Round 4 News Article

[FML|Mage]

I've noticed recently that FML isn't getting quite as much coverage on other sites as we have in times past.  As such I've decided to create a news article that I'll work on getting published on other sites.  Below is the article that I've written.  If you have any suggestions on sites that might publish this/I can post it to increase the attention to FML please let me know.

Cheers!


~Round 4~

Well, another season has flown by, and we have already reached the last round of season 14.  Due to the new format for the league, there are still no players who are assured of making it to the finals, (although two time FML Champion Magadansky and Persuade are the big favorites at this point) and most players still have a shot at the semi!

Before we move onto the Round 3 recap, a quick reminder on how the qualifiers are made:
At the end of the season the 3 players with the most points will directly qualify for the finals.  The players that finish 4-7th in points will qualify for a semifinal match.  The winner of the semifinal match will be the 4th player in the Season 14 finals.

Round 3 was the round that separated those who are playing for a trip to the finals, and those who are playing for a trip to the semi-finals.  Without further ado, a brief recap of each of the games:

M9
  Magadansky
  Nline
  Mog[Skynet] (Sub)
  PLZLEAVEDUCK

Match 9 featured two high profile Undeads facing off in the forms of Plzleaveduck and Magadansky.  The early game started off with Duck and Nline fighting, and Maga and Mog duking it out, it looked as if the game might develop into two quick solo matches.  But, eventually Mog was eliminated leaving the dreaded three-way.  While Maga was the biggest threat at the time, poor communication and an inability to agree led to a lack of teaming.  Eventually Nline was taken out of commission and it was clear that Magadansky was the biggest threat.  However, by this point it was too late and Maga was able to pull off his second win of the season.

M10
  Persuade
  Q-veta 
  SeksiReturns
  Mr.Sparkle


M10 was another match that started off with a pair of solos.  Q-veta and Seksi faced off while Mr.Sparkle and Persuade duked it out.  Unlike many matches though, this one did not end up in a three-way right away.  Instead everyone stopped attacking in order to regain some gold.  This proved to be very beneficial for Mr.Sparkle who was out of gold and was able to replenish his reserves to 10K.  After a bit of down time the battles resumed where Seksi was able to take Q-veta out of the game.  Following that, he was able to use an efficient amount of manipulation to convince Mr.Sparkle (who had been losing to Persuade all game) to help team Persuade out of the game.  Persuade went down fighting, but was eventually overcome but the combined forces of Seksi and Mr.Sparkle.  After Persuade was out of the game, Seksi was able to coast to an easy win of Mr.Sparkle.

M11
  Renaud   
  Ugrilainen
  Redkeekee
  Humans7ar

With even spawns on the map it looked like this game would be anyone’s game.  The start of the game progressed at a normal rate with creeping and expanding, but as soon as the creeps were gone the fun began.  Redkeekee decided to take one of Ugrilainen’s expos to try and get an early game advantage.  Ugrilainen obviously took exception to this and defended his expo.  The two of them engaged in a prolonged battle that took place all over the map while Renaud and Humans7ar hoarded at 50 food.  Humans7ar quickly grew bored of this though and decided to take advantage of Redkeekee’s inability to defend his expoes.  Humans7ar took the expoes between them over.  Renaud decided to step in at this point to try and level his heroes vs. Humans7ar.  While this did help Redkeekee out, it proved to be too little too late as the gold disadvantage allowed Ugrilainen to finish him off.  The game then played out in typical three-way fashion with everyone getting teamed a little bit before it came down to an extremely close base race.  In the end, the  Undead Ugrilainen pulled off the win.


M12
  DkH.Starshaped
  DasElend
  DkH.Rain
  Wrecktify

One of the quickest matches in FML history, Match 12 proved to be an action packed one.  Rain randomed Night Elf and spawned next to Daselend while Wrecktify and Startshaped spawned next to each other on the other side of the map.  The creeps were almost entirely ignored as Rain harassed Daselend to gain levels while he quick teched.  On the other side of the map Starshaped rushed Wrecktify with footmen.  While the rush itself did not succeed, it did allow Starshaped to gain a gold and expansion advantage.  When footman vs. footman turned into Gryphons vs. Gryphons Wrecktfiy was not able to keep up and was knocked out of the game.  Rain and Starshaped quickly hit each other’s expansions to try and limit the amount of gold the other had.  During a pause Rain decided to take advantage of the lapse in battles to go ahead and hit his Orcish neighbor.  After a close battle that Rain was winning Starshaped got bored and came to join the fun.  Rain was able to TP out and recover, but Daselend was not that lucky.  Starshaped managed to finish him off, and narrow the game down to a 1v1 vs. Rain.  Rain had a 7K gold advantage, but Starshaped had a level 6 Arch Mage as well as tanks.  It proved to be a close battle, but in the end Rain was able to pull off the win.

And now, the Round 4 Matchups!

Map
Deadlock

M13
Magadansky
Redkeekee
Q-veta
Substitute

Magadansky is probably the biggest heavy hitter that the FFA community has currently.  A two-time FML champion, he’s gotten off to a hot start winning 2 of the first three games of the season.  His two opponents in the match are certainly no slouches though, and if he isn’t careful he could get 4th just as easily as 1st.  Redkeekee is one of the newer FFA players, and has certainly made his mark quickly.  Winning several games as both a player and a substitute in Season 13 he quickly became one of the most feared Night Elf players in the game.  He managed to pull off a close win in Round 1, and almost managed to repeat in Round 2.  With his power back now after Hurricane Sandy it’s safe to say that he’ll get his practicing done before the match this time and be an even more feared opponent.  The last of the scheduled players in the match is probably one of the most overlooked players in FML.  Q-veta is a long time FFA player who has one of the best minds in the game.  While he’s not a favorite to win the match, it certainly wouldn’t surprise anyone to see him pull of the win.  Unfortunately, real life has interfered and Wrecktify is no longer competing in FML.  As such, a substitute will take the fourth spot in this match.

M14
DasElend
Darkermirror
Mr.Sparkle
Renaud

Probably the match that contains the most overall FFA experience.  All 4 players have been playing for a long time, and know each other quite well.  Daselend is one of the most dominant orc players that FML has ever seen.  While he is no stranger to the finals, he has never managed to pull off that elusive championship win.  While he hasn’t had one of his better seasons this time around, that can be attributed to the fact that he came out of retirement specifically to play this season.  He’s shown remarkable improvement each week.  The Orc juggernaut is someone that is feared for good reason.  Darkermirror is another player that has come out of retirement to play in this FML season.  Due to computer failures and some tough luck this season he’s currently not doing that well in the standings.  But, as one of the lead Night Elf innovators, he is always in contention to pull off an upset win. 

Mr.Sparkle, aka Kajetan, is known for two things.  Playing completely drunk and creating 136 food Human ground armies.  While he has successfully accomplished the first, he hasn’t had the proper matchups or maps to do the latter.  It’s showed in the fact that he hasn’t had much success so far this season.  Deadlock is a great map for Mr.Sparkle’s style of play though, and it could lead to a breakthrough for him.  The last player, another Canadian, is one of the most successful FML players ever.  An FML Champion, and the King of FFA winner, Renaud is the strongest Night Elf player that FML has currently.  He’s also the odds on favorite to win this match, which could lead to some heavy teaming against him.  In addition to this, his overwhelming hatred of the Orcs has been known to lead him to some irrational decisions in the past. 

M15
Humans7ar
DkH.Starshaped
SeksiReturns
PLZLEAVEDUCK

Match 15 promises to be one of the most entertaining matches of the season.  It features 3 former/current solo players who have all had success in FFA as well.  While the transition period may not have been smooth, they’ve all earned respect from most of the FFA community.  We’ll start with the non-solo player, Humans7ar.  He’s been a frequent contender and made the finals several times.  By playing an aggressive Human game that mixes in Mass Teleportation and tanks he’s someone that is feared both for his micro and his fearlessness when facing a 2v1.  This often leads to quicker more chaotic games that can throw the typical FFA player off their game.  The next player is someone who probably needs no introduction to this community; Starshaped.  Better known for beating Remind, he’s also had a quiet but successful FFA career.  When he first started off he was known for rushing people with no regard for the consequences.  As such he often was quickly eliminated from the game afterwards.  As his experience has grown though, he’s combined that reputation with an ability to adapt to the game style.  While he still frequently rushes his opponents out of the game, he’s now able to handle the late game better.  He was another participant of the Season 11 finals, and is looking to make his way back there this season.

SeksiReturns is one of the most promising players in FML.  Also known by Iskes and Surroundking he made his mark in the solo community first.  However, upon taking up FFA he made an immediate impact there as well.  Known for superb micro of high food armies, he’s quietly become one of the best macro players as well.  These combinations have often caused him to be teamed out of games, but with so many solo players it’s entirely possible that hubris may come into play for whoever is losing a fight.  In addition to his impressive FML resume, Seksi is also the current leader of FML Ladder Season 1.  The last player is one that is also no stranger to this community.  Plzleaveduck, aka RSM, is one of the better American Undead players left in the game.  He’s had a bit more experience in the FFA community then the other two solo players, and it’s showed in the consistency of his results.  Duck has managed to appear in the semi-finals of every season that he’s participated in, and made the finals of Season 13 although he did not play.  In addition to everything else, Seksi and Duck have a bit of a rivalry going on that could cause some interesting battles and add a new dynamic to the match.

M16
Ugrilainen
Persuade
Nline
DkH.Rain

The last match of the round could be billed as old school vs. new school.  We’ll start off with the old school.  Nline is one of the oldest players around, and had not been seen for years prior to a few weeks ago.  Then, out of the blue he showed up to play a few games.  He was available to sub a match in Round 2 and pulled off an upset victory showing a lot of his old skills even if he was a bit rusty still.  After said player was unable to continue playing in Season 14 Nline was invited to join and FML has never looked back.  Ugrilainen on the other hand has been a constant staple of the FFA community.  A long time player and admin for FML he is best known for his tendency to dual tech Night Elf and Undead.  It’s led him to many surprise victories in the past, including a trip to the Season 13 Finals.  This season though, he is the clear winner for the Most Improved Player award.  While his macro sense is as good as ever, he’s been working with other top players to improve his micro.  The hard work has paid off, and as a result people have second thoughts before hitting him.

The two new players to the FFA scene are certainly not new to FFA.  Both have a few FML seasons under their belt and have had success in their limited time in FFA.  Persuade, also known as DKIsTheirLeader, has made it to the semi-finals twice before, but could not pull off the big win to get to the finals.  This season though he’s decided that he wants to just entirely avoid the semi-finals and directly qualify for the finals.  So far he’s tied for first and controls his own destiny to do just that.  The other player should need no introduction.  DkH.Rain, WCR’s own Born2BeKilled, is one of the most prominent solo players left in the community.  His success in the solo community has been mirrored by his success in the FFA community.  He too has made several semi-final matches, but never managed to make the finals.  A win in this match would give him a good chance of making the finals directly.  An interesting note is that Rain’s success has not come with just Undead, he plays Random in FFA and has managed to pull off wins with every race.


Because players schedule their own matches, we do not yet know the times of the matches.  They are announced on FFAMasters.net when they have been scheduled though.  In addition, all replays, standings, and information about the league can be found at FFAMasters.net as well.  Streaming of games is available as well for those who are interested.  We hope to see you soon!

[Ugri2]

great work! thks for nice comments!

[Persuade]

um i randomed undead in m10

[Slythe]

cool stuff, keep it up - well done.

[FML|Mage]

Article should be up on WCReplays.com tomorrow.  I'll post a link to it when it's up.

[hejpådigStarshaped]

I didn't just beat Remind, you know...

I beat Lucifer, too, :D http://www.wcreplays.com/replay.php?m=View&rid=49625

Anyway, nice write-up. FML surely becomes more fun when dedicated work like this is put into it. This league to me is as much about the aspects outside of the game as it is about the actual matches themselves, so things like this really adds a lot to the experience.

Keep it up :)

[FML|Mage]

Thanks for the feedback!

And sorry, SS.  Next time I'll be sure to just use your proper title; Legend Killer =D

[FML|Mage]

And here it is.

[hejpådigStarshaped]

Thanks for the feedback!

And sorry, SS.  Next time I'll be sure to just use your proper title; Legend Killer =D

I usually go by Legendshaped, but whatever is fine.

[Seksi]

Great write up, way to go promoting the FFA community! Very nice job.

One note on my part is that I have been an FFA player for far longer then other two solo players mentioned in the same section, you listed duck as having more ffa experience.  I've been around since the early days of Lone and 1.14, although my first FML season was 10.  ALso i am known by most as FaH-Q- in the solo world but no worries, looks like it was too late anyways.

It was well written, nj