Hey everyone, I just have a real quick post for now. There are a lot of interesting games going on around the site, but I'd like to draw some attention to a few particularly enticing ones.
Comeback Complete:
League: benbever (Sasha) vs. fdkanns (Sasha) on Caustic Finale
Benbever had a definite advantage early on in the game, but within the last couple turns fdkanns has made a major comeback and looks to have the victory pretty much wrapped up. Definitely a replay worth looking at.
Upsets in the Making:
League: fdkanns (Jake) vs. Roswell (Rachel) on Scorpion Operation
While fdkanns (Rank #1) pulled a nice comeback in his game with ben, he's going to need an even stronger effort if he wants to prevail over Roswell (Rank #7). The game will likely be decided after the two trade SCOPs, but I'd put my money on Roswell for the upset at this point.
League: excrimophalus (Olaf) vs. black_wave (Max) on nb4DS
It might not appear to be an upset per se (excrimo is ranked #60 and black_wave is ranked #14), but excrimo is widely considered one of the top players on the site. Though excrimo has a small funds advantage, black_wave appears to have the clear upper hand in unit (and vehicle) count and positioning. This game is not over yet by a long shot, but the upset is there for black_wave's taking.
League: Black Mont-Blanc (Sasha) vs. black_wave (Max) on Bible Black
Black_wave is playing the spoiler again in this game, looking to upset another of AWBW's top players, Black Mont-Blanc (rank #23). The situation looks pretty bleak for BMB, who will need a heroic effort (and likely a bit of help from black_wave) to be able to maintain his lone base.
Other Interesting Games:
League: Black Mont-Blanc (Jake) vs. ANT13 (Sonja) on Scorpion Operation
This is a pretty closely-matched game at the moment, though BMB does have a small funding and unit count advantage over ANT13. BMB will likely continue to slowly advance and try to back ANT13 down, so the game will hinge on how effectively ANT13 can prevent the push. Definitely a game to watch.
League: Ultra Storm (Adder) vs. Roswell (Adder) on A Questionable Strategy
Roswell is fighting an uphill battle in this game against #6-ranked Ultra Storm. He's not quite out of it yet, but it will require a massive effort to make any sort of comeback attempt on US. The game looks to be transitioning into a naval battle, which could be quite interesting to watch develop.
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In other news, Colosseum Season 6 signups are still open for another week. The signups for the November Cup are also open until October 31st. So if you want to join either of these competitions, you still have time!
See ya,
Walker
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Map Analysis - Rainy
Originally the idea was to make a game review, but since that requires a bit more effort and thought than I anticipated, you'll have to make do with this instead.
Rainy is a map that has been around for a long time, and has been regularly used in various competitions. As a result, many might find playing on this map tiresome, but I hope I can still raise some interesting points about gameplay on this map. For this purpose, I have artistically made the following picture to make my explanations easier to write and understand.
As you can see, I have assigned each relevant property-pair a letter, with the exception of X and Y, since these are the two main contested properties of Rainy. All explanations will be done from the perspective of Black Hole, for the sake of simplicity.
1) General Map Layout
Rainy has a 2-base vs 1-base + airport setup, where the side with the single base is meant to fall eventually, but can last very long due to the mountain range and the vast amount of movement-restricting forests. This keeps the 2-base side on edge, since he has to take care of covering everything against copters, while protecting his somewhat vulnerable HQ without losing grip on property Y. 15-16k income per turn means that players can constantly afford 2 vehicles per turn in the midgame, barring repairs, massive amount of copters, Md tanks or mechs. Overall, games on Rainy can take (and have taken) very varied forms, ranging from total stalemates to nearly even base-trades. In general though, games end with one side breaking the 1-base front of the other player while holding his own.
2) Capture Phase
Rainy does not have the most complicated capture phase and it is hard to mess up majorly, but as always the art is in the details. On the two-base side, the first infantry will go for the neutral base, while the second infantry can go for either G (and then F) or H (and then I). Personally I prefer property H, since the backwards infantry does arrive at the front faster and this move is not vulnerable to a recon sitting on property F. Sending two separate infantry for H and I is a waste, and two infantry for G and F is only necessary if the infantry that finished capture of G can interrupt the opponents capture of C (or rather it's equivalent).
The infantry that finished capture of the neutral base can head for either J or Y depending on what the opponent did and on what CO you are. If the opponent can't disrupt your capture of Y without harming his own capture phase, go for Y, otherwise J is preferable. The third infantry from the starting base will generally head for E, and everything else just rallies to the front.
On the single base side, matters are a bit more complicated. Since the first infantry should capture as many properties as possible (most likely two) to preserve capture phase efficiency, the options on first glance are A (then airport), B (then C) and B (then E). A (then airport) has a huge advantage due to the fact that the infantry finishing airport capture does this just in time to disrupt the opponent's capture of X, so this is nearly always the preferable choice. Choosing this route, the second infantry should head for C (to secure this property before the opponent can disrupt it, and assist in fighting for X), the third to C and the fourth to D. B (then C) has the advantage that only 3 infantry in total are needed for this front to capture everything, but you have bigger problems fighting for X, and you risk having the capture of C disrupted. B (then E) is an even more inferior version, since you divert one infantry away from your weak front and have no business whatsoever at X.
Another popular option is rushing for X, which gives up funds in total, a problem it shares with every opening that rushes for contested properties on any map.
Faking C first and going for HQ as Sami is fairly nasty, but counterable by going for F first (first meaning after the neutral base) from the 2-base side, making it possible to sit on the HQ if Sami does move towards the HQ. If you don't do that, Sami can go inf-inf-recon from the single base, which you can't counter once she is on your HQ.
3) Midgame
Once the midgame starts, which means for me that vehicle fighting becomes the most important part of the game, the flow of the game depends on what happened with X and Y. Oftentimes they will remain neutral, in which case the first fighting will remain around that area. It is not possible for me to dictate exact moves anymore, but there are a few things to pay attention to. Losing infantry in this stage of the game can be pretty deadly, especially for the 1-base side. If you try to capture the property, don't get all your infantry attacked in the same turn. Don't park your tank on the neutral property if you are the one-base side, since attacking it from the forest still ends up in an 8-6 (unless the opponent has no backup for his tank while you do, for instance if he tried to be smart with a preemptive AA). Similarly, you should avoid having your capturing inf (no matter which side) killed by tank + inf with another tank/inf sitting on it.
What works out best is to time its capture with the purchase of a copter. Since an Anti-Air can't reach the contested property in one turn, you are guaranteed to end up at least 6 infantry HP ahead while denying the opponent the property for even longer. Moreover, the copter greatly restricts movements and generally stalls any sort of advance for a bit. Just randomly building the copter works too, but is a bit of waste. So try to squeeze out whatever infantry HP you can by either starting to capture or interrupting your opponents capture, ideally killing the infantry. A common motive is to move over the copter from your weak to your strong front while building a new copter. Most players will try to counter that by building more copters themselves, but I recommend moving an AA over yourself if possible. Reason is that not being able to OHKO copters can end pretty badly.
If X and Y were captured, or the game goes on for a while without them being captured, the focus shifts a bit towards the general area around C. Reason is, if the 1-base side loses control over C (control not necessarily being capture, it is enough if he can park tanks on it), the game can be over very fast. It allows the attacker to connect his army from beyond the mountain range (between X and C), limiting the usefulness of the defender's copters while leaving him on crappy terrain, as well as usually disabling the airport. Therefore it is of utmost importance to not have whatever is on that city be stupidly killed, and once the opponent can afford to push your parking unit away with an arty, you should have an arty in position as well. Or even better, use an arty to prevent him from being able to do so. Or keep threatening X (if it belongs to him/stayed neutral) to divert part of his forces. Threaten his HQ if he concentrates to hard on X. Stay active, and don't let him just push wherever he wants, be it the area around X/your airport or the area around C.
Another minor tip: don't go arty first, and don't build too many of them. Arties are good and cost-efficient and necessary, but if you have too many of them and your opponent knows his thing, you will be too slow to push down his lone base due to your immobility. Not building enough tanks also does not abuse the weakness of having 1 base on a front, namely not having enough meatshields.
An option as certain COs (Sami, Adder, Koal) is to pump mechs. They are slow, but COP makes them powerhouses, and they can waltz over mountains. However, I'd only recommend this if it isn't important to have the immediate fighting power of tanks (and to a lesser extent infantry) right now. Such situations are for instance if X and Y do have (different) owners already, and/or the opponent goes for a slow arty push from his 2-base side.
4) Lategame
Some games on Rainy can go into a state which is often called "stalemate", usually a result of players refusing to build tanks, defensive reinforcement of the weaker front or one player wanting to drag the game out due to his CO choice. If you are in such a game, there are several things you can do. First off, realizing that "stalemates" can often times be broken, it is still possible to make mistakes or outplay the opponent. Generally, everything that is not covered by an indirect can be an attack opportunity. Attack it and plant indirects behind your attacking unit (without exposing your indirects too hard, hopefully). It is also possible to not shield your arties in certain circumstances if the opponent doesn't have enough to attack into it, so do that to gain position. Lastly, you can gain control over the middle area, using smart positioning as mentioned before, and then focus on one front with your units. As a result, half of the opponents army will struggle to get into good position (especially true for indirects) and you might be able to deal a fatal blow.
All the above tips are applicable for all "stalemates". True stalemates only happen when gaining position becomes impossible, which usually takes a while longer than people like to think.
A more map-specific detail about the lategame of Rainy is the airport placement. It is not impossible for the 2-base side to lock the opponents airport (with an AA or even a missile), in which case building a stealth is a pretty nice autowin. Even if you don't do that, the front around X/Y can sometimes shift towards the airport, now putting the defender in a weird spot since he has to take care of that area too.
Another lategame situation which interestingly enough is not a stalemate, is the base trade. Doesn't happen too often, but it is nice to know what you want to do in these situations. Most importantly, preserve at least some infantry so you can capture the opponent's undefended properties fast. Especially on Rainy, send stuff to capture the opponent's D+E as soon as possible, while defending yours as soon as you can assure that the opponent's single base will fall. That holds true especially for infantry, as long as you still have intact ones on the front. If neither player gets or holds a substantial advantage in this period, you will have to live with the fact that it will stale for real this time, because Rainy wasn't meant to be played from left to right.
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For the end of this post, I have a little quiz for you. How many games did I play on Rainy already? Winner gets a cake.
Best regards, Hellraider
Rainy is a map that has been around for a long time, and has been regularly used in various competitions. As a result, many might find playing on this map tiresome, but I hope I can still raise some interesting points about gameplay on this map. For this purpose, I have artistically made the following picture to make my explanations easier to write and understand.
As you can see, I have assigned each relevant property-pair a letter, with the exception of X and Y, since these are the two main contested properties of Rainy. All explanations will be done from the perspective of Black Hole, for the sake of simplicity.
1) General Map Layout
Rainy has a 2-base vs 1-base + airport setup, where the side with the single base is meant to fall eventually, but can last very long due to the mountain range and the vast amount of movement-restricting forests. This keeps the 2-base side on edge, since he has to take care of covering everything against copters, while protecting his somewhat vulnerable HQ without losing grip on property Y. 15-16k income per turn means that players can constantly afford 2 vehicles per turn in the midgame, barring repairs, massive amount of copters, Md tanks or mechs. Overall, games on Rainy can take (and have taken) very varied forms, ranging from total stalemates to nearly even base-trades. In general though, games end with one side breaking the 1-base front of the other player while holding his own.
2) Capture Phase
Rainy does not have the most complicated capture phase and it is hard to mess up majorly, but as always the art is in the details. On the two-base side, the first infantry will go for the neutral base, while the second infantry can go for either G (and then F) or H (and then I). Personally I prefer property H, since the backwards infantry does arrive at the front faster and this move is not vulnerable to a recon sitting on property F. Sending two separate infantry for H and I is a waste, and two infantry for G and F is only necessary if the infantry that finished capture of G can interrupt the opponents capture of C (or rather it's equivalent).
The infantry that finished capture of the neutral base can head for either J or Y depending on what the opponent did and on what CO you are. If the opponent can't disrupt your capture of Y without harming his own capture phase, go for Y, otherwise J is preferable. The third infantry from the starting base will generally head for E, and everything else just rallies to the front.
On the single base side, matters are a bit more complicated. Since the first infantry should capture as many properties as possible (most likely two) to preserve capture phase efficiency, the options on first glance are A (then airport), B (then C) and B (then E). A (then airport) has a huge advantage due to the fact that the infantry finishing airport capture does this just in time to disrupt the opponent's capture of X, so this is nearly always the preferable choice. Choosing this route, the second infantry should head for C (to secure this property before the opponent can disrupt it, and assist in fighting for X), the third to C and the fourth to D. B (then C) has the advantage that only 3 infantry in total are needed for this front to capture everything, but you have bigger problems fighting for X, and you risk having the capture of C disrupted. B (then E) is an even more inferior version, since you divert one infantry away from your weak front and have no business whatsoever at X.
Another popular option is rushing for X, which gives up funds in total, a problem it shares with every opening that rushes for contested properties on any map.
Faking C first and going for HQ as Sami is fairly nasty, but counterable by going for F first (first meaning after the neutral base) from the 2-base side, making it possible to sit on the HQ if Sami does move towards the HQ. If you don't do that, Sami can go inf-inf-recon from the single base, which you can't counter once she is on your HQ.
3) Midgame
Once the midgame starts, which means for me that vehicle fighting becomes the most important part of the game, the flow of the game depends on what happened with X and Y. Oftentimes they will remain neutral, in which case the first fighting will remain around that area. It is not possible for me to dictate exact moves anymore, but there are a few things to pay attention to. Losing infantry in this stage of the game can be pretty deadly, especially for the 1-base side. If you try to capture the property, don't get all your infantry attacked in the same turn. Don't park your tank on the neutral property if you are the one-base side, since attacking it from the forest still ends up in an 8-6 (unless the opponent has no backup for his tank while you do, for instance if he tried to be smart with a preemptive AA). Similarly, you should avoid having your capturing inf (no matter which side) killed by tank + inf with another tank/inf sitting on it.
What works out best is to time its capture with the purchase of a copter. Since an Anti-Air can't reach the contested property in one turn, you are guaranteed to end up at least 6 infantry HP ahead while denying the opponent the property for even longer. Moreover, the copter greatly restricts movements and generally stalls any sort of advance for a bit. Just randomly building the copter works too, but is a bit of waste. So try to squeeze out whatever infantry HP you can by either starting to capture or interrupting your opponents capture, ideally killing the infantry. A common motive is to move over the copter from your weak to your strong front while building a new copter. Most players will try to counter that by building more copters themselves, but I recommend moving an AA over yourself if possible. Reason is that not being able to OHKO copters can end pretty badly.
If X and Y were captured, or the game goes on for a while without them being captured, the focus shifts a bit towards the general area around C. Reason is, if the 1-base side loses control over C (control not necessarily being capture, it is enough if he can park tanks on it), the game can be over very fast. It allows the attacker to connect his army from beyond the mountain range (between X and C), limiting the usefulness of the defender's copters while leaving him on crappy terrain, as well as usually disabling the airport. Therefore it is of utmost importance to not have whatever is on that city be stupidly killed, and once the opponent can afford to push your parking unit away with an arty, you should have an arty in position as well. Or even better, use an arty to prevent him from being able to do so. Or keep threatening X (if it belongs to him/stayed neutral) to divert part of his forces. Threaten his HQ if he concentrates to hard on X. Stay active, and don't let him just push wherever he wants, be it the area around X/your airport or the area around C.
Another minor tip: don't go arty first, and don't build too many of them. Arties are good and cost-efficient and necessary, but if you have too many of them and your opponent knows his thing, you will be too slow to push down his lone base due to your immobility. Not building enough tanks also does not abuse the weakness of having 1 base on a front, namely not having enough meatshields.
An option as certain COs (Sami, Adder, Koal) is to pump mechs. They are slow, but COP makes them powerhouses, and they can waltz over mountains. However, I'd only recommend this if it isn't important to have the immediate fighting power of tanks (and to a lesser extent infantry) right now. Such situations are for instance if X and Y do have (different) owners already, and/or the opponent goes for a slow arty push from his 2-base side.
4) Lategame
Some games on Rainy can go into a state which is often called "stalemate", usually a result of players refusing to build tanks, defensive reinforcement of the weaker front or one player wanting to drag the game out due to his CO choice. If you are in such a game, there are several things you can do. First off, realizing that "stalemates" can often times be broken, it is still possible to make mistakes or outplay the opponent. Generally, everything that is not covered by an indirect can be an attack opportunity. Attack it and plant indirects behind your attacking unit (without exposing your indirects too hard, hopefully). It is also possible to not shield your arties in certain circumstances if the opponent doesn't have enough to attack into it, so do that to gain position. Lastly, you can gain control over the middle area, using smart positioning as mentioned before, and then focus on one front with your units. As a result, half of the opponents army will struggle to get into good position (especially true for indirects) and you might be able to deal a fatal blow.
All the above tips are applicable for all "stalemates". True stalemates only happen when gaining position becomes impossible, which usually takes a while longer than people like to think.
A more map-specific detail about the lategame of Rainy is the airport placement. It is not impossible for the 2-base side to lock the opponents airport (with an AA or even a missile), in which case building a stealth is a pretty nice autowin. Even if you don't do that, the front around X/Y can sometimes shift towards the airport, now putting the defender in a weird spot since he has to take care of that area too.
Another lategame situation which interestingly enough is not a stalemate, is the base trade. Doesn't happen too often, but it is nice to know what you want to do in these situations. Most importantly, preserve at least some infantry so you can capture the opponent's undefended properties fast. Especially on Rainy, send stuff to capture the opponent's D+E as soon as possible, while defending yours as soon as you can assure that the opponent's single base will fall. That holds true especially for infantry, as long as you still have intact ones on the front. If neither player gets or holds a substantial advantage in this period, you will have to live with the fact that it will stale for real this time, because Rainy wasn't meant to be played from left to right.
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For the end of this post, I have a little quiz for you. How many games did I play on Rainy already? Winner gets a cake.
Best regards, Hellraider
Sunday, October 16, 2011
AWBW Global League Review 10/16/11
Hello and welcome back to another thrilling episode of "AWBW Global League Review". The Global League has been holding steady between 145-155 players over the last two weeks, although I do expect that number to dip to about 120 over time. Our last review was on September 27th, and the updated standings since then have not seen a huge change. Eight of our previous ten are making another appearance in this week's Top 10, although the order has been rearranged somewhat. One notable drop is Kamuscha, who vacates his #1 spot in the league for the first time sine the league's inception due to real life business. However, he's not gone for good, and should he decide to return, his 1102.18 rating would still be enough to put him back at the top. And now for our top 10!
Global League "Terrifying" Ten
1. benbever - 1067.71, 3-1-0 (Last Review: 2)
Since our last review, benbever has gone 3-1 with a rating differential of +12, and has risen to the top spot courtesy of Kamuscha dropping out. One of the wins was a gift from tale, who resigned on day 1, while the other two were hard-fought victories over #11 77salamence. For the first victory on Coastal Conquest, ben used Sasha to counter Max's tank rush with clever artillery and mech play, and followed with an early tech-up to an MD tank. In the second game, on Atlas, benbever chose Sasha again. After getting off to a slow start against Hawke, he recovered quickly to pull off a decisive HQ capture. Unfortunately, there was no comeback in ben's game against black_wave. In a back and forth affair on Scorpion Operation, Max's vicious direct units eventually proved too much for Adder.
Ben has notable current games against Roswell the Black Rose (day 14) on Highway to Hell and a Sasha mirror against fdkanns (day 12) on Caustic Finale. Can he defend his number 1 spot for long?
2. fdkanns - 1064.67, 20-2-0 (Last Review: 3)
Since the last review, fdkanns has slowed down his game pace a bit, but has not slowed down on the win rate. He's gone 5-1-0 with a rating differential of +32. Last review I mentioned his game against ANT13, which wasn't going very well for him, and has since ended in only fdkanns' second loss of the league campaign. His other game that I mentioned, with the Weakest Xiaoniao, is still ongoing, although fdkanns has a heavy advantage. Fdkanns' current game with benbever could potentially decide which of the two of them can claim the top spot for the coming weeks, with only 3 points separating them in rating.
Fdkanns also has a current game against Roswell (day 17) and a rematch against 77salamence (day 13). A win against either of them would almost certainly catapult him into the top spot.
3. ANT13 - 1060.86, 23-4-6 (Last Review: 9)
ANT13 has moved up considerably in ranking since last time, jumping up 6 spots to claim the #3 position. With a 10-2-3 record and a rating increase of over 100 points since 9/27, he is now right on the heels of benbever and fdkanns in the race for the top spot. One of those 2 losses was handed to him by Roswell in an interesting game on Shangri-La, as ANT13's Sami lost the fight against Roswell's Von Bolt. With an upcoming SCOP and decent positioning on both fronts, you have to wonder if ANT13 resigned a little prematurely in that game. Most of ANT13's recent wins have come against competition outside of the top 20, although he did post a big win over a previous top 15 opponent, felix45, on Scorpion Operation.
It will be interesting to see whether ANT13 can hold on to his lofty rank for long however, with tough games against benbever (day 5), against #18 Black Mont-Blanc (day 15), and against Roswell (day 5) on his current game list. Currently he is on vacation, so don't expect any shifts in his rating soon.
4. Roswell the Black Rose - 1046.69, 25-8-9 (Last Review: 10)
Like ANT13, Roswell's ranking has been trending rapidly upward over the last two weeks, as he finds himself sitting 6 places higher in 4th. He has gone 9-0-2 during that span, and his rating has increased nearly 100 points. His aforementioned game with fdkanns is going very well for him, and it's not a stretch to imagine that Roswell may be able to crack the top 3 soon. His recent games have seen nothing but success, including two wins over 77salamence, one on Highway to Hell in a Lash/Hawke showdown and the other on A Questionable Strategy in a Jake mirror. Although his 8 league losses show that Roswell is certainly beatable, he is currently in quite good form, and will create problems for many players.
Currently he's focused on creating problems for Ultra Storm (day 8 ) and the Weakest Xiaoniao, in addition to his games against the top 3 of the league.
5. The Weakest Xiaoniao - 1039.37, 35-9-9 (Last Review: 5)
Despite a 3-1-2 record and a rating differential of +12, the Weakest Xiaoniao finds himself in the same position as last review, 5th. He is not very far off the pace of the top 4 competitors though, and could move up further with more positive results. His only noteworthy recent result was a win over 77salamence on Shadows Chase You Endlessly. In a Jake mirror match, Weakest played boldly and aggressively early, trading units in the center until a definitive strike on day 14 from which 77salamence could not recover.
Weakest's quest to move further up the standings will almost certainly not come easily, as he must face both benbever on Puyo~ (day 9) and fdkanns on nb4ds (day 12). However, he also has a Sasha vs. Eagle match against Chilin-ANT13, which he should win handily.
6. Chilin-77 - 1030.55, 21-3-1 (Last Review: Not Ranked)
Chilin-77 is technically new to the top 10, although he is the same person as 77salamence. I'm not sure how 77 has managed to play 25 league games with an alt account in addition to the 100+ on his main account, but it is pretty funny that his alt account is 5 spots higher than the main one (despite games like this one). The short story is that most of Chilin-77's games have come against incredibly easy competition from much further down in the rankings, allowing him to get many easy wins quickly. Much like his main account, Chilin-77 will take a major hit in rating and loss count as he begins to play competition closer to him in rating and skill.
7. Hellraider - 1030.16, 6-0-0 (Last Review: 4)
Hellraider has stayed perfectly constant since the last review, with no new games finished. However, his 1030 rating that was good enough for 4th a couple weeks ago is now only good enough for 7th in the league standings, a mere fraction of a point beyond Chilin-77 in 6th. Hellraider still counts himself among the ranks of the undefeated though, and none have come close to besting him so far. Until someone manages to prove that they can beat him, I still have Hellraider as my choice for the #1 spot eventually.
Hellraider has a continuing game against the Weakest Xiaoniao on Highway to Hell (day 12), which is currently stalled due to Weakest's vacation. He also has a game against fdkanns on A Questionable Strategy (day 4), which is moving at a similarly glacial pace. Unless Hellraider adds more games to his schedule, it is entirely likely that he will continue to slide down the rankings in the near future instead of moving up.
8. dorian5 - 1026.69, 11-0-0 (Last Review: 7)
Dorian5 has also been a victim of the increase in ratings amongst the top 10, as he slipped one spot despite going 2-0-0 and having a rating differential of nearly +40. Dorian is still undefeated in the league and has the largest win total of any undefeated player. If he continues his torrid pace and win streak much longer, it will be hard to count him out as one of the best players on the site. One of his two league wins in the last two weeks came over ANT13 in an impressively aggressive game on Soft Connection. Dorian struck early and often in the Sasha mirror game, keeping ANT13 on his back foot nearly the entire match, although it took until day 22 to finally put the matter to rest. His other win came against tale, which was funnily enough also a Sasha mirror on Soft Connection. This game did not last quite as long, as tale resigned on day 11.
Currently dorian is engaged in a Von Bolt vs. Javier rematch versus ANT13 on Shangri-La. He is also playing a Sasha vs. Von Bolt match in a battle of undefeated players against walkerboh01 (day 9) on City of Storms - Floods.
9. walkerboh01 - 1011.64, 10-0-0 (Last Review: 6)
Similar to Hellraider and dorian5, Walker has moved backwards in the rankings despite a 1-0-0 record and a rating differential of +20 since last review. In his lone win over greed is good, Walker pulled off somewhat of a comeback in the Jake mirror, using Jake's SCOP to strike the decisive blow on day 15.
In addition to his battle of the undefeated's against dorian5, Walker also has tough matches in progress against 2 other ranked opponents. He is playing Roswell on Aerial Aced (day 9) and the Weakest Xiaoniao on Renewal (day 11). It is quite unlikely that he will remain undefeated for long.
10. black_wave - 1011.32, 46-18-9 (Last Review: 14)
Claiming the final spot in the top ten is black_wave, who reenters after slipping down to 14th place for last review. His reentrance to the top 10 comes courtesy of a 22-5-4 run with a rating differential of +97. However of those 31 completed games, 7 of them have come against 1000rpm due to a bug that paired them together in multiple matches. Black_wave has gone 5-2 in those matches with 1000rpm, who is actually quite a good player (currently 2-9 though). Black_wave's biggest win was the aforementioned victory versus benbever, and most of the others were not against elite competition. It is also notable that he has drawn several games against other top Chinese players, including vs. the Weakest Xiaoniao and vs. Roswell.
Currently black_wave has big games against Ultra Storm (day 3) in a Max mirror on City of Storms - Floods and against #42 excrimophalus (day 11), a top player with a low game count. Games against Black Mont-Blanc, ANT13, and the Weakest Xiaoniao will also stand in the way of black_wave holding his top 10 spot over the next few weeks.
Dropping Out
Kamuscha - Dropped from 1st place to out of the league. Record since last review: 1-0-0.
77salamence - Dropped from 8th place to 11th place. Record since last review: 19-14-2.
Almost There!
11. 77salamence - 994.40, 60-35-6
12. Ultra Storm - 986.01, 6-0-0
13. Ancient Paradise - 962.96, 8-0-0
14. japanj - 953.14, 6-0-0
15. TGAL05 - 944.51, 7-0-1
By the Numbers
8 - Undefeated players with at least 5 wins. They are (in order of rank): #7 Hellraider (6-0-0), #8 dorian5 (11-0-0), #9 walkerboh01 (10-0-0), #12 Ultra Storm (6-0-0), #13 Ancient Paradise (8-0-0), #14 japanj (6-0-0), #15 TGAL05 (7-0-1), and #23 dav2003169 (5-0-0).
5 - Chinese players in the top 10, showing the current Chinese domination of the league.
147 - Players in the Global League as of today; 94 are over 800, 16 are at 800, and 37 are below 800.
24 - Players who are over 900.
833.19 - The average rating of active players in the league. This is indicative of the inflation in the league rankings caused by players dropping out of the league (if no players ever dropped, the league average rating would always be 800.00).
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In other news, I would just like to announce that signups for Colosseum Season 6 are currently open until November. For information about the Colosseum and how to sign up, click here.
Until next time,
Walker
Global League "Terrifying" Ten
1. benbever - 1067.71, 3-1-0 (Last Review: 2)
Since our last review, benbever has gone 3-1 with a rating differential of +12, and has risen to the top spot courtesy of Kamuscha dropping out. One of the wins was a gift from tale, who resigned on day 1, while the other two were hard-fought victories over #11 77salamence. For the first victory on Coastal Conquest, ben used Sasha to counter Max's tank rush with clever artillery and mech play, and followed with an early tech-up to an MD tank. In the second game, on Atlas, benbever chose Sasha again. After getting off to a slow start against Hawke, he recovered quickly to pull off a decisive HQ capture. Unfortunately, there was no comeback in ben's game against black_wave. In a back and forth affair on Scorpion Operation, Max's vicious direct units eventually proved too much for Adder.
Ben has notable current games against Roswell the Black Rose (day 14) on Highway to Hell and a Sasha mirror against fdkanns (day 12) on Caustic Finale. Can he defend his number 1 spot for long?
2. fdkanns - 1064.67, 20-2-0 (Last Review: 3)
Since the last review, fdkanns has slowed down his game pace a bit, but has not slowed down on the win rate. He's gone 5-1-0 with a rating differential of +32. Last review I mentioned his game against ANT13, which wasn't going very well for him, and has since ended in only fdkanns' second loss of the league campaign. His other game that I mentioned, with the Weakest Xiaoniao, is still ongoing, although fdkanns has a heavy advantage. Fdkanns' current game with benbever could potentially decide which of the two of them can claim the top spot for the coming weeks, with only 3 points separating them in rating.
Fdkanns also has a current game against Roswell (day 17) and a rematch against 77salamence (day 13). A win against either of them would almost certainly catapult him into the top spot.
3. ANT13 - 1060.86, 23-4-6 (Last Review: 9)
ANT13 has moved up considerably in ranking since last time, jumping up 6 spots to claim the #3 position. With a 10-2-3 record and a rating increase of over 100 points since 9/27, he is now right on the heels of benbever and fdkanns in the race for the top spot. One of those 2 losses was handed to him by Roswell in an interesting game on Shangri-La, as ANT13's Sami lost the fight against Roswell's Von Bolt. With an upcoming SCOP and decent positioning on both fronts, you have to wonder if ANT13 resigned a little prematurely in that game. Most of ANT13's recent wins have come against competition outside of the top 20, although he did post a big win over a previous top 15 opponent, felix45, on Scorpion Operation.
It will be interesting to see whether ANT13 can hold on to his lofty rank for long however, with tough games against benbever (day 5), against #18 Black Mont-Blanc (day 15), and against Roswell (day 5) on his current game list. Currently he is on vacation, so don't expect any shifts in his rating soon.
4. Roswell the Black Rose - 1046.69, 25-8-9 (Last Review: 10)
Like ANT13, Roswell's ranking has been trending rapidly upward over the last two weeks, as he finds himself sitting 6 places higher in 4th. He has gone 9-0-2 during that span, and his rating has increased nearly 100 points. His aforementioned game with fdkanns is going very well for him, and it's not a stretch to imagine that Roswell may be able to crack the top 3 soon. His recent games have seen nothing but success, including two wins over 77salamence, one on Highway to Hell in a Lash/Hawke showdown and the other on A Questionable Strategy in a Jake mirror. Although his 8 league losses show that Roswell is certainly beatable, he is currently in quite good form, and will create problems for many players.
Currently he's focused on creating problems for Ultra Storm (day 8 ) and the Weakest Xiaoniao, in addition to his games against the top 3 of the league.
5. The Weakest Xiaoniao - 1039.37, 35-9-9 (Last Review: 5)
Despite a 3-1-2 record and a rating differential of +12, the Weakest Xiaoniao finds himself in the same position as last review, 5th. He is not very far off the pace of the top 4 competitors though, and could move up further with more positive results. His only noteworthy recent result was a win over 77salamence on Shadows Chase You Endlessly. In a Jake mirror match, Weakest played boldly and aggressively early, trading units in the center until a definitive strike on day 14 from which 77salamence could not recover.
Weakest's quest to move further up the standings will almost certainly not come easily, as he must face both benbever on Puyo~ (day 9) and fdkanns on nb4ds (day 12). However, he also has a Sasha vs. Eagle match against Chilin-ANT13, which he should win handily.
6. Chilin-77 - 1030.55, 21-3-1 (Last Review: Not Ranked)
Chilin-77 is technically new to the top 10, although he is the same person as 77salamence. I'm not sure how 77 has managed to play 25 league games with an alt account in addition to the 100+ on his main account, but it is pretty funny that his alt account is 5 spots higher than the main one (despite games like this one). The short story is that most of Chilin-77's games have come against incredibly easy competition from much further down in the rankings, allowing him to get many easy wins quickly. Much like his main account, Chilin-77 will take a major hit in rating and loss count as he begins to play competition closer to him in rating and skill.
7. Hellraider - 1030.16, 6-0-0 (Last Review: 4)
Hellraider has stayed perfectly constant since the last review, with no new games finished. However, his 1030 rating that was good enough for 4th a couple weeks ago is now only good enough for 7th in the league standings, a mere fraction of a point beyond Chilin-77 in 6th. Hellraider still counts himself among the ranks of the undefeated though, and none have come close to besting him so far. Until someone manages to prove that they can beat him, I still have Hellraider as my choice for the #1 spot eventually.
Hellraider has a continuing game against the Weakest Xiaoniao on Highway to Hell (day 12), which is currently stalled due to Weakest's vacation. He also has a game against fdkanns on A Questionable Strategy (day 4), which is moving at a similarly glacial pace. Unless Hellraider adds more games to his schedule, it is entirely likely that he will continue to slide down the rankings in the near future instead of moving up.
8. dorian5 - 1026.69, 11-0-0 (Last Review: 7)
Dorian5 has also been a victim of the increase in ratings amongst the top 10, as he slipped one spot despite going 2-0-0 and having a rating differential of nearly +40. Dorian is still undefeated in the league and has the largest win total of any undefeated player. If he continues his torrid pace and win streak much longer, it will be hard to count him out as one of the best players on the site. One of his two league wins in the last two weeks came over ANT13 in an impressively aggressive game on Soft Connection. Dorian struck early and often in the Sasha mirror game, keeping ANT13 on his back foot nearly the entire match, although it took until day 22 to finally put the matter to rest. His other win came against tale, which was funnily enough also a Sasha mirror on Soft Connection. This game did not last quite as long, as tale resigned on day 11.
Currently dorian is engaged in a Von Bolt vs. Javier rematch versus ANT13 on Shangri-La. He is also playing a Sasha vs. Von Bolt match in a battle of undefeated players against walkerboh01 (day 9) on City of Storms - Floods.
9. walkerboh01 - 1011.64, 10-0-0 (Last Review: 6)
Similar to Hellraider and dorian5, Walker has moved backwards in the rankings despite a 1-0-0 record and a rating differential of +20 since last review. In his lone win over greed is good, Walker pulled off somewhat of a comeback in the Jake mirror, using Jake's SCOP to strike the decisive blow on day 15.
In addition to his battle of the undefeated's against dorian5, Walker also has tough matches in progress against 2 other ranked opponents. He is playing Roswell on Aerial Aced (day 9) and the Weakest Xiaoniao on Renewal (day 11). It is quite unlikely that he will remain undefeated for long.
10. black_wave - 1011.32, 46-18-9 (Last Review: 14)
Claiming the final spot in the top ten is black_wave, who reenters after slipping down to 14th place for last review. His reentrance to the top 10 comes courtesy of a 22-5-4 run with a rating differential of +97. However of those 31 completed games, 7 of them have come against 1000rpm due to a bug that paired them together in multiple matches. Black_wave has gone 5-2 in those matches with 1000rpm, who is actually quite a good player (currently 2-9 though). Black_wave's biggest win was the aforementioned victory versus benbever, and most of the others were not against elite competition. It is also notable that he has drawn several games against other top Chinese players, including vs. the Weakest Xiaoniao and vs. Roswell.
Currently black_wave has big games against Ultra Storm (day 3) in a Max mirror on City of Storms - Floods and against #42 excrimophalus (day 11), a top player with a low game count. Games against Black Mont-Blanc, ANT13, and the Weakest Xiaoniao will also stand in the way of black_wave holding his top 10 spot over the next few weeks.
Dropping Out
Kamuscha - Dropped from 1st place to out of the league. Record since last review: 1-0-0.
77salamence - Dropped from 8th place to 11th place. Record since last review: 19-14-2.
Almost There!
11. 77salamence - 994.40, 60-35-6
12. Ultra Storm - 986.01, 6-0-0
13. Ancient Paradise - 962.96, 8-0-0
14. japanj - 953.14, 6-0-0
15. TGAL05 - 944.51, 7-0-1
By the Numbers
8 - Undefeated players with at least 5 wins. They are (in order of rank): #7 Hellraider (6-0-0), #8 dorian5 (11-0-0), #9 walkerboh01 (10-0-0), #12 Ultra Storm (6-0-0), #13 Ancient Paradise (8-0-0), #14 japanj (6-0-0), #15 TGAL05 (7-0-1), and #23 dav2003169 (5-0-0).
5 - Chinese players in the top 10, showing the current Chinese domination of the league.
147 - Players in the Global League as of today; 94 are over 800, 16 are at 800, and 37 are below 800.
24 - Players who are over 900.
833.19 - The average rating of active players in the league. This is indicative of the inflation in the league rankings caused by players dropping out of the league (if no players ever dropped, the league average rating would always be 800.00).
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In other news, I would just like to announce that signups for Colosseum Season 6 are currently open until November. For information about the Colosseum and how to sign up, click here.
Until next time,
Walker
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