NGL-one And Two

NGL-one’s second season got underway a coupe of weeks ago and brought with it the induction of their second division. A whole host of teams not quite on the level of NGL-one are competing for the chance to scrap that idea and make it to the top flight’s third season next year. Amongst them are WC3L standard teams like Hoorai, SK Germany and Verge.

The second match day kicked off last Tuesday with an all-German clash between ID and SK. SK’s WC3L status it was something of a surprise when ID emerged 4-3 winners but three impressive wins by LiiLD.C paved the way to victory for the up-and-coming side. Three days later, Praetoriani also squeezes out a narrow 4-3 victory over n!faculty. Here it was TeRRoR who made the difference for the Dutch-based team, winning three games in a row after his team went down 3-1 early on.

With two close games to start the week off it was about time for a hammering, wasn’t it? mYm’s Scandinavian team almost gave us that but DeLfiR saved his CoolTronik team the blushes of a walkover by picking up a point against Ciara. On the same day, aVant Garde faced starComa. Both teams were looking for their first win of the season and it was the Americans who claimed it with a 4-2 victory over a struggling German team. After two games starComa sit bottom of the table and with a match day three fixture against ID they don’t look to be improving that situation any time soon.

The most anticipated match of the week won’t be played until Saturday but it should be worth the wait. Two of the favourites for promotion meet up in an (almost) all-American clash of the titans. If you compare Hoorai and Verge in terms of WC3L form, Nilknarf and co. are clear favourites in this game. However, recent results in solo tournaments are a little more clouded. Hoorai’s shining light for most of 2006 has been Nilknarf but he has struggled in solo tournaments recently. Pato’s victory in the Pan-AM tournament last weekend will give him confidence, though, and if he can fill the void his Human team-mate has left then this should still be a victory for his team.

Just one game was played in the NGL-one and HoT dominated it. SK breezed home to a 4-0 rout against a disappointing Serious Gaming.

WC3L Playoffs

WC3L offline finals without SK?! That’s right folks, they’re out. In the most heart-breaking of circumstances, SK lost out to mYm in the playoffs and will not be attending the LAN finals in a few weeks time. Moon’s apparent return to form held strong as he started the game off by overcoming Sweet 2-0. It was soon 1-1, however, as Zacard, perhaps surprisingly, beat out Storm in a ridiculously tense three game series, which included two “MUST SEE!” replays on the WC3L page. Another incredible game followed as Deadman overcame Lucifer, also creating what I consider to be the best replay of the whole week. Watching the game live, the lag issues only added to the tension as Deadman brought home another point for SK.

At 2-1 things were looking good for SK but the good fortune would end there for WC3L’s tenth season. After single-handedly beating Serious in NGL earlier in the week it was back down to Earth with a particularly nasty bump for the Ukraine’s favourite WC3 son. He was seen-off by Susiria and the game would come down to the 2 on 2. SK went with their typical East European duo of Deadman and Hot while mYm went with tradition and picked Moon alongside Lucifer. Another must see game put the Asian’s in front after a very hard-fought game. Just one map stood between mYm and a playoff spot and they found it on Twisted Meadows. 2-0 in the 2on2 meant mYm was 3-2 victors and despite an on/off season they still have the chance to retain their WC3L title.

In other WC3L news, the unpredictable Team ONE folded again and will not be taking part in the “playdowns”. Instead, ESL has decided that three remaining teams will play a mini tournament between themselves. The bottom-placing team will have to endure the seasonal qualification tournament alongside mTw and Verge.

Finally, ToD lost his King of The Hill crown to HoT in a below par performance from the Frenchman. SK’s Ukrainian superstar stole the show with a convincing 3-0 victory; some consolation, perhaps, at missing out on the finals.

Slow Week

A pretty slow week in terms of top-flight WC3 action, then, but with the NGL starting to move into top gear and the Winter inCup season soon to begin things are bound to pick up in the coming weeks. The WC3L finals, thought not yet announced can’t be far away either. All-in-all there is a lot to look forward to as a WC3 fan. Keep your eyes on GotFrag for all the coverage you’ll need, continuing with NGL-one and two this week.