Monday, July 16, 2012
Grand Tournament Group Stage Update
The Grand Tournament group stage is still underway, and it's really starting to heat up now as we get down to the last few games in each group. There are some great games being played whose outcomes will directly decide the seedings for the knockout round. I wanted to take a moment to go through group by group and highlight some of the action taking place.
Group A
Group A is one of the few groups that is entirely finished. Ultra Storm won all four games to lock up the 1st seed, while Desklamp is also advancing to the winner's bracket in the knockout round. Rush_FTK and DarthBowser will also be advancing as the 3rd and 4th seeds, while robotreboot's tournament run is over and he is eliminated.
Ultra Storm and Desklamp will face the winner/runner-up of Group P in the first round of the knockout stage.
Group B
Group B is locked in a heated battle, with all three top spots still up for grabs. The remaining two games are between ymouba and Cereal Killer and between taviroww and ymouba. Here are the possible outcomes:
1. Ymouba wins out --> 1. ymouba, 2. taviroww, 3. CK
2. Ymouba beats CK, loses to taviroww --> 1. taviroww, 2. CK, 3. ymouba
3. Ymouba beats taviroww, loses to CK --> 1. CK, 2. ymouba, 3. taviroww
4. Ymouba loses out --> 1. taviroww, 2. CK, 3. ymouba
As you can see, depending on the outcome, anyone can get any position. Both games are currently more or less even, so it will be very tense as they continue on. The 1st place finisher will get a knockout round match with either Mr--Clean, Zogar1993 or Tequila, while the 2nd place finisher will get a game against japanj. Erniewan will be advancing as the 4th seed in Group B, while Emperor81 has been eliminated.
Group C
The only thing still undecided in Group C is the victor, as Lalann and fdkanns have each vanquished their other three opponents and are now playing for the 1st and 2nd seed. The winner of the group will be playing TotalFire in the first game of the knockout round, while the loser will be playing against excrimophalus -- neither one an enviable matchup.
Evilemario and Uthief are advancing as the 3rd and 4th seeds, while exelon has been eliminated.
Group D
Group D is finished, although not every game has ended. ANT13 has wrapped up 1st place in the group -- even if he loses his current game with blozzee, he will still have the tiebreaker over willy. Similarly, the win does not move blozzee from last place, as he loses the tiebreaker against Haxxson. ANT13 and willy will be facing either black_wave, ichbinsehselber, or grandline in the first round of the knockout. The Pasta King and Haxxson are advancing as the 3rd and 4th seeds, and blozzee has been eliminated.
Group E
Group E is essentially finished, as Kruegster clinched the group victory recently with his win over 1000rpm. 1000rpm and godhammel are still technically battling for 2nd, but the game is over and is just waiting for godhammel's resignation. Barring a miracle (or boot) 1000rpm will finish in 2nd and godhammel in 3rd. D-american_soldier advances as 4th in the group.
Kruegster and 1000rpm will play either Abroxas, xepa, or the Weakest Xiaoniao in the first round of the knockout.
Group F
Group F has the potential to turn into a 3-way tie also, based on how the group finishes. Kamuscha is currently in good position to win the group, assuming he wins his game against oswaldoo -- which is by no means assured. Here are the situations:
1. oswaldoo wins out --> 1. oswaldoo, 2. Kamuscha, 3. ElectricWolf, 4. tale
2. oswaldoo loses to Kam, beats tale --> 1. Kamuscha, 2. oswaldoo, 3. ElectricWolf, 4. tale
3. oswaldoo beats Kam, loses to tale --> 1. oswaldoo, 2. Kamuscha, 3. ElectricWolf, 4. tale
4. oswaldoo loses out (3-way tie) --> 1. Kamuscha, 2. tale, 3. ElectricWolf, 4. oswaldoo
It looks like oswaldoo is losing to tale, which would lead us to the tied situation.
81suibylop has already been eliminated. The Group F winner will face either airob or SM Ephraim in the next round, while 2nd place will face felix45.
Group G
All positions are still wide open in Group G, as there are still quite a few games going on. Walker is in the lead with 2 wins and no losses, though shompiador is still undefeated as well, and funwes and jackcool only have one loss apiece. One thing to note is that shompiador has been AET'd from each of his 3 remaining games, making it quite likely he will lose all 3. In that case, he will still finish in 4th in the group ahead of marxistplot, who he has a tiebreaker over. Jackcool and funwes would both need to win out to finish in 1st in the group.
The Group G winner and runner-up will face either benbever or Black Mont-Blanc in the first knockout round.
Group H
Group H is almost as up in the air as Group G is. Zombiegeologist is playing games against 2 of the remaining players, while Diwa and NDA|D007 are also playing each other. However, NDA's game with Diwa will likely decide the group winner. There is a lot still in play in this group, but I'd keep an eye on this game and this game in particular.
The Group H winner/runner-up will face the Group I winner/runner-up (which is still quite undecided). NGC6240 has been eliminated from Group H.
Group I
Hellraider is currently in control of Group I, having won his first three games. Unless the unexpected happens and he loses his game versus khdou, he will clinch the group victory. The only other game remaining is sarastro vs. khdou, which sarastro appears to be on the verge of losing. If khdou beats sarastro and loses to Hellraider, yet another 3-way tie will occur. Anyways, here are the possible outcomes:
1. khdou wins out --> 1. khdou, 2. Hellraider, 3. sarastro, 4. Dogysamich
2. khdou loses to Hellraider, beats sarastro (3-way tie) --> 1. Hellraider, 2. sarastro, 3. khdou, 4. Dogysamich
3. khdou beats Hellraider, loses to sarastro --> 1. Hellraider, 2. sarastro, 3. Dogysamich, 4. khdou
4. khdou loses out --> 1. Hellraider, 2. sarastro, 3. Dogysamich, 4. khdou
As you can see, in most situations Hellraider will end up in first, while sarastro will finish 2nd or 3rd, and khdou can't do better than 3rd unless he wins out.
The Group I winner/runner-up will face the Group H winner/runner-up. NorthernRebel27 has already been eliminated.
Group J
Nothing has been decided yet in what could be considered the Group of Death, with exactly half of the games finished. Black Mont-Blanc and benbever have taken control of the group with two wins apiece, and their game against each other will likely decide the group winner. Meanwhile, headphone looks to be winning his game against nyvelion, and losing his game against BMB, which would settle him into 3rd place if both results occurred. Meanwhile, nyvelion and OA__Stupid are fighting not to be eliminated, although 1st round boots are hurting both.
The Group J winner/runner-up will face the Group G winner/runner-up.
Group K
Felix45 has already clinched his position as first place in Group K, having won all four round robin games. The only battle remaining is between airob and SM Ephraim, the winner of which will take 2nd place in the group. The game is relatively even, although airob has a slight edge having managed to grab both towers.
Felix will face the runner-up of Group F in the knockout round, while the winner of airob/SM Ephraim will likely face Kamuscha. Grit Snipe will advance as 4th place in Group K, while newfreshd has been eliminated.
Group L
The battle for the top three spots in Group L is still very much on. The Weakest Xiaoniao has the advantage with a 3-0 record, but could end up in 2nd, depending on the outcome of his game with xepa. Meanwhile, if xepa wins against Xiaoniao and loses to Abroxas, we will have another 3-way tie, which would place Abroxas in 1st, xepa in 2nd, and Xiaoniao in 3rd. If xepa loses both games, Xiaoniao will get 1st, Abroxas 2nd, and xepa third.
The Group L winner will likely face 1000rpm in the first round, while the runner-up will face Kruegster. Mapster076 will advance as the Group L 4th seed, while itsmyflow has been eliminated.
Group M
There appears to be some strange diplomacy taking place in Group M between black_wave and grandline, who agreed to a draw in their game. Currently both players are tied for first, and each one has a running game with ichbinsehselber. If ichbin wins both games, then black_wave and grandline would be in a tie for 2nd, which would result in black_wave finishing 2nd and grandline finishing 3rd, and if ichbin loses both games black_wave would get 1st, grandline would get second, and ichbin would get third.
The Group M winner will play willy in the first round, while the runner-up will play ANT13. Meanwhile, zaaps1 has secured a position in the knockout round as the 4th seed, and UTP has been eliminated.
Group N
Group N is in the same position as Group A -- completely finished. Excrimophalus has locked up first place, with the tiebreaker over TotalFire. CoolJets has locked up 3rd place, eanddlewis finished in 4th, and sm00040 has been eliminated.
Excrimophalus and TotalFire will face either fdkanns or Lalann in the first round.
Group O
Japanj has locked up the win in Group O, but the fight for 2nd place isn't decided yet. The lone remaining game is between Mr--Clean and Tequila. If Mr--Clean wins, he gets 2nd, Zogar1993 gets 3rd, and Tequila gets 4th. If Mr--Clean loses, it sends the group into a 3-way tie for 2nd, and Tequila would get 2nd, Mr--Clean would get 3rd, and Zogar would get 4th.
Japanj and the runner-up will face the winner/runner-up from Group B in the first round. TGAL05 has been eliminated.
Group P
Finally, we have Group P, which has only 2 games remaining to be finished: dorian5 vs. akiyoshi and TheMute vs. akiyoshi. There are four possible scenarios that could occur, which I'll outline.
1. Akiyoshi wins out --> 1. akiyoshi, 2. dorian, 3. Mute, 4. random
2. Akiyoshi beats dorian, loses to Mute --> 1. dorian, 2. Mute, 3. random, 4. akiyoshi
3. Akiyoshi beats Mute, loses to dorian --> 1. dorian, 2. akiyoshi, 3. Mute, 4. random
4. Akiyoshi loses out --> 1. dorian, 2. Mute, 3. random, 4. akiyoshi
As you can see, akiyoshi can go anywhere from 1st to 4th, dorian can do no worse than 2nd, Mute will finish either 2nd or 3rd, and random can do at best 3rd. The Group P winner will face Desklamp, while the runner-up will face Ultra Storm in the first round. Azzaphox has already been eliminated.
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And that's where we are with the GT2 group stage. I expect the group stage to last another 3-4 weeks, at which point the knockout round will start shortly afterwards. Good luck to everyone remaining!
Until next time,
Walker
Monday, February 20, 2012
Game Watcher 2/20/12
Well, I'm sorry to say that the blog's inactivity is likely to continue for a while. Unfortunately, both Hellraider and I are a bit too busy to put in the time and effort required to make more regular entries. I'm thinking about changing the format of the blog in the near future to make it a bit more manageable, but we'll still try to update periodically until then. For now, I just wanted to point out some current games you might want to keep an eye on.
October Cup Final - fdkanns vs. The Weakest Xiaoniao
Eagle vs. Hawke matchup on el rio acelguate loco!, currently on day 8. The game's dragging along a bit thanks to vacations and general stalling, but should evolve into a pretty good game over the next couple weeks.
December Cup Semifinal - felix45 vs. shompiador_kalabaza
Hawke mirror on Blood Valley, currently on day 18. The game is entering the late stages, and felix certainly has the upperhand. Shompiador is still fighting back, but unless felix gives him an opening, it could be hard to turn this around. The winner will face Walker in the final.
January Cup Final - walkerboh01 vs. sarastro
Andy vs. Max on Land of Ruin, currently on day 4. Could be another interesting game as it gets going, and I'm especially curious whether the map is open enough for Max to win an advantage day to day over Andy.
GT2 Group Stage - black_wave vs ichbinsehselber
Interesting Jake vs. Drake matchup on Beyond Eternity. The winner will likely take 1st place in Group M.
GT2 Group Stage - excrimophalus vs. TotalFire
A great Andy vs. Rachel game on Fulfilled Dreams, currently on day 15. TotalFire has made an ambitious attack, which excrimo is now trying to fight back. Could be very intriguing as it gets to the late game.
GT2 Group Stage - ymouba vs. Cereal Killer
Another Max vs. Andy match, this time on Poetic Justice. Interesting to note that Max has an artillery (a mis-click, according to CK), so we'll see how that affects him. Winner will likely finish 1st or 2nd in Group B.
GT2 Group Stage - fdkanns vs. Lalann
A third Max vs. Andy (seems to be a popular matchup!), on yet another map, Elstar. Fdkanns has taken an early funding advantage, though Lalann is pressing hard in the south to win back the city. Quite likely will decide Group C.
GT2 Group Stage - benbever vs. Black Mont-Blanc
The last time these two played (in the original GT), the game lasted 6 months and took over 30 days in-game, resulting in a BMB victory by default. Hopefully it goes a little quicker this time, but either way the Adder vs. Drake matchup on Fulfilled Dreams will definitely be one worth watching.
Colosseum Season 6 - felix45 vs. fdkanns
Max vs. Andy again! Hm... this has to be a conspiracy or something. Anyways, Max (felix) is holding the upper hand at the moment in this game on Stormiest Glen, after an early push. Far from over, but should be a fun one to watch.
Colosseum Season 6 - Hellraider vs. Ultra Storm
This is the first match we've had between the players widely regarded as the top two on the site (though dorian5 might have something to say about that!). It comes in the form of a high funds match on Morning Glory, and Ultra is off to an aggressive start, having just launched a day 8 attack.
Until next time,
Walker
October Cup Final - fdkanns vs. The Weakest Xiaoniao
Eagle vs. Hawke matchup on el rio acelguate loco!, currently on day 8. The game's dragging along a bit thanks to vacations and general stalling, but should evolve into a pretty good game over the next couple weeks.
December Cup Semifinal - felix45 vs. shompiador_kalabaza
Hawke mirror on Blood Valley, currently on day 18. The game is entering the late stages, and felix certainly has the upperhand. Shompiador is still fighting back, but unless felix gives him an opening, it could be hard to turn this around. The winner will face Walker in the final.
January Cup Final - walkerboh01 vs. sarastro
Andy vs. Max on Land of Ruin, currently on day 4. Could be another interesting game as it gets going, and I'm especially curious whether the map is open enough for Max to win an advantage day to day over Andy.
GT2 Group Stage - black_wave vs ichbinsehselber
Interesting Jake vs. Drake matchup on Beyond Eternity. The winner will likely take 1st place in Group M.
GT2 Group Stage - excrimophalus vs. TotalFire
A great Andy vs. Rachel game on Fulfilled Dreams, currently on day 15. TotalFire has made an ambitious attack, which excrimo is now trying to fight back. Could be very intriguing as it gets to the late game.
GT2 Group Stage - ymouba vs. Cereal Killer
Another Max vs. Andy match, this time on Poetic Justice. Interesting to note that Max has an artillery (a mis-click, according to CK), so we'll see how that affects him. Winner will likely finish 1st or 2nd in Group B.
GT2 Group Stage - fdkanns vs. Lalann
A third Max vs. Andy (seems to be a popular matchup!), on yet another map, Elstar. Fdkanns has taken an early funding advantage, though Lalann is pressing hard in the south to win back the city. Quite likely will decide Group C.
GT2 Group Stage - benbever vs. Black Mont-Blanc
The last time these two played (in the original GT), the game lasted 6 months and took over 30 days in-game, resulting in a BMB victory by default. Hopefully it goes a little quicker this time, but either way the Adder vs. Drake matchup on Fulfilled Dreams will definitely be one worth watching.
Colosseum Season 6 - felix45 vs. fdkanns
Max vs. Andy again! Hm... this has to be a conspiracy or something. Anyways, Max (felix) is holding the upper hand at the moment in this game on Stormiest Glen, after an early push. Far from over, but should be a fun one to watch.
Colosseum Season 6 - Hellraider vs. Ultra Storm
This is the first match we've had between the players widely regarded as the top two on the site (though dorian5 might have something to say about that!). It comes in the form of a high funds match on Morning Glory, and Ultra is off to an aggressive start, having just launched a day 8 attack.
Until next time,
Walker
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Map Makeover - Blood Valley
As pretty much every person who has ever designed a map on AWBW knows, it isn't easy to make a great map. There are tons of questions to consider, ranging from "how many cities do you need?" to "is FTA properly balanced?", and even to "would that forest be better off here, or here?", and it's hard to get it all right. As a result, there are quite a few fun maps on the site that do a lot of things well, but are a couple minor flaws away from being truly excellent maps.
Of course, part of the Map Committee's job is to give people advice on how to edit and improve their maps to help these maps over the hump. Sometimes, though, it's just easier to show than tell. So I'm starting a new feature on the blog today called "Map Makeover", where I'll take a map with a few minor problems, and remake it into what I consider a "fixed" version.
Today, I'll be talking about this map made by tst5384:
Blood Valley
Overview
Blood Valley is a fairly well-made map, and shouldn't be terrible for casual games. It's pretty mountainous and a little choky, but it makes up for it with relatively light terrain (read: lots of roads) and a lone base that can be easily pressured. The map is well balanced; recon-rushing of the neutral base isn't possible, the towers are central but not contested, and the city count is relatively even for each base. It has nice positioning for the preowned bases, which allow tanks to make it to the fronts in a quick amount of time, while not forcing routes for units to take. The corner neutral base is also a nice dynamic, as it provides a bit of a 2 vs. 1 base situation after coming into play a few turns in. Finally, there is a strategic decision to be made about breaking the pipe seam, which takes an arty a couple of turns to break but allows units to more easily support the properties behind the mountain range. All in all, not a bad map.
Where It Went Wrong
First, let's consider the neutral base. The corner positioning is nice because it allows attacks to come from a different direction than the preowned bases, and it opens another front in the corners to help prevent stalemates in the center. Unfortunately, the terrain around the neutral base is waaay too heavy. Mech spam from this base is a natural tactic, since they can get over the mountains and rivers quicker than infantry, and can get to the fronts more quickly and cheaply than tanks (as shown in the below game by Teal Galaxy - played by Abroxas).
Another problem with the heavy terrain in the corner is that it closes off mobility in the area. It's hard to get anything except mechs and infs out from near the base quickly, and it's even harder to reinforce the neutral base area with units from the main bases. This makes it easy to get pinned in the corner.
Second, let's look at the HQs and airports, which both suffer from being positioned further back than necessary. The HQs are way back by the preowned bases, which means that a game ending by HQ capture will only happen once one side has been driven way back from the fronts. Similarly, the airports are stuck in the corners, where it takes 3 days to get into a useful position.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After the makeover, let's see what the edited version of this map looks like compared to the original:
Blood Valley
VS.
Bleeding Valley
Changes
1. Neutral base moved slightly forward. This allows vehicles to more easily move towards the front.
2. Terrain in the neutral base corners greatly reduced. This reduces the viability of mech spam and allows for more vehicle mobility in the corners.
3. HQ moved into a less protected area. This creates a need to protect the HQ in case of a base trade, and prevents decided games from dragging out.
4. Airport moved forwards a few spaces. This changes it so that air units are only 3-4 spaces behind units built from the bases, which makes air units more viable. This is especially nice because of the relatively high funding and chokiness of the map.
5. Extra path added through mountains to support neutral base/HQ. This gives more mobility and options for switching units from one front to another. Also helps prevent possible surprise HQ capture.
6. Towers moved slightly backwards. This makes the cities the focal point of the central battle instead of the towers, making it harder for one player to gain a 2-tower advantage over the other.
Until next time,
Walker
Of course, part of the Map Committee's job is to give people advice on how to edit and improve their maps to help these maps over the hump. Sometimes, though, it's just easier to show than tell. So I'm starting a new feature on the blog today called "Map Makeover", where I'll take a map with a few minor problems, and remake it into what I consider a "fixed" version.
Today, I'll be talking about this map made by tst5384:
Blood Valley
Overview
Blood Valley is a fairly well-made map, and shouldn't be terrible for casual games. It's pretty mountainous and a little choky, but it makes up for it with relatively light terrain (read: lots of roads) and a lone base that can be easily pressured. The map is well balanced; recon-rushing of the neutral base isn't possible, the towers are central but not contested, and the city count is relatively even for each base. It has nice positioning for the preowned bases, which allow tanks to make it to the fronts in a quick amount of time, while not forcing routes for units to take. The corner neutral base is also a nice dynamic, as it provides a bit of a 2 vs. 1 base situation after coming into play a few turns in. Finally, there is a strategic decision to be made about breaking the pipe seam, which takes an arty a couple of turns to break but allows units to more easily support the properties behind the mountain range. All in all, not a bad map.
Where It Went Wrong
First, let's consider the neutral base. The corner positioning is nice because it allows attacks to come from a different direction than the preowned bases, and it opens another front in the corners to help prevent stalemates in the center. Unfortunately, the terrain around the neutral base is waaay too heavy. Mech spam from this base is a natural tactic, since they can get over the mountains and rivers quicker than infantry, and can get to the fronts more quickly and cheaply than tanks (as shown in the below game by Teal Galaxy - played by Abroxas).
Another problem with the heavy terrain in the corner is that it closes off mobility in the area. It's hard to get anything except mechs and infs out from near the base quickly, and it's even harder to reinforce the neutral base area with units from the main bases. This makes it easy to get pinned in the corner.
Second, let's look at the HQs and airports, which both suffer from being positioned further back than necessary. The HQs are way back by the preowned bases, which means that a game ending by HQ capture will only happen once one side has been driven way back from the fronts. Similarly, the airports are stuck in the corners, where it takes 3 days to get into a useful position.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After the makeover, let's see what the edited version of this map looks like compared to the original:
Blood Valley
VS.
Bleeding Valley
Changes
1. Neutral base moved slightly forward. This allows vehicles to more easily move towards the front.
2. Terrain in the neutral base corners greatly reduced. This reduces the viability of mech spam and allows for more vehicle mobility in the corners.
3. HQ moved into a less protected area. This creates a need to protect the HQ in case of a base trade, and prevents decided games from dragging out.
4. Airport moved forwards a few spaces. This changes it so that air units are only 3-4 spaces behind units built from the bases, which makes air units more viable. This is especially nice because of the relatively high funding and chokiness of the map.
5. Extra path added through mountains to support neutral base/HQ. This gives more mobility and options for switching units from one front to another. Also helps prevent possible surprise HQ capture.
6. Towers moved slightly backwards. This makes the cities the focal point of the central battle instead of the towers, making it harder for one player to gain a 2-tower advantage over the other.
Until next time,
Walker
Grand Tournament Round 1 Games
Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of updates over the last couple weeks. It's been a bit busy for me with school kicking up and with plenty of stuff going on around AWBW keeping me too preoccupied to feel like writing much. One of the biggest things going on, as most of you should know, is the start of the Grand Tournament II, which kicked off last week. In honor of that, I'll leave you all with some of the Round 1 games that I'm keeping an eye on:
Group A: Ultra Storm vs. Desklamp
This is probably the best matchup we'll see in Group A for the group stage (although Desklamp vs. Rush_FTK is getting interesting too!), with Desklamp being Ultra's biggest threat to win the group. The Drake mirror is fairly rare for low tier games, and I expect not to see many copters...
Group B: taviroww vs. Cereal Killer
Taviroww is my favorite to win Group B, but Cereal Killer and ymouba both have a good chance if one of them can get a win. CK gets his shot at taviroww in Round 1 in a Max/Andy matchup. At first glance, I'd say that Max has the advantage over Andy. Taviroww appears to be rushing for a tower in the south, although it's on CK's 2-base side, so who knows how well that will work out for him.
Group H: NGC6240 vs. Diwa
If this game ever gets started (still on day 1, with NGC down to 0 days on the boot counter), it could be one of the more intriguing Round 1 matches. Diwa sits at 1st in the Global League and is the favorite going in, but he chose a low tier CO (Jake) against NGC's Andy. This is the match that I predict will decide 1st/2nd place in Group H.
Group I: khdou vs. sarastro
It's hard to say how this match will go, considering that khdou is very much an x-factor. Sarastro has done well in the Global League (13th place as of right now), with good results against better players like Black Mont-Blanc, while khdou is 5-0-0 in the league with no recent games against top competition. This game will be something of a measuring stick for the two players, and will quite likely determine who takes the #2 spot in the group.
Group K: SM Ephraim vs. felix45
Best two players in Group K (in my opinion, although airob could possibly make a claim to that title too), on one of my favorite maps of all-time, Jake mirror, what's not to like? I think felix should be able to handle SM Ephraim, but SM has had surprising results against top players from time to time, so I wouldn't be too shocked to see an upset here.
Group M: black_wave vs. ichbinsehselber
Two of the top 15 players on the site, and this game will almost certainly decide who wins Group M. Nuff said.
Group N: excrimophalus vs. TotalFire
Old, proven veteran in one corner, challenger trying to make a name for himself in the other. If I know excrimo, this game will progress very slowly, but I'm calling an upset alert here. My official prediction: TotalFire takes this game (and not by boot!).
Group O: TGAL05 vs. japanj
Another match between two solid players, but the CO matchup here seems a little lopsided. Maybe TGAL05 knows something we don't about Jess, but I have a feeling that TGAL is not going to be very happy about what Eagle does to her... Still should be an interesting match regardless.
Group P: akiyoshi vs. dorian5
In a funny twist of fate, two of the Japanese players ended up in the same group, and get an early meeting in the tournament. Dorian5 is probably the better of the two, and certainly the favorite to win the game, but I doubt it will be easy. Adder mirror keeps things nice and normal, too.
I'll try to get around to writing a Global League review sometime in the next 3-4 days, so until then.
- Walker
Group A: Ultra Storm vs. Desklamp
This is probably the best matchup we'll see in Group A for the group stage (although Desklamp vs. Rush_FTK is getting interesting too!), with Desklamp being Ultra's biggest threat to win the group. The Drake mirror is fairly rare for low tier games, and I expect not to see many copters...
Group B: taviroww vs. Cereal Killer
Taviroww is my favorite to win Group B, but Cereal Killer and ymouba both have a good chance if one of them can get a win. CK gets his shot at taviroww in Round 1 in a Max/Andy matchup. At first glance, I'd say that Max has the advantage over Andy. Taviroww appears to be rushing for a tower in the south, although it's on CK's 2-base side, so who knows how well that will work out for him.
Group H: NGC6240 vs. Diwa
If this game ever gets started (still on day 1, with NGC down to 0 days on the boot counter), it could be one of the more intriguing Round 1 matches. Diwa sits at 1st in the Global League and is the favorite going in, but he chose a low tier CO (Jake) against NGC's Andy. This is the match that I predict will decide 1st/2nd place in Group H.
Group I: khdou vs. sarastro
It's hard to say how this match will go, considering that khdou is very much an x-factor. Sarastro has done well in the Global League (13th place as of right now), with good results against better players like Black Mont-Blanc, while khdou is 5-0-0 in the league with no recent games against top competition. This game will be something of a measuring stick for the two players, and will quite likely determine who takes the #2 spot in the group.
Group K: SM Ephraim vs. felix45
Best two players in Group K (in my opinion, although airob could possibly make a claim to that title too), on one of my favorite maps of all-time, Jake mirror, what's not to like? I think felix should be able to handle SM Ephraim, but SM has had surprising results against top players from time to time, so I wouldn't be too shocked to see an upset here.
Group M: black_wave vs. ichbinsehselber
Two of the top 15 players on the site, and this game will almost certainly decide who wins Group M. Nuff said.
Group N: excrimophalus vs. TotalFire
Old, proven veteran in one corner, challenger trying to make a name for himself in the other. If I know excrimo, this game will progress very slowly, but I'm calling an upset alert here. My official prediction: TotalFire takes this game (and not by boot!).
Group O: TGAL05 vs. japanj
Another match between two solid players, but the CO matchup here seems a little lopsided. Maybe TGAL05 knows something we don't about Jess, but I have a feeling that TGAL is not going to be very happy about what Eagle does to her... Still should be an interesting match regardless.
Group P: akiyoshi vs. dorian5
In a funny twist of fate, two of the Japanese players ended up in the same group, and get an early meeting in the tournament. Dorian5 is probably the better of the two, and certainly the favorite to win the game, but I doubt it will be easy. Adder mirror keeps things nice and normal, too.
I'll try to get around to writing a Global League review sometime in the next 3-4 days, so until then.
- Walker
Friday, January 13, 2012
Player Spotlight 1/13/12
Welcome back to another Player Spotlight! It is with pleasure that I introduce our featured player for this edition: Abroxas.
Introduction
Abroxas is a 22 year-old student who was born and is currently living in Germany. He is now studying History and Slavistic Philology (for those wondering, Wikipedia describes this as the study of Slavic languages in written historical sources - you learn new things every day!). One of his main interests is history in general, which is one of the driving reasons he's studying it, and he enjoys reading historical books. He also reads belletristic books (back to Wikipedia, belletristic is "a term that is used to describe a category of writing which involves all literary works valued for their aesthetic qualities and originality of style and tone"; e.g.: poetry). Abroxas also enjoys playing older video games occasionally such as Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Donkey Kong Country, or Earthworm Jim, and additionally enjoys extreme or experimental music.
Although he originally joined the site in 2005, Abroxas was only interested in FEBW at the time. Understandably, he abandoned it quickly and left the site until early 2010 when he discovered AWBW. He's been around pretty consistently over the last two years, and has developed into a solid mid-level player. Abroxas has done moderately well in the Global League so far, holding 48th place out of 130 players with his 7-3-0 record as of this morning. He has also participated in the Colosseum consistently over the past few seasons, from Season 3 to Season 6, and has been in Division 4 since Season 4. He is currently 0-1-0 this season, having lost a high funds game to tale in Month 1. Along with those two competitions, Abroxas has been a regular participant in AWBW Cup tournaments, and is 2-1-0 in those tournaments, with a loss to julberndt in the November Cup and wins over Oopth and Roswell the Black Rose (by boot) in the December Cup.
Games and Recent Results
Abroxas has been doing well overall recently. His last loss in competitive play was on 12/31 against grandline (currently ranked #62) in the Global League. Since then he has taken down two consecutive opponents in the league, triumphing over Janusmarine (#46) on 1/03, and then winning again against black-kaito (#76) on 1/08.
Currently Abroxas has 5 Colosseum games running against a variety of opponents, as well as 2 AWBW Cup games and 4 Global League games. Notably, he is playing interesting games against:
walkerboh01 in the semifinals of the December Cup (and doing quite well if I may so myself)
hetchel in the Colosseum
Sheryl Nome in the Colosseum
Interview
Walker: How did you choose the name "Abroxas"? Is there any significance/meaning behind it?
Abroxas: I picked that name as a general nickname many years ago. I didn’t know from where I had got it, but it sounded really cool and unique and so I have been using it until today. Later I discovered from where I must have got it: In “Yoshi’s Island – Super Mario World 2” there have been these black, wingless creatures which have been walking around patched drapery moons. Well, they are meant to resemble ravens, so I read. Their boss, seized up by Koopa magician Kamek and originally known as Rafael the Raven, has been known as Abroxas in the German version. In later games of the Yoshi series the whole raven-species has been called ‘Abroxas’.
Walker: How did you get interested in AW / AWBW?
Abroxas: I do know Advance Wars 1, but never played it excessively. I was discovering the AW series via Fire Emblem when I was enjoying ‘Path of Radiance’ a lot shortly after it came out in late 2005 (both series share the same developer: Intelligent Systems). I’ve started playing AW2: Black Hole Rising then. The same goes for AWBW: I was checking how FEBW was doing after I left it roundabout five years before. I noticed that AWBW worked quite well and so I gave it a try since playing AW online sounds much more interesting than playing FE online.
Walker: Which AW cartridge game did you enjoy the most?
Abroxas: Hard to say. I think it is AW2: Black Hole Rising because I was enjoying the campaign so much. Nowadays I’m playing the AW:DS war room frequently for the sake of the CO repertory.
Walker: What is your favorite map on the site? Do you have a favorite CO to use or country to play as?
Abroxas: I didn’t play on many maps and most of them only once. But I do remember el rio acelguate loco! being very enjoyable. I usually prefer multi-fronted maps and I just happen to like the unorthodox design of this map.
My favorite CO is Sensei, because I loved copter spamming back on AW2. In AW:DS he has been considerably crippled in terms of copters, but I still like his powers because mech spamming can be so much (fund increasing) fun with the old geezer. But since he’s broken I rarely use him in AWBW. From the non-broken COs I like Sami the most, but my profile doesn’t resemble this clearly since she is often banned and when she’s available she often is a semi-optimal choice.
I’m not sure about favorite countries. I love green colors so I use Green Earth and Teal Galaxy often.
Walker: Did you think or do something as a newbie on the site that you look back on now and laugh at?
Abroxas: My very first game was against fdkanns in the old league. Of course he crushed me. I was not sure if it was polite to give up and to deny the opponent of the fun of beating up the remaining troops. So I asked him if I would be allowed give up. Retrospectively, that seems rather awkward to me. He replied positively, though. He was also so kind to give me some basic advices on my play. That helped a lot because I rarely played against other human players before.
Walker: What's the most memorable moment or game you've had on AWBW?
Abroxas: Well, the answer is mostly what I’ve written above. I’ve never lost so badly (though Black Mont-Blanc comes close to it) since then.
Walker: Do you have any goals for yourself on the site? What accomplishment would you be most proud of if you could achieve it?
Abroxas: I’d be very proud if I could manage to compete with the current top players of AWBW. My goal is to improve my game step by step.
Walker: Is there a part of your game that you think you need to improve on most? How do you try to improve and what do you think is most useful for your improvement?
Abroxas: I think I need to improve my capture phase because sometimes I end up slightly disadvantaged against routine players on maps on which it is not clear when exactly you skip nearby cities for contested properties and when not. I try to observe more ongoing games of competitive games (such as the ones of the League) to learn from others. The AWBW blog is also a promising source of inspiration.
Walker: Have you ever thought about designing maps for AWBW?
Abroxas: Yes, but I abandoned it soon. I was always lacking creativity and most time I spend on AWBW I invest in my ongoing games. I might give it a try, but most likely in remote future.
Walker: If there was one thing you'd add or change about AWBW, what would it be?
Abroxas: Since I like FoW, I wish for a bug-free FoW mode.
Thanks to Abroxas for participating! As always, if you'd be interested in being featured for the next Player Spotlight, please send me a PM.
Until next time,
Walker
Introduction
Abroxas is a 22 year-old student who was born and is currently living in Germany. He is now studying History and Slavistic Philology (for those wondering, Wikipedia describes this as the study of Slavic languages in written historical sources - you learn new things every day!). One of his main interests is history in general, which is one of the driving reasons he's studying it, and he enjoys reading historical books. He also reads belletristic books (back to Wikipedia, belletristic is "a term that is used to describe a category of writing which involves all literary works valued for their aesthetic qualities and originality of style and tone"; e.g.: poetry). Abroxas also enjoys playing older video games occasionally such as Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Donkey Kong Country, or Earthworm Jim, and additionally enjoys extreme or experimental music.
Although he originally joined the site in 2005, Abroxas was only interested in FEBW at the time. Understandably, he abandoned it quickly and left the site until early 2010 when he discovered AWBW. He's been around pretty consistently over the last two years, and has developed into a solid mid-level player. Abroxas has done moderately well in the Global League so far, holding 48th place out of 130 players with his 7-3-0 record as of this morning. He has also participated in the Colosseum consistently over the past few seasons, from Season 3 to Season 6, and has been in Division 4 since Season 4. He is currently 0-1-0 this season, having lost a high funds game to tale in Month 1. Along with those two competitions, Abroxas has been a regular participant in AWBW Cup tournaments, and is 2-1-0 in those tournaments, with a loss to julberndt in the November Cup and wins over Oopth and Roswell the Black Rose (by boot) in the December Cup.
Games and Recent Results
Abroxas has been doing well overall recently. His last loss in competitive play was on 12/31 against grandline (currently ranked #62) in the Global League. Since then he has taken down two consecutive opponents in the league, triumphing over Janusmarine (#46) on 1/03, and then winning again against black-kaito (#76) on 1/08.
Currently Abroxas has 5 Colosseum games running against a variety of opponents, as well as 2 AWBW Cup games and 4 Global League games. Notably, he is playing interesting games against:
walkerboh01 in the semifinals of the December Cup (and doing quite well if I may so myself)
hetchel in the Colosseum
Sheryl Nome in the Colosseum
Interview
Walker: How did you choose the name "Abroxas"? Is there any significance/meaning behind it?
Abroxas: I picked that name as a general nickname many years ago. I didn’t know from where I had got it, but it sounded really cool and unique and so I have been using it until today. Later I discovered from where I must have got it: In “Yoshi’s Island – Super Mario World 2” there have been these black, wingless creatures which have been walking around patched drapery moons. Well, they are meant to resemble ravens, so I read. Their boss, seized up by Koopa magician Kamek and originally known as Rafael the Raven, has been known as Abroxas in the German version. In later games of the Yoshi series the whole raven-species has been called ‘Abroxas’.
Walker: How did you get interested in AW / AWBW?
Abroxas: I do know Advance Wars 1, but never played it excessively. I was discovering the AW series via Fire Emblem when I was enjoying ‘Path of Radiance’ a lot shortly after it came out in late 2005 (both series share the same developer: Intelligent Systems). I’ve started playing AW2: Black Hole Rising then. The same goes for AWBW: I was checking how FEBW was doing after I left it roundabout five years before. I noticed that AWBW worked quite well and so I gave it a try since playing AW online sounds much more interesting than playing FE online.
Walker: Which AW cartridge game did you enjoy the most?
Abroxas: Hard to say. I think it is AW2: Black Hole Rising because I was enjoying the campaign so much. Nowadays I’m playing the AW:DS war room frequently for the sake of the CO repertory.
Walker: What is your favorite map on the site? Do you have a favorite CO to use or country to play as?
Abroxas: I didn’t play on many maps and most of them only once. But I do remember el rio acelguate loco! being very enjoyable. I usually prefer multi-fronted maps and I just happen to like the unorthodox design of this map.
My favorite CO is Sensei, because I loved copter spamming back on AW2. In AW:DS he has been considerably crippled in terms of copters, but I still like his powers because mech spamming can be so much (fund increasing) fun with the old geezer. But since he’s broken I rarely use him in AWBW. From the non-broken COs I like Sami the most, but my profile doesn’t resemble this clearly since she is often banned and when she’s available she often is a semi-optimal choice.
I’m not sure about favorite countries. I love green colors so I use Green Earth and Teal Galaxy often.
Walker: Did you think or do something as a newbie on the site that you look back on now and laugh at?
Abroxas: My very first game was against fdkanns in the old league. Of course he crushed me. I was not sure if it was polite to give up and to deny the opponent of the fun of beating up the remaining troops. So I asked him if I would be allowed give up. Retrospectively, that seems rather awkward to me. He replied positively, though. He was also so kind to give me some basic advices on my play. That helped a lot because I rarely played against other human players before.
Walker: What's the most memorable moment or game you've had on AWBW?
Abroxas: Well, the answer is mostly what I’ve written above. I’ve never lost so badly (though Black Mont-Blanc comes close to it) since then.
Walker: Do you have any goals for yourself on the site? What accomplishment would you be most proud of if you could achieve it?
Abroxas: I’d be very proud if I could manage to compete with the current top players of AWBW. My goal is to improve my game step by step.
Walker: Is there a part of your game that you think you need to improve on most? How do you try to improve and what do you think is most useful for your improvement?
Abroxas: I think I need to improve my capture phase because sometimes I end up slightly disadvantaged against routine players on maps on which it is not clear when exactly you skip nearby cities for contested properties and when not. I try to observe more ongoing games of competitive games (such as the ones of the League) to learn from others. The AWBW blog is also a promising source of inspiration.
Walker: Have you ever thought about designing maps for AWBW?
Abroxas: Yes, but I abandoned it soon. I was always lacking creativity and most time I spend on AWBW I invest in my ongoing games. I might give it a try, but most likely in remote future.
Walker: If there was one thing you'd add or change about AWBW, what would it be?
Abroxas: Since I like FoW, I wish for a bug-free FoW mode.
Thanks to Abroxas for participating! As always, if you'd be interested in being featured for the next Player Spotlight, please send me a PM.
Until next time,
Walker
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Global League Review 1/07/12
Sorry to everyone who might have been expecting a Global League Review last week, but it was a slow week for the league and there wasn't quite enough for an entire review. No doubt it was due in part to the new year and the end of the holiday season. But now we're picking it up again this week, with a surprising development in the top 5, and a considerable amount of movement in the top 10. It's also nice to see that the Global League is holding right around 125-130 players - currently at 127 at the moment - despite a steady stream of dropouts.
Global League Top 5
1. Diwa - 1147.26, 17-1-5 (Last review: 8)
Last week: 2-0-1
It's been a great week for our new #1 player, as he exploded up from 8th to 1st in the span of 2 days with a win over quizless and another against Duke of Blue Moon. The 49-point rating increase was just enough to barely place Diwa ahead of dorian5.
As for his games, the game against quizless was a Jake mirror on Shadows chase you endlessly (which is becoming one of my favorite maps, incidentally). The game remained fairly even with heavy fighting on the southern island, and then Diwa struck with Jake's SCOP first, delivering a game-ending blow to quizless. The game against Duke is one that I last time mentioned Duke had a great chance of winning. It was a fairly aggressive Hawke/Eagle match on Highway to Hell, with the two trading punches for much of the first 16 days. Then eventually Diwa began to gain ground on Duke's HQ front, leading to a large funds advantage and Duke's eventual resignation.
It remains to be seen how long Diwa can hang onto his lead spot. He has tough games currently against several of the other top league players, including Chilin-xiaoniao3, Walker, Black Mont-Blanc, and benbever, but with no games against any of the top 6 players, he might be able to hang on for a while. His most likely next game to finish is against itsmyflow, which is on day 9 on Puyo~.
2. dorian5 - 1147.10, 16-0-0 (Last review: 1)
Last week: 0-0-0
3. Ultra Storm - 1142.75, 13-0-0 (Last review: 2)
Last week: 0-0-0
Neither dorian5 or Ultra Storm have taken a second league game, leaving their game as the lone one between the two. And although Diwa has changed their battle from a fight between #1 and #2 to a fight between #2 and #3, the game between dorian5 and Ultra Storm will still ultimately decide who gets back up to the top spot. Another couple turns of the game have passed, but we can no longer view the replay as dorian5 has built a stealth (countered immediately by a fighter from Ultra). Ultra appears to be in bad shape, as dorian has won the southern island and is way ahead in funds (+5500) while about even in unit value on the field. Never count Ultra out for a comeback, but this one is certainly not going his way right now.
4. Hellraider - 1130.83, 10-0-0 (Last review: 3)
Last week: 0-0-0
Nothing new going on with Hellraider, as his lone game with Chilin-xiaoniao continues to be stalled by Chilin-xiaoniao's vacation. The last time Hellraider finished a league game was now over a month ago, and his current game is still only on day 4. I expect no updates here in the near future, although getting kicked from the top 3 could have an effect on the number of league games he's willing to play at one time.
5. felix45 - 1125.98, 12-2-1 (Last review: 4)
Last week: 0-0-0
No changes in Felix's record the last couple weeks either, although his game with Duke of Blue Moon on Rainy has progressed some. Felix holds a strong advantage and looks to be making a push towards Duke's HQ area, but the next round of SCOPs will likely decide the winner. Meanwhile, Felix is on the verge of victory in another game, this one against quizless, although he will have to wait until after quizless returns from vacation to claim the win. If Felix can manage those two wins, he will likely jump all the way to 1st in the league! I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him in the top 3 soon, regardless.
Best of the Rest
6. fdkanns - 1110.22, 27-5-0 (Last review: 6)
No changes for fdkanns since last review, but it may be worth keeping an eye on this dogfight between he and sarastro on Shangri-La. It's currently on day 12, and looking pretty even.
7. Chilin-xiaoniao3 - 1099.94, 29-4-0 (Last review: 7)
Still on vacation, nothing new going on.
8. Duke of Blue Moon - 1096.33, 29-9-1 (Last review: 5)
Duke's loss at the hands of Diwa has dropped him down a few spots, although he still is hanging around in the top 10. He has made a remarkable comeback in this game against Kiririn thanks to the power of Winter Fury, but will have to be careful in this game against YURA.
9. Ancient Paradise - 1086.84, 27-9-0 (Last review: 9)
Like Hellraider, Ancient Paradise only has one game running, and it's against Chilin-xiaoniao. Don't expect to see his rating changing any time soon either.
10. black_wave - 1083.40, 81-36-13 (Last review: 12)
The last time black_wave was in the top 10 was back on 10/16/11, but a recent string of wins has helped him leap back up to claim the final spot. He's gone 4-1-2 since the last review, with wins against MYM, TotalFire, and mxdcyw2000 among them. The loss was against quizless. Currently he has interesting games against SmackCakes and itsmyflow.
Almost There!
11. quizless - 1082.24, 48-24-10 (Last review: 13)
12. ANT13 - 1073.73, 31-9-7 (Last review: 10)
13. walkerboh01 - 1057.79, 14-2-1 (Last review: 11)
14. benbever - 1042.91, 4-3-5 (Last review: 14)
15. TotalFire - 1039.20, 38-15-17 (Last review: 17)
Dropping Out
Black Mont-Blanc - Dropped from 15th to 16th place (0-0-0 since last review)
Notable Newbie
Deaninator - 942.54, 7-0-0
With 418 games played on the site, Deaninator has obviously spent quite a lot of time on the site previously. However, he's new to the Global League, having just entered the league during the last review and sitting at 0-0-0. Since then, he has rattled off 7 straight wins, elevating him to the lofty position of #31 in the league. Let's take a look at those wins:
12/29 - Mr--Clean resigns what seems to be a fairly even game on City of Storms.
12/30 - Win by boot over carlos98342.
12/31 - Win by boot over Longinus_SP.
1/01 - Win by boot over bh.bh.
1/01 - Mr--Clean resigns again, but it's a more lopsided game on Highway to Hell this time.
1/02 - Lolabunny bites the dust[/url] in a game on Shangri-La.
1/06 - HCG becomes the 7th victim in a blowout on nb4DS.
3 wins by boot are certainly good for a rating boost, and makes the 7-0-0 start a bit less impressive. However, 3 good wins over solid mid-level players in lolabunny and Mr--Clean suggest Deaninator should not be taken lightly. Jury's still out on just how good Deaninator is, although a tough matchup with taviroww will likely give a good idea.
By the Numbers
7 - Undefeated players with more than 5 wins. They are: dorian5 (16 wins), Ultra Storm (13 wins), itsmyflow (11 wins), Hellraider (10 wins), Black Mont-Blanc (8 wins), Deaninator (7 wins), and ichbinsehselber (6 wins).
1 - "Chilin" account left in the league, which belongs to Chilin-xiaoniao3. There were as many as 7 or 8 in the early days of the league.
975 - Rating required to crack the top 25 of the league. On 12/13/11, a rating of only 960 was required.
In Other News...
As of January 1st, 2012, the top 3 of the Global League will be inducted to the AWBW Hall of Fame, if they can manage to hold their spots for 2 consecutive weeks. Right now Diwa has been holding 1st place for one day (since January 6th), and dorian5 and Ultra Storm have been holding at least 2nd and 3rd place for 6 days (since January 1st) respectively. Hellraider had been in 3rd until January 6th, when he was ousted by Diwa.
There were several players outside of the top 15 who have made good pushes up the rankings in the last two weeks. Most notable were:
1. Deaninator - Rating: +142.54, Standings: +65 (currently #31)
2. SD3 - Rating: +873.21, Standings: +42 (currently at #57)
3. Taviroww - Rating: +68.80, Standings: +24 (currently at #36)
4. Cereal Killer - Rating: +48.02, Standings: +15 (currently #28)
5. Shompiador_kalabaza - Rating: +48.08, Standings: +13 (currently at #38)
Until next time,
Walker
Global League Top 5
1. Diwa - 1147.26, 17-1-5 (Last review: 8)
Last week: 2-0-1
It's been a great week for our new #1 player, as he exploded up from 8th to 1st in the span of 2 days with a win over quizless and another against Duke of Blue Moon. The 49-point rating increase was just enough to barely place Diwa ahead of dorian5.
As for his games, the game against quizless was a Jake mirror on Shadows chase you endlessly (which is becoming one of my favorite maps, incidentally). The game remained fairly even with heavy fighting on the southern island, and then Diwa struck with Jake's SCOP first, delivering a game-ending blow to quizless. The game against Duke is one that I last time mentioned Duke had a great chance of winning. It was a fairly aggressive Hawke/Eagle match on Highway to Hell, with the two trading punches for much of the first 16 days. Then eventually Diwa began to gain ground on Duke's HQ front, leading to a large funds advantage and Duke's eventual resignation.
It remains to be seen how long Diwa can hang onto his lead spot. He has tough games currently against several of the other top league players, including Chilin-xiaoniao3, Walker, Black Mont-Blanc, and benbever, but with no games against any of the top 6 players, he might be able to hang on for a while. His most likely next game to finish is against itsmyflow, which is on day 9 on Puyo~.
2. dorian5 - 1147.10, 16-0-0 (Last review: 1)
Last week: 0-0-0
3. Ultra Storm - 1142.75, 13-0-0 (Last review: 2)
Last week: 0-0-0
Neither dorian5 or Ultra Storm have taken a second league game, leaving their game as the lone one between the two. And although Diwa has changed their battle from a fight between #1 and #2 to a fight between #2 and #3, the game between dorian5 and Ultra Storm will still ultimately decide who gets back up to the top spot. Another couple turns of the game have passed, but we can no longer view the replay as dorian5 has built a stealth (countered immediately by a fighter from Ultra). Ultra appears to be in bad shape, as dorian has won the southern island and is way ahead in funds (+5500) while about even in unit value on the field. Never count Ultra out for a comeback, but this one is certainly not going his way right now.
4. Hellraider - 1130.83, 10-0-0 (Last review: 3)
Last week: 0-0-0
Nothing new going on with Hellraider, as his lone game with Chilin-xiaoniao continues to be stalled by Chilin-xiaoniao's vacation. The last time Hellraider finished a league game was now over a month ago, and his current game is still only on day 4. I expect no updates here in the near future, although getting kicked from the top 3 could have an effect on the number of league games he's willing to play at one time.
5. felix45 - 1125.98, 12-2-1 (Last review: 4)
Last week: 0-0-0
No changes in Felix's record the last couple weeks either, although his game with Duke of Blue Moon on Rainy has progressed some. Felix holds a strong advantage and looks to be making a push towards Duke's HQ area, but the next round of SCOPs will likely decide the winner. Meanwhile, Felix is on the verge of victory in another game, this one against quizless, although he will have to wait until after quizless returns from vacation to claim the win. If Felix can manage those two wins, he will likely jump all the way to 1st in the league! I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him in the top 3 soon, regardless.
Best of the Rest
6. fdkanns - 1110.22, 27-5-0 (Last review: 6)
No changes for fdkanns since last review, but it may be worth keeping an eye on this dogfight between he and sarastro on Shangri-La. It's currently on day 12, and looking pretty even.
7. Chilin-xiaoniao3 - 1099.94, 29-4-0 (Last review: 7)
Still on vacation, nothing new going on.
8. Duke of Blue Moon - 1096.33, 29-9-1 (Last review: 5)
Duke's loss at the hands of Diwa has dropped him down a few spots, although he still is hanging around in the top 10. He has made a remarkable comeback in this game against Kiririn thanks to the power of Winter Fury, but will have to be careful in this game against YURA.
9. Ancient Paradise - 1086.84, 27-9-0 (Last review: 9)
Like Hellraider, Ancient Paradise only has one game running, and it's against Chilin-xiaoniao. Don't expect to see his rating changing any time soon either.
10. black_wave - 1083.40, 81-36-13 (Last review: 12)
The last time black_wave was in the top 10 was back on 10/16/11, but a recent string of wins has helped him leap back up to claim the final spot. He's gone 4-1-2 since the last review, with wins against MYM, TotalFire, and mxdcyw2000 among them. The loss was against quizless. Currently he has interesting games against SmackCakes and itsmyflow.
Almost There!
11. quizless - 1082.24, 48-24-10 (Last review: 13)
12. ANT13 - 1073.73, 31-9-7 (Last review: 10)
13. walkerboh01 - 1057.79, 14-2-1 (Last review: 11)
14. benbever - 1042.91, 4-3-5 (Last review: 14)
15. TotalFire - 1039.20, 38-15-17 (Last review: 17)
Dropping Out
Black Mont-Blanc - Dropped from 15th to 16th place (0-0-0 since last review)
Notable Newbie
Deaninator - 942.54, 7-0-0
With 418 games played on the site, Deaninator has obviously spent quite a lot of time on the site previously. However, he's new to the Global League, having just entered the league during the last review and sitting at 0-0-0. Since then, he has rattled off 7 straight wins, elevating him to the lofty position of #31 in the league. Let's take a look at those wins:
12/29 - Mr--Clean resigns what seems to be a fairly even game on City of Storms.
12/30 - Win by boot over carlos98342.
12/31 - Win by boot over Longinus_SP.
1/01 - Win by boot over bh.bh.
1/01 - Mr--Clean resigns again, but it's a more lopsided game on Highway to Hell this time.
1/02 - Lolabunny bites the dust[/url] in a game on Shangri-La.
1/06 - HCG becomes the 7th victim in a blowout on nb4DS.
3 wins by boot are certainly good for a rating boost, and makes the 7-0-0 start a bit less impressive. However, 3 good wins over solid mid-level players in lolabunny and Mr--Clean suggest Deaninator should not be taken lightly. Jury's still out on just how good Deaninator is, although a tough matchup with taviroww will likely give a good idea.
By the Numbers
7 - Undefeated players with more than 5 wins. They are: dorian5 (16 wins), Ultra Storm (13 wins), itsmyflow (11 wins), Hellraider (10 wins), Black Mont-Blanc (8 wins), Deaninator (7 wins), and ichbinsehselber (6 wins).
1 - "Chilin" account left in the league, which belongs to Chilin-xiaoniao3. There were as many as 7 or 8 in the early days of the league.
975 - Rating required to crack the top 25 of the league. On 12/13/11, a rating of only 960 was required.
In Other News...
As of January 1st, 2012, the top 3 of the Global League will be inducted to the AWBW Hall of Fame, if they can manage to hold their spots for 2 consecutive weeks. Right now Diwa has been holding 1st place for one day (since January 6th), and dorian5 and Ultra Storm have been holding at least 2nd and 3rd place for 6 days (since January 1st) respectively. Hellraider had been in 3rd until January 6th, when he was ousted by Diwa.
There were several players outside of the top 15 who have made good pushes up the rankings in the last two weeks. Most notable were:
1. Deaninator - Rating: +142.54, Standings: +65 (currently #31)
2. SD3 - Rating: +873.21, Standings: +42 (currently at #57)
3. Taviroww - Rating: +68.80, Standings: +24 (currently at #36)
4. Cereal Killer - Rating: +48.02, Standings: +15 (currently #28)
5. Shompiador_kalabaza - Rating: +48.08, Standings: +13 (currently at #38)
Until next time,
Walker
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