AT8 round 2 Day 2 predictions, where the tough teams come to fight.

AT8 Day 2, with that pesky USA v England match over we can go back to focusing on AT8!  Unless you are following Germany v Aussies or Ghana and Slovenia.

Day two looks like it will be a good one, with some matches that won't matter in the overall points standing (just like day 1) but should be fun to watch anyways!

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.

Who cares about PI? AT8 Round 2 schedule out! Day 1 predictions.

Okay really it felt like we had to wait a week to get the results all mathed out and find out from CCP who we would be facing.  All early indications looked that Rote Kapelle would be ranked at second place behind .-A-. who we would likely be fighting in round 2.

Pictures from the FLICKR set of Winterblink for AT8.

Now the official results have been released!  Post week one rankings can be found here.  Rote was indeed ranked two, right behind AAA!  Our opponents in the first round are ranked 58th, the one point we gave them helping them edge above the dregs.

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.