2020-10-02 02:52:52 +0000 UTC by QuietDove
The leaves are starting to turn brown, there's a chill in the air, and my conker collection is starting to grow again. Autumn is here! And is there any better way to warm up than by taking in yet another excellent bending tournament? Of course not!
I am delighted to be handing the report over to two of my able reporters this month (That's right, I have two slaves employees now). KevinY3 and MochaGaming, take it away!
The VOD can be viewed by clicking here!
Competitors
Water: MochaGaming, Danger5002, Jakkke
Fire: SuperHaggis123, Pli_, Fire_LordAzula, Cafeman, DeSEPPtion
Earth: MageKingDecisnom, UnicornSeren, FireGeneralIroh, _Gent
Air: CaesarSW4R, MuffledCoin71, EshelD, Swyatogor, Ezenity, BananaVirus
Non-bending: Ajelle, Custoj, Log_As, Steve_Avira, Hoodye, StuckInKarma, MakoAlpha, KevinY3
Hypersomniacs: UROShadow
First Round
Ajelle vs. SuperHaggis123: Fire vs. Nonbender has always had a reputation for swinging in favour of the latter. However, with the recent introduction of moves such as kickback and burnout, fire has found itself in a situation where it is more than equipped to deal with nonbenders, but its players are generally too inexperienced to use them to their fullest potential.
The round started off strong, with Ajelle going in for an opening knife. However, he whiffed it, and Superhaggis’ efforts took a surprise turn for the better when he managed to ensnare Ajelle with a series of flame shots and blast waves. His momentum was entirely lost however after Ajelle was able to land a falcon strike on the hapless firebender, leaving him with too little health or confidence to put up a fight. A few chiblocks later, Ajelle stood victorious.
Ajelle moved on with relative ease following a rocky start: a surprisingly excellent first fight for the tournament!
MageKingDecisnom vs. UnicornSeren: Whereas MageKing went into the fight largely as an unknown factor, UnicornSeren was well known both to server staff and the more active PvPers of the server as being an especially new player, among other reasons to believe that she was at an extreme demographic disadvantage.
Both of them subscribed to extremely simple strategies, although MageKing did so more so out of convenience than necessity. Unicorn stood still for the majority of the fight and cast a sandstorm far, far from MageKing. She also aimed into thin air, casting spell after spell before being kicked off the server by lag.
A rematch was called for and set up. This time around Unicorn did somewhat better making efforts to move out of MageKing’s range. However, she once again cast sandstorm as soon as the round began and was forced to stand still as her computer lagged out due to the abundance of particles.
MageKing was essentially allowed to pummel her with every move in his arsenal, completely immune to retribution of any kind. He won by a massive margin, although he must not have felt especially proud of his victory.
CaesarSW4R vs. Pli_: Air has had a very rough year. Between nerfs to spear, dodge, jump and scooter they’ve been hit again and again by server rebalances, leaving them with almost no active players and practically no means of winning an engagement without resorting to the most frustrating and slow-burning of tactics.
At the very least, air remains a viable element to play, as evidenced by the outcome of this match. He was able to entirely dominate PLi_ throughout, using windslam and carry to control his opponent’s position at all times, attacking with practical impunity. For a while PLi_ was able to find his footing and put a few flameshots downrange but it really didn’t matter in the face of Caesar’s overwhelming evasion and control over the hapless firebender.
Ultimately, Caesar seized a comfortable win, cementing himself and his element as true contenders for the championship.
Custoj vs. Fire_LordAzula: This was a round full of surprises and fascinating applications of various different abilities. Azula chose to commit to a completely forward doctrine of combat, utilizing a combination of burnout, flame shot and flame slash to stick to their opponent like glue. Custoj, on the other hand, played a game of tug of war, retreating when his moves were on cooldown and attacking with abandon when he was certain he could deal more damage than his enemy.
A falcon punch and an uncountable number of grenades, knives and blowdarts later (as well as a lot of walking backwards) Custoj found himself the last thing standing in the arena. Kudos to him for an impressive performance!
Steve_Avira vs. Log_As: Nonbender vs. Nonbender is a confusing, terrifying mess of projectiles and what essentially boils down to luck. Who can chiblock first, who can falcon strike, who can land the most proximity mines? All questions whose answers can vary based on the most miniscule of factors, such as the time of day or even the mood of the fighters involved.
Steve’s strategy seemed to be to out-range Log, staying at a distance throughout the match. Log, perhaps too confidently, attempted to approach and land a few moves, only for Steve to unexpectedly turn his strategy around entirely and shoot off every single close-ranged move in his arsenal, devastating Log.
Even though Log managed to execute upon an impressive falcon strike near the middle of the match, it wasn’t enough to turn the tide. Steve_Avira won in grand fashion.
MochaGaming vs. Danger5002: Both fighters embodied their elements by instantaneously choosing to drown in each other’s attacks, tanking and absorbing as many hits as they could while dishing them out in return, each half-confident in their victory. Mocha rapidly had to fall back, however, finding their health bar more black than red.
It was a series of consequential engagements from there, with Danger landing hit after hit while Mocha ran and ran. At one point they attempted to land an ice spear - and a high tide after that - but it was all for naught. Danger’s situational awareness was too great and his DPS too high: he successfully defeated Mocha - although it should be noted that they chose to partake in this fight as a waterbender, rather than as their primary element: non-bending.
MuffledCoin71 vs. Hoodye: This was a done deal from the moment the match began. Hoodye was evasive, protective, aggressive and every other adjective you could apply to nobody but the best warrior in the world. He perfectly countered each of MuffledCoin’s strategies. When the airbender attempted to outrange him, he used knives and blowdarts to pound his opponent. When Coin attempted a windslam, Hoodye chiblocked him and led into a falcon strike to boot. Grenades and proximity mines abound, there was hardly even a hint of resistance to be found against Hoodye’s complete domination of the match.
Hoodye, one of the best nonbenders to have graced the server in a long time, found himself triumphant.
StuckInKarma vs. Jakkke: Jakkke persecuted a long-distance war, utilizing their hardest hitting and longest range moves to stay as far from their opponent as they could, ever conscious of the fact that Stuck could easily bring them down with chiblock, falcon and slash. Stuck, seemingly aware of this, stayed as close as they could, utilizing projectiles to pressure their opponent whenever they were apart.
It was a one-sided match, all things considered. Stuck was simply too aggressive for Jakkke to escape, and so at the end of the day, they were the winner.
EshelD vs. MakoAlpha: Attrition went head to head with burst damage in this battle for the ages. While EshelD had to stay at a distance and use wind carry and air shock to deal most of his damage - coming dangerously close to his opponent at time - MakoAlpha had to rely on chiblock and falcon strike to get any real hits in.
Falcon aside, most of the heavy lifting was done by blow dart and air burst, both of which came out of their respective users liberally, seemingly the only viable avenues they had to deal any lasting damage. Mako successfully landed a chiblock and falcon strike in short succession halfway into the match and for a while it seemed like he’d completely cemented his victory - but in a surprise turn, Eshel managed to dispatch him with wind slam.
A tight and close fight with room on both sides to improve but a stunning display of bending prowess nonetheless.
KevinY3 vs. Cafeman: These tournaments always come down to luck of the draw in the first round. Unfortunately for Cafeman, he got placed against the two time champion and nonbending master, KevinY3. It was over before it started, with Cafe putting up very little resistance. He managed to hit Kevin with a few firebolts, and a flare blitz. However, Kevin's barrage of grenades, blowdarts and throwing knives proved too much for him.
Once hit by a devastating falcon strike, Cafe couldn't recover. He attempted to run and go for a distance approach against his behemoth of an opponent, but it wasn’t enough. He went down to a prox mine and a throwing knife in the end. Kevin took the win with modest confusion, surprised by their victory. You aren't fooling anyone Kevin!
Swyatogor vs. FireGeneralIroh: This battle had to be delayed because Swy spent so long assigning their stat points. Regardless, things went smoothly after the round began, with Swy trying to go for an early air shock, only to undershoot by some thirty blocks. However, with an airburst and punch, they rapidly brought FireGeneralIroh close to death through fall damage. Iroh chose not to take this lying down however and used a sandstorm to ensnare and obliterate Swy, completely annihilating the airbender before they could even leave the radius of the ult.
Second Round
Ezenity vs. Ajelle: Airbending and non-bending are practically built to match one another blow for blow. Both have shockingly low DPS, high mobility and rely on burst damage to down their targets. What a match this would have been if not for the fact that Ezenity only joined the server a week ago and was completely and utterly unprepared to fight someone as experienced as Ajelle.
In spite of an early windslam, Ajelle controlled his opponent throughout the whole match, using slash to corner him and grenades to throw him around, hardly taking a hit in return except when he permitted it. In spite of a few rough spots - such as when Ajelle missed a falcon strike and a chiblock - he was able to seize the win in extremely long, protracted order, owing to nonbender’s abysmal DPS.
MageKingDecisnom vs. CaesarSW4R: This round was almost entirely devoid of tension. Everyone knew that Caesar would win as soon as the bracket came out, due to the existence of a particular one-combo kill that airbender can pull off with incredible ease and which earthbenders have no chance of avoiding.It was frankly a tragic affair, watching MageKing struggle against all odds to survive, to bring his name glory in the face of such overwhelming odds. It wasn’t easy to watch by any means, and my eyes were only glued to the screen by the knowledge that MageKing’s suffering would soon be over; Caesar wasn’t one to toy with his opponents, after all, but instead a violent and exacting exterminator of life.
The efforts that MageKing went to in order to hold his own don’t bear description. Projectiles, shatters, walls, nothing even came close to working against the sheer force of nature that was Caesar. There is truly no recompense to be found in the analysis of this match: purely and simply, Caesar crushed his opponent, even in spite of an air-related bug afflicting Caesar which caused the first brawl to be suspended
Nicky_Boi05 vs. Custoj: Custoj, as expected, went for the win-at-all-costs route of throwing a knife as soon as the round began. Both fighters traded blows from there, generally choosing to stay close to one another. They were practically mirrors of one another, both missing their first falcons and hitting themselves with knives. Custoj managed to differentiate himself from his opponent after a minute by landing a chiblock, forcing Nicky to retreat and attempt to recuperate. This was not to be.
Custoj’s intimate familiarity with his opponent’s tells - his ability to discern when a falcon strike or chiblock was about to come out - allowed him to cleanly avoid every major attack, resulting in a bout which was cleanly in his favour. Custoj dispelled any notion that he should be underestimated with this particular performance.
BananaVirus vs. Steve_Avira: BananaVirus was forced to sub in for UROShadow after he failed to turn up. This match began with both fighters focusing on dodging the other’s attacks more than landing their own, making good use of dash and air gust to stay either high in the air or too mobile to hit.
Steve very clearly had the better of Banana about half a minute into the fight however, successfully landing knives and blow darts while Banana struggled to even hit a single spear. Banana tried to adapt, bringing out an air scooter with which to joust Steve, but found that Steve was wise to his tricks, using slash and shield to cancel him out of the move.
It could hardly be called a fight from that point forward: it was more of a massacre, with Steve only needing to wait out his opponent’s scooter in order to land a cavalcade of deadly attacks. While Banana’s performance could hardly be called unimpressive, Steve was unequivocally the superior combatant of the two. Whereas all Banana could do was concentrate on surviving, Steve had time and health enough to go on the offensive. After a long and costly conflict for the two of them, Steve came out the victor.
DeSEPPtion vs. Danger5002: Fire and water, enemies of legend and pure exemplars of what conceptual dichotomies are supposed to be. Truly, could there be two more different elements? Danger stuck to his guns and tried to beat his opponent from range, clearly realising that Sepp’s damage dealing potential far outweighed his own. Thus, he capitalised on water’s greater accuracy and kept his distance.
Sepp, to his credit, knew exactly how to counter the plucky waterbender’s strategy: he used blitz to constantly weave around the arena, staying just out of range of water’s best close-range moves like splash while staying near enough to his opponent to make full use of flame shot and flame slash. In the end, he put too much heat on Danger for him to handle; Sepp conquered his opponent in no time at all. It was a short, punchy and exciting affair: pure popcorn thriller material.
Hoodye vs. StuckInKarma: Nonbenders faced off in this match, each entirely convinced that their own defeat was assured. In spite of this, it was a shockingly close match; Hoodye made use of his entire arsenal. Between sand attack, grappling hook and dash, he was almost impossible to pin down and equally difficult to fight at a distance.
However, Stuck was determined not to make Hood’s victory an easy one: their explosives game was on point, with impact grenades and proximity mines coming out in droves, constantly funnelling Hoodye into avenues of attack or corners. However, Stuck’s win was simply not to be: Hoodye was the one who was left standing when the dust finally settled.
Gent vs. EshelD: Eshel had a massive advantage going into this fight by sheer virtue of his element; air’s one-combo kill was an apparatus of war known to him as well as Caesar. However, Gent put up a shockingly good fight, staying well out of range of his opponent’s attacks while also remaining mobile and, more importantly, extremely accurate. He was able to put down an obscene number of projectiles, almost none of which failed to find their target.
It was almost impossible throughout the match to pinpoint who exactly the victor would be. Between Gent’s unconventional usage of earth surf in order to nullify the knockback of Eshel’s moves and Eshel’s tendency to focus on evasion rather than assault, neither fighter seemed to be taking much damage or dealing much in return. It was clear, however, that Eshel was struggling far more than Gent was, with the earthbender seeming almost casual as he struck his enemy with rock after rock. He rarely, if ever, took even a mote of fall damage.
In the end, it was Gent’s tactics - those which he had perfectly tailored for use against Eshel’s brand of airbending, and especially his one-combo kill - that saw him through the battle, allowing him to make the most of his overwhelming advantage in regards to damage-dealing potential and to send Eshel to an early grave. A brilliant performance from both sides.
FireGeneralIroh vs. KevinY3: Kevin's experience going into this fight was to be the deciding factor. FireGeneralIroh couldn't compete with the aggressive fighting style of Kevin. He attempted to send boulders at Kevin, only to be deflected by shields. He attempted to dodge only to run into proximity mines. His walls were no match for grenades that were sent over them. Kevin was simply too fast and agile to worry about earth's inherently slow speed.
Third Round
Ajelle vs. CaesarSW4R: Caesar’s heart is a cold and dark place, a lacuna of compassion so cosmically vast that not even an ocean of sympathy could hope to fill it. It is a gourd occupied by nothing but hatred and cold despair; despair for its own miserable existence and its inability to pursue anything but the destruction of all that is innocent, all that is pure, all that is not Caesar.
Ajelle's defence of his life was mighty. He withstood blistering winds, the full brunt of the Aeolian gale Caesar brought to bear. He was a bulwark against the storm, glass shield poised to catch all blows. But Caesar is nothing if not calculating, and he always found a way around. The darts and knives he faced were as familiar to him as the fleeting sense of someone's life fading away beneath his fingertips. He made a casualty out of his opponent, almost uncaring about whatever blows he received in the meantime, knowing that he couldn't lose.
There was nothing to see in this battle, other than the cries and desperate throes of someone being systematically dissected by their opponent. Ajelle was utterly removed from the equation.
Custoj vs. Steve_Avira: Another nonbender vs. nonbender match, one which saw Custoj pursuing aggression above all else like before. Steve was consequently made to run for the entire round, dodging when he could but mostly having to stay content with distant attack, using dash to keep away from Custoj and knives to get some damage dealt.
Custoj was inescapable, landing falcons and chiblocks at every turn while also entirely avoiding any of Steve’s attempts to take the initiative and deal some lasting damage. While it was certainly not a one-sided fight, it was not an especially hard one for Custoj to win either.
DeSEPPtion vs. Hoodye: Sepp had proven himself to be one of the best firebenders on the server in the August tournament. Now, he had to face down one of the best nonbenders to have ever graced the arenas of AvatarMC, and possibly the best nonbender in the entire tournament period.
Both fighters decided to strike first and to ask questions later. The opening moments of the fight saw Sepp moving forward with a flare blitz in order to try to blast Hoodye into oblivion with a solar burst. He missed, unfortunately, and this gave Hoodye an opening large enough to land a chiblock and series of knives, handily putting him ahead in the game.
Things went poorly for Sepp from that point forward, with Hoodye successfully landing a falcon strike and a second chiblock. All it took was a scant few slashes for him to seal the deal, winning himself a place in the quarterfinals.
KevinY3 vs. Gent: A rematch from last month for KevinY3 as they face Gent once again in the arena. Having learned and practiced for this. Early on in the fight, Kevin took a small amount of damage, but retaliated with a well placed falcon strike.
From there, Kevin used Gent’s walls to their own advantage. Throwing Impact grenades and proximity mines over the top, while slipping out from the side to shoot knives and blow darts. Gent kept trying to shackle the evasive non-bending master, only for them to connect with naught but air.
It was a close affair, with moments of melee combat where Kevin simply took away Gents bending and punished him for coming close. In the end, Gent choked on Kevins brutally placed blowdarts, and went down.
Semi Finals
CaesarSW4R vs. Custoj: The source of all sin meets the dragonslayer, the paragon with a blade of adamantine and a soul twice as hard. A battle is fought, a signal is fired: the spark of hope flares up - the fate of the world is balanced on a razor edge, all of humanity chanting one name, one cry for justice - but it’s all for naught. Custoj is brought to his knees, the cool whisper of quietus in his ear.
He knows he’s lost, he knows that he cannot avenge those who have fallen before him… and yet he fights anyway. For his own sake, for the sacrifices of all who’ve stood in Caesar’s way, in order to buy time for those who will come after him; he fights, defying fate and its inevitabilities.
“No!” He proclaims with every knife, with every dodged spear. “I will not give up! I will not fall!” His voice is loud, his yearning for justice as bright as a star. His heart aflame, the crowd is seized by morbid optimism. But the Stygian siren call only grows, transforming from a murmur into an all encompassing crescendo, a saccharine and irresistible summons from the other side of the river that all souls must eventually cross. He crumbles there on the sandstone dias, a defiant yell stuck in his throat.
Caesar merely watches. He does not comprehend.
KevinY3 vs. Hoodye: Never before in the tournament have two nonbenders been so close in skill. The battle started with knives and blowdarts from both sides as they strafed each other. Hoodye then managed to pull out a surprisingly early and successful falcon strike on Kevin. They didn't give up however, and moments later pulled the same on Hoodye.
With both sides having taken massive damage, they moved back in close slinging grenades and proximity mines all over the field as they rushed at each other with vicious ferocity. One throws up a shield, deflecting a knife, the other throws a grenade to be dodged with dashes galore. It was a mirror match of such chaos that the spectators could only guess at who was winning at any given moment.
It didn't last much longer however, as Kevin managed to get just a few more of those critical microvictories over hoodye. Soonafter, another successful falcon strike secured victory over the Equalist, and Kevin moved on to the finals with their toughest match behind them.
Third Place Playoff
Custoj vs. Hoodye: The battle for bronze, the chance for each person to make their own name! Glory on the field, nothing to be lost and everything to be gained! Custoj showed off his literally explosive genius, using proximity mines and grenades to throw Hoodye around like a puppet while Hoodye remained almost untouchable with dash and used a combination of knife and blow dart to fill Custoj with holes.
The question remained throughout the entire fight: who would win? What outcome could possibly arise, other than proof that both parties were some of the best fighters to have ever lived and breathed?! Custoj may have fallen but he gained eternal recognition alongside his fellow competitor, Hoodye! Breathtaking nonbenders, the both of them.
Grand Final
KevinY3 vs. CaesarSW4R: Nothing to be said, only to be done. Endless energy, frenetic attempts to seize triumph from the clutches of defeat. Knives, blowdarts, grenades, all useless in the face of Caesar and his ability to turn his victims into marionettes, bearing them on irresistible winds in whichever directions amuse him most.
Chiblock, falcon, both wasted by a combination of tardy action and outright glitches. Nothing came of them even when they landed, not even a glimmer of distress in Caesar’s eyes to assure Kevin that his attacks had any effect. In the face of the only thing left that could even hope to defeat him, Caesar remained unmoved. Malevolence does not fear, it just hates. Caesar, an icon of edacity, lusting for naught but to dispense violence and pain, rendered his most brutal urges upon his opponent.
Things could’ve been better. In a world where just one more falcon landed - and indeed, one was in the works when Kevin expired - the world might’ve seen a brighter tomorrow. But alas, reality has no aversion to tragedy.
There was no glory. No turnaround. The villain won, potential heroes laid out before their feet like wilted leaves in Autumn. Salt running through his veins, ears engorged on begs for mercy, he turned his back on the arena and strode into the sunlight, ready to find fresh prey.
The tournament was over.
The bracket for this tournament can be found by clicking here.
Quotes
And now it's time for a brand new feature, some quotes from the top four fighters!
1st Place - CaesarSW4R: “After shadow didn’t show up for his round, I knew, that I was going to win the whole tourney, I won for him, and eshel, and everyone else who helped me along the way.”
2nd Place - KevinY3: “I was asked to give a quote so uhh… quote? I mean, you’d have to be right bonkers to think that I deserved second place. Honestly, Hoodye should’ve been the one to face down Caesar, not me.”
3rd Place - Hoodeye: "Considering how busy I have been these few weeks I'm happy with how far I got. I was nervous the whole time and it was a ton of fun, good job to everyone who competed"
4th Place - Custoj: "Nonbender v nonbender is always a bit of a coin toss, and with most fighters using nonbender in this tournament I’m surprised I made it as far as I did.”
Doves' Awards
Just as last month, the duty of handing out the awards fall to me. This is mainly because it's my name on the trophy, ok?
Best Fighter - There are plenty of contenders this month. Hoodye, who did the basics extremely well. Custoj, who had his best run in a tournament to date. KevinY3, who was so close to clinching her third championship.
But the winner has to be the eventual champion CaesarSW4R. They'd put in a lot of work in the build up to this tournament, and it paid off in the best way. They fully deserved to win and will be a contender in months to come, I'm sure.
Best Fight - It's always nice to have a hard time picking the winner for this award, as it means we were treated to a cracking tournament. Gent vs EshelD was excellent, along with both Custoj vs Caesar and Sepp vs Hoodye. The winner though, is KevinY3 vs Hoodye. A fight of the highest quality, between two fighters who really understood their element.
The 'Grand Theft Scooter' Award - They may have only taken part in one fight, and they may have also been a late stand in, but BananaVirus started a trend this month. The sight of Banana zipping around the arena on top of their Air Scooter, a rarely seen move at this level, clearly inspired CaesarSW4R as they adopted it in subsequent fights.
The 'Who was that mysterious fighter' Award - This is less of an award, and more of a question for the readers. The never before seen player 'MageKingDecisnom' was entered by the new Mod, BarelyDecisive. Keen eyed viewers may have also noticed that their skin was a curious mix of Decisive's two best known skins, an orange dinosaur(?) and Raava. What is going on? Does Decisive have a secret alt that she uses for PvP? Is she entering in disguise be avoid being dragged in these reports (again)? Answers on a postcard please, I want to know the truth...
Funniest Moment - Annoyingly, the fights were all a bit too competent this month, so there weren't any true brain fade moments. This award has to go to someone though, and that person is WWWWWWWGMWWWWWWW! One of two stand in commentators this month, his strange tangents and and off-the-cuff remarks were highly entertaining, but it is his impression of Custoj that truly clinched it.
Last Notes
A special thanks to the whole Events Team for their work in putting this tournament on. There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to make these run smoothly, so raise a glass to them!
Another special thanks to the Twitch team for their stellar work this month. FireLordZuko was joined by Kopk1 and WWWWWWWGMWWWWWWW this month, and the commentary was highly informative, entertaining, and eclectic. Side note, if there are any experts in Sesame Street reading this, please contact W.
I'd also like to personally thank both KevinY3 and MochaGaming for their assistance in putting this report together, it really is appreciated by me.
Massive kudos to Caesar not just for his first place victory, but for also being an incredible sport about how we decided to depict him in this tournament report. He's certainly no fiend outside of the fictionalised narrative that we created to entertain you, so we really appreciate him allowing us to write him like this for the sake of the story.
Finally, a massive thank you to everyone who showed up to take part or watch the tournament! It really is a massive boost for us team members to see so many people online and enjoying the server.
Stay safe out there, and we shall see you all again in October, when things might get a little bit spooky...
QuietDove
Hall of Fame
- 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 - YaguraKaratachi (Mystef)
- August 2020 - ShadowKing1255
- September 2020 - CaesarSW4R
2020-08-11 23:19:41 +0000 UTC by KevinY3
Welcome lads and lasses to the monthly bending tournament report! Unfortunately, this time around, you’ve all been deprived of QuietDove’s dulcet tones (delivered exclusively through text on a screen, somehow) and have been left with me, little ole KevinY3. The format's a little different this time around because of that.
This month’s tournament saw a cavalcade of fighters taking part, with each and every single one of them proving themselves in the ring. We’ve seen an astronomical rise in the standards of the participants in these tournaments as of late. Who knows what kind of incredible battles have yet to be fought, what tales of struggle and of triumph have yet to be transcribed? The possibilities are endless and you, my friend, have the opportunity to be a part of history. Just go to shop.avatarmc.com and donate all of your life savings to... I kid, of course. Now, that’s enough purple prose from me—onto the section that we all care about, the match summaries!
The VOD can be viewed by clicking here!
Competitors
Water: Best_Minority, 1card2, ShadowKing1255, Danger5002, jackhammerjack, StalkerRazor
Fire: AwesomeSpy546, Seppizza, Fire_LordAzula, FakeFires
Earth: Cafeman, Indomitis (Gentechian), jakkke, LAUR3NS_KLAV3R
Air: Momadt, dormagedonoff, EshelD, ThomasCraft00, CaesarSW4R, 17jlede, GamerAlex546, wuss_poppin__b, BananaVirus
Nonbending: Log_as, Avidius_Latte, KevinY3
First Round
Match 1: Best_Minority vs. AwesomeSpy546AwesomeSpy started the match with a single whiffed fireball. And for the rest, we had a farcical chase between him and Best Minority, with Best running after his opponent whose second, and only other, action during that match was to set himself on fire. Best wins, obviously.
Match 2: Momadt vs. dormagedonoffDormag went in hot, opting to indulge in close-quarters-combat while keeping light on their feet. As the match progressed, we saw both fighters trading blows, moving through one another in an intricate sort of dance, just waiting for one or the other to make a mistake. Ultimately, it was dormag's aggression that was their downfall, as Momadt adapted to their attacks and successfully executed a series of counters and long range snipes, forcing their opponent to concede. And by concede, I mean die.
Match 3: Seppizza vs. EshelDBoth fighters tried to stay distant, taking advantage of their longest range moves all while keeping a distance. EshelD tried to close in, using various melee range moves to try to get a read on his opponent, but the firebending fighter remained too mobile and created too many avenues of attack. For the longest time he looked invincible, delivering devastating blow after devastating blow while taking no hits in return. He kept up a constant barrage against Eshel, eventually burning him to a crisp. A well deserved victory for Seppizza!
Match 4: Log_as vs. 1card2Log went in hard and fast, using a mix of chiblock, falcon strike and throwing knife to deliver an unavoidable wall of aggression. Card responded by trying to stay in their element, keeping to the water pools in order to heal and fire off their most powerful moves. The gods of movement speed were not on Card's side, however, and Log found himself easily evading water's slow and ponderous attacks while easily punishing each and every one of their opponent's moves. Ultimately, Card went down while Log moved on with a victory to their name.
Match 5: danger5002 vs. ShadowKing1255Hopes were high this tournament to see ShadowKing take the whole thing, as the spunky waterbender had made a name for himself contending with the roughest and the readiest in the FNC arena, scoring an impressive track record of victories. Both waterbenders immediately went in close trading blow for blow. Danger executed on a seemingly perfect High Tide, but ShadowKing managed to escape from it in the nick of time. In a brilliant act of quick thinking, Shadow converted Danger's own High Tide into ice, suffocating the hapless waterbender within his own ultimate. Danger went down in thirty seconds flat, making this the fastest match in the entire tournament!
Match 6: 17jlede vs. GamerAlex546Both combatants seemed to enjoy taking it slow and steady, with each closing in on their opponent to use a series of close range, highly repeatable moves. This war of attrition quickly became untenable for both parties, leading to them having to adapt. Jlede took to the skies, using gusts and jumps to keep out of their enemy's reach while Alex started using a more diverse portfolio of moves, greatly extending his range and therefore his capacity for hitting his opponent where and when it hurt most. This battle was one whose result was determined by whoever made the most mistakes and unfortunately, in the end, jlede was the one who went down.
Match 7: CaesarSW4R vs. CafeManEarth has always been weak against air. With few fast-traveling moves to hit their mobile opponents and little mobility of their own with which to dodge the airbender's windy fare, earth is consistently the butt of the joke in every earth vs. air matchup. However, when this battle began, it seemed as if CafeMan immediately had his opponent on the ropes, successfully landing a series of attacks all while remaining close to his opponent where their strongest moves couldn't possibly penetrate CafeMan's armour. Amazingly, in a total reversal of roles, this time around it was the earthbender who stayed on the move and who couldn't be hit. However, Caesar made an incredible comeback, pinning his opponent with a series of close-ranged attacks and a full ultimate, leaving CafeMan with practically no health. From there it was all downhill for the coffee bender, as Caesar broke down his defenses and brought him to his knees.
Match 8: jakkke vs. Fire_LordAzulaBoth fighters were insanely aggressive, going in for absurdly risky plays all while refusing to give their opponents an inch of ground or space to breathe. It was like watching two trains colliding with one another headfirst, with both parties belligerently refusing to let up for even a second. Halfway through the match, however, jakkke began to run out of steam, whiffing many of their shots and taking many more in return. Azula capitalized on this weakness, making good use of fire's new move—Burnout—to deliver some incredibly painful attacks. Jakkke's defeat became an inevitability from there, and Azula found themselves moving on into the rest of the tournament. It seemed at this point that fire had truly stepped back into the limelight after a series of disappointing appearances in previous tournaments.
Match 9: ThomasCraft00 vs. Avidius_LatteAs expected of a duel between an airbender and nonbender, this round was a tight and mobile affair, with each fighter having to maintain an intricate grasp of both their own position and their opponent's. Avid delivered a series of beautifully well-placed grenades, knives and blowdarts, winning microvictory after microvictory, while Thomas seemed to be on the back foot the whole round, desperately casting defensive moves in an attempt to just stay alive and to keep his lethal opponent away. Thomas went down and Avidius—a crowd favourite expected by many to take the whole tournament—moved on to fight her next opponent.
LAUR3NS_KLAV3R and Hamster_Thing were supposed to fight in match ten, but the latter failed to show up. In the words of our immortal god-king CheeseSandwich, "sucks to suck."
Second Round
Match 10: Best_Minority vs. jackhammerjackHopes were high that the recent changes to water would prevent this match from dragging out for too long. As soon as the proverbial gun was fired, both fighters closed in on one another, each convinced that they could out-damage the other. However, in a cruel twist of fate, Jack found himself out of the water and stranded within Best_Minority's range of attack, who completely obliterated his opponent with a combination of ice-blizzard and splash, winning this round in spectacularly rapid fashion. An astounding performance from Best!
Match 11: Indomitis vs. LAUR3NS_KLAV3REarth vs. Earth, a matchup as old as… well, as old as earth vs. earth. There were the usual trapplings: hastily cast earth armours, walls created in a desperate attempt to avoid damage and an overuse of earth blast and shackle to the neglect of other moves like pebble toss and earth coin. This match was slow and steady, full of grace as if it were a waltz. Lauren and Indomitis danced all around the arena, but eventually, Indomitis stepped on their date's shoes, and Lauren was the one who ended up stumbling. Indomitis won this dance.
Match 12: Momadt vs. SeppizzaThis match felt like a fight between Zuko and Aang, with our airbender—Momadt—trying to stay evasive and near his opponent, taking advantage of his ability to dodge and weave around his opponent. Meanwhile, Seppizza kept up a constant stream of attacks, using all of the moves available to them to crush their opponent in a timely fashion. Momadt was forced to surrender and Seppizza celebrated their victory, hardly having broken a sweat.
Match 13: Bananavirus vs. Log_asIt was immediately apparent when this fight began who was destined to win. Log managed to land a devastatingly powerful ultimate on their enemy, and from there, the cards simply stacked up in their favour. Their knives consistently outranged Bananavirus' spears, their falcon strikes perfectly countered Banana's air shocks and their grenades kept his opponent from ever staying on the ground to recuperate or eat. This match felt immensely unfair, and in spite of an admirable performance from Banana—as they managed to pin Log with a wind slam in the middle of the match—this match had a foregone conclusion. Log moved on.
Match 14: ShadowKing1255 vs. FakeFiresIf there was any doubt in the crowd's minds that Shadow wasn't one of, if not the best waterbender to have ever graced the arena floor, there was none after this match. He managed to outpace, outgun and outwit his adversary the whole time that he was fighting, handily dodging every single one of his enemy's blows while opening numerous avenues of attack with which to bring the firebender crashing to the ground. In under a minute, ShadowKing was the only living thing left in the arena, having taken just one single hit throughout the entire fight.
Match 15: wuss_poppin__b vs. GamerAlex546Punchy, violent, destructive, beautiful. All of these words describe how this fight went, with Wuss and Alex trading ultimates, trading spears, trading every sort of blow imaginable as each of them desperately attempted to pull victory from the jaws of a stalemate. No quarter was given, no move misplaced. Every second of this round was do-or-die, win it all or lose everything. Nobody, least of all the competitors, knew who exactly was winning through the match, but everyone knew that they were witnessing something special: a duel between two people who were utterly comfortable with their elements and confident in victory. Ultimately, Wuss pulled out a surprise victory, dispatching their opponent dispassionately and clinically.
Match 16: CasesarSW4R vs. Fire_LordAzulaAzula played an interesting game during this battle, choosing to stay on the run for the most part only to unexpectedly turn around now and then to ensnare their opponent in a lethal cage of offense. They started the match out by pinning Caesar with a barrage of flame shots, followed by an absolutely killer solar burst, setting the airbender alight. From there, it was simply a matter of keeping up their momentum. However, in a surprise twist, Caesar managed to get the best of them, having quietly dealt enough damage to kill his opponent while everyone was distracted by Azula's incredibly flashy performance.
Match 17: Avidius_Latte vs. StalkerRazorWater has always been vulnerable to nonbending with its shamefully low range and incredibly slow moving projectiles. Stalker was fighting an uphill battle from the get-go, having to simultaneously stay close enough to his opponent to deal some genuine damage while also staying far away enough that he wasn't vulnerable to Avid's devastatingly powerful falcon strikes, chiblocks and impact grenades. In the end, the challenge proved to be too much for the young waterbender. Avid moved on with another impressive victory under her belt.
Match 18: KevinY3 vs. IndomitisIndomitis and KevinY3 played a game of cat and mouse in this one, with Indomitis trying to stay at a distance while KevinY3 constantly tried to close the distance between them. That wasn't an especially smart move on my part, mind you, because not only do nonbenders have only one melee range move that does any damage but also because of a move known as earth cage... well, it exists, and it is disgustingly good at suffocating inept nonbenders. After a short episode during which Indomitis and I chased one another around a wall, I went down, leaving Indomitis to carry on into their next fight.
Third Round
Match 19: Best_Minority vs. SeppizzaTwo aggressive, mobile and especially skilled fighters take to the ring. It's a duel for the ages from thereon after, with flame shots bouncing off ice cages and water blasts hitting nothing but air. Seppizza's rains of fire, in spite of being his best assets in previous rounds, failed to see much success in this one due to Best_Minority consistently staying in the water. Ultimately, it was Seppizza's inability to adapt to his opponent that brought the proverbial Icarus crashing into the equally proverbial sea. Best_Minority moved on, his confidence in himself growing.
Match 20: ShadowKing1255 vs. Log_asShadow has made a name for himself at this point bringing down all of his opponents in sixty seconds or less. This was absolutely no exception. Log struggled to find a moment of respite as his opponent clung to his back, repositioning on a dime to strike hard and to strike fast, completely outclassing the nonbender's damage-dealing abilities with water's incredibly powerful, incredibly repeatable attacks. Log couldn't keep up and ShadowKing, once again, seized an almost inconceivably fast victory.
Match 21: CaesarSW4R vs. wuss_poppin__bMirror matches between elements tend to be a visually confusing and boring mess with nobody capable of telling who's winning or losing. This round was not that. It was slow, it was long, it was never scarce of maneuvers to analyze and moments to comment on. Both fighters made use of their entire arsenals, desperately fighting against all odds to win. Spears, shocks, slams, shields—every single nameable move and every single possible combination of strategies and tactics—were deployed on the field. It was an insanely close match, and ultimately, Wuss came out on top, pulling through with just a sliver of health. It wasn't an easy victory for anyone, least of all the audience who were left biting their nails from the word go.
Match 22: Avidius_Latte vs. IndomitisA rematch of sorts for Indomitis, as his last fight had also been against a nonbender. To Avidius, however, it was a chance to make a name for herself defeating the legendary Gentechian (who, I will admit, I didn't realise changed his name to Indomitis until he'd already beaten me). It was a close quarters affair for the most part, with Indomitis constantly leaping close to his enemy in order to blast her with pebbles and earth blasts, only for Avid to run away and keep him at bay with a double-whammy of knives and blowdarts. Grenades were her best friend during this fight, as she was able to constantly overcome Indomitis' earth walls by slinging them over the top. Ultimately, Indomitis expired and Avid earned victory in handy fashion.
Semi Finals
Match 23: Best_Minority vs. ShadowKing1255Two master waterbenders and—oh, wait—ShadowKing's already won. Seriously, what's up with this guy? He hasn't broken a sweat throughout the entire tournament!
Match 24: wuss_poppinb vs. Avidius_LatteWuss was the underdog in this particular fight. Avid had managed to show that she was one of the strongest contenders for champion throughout the competition, completely annihilating each and every schmuck who passed into her crosshairs throughout the entire tournament. Wuss had to evade her battery of knives, stay out of reach of her catastrophically powerful grenades and avoid being caught in a falcon strike which, if landed, would end the fight in an instant. Ultimately, that's just what happened. Avid landed a falcon strike, and from there, it was all over for Wuss. He couldn't make heads or tails of the situation and was left trying to recover for the rest of the round until finally, inevitably, he went down. A commendable performance from both fighters.
Third Place Playoff
Match 25: Best_Minority vs. wuss_poppin__bA match to separate the slightly moldy wheat from the pretty-looking chaff. The victor here would take third place—perhaps not the greatest honour attainable for someone in the arena but still a respectable position to be in. Of course, neither Best nor Wuss were willing to be thrown into obscurity, and so both gave this match their all. Water met air in this maelstrom of carnage. Though both fighters may have been friends outside of the ring, when so much was on the line there was no mercy between them, not an ounce of respect nor fondness. Wuss played the long con, staying far away in order to cast spears at his opponent like David pitching rocks at Goliath. Best kept close and within the water, trying to ensnare his opponent and drag him to a watery grave. Ultimately, Best proved to be the better of the two in their war of attrition and pulled out a solid win—more than earning his spot on the podium.
Grand Final
Match 26: Avidius_Latte vs. ShadowKing1255Two legends enter the ring, each fabled to be a victor in their own right. Whoever won here would be immortalised in the annals of AvatarMC history, destined to be vaunted forever after as a master of combat, as an exemplar of what heights dedication, creed and skill could elevate a person to. There would be no shame in losing, for the status of 2nd place would still place the holder above the scores of forgotten fighters that they'd bested to reach that position.
This was Avid’s chance to earn eternal respect, and it was ShadowKing’s opportunity to live up to the legend! When the match began Avidius kept up the usual strategy, deploying knives and grenades and blowdarts and projectiles galore, never seeming to relent nor get pinned. She was too evasive, too mobile for ShadowKing to trap and defeat, and so he found himself having to play against his own strengths, maintaining his distance and whittling down his opponent's health. Yet in spite of this, in spite of every single advantage given to Avidius by her element, by her skill and by waterbending's inherent flaws, she still couldn't defeat ShadowKing, that legend who'd defeated all of his opponents in a minute or less.
ShadowKing beat Avid like he did all the rest, and with great aplomb, stood atop his opponent's cadavers, looked out over his domain and found his adversaries wanting. Avid, though she may have been the only opponent to have lasted more than a minute against ShadowKing, couldn’t end the waterbender’s streak of wins. A glorious sendoff to an equally glorious tournament.
The bracket for this tournament can be found by clicking here
Doves' Awards
Even though I'm not writing this report, I'm still gatecrashing to hand out the coveted Dove Awards!
Best Fighter - There is only one winner here, and that is the absolutely dominant.ShadowKing1255. They blew away the competition, drawing comparisons to their master—the double champion—Mystef/Yagura. We can't forget that Shadow was actually beaten in the July final by Yagura, so this has been a perfect way to come back. Honourable mentions go to Avidius_Latte and to Sepizza, who came with the recommendation of Vince.
Best Fight - We have a few contenders this month, with Indomitis' fights against KevinY3 and Avidius_Latte being highlights. The winner though, is Seppizza vs Best_Minority. An excellent display of bending from two very talented fighters.
The 'That Was an Interesting Use of a Lesser Seen Bending Move' Award - That, catchily named, award goes to ShadowKing1255 for the use of Phase Change on High Tide. Freezing the High Tide move was an inspired tactic from Shadow. It trapped danger5002 and caused them to suffocate, giving ShadowKing an easy victory.
The 'Giving BarelyDecisive a Run for Her Money' Award - This special award goes to the person who was only able to last 30 seconds in the arena. In fact, Decisive will be delighted to hear that her record has now been broken, as danger5002 fell in just 25 seconds during their fight with ShadowKing1255!
Funniest Moment - This month, the award is sponsored by Benny Hill. And that is appropriate, as the funniest moment this time was the short chase between KevinY3 and Indomitis, the latter chasing Kevin around an earth wall, drawing comparisons to the comedian.
Last Notes
Huge thanks to FireLordZuko and vincebobogunoosh for commentating this month's bending tournament, and thanks to CheeseSandwich, ShootItzStar, AvatarKorra_, King_Squirrel113 and BarelyDecisive for making it all possible in the first place!
It truly feels like a whole new generation of players are coming into their own and challenging the old guard. I have no idea what the future might hold, but I can't wait to find out.
Until we meet again. Ciao!
— KevinY3
I would like to add an additional thanks to KevinY3 for writing the report this month! These things take me ages to write, so having an able deputy is very welcome. I will still write the reports from time to time, and I will always be handing out the Awards. We all know that those are the most important thing about this whole 'Tournament' business!— Dove
Hall of Fame
- 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 - YaguraKaratachi (Mystef)
- August 2020 - ShadowKing1255
