World GameMasters Tournament Pune Exclusive Coverage Final Day

The scene was perfect! With only the upper bracket, lower finals and grand finals slated for the day, the spectators were all anxious to see who would represent Pune at the national finals in Mumbai in October. The venue filled up thick and fast and soon people were trying to pick out who would be the winners! Soon all the CS amateur and professional teams and DotA teams arrived and it was time for Day 3 to begin.

DotA:

This tournament has seen its fair share of upsets. But now the best pitted against each other. So it was time for clan MYE to face off against clan hmp and it turned out to be quite a tough match for both the teams. The team winning this match would secure a place in the finals and the loser would have to go and battle it out in the loser’s bracket. And what a game it was!!! However, eventually it was MYE that came out on top. With all the players playing like true champions that they actually are, the game was sealed in a time span of 80 min. The match had amazing moments of turnarounds for both the teams.

In the background, the loser’s bracket games were underway. The match was between DT and Xplod. Xplod playing with the same combo as yesterday found the going tough and eventually their strategy to deny the opposition inventory was futile as DT was just too strong to hold back. But it wasn’t all that easy for DT. They started on the back-foot with Xplod taking an early aggressive initiative in the game. But once DT overcame the initial hiccup they were quite unstoppable and made it one more step closer to making it to the finals.

Only 3 teams were remaining now and the team to face MYE had to be decided. So the most important match of the tournament for hmp and DT was about to begin. The match was a crowd puller with practically all spectators turning their attention towards this match. Both these teams have played consistently well and have faced some tough teams and had long matches. But in the end it’s only one team that could go into the finals. So with this scenario it was time for the loser’s bracket final to begin. The MYE players sat together in one corner just observing their prospective competitors in the finals.

So the game began and it was a very hard-fought match with the captains of both teams shouting and egging their players on to play their best. However, in the end it was clan DT who won the match. It was a true team effort which took DT to the finals. DT went in for a classic combo technique which restricted the opposition players. Even though ShaQ played really well, it just wasn’t enough to pull off the win. After the match the shouts from the winners showed everyone that they were ready for the finals.

So, now it was time for the grand finals. And what a final it was! Even though the final victors were MYE, all due credit to DT for putting up such a brilliant show for the finals. The heroes for MYE were the ever-reliable Nachiket and Pumba with Akshay and Cyther giving the perfect support. So, the winners took a winning purse of Rs. 5000/- and the runners up taking Rs. 3000/- and both getting a chance to play at the national finals in Mumbai next month.

Counter-Strike:

The CS amateur first saw clan FOD getting a bye to the finals because clan LODa didn’t reach the venue in time despite repeated intimations by the organizers. So LODa was pushed to the Loser’s bracket. The first match of the day was between team Noobie and team Xtinction. However, the game was sealed with ease by Noobie with Ronnie a.k.a ZeUs getting the maximum frags and the match ended with a score line of 16-2 on de_nuke. The next match was between LODa and Noobie to be played on de_train. But the match was eventually won by LODa. The match saw LODa winning both their eco rounds after losing the first pistol rounds. The final score-line read as 16-12. The loser’s bracket final saw IA face LODa. This game was expected to be a keen tussle. However, LODa had other plans and just tore through the opposition and went on to win the match 16-9 and qualify for the grand finals.

So, the finals saw FOD take on LODa. LODa needed to win two maps in order to win the tournament, while FOD needed to win just one map. But fighting all odds LODa won the first map in a close game with Alok really playing out of his skin to force a second map.

The second map saw FOD a little nervous while LODa was exuberating extreme confidence. This confidence and momentum helped LODa to win the second map as well and become winners!!! Again the star for LODa was Alok. LODa surely did deserve this victory and hopefully will be able to replicate this amazing performance in Mumbai as well. Seeing this high standard of amateur CS in India is a positive sign for our e-sports community. The winners took home a cheque of Rs. 2000/- while the runners up received Rs. 1000/-.

Now, it was time for the CS professional league to start. First up was Xplod against Psycho Ducks which turned out to be a keen tussle between assaulters and snipers. At half time it was Xplod leading 8-7. However, after the switch Psycho Ducks didn’t give Xplod any room to even breathe and won the half 9-1 and the game 16-9. Sharom a.k.a Rampage was the insane fragger and using his experience to lead his team to victory and the loser’s bracket finals.

Team What was scheduled to face Noobs who didn’t show up at the venue and were disqualified. So now it was What facing Psycho Ducks in the loser’s bracket final. But with the experienced Ranjeet a.k.a sh33p playing for What it was almost too easy for What to reach the finals. Ranjeet rated as India’s top assaulter lived up to his reputation and made short work of Psycho Ducks. The final score was 16-10 on de_dust2. So, now the two finalists decided it was time for the real fireworks to begin.
The finals started at 11:30 p.m. and went on till 2 a.m. in the morning. But not even one spectator left the venue because it was a match of epic proportions. With What requiring to win two maps, the finals begun on de_inferno.

It went down to the wire. The game went into a spectacular overtime. But in the end it was Ranjeet’s experience and brilliant calling that pulled What through to victory in the first map. There was a lot of shouting and cheering going on throughout the map on both sides. The spectators were transfixed. It was CS at its best. The atmosphere was really charged up!!! What were on a roll and had the momentum on their side. X-es had to put their head down and play to their “favorites” label. The second map was de_nuke. X-es is traditionally considered to be really strong on this map.

They displayed that in a defiant manner. Eventually it was Ranjeet’s experience versus Lalit’s. And Lalit’s experience and game sense was just too much too handle. X-es won the map and the tournament 16-11. But what a tournament we have had!! It ended at 2 a.m. with all the spectators and competitors leaving the venue satisfied. The winners took a booty of Rs. 7000/- while the runners-up got Rs. 3000/-.

So with that we wrap up this leg of the tournament and look forward to the same participation and enthusiasm in Chennai, which is the next stop for WGT.

By Piyush ‘knife’ Agrawal