-=Match Reports=-

MKC Team:  Spiritos, REViLLA, kD, Caldazar.

Looking at some previous results of HSC's (unfortunately not the Morph result as HSC were awarded a default win which is a shame - Morph are usually quite reliable), it looked like this could be a close one and it didn't disappoint.....

The maps to be played this week were Codex and Conveyor - both maps which MKC had never played competitively (our opponents for these maps last season, DBM, never showed-up :(  ). These maps are almost opposites of each other - Codex is quite a tight, small-ish map whereas Conveyor is one of the largest and spans multiple levels. As a consequence, the gameplay on both is expected to be different - fast and furious on Codex and slower, perhaps more tactical on Conveyor.

Codex
HSC started this one with 3 players, with [HSC]HornY not getting onto the server for about 10 minutes. Possibly as a result of this, HSC's tactics may have been less than hoped for - the game was considerably one-sided for this first half, MKC reaching a 43-19 score at the latter end of this half.

kD's Head-Hunting method

HSC seemed to adjust their tactics a little after this and with [HSC]HornY joining in, they started to work more as a group seemingly concentrating on the central floor area and the SR/armour platform off to the side. Indeed, this is where most of the action took place for the remainder of this map. kD and [HSC]Skunk battled each other for this central area as well as top spot on the server - eventually both players finishing with 36 frags each, but Skunk certainly coming off worse in the deaths area: 42 for Skunk compared to 16 for kD).

central floor area
(during one of its quieter moments!)

There was almost continuous, furious action in these two areas for the last part of this game, but because of the small-ish size of this map, neither side could hold on to either area for any significant length of time at all - there were always players from both sides in both areas.

HSC did mount a commendable comeback, but MKC held on with the score at 90-79 in MKC's favour with about 1/2mins left in the game when the server 'stopped' and loaded the next map in the rotation! Quite a few "wtf?" 's later and the admin had said he would contact Borg (Borg, being the BWUTL Head-Admin) about what to do. (Borg's eventual decision was to leave the result to stand as there was very little time left in the match - both clans accepting this).

Conveyor
Admin Choddo had said (paraphrasing here), "Let's get onto the 2nd game, see what Borg says after". The server restarted with the Conveyor map, under a little confusion - some players on both sides were unsure if we had started the actual match, but we had - Chaaarge :)

Talk about an interesting game - this had a little reversal of fortunes and then a period of stability.

Both teams had their tactics worked out here and both seemed to be after the same places (not really a surprise). The top level contains a good few items and weapons and so was a great point of contention, as was the Damage Amp area. However, these two areas are at opposite ends of the map from each other and this is a big map so the players on each team tend to be spread out a bit more. Despite this however, there was no lack of action or tension - 5 minutes into the game and both teams were tied at 13-13.

rate of attrition

Then came the reversal of fortunes I mentioned. Just 60 seconds later, MKC found themselves down by 10 (15-25) after a run of frags from HSC. With the potential threat of HSC starting to pull away, MKC responded very well and in fact around 3 minutes later, MKC were leading by 11 frags (35-24). 

Caldazar lets loose with his minigun

However, that was it as far as clear space between the teams got - HSC clawed back MKC's 11 frag lead and it was pretty much neck-and-neck after that. With just over 5 minutes left, the teams were again tied, this time at 51-51.

2v2 in a side-corridor

The last five minutes must have seen a river of sweat pouring from the foreheads of both sets of players - tense was not the word! The tit-for-tat exchanges continued with neither side making any significant charge for the lead. About 60 seconds left in the game and still the teams couldn't be separated, a 65-65 scoreline showing. Four frags and 30 secs later it was 67-67!! What could happen in the 30 seconds left in the game? A lot actually!

Looks like the good ol' MKC self-destruct button is still in working order! A cratering by one of MKC's players (who shall remain nameless cos I ain't that much of a bast >;)  ), reduced MKC's score to 66. That seemed to 'spark' things off - within quick succession, HSC managed 3 frags off 2 MKC players and the match was finally settled 70-66 in HSC's favour.

This was a very tense, tough, action-packed game and I think a number of the players on both sides certainly felt they had been in a game after this one. Well played to HSC for making this such a good game and perhaps a split of the points over the 2 maps was a fair result, both teams seemingly closely matched (wonder if we'll meet again next season?).

As a point of interest, or just another one of my banal musings, TW and EE played their Division 2 game on these maps last night as well, and their game followed the pattern of ours: EE won on Codex by a clear margin, but on Conveyor, they lost...by 4 frags...exactly the same as us! (Both EE and ourselves would have won this match overall however if it was played under the rules of the GI Sur-5-vor league which uses the overall score to calculate match winners; but hey, "if" is a powerful word :)  ).

Something else for you as well - if you're curious to see what our opponents for this match, HSC, had to say about this game, you can read their version of events by clicking this link.

Summary: 

[MKC]Spiritos 21/09/00

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