So far, there have been four tournaments in the AWBW Cup series. Although none of them have finished yet, three are now in the final stages and on the verge of being completed. That's right, it's time for the championships of the Sept., Oct., and Nov. Cups, after which three players will be crowned as tournament champions and inducted into the Hall of Fame. In honor of that, I'd like to take a few moments to briefly highlight each of these three championship matches.
September Cup Final - Hellraider vs. walkerboh01
The championship match of the inaugural AWBW Cup tourney amusingly features the two organizers of the tournament, Hellraider and Walker. Hellraider was the clear-cut favorite to win it all coming into the tournament, and has done nothing to suggest otherwise thus far after powering through his first two opponents. Walker was not expected to make it to the championship, but surprisingly defeated the favored Kamuscha in the semifinals to advance after a hotly contested opening game with marxistplot. Hellraider is the obvious one to bet on to win the match.
The match itself is a no CO powers game, and it is currently Hellraider's turn on day 11. Hellraider earned an advantage during the capture phase of the game, compounded by being able to build his first three vehicles before Walker and then contesting one of Walker's city captures. Although relatively large masses of units (especially infantry) developed on the fronts, Hellraider launched an attack on day 10 on Walker's weaker front. Walker counterattacked, but it is incredibly likely that Hellraider will be able to push through and break Walker's lines in the next couple turns. An upset does not look likely, and all signals point towards a Hellraider win.
October Cup Final - fdkanns vs. the Weakest Xiaoniao
The October Cup championship is a showdown between two of the heavyweights on AWBW who have proven their skill in the Global League. Fdkanns was the most highly rated player coming into the tournament and advanced quite comfortably past supersnipe64 and Mr--Clean (despite long delays). The Weakest Xiaoniao also did not have much trouble in his first two games, beating headphone and Walker consecutively. However, despite being seeded higher than the Weakest Xiaoniao coming into the tournament, fdkanns may not be favored to win this particular matchup. In fact, the Weakest Xiaoniao was one of the few players to hand fdkanns a loss in the Global League, which was the last match between the two. Fdkanns will surely be looking for revenge now with the October Cup title on the line, but it will be no easy feat to vanquish Xiaoniao.
The match has yet to start and the CO selections are still unknown, but it will be a High Tier game on "el rio acelguate loco!". If the Weakest Xiaoniao can avoid the inconsistent play that has plagued him against top players over the last 6 months, this match promises to a classic, and certainly worth keeping track of.
November Cup Final - Roswell vs. ymouba
The November Cup championship features a well-established elite player in Roswell the Black Rose against an up-and-coming player trying to break into the upper echelon of AWBW in ymouba. Roswell was the favorite to claim the championship from the beginning of the tournament, and neatly handled his first two opponents, Kragorix and julberndt. Meanwhile, ymouba was not even favored to win his first game, a battle against the relatively strong shompiador_kalabaza. Despite the odds, ymouba emerged the victor, and then proceeded to advance to the championship after another tight game against marxistplot in the semifinals. Roswell is favored to win the match, but ymouba has a legitimate chance at making the upset if he plays to the best of his capabilities.
Currently the game is on Roswell's turn on day 4, and has been stalled by Roswell's recent vacation. Although it is too early in the match to determine who may have an advantage, it is noteworthy that ymouba has decided to skip the capture of his airport. Will he attempt a bold, aggressive opening as Max? On paper it appears that Roswell's Hawke should have the advantage, but considering the tower, positioning of the airport, and relative openness of the center, it is conceivable that Max could be a match for Hawke. The game is still in the early stages and anything can happen, but it will undoubtedly be a match worth keeping an eye on as it develops.
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In other news, the signups for the January Cup are open and won't close until the end of the year, so if you want to participate there are still plenty of spots available!
Until next time,
Walker
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