AT X - Finals Predictions.

Whew! What a crazy day. I have to admit that I was really pulling for RvB over PL in the final match, but it just wasn't meant to be for them this year.

Other highlights included some incredibly brutal matches, and still some halfway decent throw away fights like the fight between FA and Dark Taboo. FA brought a thorax heavy setup seemingly paying homage to the now old Star Fraction vs Band of Brothers match-up.

My totals were 10 right out of 16, none to shabby for such a tough round to guess since there were so many matches that were for little more than just honor. That's 62.5%.

Bah, who am I kidding, Rote made it back into the final day, after quite the DPS heavy match against KiWF, and then hoping on the sidelines that the match between PL and RvB fell in our favor. I could almost feel the angst radiating from fellow Rote members as the last match went down. Even the few seconds where PL holds fire on the Eos of RvB made me honestly consider them throwing the match to keep us out. I think they just want the chance of a rematch to avenge their earlier loss vs us rather than face off with RvB again.

On to the Final day. I guess this is the Eve version of "Bracketology" familiar to us Northern Americans for the NCAA March madness tournament. The idea is you choose the winner of the tourney before any of the matches get played, at least here we have some background.

Fair warning, I am terrible in bracketology, further, I make one mistake and it could be all over.

Special 16

HUN Reloaded vs FEARLESS. - HUN's been eating well all tourney.

The G0dFathers vs Heretic Nation

Pandemic Legion vs TEST

Darkside. vs PERCUSSIVE PIZZA TIME DIPLOMACY

Mildly Intoxicated vs Raiden.

Verge of Collapse vs Rote Kapelle


Exodus. vs Agony Empire - Our training partners vs our Syndicate fellows. Probably the hardest match for me to call thus far. Exodus in a nail biter.

Shadow Cartel vs Nulli Secunda

Wow that's a lot of left sidedness.

Elite 8

HUN Reloaded vs The G0dfathers

Pandemic Legion vs Darkside. - Wow, what a matchup this is going to be, like two Juggernauts slugging it out for ten minutes, it's going to be a fight that nobody is going to want to look away from. I can't wait.

Mildly Intoxicated vs Rote Kapelle -Well this is an interested match, in AT9 we faced a lot of the Mildly Intoxicated guys when they were still in Black Legion. Looking at the schedules their departure may have cost MEN a chance to get this far. It's going to be epic. This time we come out on top.

Exodus. vs Shadow Cartel - Can't go against our training partners, but if I was going to this would be the match where it would happen. Very close match up, lots of skill and ability on both sides.

Final 4

HUN Reloaded vs Pandemic Legion - Yes it's controversial, yes I could be entirely wrong, but both HUN and PL have been playing great all tourney, it's going to be a key fight for both of them, HUN has been so focused on making it into the finals, repeating as champs that is anyone is going to defeat PL, it's going to be them.

Rote Kapelle vs Exodus - Wowza.

FINALS

HUN Reloaded vs Rote Kapelle - Long time wishers vs successful champs. In a battle of the who will be's I think Rote surprises and wins the championship.

ATX Champs.

Rote Kapelle

Now I predicted we would win similar to this back in AT8 and let's just say it didn't work out to well for me. I wish for better luck this time!

To view my picks in bracket form, look here

Upcoming : ATX final results (OMG!)

AT X - Group stages, Day 7

Good lord I was bad last week!

Saturday 21st July - Day 7

15:00 Nulli Seconda vs Choke Point - Nulli's got to win this in order to advance, well win this and hope for a good outcome of the next match. I think they aren't just grasping at straws this time.

15:20 HUN Reloaded vs Black Legion. - HUN's in pretty much either way, it would be very difficult impossible for HUN to be removed from either the first or second spot in the group at this point. MEN. are too proud to go quietly, this will be an epic fight.

15:40 Fatal Ascension vs Dark Taboo - Unless these guys agree to a t1 frig vs t1 frig fight in advance, and show up with just two t1 frigs, there's no way either can advance. So as such, I don't really care :( damn these matches.

16:00 The G0dfathers vs Agony Empire - It's a match of the sealed deal. Given both sides show up and get a few kills, it doesn't matter WHAT FA and Dark Taboo do. Agony empire has been very strong so far, so I wish our Syndicate brosefs luck.

16:20 Mildly Intoxicated vs Test Alliance Please Ignore - TEST just hasn't stopped winning, but it doesn't really matter now does it? Both the top two here are locked in.

16:40 Northern Coalition. vs Alpha Volley Union - Locked out and looking in, not sure this match means anything at this point, Could just be a source of pride for one or the other to get A win this group stage. One almost certainly will (in before draw)

17:00 Goonswarm Federation vs Capital Punishment. - Now here's an important match (finally). Capital Punishment has to win in order to have any shot of advancing. Goons are already out, so do the GOONS play sandbagger to Capital Punishment, or try for the win? I like the odds of Capital Punishment here. Goons miss the finals for another year.

17:20 Verge of Collapse vs FEARLESS. - Also a relevant match (two in a row, must be good planning). Verge of Collapse is struggling to hold off Capital Punishment in this last round, while FEARLESS. has clenched a spot in the finals either way, well barring some handicapping and being killed without scoring any points in their match.

BREAK

18:20 Dead Terrorists vs The Gorgon Empire - Both of these teams are out of it but could still provide a good fight, they have made it thus far, might as well go out with a bang and a win right? I like Dead Terrorists in this matchup.

18:40 Exodus. vs Heretic Nation - Both go through already but Exodus. has it out to kill everyone. Should be an entertaining match either way, but I still like the Exodus guys.

19:00 Ev0ke vs BricK sQuAD - Done and done-er. I thought Ev0ke would do better in the group stages, but that has just not turned out to be true. They had some decent setups on paper, but the teams they faced dispatched them with what looked like ease. Same for Brick Squad, I quite liked their Vindicator setup vs Darkside.

19:20 Raiden. vs DarkSide. - Well these two have it locked up. I would say that DarkSide. will care to win this one, but in the end it doesn't matter.

19:40 Gypsy Band vs Shadow Cartel - Look two matches in a row, where both really matter. This is the only group to split 1 win each. If there was ever a time to get a win, now is that time. Gypsy Band lost their Flagship last weekend, but I doubt that is their last gasp. Shadow Cartel has brought a variety of setups, and thus are hard to predict. I honestly get the feeling that Shadow pulls it out in the end, and goes through with a Victory here.

20:00 Suddenly Spaceships. vs PERCUSSIVE PIZZA TIME DIPLOMACY - Facing them will be the winner of this match. Suddenly is fresh off their win against Gypsy band, but PZZA has brought solid setups in every match, they just rolled the dice wrong and faced a TD heavy team that ate them alive in the first round of the group stages. I might be wrong, but you can never be too wrong with PIZZA!

20:20 Rote Kapelle vs Kill It With Fire - I think we all know what way I will be voting here. However Rote Kapelle is fresh from their dramatic victory against PL, will there be overconfidence headed into this match, perhaps some underestimation of the KiWF team that might lead to a loss? All the teams who have made it this far are still dangerous.

20:40 Pandemic Legion vs RvB - Some might have trouble admitting it, but RvB is for real. I doubt that PL will be taking them lightly, as a win here for PL seals the part of the standings that they can influence and just have to hope to score enough points to knock out Rote after they win. One of the most interesting matches if Rote wins will be this one. I can earnestly say GO RvB, since by winning, they remove PL from the picture if RK wins.

Barring any complications:
Up next : FINALS - No analysis, just picks. Recap of ATX, Also a fittings breakdown of the Final match! Exciting stuff.

AT X - Group Stage Days 5 and 6

There's one thing I know about the group stages, and that is that the first two weeks now mean officially nothing. Setups, good bad or indifferent, are now out the window. People who looked weak, can show up in a big way in the 12 man stages.

Effective setups go from a small handful to a huge plethora. Some might argue that the setups become even more rock vs paper vs scissors. For me, this is where the real art of finding and testing and practicing good setups with good pilots shows up. Finding a setup that manages to meld the strengths to be good across the board are few and far between, and even more difficult, when a good setup is found, how do you keep it secret, how often do you test it?

What will 'the' defining 12 man setup of ATX be? and who will field it? Since I don't know, I can only hazard guesses. I will explain choices when I have a logical reason, otherwise free for all! Subtitle to this is that I have had a pretty rough week and can't put in the full effort for this post. Sorry.

Saturday 14th July - Day 5

15:00 Nulli Secunda vs Black Legion. - neither team showed up every match. MEN. have a great group of pilots at their disposal, but in the end I think that pushes them over the top in the fight.

15:20 HUN Reloaded vs Choke Point - Looks like HUN have their eyes set on another championship, only time will tell if they are as dedicated in 12v12 as they were in 6v6.

15:40 Fatal Ascension vs Agony Empire - Controversial decision here, as FA spent some time in Syndicate, losing ships to Agony Empire, so on that score, Agony has the upper hand. But FA's been doing pretty well so far. Well I guess this is their time to prove me wrong or right.

16:00 The G0dfathers vs Dark Taboo - No idea why. Both solid teams, both good fights in their 6v6's.

16:20 Mildly Intoxicated vs Alpha Volley Union - Mildly Intoxicated showed off some inventive setups and good piloting. I like their chances here.

16:40 Nothern Coalition. vs Test Alliance Please Ignore - TEST barely makes it through to the group stages, suppose I just said it didn't matter, but I still like NC. here.

17:00 Goonswarm Federation vs FEARLESS. - Did FEARLESS throw their match, or did they just mess up, I have no idea. What I don't like to see is Vindicators being thrown away, Goons did the best with their Vindi's.

17:20 Verge of Collapse vs Capital Punishment. - Brutal match ups for Cap Pun all around, in one of the hardest groups, Verge of Collapse has impressed me throughout, will be an interesting fight, that's for sure.

18:20 Dead Terrorists vs Heretic Nation - Gotta love the Defenders of Amamake!

18:40 Exodus. vs The Gorgon Empire - Exodus impressed me with their 6 man setups throughout the two first weeks, and I know from experience that their 12 man setups are no joke either.

19:00 Ev0ke vs DarkSide. - Gonna be a close match, DarkSide. is still showing the same amount of competence from last year.

19:20 Raiden. vs BricK sQuAD. - Brick manages to win when everyone thinks they won't.

19:40 Gypsy Band vs PERCUSSIVE PIZZA TIME DIPLOMACY - Best of luck to PZZA who swept up with one win and a loss going against Gypsy Band who won both of their matches in the first two weeks.

20:00 Suddenly Spaceships. vs Shadow Cartel - This one I literally had to toss a coin, it was heads Shadow Cartel and tails Suddenly Spaceships. Pilots from both sides are well disciplined and smart, both sides setups have been intelligent and more importantly, well flown.

20:20 Rote Kapelle vs RvB - Going to be another great match for us. Red V Blue put out some great teams in the first stages, but my heart still lies with Rote Kapelle, and always will. Think we have the slight edge on experience, but are indeed infiltrated by RvB alts!

20:40 Pandemic Legion vs Kill It With Fire - Man, what to say here? I really hope Kill It With Fire wins this matchup. It would force "our" group to re-evaluate how the group stages are going to play out. But in the context of the Alliance tournament, can you really bet against PL?

Sunday 15th July - Day 6

15:00 Black Legion. vs Choke Point - MEN. have been on again off again, and as much as I want to have a bromance with their alliance, I am just not 100 percent sold on them this tourney. However I feel the same way about Choke Point, especially since I found their first match to be problem filled.

15:20 HUN Reloaded vs Nulli Seconda - HUN was looking good in the 6 mans, much more of their usual bad-ass selves. Nulli on the other hand, brought BROADSWORDS into their last match, and barely won their first match. The jury is still out on if they were thrown their match, but either way luck plays more of a role in their current set of victories than any skill.

15:40 Agony Empire vs Dark Taboo -

16:00 The G0dfathers vs Fatal Ascension -

16:20 Alpha Volley Union vs Test Alliance Please Ignore -

16:40 Nothern Coalition. vs Mildly Intoxicated -

17:00 FEARLESS. vs Capital Punishment. -

17:20 Verge of Collapse vs Goonswarm Federation - Someone has to end the domination of Goons thus far.

18:20 Heretic Nation vs The Gorgon Empire -

18:40 Exodus. vs Dead Terrorists - Gogo Exodus!

19:00 DarkSide. vs BricK sQuAD. - Darkside. are still pretty scary this year, but this could go either way, as BricK sQuAD has had some pretty good last minute success.

19:20 Raiden. vs Ev0ke - Ev0ke surprised me last week, looks like they will win this time, without the surprise.

19:40 PERCUSSIVE PIZZA TIME DIPLOMACY vs Shadow Cartel. - First round opponents, and as usual I hope they kill them all.

20:00 Suddenly Spaceships. vs Gypsy Band -

20:20 RvB vs Kill It With Fire -

20:40 Pandemic Legion vs Rote Kapelle - Jesus, what a match up. Eternal hopefuls vs proven success. Great way to end the weekend.

Up Next : Group Stage Finals predictions, maybe that post about ASB's.

ATX - Week 2 predictions

Predictions for Week 2 are in some cases, much easier to predict than week 1, but in some cases that much more difficult. Mostly because good pilots, even with bad setups week one, if they are smart, can learn a lot from other setups and matches that preceed and followed their week one matches. Lots of times killmails and video's of the fights provide enough outline to reconstruct solid setups even if they aren't the originators of the idea.


While this is still possible to do from one year to the other, the changes made to modules and the new modules make this year a new game. So here we go with predictions for week 2! Just so we are clear


Little ATX jargon to whet your appetite...
ASB - Ancillary Shield booster
XLASB - Extra Large Ancillary Shield booster.
THD - Total Hell Death.


Saturday, July 7


15:00 Curatores Veritatis Alliance vs Noir. Mercenary Group - Well I guess we start with the lowest ranked and work our way to the highest. These two teams had both bad luck, and bad setups in the first round. CVA's First setup should have been fairly solid and ended up facing off against a near mirror image. Well all except for the Frigates. Gypsy brought tackle Merlins and CVA brought ECM merlins. Unfortunately their ECM just could not hold and their scimitar was tackled and killed before they could inflict any damage. They didn't lose all their ships, but it goes to show that the rules care about explosions. Not retained ships. Noir had some rough luck, with their AT captain apparently a no-show for their match. And that could be considered a high point in conjunction with the beating their recieved in the first round. In short they went up against an unexpected and very lucky rook setup, that their dual Ferox's could not break before being killed themselves. In a game of second chances, nothing short of Total Hell Death (THD, complete removal of the enemies team) can expect to move people on to the next round if they scored 0 points in the first round. It's a touch matchup but I think CVA has a good underlying team, and a semi strong setup. CVA narrowly win this not sure it actually matters


15:20 No Holes Barred vs Test Alliance Please Ignore - Speaking of teams who should probably copy off other more successful teams, we come to No Holes Barred, users of the bizzare, and ineffective armor Sleipnirs. Now for those who don't know, Sleipnirs are shield takers not because of an over-abundance of mid slots, having only 5, and 5 low slots, but because their ship bonus' heavily favor a shield tank, providing more shield per boost as one of the main bonus. I'm sure No Holes Barred knows this now, after losing in specacular fashion. Only part of that was because of the armor Sleipnirs, the other part was because of a solid setup by the opposing team. TEST Brought a solid setup for the first round, but were unable to break the tanks of the locally and remote repped Cyclones they faced in thier Sleipnirs. They were slowly ground under for a pretty convincing loss. TEST shouldn't shy away from what are obviously good setups, and come with another solid setup here. I think TEST will in this one convincingly. (I'm going to stop pointing out that it still might not matter because they scored 0 points in round one.


15:40 RAZOR Alliance vs Dirt Nap Squad. - Razor lost their first match, and I might attribute that completely to their failure to kill Darkside's Logi before their's went down. Otherwise it would have been an entirely different match. But you know how it is with "might" and "maybe." They don't get you very far. Dirt Nap Squad (DNS) on the other hand, brought what appears to be more of a "Don't die and maybe score some points" setup, rather than a "Kill some people." setup in the first week. it didn't work out so well, and despite the conservative setup, DNS still lost all their ships and didn't kill anything. RAZOR isn't a bad pvp Alliance, but then neither is DNS, despite being black ops droppers. They still do other things effectively. If DNS come more aggressive this time they might just be able to head off RAZOR and score a win.


16:00 Get Off My Lawn vs Wormholes Holders - Well LAWN's setup in round one, wasn't "BAD" it was just outclassed. Their Sabre's died very quickly after their logi went down and they didn't seem to get the memo about how good Sleipnirs are with Ancillary shield boosters, and fit a buffer tank instead. They went down in "record" time. Wormhole Holders Decided it was a good idea to show up with just three ships. Now their setup was probably pretty strong on paper. But they did seemingly zero research on how it woud work in practice and how they should warp in relative to the beacon. They lost in a big way, but at least they got the XL ASB memo. After a week of refinement and reviewing setups I think that LAWN will come out victorious here.


16:20 SOLAR FLEET vs BricK sQuAD. - SOLAR brought a Sleipnir setup from last year, fitting buffer tank instead of XLASB, and then had the unfortunate luck by running smack into a Rook based team, done right. Their lowslot ECCM wasn't up to the task of keeping them unjammed long enough to matter. BricK on the other hand brought a gank talos setup, only to run into a even more ganky Armor Vindicator setup. The total DPS was similar on both teams, however, the total EHP heavily favored their opponents, and it showed. Now just watching the matches since then, lots of teams have adapted both of these setups, but the Talos setup was rarely successful, bring brought in some form to the field 4 times, but only winning once, against the even more bland setup of Tengu's. Brick's Scimitar was also active afterburner tanked. Not a great counter to 90% webs of the Vindicator, especially when you try to dive in close with the scimitar. That speaks of bad piloting, while the SOLAR loss just looks like a bad matchup rather than bad piloting compacted with a bad matchup.


16:40 Capital Punishment. vs The Veyr Collective - Speaking of Vindicator setups... Capital Punishment. is sure aware of those. They were another set of adopters for the Talos, and it didn't end well. The Veyr Collective also brought a set of Talos' but these were armor tanked. And missing a single lowslot it looks like. They went smack up against the Nothern Coalition. Honestly it might have looked close but that one was over before it began. Capital Punishment I think has the advantage in this match.


17:00 Manifest Destiny. vs The Fourth District - Mainifest Destiny in round one brought Artillery Tornadoes. It'd be shallow to say, "And that's all I have to say." But really, that's pretty close to all I am going to say. Other than to break it down a bit so there is understanding as to why this is such a bad idea. The entire arena is 125km in radius, so sure a fight COULD happen at extreme ranges, however, warp ins are at a max of 50KM from the beacon. So the max distance that could happen would be 100km from each other. In that enagement range, 800mm Tornadoes can reach to 50-80 KM with Barrage L. And actually track to have an impact in the match. 1400mm arty Nadoes have no such luck. In addition Manifest brought their Tornadoes in at 50, so that's something, at least they were trying with their setup. Obviously, no luck. The Fourth District brought a risky Marauder setup in round one, Kronos that didn't seem to do that much damage or that much webbing (despite bonus' that seem to lend to those two things). They were torn up by a Ferox based team with really little trouble. Difficult to tell what happened there since I didn't see many web or DPS effects that should have been coming from the Kronos. Manifest Destiny has had success in the past so I am going to go with experience over the Fourth District.


17:20 Dystopia Alliance vs Pure Madness. - Dystopia decided to bring a pretty weak setup against a very strong (historically) Pandemic Legion team. They paid the price when their Widow, DCU tanked with multispecs died hard and fast in the first match. But one thing bothers me about their setup. I don't consider Dystopia a bad, by any means, alliance. In fact, they are full of old time PvPers and 'bitter-vets.' It makes me wonder about the meta game involved between PL and Dystopia. Pure Madness brought what should have been a solid Oracle setup, but they were tanked by some XLASB love from their opponents, and seemingly when they were just about to burn through one Sleipnirs charges on their XLASB, two of the Oracles got jammed out by ECM drones, reducing their DPS so the Sleipnir could easily tank them, and eventually, each one was hunted down and killed by a combination of good piloting from the Merlin they faced and then later by three sleipnirs pinning their opponents. This is the first matchup where teams actually scored points against their opponents, each team scored 2 points. Not sure how much of a help this is going to be in light of trying to advance. However total hell deaths are going to be required to move on. I really would like Pure Madness. to win here, but I am also really torn between them as tourney newcomers and underdogs and the skill and experience from a team like Dystopia. I'll take a gamble here and go with Pure Madness.


------------


18:20 Dark Taboo vs WHY so Seri0Us - I'm really not sure how Dark Taboo managed to kill anything with their setup, but I guess it's no surprise that they were able to kill some frigs, seeing as how the majority of their DPS was frigate sized. Here's a refresher, Taboo fielded Rooks, with small missile launchers and rocket launchers, as well as some daredevils with warp speed rigs. If there was a psyduck image I could post here, I would. WHY on the other hand, brought a ballsy setup for 2 Machariels and support, but faced a just as mean team of Sleipnirs. After some early match trade offs, the Machs ended up going down towards the ends of the match. I'm just so disappointed with the setup Dark Taboo fielded in the first round that I just can't pick them in the second.


18:40 Lone Star Partners vs Bruderschaft der Pilger - Lone star brought a pretty interesting mix of setups and ships to the first match. Their Oneiros was XLASB fit and had 3 large reps, but their smaller ships didn't have the buffer to benefit from the armor repairs and died quickly. The Vigilants's had TD's and ECCM, but no injectors, leaving them vulnerable to neuts at the very least. Bruderschaft showed up with a solid setup, but faced off against a pair of Vindicators. Even the XLASB tank isn't enough to deal with that much DPS and their ships left the field in a hurry. But the important thing to focus on from their match was that their setup was a well thought out one,  but was facing some serious trouble any way you look at Vindicators. They did make some pretty critical mistakes. You don't always want to start at 0 in a sleipnir based team, and this is exactly why. The Vindicators were able to land web at the start of the fight on both Sleipnirs, and remove them before really anything could happen. Had the Sleipnirs started further away, the result might not have been different, but it might have been closer. Lone Star looks like it is interested in out of the box setups, but Bruderschaft have proven in round one that they can at least comp a decent setup. Pretty much a toss up here for me. I will go with Bruderschaft.


19:00 Choke Point vs Exiled Ones - Choke Point was matched up again Fluffeh in the first round, so I have probably seen this fight almost as much as the Rote fight from weekend one. They brought a good setup, two machs with a few jamming frigs and a daredevil to tackle down targets. However their execution was less than stellar. Their focused fire was poor, and they were unable to go for any of the weaker targets until later in the fight. Exiled Ones on the other hand, showed up with what on the surface appeared to be a good setup. But then the killmails started rolling in to reveal Tengu's not only with an active tank, but with a large shield boosting active tank and injectors.They were able to volley fire some opponents off the field, but their setup was a confusingly bad one. Choke point rebounds here I think, and is able to score some much needed points, hopefully combining with their current 8 points.


19:20 Kill It With Fire vs RED.OverLord - I just love teams that bring Curse. And Kill it with Fire did just that, even if it didn't work out for them vs the FA Sleipnir setup, it is still a good move. EWAR really decided this fight, with the Kill it ships losing a lot of time behind Kitsune jams. RED.O brought a Tengu setup, but it was very unsuccessful vs a very strange dual tanking Mach setup that managed to outlast the Tengu DPS during their XLASB reload cycles. Historically the Tengu setup's haven't returned solid results, but have been either the punchers or the punching bags. In this case the punching bag. I'm going to side with the team that brought a curse last time.


19:40 PERCUSSIVE PIZZA TIME DIPLOMACY vs ROMANIAN-LEGION - Pizza, well PZZA, I have to say I was quite surprised by their fight in the first weekend. Obviously fighting directly against them might have something to do with that, but their setup was a strong kiting setup, even if they were in Drakes. Traditionally a hated ship in the tournament. Romanian-Legion showed up with an expensive but ultimately dead setup, since they decided it was a good idea to warp a pair of Machariels to 0 at the start of the match, they were quickly tackled and broken. The exchange at close range was brutal, and they were able to take down a few ships before losing. Like I've said before, having a decent setup is worthless without understanding how and where to warp into a fight. Here's a hint, it's rarely @0. I think Pizza shows up with a delivery this match and with 12 points and a strong showing here they have a good chance to make it into round 2.


20:00 The Kadeshi vs Shadow Cartel - It's a match where neither team really deserves to be in the loser bracket. The Kadeshi, I chose them in round 1, and then they made the one piloting mistake that cost them, and lost one of their Tengu's to a boundary violation. The ships they were fighting were barely unable to tank three Tengu's worth of damage, and with the loss of one of their Tengu's like that, their damage went from winning the fight levels to losing the fight. They did manage to net a cool 14 points by killing a Vigil and a Tier 3 BC (Talos). Shadow Cartel had a run of bad luck before their match even STARTED, losing a lynch pin Proteus to tragic disconnect moments before their match. Down one ship they were fought under, but still managed to rope in a few points. In a match of two good teams that lost, one through piloting error, and the other through computer error, I think both with be forced to come out swinging for the fences to make their 14 points count the most. In a very close match that could go either way, the Shadow Cartel is going eek out a victory, taking their 14 points plus this match into the group stages. It could easily be the other way around if the Shadow Cartel underestimates The Kadeshi at all.


20:20 Sleeper Social Club vs Babylon 5.. - SSC brought in some drone love in the first round, and was one of a few teams to do so. Their Ishtars threatened to blot out the sun with drones, but were tackled towards the end of the match, to just barely, lose on points to the Fearless team. Overall they brought a solid, supported setup, and scored 16 points for their trouble. Babylon 5.. brought a pair of heavily tanked Vargur's with a Webloki for support. Unfortunately for them, the Nulli team they fought brought a ton of ECM drones and were able to lock down the Vargurs enough to gain a decisive advantage. Oh, and the Babylon 5.. team brought 3 ships to a six ship match, because of this the ECM weak Marauders were swarmed with drones and the failure to fit a smartbomb on the Vargur's are very telling for their next match. I think SSC will win this one.


20:40 Black Legion. vs Perihelion Alliance - This has to be the best match of the day, how sweet they save it for last. Both teams have done well in the past... MEN. Oh how you let me down in the first round! Honestly your setup wasn't bad at all, you were just outflown by the drone swarm and fast tackle of your opponents, who removed your Logi before the match even really got heated, depriving you of the rep you needed for your buffer fit Ferox's. Black Legion still rallied and got the most points of the losing brackets, at 20 points. Perihelion brought up the second most with 16 points (tied with Babylon 5..) In round one Peri FACED a Vargur setup, and a tough loss. They brought a Proteus gank squad, but the hostile Vargurs were able to pick apart their reps at range, before focusing on the meat of the Proteus setup. Peri was just not able to grind down the rep and EHP of the Vargurs when it came time. Some questionable calls were made early on in their first match and that is usually the most telling. Solid FCing will usually slant the match. In a match I hate to choose a winner of, I will predict Perihelion goes through.




Sunday, July 8


15:00 Rote Kapelle vs Fluffeh Bunneh Murder Squad - Best match of the day. Totally! Okay okay, I'll tamper my Rote enthusiasm and predict this match objectively... Yeah right! So, Rote's setup had trouble with the Drake based kiting setup used by their first round opponents, but they were able to wrangle their targets down to score a win in the first round. Pretty much all Rote, including myself, will tell anyone who listens that getting the points we did isn't a bad thing, and we got what we wanted. Our opponents have the same number of points as we do, 37.5 so I am sure they are saying the same thing. Their initial setup was a bit of a hodge podge, focused around armor logistics and ECM, their Blackbird was really the unexpected hero of the fight. He kept most of the Griffins out of the fight, and pulled a mach to him, halfing the DPS for his teammates. The Deimos and Hurricane tanked the Mach damage well and put out enough DPS to secure points to gain the win. It should be no surprise that I think Rote has the chance to pull out a second win, but with 37.5 points each, both teams have a chance to make it through if they get some points in this match.


15:20 FEARLESS. vs Nulli Secunda - Lark and Fearless performed great in their match, holding onto a tough fought match against a Ishtar setup that could just as easily gone the other way, and looked like it would for a minute there. With 46.25 points Fearless must be pretty happy, but are likely less than happy about their second matching pair up vs Nulli. Nulli pushed through a pretty weak setup, both theirs and their opponents and brought home 41.25 points. This will be a critical match for both teams, where winning with some point or even losing with some points could move both of them through. In this match up I favor FEARLESS.


15:40 Gypsy Band vs Elysian Empire - Gypsy Band faced off against CVA in the first round and handed them a pretty decent loss, only giving up a few points from their setup of Sleipnirs and Merlins. They made some piloting mistakes, but showed up to the field at good ranges, and well led. Elysian empire arrived with a double rook setup that was mostly overlooked in week one despite the serveral victories it produced, and one horrible loss. Elysian Empire delivered a solid setup and didn't bother to copy the setup from alliances and tournaments previous. One has to give them some points for that, but be tempered by the fact that they fought against a likely leaderless and hasty setup in the Noir. team. How much does that count for against the Gypsy band after their good performance. I'm not sure. Tough call on this one without knowing the teams better I am going to go with Gypsy Band.


16:00 Mildly Intoxicated vs R.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. - Mildly Intoxicated surprised a lot of people, myself included when they came out on top of the Black Legion team in the first round. Their setup was a bit of an unconventional drone setup, but their tactical use of assigned drones definitely won them that match by removing the MEN. logistics ship before it could become a factor. R.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. used some real strange level of injunitiy, fitting XLASB Machariels with a supplementary armor tank to cover and repair damage when the XLASB were reloading. This in conjunction with solid piloting landed them a victory, and moved them into the winners bracket. Now will they stay here? I don't think so.


16:20 Goonswarm Federation vs Out of Sight. - Goons put on a show in round one. There's no doubt that this year their team has taken practicing and theory crafting as seriously as everyone else. Or they are doing a damn good job of trolling us all into believing that. Part of their convincing win was because the other team brought a brawler setup that just wasn't as good, and paid for it. That didn't change the fact that the Goons Vindicator based setup was a solid one. Out of Sight brought a under-shipped Sleipnir based four man setup. Strangely they are a statistical anomaly, bringing just four ships and winning against a 5 ship setup. I think the Goons arrive to win, and play for keeps, winning in the second round as well.


16:40 Dead Terrorists vs Team Liquid - If PL are the masters of the Minmatar rush by virtue of running it first and most successfully, then Dead Terrorist seem to be that origin point for the dual rook setup. In just match 2 of the first weekend, Dead Terrorists brought a setup that nobody had really had much success with, and cleared the floor of their opposition, handily disposing the often used Minmatar rush setup without a single loss. Team Liquid went to the other end of the extreme, and refined a mediocre setup, slapped some more speed on there and flew around abusing some armor tanked Sleipnirs. A good first showing, but it's unclear if that was more due to the caliber of their opponents, or due to their setup. Well now it's their chance to prove themselves against a historically dominant team in Dead Terrorists. I'm backing their play.


17:00 DarkSide. vs Verge of Collapse - DarkSide utterly rolled their opponents in the first round, using a unique setup that hasn't been duplicated since. Even after having reportedly lost some of their "key membership" they know how to put on a good show. I noted some good piloting but their setup was just so much better than the Brutix based setup they faced, that it was really never a contest. I look forward to see what they bring this time. Verge of Collapse scored with their first matchup, coming up against Tornadoes fitting artillery and otherwise poor choices. Once their Sleipnirs ran down the range, fought through some webs, and landed tackle, it was all over. From there on it was just cleanup. The VoC team showed well in the first round, but was never really in danger the entire match. Against DarkSide it is going to be a totally different story. I think a very close story. But in close matches, logic says to go with experience and proven ability.


17:20 The G0dfathers vs THE R0NIN - Battle of the Zero names! Couldn't have planned this one better myself. G0dfathers nuked TEST out of the water in the first round, but it was hardly because TEST brought a bad setup, instead it was because G0dfathers just looked way more on the ball and competent than TEST in the fight. They hope to roll that right on into their match today vs another team with a zero in their name, THE R0NIN. R0NIN punched DNS pretty hard, using a Black ops battleship as the baseline for their setup, they were able to eventually break down the DNS heavy tank setup. I'm rooting for the R0NIN here, the better of the two zero teams...


---------------


18:20 Suddenly Spaceships. vs RvB - Suddenly Spaceships, more like Suddenly DPS! Last match Seldarine and friends met up with another high DPS fit and utterly melted it. Their Vinidcator setup was even more effective against the blaster rush setup they faced than they could have hoped for. In fact, they tore right through them hardly looking back. Coincidentally, another fast-finisher, RvB, in fact a VERY fast finisher, is matched up against them. In the first round RvB dismantled their opponents, and look to do the same here, but keep in mind that both teams got enough points in the first round that all they really need are a few points in this round to keep them in the hunt for a position in the group rounds. Good luck to both sides.


18:40 Ev0ke vs The Gorgon Empire - Ev0ke had what I could call a clean THD in their first round. Their opponents made some mistakes (warping in their tackle/web loki at 0 to support their Maelstroms, who also warped in at 0, but Ev0ke took their mistakes and capitalized fully. Their setup was solid, if not a little overused by this time in the tourney. The Gorgon Empire surprised a lot of people with the manner in which they removed their round 1 opponents from the field. Their quick, brutal THD victory was impressive and well directed. This is a solid matchup, but it still is a tourney vet vs a relative newcomer. In a coin flip decision I am going to guess The Gorgon Empire surprises once again and comes up with a win.


19:00 Against ALL Authorities vs Northern Coalition. - AAA Cruised through their first match, losing only a single merlin in exchange for two Mach kills and a convincing win. They, as well, flew the favored Sleipnir setup, and flew it well, using damp merlins to keep damage off of their Sleipnirs while focusing fire to bring down first the hostile support and then the meat of the other team. Northern Coalition brutalized their opposition, also fielding the quite popular Sleipnir setup. Wonder if this will be another mirror match where both sides bring the same setup. Might not even be uncommon to see that on the second day, once certain setups start looking favorable. In any case, AAA has had their hands full in the past week, as have NC. so I am not sure who will have had the time to lock down some practices. All told I think I like AAA in this match.


19:20 Alpha Volley Union vs Pandemic Legion - Alpha Volley Union in the first weekend brought a unique setup that I am going to call "Amarr rush." Consisting of 2 Abso's, 1 Oneiros, 2 Griffins and a Rifter. Their opponents in Dark Taboo were either up way too late and started the match in shit fit ships or were just outclassed from the start, or perhaps even both. Alpha Volley was able to remove their opponents quickly either way, and secure a win. UNFORTUNATELY they are going up against Pandemic Legion, people who know what setup you are going to bring before you even bring it. Never a good place to be in the second round. Alpha Volley will have to pull out a trick of an entirely different nature against Pandemic. I wish them luck.


19:40 Agony Empire vs Exodus. - Agony Empire had a strong showing in the first week, obviously, scoring a total hell death, mainly due to their opponents being terrible (remember LSB and injector fit Tengu) than any chance to show real ability. The Agony Setup was more designed to not lose, than to win as convincingly as it did. In the second week they go against Exodus. As predicted Exodus did very well in the first week, fielding not one but two Vindicators, a setup where one seems to have been enough to rake in easy wins, well two was no different. This is going to be another one of those vaunted good fights, but how much of that will be decided before either team even makes it to the field, I'm not sure. I think Exodus has a great chance here for an upset win.


20:00 Heretic Nation vs Raiden. - The saviors of mother Amamake triumphed in round one, but I'm not sure it was due to any great skill on their part, and more of a major blunder on the part of their opponents. However despite their opponents shortcomings, Heretic nation did show up with a solid setup and to their credit, they didn't stop their opponents while they were making a mistake, and instead capitalized on it for a major win. Raiden. faced another poor opponent, who's choice of tracking disruptor on their Vigilants made about as much sense as bringing the Sabre's and then using them as tackle for Raiden. In a battle of who had the worse first round opponent I think Heretic Nation shows off their chops.


20:20 Tribal Conclave vs Fatal Ascension - Tribal Conclave led the charge against an understrength Shadow Cartel team in the first round. Had they faced off against a full powered team the results might have, and I would even venture to say, would have, been different. Vs Fatal Ascension who's first round effort made quite the CFC cheer, after wiping the field clean of opposition, but not without loss and I might add, not without some serious close calls. In the end I don't think it matters much, Tribal Conclave is meeting a surging FA team after an easy win. Only a solid setup from back to front will save them now, and I think FA has the answer.


20:40 HUN Reloaded vs THE SPACE P0LICE - HUN showed some later alliances how a Vargur should be fit with their first round victory. Smartbombs and neuts alongside Dual 650mm guns proved to be all the DPS they needed, along with a XLASB on each to mitigate incoming damage. I was foolish to choose against them in the first round. THE SPACE P0LICE managed to take out The Kadeshi, another favorite after performances years past in their first round, and in an impressive manner, arriving in four Talos' and removing the three opponent Tengu's with ease, losing only a pair of ships in the process. Helped a little by the bad piloting from the Kadeshi, running out of bounds and all that. Either way, I felt bad for not following my guy last week and betting against HUN, I won't make that mistake again, but I think I might be wrong anyways!


That concludes weekend #2, days 3 and 4 of Alliance tournament X (oh wait, they haven't been played yet, damn)


Up next : Results from the second weekend, predictions for the next weekend and a possible surprise post somewhere in between!

ATX : Week One predictions

Okay, more like random guesses and shots in the dark. Historically I have averaged a whopping 57.8% accuracy for the first week. So, let's just take these predictions with a grain of salt.

Eve Forums "predictions" thread -> HERE

Qualifying round 1 - Day 1 - 30th June (All times in UTC)

15:00 Agony Empire vs. Exiled Ones - Really a tough choice here, Agony Empire has been stepping up it's game in Nullsec recently, and showing some signs of serious improvement, despite being a training school. A lesser man wouldn't be familiar with Exiled Ones, but they are a smallish wormhole alliance. Unfortunately for them, I think the skill to win this matchup lies in the hands of Agony empire.

15:20 SOLAR FLEET vs. Dead Terrorists - Solar Fleet has made several appearances in previous Alliance tournaments, and made it into the Final day last year, they have always been successful in the qualifying rounds. Dead Terrorists made it deep into AT8, but were not chosen to participate in AT9. Looking at just history of the two teams, it is a fairly even matchup. Both have been here before, but SOLAR has the advantage with experience in the five man setups from AT9. A very different game than AT8. For that and the simple pool of pilots that SOLAR can pull from, compared to the 29 members of Dead Terrorists...

15:40 Lone Star Partners vs. Raiden. - After daring to give me the raspberry, Lone Star has a special place in my heart, and a tingly spot on my stomach. This corp hails from unknown space as well, but has a lot of balls, their killboards reflecting their desire to get in fights no matter where their exits. This is their first AT, so that will play against their chances, as will their rough first matchup vs Raiden. Raiden[dot] was in AT9, making it to the group stages before being defeated and pushed out the last day of group. However their experience and pilot pool will make for a tough matchup against alliance tourney newcomers like Lone Star Partners, and should garner their victory here.

16:00 The Kadeshi vs. The Space P0lice - The Kadeshi, sov holders in and around Catch, Feythabolis, Omist and Tenerifis boast a stronger pvp wing than they are given credit for, currently deployed to Delve. I wonder how much time the offensive has taken away from practicing because they face off against another AT veteran, The Space P0lice. The Space P0lice had a rough time in the AT last year, losing in the qualifying stages twice, and unable to make the group stages. This is a closer match than on paper, and I think though the Space P0lice will make a strong showing, The Kadeshi have a history of making it deep into the the AT.

16:20 Hun Reloaded vs. Perihelion Alliance - Now this is a matchup I am looking forward to. HUN exploded out of obscurity in AT4, winning the whole thing, while Perihelion has been making hell for their opponents in the past two AT's, including a win in the qualifiers that sealed Rote out of the group stages last year. In fact they didn't lose a single match all AT9 until the final day, losing to Darkside. The true runners up to Hydra/Outbreak in AT9. Will we see a resurgent HUN, aiming for their second crown? Or will the story be Perihelion stepping off to another good start?

16:40 Babylon 5.. vs. Nulli Secunda - Babylon squeaked through the qualifiers last year, with one loss and one victory, making it into the group stages before being defeated twice more to lock them out of the final day. Nulli on the other hand has some serious talent on their side, and no I am not talking about singing talent, in fact Nulli is a competent sov holding alliance, also out fighting in the Delve war, with some solid AT9 experience making it to the group stages as well, before facing some rough competition. In a matchup of nearly-there's, whos the winner? Maybe the song has something to do with it.

17:00 Noir Mercenary Group vs. Elysian Empire - Noir did not participate in AT9, but were in AT8, despite not making it through to the finals, their matches were close, but not as decisive as they prefer. Noir makes a living as Mercenaries and now more than ever, is a chance to show their skill in a stand up fight. The Elysian Empire are relative unknowns in comparison. But that's not to say they aren't ready for a challenge. As has been said before, living in a WH is not an easy life. The Empire is a strong force in WH space, and looks to highlight their skills against all comers in ATX. I see a close match here, and find it really tough to call.

17:20 RED.OVERLORD vs. R.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. - After RED made it to the finals in AT8, they did not compete in AT9, but get their chance again in ATX. Sov holders out in a huge swath of space in the South. Their competitors are an interesting matchup, small to their large, but as with any matchup never quite certain. R.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. are a set of pirates that seem to operate out of the lowsec in Caldari space. As with all pirates in the AT they stand just as good a chance in this match as any one else, as long as they have put the time in. Another good match, but one I think that RED might take in the end.

-- Intermission --

18:20 Fearless. vs. Sleeper Social Club - Neither have been in the AT over the last two years, so they start off with a level playing field in terms of experience. Fearless. is a Merc corp that operates their PvP wing out of lowsec to keep themselves sharp. They face off against the SSC, another Wormhole alliance, who have been looking forward to getting into the Alliance tournament. Both sides appear to be evenly matched and it will come down to the preparation, intel and some parts luck to determine the winner. Since SSC responded to my earlier post, I will go with them.

18:40 Darkside. vs. RAZOR Alliance - A regular pair of Veterans face off here, Darkside operates further south, than RAZOR does, in Sov, but both are strong pvp entities. Darkside has a strong history in the AT, making it to the final round last year, before losing to eventual champions Hydra/Outbreak in a very close match. RAZOR on the other hand fought their way through the qualifying stages of AT9 and made it just as far as Darkside, before being eliminate by the other half of the Hydra/Outbreak team. With Hydra and Outbreak out this year, is this a 6 v 6 of what the final would have looked like last year? I THINK SO!!! Darkside. ftw!

19:00 Get Off My Lawn vs. RvB - Old Syndicate residents, LAWN face off against highsec foreverwar partners Red Vs Blue. Red and Blue have a ton of PvP experience, but I wonder how much of a chance they had to get critical mass from their membership to flood the test server with training fights. LAWN showed some deft moves in AT9, getting into the group rounds before being swept there, going 0-3. Blue and Red (bestfed) participated in AT9, but Blue was eliminated in the qualifiers while Red made it into the group stages, going 1-2 and missing out on the finals by mere points. This is a tough choice for me here, But I will have to go with the corp/alliance I have been in before.

19:20 WHY so Seri0Us vs. Against ALL Authorities - WHY so Seri0Us owns their own small chunk of Sov, close to the massive Sov holdings of -AAA- Both sides are active pvpers, but who will show up with the better setup? They look to be blue to each-other in space, the perfect time to settle some of those nasty blue on blue desires. I will side with the underdog here, at the risk of being wrong.

19:40 Exodus vs. Bruderschaft der Pilger - Exodus is a pvp alliance in the curse region, and are quite active, and good. Rote had the luck to practice some 12v12 setups against these guys and they rocked our world. Bruderschaft is a part wormhole alliance and part nullsec alliance, made up of several corps that band together when they are needed but otherwise operate in either Curse, or WH independently. If there ever was the AT battle for Curse, this would be it.

20:00 Goonswarm Federation vs.  BricK sQuAD. - Goons, well.. Goons, they didnt make it into group stages in AT9, but fought some close matches none the less. In AT8 they showed moment of brilliance, but were unable to capitalize. This year seems to be the year of the Goons, wouldn't it be interesting to see them sweep the table and win the AT as well? BricK sQuAD. on the other hand, favored the triple Tengu setup last year, but it served them well, giving them a solid win in the first round and then a major loss in the second round. If Eve is any indication, I expect Oracles from them. My money is still on BricK after they beat up on test in the opening round last year.

20:20 Out of Sight vs. Pure Madness - OoS looks like everyone will underestimate them, that's going to be costly, they are doing a good job at PvP but I haven't seen them on the test server, while I have seen Pure Madness on there at all hours. Both have fought in Syndicate on and off, so I look forward to this match, though I think it will be close. I am guessing Pure Madness

20:40 The Veyr Collective vs. Northern Coalition. - I wish I knew more about The Veyr collective. It looks like the spend some time flying with Matari Exodus, but who knows how much of that good can rub off. To make matters worse, they get a brutal first round matchup with NC. Northern Coalition[dot] was in AT9 but unable to make it into the group stages despite going 1-1, with a fairly good win over The Space P0lice. Unfortunately, their first matchup didn't yield them enough points to make it into the next round.

End of Day one.

*Whew!* -Look, this is a shitload of work to write all this crap down so now we go to abbreviated version for Day 2 of the qulifiers! Sorry if I get some of my info wrong, or short-change your alliance -

Qualifying round 1 - Day 2 - 1st July (All times in UTC)

15:00 Dark Taboo vs. Alpha Volley Union - Nobody here responded to my questioneer. Bastards. That aside, Dark Taboo operates out of what looks like WH's and somewhere in or close to badsville. Something to the tune of this killmail... Wow that's bad. AVU It doesn't even matter, if you can't beat people that do that to their own members. Go home.

15:20 Manifest Destiny. vs. Verge of Collapse - Manifest Destiny are mostly small gang, lowsec Pvpers it seems like, running gangs in Amarr lowsec and making life hell for people down there. Verge of Collapse is telling anyone who will listen that they are bad. So that usually indicates the opposite. I am going to go out on a limb here and say Verge of Collapse is going to win this matchup.

15:40 Shadow Cartel vs. Tribal Conclave - Shadow Cartel is perhaps best known as one of the larger and more successful pirate alliances in New Eden at the moment. They also provide a home for such notorious villians as Nassh and Helicity Boson. They are a roaming pvp alliance at heart, operating out of the Gallente Militia zones, fighting all takers. Tribal Conclave on the other hand are virtual unknowns, who operate out in Scalding Path with Imperial Legion and friends against Gypsy band (whom I hope they will fight later on). My heart is always with the pirates. Good luck Shadow Cartel.

16:00 Dystopia Alliance vs. Pandemic Legion - Second to top most important match of the first weekend. Dystopia Alliance has all the members of the GHSC, in addition so such noteables as Tyrrax Thorrk and Istavaan S. Pandemic Legion is looking to step back up and claim their fourth AT title giving them the most in AT history to date (they are currently tied with BoB with three. It will be a close match where intel and meta-gaming will be more important than fittings and pilot skill.

16:20 Heretic Nation vs. Romanian Legion - Heretic Nation fly around "mother" ammamake, defending her from all who would rape and pillage her. No seriously. Active PvPers in that region, you can always trust that they are never too far from the first asteroid belt, and always in force. Having said that Romanian Legion are not a force to be forgotten. I think Heretic Nation takes this one in a close match.

16:40 Ev0ke vs. Wormhole Holders - Ev0ke are a powerful and last I looked, competent PvP Alliance who flies out in Geminate and Vale of the Silent, owning a considerable amount of space up there. The Wormhole Holders are a developing WH alliance looking for that elusive good fight and a chance to spread their name and influence, not to mention hopefully attract new pvpers to their ranks by performing well in the AT. Unfortunately for them, it will be an uphill battle vs Ev0ke. But I wish them luck.

17:00 The R0NIN vs. Dirt Nap Squad - The R0NIN are small gang guys who hang out in Syndicate, killing everything that comes in their path. Effective gang fighters, they need to step up their tactics a notch to be able to compete in the Alliance Tournament. I say that mostly tongue in cheek because last year the R0NIN made it all the way to the group stages before facing a gauntlet of skilled opponents, losing 2 of 3 fights and not making it into the finals. DNS, I didn't think you could BOBS bridge into the AT? Dirt Nap Squad is arguably most famous for it's proclivity towards dropping... everything... on everyone. At any chance they get. DNS Hasn't been in the AT in a few years, but I still expect good things. Close match here, but I am going to go with R0NIN.

17:20 Gypsy Band vs. Curatores Veritatis Alliance - Gypsy Band is a Curse based, small gang, vs large alliance PvP alliance. As I have said before and no doubt will say again, Alliances based in NPC space tend to do well vs CVA, I don't know why this is, but it stands pretty true. Okay Okay, CVA did make it to the Final day in AT8 and lost to the exact same people Rote lost to. I'll give them some respect. But not much.

-- Intermission --

18:20 Fatal Ascension vs. Kill it with fire - I think a forum post said it all accurately, Kill FA with fire. FA just completed a stint in Syndicate, bring joyous kills to the masses. Though I do tip my hat to them for taking some of the fights they got in. Kill it with fire on the other hand, is another Wormhole alliance, friends with the SSC, but self sufficient WH pvpers with a strong background in small gangs. This usually lends itself well to the atmosphere of the AT, and it will be interesting to see if FA had the time to practice with all their redeployments.

18:40 Rote Kapelle vs PERCUSSIVE PIZZA TIME DIPLOMACY - Refuse to comment on Rote, but PERCUSSIVE also known by their former name Percussive Diplomacy are no laughing matter despite their funny name. I'm not sure if it is a gambit to make people underestimate them or just searching for a laugh, but these Gallente milita pilots do well both in the war and out of it.

19:00 Capital Punishment. Vs. Suddenly Spaceships - I'll be the first to admit that there is some bad blood between Capital Punishment and Rote Kapelle. To be honest though, TEXN and friends are a formidable force even if we didn't get along with them in the long run. They will be facing a tough challenge against eve celebrity led Suddenly Spaceships. Seldarine is one of the premier pilots in eve if you have never heard of him before, and this latest alliance incarnation could be one of the toughest. Stationed out in Curse, Suddenly Spaceships focus on 5-15 man gangs and roaming combat. They are long-time vets of the AT, having participated in the last 8. Will this be the year they step up and deliver a championship?

19:20 Black Legion. vs. Mildly Intoxicated - [MEN.] How I love your ticker, and your work. You do gods work out there, especially in your Muninn fleets. Okay maybe those are a little last-year, but I still lub ya! Black Legion[dot] hold sov in one system in Vale of the Silent, but have been harassing people since inception. Solid pvpers they have been operating Alpha fleets since before it was cool. Never afraid to "punch up" these are a team to watch this year. Mildly Intoxicated is not an alliance I am as familiar with, but I do know of ookke though I am not sure he is good enough to carry the rest of the team past the favorites in this match. In a split decision amongst my personalities, I chose Black Legion as well.

19:40 The Forth District vs. The Gorgon Empire - 4th District is a Providence based alliance, and quite good at what they do from all appearances. That being small to mid sized PvP, and holding a small amount of Sov. They face off against The Gorgon Empire, a Curse based, NPC null alliance interested in showing off their PvP skill and knowledge by racking up some wins in ATX. It will be a tough fight, as both sides are looking to prove themselves. In the end, the Curse region has probably sharpened The Gorgons to a keener edge.

20:00 No Holes Barred vs. Team Liquid - No Holes barred is a WH Alliance, looking to make a name for itself, vs a team that already has a name for itself, in another game. Team Liquid is a Starcraft clan, and a very successful one. I think it was best said that their fits will have been EFTed to death. Now it's just the execution that could mess it all up.

20:20 Choke Point vs. Fluffeh Bunneh Murder Squad - Chokepoint is another successful Northern Alliance, PvPing in and around some of the big entities around Geminate and roaming all across eve at times. They face off against some Fluffeh Bunnies, terrors of WH space, who want to mislead everyone into thinking they are harmless Jita miners in awe of Chribba. Their deception won't work on me!

20:40 The G0dfathers vs. Test Alliance Please Ignore - Oh jesus, nearly done! Fuck it, G0ds pretty much split in half, and this half joined up for some Squid Facwar shooting at them nasty Feds. TEST is well, TEST, and after having done so badly last year, they might be looking for some redemption. TEST is showing signs of improvement in game, but we shall see. I wish them luck but wonder if G0ds have what's needed to take them out.

End of Day Two

Good Lord, no wonder I hated doing these posts, this took forever >.< I will have to start on monday next week so it will be done by Friday!

Enjoy! Streams start tomorrow.