Tweet
TWLB Hot or Not
Thunder (5-3) vs. Penetrate (6-1) (MATCH OF THE WEEK!)
16:44-20:00
This was definitely the most exciting basing match of the year, and this game had just about everything -- great flagroom battles, bad crams on both sides, brilliant maneuvers, terrible blunders, blown leads, regained leads, and was a fight to the finish, with Pene only clamping down at the very end to win it.
Thunder opening with a 6-minute lead led by an undying Zizu probably surprised just about everyone but LEGO, who experienced the wrath of the Mattey/Riverside combo, with the latter really having stepped his game up, as well as an improved cram over last year and very Sage-like aggressive play, which works well against the more placid Penetrate.
After stomping LEGO into dissolution last week, Thunder lost Ease but regained Zizu, the Mozart of terring, albeit a bit rusty. Nevertheless, he almost singlehandedly held under the entire game with a plethora of bursts, which was about all that could be done to stop zhou and Acidbomber from overrunning them, as Hulk and Phrenitis struggled against the pair.
But, like an overtaxed piece on a chessboard trying to defend too many positions, Zizu (78-17) made a few mistakes, some unnecessary warps, and Pene started to become more fluid in the cram and the FR and finding its game, slowly eating away at the Thunder lead.
Cintra (73-5) was solid, Solacer (158-89), as per usual, was a beast, although MM God (128-103) matched him blow for blow. We saw aggressive play from both teams, constantly pushing and clawing for space, as evidenced by high death counts on both sides.
It was a great game and well played on both sides, although somewhat sullied afterwards with Hulk and Turban, who, in classic Thunder fashion, tried to pin the blame on Riverside, who, while perhaps not as strong as Veloce/Ferm (who played excellent), was definitely in the ball park and him and Mattey were the main reason they annihilated LEGO in the Quarters, and put up such a close game vs. an all-star penetrate line-up. Mattey also threw blame on Riverside, although he was not blunder-free himself, failing to wait for his entire team to re-attach in FR and repping an enemy mine in the cram WAY too early and letting Pene pour in at a critical juncture in the game.
Moreover, over 100 people in spec saw Hulk losing over and over to Acid under, and Thunder spiders lose 1v1 battles sporadically here and there, so trying to blame Zizu and River is pretty sad and disingenuous.
That said, everyone played well for the majority of the match, in spite of the mistakes, both crammed poorly, and it made for a spectacular match.
MVP: Solacer (aggressive pushing, winning 1v1 battles, most kills)
Honorable Mention(s): M_M God, Zizu (full-time job terring and surviving over, then going to 2nd job holding under vs. two spiders)
HEIST (5-3) vs. Dice (6-1)
7:25-20:00
This was a far less interesting match to watch, the result was never really in doubt, and the side that really needed to be firing on all cylinders (Heist) wasn't. There was some drama, however, with Dwopple (or Cig) subbing out pavement for RUCCI early on because he wasn't positive (despite pushing and playing competently), and Renzi subbing himself out midway through the game due to lag issues.
Heist had a good line in, with Diakka (83-70), kess (78-73), sarger (96-78), pavement (31-36)/RUCCI (46-38), renzi (58-51)/BLAHHY. (43-30) in spider and Vatican Assassin and Cig Smoke sharking.
tim (24-15) took on Cape (24-2), who subbed out for NL<Trigger (10-1) once Dice's lead had aggregated, while LF got in a minute or two of sharking near the end as well.
Dice brought their starting roster to the affair, with possibly the best spider line in history in the form of: megaman89 (96-66), Stayon (111-48), Domi's retard alias (114-46), JAMAL (100-44), and cripple (120-63).
Beyond a few entertaining scuffles in the FR and some Cain and Abel 1v1 moments between brothers Stayon and kess, the whole thing was a rather timid affair, with a2m and Tabarnak!!! ably executing the duties of their office, and bit more on point than Heist in the sharking department on this day.
In fact, a2m and Tab did more than that, the practice and activity Dice showed during the week practicing for the match paying off (while Heist was largely dormant -- especially its sharks) as the duo were noticeably more dominant in the FR overbattles at times, despite their formidable sharking opponents. Moreover, a certain inside-informer who wishes to remain nameless -- we'll call him Deep Poutine -- has astutely pointed out to me that Tabarnak!!! had the highest kill count and least amount of TKs.
The disappointing end to Heist's season was best summed up thusly:
1:renzi> subbing pave and not subbing tim who's ramming mines at will, A+ move
On the upside, however, they managed a nice victory over a well-manned Real in the Quarter-Finals, and there is no shame in getting knocked out by Dice. Unless you're kess. For in his brother's visage lies the embodiment of his crushing demise at the hands of a superior 2D spaceship force.
MVP: cripple (most kills, 3 teks, no one else to give it to)
Honorable Mentions: NL<Trigger (nice job subbing in and playing safe, solid 10-1 rec), sarger (managing as many kills as megaman despite his side getting trounced)
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
1:Vatican Assassin> gonna have to forge my own medal from foundry of broken dreams
Finals Preview
Dice (7-1) vs. Penetrate (7-1)
In the final everyone predicted, the two basing juggernauts will collide in the big show for the first time. Neither has ever lost a final, and while I thought Pene would take it before the playoffs started, their close call with Thunder was not a vote of confidence. Dice's shark combo is probably a bit stronger than Thund's, they won't have gaping holes in their under coverage, Acid and Zhou will not have the luxury of controlling it like they did in the semi, they won't outright win some of those solo spider battles, Cape won't be as taxed as Zizu, freeing him to focus more on over, and their cram is better.
a2m and tab are back in the fold, and despite the 15-4 curb-stomping Pene issued them in the regular season (albeit without either of the aforementioned sharks) -- this isn't the regular season.
That said, Pene has all the bases covered -- crafty (read: annoying) Underspids, a consistent terr in Cintra, the best shark combo in the game (Veloce/fermata), and very strong overspids in Trasher, Tsumetai, Royst, and season MVP Solacer, who continued his beastly play overpowering other spids 1v1 and pouring out of the cram as if Jennifer Love Hewitt herself was giving it a handjob.
I don't know if Royst will be playing, but he would be a welcome addition to the lineup, as the one thing going against Pene is a bit of passiveness overall and lack of fluidity in the cram. Thunder broke them easily early on as they just sat there in the corners shooting down, and it wasnt until they all starting moving around, shifting and covering weak sides and shooting straight down that they started to really gain time.
That's been there achilles heel the past two years, Sage's insanely aggressive spids and eurolag ousted them last year, and Thunder's similar play almost did the same this year. Dice has the capability to bring that AND has the same basing fundamentals/nerdiness that Pene does.
I think provided their sharks show Dice stands a better chance of winning this, but the title is definitely up for grabs and Pene is more than capable of taking it.
Good luck to both squadrons!
Thunder (5-3) vs. Penetrate (6-1) (MATCH OF THE WEEK!)
16:44-20:00
This was definitely the most exciting basing match of the year, and this game had just about everything -- great flagroom battles, bad crams on both sides, brilliant maneuvers, terrible blunders, blown leads, regained leads, and was a fight to the finish, with Pene only clamping down at the very end to win it.
Thunder opening with a 6-minute lead led by an undying Zizu probably surprised just about everyone but LEGO, who experienced the wrath of the Mattey/Riverside combo, with the latter really having stepped his game up, as well as an improved cram over last year and very Sage-like aggressive play, which works well against the more placid Penetrate.
After stomping LEGO into dissolution last week, Thunder lost Ease but regained Zizu, the Mozart of terring, albeit a bit rusty. Nevertheless, he almost singlehandedly held under the entire game with a plethora of bursts, which was about all that could be done to stop zhou and Acidbomber from overrunning them, as Hulk and Phrenitis struggled against the pair.
But, like an overtaxed piece on a chessboard trying to defend too many positions, Zizu (78-17) made a few mistakes, some unnecessary warps, and Pene started to become more fluid in the cram and the FR and finding its game, slowly eating away at the Thunder lead.
Cintra (73-5) was solid, Solacer (158-89), as per usual, was a beast, although MM God (128-103) matched him blow for blow. We saw aggressive play from both teams, constantly pushing and clawing for space, as evidenced by high death counts on both sides.
It was a great game and well played on both sides, although somewhat sullied afterwards with Hulk and Turban, who, in classic Thunder fashion, tried to pin the blame on Riverside, who, while perhaps not as strong as Veloce/Ferm (who played excellent), was definitely in the ball park and him and Mattey were the main reason they annihilated LEGO in the Quarters, and put up such a close game vs. an all-star penetrate line-up. Mattey also threw blame on Riverside, although he was not blunder-free himself, failing to wait for his entire team to re-attach in FR and repping an enemy mine in the cram WAY too early and letting Pene pour in at a critical juncture in the game.
Moreover, over 100 people in spec saw Hulk losing over and over to Acid under, and Thunder spiders lose 1v1 battles sporadically here and there, so trying to blame Zizu and River is pretty sad and disingenuous.
That said, everyone played well for the majority of the match, in spite of the mistakes, both crammed poorly, and it made for a spectacular match.
MVP: Solacer (aggressive pushing, winning 1v1 battles, most kills)
Honorable Mention(s): M_M God, Zizu (full-time job terring and surviving over, then going to 2nd job holding under vs. two spiders)
HEIST (5-3) vs. Dice (6-1)
7:25-20:00
This was a far less interesting match to watch, the result was never really in doubt, and the side that really needed to be firing on all cylinders (Heist) wasn't. There was some drama, however, with Dwopple (or Cig) subbing out pavement for RUCCI early on because he wasn't positive (despite pushing and playing competently), and Renzi subbing himself out midway through the game due to lag issues.
Heist had a good line in, with Diakka (83-70), kess (78-73), sarger (96-78), pavement (31-36)/RUCCI (46-38), renzi (58-51)/BLAHHY. (43-30) in spider and Vatican Assassin and Cig Smoke sharking.
tim (24-15) took on Cape (24-2), who subbed out for NL<Trigger (10-1) once Dice's lead had aggregated, while LF got in a minute or two of sharking near the end as well.
Dice brought their starting roster to the affair, with possibly the best spider line in history in the form of: megaman89 (96-66), Stayon (111-48), Domi's retard alias (114-46), JAMAL (100-44), and cripple (120-63).
Beyond a few entertaining scuffles in the FR and some Cain and Abel 1v1 moments between brothers Stayon and kess, the whole thing was a rather timid affair, with a2m and Tabarnak!!! ably executing the duties of their office, and bit more on point than Heist in the sharking department on this day.
In fact, a2m and Tab did more than that, the practice and activity Dice showed during the week practicing for the match paying off (while Heist was largely dormant -- especially its sharks) as the duo were noticeably more dominant in the FR overbattles at times, despite their formidable sharking opponents. Moreover, a certain inside-informer who wishes to remain nameless -- we'll call him Deep Poutine -- has astutely pointed out to me that Tabarnak!!! had the highest kill count and least amount of TKs.
The disappointing end to Heist's season was best summed up thusly:
1:renzi> subbing pave and not subbing tim who's ramming mines at will, A+ move
On the upside, however, they managed a nice victory over a well-manned Real in the Quarter-Finals, and there is no shame in getting knocked out by Dice. Unless you're kess. For in his brother's visage lies the embodiment of his crushing demise at the hands of a superior 2D spaceship force.
MVP: cripple (most kills, 3 teks, no one else to give it to)
Honorable Mentions: NL<Trigger (nice job subbing in and playing safe, solid 10-1 rec), sarger (managing as many kills as megaman despite his side getting trounced)
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
1:Vatican Assassin> gonna have to forge my own medal from foundry of broken dreams
Finals Preview
Dice (7-1) vs. Penetrate (7-1)
In the final everyone predicted, the two basing juggernauts will collide in the big show for the first time. Neither has ever lost a final, and while I thought Pene would take it before the playoffs started, their close call with Thunder was not a vote of confidence. Dice's shark combo is probably a bit stronger than Thund's, they won't have gaping holes in their under coverage, Acid and Zhou will not have the luxury of controlling it like they did in the semi, they won't outright win some of those solo spider battles, Cape won't be as taxed as Zizu, freeing him to focus more on over, and their cram is better.
a2m and tab are back in the fold, and despite the 15-4 curb-stomping Pene issued them in the regular season (albeit without either of the aforementioned sharks) -- this isn't the regular season.
That said, Pene has all the bases covered -- crafty (read: annoying) Underspids, a consistent terr in Cintra, the best shark combo in the game (Veloce/fermata), and very strong overspids in Trasher, Tsumetai, Royst, and season MVP Solacer, who continued his beastly play overpowering other spids 1v1 and pouring out of the cram as if Jennifer Love Hewitt herself was giving it a handjob.
I don't know if Royst will be playing, but he would be a welcome addition to the lineup, as the one thing going against Pene is a bit of passiveness overall and lack of fluidity in the cram. Thunder broke them easily early on as they just sat there in the corners shooting down, and it wasnt until they all starting moving around, shifting and covering weak sides and shooting straight down that they started to really gain time.
That's been there achilles heel the past two years, Sage's insanely aggressive spids and eurolag ousted them last year, and Thunder's similar play almost did the same this year. Dice has the capability to bring that AND has the same basing fundamentals/nerdiness that Pene does.
I think provided their sharks show Dice stands a better chance of winning this, but the title is definitely up for grabs and Pene is more than capable of taking it.
Good luck to both squadrons!
) Keep up the good work bro
Comment