The Gaoling Bending Tournament Report: February 2025
2025-02-16 19:07:42 +0000 UTC by QuietDove
You read that right! In what is slowly becoming an annual tradition, rather than a monthly one, the Gaoling Bending Tournament returned for the first time in 11 months.
Join us now as we attempt to recount the events of another memorable tournament.
Competitors Direct Link
- Earth: svntysvn
- Fire: neutrinoboi, waters_jax
- Air: VeerSky, CaesarSW4R, EshelD
- Water: QuietDove (You what?!)
- Non-Bending: KevinY3
First Round Direct Link
Our opening match saw VeerSky take on neutrinoboi. This was a nice solid match up, as rookie competitor Veer showed off some promise with a precise and well-rounded strategy. Though perhaps she didn't focus enough on dealing damage to trouble neutrinoboi. Ultimately, neutrinoboi's experience won the day, sending Veer into the losers' bracket.
Things ramped up in Match Two as pre-tournament favourite CaesarSW4R took on waters_jax. Caesar had been bullish in the build-up that Jax was not to be underestimated, citing his improvements in training. Nonetheless, Jax was certainly going into this one as the underdog against the two-time champion.
Caesar favoured a more ranged strategy, and for the most part, Jax was happy to oblige. There were occasional moments where some close-quarters exchanges broke out, but on the whole, the fight resembled something more like a chess match — perhaps a sign that Caesar respected the danger that his opponent possessed.
The end of the fight was somewhat abrupt as another close-quarters fight ended with Jax falling to Caesar, who progresses.
Next up was another tasty looking match between KevinY3 and EshelD. Kevin, a two-time champion themselves, has been consistent at reaching the latter stages of tournaments throughout their career. EshelD has had a more chequered record, but came into this in decent form and with high hopes of a good result.
The resulting fight was a real highlight of the tournament. Both players looked to be mobile, jumping around the arena and trying to land quick hits. There were some signs of rustiness in Kevin's play, as they failed to capitalise on a pair of chi blocks. Eshel took a lead by plugging away at Kevin's health, and they never looked back. Eshel took an eye-catching win, sending the former champion into the losers' bracket.
Fight Four was, without a doubt, the headline act of Round One. This was because — for the first time in at least three years — this humble writer, QuietDove, was stepping into the arena as a late replacement for fellow Team Leader, Movion. Crowds cheered. People cried. My parents were finally proud of me. Who cares about how many championships everyone else has won? Who cares about the fact that this would only be my fifth ever fight? Who cares that my fighting abilities could charitably be described as 'under-par'? No one! That's who! Because the only thing that matters is that in desperate times I put my hand up and stepped in. Sure, BarelyDecisive was doing their best to palm my spot off to someone who would actually last longer than an an icicle in the Sahara Desert, but so what? I was there man, in the heat of battle. I. Was. There...
Oh, and svntysvn was also there as my competitor. So to the fight itself and...hmm? Sorry, I've just been handed a note from my editor...uh huh...got it...really? Sorry readers, it looks like we've run out of word count for this segment, so I can't give you any details of the match. All I can say is that svntysvn took a close victory and progressed to the next round...
Second Round Direct Link
Our first Round Two match was between CaesarSW4R and neutrinoboi. Caesar once again stuck to his ranged tactics, while neutrino tried their best to get on the front foot and attack. However, it was to little avail as Caesar was well in control throughout and took a very easy-looking victory.
Now up was EshelD vs svntysvn. In the early stages, it was svntysvn — who had recovered well from his bruising encounter with yours truly in the previous round — that appeared to be on top. Eshel managed to get through that early pressure and work his way back into the match. It was a fascinating match-up as both looked to be mobile, trying to score as many regular hits as they could on each other. Ultimately, the greater accuracy that Eshel displayed gave them the victory, but it was very very close at the end, and either fighter could've had it. A very good match, and our first real contender for fight of the tournament.
Semi-Final Direct Link
This was a hotly anticipated match up between CaesarSW4R and EshelD. Eshel perhaps came into this one was a bit of a surprise package, but there was no doubt that it was well-earned. In this fight however, it was little contest. Caesar eased into the final with a routine victory. At this point, it was hard to look beyond Caesar as the champion-elect, but anything can happen in these tournaments!
Before we get to the final, let's have a look at who Caesar will be meeting there by recounting what happened in the losers' bracket.
Losers' Bracket Direct Link
The losers' bracket features those who tasted defeat in their first-time round. The winner of this bracket would eventually face off with Caesar in the Grand Final.
First Round Direct Link
VeerSky took on waters_jax in our first losers' bracket bout. This was a rather one-sided affair as Jax dealt heavy damage to quickly see off the rookie Veer and safely get through to the next round. This was definitely a learning experience for Veer, who will no doubt be back in the future.
That was all a warm-up for our next match: QuietDove vs KevinY3. Two long-time players with ahem varying records in tournaments. Quite frankly, the sheer quality of plays on display in this fight were beyond description. All you readers need to know is that it was very close and the audience was kept on the edge of their seats throughout. Kevin came through by the skin of their teeth, but I was applauded off with many many people saying that I was 'stealing a living,' which I'm pretty sure is another way of saying that I was robbed.
Second Round Direct Link
KevinY3 and neutrinoboi kicked off this round with a fast and intense fight. Both managed to deal heavy damage on each other throughout, and little regard was given for self-preservation, which is what we like to see! Kevin was bloodied but took the victory.
We moved on to svntysvn vs waters_jax in a matchup that we maybe didn't expect to see at this stage of the tournament. Both looked desperate to progress, but it was waters_jax who came out on top. Svntysvn just wasn't able to get going, but that was mainly down to the excellent work of Jax who was ultimately able to land the harder hits.
Third Round Direct Link
There was little time for waters_jax to recover, as they went straight into the next fight against KevinY3. This quick turnaround was perhaps the reason for Jax's defeat, as Kevin took home a very impressive victory to inch closer to the final. Kevin seemed to be shaking off the rustiness that was apparent in the earlier rounds, which was looking like a good sign for the upcoming fights.
Fourth Round Direct Link
It was now time for the losers' final, and the last opportunity for KevinY3 and EshelD to make the Grand Final against Caesar. Kevin took an early lead, landing some hard hits on Eshel. From there, it was hard for Eshel to get back into the fight, and Kevin came out victorious. The rust was truly gone at this point as Kevin reached another final and set up a very intriguing bout with Caesar for the title...
Grand Final Direct Link
This was set up to be a very poetic final. CaesarSW4R and KevinY3 had met at this stage before, in September 2020, when the world was very different! At that time Kevin was firmly in the hunt for a third championship to go with the ones won in January 2019 and April 2020. Caesar, on the other hand, was the young upstart seeking a maiden title. Caesar came out on top in that one and looked set to start their own dynasty. Alas, it didn't quite work out like that as other fighters stepped up and took the crown.
Now, Kevin comes into this one still seeking title number three, and Caesar is looking for a second. History could be made today!
The final we were treated to was a display of sheer professionalism from Caesar. Due to the double elimination format, Kevin would have to defeat Caesar twice to claim overall victory. Knowing this, Caesar pulled off a clean and assured performance. This was the case until he decided to start typing in the chat, which let Kevin get extremely close to claiming one of those much needed wins.
But, Caesar came through in the end and finally got their hands on that long-awaited second championship. He had clearly been the best fighter in the tournament, and it appears that very few can currently match him. Perhaps this is the start of the dynasty?
Caesar's victory marks the longest gap between championship wins, at 13 tournaments. It also marks the first championship for an airbender since Caesar's previous victory, which is a remarkable statistic.
Quotes Direct Link
And now for some not-at-all confusing quotes from our finalists:
- CaesarSW4R: "im upset that I lost to KevinY3, but im glad that they won"
- KevinY3: "where hope rises, fear must lurk behind" And something something, my rising hope in the finale was tempered by the fear of loss, resulting in the nerves that cost me the match"
The Dove Awards Direct Link
Who cares about who won the tournament? It's the Dove Awards that really matter!
Best Fighter: There is little doubt this month — CaesarSW4R was by far and away the best fighter in this tournament. The competition will need to work hard to make sure they can compete at the next tournament, because in this form, it is hard to look beyond them to win it all again. (Obviously I can't award this to myself, otherwise I'd be accused of bias...)
Fight of the Tournament: Again, I don't think there'll be much debate around this one. The incredibly tight match between EshelD and svntysvn is my choice for best fight of the tournament. The fact that either could've taken it with one last hit showed just how competitive it was. Hopefully we can have even more fights like that in the future!
The Oscar for Best Director: Congratulations to KevinY3 who took time out of their fight against EshelD to ask the streaming camera to move out of the way. We're used to Kevin typing during fights by now, but moving on to directing cameras is a whole other level.
The 'Imitation is the Best Form of Flattery' Award: This one goes to VeerSky who did a perfect impression of Kevin by typing during their first fight. I'm starting to think that these fights are getting a bit easy if people are finding it so easy to type during them...
Final Notes Direct Link
Another tournament has been and gone, and once again I have to thank BarelyDecisive, GuoKao, and VeerSky for helping to keep things running during the tournament. Also, thanks to GreyishCloud and CaesarSW4R for running the livestream.
Thanks to all the competitors! We'll try to run a tournament a bit more promptly next time, so hopefully we'll get even more people signing up.
Thanks again,
QuietDove
Hall of Fame Direct Link
- July 2018: Kaaldr
- August 2018: Porku
- September 2018: nanook4219
- October 2018: EvieAscendant
- November 2018 (2v2): Tofu_ and Porku
- December 2018: EvieAscendant
- January 2019: KevinY3
- August 2019: Vincebobogunoosh
- February 2020: EvieAscendant
- March 2020: Porku
- March 2020 (2v2): Porku and Best_Minority
- April 2020: KevinY3
- May 2020: Jtox17
- June 2020: Mystef
- July 2020: Mystef
- August 2020: ShadowKing1255
- September 2020: CaesarSW4R
- October 2020 (2v2): Fire_LordAzula and UROShadow
- November 2020: UROShadow
- December 2020: IncognitoSubito
- January 2021: IncognitoSubito
- February 2021: IncognitoSubito
- March 2021 (2v2): CaesarSW4R and MuffinSW4R
- April 2021: _Gent
- May 2021: _Gent
- September 2021: _Gent
- January 2022: killmuffinplz
- May 2022: Zaheer_
- March 2024: daales
- February 2025: CaesarSW4R
