CUS: First Stop - CYBR Cafe
22.April.2008

 

3rd floor Farmers Plaza Mall, Cubao, Quezon City. The first of 8 legs in the City Under Siege III tournament went underway in one of the country’s largest cities – Quezon City. And what an attendance there was in the chosen Internet Shop, Cyber Café, which was literally filled with players anticipating a good fight between the registered teams.

The eliminations started at around 2PM, with the first match between Rektasapwerta (>DemonZ<) and Immortals, with the former getting to the Quarterfinals after beating the latter after 2 rounds. The battles were immense during the first stage of the contest, and after the dust settled, the MAU-riding teams dominated with only 1 team from the Accretian Empire moving on to the next stage, Mastermind.

 

The Emperor’s representatives from the Nexus server was 1 of the 2 Accretian teams, and the difference between the strategies of the two was that Mastermind made use of a siege line, supported by their warriors and 2 specialists. The onlooking players were already ranting about how imbalanced the Bellato lineups were, but the clamor was crushed by Mastermind when they beat their opponents from the Federation in 2 consecutive rounds.

Due to time limitations, the rest of the matches were set to knockout mode – the teams that win automatically move on to the next stage. The only match that would be set to the Best of 3 series would be the Championship match that would settle the first and second placer for the leg. After settling the change with the team captains, the tournament resumed.

Rektasapwerta with their 5-MAU lineup was the first to move to the next stage, which would be a Round-Robin stage. In the next stage, the 3 semi finalists will go through a round-robin setup, battling each team, unless one of the teams loses twice in a row. Otherwise, the first 2 teams to get 2 match-wins each move on to the championship stage. Armado and Mastermind soon follow after beating their opponents in the Quarterfinals.

It was then time for the round-robin stage. Armado went up against Rektasapwerta in the first match. Unfortunately, the MAUs of Rektasapwerta were not enough to withstand the added support that the footies brought for the Armado team. After both sides had their share of incapacitated soldiers, only those from Armado were left standing amidst the barrage of bullets, spells and swordfights.

Then, following the challenge-the-loser rule, Mastermind went up against the MAU-dependent lineup of the Bellato from the Nexus server. The Federation’s representatives fought well, picking off the rangers slowly but surely. But, with specialists from the Empire resurrecting the fallen units, they were able to make a comeback and eventually wiping out the Bellato. With 2 consecutive losses under their belt, Rektasapwerta went home taking the 3rd place spot for the leg.

The Championship round, which was a best-of-3, was a very interesting match.

It was a battle between the Federation and the Empire, with both teams from Nexus server. Round 1 was taken by Armado with them making a rapid push against their opponent. Mastermind fought back in the 2nd round and picked off the Bellato one by one as their attempt to make a rapid push failed when they got too eager to finish off the steel-claden units. With 1 round-win each, each team had a chance to take the final round and win the championship.

But, both were not so eager, and opted to take the careful approach. The match ended after 10 minutes, with none of the combatants making a single attack. To prevent both teams from doing the same thing again, the deciding round was made a Sudden Death – the first team to kill a member of the opposing team wins the championship.

With both teams at the starting point, GM Vazilos started the countdown. The teams charge at one another, with the team captains carefully picking a vulnerable target. Bellato told their Soul Chandras to stay away from harms way. Mastermind, on the other hand, set up their siege line.

When the teams clashed, Mastermind suddenly jumps for joy. A Berserker from the Federation’s representatives lay down on the ground after taking immense injury from the chain rockets shot from the siege kits of the Accretian Empire. The berserker seemed to be going for the attack, wielding a spear, but the rockets got to him first.

Mastermind claims the champion title for the Quezon City Leg of CUS III.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

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