The Gaoling Bending Tournament Report: December 2018

2018-12-27 18:50:11 +0000 UTC by QuietDove

Merry Christmas, and welcome to the December Tournament Report!

There was a Yuletide atmosphere around the tournament this month, especially as Father Christmas had given competitors the gift of not having Porku and Vince taking part!

Without further ado, here is the report.

Competitors Direct Link

Once again, air was far and away the most popular element. However, it was great to see every element represented!

Air - CheeseSandwich, lemur68, Tofu_, Mastrgamr1, _Roess_

Water - EvieAscendant, QuietDove (yep, I was dragged into this one)

Earth - Shikmeister

Fire - KingSquirrel, MewRayquaza, FireLordIzumi

Non-Bending - Benfro, Sivertehbomb

First Round Direct Link

After the slightly complicated double elimination format that was featured last month, I am pleased to say that this month went back to single elimination.

The first round began with a cracker of a fight, between Cheese and Lemur. The pair had a close quarters start as they met in the middle of the arena to exchange blows. Lemur had the advantage early on as he Blitzen-ed into a lead. But Cheese managed to fight back, bringing himself on par with Lemur. It remained tight until the last moments, when Lemur was able to break Cheese's defences and take victory. An entertaining fight.

The second fight was between Evie and Benfro. There's not much to say about this one, other than it was more of a marathon than a Dasher. It took a long time, so long that I can't really recall any details. But Evie won, so there's that.

In the third fight, Tofu barely broke a sweat when defeating Shikmeister. Although, Shik should get an honourable mention. Older players may know him as Daeshik, and he joined the tournament within half an hour of rejoining the server for the first time in years, i.e. before we implemented our new bending system!

Fight four saw Sivertehbomb fight some dude called 'QuietDove'. I don't know who he was, but my word was he handsome. This fight was a tight affair, mainly as neither fighter appeared to have any tactics beyond 'hit them as fast as you can'. At the end of the fight, the dashing Dove appeared to be on the ropes, but he was able to use the fantastic combination of Octopus Form and Water Bolt to defeat Sivertehbomb, who came within half a heart of victory.

The final fight of the round saw the first 'brainfade' moment of the tournament. KingSquirrel was up against MastrGamr, and everything appeared to be normal when the fight began. However, it soon became apparent that Mastr had forgotten to assign his stat points. This left Squirrel with an easy route to round two. Or so it seemed...
Mastr somehow, probably more through Squirrels incompetence than his own skill, took victory. He Dancers his way into the next round.

Second Round Direct Link

The first fight of round two saw FireLordIzumi come up against the tournaments resident Vixen,MewRayquaza. An exciting fight was expected between these two, as all firebender fights are generally ones to watch out for. However, the fight was something of a walkover for Izumi, as Mew struggled to get going. After catching light several times, she was soon put out of her misery by the rampant moderator. This was not a classic fight...

Fight two was between MastrGamr and _Roess_. Roess applied some interesting tactics, meaning he basically ran around and dodged rather than attempt to land hits. Somehow though, he was able to take victory. Mastr may need to put some more training in...

The third fight was between Evie and Lemur, and was probably the highlight of the whole tournament. A wonderfully topsy-turvy bout where it remained tight throughout. The fight began with a close quarters clash in the middle of the arena, a tactic that Lemur seems to favour. Evie came out ahead in the early stages, but Lemur was able to get back into it. However, Evie always had him at arms length, just biding her time before landing the final blow on Lemur. A very entertaining fight. Clearly, Lemur is nothing without his Cupid, zcvn...

Fight four saw QuietDove (woohoo) fight Tofu. I lost this one quite badly, so let's just move on...

Semi Final Direct Link

Semi Final one was between Evie and FireLordIzumi. It was a cautious start to the fight as both sized each other up. Soon, Izumi decides to go on the offensive, diving into the pool of water where Evie lies in wait. Quite what Izumi was thinking when he decided to do this, we may never know, but it allows Evie to take the lead. Izumi then realizes his mistake and gets out of the pool, resuming the long range battle between the two. As the fight slowed down and dragged on, Izumi clearly decided that he'd had enough waiting around, and chose to Prancer back into the pool. This was Izumi's final mistake, Evie landed the final blows and took victory, sending her to the final.

The second semi final was between Tofu and _Roess_. This was more straightforward. Roess attempted to use his 'run and duck' technique, but Tofu was far too wily an opponent to fall for that. He takes a decisive victory and reaches a second successive final.

Final Direct Link

Both of our finalists have been in this position before, and both have tasted victory. Evie had given us several efficient victories en route to the final, whilst Tofu had once again put in some impressive performances, but without really being tested.

The fight began slowly, with Tofu giving himself a slight advantage. Both fighters then begin to size each other up, reluctant to commit to an attack. Tofu then sees an opening, and takes it. He puts himself on top and appears to have Evie on the ropes, with the waterbender really struggling to get going. It all seems to be going Tofu's way, until a Comet like blow from Evie manages to take Tofu by surprise, knocking him down, and giving Evie the title! It came out of nowhere, but it was brilliant work.

Evie is now a history maker, the first person to win two individual titles. Porku still holds the record for the first to win two, but his second came in last months pairs tournament.

All credit to Tofu, who put in an excellent effort, his time will surely come again. But, for now, congratulations Evie!

Awards Direct Link

Best Fighter - I'm going to give this award to someone who's had another brilliant tournament. Tofu. After forming a title winning partnership with Porku last month, we were all waiting to see if he could back it up in an individual setting. Well, a faultless run to the final proved that he could. Despite falling at the last, Tofu appears to be a safe bet to win the whole tournament one day.

Best Fight - Can I really award this to myself? It was a close, if inelegant, fight... Ok, fine, I'll give this to Evie vs Lemur in the second round, just edging out Cheese vs Lemur in the first round. The former had slightly higher quality bending.

The "I've had too much Bailey's after Christmas Dinner" Award - There were a couple of bizarre tactical choices in this tournament, but the winner is surely Izumi jumping into a pool of water whilst fighting a waterbender. Go and buy yourself a Donner kebab to get over the hangover, Izumi!

Funniest Moment - I'm giving this one to our friend, KingSquirrel. After being matched up with someone who seemingly forgot to assign his stat points, you'd expect him to walk right into the next round. But no. He managed to lose, somehow...

Last Notes Direct Link

Seeing as this is the last tournament of 2018, I'd like to thank Izumi, Martdamp, Grangoon, Killme, Vince, Cheese, and Caljitsu for helping run tournaments over the last six months. It's been brilliant to have regular tournaments and it wouldn't happen without you.

I'd also like to thank everyone who has competed in any tournament, whether it be just one, or all of them. These only work if people turn up and enjoy them, so you are all just as appreciated as those who run them!

Here is a run down of all the champions we have crowned this year:

  • July - Kaaldr - Non-Bender
  • August - Porku - Airbender
  • September - Nanook - Airbender
  • October - EvieAscendant - Waterbender
  • November - Tofu and Porku - Air and Waterbenders
  • December - EvieAscendant - Waterbender

Have a very Happy New Year, we shall see you all again in 2019. Dove, out.