Pictures from the FLICKR set of Winterblink for AT8.
The official schedule for round 2 can be found here and day one will be broken down below. I was so crap at week one I'm not sure ANYONE should listen to me, but I was right where it counts! So I will continue to spew on the topic. 50% isn't bad right? RIGHT?!
Saturday 12th June
15:00 Snatch Victory v OWN Alliance - At the start of the Snatch match it looked so much like Snatch were setup for some dominating drone DPS and that's right when things started to go wrong. Everyone was expecting "Drone swarm" but nobody was expecting this. Instead of launching high-damage sentries that would hurt the ranged DPS of Space P0lice, they dropped shield maint drones and Hammerhead II's. I can remember the collective "what the HELL" coming from our vent channel. So close to a viable, great setup, but so far. Even worse is looking at their lossmails, most of them had sentry drones in their cargo, ready, but never deployed. OWN on the other hand suffered mightily at the hands of a G0Dfather Bomber smackdown. Only able to recover enough to kill two bombers in return. At least their setup was used as best as could be expected, I give the nod to OWN on this one.
15:20 Interstellar Alcohol Conglomerate v Soldiers of Thunderstorm - IAC's first match ended roughly, but it wasn't because of a poor setup, someone just brought the rock to their scissors. IAC used a high-speed minmatar setup that fell in front of their opponents Nighthawk and Drake precision missile based setup. The match was over in under 4 minutes, IAC managing to kill just a few ships before being removed from the field. SoT on the other hand, were crushed in convincing fashion despite their isk and skill intensive setup. Fielding 3 Proteus, all buffer tanked with a Guardian, Domi and Damnation working to keep them alive was no match for their opponents NEG10. The fact that SoT also fielded two battle haulers, arguably wasting needed points to counter a high DPS team like NEG10 makes me wonder. In a match of two people who were easily crushed like these teams, who do I pick? I voted against both of them last round and was correct both times! (A rarity I assure you!) IAC brount a Minmatar based team, carrying my favor this time.
15:40 Veni Vidi Vici v Honourable Templum of Alcedonia - V3's first match ended in a loss, and I'm betting it was because of poor fittings for the task at hand on their missile based ships. Those Griffin's seemed to barely be taking damage at all, they should have had precision missiles loaded and those griffins would have been dying in a hurry. Alcedonia on the other hand faced the brually effective setup fielded by Voltron. HTA was outmatched, and handled easily by the Voltron setup, paired Geddons and Bhaalgorn, striking down easily what could have been a more effective setup. HTA did focus fire and attempted to even the odds, but a strange mix of shield tanking, armor repair logistics and the Curse really showed a lack of cohesion on the HTA team. HTA v V3 should be an interesting match, I think HTA wins, V3 still reeling from their loss to EM.
16:00 Noir. Mercenary Group v Indecisive Certainty - Noir. were the favorites going into their match, up until their FC was embarrassed by failing to switch targets off a Bait basilisk and onto a viable target. This inflexibility will haunt them in the fluid battles they face in round 2. I have to believe that the lesson was heeded. Last year Noir. improved greatly from round 1 to 2. AWFUL is not just the ticker of Indecisive Certainty. Their Logistics was locked out early in their round one match by creative use of sensor damps and applied DPS. Looking at their setups in hindsight, a lot of their fleet's utility was wasted. The scimitar likely capped out early in the fight, or was pinned by the fitting of a MWD and a EHP tank on the shields. Even the utility from increased rep drones were seemingly overlooked, Hammerhead II's sitting in the 40m3 drone bay of the Scimitar instead. Making me wonder what was in that last 20m3. Easily going for Noir. here.
16:20 Silver Twilight Enterprises v Erebus Alliance - Silver Twilight lost their first round match to none other than Rote. Let me dissect their setup in more general terms than previously. Their ravens were supposed to be solid DPS platforms, with Rook and Kitsune support, but were removed too quickly to do anything. Their setups weren't solid but seemed to have some thought behind them. Sp can be a problem as well as I noticed several t1 components, at least go for best named. Erebus on the other side were utterly crushed by the DPS of 3 Mach's in the last and fastest match of Day 1 round 1. Excellent execution of the Mach setup led to the quick death of Erebus's entire fleet. However the Erebus setup seemed to have some teeth before they were kicked in. I think I am going to have to back Erebus for now, but my heart votes for Silver.
16:40 Arbeitaholics Anonymous v Ivy League - AA's first match was a disaster. Their setup was lost before it even joined the field. Minmatar's key weaknesses are low sig strength so easily jammed, relying on speed to tank, thus relying on capacitor to keep the speed up. Since the AA team was hugely reliant on Minmatar hulls, they were easily neutralized and jammed by the ECM heavy opponents and then out Minmatar-ed by the lone Mach on the other team. It was a rough fight for their team. Ivy League faced the first 3 Vindicator setup, but lack of tackle was their real downfall. Despite fielding 4 Destroyer hulls to keep the Vindi's at range and kill tackle the 2 Golems and Vulture were easy targets despite their cap transfer for teh Vindicators 1k dps per ship (likely). Poor FCing may have led to lack of jams on the Oneiros, and focused fire there for too long. Setups reveal that the Rook's of Ivy League were multispec fit, but apparently were still ineffective against the uni-race setup like their opponents used. I think both teams could have done better against different opponents, and now they get their chance. Ivy League squeaks out a win in this one.
17:00 Eve Engineering v Intrepid Crossing - EE faced off against R.A.G.E alliance, a late entrant into the tourney to replace the defunct Goons Alliance. EE should have had the better chance here, since their setups should have been tested and re-tested while RAGE had very little time to put something together. However the opposite was true and RAGE carried the day easily, in my mind highlighting the fact the EE failed to put the due time into tourney work. IRC on the other hand lost but made every effort to stick around and fight through the heavy ECM and reps of the opposing team. IRC clearly has spent the time figuring out fits and tactics, giving them the easy nod to win this match.
17:20 Huzzah Federation v The Star Fraction - Huzzah broke down the match very well in their own post match words. Stating that their first round opponents stuck close, capitalizing on remote reps and drones to survive the fire from the three Mach's on the field. Huzzah had very bad luck and lost a ton of isk in the first round, but their tactics were proven solid by the wins created by Machs fielded in other matches in the first round. Interestingly, the two teams that lost while fielding Mach's will be facing one another. Star Fraction(SF) lost 3 Mach's in a similar fashion for the last match of Day 2. While some of us RK peeps got all pants on head happy, I was still sad to see three Mach's die so quickly. SF claims to have faced extensive Minmatar Jammer use in the first round, crippling their dps for much of the fight, but I contend that as usual Minmatar ships have a low sensor strength, making them easier on average to jam. Also the DPS coming from those ships has a tough time on shields, unless at closer ranges with Phased Plasma and EMP, even then, a tough match for shield resists. In this match I see Huzzah rising up to take down SF for the win just before the break on Day 1.
Break - Rens cam this time?
18:20 THE SPACE P0LICE v The G0dfathers - PIGS aka the Space P0lice faced a poor setup and even worse FC in the first round, facing little incoming fire or DPS they had their run of the fight. Fielding the Drake/Raven/Missile spam setup was solid though the DPS output was lacking. G0DS bombing run was the key to their victory in round 1. They placed their opponents in deep damage early on in the match, making the most of their bomber DPS and crushing the other side. From there they could just mop up, a well thought out but counterable setup. I still think that G0DS win. BTW This is the first match where either or both sides won in round 1.
18:40 The Wrong Alliance v Electus Matari. - ERROR are coming off a good showing in round 1, their rock type setup dealt well with the scissors setup employed by IAC in round 1. Using their bigger tanks, and tackle and precise missile damage against a speed setup was a great match up. EM had a slightly harder time with their match, but was able to keep their Griffin's alive long enough to kill off their round 1 opponents. Their tactics were solid as was their fit, losing only their tackle while killing everything on the field. Since both teams used close to the same fits as a core of their setups in round 1 it will be tough to predict what will be fielded in round 2. That being said I think ERROR has a slight advantage here as my guy says that EM comes back with a similar if not the same setup in round 2.
19:00 Negative Ten. v WE FORM VOLTRON - Negative ten pulls a tough match this round against likely favorites Voltron. Both teams have 125 points for complete victories last round, so with around 50-75 more points even if you lose round 2 you could still qualifiy to move into the next round. NEG10 brought a strong but low sp based setup that focused on damage and versatility, removing their round 1 opponents quickly. Voltron focused on damage and more damage, Geddons and Bhaalgorn ripping through their opponents quickly, while small fast tackle and the Bhaalgorn held them in place. NEG10 will be pressed to get the points needed to move on out of this match, I think Voltron will be the winners. Good luck to NEG10 for the upset on this one, or at the very least enough points to move forward to the finals.
19:20 Circle-Of-Two v RED.OVERLORD - Circle made short work of the AWFUL team, using a clearly tested and thought out strategy to pin down the logistics support of their opponents and eliminate the most threatening bits of their setup first. ROL on the other hand showed up with one of the first and most wildly successful setups of Mach's in the tourney. They used the superior range and tracking of the pirate BS to full effect here, easily dispatching their foes. This is a very solid setup from two teams that put out impressive performances in their round 1 matches. I think CoT brings a different setup and manages a win, narrowly, ROL still advances.
19:40 Atlas Alliance v T o r m e n t u m - Atlas clearly has spaiz but have they infiltrated T o r m e n t u m? This will truly test their intelligence network as well as their skills in setups should their intelligence fail them. T o r were able to pull the victory out against SF supposedly (according to Jade) due to their subterfuge skills as well. Spaiz or not, both sides will need to bring their "A" team and game to defeat the other. T o r m e n t u m is clearly the underdog here so worthy of my support, I hope they have another win up their sleeves.
20:00 Get Off My Lawn v THE R0NIN - LAWN proved they didn't need my luck, or did they use all of it? Yard stomping their competition in the first round with a well thought out setup and clearly defined tactics. THE R0NIN team fielded a unique setup, a rarity in any tournament. They were able to capitalize on t3's with rep drones, a logistics Guardian and high DPS. Once in range they had no trouble working through the lower EHP of the Machariels they face, eliminating all three. Both LAWN and R0NIN fielded good, stable setups, utilizing EWAR and drones to best effect to disable and kill or tank and kill their enemies. I hope LAWN brings on the luck and skill here and pulls out ahead.
20:20 R.A.G.E v SOLAR FLEET - R.A.G.E, late entrants will now have a full week to prepare, making them even more deadly than they were in round one. In round one they crushed Eve Engineering but this time their opposition is vastly improved. They face off against SOLAR FLEET, who in their first round managed a DPS heavy win over Ivy League. Both teams will have to work hard this week preparing for the match as their opposition just got much more difficult. I hope R.A.G.E continues ahead, but they will likely lose just enough to advance SOLAR to the next round.
20:40 death from above.. v Leguinea Romana - DFA shocked us all but Jager Da. His former Alliance mates prepped well for their first match, eliminating the heavily favored Noir. team with a well planned trap. Noir fell into their tarpit of DPS and allowed them to cause crippling damage while taking little themselves. The Basilisk trap setup was a master-stroke, but it remains to be seen if they can survive against a FC who changes primary. Truly they won both intellectually and in the crazyness of their match, but can they carry it on with another win in the second round? Leguinea Romana fought a long duel against EMO in the first round. Failing to secure the much needed totalhelldeath of their opponents by one ship. Their setup featured Dominix Drone boats, supported by Curor tackle frigates and logistics drones. They traded ship for ship up until the end, barely outclassing their opponent. DFA can advance with a minimal showing in points, but is likely to shoot for complete victory while LR will need to grasp every point it can from this match to advance to the next round. DFA pull this one out, blocking LR from advancing, and securing their spot as the dark horse of AT8.
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Tomorrow is a new day with new breakdown predictions for day two round two of AT8, including the top ranked faceoff between AAA and Rote Kapelle, as well as other notable fights : Cry Havoc v Brick Squad, HYDRA RELOADED v Old Intentions, and HUN Reloaded v BANE.
