[ACL inmaniac]

On the weekend of 21-22 April 2012 the Australian Cyber League hosted its second National event of 2012. The event was held at the University of New South Wales’ Roundhouse and played host to the best gamers from all over Australian and New Zealand.

It’s already been a week since the ACL Sydney National event and there is still a buzz in the air. Hundreds of gamers from all over Australia and New Zealand converged on the Roundhouse in Sydney to prove who is the best in their chosen game, and there has never been more at stake at an ACL event. Pride, bragging rights and thousands of dollars in cash and prizes were up for grabs to the victors. Pressure was on our gamers, and they did not disappoint, putting on a show across all of ACL’s supported games, the competition was fierce.

Fast becoming one of the flasgship games of the ACL Pro Circuit, the Starcraft 2 competition was one of the most exciting, with 66 players in total battling it out for the top spots, first through the open bracket to get into the pro groups, and then from there into our Championship double elimination bracket, where the best of the best fight it out for the top spots and the prizes.

We’ll skip straight to the pointy end of the competition. After group stages, these were the top 8 players by seeding:

1. xGKing.Pokerface
2. xGKing.JazBas
3. Nv.mOOnGLaDe
4. Tt.PiG
5. Mf.TargA
6. SQL.Ninja
7. xGKing.MaFia
8. GoSu.tgun

Something to note would be that ALL 8 players played as Zerg.

In the early stages of the Championship bracket, games to note would have to be the series of Pig vs Targa, where Pig knocked Targa into the losers bracket in a 2-1 series. Also, no one could forget the match-up of Moonglade vs Mafia. Although it was won by Moonglade in a 2-0 fashion, both games were nail-biting. In the first game, Moonglade held off a Roach timing push from Mafia with what looked like no army and a spine crawler or two. The game turned into a 30 minute 200-200 match with Moonglade’s Macro and unit upgrades eventually winning him the match fairly convincingly.

In game 2, Mafia decided to try a 10-pool, even using the extractor trick to get a couple more units. He ran in with his Zerglings and even pulled the Drones for the attack. Moonglade happened to spot this half way across the map with his Overlord and cancelled his Hatch he put down. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the build-timer of Moonglade’s own Spawning Pool, as the push from Mafia ran up the ramp. With some amazing micro, Moonglade was able to fend off the attack until he got a few Zerglings of his own. Somehow, to everyone’s astonishment, even the casters, Moonglade fended off the attack before Mafia GG’d and Moonglade won the match and the series.

Moving on to the Top 3 players, we saw Pig taking on Moonglade in the Winners Bracket Finals, in which he lost 2-1, which saw him up against Targa, whom he eliminated in the first round of the Winners bracket. Both Targa and Pig won a game each, before Targa won the third game and walked away the victor, going into the Championship match against Moonglade. Although both were close games by these skilled players, Moonglade claimed victory over Targa in the final, being named Champion of ACL’s Sydney National event, the second time he has claimed this title this year after his win back at the Gold Coast event.

When all was said and done, the Top 6 was as follows. Congratulations to our winners!

1. Nv.mOOnGLaDe
2. Mf.TargA
3. Tt.PiG
4. SQL.Ninja
5/6. GoSu.tgun
5/6. xGKing.MaFia

You Tube

You Tube

Gears of War 3 is the newest title to be added to ACL’s Pro Circuit, after showing massive popularity in our online events and in the recent GAMECOM Gauntlet. ACL Sydney would be Gears’ first LAN event in Australia for most people since 2007, and the first live event held by ACL.

7 teams made their way to the event to duke it out for the top spot in this brand new game. It was the big names in the Gears scene, however, that showed their dominance. Legacy, Reborn and Malice all proved to be the hardest teams to beat and eventually proved they had what it takes to take the Top 3 spots.

Going into Day 2, one team pulled out, leaving 6 teams to play in the double elimination bracket. Reborn disposed of Innate Behaviour as did Envious with RNG. It was then favourites of the competition, Legacy, who would come up against the rising force that was Reborn. After an incredibly close to-and-fro series, Legacy eventually won the series 3-2, knocking Reborn into the losers bracket.

Not to lay around sulking, Reborn quickly put their game face back on to 3-0 RNG in the losers bracket, eliminating them from competition. Also in losers bracket, Envious took on Innate Behaviour to move on in the competition and only just snatched the victory, winning the series 3-2 and also eliminating Innate.

Towards the end of the competition, it was nothing but close matches and indeed, close series’. Legacy had an amazing winners bracket final up against Malice, eventually toppling them and winning in another 3-2 series. Malice would then play Reborn in the losers bracket finals, but it seemed their loss to Legacy got into their heads a little too much, and they lost 3-0 to Reborn.

Going into the Championship match, we had a Best-of-11 continuation series of Legacy vs Reborn, and what a series it was! As it was continuation, Legacy started the series up 3-2, however, Reborn quickly won the first game to make it 3-3 in the series. The games would then go one for one to each team until it eventually came down to the last game in the series. Both teams played brilliantly, with Legacy just edging out Reborn becoming ACL’s first National champs for Gears of War 3. Here were the final results:

1. Legacy
2. Reborn
3. Malice
4. Envious
5/6. Innate Behaviour
5/6. RNG

You Tube

You Tube

Continuing its streak of being the most popular console game of 2012, the competition of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 consisted of 12 of the best teams Australia had to offer. ACL live event regulars Mindfreak, VoxE, Fray and Cruelty Incarnate were all in attendance, with those same names eventually taking the tops spots. With a $1000 first prize, the competition was some of the most intense an ACL event has seen.

Generally, most games were pretty one-sided, with a lot of 3-0 series happening throughout the tournament, in both pools and the double elimination bracket. Most of the action happened from the 3rd round of winners bracket onwards, where Frenetic Array spilt the blood of Vox Eminor, knocking them into the losers bracket, along with Cruelty Incarnate, who were sent to losers bracket by the force of Mindfreak.

Mindfreak then went up against Frenetic Array in the semi-finals and this was an incredible series. Both teams were very dominant, but it was Frenetic Array who claimed victory in a 3-2 fashion, knocking Mindfreak into the losers bracket, where they would meet Cruelty Incarnate for the losers bracket finals.

Mindfreak were anything but down and out though, as they thrashed Cruelty Incarnate 3-0 in the losers bracket finals to meet Frenetic Array once again for the Championship match, this time with a vengeance.

Another game to go to-and-fro, both of these teams weren’t backing down and all games were quite a spectacle. After intense matches and a lot of trash talk, the series eventually went to the 11th game. Unlike the winners bracket final however, the outcome would be different, as Mindfreak got their revenge and defeated Frenetic Array claiming the Modern Warfare 3 championship at ACL Sydney, and their $1000 in prizes.

Here are the results:

1. Mindfreak
2. Frenetic Array
3. Cruelty Incarnate
4. Vox Eminor
5. Carrion
6. Legacy
7/8. Here to Stay
7/8. No Chance

You Tube

You Tube

While not as popular as it may have been at previous events, players who competed in the Halo Reach event still put on a show, with old names and new blood both in the mix of participants. With past champions Immunity once again not competing, the first place spot was up for grabs.

After pool play, we saw Kebabulate taking on Immunize, taking them out 3-0 to knock them into losers bracket. Optimal Virus did the same to Maddy & The Boys, to proceed to the next round. It was then Unite, made up of Hopey, Pulse, Halvo and Blaze, that took out Kebabulate 3-0. NBT, with Roosters, Jayden, Haze and, all the way from the USA, Loberg, then put on a show, taking out Optimal Virus and knocking them into the losers bracket.

After some unfortunate mishaps with timing that affected the competition, Kebabulate eventually defeated Optimal Virus, eliminating them from competition. Unite then played NBT in the winners bracket final which, as with the Kebabulate series, was unfortunately affected by a timing issue. At the end of the series however, it was Unite who emerged the victor. This then meant NBT played Kebabulate in the losers bracket final. Kebabulate quickly fell to NBT, taking our third spot.

It was then Unite vs NBT on the mainstage in our Championship match. It would be a best-of-9 continuation instead of the usual best-of-11 due to those earlier mentioned timing issues. Although the games were very entertaining, they were very much one-sided. Unite showed their domination, even with little practice, as they defeated NBT 5-1 and claimed our Halo Reach Championship!

Results:

1. Unite
2. NBT
3. Kebabulate
4. Optimal Virus
5/6. Maddy & The Boys
5/6. Immunize

You Tube

You Tube

Sydney continued its ability to draw in the FIFA crowd, breaking the previous attendance record (20, also at Sydney in 2011) with 36 players turning up to compete in our FIFA12 competition. Competition was exciting as ever and it was great to finally see some numbers that reflect FIFA’s popularity in the gaming scene.

Everyone enjoyed the pools and going into double elimination, things got serious. Favourites Muzza, Skip1 and Itz Todd all won their first rounds convincingly. It was in winners bracket round 3 that we saw some exciting games, with ACL’s undefeated champion Muzza take on Team Immunity’s Skip 1. Motivated by not yet taking a win off Muzza in an ACL competition, Skip1 defeated Muzza 2-1, sending him to the losers bracket. In the same round, Itz Todd came up against ACL’s FIFA Admin and Pro Player, Ninja Brett. Perhaps motivated by his new sponsorship with Carnage, Brett was able to take down Itz Todd 2-0, to move onto the winners bracket semis.

Brett then had to take on the formidable Skip1. Although games were close, Skip1 won the series 2-0, forcing Brett into the losers bracket, and continuing through to the final. In the losers bracket, Todd had to face Muzza but was out-played, as Muzza moved on to face Brett in the losers bracket finals. To most peoples surprise, Brett claimed a stunning victory over Muzza, eliminating him from the competition. This was the first time that Muzza has not won an ACL FIFA competition, and had an incredible 9-in-a-row streak until this event.

It was then Brett and Skip1 who would face off in the Championship game. The atmosphere was intense as both players made it to the mainstage to play their match. A best-of-3, the series was intense but unfortunately for Brett, very one-sided. Skip1 showed his dominance beating Brett 2-0, with the game scores being 3-0 and 4-0 to Skip. This meant for the first time in 9 events, and the first time ever, Skip1 claimed the FIFA Championship at an ACL event.

Results:

1. Skip1
2. cR ninja brett
3. Fray Muzza
4. Itz Todd
5. Humpty Dumpty
6. D1M1

You Tube

You Tube

That wraps up ACL Sydney 2012. Congratulations once again to all of our Champions!

SC2 – Nv.mOOnGLaDe
GoW3 – Legacy
CoD – Mindfreak
Halo – Unite
FIFA – iM Skip1

The staff of the Australian Cyber League would like to thank each and every participant for their support. Without you, ACL wouldn’t exist. We hope you enjoyed ACL Sydney 2012 and we look forward to seeing you again at our next National event in Melbourne!

The Australian Cyber League would like to give thanks to our amazing sponsors who make all this possible:

Quick Comments

	nirvAnA:
	Maynarde:
	xGKingdelete:
	TAriiChard:
	NOM:

[inFeZa]

Bring on Melbourne!

Quick Comments

	SLCN.Kez:
	NOM:

[ACL inmaniac]

Edited for aesthetics and added Champion interviews.

[everRampager]

Great writeup! Loved the atmosphere, setup and passion of ACL Sydney when I was there checking it out. Fantastic job, can't wait for the next one