Head Smash - Anni vs ADV [MSW #13]

After a 2 weeks of procrastinating, and then getting a concussion, I have finally found time to say "screw my homework" and show you guys how little of a social life I have. Also, my apologies in advance overall to the quality of this edition. Myself and many others were either sick, busy, or hey! received concussions. So basically, a few articles may not have been written. Video links may be missing as well, so if you have those please link them in the comments.



Match Spotlight Weekly Issue #13

Introductory Note
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I haven't had time to post a thread due to school, exhaustion, laziness (ssshh), and a concussion. For those of you wondering how I received said concussion, I was changing clothes for practice and set my backpack underneath of a paper tower dispenser. Upon putting some clothes away inside of my backpack, I stood up directly into the dispenser and hit the back of my head. Long story short paper tower dispensers are very dangerous.

Updates by Gamren
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• The tournament is now live! Head over to the Team -> Matches areas to look at community matches, unofficials, officials, and even the tournament matches (which count as officials).
• We now have a MSW stream! You can find it Here!

The Prophecy​

We here at MSW like to pretend to be professionals, and what would fake professionals be without match predictions. Our analysts are locked in a basement and forced to calculate match results the best of the best, and try to offer predictions based off of rosters, map possibilities, recent matches, and more. Here are the predictions for next week!

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Haha we completely forgot about predictions.

Match of the Week #9 - [Tournament] ADV vs Anni
3-2 Anni, 2-1 Anni, 3-2 ADV, 1-0 ADV, 1-1 Tie. Overall tie.​

Anni vs ADV by @Proterozoic ​

The tournament so far has brought some exciting and unexpected events, from the dominating TC performances on blackout during BK vs TC to @Misplacement and his unfortunate trip to the void during BK vs TNSE (the recording of which is also in this issue, I can guarantee it's well worth the watch!). However, the biggest surprise for me definitely has to be this incredible well played, and close match. Everyone expected both teams to do as well as they did, but I think nobody thought the outcome to end up this close!

Both teams sent out very strong rosters with the classic powerhouses. ADV brought out notable players like @hallopiu and @lumpi457, as well as a strong archer in @freerider14. Anni on the other hand brought their best, including @Miskey, @aefrogdog and @Mehgur. The stage was set for quite the battle, even without the varied map choices. Usually one team tends to be seen as having a distinct advantage over another, but in this case the advantage was less clear.

The first map was the choice of Anni, who opted for their classic Airlock rework. The map definitely suited them, as few teams have anywhere near as much experience as they do on the map, leading usually to convincing wins in their favour. This time however, things were a little different. ADV definitely demonstrated their strength in PVP, and managed to overpower the Anni players on a couple of occasions. With that said, Anni's useful niche in the use of @aefrodog allowed them to slow the ADV offense, leading to an easier time for the core defense. Both teams battle hard, scoring caps on each side. Ultimately, Anni triumphed in a very close 3-2 victory, not as wide a margin as usual on this map. This was definitely a sign of things to come later in the match!

The second map, chosen by ADV, was Opposites Collide V, a closed quarter map which would benefit their strong PVPers. Despite suiting ADV, annihilation persisted with their strategy to disrupt the offense with a mage, and held their own in the claustrophobic battles. Anni also took this as an opportunity to unleash their incredibly strong pyro @Codebastian and ultimately win the round 2-1 for Anni. This did put the maps 2-0 in favour of Anni, putting ADV in a bit of a dangerous position. Little did we know this would only make them more determined!

Map three was blackout, agreed by both teams. Anni had previously won over ADV on this map, but this time they held their own. ADV stepped it up a level with their already strong offense, whilst keeping their already high level of defence secure. Anni still proved to be a strong opponent, offering a number of stalemates. Ultimately ADV proved to have the stronger defensively, with some powerful plays including an impressive headshot recovery by @freerider14. This lead ADV to winning the map 3-2, bringing the map count to 2-1 in favour of Anni, but, and only a single cap behind. Thing were beginning to change in favour of ADV.

Things continued to go in the favour of ADV during the fourth map, randomised to be Villagio Chiesa. An open flagroom made it much harder to defend on both sides, leading to steals for both teams. Despite the fierce offense, ADV did manage to successfully recover and cap once, leading to a final score for map four in a 1-0 favour for ADV. This not only tied the maps 2 to 2 for each team, but also caps 7 to 7. This meant that victory depended on winning the last map.

So, it had all come down to the final map, randomised to be Clocktower IV, difficult to capture on due to it's size. Both teams fought hard and managed to capture once each. Each side managed to steal again, bringing the game to a stalemate. The game now rested on which recovery team could kill either @Miskey or @lumpi457 first. Try as they might, neither recovery could successfully recover in the time limit, and so the timer had to be extended for a further 15 minutes with the next capture winning the game. However, even with the extra 15 minutes, neither team could successfully recover, with both hunkering down defensively to prevent any lucky recoveries. A couple times were close but still not successful. The timer ran out once again, bringing the final map score a 1-1 draw, meaning an overall draw between both teams, on maps and captures!

Both teams demonstrated their ability and determination even in the face of strong opponents. Our players of the game were @lumpi457 for his ability to steal flags consistently even in the face of Anni defence, and @aefrogdog for the role he played in disrupting ADV offense. The headshot by @freerider14 will also probably go down in the annals of CTF history for being such a good shot, and a clutch recovery. I'd like to thank both teams for providing us with such a good game (as well as keeping me there commentating for 2 and a half hours!). I can't wait to see how both teams do against future opponents!
Final Scores:
Airlock I: 3-2 Anni
Opposites Collide V: 2-1 Anni
Blackout: 3-2 ADV
Villagio Chiesa: 1-0 ADV
Clocktower IV: 1-1 Tie
Overall: Tie!

Players of the match: @aefrogdog @lumpi457

Video​

TT vs Emoji
[Official] TT vs Emoji 3-0 3-0 TT win, player of the game is @dunnydude29
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[Tournament]BK vs TNSE​

5-0 3-0 3-0 BK win, player of the game is Chhimi

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[Tourney] Defy vs MI/E

Defy has beaten MI 3-0, 3-0, 5-0
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DF vs TT

3-1 DF, 3-0 TT, 1-0 TT, TT win.
As seen above with most of the matches (and this one as well), we were not able to get a writer for it due to a multitude of reasons . Overall many people were busy, and we hope to be able to cover more matches like this in the future. For now, enjoy this pre match interview with @obikenobi21 , conducted by @Miskey
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Miskey-
What are your expectations for Delta Force in today's match vs. The Templars?

obikenobi21-
I'm actually not sure what it'll be. historically the matches have been pretty close and now both DF and TT have new players, so it's hard to tell what's going to happen.

Miskey-
Yeah, both teams have gotten roster additions and changes in recent history. It'll be interesting to see who came out on top of those changes.
What players and classes specifically do you think will have the largest impact on this game in particular?

obikenobi21-
The main offensive players for both teams (Chac and Link) will definetly be putting in work, as well as both archers (b0s and winter).
Soldier will probably have the largest impact on this game, because both teams are a fan of running it defensively and offensively
Besides that, I'd say medic will play a huge, albeit less flashy part

Miskey-
Yeah, archer and soldier both have massive potential on maps like pagodas, which is being played.

Miskey-
Is there anything you guys (DF) do to prepare for TT that differs from your normal preparation for other teams?

obikenobi21-
As pre-map preparation goes, we try to be more organized in general.
roster, who goes what when, general gameplan, etc...
with most matches we just slap down a roster and go at it

Miskey-
Final question for you. Do you think the winner of this match should be considered the best team in CTF right now, or do you think there are any newer teams coming up that could challenge for that spot regardless of the result of today's match?(edited)

obikenobi21-
Well, I'd say RR has a foot in the ring as well considering they beat TT fairly recently
And since DF hasn't played RR recently, who knows how we go up against them

Miskey-
I agree with that.
Thanks for letting me interview you, and good luck in your match today!

Tourney Watch
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With the tournament being live, we will be posting Tournament Match results and standings here.
The official tournament rankings can be found at this Website

Win = 2 Points, Tie = 1.

Match Log-
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ADV and Anni are currently tied. If both lose to Defiance, a tie breaker will need to be done for second place. ME/E have lost/FF'd their matches and have been knocked out of the tournament. BK has one more match against Unity to claim the first seed of group B. If BK beats Unity, then TC is confirmed a second place seed. TNSE has indeed been knocked out, but they can still beat Unity to confirm/lock in TC and possibly BK's standings.

After the group stage, the tournament will continue as seen below.

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MSW Invitational​

MSW has created and set in motion a tournament for the community. The tournament leaves out the top 3 teams, allowing for a more fair and competitive/even ground competition. We will be planning a tournament for the other teams later. Meanwhile, the tournament will take place in January, and end around February/March. Read more Here!

Like what you see? Think you could join us and submit your own match articles? Check out our thread and get to know the team, as well as apply if you would like to participate in the weekly newsletter! Click Here for more info.
You can find the previous edition of MSW Here as well ​

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