Weekly Soon™ - Week 39: Balancing Feedback and Tournament Report
2018-07-15 12:11:23 +0000 UTC by QuietDove
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Hello everyone,
Congratulations to user Kaaldr for placing in first during the bending tournament. Runner-up was Porku somehow.
Users that participated in the tournament, or people who just have opinions, can post their ideas and opinions on how the elements should be further balanced on our forum post. With that said, below is a lovely piece written by the glorious QuietDove detailing each round of the tournament.
Gaoling Bending Tournament Report Direct Link
When people ask me about this edition of the Bending Tournament, I will simply tell them that they had to be there! Over the course of two hours, we were gifted with some terrific displays of fighting prowess in the newly released Gaoling Arena, the perfect backdrop to a perfect event.
Twenty-one fighters entered the event, with representatives of all five elements thanks to the addition of non-bending in the last release. Due to the odd numbers, some players had to go through an extra round, with others getting byes into the second round.
Round One Direct Link
It was in that first round that we got out first major upset when pre-tournament favorite Martdamp (earth) came up against his fellow tournament organizer FireLordIzumi (water). It was Admin vs Mod in this most highly anticipated first fight. The battle of brutal as both made good use of their chosen elements environment and are attacks. Spectators were treated to a truly memorable battle that ended when Izumi made use of the Water Octopus to end Martdamps hopes of victory at the first hurdle. It was a highly impressive victory and a massive shock to those who had backed Martdamp.
The first round also saw JustThePanos (fire) overcome zcvn (water) in the very first fight of the tournament, with zcvn suffocating in his own ice cage.
SidesRoi (air) was impressive in his win over vadimuzhya (fire), with the latter never really threatening.
PowerfulPig (nb) showed off the potential of non-bending by defeating Dragon_Girl_1 (air) in routine fashion.
Finally, Skeletonxf (air) was put straight through to the second round after his opponent failed to show.
Round Two Direct Link
Round two saw some big names enter the draw, with a tasty matchup between FireLordIzumi and MewRayquaza (fire) being a big highlight, especially after Izumi’s impressive victory in the first round. With Izumi now a favorite to win the whole thing, Mew was up against it to get through to the quarterfinals. The match was a nailbiter as both parties landed good hits on their opponent. Nothing was held back as Mew gained the upper hand and carried that form throughout the rest of the fight and eventually defeated Izumi in a big shock.
A special mention must go to Skeletonxf and Palsjuegs (water) as they played out the longest and most boring fight, potentially, in the history of bending! Neither fighter was able to land a significant hit for the whole ten-minute ordeal. People in the crowd started to wonder if they’d ever see the sun again as the fight continued for a length that Wimbledon would be proud of. To the relief of absolutely everyone involved, and I include the fighters in that, Skeletonxf decided to forfeit the match.
The other matches in round two were as follows:
Porku (fire), another pre-tournament favorite, easily overcame forkspork123 (air) to progress to the quarterfinals.
CheeseSandwich (earth) could do little to prevent defeat against JustThePanos (fire), who put in another impressive and efficient performance.
NeutrinoBoys (fire) and Kaaldr (nb) played out an entertaining fight, as non-bending once again showed its potential. Kaaldr triumphed, but NeutrinoBoys would’ve been encouraged by his own performance.
PowerfulPig (nb) made it two non-benders in the quarterfinals as he ended earthbender interest in the tournament by defeating Sodie_Pops (earth) in a routine victory.
Brilashy (fire) put in a highly impressive performance whilst defeating sivertehbomb (air), who never really got a look in.
Lastly, SidesRoi was put straight through to the last eight after his opponent failed to appear.
Quarter Finals Direct Link
The quarterfinals produced some memorable bouts, with the exciting matchup of Porku and MewRayquaza the biggest draw.
Both fighters had become the hot favorite for the title after their victories earlier on, but most still backed Porku to come out victorious. Spectators were presented to a truly memorable display of firebending from both players, one of the best ever seen. The start of the fight was evenly matched with neither giving too much away. The pendulum swung both ways as both fighters gained the upper hand at various points. Mew seemed to be pulling head as she landed a number of good hits and seemed to have Porku on the ropes. But Porku was able to show his class and reel in his opponent to take a spectacular victory. Both participants came out of the fight with a lot of credit, but it was Porku who advanced to the final four.
SidesRoi overcame JustThePanos with a professional performance that was evenly matched for much of its duration. Sides’s experience with airbending was likely a big contributor to his victory. His win set up a duel with Porku for a place in the final.
Palsjuegs and Kaaldr battled out an attritional bout in their last eight tie. The fight was another slow one as neither fighter seemed willing to commit to close combat, something that both water and non-bending should excel at. Eventually, Kaaldr was able to use his non-bending to record a relatively routine victory and advance to the quarterfinals.
The final quarterfinal was between non-bender PowerfulPig and firebender Brilashy. Another tight fight that eventually resulted in PowerfulPig becoming the second non-bender to enter the semi-finals, where he would meet Kaaldr, the first one! The success of the non-benders in this tournament will be a wake-up call in future tournaments, as people try to figure out their weaknesses.
Semi Finals Direct Link
The first semi-final was between Porku and SidesRoi. By this point, Porku was considered to be the runaway favorite for the title with most of the big names out. SidesRoi provided little resistance as Porku gave another ruthless display of firebending. Sides could do little more than run away and struggled to land hits, meaning Porku had a relatively easy route into the final.
The second semi-final gave us a very intriguing fight between two of the surprise packages of the tournament, the non-benders PowerfulPig, and Kaaldr. Both of these had gone beyond the expectations set for them as their element proved to be highly effective against all elements so far. Their match was a predictably tight affair, with both fighters wanting to size each other up. The lead in the match changed hands multiple times as they took turns in coming forward to engage in close combat. Soon though Kaaldr was able to gain a significant foothold and defeat PowerfulPig in a tight matchup and set up a final with Porku.
The Grand Finale Direct Link
The tournament had thrown up a number of surprises, but none were quite as amazing as Kaaldr’s run to the final. A last minute entrant who very few had heard of before the tournament began, he now stood on the brink of immortality as potentially the first non-bender to win a bending tournament. Cynics may argue that he had an easy run to the final, but that would be unfair to his impressive run.
Porku’s run was undoubtedly tougher, he had to defeat two seasoned combatants in MewRayquaza and SidesRoi, and he’d done so in spectacular fashion. Porku now stood as the favorite to take the title, his performances to this point backed this up.
The final was a David vs Goliath story, the plucky underdog vs the seasoned veteran. Victory for Kaaldr would go down as one of the great sporting upsets, a victory for Porku would cap one of the most impressive performances ever in a tournament.
The final started off brightly for Porku as he aimed several blasts of fire at Kaaldr, with a few hitting. But soon Kaaldr found his feet and was able to use the non-benders superior speed to evade further hits from Porku. This set the tone for the rest of the fight, Kaaldr using the duck and cover technique to great effect, using bombs regularly to try and score hits on his opponent. Porku kept plugging away and was able to land hits semi-regularly, giving him a slender advantage overall in the fight.
Kaaldr spent much of the fight trying to get into melee range of Porku, as this was where his abilities would be most effective. Porku was successful in keeping him at arm's length for most of the fight, limiting him to using the bombs. But then, as it looked like we were in for a long fight, Kaaldr broke through Porku’s defenses and landed several melee hits on the firebender, giving him a big advantage.
From there, Kaaldr gained in confidence and broke through again, landing more hits. It looked like there was going to be a shock on the cards. Kaaldr eventually trapped Porku in a corner and struck the final killer blows, prompting cheers of adulation from the crowd, they’d got their wish.
Porku had fallen and a new champion had risen from his ashes. Kaaldr had shocked everyone and claimed the most unlikely of victories. Leicester City’s Premier League win, the Miracle on Ice, England winning a penalty shootout. These are just some of the sporting upsets that people will remember for much longer than this one, but that doesn’t matter! Kaaldr had done the impossible, he’d overcome all the odds claimed eternal glory!
By the time the next tournament comes around, he will be up there as a favorite. He’d shown improvement throughout and seemed to really get to grips with combat as he got into the final. Non-bending may well be a popular choice for the next tournament! (Just as long as Mart doesn’t nerf it…)
Tournament Awards Direct Link
Best Fighter: Porku - He may have lost in the end, but I don’t think anyone can deny that he produced some spectacular fights in his run to the final.
Best Battle: Porku vs Mew - One of the best fights we’ve seen, neither competitor gave an inch in this one and the fight could’ve gone either way.
Biggest Upset: Kaaldr beating Porku - Was there any doubt about this one? No one predicted this outcome at the start of the tournament. Honorable mention for Izumi defeating Mart.
Worst Fight: Palsjuegs vs Skeleton - zzzzzzzzz
Best Moment: zcvn suffocates in a wall - Just for pure comic value, getting stuck inside your own ice is very special!
