Well I'm a couple days early with the Global League review for this week. I'll be out of town for a few days though, and I thought a couple days earlier would be better than later, so here we are! As of today the Global League is rolling along nicely, 123 players strong. The top 5 hasn't seen any movement since our review last week, but there are some good games heating up that I'd like to touch on a bit.
Global League Top 5
1. dorian5 - 1147.10, 16-0-0 (Last review: 1)
Last week: 0-0-0
2. Ultra Storm - 1142.75, 13-0-0 (Last review: 2)
Last week: 0-0-0
As I very briefly mentioned last week, currently our top-ranked league players are engaged in a heated match. Adding to the drama of the top two going mano y mano is the fact that both dorian and Ultra are undefeated in league play, coming into the match with a combined 29 consecutive wins. Not even a draw has been salvaged by any opponent of either player. It's even somewhat apt to think of this game as the Unstoppable Force versus the Immovable Object, with dorian playing the role of the up-and-coming challenger attempting to "force" Ultra from his "immovable" perch at the pinnacle of AWBW play.
The game itself is proceeding in a very interesting fashion, pitting Sasha against Von Bolt in one of the first matches with Sasha since her move to top tier. Dorian is well-known for his expert use of Sasha (a whole 40% of his matches have been with her - 151 out of 392), but Ultra played to Von Bolt's strengths in the early game by fiercely contesting dorian's capture phase. After the dust cleared from the early trading, dorian had lost a recon and inf with one damaged tank, while Ultra lost one infantry and had two heavily damaged tanks. Each side retreated to lick their wounds - dorian began building copters which was instantly countered by AAs from Ultra. Currently on Day 10, dorian has the funds advantage (thanks partially to Sasha), but otherwise the match is roughly even. It looks like the next few turns will feature a battle on the top and bottom sides for the contested properties, and it will be interesting to see how well Sasha can carry into the late-game against Von Bolt.
3. Chilin-xiaoniao3 - 1134.32, 29-2-0 (Last review: 3)
Last week: 0-0-0
One good win boosts Xiaoniao back up to the #1 spot, which he has occupied for short periods over the last few weeks. Perhaps his best chance to win soon is his game against Ancient Paradise on Caustic Finale, although he is also doing well in his game against Duke of Blue Moon on Rainy.
4. Hellraider - 1130.83, 10-0-0 (Last review: 4)
Last week: 0-0-0
Hellraider will have to endure his time out of the top 3 for the foreseeable future, as he only has one game running (against Xiaoniao). With that game advancing slowly, it seems more likely that he will be surpassed by one of the players directly behind him in the near future rather than climb higher in the rankings.
5. Duke of Blue Moon - 1129.83, 29-7-0 (Last review: 5)
Last Week: 0-0-0
Duke of Blue Moon appears to be on the verge of dropping like a rock in the league standings. He has 7 league games running, but only 4 of those are past the capture phase, and he appears to be in trouble in 3 of those 4. I already mentioned his game with xiaoniao, but he is practically on the verge of defeat against felix45 on Rainy and he's not doing so hot against Diwa on Highway to Hell either. While a big SCOP from Olaf may be enough to salvage the game against felix, he has a long ways to go to avoid a losing streak in the near future.
Best of the Rest
6. felix45 - 1110.79, 11-2-1 (Last review: 6)
Could be leapfrogging Duke of Blue Moon soon depending on the result of their game. Also looking strong in two games versus Xiaoniao.
7. fdkanns - 1097.73, 26-5-0 (Last review: 7)
Maybe the greatest player in all of existence, fdkanns has been relegated to 7th place only by tremendously poor luck. His lone game with black_wave should be wrapping up shortly, and his return to the top spot is all but inevitable.
8. Diwa - 1084.19, 14-1-3 (Last review: 10)
Diwa has produced the only shift in rankings in the top 10 over the last week, launching up 2 spots from #10 with a big win over now-#17 Kiririn. The game is particularly noteworthy because Diwa triumphed as Max over Kiririn's Sami, giving some credence to Sami's move down from top tier on maps with 2 bases.
9. Ancient Paradise - 1081.64, 26-9-0 (Last review: 8)
Dropped one spot due to Diwa's win, although he will certainly move up soon when his game with raubvogel finishes. The jump might not last for long, as his other game versus Xiaoniao is not looking so good for him.
10. ANT13 - 1063.11, 30-9-6 (Last review: 9)
Like Ancient Paradise, ANT13 has dropped one spot despite no newly completed games. He is another candidate to rise a couple spots in the near future, with the potential to win a fairly compelling game against Haxxson.
Almost There!
11. walkerboh01 - 1057.79, 14-2-1 (Last review: 11)
12. TotalFire - 1056.61, 33-12-16 (Last review: 12)
13. benbever - 1042.91, 4-3-1 (Last review: 13)
14. black_wave - 1038.94, 74-33-11 (Last review: N/A)
15. Black Mont-Blanc - 1034.99, 8-0-0 (Last review: 15)
By the Numbers
2 - Days played in a league game between benbever vs. Duke of Blue Moon. The game, which started on November 9th, 2011, shows benbever's trend of enjoying to take long vacations from AWBW.
14 - Active players who have completed more than 50 league games (not counting draws).
20 - Weeks that the Global League has been running for as of next Tuesday (Dec. 20th). The Global League was first announced on the forum on August 2nd, 2011 and was launched on the main site on September 15th.
1034.64 - The combined rating of the lowest two members of the league and masters of the day 1 boot loss, maomao10694 and word5654123. Even combined, their rating would only rank 16th in the league (this was as of 12/17 - "word" has since been booted from the league).
In Other News...
Another player's unbeaten streak in the league has come to a screeching halt. Previously 8-0-0, japanj has suffered his first loss of his league campaign at the hands of SM Ephraim.
Red11 has been moving up the rankings at a torrid pace lately, jumping up to 18th currently at 1007.61 and 9-0-0. Cereal Killer is currently attempting not to become his latest victim.
1000rpm is the highest-ranked player to have a losing record currently. His rating of 867.07 is good enough for 55th in the league, despite his 7-9-0 record. 1000rpm is looking to work back up to 0.500 in his current game against Haxxson.
There are several players in the league who are probably better than their current ranking shows. I would put my money on these 5 players to eventually rise significantly up the standings:
29. ichbinsehselber - 937.92, 5-0-0
47. SmackCakes - 890.83, 9-4-0
76. excrimophalus - 826.53, 2-1-0
78. Shompiador_kalabaza - 826.05, 2-1-0
90. taviroww - 810.34, 3-2-0
Until next time,
Walker
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
High Funds FTA Review
High funds games have opened a new door for AWBW play recently, providing games with different viable play styles, more use of air and high-tech units, and a mixup of the CO tier list. Hellraider has already addressed some of the potential deviations from normal games that may occur in high fund games, but many of the nuances of high funds play have yet to be discovered. Season 6 of the Colosseum has involved an effort to test high funds games in a competitive setting, and almost immediately FTA issues were spotted on the pioneer of high funds maps, Color of Envy. I'd like to talk about the specifics of FTA on the map in a little more detail, especially with regards to this Month 1 Colosseum game between Hellraider and Roswell the Black Rose, from which Roswell resigned on day 10.
Day 1 - Roswell's turn
The FTA counter on the map is different from FTA counters on normal maps - all of the bases start as neutral. On Color of Envy there are 3 neutral bases and 3 starting infantry per player, which is the root of the FTA issues. Because there are an odd number of bases, one player will be able to capture 2 bases first, while the other player will be able to capture only 1 base first. Here, the FTA counter is set so that Hellraider can capture one forward base (north or south, his choice) and the backwards base on the first turn. Whichever forward base Hellraider chooses to capture first will be the front that he will have the advantage on in the game, while Roswell will have the advantage on the opposite front - each player will be 1/2 turn ahead on their advantage fronts.
Because Hellraider gets to choose which front he will be 1/2 turn ahead on, it is advantageous for him to choose the side with more properties to be captured, so that he can gain funding quicker. On Color of Envy, this is the southern front. Below I've illustrated which base is responsible for capturing which properties
Red = northern base, Green = middle base, Blue = southern base.
As you can see, the northern base will capture 5 properties, the middle base will capture 3, and the southern base will capture 7. This will result in slight FTA, as Hellraider is able to make the better choice and take the advantage on the better front, which he does in the game. In addition Hellraider has the advantage from the central base, which means that he is able to capture 12 properties first (10 properties + 2 bases), while Roswell is able to only capture 6 first (5 properties + 1 base). Note that these numbers depend on the chosen capture phase somewhat, but any reasonable capture phase will result in a significant advantage in properties captured first for Player 1.
In addition to the funding advantage from being able to capture twice as many properties first, Hellraider also receives a positioning advantage from being able to capture two bases first. Two bases first means two infantry first, which means that Hellraider will have an infantry advantage in getting to the contested properties. This will be more easily shown as the game continues on.
Day 3 - Roswell's turn
On day 3 the initial effects of the FTA are apparent. Hellraider is 1/2 turn ahead on the southern front (he is beginning capture of the city 3W of his base before Roswell) and 1/2 turn behind on the northern front (finishing capture of the northern base after Roswell). But he is able to send an extra infantry north from the middle base, essentially canceling Roswell's advantage. The extra inf will allow Hellraider to contest Roswell's capture of the contested properties more easily than Roswell can on the opposite front.
Day 4 - Roswell's turn
Here you can see that Hellraider has chosen to rush for the contested city on the southern front by skipping the capture of the city 3W of the southern base. (In high funds games, it is becoming clear that rushing for contested properties is a much better strategy than in normal games. Because the properties are worth more, it is worth sacrificing a 1k infantry to prevent your opponent from capturing a city worth 2.5k. Therefore rushing for contested properties and either a) capturing your contested property cleanly or b) disrupting your opponent's capture of their contested property, is a cost-effective and smart strategy.) Hellraider has also chosen to skip the capture of the port on the northern front, and has sent his infantry (which came from the middle base, remember) to a position where it will be able to disrupt Roswell's capture of the contested city. This leaves Roswell in a bit of a predicament: in order to disrupt Hellraider's capture of the southern city, he has to abandon capturing his city. On the other hand, Hellraider is able to capture his city AND disrupt Roswell's capture, simply because he is a turn ahead from the central base.
It is also worth noting that Hellraider declines to build a tank this turn, although he has the money to afford it. However, he will be able to build 2 tanks next turn (with 15k). This allows Hellraider to a) build more infantry earlier in order to capture more properties and b) see where Roswell builds his first vehicle from, to allow Hellraider to build his tanks from the appropriate bases to counter. It is arguable whether this is better than building the first tank on day 4 or not.
Note: Hellraider points out that "delaying a tank was definitely the right choice because not having every infantry as soon as possible is so costly in HF."
Day 5 - Hellraider's turn
Roswell decides to abandon his capture and contest Hellraider's city in the south, and he also mirrors Hellraider and rushes in the north. However, he makes 3 mistakes.
1) He does not begin capturing the port, but rather sends that infantry 3 spaces south. This will reduce the amount of funding he has in a couple turns.
2) He moves his infantry from his southern base to the city 1N, 2E instead of the city 3S. This will leave his infantry on the front without support for one extra day.
3) He builds his tank on the wrong base. Remember that for Roswell the northern front is his strong front, but is also the front where he has the most properties to capture. This means that he should be trying to build infantry from that base; building the tank will delay his captures on the front where he has more properties, which will delay his funding.
A better turn would have looked more like this:
Roswell should have built the tank from either the middle or southern base, and deciding which base to build it from affects whether or not he can contest Hellraider's capture. If he builds from the middle base, his tank will not be able to get to the front in time to stop Hellraider from capturing the city. On the other hand, if he builds the tank from the southern base, that means he will not be able to capture the city 1N, 2E of the southern base on day 5. However, it is probably worth it to disrupt the capture of Hellraider's city and delay the capture of his own city, so Roswell should build the tank on the southern base (not the central base, as depicted).
Day 6 - Roswell's turn
As an end result, the game is already looking very bad for Roswell on day 6. He contests Hellraider's city, but has no support and essentially throws away his infantry without preventing Hellraider's capture - he merely delays it by a turn. He has a tank that will be sent to the southern front, but Hellraider has already built a counter tank for that front. Meanwhile, Hellraider has successfully denied Roswell his contested city on the northern front, has a backup inf and a 2:1 tank advantage as a result of FTA from the middle base. From here on out Roswell is fighting very lopsided odds, having been beaten down by FTA and his mistakes on day 4.
Here's what a slightly better version looks like for Roswell:
Day 6 (alternate) - Roswell's turn
Roswell is still in a lot of trouble due to Hellraider's FTA, but at least here he disrupts Hellraider's capture entirely. In reality, building the tank from the southern base instead of the north would likely force Hellraider to send his second tank south, which would also give Roswell a little help on the northern front. The added funding from the port and city captures would also allow him not to fall further behind in vehicle count and funding.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In conclusion, the FTA on Color of Envy could be fixed using a few simple measures:
1) Move the backwards neutral base further back 4-6 spaces into the corners. This would still result in an advantage getting to the contested cities, but it would delay Player 1's supporting infantry enough that the imbalance would not allow Player 1 to unfairly disrupt Player 2's city while capturing their own.
2) Start with an even number of infantry. This has the same effect as #1; it delays the capture of the 3rd neutral base by a couple turns, lessening the effect of the imbalance on capture of the contested cities.
3) Move the cities or bases so that there are an even amount to be captured by both bases. This will alleviate the funding imbalance somewhat.
4) Make the contested cities slightly less contested.
New FTA counters for HF maps with 3 bases have been put in on newer maps like Morning Glory and Seven Devils. These counters are not yet perfect either, but they are a bit more balanced than on Color of Envy. Other improvements will no doubt have to be made as the HF metagame develops.
Stay tuned for more information on high funds gameplay as Season 6 of the Colosseum continues. In addition to better countering FTA issues, the CO tier list for high funds games still needs a lot of work and testing, and determining the finer points of gameplay (unit choice, general strategy, desirable map features, etc.) is ongoing as well.
Until next time,
Walker
Day 1 - Roswell's turn
The FTA counter on the map is different from FTA counters on normal maps - all of the bases start as neutral. On Color of Envy there are 3 neutral bases and 3 starting infantry per player, which is the root of the FTA issues. Because there are an odd number of bases, one player will be able to capture 2 bases first, while the other player will be able to capture only 1 base first. Here, the FTA counter is set so that Hellraider can capture one forward base (north or south, his choice) and the backwards base on the first turn. Whichever forward base Hellraider chooses to capture first will be the front that he will have the advantage on in the game, while Roswell will have the advantage on the opposite front - each player will be 1/2 turn ahead on their advantage fronts.
Because Hellraider gets to choose which front he will be 1/2 turn ahead on, it is advantageous for him to choose the side with more properties to be captured, so that he can gain funding quicker. On Color of Envy, this is the southern front. Below I've illustrated which base is responsible for capturing which properties
Red = northern base, Green = middle base, Blue = southern base.
As you can see, the northern base will capture 5 properties, the middle base will capture 3, and the southern base will capture 7. This will result in slight FTA, as Hellraider is able to make the better choice and take the advantage on the better front, which he does in the game. In addition Hellraider has the advantage from the central base, which means that he is able to capture 12 properties first (10 properties + 2 bases), while Roswell is able to only capture 6 first (5 properties + 1 base). Note that these numbers depend on the chosen capture phase somewhat, but any reasonable capture phase will result in a significant advantage in properties captured first for Player 1.
In addition to the funding advantage from being able to capture twice as many properties first, Hellraider also receives a positioning advantage from being able to capture two bases first. Two bases first means two infantry first, which means that Hellraider will have an infantry advantage in getting to the contested properties. This will be more easily shown as the game continues on.
Day 3 - Roswell's turn
On day 3 the initial effects of the FTA are apparent. Hellraider is 1/2 turn ahead on the southern front (he is beginning capture of the city 3W of his base before Roswell) and 1/2 turn behind on the northern front (finishing capture of the northern base after Roswell). But he is able to send an extra infantry north from the middle base, essentially canceling Roswell's advantage. The extra inf will allow Hellraider to contest Roswell's capture of the contested properties more easily than Roswell can on the opposite front.
Day 4 - Roswell's turn
Here you can see that Hellraider has chosen to rush for the contested city on the southern front by skipping the capture of the city 3W of the southern base. (In high funds games, it is becoming clear that rushing for contested properties is a much better strategy than in normal games. Because the properties are worth more, it is worth sacrificing a 1k infantry to prevent your opponent from capturing a city worth 2.5k. Therefore rushing for contested properties and either a) capturing your contested property cleanly or b) disrupting your opponent's capture of their contested property, is a cost-effective and smart strategy.) Hellraider has also chosen to skip the capture of the port on the northern front, and has sent his infantry (which came from the middle base, remember) to a position where it will be able to disrupt Roswell's capture of the contested city. This leaves Roswell in a bit of a predicament: in order to disrupt Hellraider's capture of the southern city, he has to abandon capturing his city. On the other hand, Hellraider is able to capture his city AND disrupt Roswell's capture, simply because he is a turn ahead from the central base.
It is also worth noting that Hellraider declines to build a tank this turn, although he has the money to afford it. However, he will be able to build 2 tanks next turn (with 15k). This allows Hellraider to a) build more infantry earlier in order to capture more properties and b) see where Roswell builds his first vehicle from, to allow Hellraider to build his tanks from the appropriate bases to counter. It is arguable whether this is better than building the first tank on day 4 or not.
Note: Hellraider points out that "delaying a tank was definitely the right choice because not having every infantry as soon as possible is so costly in HF."
Day 5 - Hellraider's turn
Roswell decides to abandon his capture and contest Hellraider's city in the south, and he also mirrors Hellraider and rushes in the north. However, he makes 3 mistakes.
1) He does not begin capturing the port, but rather sends that infantry 3 spaces south. This will reduce the amount of funding he has in a couple turns.
2) He moves his infantry from his southern base to the city 1N, 2E instead of the city 3S. This will leave his infantry on the front without support for one extra day.
3) He builds his tank on the wrong base. Remember that for Roswell the northern front is his strong front, but is also the front where he has the most properties to capture. This means that he should be trying to build infantry from that base; building the tank will delay his captures on the front where he has more properties, which will delay his funding.
A better turn would have looked more like this:
Roswell should have built the tank from either the middle or southern base, and deciding which base to build it from affects whether or not he can contest Hellraider's capture. If he builds from the middle base, his tank will not be able to get to the front in time to stop Hellraider from capturing the city. On the other hand, if he builds the tank from the southern base, that means he will not be able to capture the city 1N, 2E of the southern base on day 5. However, it is probably worth it to disrupt the capture of Hellraider's city and delay the capture of his own city, so Roswell should build the tank on the southern base (not the central base, as depicted).
Day 6 - Roswell's turn
As an end result, the game is already looking very bad for Roswell on day 6. He contests Hellraider's city, but has no support and essentially throws away his infantry without preventing Hellraider's capture - he merely delays it by a turn. He has a tank that will be sent to the southern front, but Hellraider has already built a counter tank for that front. Meanwhile, Hellraider has successfully denied Roswell his contested city on the northern front, has a backup inf and a 2:1 tank advantage as a result of FTA from the middle base. From here on out Roswell is fighting very lopsided odds, having been beaten down by FTA and his mistakes on day 4.
Here's what a slightly better version looks like for Roswell:
Day 6 (alternate) - Roswell's turn
Roswell is still in a lot of trouble due to Hellraider's FTA, but at least here he disrupts Hellraider's capture entirely. In reality, building the tank from the southern base instead of the north would likely force Hellraider to send his second tank south, which would also give Roswell a little help on the northern front. The added funding from the port and city captures would also allow him not to fall further behind in vehicle count and funding.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In conclusion, the FTA on Color of Envy could be fixed using a few simple measures:
1) Move the backwards neutral base further back 4-6 spaces into the corners. This would still result in an advantage getting to the contested cities, but it would delay Player 1's supporting infantry enough that the imbalance would not allow Player 1 to unfairly disrupt Player 2's city while capturing their own.
2) Start with an even number of infantry. This has the same effect as #1; it delays the capture of the 3rd neutral base by a couple turns, lessening the effect of the imbalance on capture of the contested cities.
3) Move the cities or bases so that there are an even amount to be captured by both bases. This will alleviate the funding imbalance somewhat.
4) Make the contested cities slightly less contested.
New FTA counters for HF maps with 3 bases have been put in on newer maps like Morning Glory and Seven Devils. These counters are not yet perfect either, but they are a bit more balanced than on Color of Envy. Other improvements will no doubt have to be made as the HF metagame develops.
Stay tuned for more information on high funds gameplay as Season 6 of the Colosseum continues. In addition to better countering FTA issues, the CO tier list for high funds games still needs a lot of work and testing, and determining the finer points of gameplay (unit choice, general strategy, desirable map features, etc.) is ongoing as well.
Until next time,
Walker
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Global League Review 12/13/11
I know it's been a while since there's been a post to the AWBW Blog, I'll have to use real life busy-ness and a lot of other stuff going on around AWBW as my excuses! But regardless, we're back today with another installment of Global League Review. I'm going to try to do the review weekly from now on, so we'll see how long that lasts!
The last time we took a look at the Global League was on October 16th, and not surprisingly a lot has changed since then. We've seen a lot of the commonly regarded "top players" rise up to the top, and we've also seen a lot of new players begin to make a name for themselves in the league. Perhaps the most interesting story of the last few weeks has been dorian5, who has shown himself to be worthy of a spot among the elite ranks of AWBW and who currently holds the top spot. His claim to the top of the standings is being fiercely contested though, with 4 players just one win away from leap-frogging him.
Overall the rankings have begun to stabilize a bit, but there is ever-increasing rating inflation due to the high frequency with which players enter and leave the league. The standings are also not fully accurate yet, since there still have not been a high number of match-ups amongst the very top players of the league. It is also interesting to note that the Chinese domination of the league has ebbed a bit, although there are still 3 Chinese representing the top 10 (Chilin-xiaoniao3, ANT13, and Diwa).
We'll be keeping a close eye on the movement of players up and down the standings over the coming weeks, but for now let's move onto the top 5 of the league.
Global League Top 5
1. dorian5 - 1147.10, 16-0-0 (Last review: 8)
Last Week: 0-0-0
Game(s) to Watch: vs. Ultra Storm (#2)
Dorian has proven himself to be a worthy foe so far, beating down all 16 of his previous opponents. However, he has just run into his toughest opponent yet; his match with Ultra Storm on "Shadows chase you endlessly" is perhaps the most intriguing league game to date. On day 10 already, dorian's Sasha has not shown any weakness against Ultra's Von Bolt despite early skirmishes as Ultra disrupted capture of dorian's central city. This is a must-watch game, and we'll be keeping a close eye on it as it progresses.
2. Ultra Storm - 1142.75, 13-0-0 (Last review: 12)
Last Week: 0-0-0
Game(s) to Watch: vs. dorian5 (#1)
Despite his slow playing pace, Ultra has steadily and consistently risen up the rankings to the tune of 13 consecutive victories. He's looking as invincible as ever, but might find his first true test against dorian5.
3. Chilin-xiaoniao3 - 1134.32, 29-2-0 (Last review: N/A)
Last Week: 0-0-0
Game(s) to Watch: vs. Duke of Blue Moon (#5), vs. felix45 (#6), vs. Ancient Paradise (#8)
Formerly known as the Weakest Xiaoniao, Chilin-xiaoniao made a new account and quickly elevated himself back up to the top of the league. His high ranking is not necessarily representative of his skill level, however; although he is surely a good player, he has mostly played very weak competition in climbing up to the 3rd rank. It would be very surprising if he can hold himself up in the top 3 for long, especially as he begins to play the likes of Hellraider and Ultra Storm more frequently.
4. Hellraider - 1130.83, 10-0-0 (Last review: 7)
Last Week: 0-0-0
Game(s) to Watch: vs. Chilin-xiaoniao3 (#3)
Like Ultra Storm, Hellraider's rating has slowly but consistently risen over time as he remains unbeaten in league play. The low volume of games has kept him from grabbing a spot in the top 3 for now. With a win over fdkanns and two over Kamuscha for his league resume, Hellraider has arguably had the best league wins to this point.
5. Duke of Blue Moon - 1129.83, 29-7-0 (Last review: N/A)
Last Week: 0-0-0
Game(s) to Watch: vs. felix45 (#5), vs. Diwa (#10), vs. benbever (#13)
A relative newcomer to the site, Duke of Blue Moon quickly showed that he is not someone to take lightly. He has taken care of many of the high-ranked players in the league, but has yet to record a significant break-through victory against the league's true elite. His 7 losses show that he is certainly beatable, but those losses do not come easily.
Best of the Rest
6. felix45 - 1110.79, 11-2-1 (Last review: N/A)
The returning veteran has elevated his level of play of late, and several big wins have boosted him to a spot just outside of the top 5.
7. fdkanns - 1097.73, 26-5-0 (Last review: 2)
Surprisingly, fdkanns has not been able to maintain pace with the top players as his 5 losses have knocked him down to 7th place.
8. Ancient Paradise - 1081.64, 26-9-0 (Last review: N/A)
Another player new to the site, it remains to be seen whether Ancient Paradise can truly hang around with the best.
9. ANT13 - 1063.11, 30-9-6 (Last review: 3)
ANT13's record has been worsened due to the high level of competition he's been seeing, but he has consistently been sticking around in the top 10.
10. Diwa - 1060.93, 13-1-3 (Last review: N/A)
Not a newcomer to the site, but certainly new to the top 10, Diwa is showing that he may be a force to be reckoned with as well.
Almost There!
11. walkerboh01 - 1057.79, 14-2-1 (Last review: 9)
12. TotalFire - 1050.88, 32-12-16 (Last review: N/A)
13. benbever - 1042.91, 4-3-1 (Last review: 1)
14. Kiririn - 1036.65, 11-1-0 (Last review: N/A)
15. Black Mont-Blanc - 1034.99, 8-0-0 (Last review: N/A)
By the Numbers
8 - Weeks since the last Global League Review
128 - Players currently in the league
2 - Players with rating above 1050.00 who have dropped out of league (Kamuscha - 1102.18, 15-2-1 and Roswell the Black Rose - 1065.34, 35-15-12)
256 - Players with rating below 800.00 who have dropped out of the league
960 - Rating required to crack the top 25 of the league
That's all for now! See you again for next week's review,
- Walker
The last time we took a look at the Global League was on October 16th, and not surprisingly a lot has changed since then. We've seen a lot of the commonly regarded "top players" rise up to the top, and we've also seen a lot of new players begin to make a name for themselves in the league. Perhaps the most interesting story of the last few weeks has been dorian5, who has shown himself to be worthy of a spot among the elite ranks of AWBW and who currently holds the top spot. His claim to the top of the standings is being fiercely contested though, with 4 players just one win away from leap-frogging him.
Overall the rankings have begun to stabilize a bit, but there is ever-increasing rating inflation due to the high frequency with which players enter and leave the league. The standings are also not fully accurate yet, since there still have not been a high number of match-ups amongst the very top players of the league. It is also interesting to note that the Chinese domination of the league has ebbed a bit, although there are still 3 Chinese representing the top 10 (Chilin-xiaoniao3, ANT13, and Diwa).
We'll be keeping a close eye on the movement of players up and down the standings over the coming weeks, but for now let's move onto the top 5 of the league.
Global League Top 5
1. dorian5 - 1147.10, 16-0-0 (Last review: 8)
Last Week: 0-0-0
Game(s) to Watch: vs. Ultra Storm (#2)
Dorian has proven himself to be a worthy foe so far, beating down all 16 of his previous opponents. However, he has just run into his toughest opponent yet; his match with Ultra Storm on "Shadows chase you endlessly" is perhaps the most intriguing league game to date. On day 10 already, dorian's Sasha has not shown any weakness against Ultra's Von Bolt despite early skirmishes as Ultra disrupted capture of dorian's central city. This is a must-watch game, and we'll be keeping a close eye on it as it progresses.
2. Ultra Storm - 1142.75, 13-0-0 (Last review: 12)
Last Week: 0-0-0
Game(s) to Watch: vs. dorian5 (#1)
Despite his slow playing pace, Ultra has steadily and consistently risen up the rankings to the tune of 13 consecutive victories. He's looking as invincible as ever, but might find his first true test against dorian5.
3. Chilin-xiaoniao3 - 1134.32, 29-2-0 (Last review: N/A)
Last Week: 0-0-0
Game(s) to Watch: vs. Duke of Blue Moon (#5), vs. felix45 (#6), vs. Ancient Paradise (#8)
Formerly known as the Weakest Xiaoniao, Chilin-xiaoniao made a new account and quickly elevated himself back up to the top of the league. His high ranking is not necessarily representative of his skill level, however; although he is surely a good player, he has mostly played very weak competition in climbing up to the 3rd rank. It would be very surprising if he can hold himself up in the top 3 for long, especially as he begins to play the likes of Hellraider and Ultra Storm more frequently.
4. Hellraider - 1130.83, 10-0-0 (Last review: 7)
Last Week: 0-0-0
Game(s) to Watch: vs. Chilin-xiaoniao3 (#3)
Like Ultra Storm, Hellraider's rating has slowly but consistently risen over time as he remains unbeaten in league play. The low volume of games has kept him from grabbing a spot in the top 3 for now. With a win over fdkanns and two over Kamuscha for his league resume, Hellraider has arguably had the best league wins to this point.
5. Duke of Blue Moon - 1129.83, 29-7-0 (Last review: N/A)
Last Week: 0-0-0
Game(s) to Watch: vs. felix45 (#5), vs. Diwa (#10), vs. benbever (#13)
A relative newcomer to the site, Duke of Blue Moon quickly showed that he is not someone to take lightly. He has taken care of many of the high-ranked players in the league, but has yet to record a significant break-through victory against the league's true elite. His 7 losses show that he is certainly beatable, but those losses do not come easily.
Best of the Rest
6. felix45 - 1110.79, 11-2-1 (Last review: N/A)
The returning veteran has elevated his level of play of late, and several big wins have boosted him to a spot just outside of the top 5.
7. fdkanns - 1097.73, 26-5-0 (Last review: 2)
Surprisingly, fdkanns has not been able to maintain pace with the top players as his 5 losses have knocked him down to 7th place.
8. Ancient Paradise - 1081.64, 26-9-0 (Last review: N/A)
Another player new to the site, it remains to be seen whether Ancient Paradise can truly hang around with the best.
9. ANT13 - 1063.11, 30-9-6 (Last review: 3)
ANT13's record has been worsened due to the high level of competition he's been seeing, but he has consistently been sticking around in the top 10.
10. Diwa - 1060.93, 13-1-3 (Last review: N/A)
Not a newcomer to the site, but certainly new to the top 10, Diwa is showing that he may be a force to be reckoned with as well.
Almost There!
11. walkerboh01 - 1057.79, 14-2-1 (Last review: 9)
12. TotalFire - 1050.88, 32-12-16 (Last review: N/A)
13. benbever - 1042.91, 4-3-1 (Last review: 1)
14. Kiririn - 1036.65, 11-1-0 (Last review: N/A)
15. Black Mont-Blanc - 1034.99, 8-0-0 (Last review: N/A)
By the Numbers
8 - Weeks since the last Global League Review
128 - Players currently in the league
2 - Players with rating above 1050.00 who have dropped out of league (Kamuscha - 1102.18, 15-2-1 and Roswell the Black Rose - 1065.34, 35-15-12)
256 - Players with rating below 800.00 who have dropped out of the league
960 - Rating required to crack the top 25 of the league
That's all for now! See you again for next week's review,
- Walker
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