Sunday 13th June
15:00 HYDRA RELOADED v Old Intentions - HYDRA worked the first ever successful reverse ransom in tournament history possibly in Eve. Their Self-Destruct sequences non-withstanding, they dominated their first match vs Agony. Using a effective and cheap setup to quickly tear apart the Agony team with practiced efficiency. Gaming the system is an old tradition in Eve, one HYDRA took the time to remind us of. Old Intentions faced a tough first round, edged out by U'K in the closest match of round 1. A setup problem and some piloting errors look to have sealed the fate of the Old Intentions team. Likely a lesson learned there that will prevent the same mistakes in round 2. The massive Amarr setup fielded in round 1 for Old Intentions put out impressive DPS so it will be anyones guess as to what they will bring out next. In a tough match I think HYDRA take the lead, collapsing Old's hope for the next round.
15:20 Morsus Mihi v Perihelion Alliance - MM's AT fame is related to the torrent of angry, yes ,even whining posts made on the forums last year (AT7) when they were not drawn from the hat. In round 1 they failed to live up to their lofty claims of last year, but gave a good show none the less. Bringing a ECM heavy setup almost worked out but the chance based nature of jamming and ECM drones allowed their opponents to "Pimp slap" them into oblivion. Perihelion Alliance was unlucky to draw AAA in their first match, but made the most of it, killing many of AAA's fleet before dying out. Their Minmatar heavy setup served them well but ended up being pummeled by the missile barrages coming from AAA. In another match where both sides must win to advance, Perihelion Alliance pulls out a narrow victory, providing one of the better matches in the second day.
15:40 Pitch Black Legion v Electric Monkey Overlords - Pitch Black's heavy Bomber setup failed to hang on in round one last weekend. A disconnect of their Logistics pilot also cause more havoc at the worst time of the match. It was close to begin with but in the end, once their Logistics and ECM died off, the match was decided. If the Logistics pilot had remained on line there is a good chance the outcome would have been more even if not reversed. Electric Monkey Overlords fought one of the closer battles as well, their Damnation staying alive through the end of their 15 minute battle with LR. Their strategic heavy setup was impressive, and strong but was just barely weaker than the BS heavy setup fielded against them. Good piloting skills and dogged determination nearly led to a victory last week and will serve them well in the upcoming match. It's too close to call for sure, but I will stick with I-CUT for this match.
16:00 Plutonix v Panda Team - As I predicted, Plutonix was faced with a rough match at the hands of Cry Havoc. They were able to kill a few ships before being overwhelmed and removed from the field, putting them, points wise, far from the likely cut point to make it to the next round. In this round they lock up with Panda Team who's loss and lack of kills put them in a similar position. In this match where likely neither team will make the cut I think Panda team will rebound with a victory.
16:20 Curatores Veritatis Alliance v Manifest Destiny. - CVA narrowly lost their first match to Darkside. by the poor piloting of one of their Falcons. When he violated the boundary and was removed from play the tide swung quickly and hard against them, slamming the door on their hopes to advance to the next level before it even began. The CVA setup was strong but in a fight where every ship matters, individual pilot skill matters more. With a week to focus on staying inside the boundaries I think CVA will not make that mistake again. Manifest Destiny lost quickly to Razor on the first round, but was at least able to kill a few ships before departing the field. The odd choice of the shield logistics ship for a obvious armor tanking gang made me wonder if they lacked the pilots for a proper setup. CVA's pride is on the line here and not for the last time, but I think they have the better shot at winning this time. So while my heart hopes Manifest wins...
16:40 Dead Terrorists v The Tusker Bastards - Dead Terrorists were hurt by PL in the first round, though their setup was solid it was no match for the similar and powerful setup of PL. Failing to score many points may have hurt them the most, making this match for nothing more than pride. This could result in seeing the DT flagship(A Raven Navy Issue) take the field against the Tusker Bastards. The TB on the other hand have already lost their Flagship after a big loss in round 1. I expect TB to channel their inner lowsec pirate here and give a much stronger performance after their BS heavy setup and lack of mobility cost them the first round. In the end I expect to see a close match, determined by if DT bring their flagship or not. I expect they won't. Tusker Bastards finish off the tourney with a win.
17:00 Unaffiliated v Important Internet Spaceship League - Unaffiliated dond't need to fly out to Jove space to engage IISL, they used to live close by each other in Syndicate. Unaffiliated faced a tough loss int he first round, facing off against a Bhaalgorn and support that was able to remove them from the field quickly. IISL couldn't stay away from the Drake concept that they seem to fly often in TQ. Lacking the Logistics points needed to maintain their fleet, they crumbled against the heavy onslaught of Monk's solid fleet, losing two Nightmares in the process. In this battle I think we see Unaffiliated last out and win. Still failing to advance.
17:20 Mos Vape Heavy Industries v Beyond Virginity - Mos Vape showed poorly in the first round, getting crushed by a ranged setup and losing both a Bhaalgorn and a Vindicator. Fortunately neither were flagships. Beyond Virginity made a few mistakes in their first outing, but nothing a week won't fix. It will be a close fight, with BV pulling out a win at the end.
Break
18:20 AAA v Rote Kapelle - AAA won the first round, taking heavy damage before eventually killing the other team. Rote Kapelle cruised to an easy win in the first round. Both teams face more experienced and better teams in the second round, ranking #1 and #2 respectively. Rote Kapelle wins this one though AAA scores enough points to advance. Did you really think I would pick against my own alliance?
18:40 Agony Empire v Ushra'Khan - Agony empire was given their win after the slaughter HYDRA treated them to. They should still field a very capable team for this matchup, one that U'K will have a hard time with I imagine. Ushra on the other hand worked hard for their win, trading blows with the opposing team until cap wore thin and shield wore thinner. They came out with a impressive long term win in round one and look to continue that into round 2. Agony rallies hard here, but lose it last second, still advancing but failing to win.
19:00 Dystopia Alliance v The Kadeshi - Dystopia had a tough first match, making it out of there with a close win, even losing quite a few of their ships before securing the win. Make no mistake, their setup was solid and dogged determination vs ECM and their use of ECM drones sealed their victory, they will be pushing hard to win in round 2. Kadeshi in round one faced off against a tough fight in Pitch black Legion and came out on top, mostly by smart FCing and properly identifying threats in the other gang. This time they are going up against some tourney vets and it should be more interesting, but I think Dystopia pulls through in the end, winning and advancing.
19:20 Cry Havoc. v BricK sQuAD. - Cry Havoc looked like they were setup for a loss to me when their match in round 1 started. They were able to kite the BS and kill at will, pushing them to an impressive victory from what was a very tough situation. Brick Squad on the other hand had a great match against Panda Team, utilizing a hybrid Tengu concept that worked well against the Tengu's they faced. I still like CH to win this, I'm not sure if Brick will score enough points to advance.
19:40 DarkSide. v RAZOR Alliance - DarkSide. won a close match against CVA, even using Minmatar BS effectively to pulverize the enemy. I say close because Darkside only had a few ships left at the end, not because of the quality of the ships left. RAZOR brought out the Battle Badger, securing a victory against Manifest Destiny with some ease. Their setup was brual and effective, using four Stealth bombers to crush the opposing fleet. Even though I love Darkside for killing CVA, Razor should win this handily.
20:00 HUN Reloaded v B A N E - HUN's first round setup had little trouble with the likes of the Tusker Bastards flagship, downing that as well as the entire Tuskers fleet easily. In round two expect them to bring even more pain pushing towards another victory and the second round. B A N E had an easy time as well against the light DPS and ECM heavy setup they faced. so it will be tough to predict how they will come out against what will likely be a higher DPS setup fielded by HUN. In the end HUN's experience carries the day...
20:20 Pandemic Legion v Monks of War. - PL are still the heavy favorites to repeat in AT8. So far in round one they crushed their opponents, reinforcing the idea of a PL win. Monks might have something to say about that after a solid win against IISL with a Mach based heavy setup. I think this match is a grinder and leaves both teams bloodied with PL coming out on top but Monks making the unsurprising move into the next round with them.
20:40 Paisti Syndicate v Majesta Empire - Paisti outran their opponents DPS in the first round, edging out a victory in short order while retaining most of their ships. Majesta Empire fielded another of the popular Tengu setups, and were able to hold them together despite losing their logistics in their first round match. Setups allowing it should be a very close match to close out the second day of round 2 AT8. Majesta Empire brings just enough to get the win.
Day 2 is packed with hard hitting matches, including ours and I already can't wait for it to arrive. Good luck with the rest of the week.
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