#36 - Aug. 22, 2010, 4:16 p.m.
Day 1 Recap
Yesterday was a long, but exciting day here in Austin, Texas. As competitors arrived to begin their warm-ups, visitors were already lining up to get their seats and play the available StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, and Diablo III demos. We later learned that many of these eager individuals had been waiting in line since 4:00 AM CDT!
It was this sort of dedication and passion that characterized the day's matches, as well. While we saw some interesting compositions and tactics, overall, our Warcraft III and World of Warcraft Arena players performed admirably and provided a wealth of entertainment for all of our viewers.
World of Warcraft Arena
Match: Arena Pwnage vs. team chris thormann
Winner: team chris thormann
The World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Arena tournament started off with a bang as "team chris thormann" (warlock/druid/hunter) and "Arena Pwnage" (priest/druid/shaman) took center stage. Overall, both teams performed extremely well and this matchup was marked by consistent offensive pressure, quick recoveries, and heavy line-of-sight management. Despite high burst damage by Novoz and Talbadar and great healing by diziet, it was "team chris thormann's" control and finesse that inevitably led them to a 3-1 victory.
Match: compLexity.Red vs. nerdstompers
Winner: compLexity.Red
In the second World of Warcraft Arena match of the day, we saw "compLexity.Red" (mage/warlock/druid) go head-to-head with "nerdstompers" (warrior/warlock/druid). "[C]ompLexity.Red" quickly established control, locking down Hoodrych from "nerdstompers" with a series of Polymorphs, Cyclones, and Frost Novas in the first game. This skillful manipulation continued in the following games, preventing "nerdstompers" from being able to really apply any heavy pressure. After a quick three-game match, "compLexity.Red" was able to defeat "nerdstompers" and advance to the next round in the Upper Bracket with "PK Cards. TSG."
Match: team chris thormann vs. compLexity.Black
Winner: compLexity.Black
For the first game in this match, "team chris thormann" opted to play Protection paladin/druid/hunter against "compLexity.Black" shaman/hunter/paladin) instead of their usual composition. This appeared to take "compLexity.Black" by surprise initially and we saw some quick swaps onto Flexx’s Enhancement shaman by Uckington’s team. "[C]ompLexity.Black" rebounded quickly, though, and "team chris thormann" eventually lost Seráph to overwhelming amounts of damage.
In the second game, both teams switched up their compositions—"team chris thormann" to warlock/hunter/druid and "compLexity.Black" to Protection warrior/hunter/paladin. While it was clear that "team chris thormann" felt more comfortable in their main composition, "compLexity.Black" was still able to shutdown Seráph and Uckington in the following two games with a smooth combination of focus fire and crowd control, placing the final score at 3-0.
Match: PK Cards.TSG vs. compLexity.Red
Winner: comp.Lexity.Red
We saw another interesting composition switch in this first game of "PK Cards.TSG" vs. "compLexity.Red." Instead of playing his warrior, Veev brought in a warlock, bringing the final line-up to warlock/death knight/paladin. In the end, this composition proved to be no match for "compLexity.Red’s" potent mage/warlock/druid, and Zilea was ultimately brought down by successive rounds of burst damage.
"PK Cards.TSG" returned to their standard composition (warrior, death knight, paladin) for games 2, 3 and 4, achieving victory in game 2 by placing heavy pressure on Sodah from "compLexity.Red." Unfortunately, this tactic wasn't as successful in later games; Sodah was able to tank the incoming damage without too much difficulty and, after locking down Zilea with incredible crowd control in games 3 and 4, "compLexity.Red" sealed a 3-1 win.
Match: PK Cards.TSG vs. Arena Pwnage
Winner: Arena Pwnage
In this Lower Bracket match against "Arena Pwnage," "PK Cards.TSG" again elected to abandon their signature composition, opting instead for priest/priest/warlock in the first game, warlock/warlock/priest in the second, and warlock/warlock/paladin in the third. While these unexpected compositions allowed for some interesting forms of harassment, they were unable to place any real pressure on "Arena Pwnage" (priest/druid/shaman) or outlast the pseudo-triple healer group, ultimately being defeated by well-timed burst damage.
Warcraft III
Just in case you weren't able to attend the first day of the 2010 North American Regional Finals or watch our free live stream, we've uploaded all of Saturday’s Warcraft III replays for your convenience!
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/rf10/videos.xml
Things are already ramping up for Day 2, so be sure to tune in for more epic gaming!
