streamed match against NeoNate was the most intriguing of their streamed matches, most likely due to the fact that both of these clans had 2 wins each in the group and wanted a third to compliment it. They won the first round easily, drew the second round and took the third round with the same score at the first: 3-1. Congratulations to this clan on making such an impressive premiere in their career!

 

Dynasty

Our last successful clan is also a new group of players, called Dynasty. Their name is fitting though, as they displayed simple, elegant expertise in their group stage matches, of which they won four out of six. This clan's selected match against Art of Fire was quite an explosion of skill, as they captured four flags in each round, allowing their opponents to only  take three flags in total throughout the entire battle. The clans previous match against Do Fonarya was slightly less destructive (for the opponents) but it still showed the sheer power of teamwork. They blew away their opponents in the first round 5-0, following up the second round with a slightly narrower 3-1 and they closed off the match just as easily, making the final score 3:0.

 

 

Their selected match against the clan Hедотроллефлудеры was also quite inspiring for Dynasty, as they took the first round smoothly and proceeded to win the second round not quite as easily but still with a large gap in flag captures. The last round was won 3:1 and secured this clan's position in the group stage ratings. Well done to Dynasty for strutting their stuff, hopefully they will do so in future.

 

 

Future Fates

 

The matches commented on above were only the clans' best three out of their total 6 matches (3 in the first group stage, 3 in the second & identically matched group stage), and although they qualified, much improvement can be made. After all, an artist's painting is never done, right? Generally, congratulations to the four clans who made it and may they have good fortune in their next matches!

 

 

Edited May 14, 2017 by St.Guardian

[Lankbouv 6,347]

Good

[N221 597]

Nice analysis of each team

[Spoon 1,030]

Excellent review, Good job!

[ZeusVinsi 84]

Awesome!! 

[HAPPSHOT 2,029]

King