Wcg - From the history of development to the tanks invasion

The “World Cyber Games” is one of the most prestigious eSports competitions in the world. Its story starts in 2000, when the whole industry of eSports was just beginning. The American professional players were competing for great prizes in “Quake”, while the Korean players were transforming “Starcraft” into an important element of their culture. eSports was less developed in other parts of the globe: its pace was much slower there. Nevertheless, the majority of people thought that participating in video game championships was just a sign of immaturity and is just for fun. Only a small amount of people would call it a “sport”. But, actually, what does sport mean? For the majority it is the Olympic games. Unfortunately, nobody wants to make computer games part of the Olympics. So what can be done? South Koreans found an easy solution; they decided to create their own analogue of the Olympics. Sponsored by their government and the company Samsung, the World Cyber Game Challenge took place in the suburbs of Seoul. There were 4 game disciplines, 17 competing countries and a lot of prize money for winners. There are players from all over the globe, a brilliant opening ceremony, medals, and colored rings in the logo. Looks familiar, doesn’t it? The event turned out to be success. Next year the name was changed to the well-known “World Cyber Games” and the scale of the championship increased. There were more competing countries, players, disciplines and even more money. The eSport Olympics were improving, becoming better year by year. The tournament was held outside South Korea for the first time in 2004, in the USA. In the next few years it was also held in Singapore, Italy, Germany, and China. The eSport Olympics were held in the USA 3 times and twice in China, but it will be held there for the third time within a year. These decisions are easily explained. These countries have many options to host such large events, they support eSport like no one else, and their governments help develop the game industry. China and South Korea have a special attitude towards players. Players are treated like real sportsmen, like national heroes, without even a thought that this industry was born out of electronic entertainment. Just like real sportsmen, the Chinese players are really serious. “To become the best in any competition” – that’s an idea that every Chinese supports. Of course, millions of people all over the globe want to become the top players. However, nobody thinks how hard this sport is. The eSports is a really young discipline and it will take a long time for it to become popular all around the world. That is why only a small amount of people can earn money by competing in such an uncommon sport. Basically, only those who can place for a prize can earn money. You can either win or lose everything, there's no gray area. However, there are some improvements. For example, tournaments that give prizes to all players are held more often nowadays. However, despite this fact, the eSport still demands from its players not only great skills, but also the will power and the desire to earn their victory. The competitors from 34 countries, desiring to win, came to China on the 29th of November. Many nations' teams competed in half of the disciplines. You must earn third place or higher to make an impression in Kunshan and win money. To the majority, a grand-final is the challenge of the year. But the Wargaming.net team met their own challenge, as World of Tanks was included in the WCG for the first time. The game was judged by a wide audience from all over the globe. There were lots of World of Tanks events already, including several international tournaments, but they were not as serious as this one. In addition, there were lots of changes lately; like the enhanced physics system, reworked shells as well as a recalculated balancing system. So how will the audience meet World of Tanks, especially those who are seeing it for the first time? And how will World of Tanks fare as an eSport discipline? How much does luck influence the results? What awaits us from unknown teams? We’ve got answers for all of these questions. The tournament uses the following rules: all teams are divided into 2 groups. All teams in a group fight other teams in a single match. The team that wins 2 maps in a row is the winner of the match. Despite that, there is also a rule of eight points in each battle: if one team is ahead by 8 points, which is calculated by summing all tank tiers, and the battle time runs out, this team wins the battle. The first two teams in each group will pass to the play-off stage. 15 teams participated in the World of Tanks discipline. There were 8 teams in group A and 7 teams in group B. It was hard to predict winners. The majority thought that in group A the Polish and Germans were favorites, while the Americans had less fans. These teams have already shown themselves in the international tournaments. And nobody could predict what people could expect from South Korea, Belorussia, Malaysia and Vietnam. there were a lot of wild cards in group B. Nobody knew what their chances to make it to the play-offs were. Russia and Ukraine were represented by 2 teams of Red alliance: “Rush” and “Rush Ukraine”, which is also known as “Unity”. They’ve got a lot of experience playing in tournaments in the “7-42” format. Before the “World Cyber Games,” both teams had to substitute some players. However, there were no serious changes on the Russian team. So lots of people thought that they would win, and the Ukrainians would get second place. There was also the Chinese team in group B. Nobody could guess their strength. Other teams were afraid of the Chinese. They are not a wild card, they are a *guarantee, which, as some people say, had many chances to destroy everyone on their way to the play-offs. In addition, you shouldn’t forget what country hosted those games, so it was obvious who would have all support of the Chinese. There was a lot of doubt about the chances of Britain, Singapore, France and Thailand to get to the play-offs. During the group stage some nations attracted attention not with their skills, but with their behavior. For example, the Vietnamese players played without headphones. Their captain was so loud, that he could be heard in the next game zone. The British, in fact, from the very beginning were playing without any worries. You could just look at them and understand that they came to relax and have fun. And indeed, their performance during the tournament was a real sight to see! The most interesting battles were between Russia and France. The set-up of the British “Cromwells,” of course, had a small chance to win a battle, but it was so funny when they attacked the French on their French tanks with a battle cry of “For the Queen!”. The French pumped themselves up by shouting “Vive la France” or when they attacked the Russians on the KV-1C. Unfortunately, the Russians didn’t sing their national anthem or anything like that. These battles didn’t influence the results, so the British allowed themselves to have some fun for the audience. Some teams used uncommon set-ups. We have seen the BT-2, the BT-7, the KV-4, the T-43, the T-44, the second JagdPanther, the Ferdinand, the ISU-152, the IS-6 and the GW Type E. It's too early to discuss how successful they will be though. Yes, they weren't extremely successful, but players are still looking for new interesting mixtures of vehicles. It's great. You never know what you will face tomorrow. There were also some uncommon tactics. A lot of teams played passively to increase their chances to survive and win, but the most popular thing was the well-known “Philippine defense”. Players took cover behind the buildings of “Ensk” and didn’t move, they didn’t turn their turrets until the time was almost over and their enemies, who couldn’t resist this psychological attack anymore, drove to face them. Some teams, which underestimated light tanks like the T-50-2 and the AMX 13 90, wasted free points on heavy tanks. The best example is the team from Thailand: they had five T32 and two T1 on “Steppes”. Of course, the Ukrainian TDs with support from light tanks easily destroyed them. Let’s move on to matches of the tournament in the first day. Group A was divided into 2 parts: four of eight teams were favorites and until the final moments no one could predict what teams would make it to the play-offs. These are the teams of Germany, Poland, the USA, and… Vietnam, whose game was really stronger than expected. As for the Asian teams, everybody expected to see great results from the Korean eSport nation. But nobody could even think that they would take last place in the group. The reasons are obvious: we’ve asked how long have they been practicing [three weeks] and playing together [three months] The intrigue of this group remained until the finals. Before the final two battles, four teams have a shot to go to the play-offs. The German fought against the Vietnamese. On “Lakeville” the Asian attack through the city was not successful. They lost one point. During the fight on “Himmelsdorf,” one of the Vietnamese IS-3 flanked enemies and won the battle. In the final battle on “Prokhorovka,” Vietnam attacked immediately and caught the Germans off guard on their base. 2:1. Vietnam became the favorite and has the best chance to get to the play-offs, while Germany lost everything. At the same time, the USA and Poland were fighting. The first battle is on “Prokhorovka.” The competitors meet in the village. The Polish are losing but not by so much. In some situations they might have the initiative, but they are not using their chances. Even killing SPGs isn’t going to save them from losing. Two wounded Americans and a T1, and the battle is finished. On “Steppes” the passive tactics caused a dead heat. Replaying that match, both teams try to get to the enemy base; but on different flanks. The Americans were faster, so the Polish had to retreat. The forces on both teams in this fight were equal, but the effective fire of the TDs gave the American team an advantage. The remaining Polish were not able to win this battle and allowed the American team to capture the base. 2-0. The USA had 18 points, and that was the same position as Vietnam. Both teams lost only one match. The USA lost their first battle to the Vietnamese. That’s why they took second place. The American team seemed really uncomfortable, as they had to fight against the team that took first place in group B. And all players, as well as the audience, knew who would take this place and what the chances of victory were for the American players. The games in group B started on the 30th of November. There were favorites in this tournament with great battle experience. They were Russia and the Ukraine. Everybody was waiting for a surprise from China as well. In the first series of matches the Russian team beat the Chinese with a score of 2:0. They were not as dangerous as people used to think. A bit later the Chinese fought against another Slavic team, the Ukraine. The most important fight during the battle on “Himmelsdorf” was on the 3rd and 4th lines. During the four on four battle, both teams lost 2 tanks. But the auto loaders of the REDs are empty! The Chinese chase them and destroy one French tank, while not giving the other one a chance to get back to its team. The advantage is now obvious. “WaveKnight” starts capturing the base and wins this battle. On “Ruinberg” the most aggressive battle was in the small city. The Chinese appeared from houses simultaneously and that was a bad decision. The French vehicles, artillery, the VK4801A, that was sitting at the crossroads, were shooting at them. Red Rush Ukraine won this battle. And the most furious battle on “Ensk” was in the Chinese base. At the same time as the REDs were trying to capture enemy base the Chinese were doing the same thing. The REDs decided to leave it and went to defend their base. But they didn’t get there in time. 100 percent. The capture was finished. The REDs were tactically beaten. The Chinese proved that they are strong as they were able to beat one of the contenders for the play-offs. The Ukrainian team was in danger and they were waiting on a hard battle against Russia. If they win this match, an interesting situation occurs, as all 3 teams would have an equal amount of points. Following the rules in this case, the referee should check the number of victories. If it is also a tie, then the team would battle for the result. By these rules China didn't make it. The first battle of the match, Russia-Ukraine, was on “Lakeville.” The Ukrainian team is famous for its skill on this map and the Russians knew it. That’s why they tried to use a dangerous tactic: they tried to get to the ravine with the VK2801 and the T2. Their plan failed – the full enemy team met them. This was the decisive moment of this battle, as without a powerful TD and tank advantage, the Russians were doomed. The next map is “Himmelsdorft.” The Russians saw that part of the Ukrainians were at the hill, so 4 Russian heavy tanks rushed to the base. One covered their behind, while the others captured the enemy base. The Ukrainians drove back and died one after another trying to prevent the capture. 1-1. The passive tactics on “Prokhorovka” ended when a Russian T-50-2 was able to spot an enemy TD in a compromising position. Some Ukrainian tanks drove to the railway road to defend the TD. The Russians started capturing to provoke them. The Ukrainians lost control of their map and a victory. The Russians earned a victory. So they made it to the play-offs with a single loss in the group stage. At the same time, the Chinese quietly and cleanly destroyed Singapore and earned second place in the group. And, finally, the ladder was formed. The Russians from The Red: Rush fought against Fulcrum Gaming from the USA and the Chinese WaveKnight struggled against Anubis Empire from Vietnam. In the play-offs, a team had to earn 3 victories instead of 2. If there was bidding at World Cyber Games, you could make millions if the Americans won the match against the Russians. The result of their match against the Russians was obvious even for those who didn’t know the details about the favorites and their achievements, as the Russians had shown amazing skill during the group stage. The Americans needed a miracle and for fortune to follow each of their steps to help them. Unfortunately, it didn’t — and the Russian team earned three victories in a row. The result of the second semi-final, the battle between China and Vietnam, couldn’t be predicted so easily. These teams hadn’t fought before. So would China play this match as confident as it had in the group stage? Are there any aces in Vietnam's pockets? No one could answer this question without any doubts. The first battle was on “Ensk.” The enemy forces met at the Chinese base. Vietnam demonstrated fairly amazing shooting and they sent enemies to their garage one by one. That’s a replay of the battle between China and the Ukraine, which we already saw. The cunning WaveKnight lost one battle, but not the match. The enemy base had been captured by scouts again, but the Vietnamese had enough time to come back. 1-0 The second battle was on “Himmelsdorf.” The Vietnamese attacked the Chinese at their base. They decided not to send tanks along the railway, instead they attacked from the center and the hill. They couldn’t catch them off guard and they were shot down. China made the score equal. The Vietnamese made a violent attack on “Prokhorovka,” trapping enemies in their base and destroying artillery and other enemy tanks one by one. It seemed that the Chinese were really uncomfortable without cover. Vietnamese performed their tactics great. 2:1, the Vietnamese were winning. On an open map, “Steppes,” the Vietnamese were driving to the Chinese base, but they had already gotten behind cover and were ready to face light tanks. It was an unfortunate attack for Vietnam. China only lost 1 tank and earned 1 point. The final map is “Ruinberg.” In the last battle in the small city the Vietnamese joined without the VK2801 and the BT-2. The Chinese were playing with SPGs, so they had more powerful tanks. Unfortunately, the Vietnamese GW-Panther was not able to help its team and China destroyed them all fast and without mercy. It lost only one T1. It was a well-deserved victory for this team. It was a serious battle for China. So it's no surprise, since it was a match between the two wild cards of this championship. Players from all over the globe came to the same city for this challenge to find out who deserves the title of the best on Earth. The Chinese team learns fast. They understand what they should do. And they are good snipers. Everyone supports them: their home is their castle, and there are thousands of Chinese inside and millions of fans outside. They had a really hard time up to this final match and they had already met their enemy and learned their lesson. So they were stronger than a couple of days earlier. However, the Russians were good and had tactics that were proven in tournaments to earn them victories. So will the Chinese find a way to strike back? Let’s find out. The first battle took place in the streets of “Himmelsdorf.” China acted immediately and attacked without any delay on 3 fronts. But the RED’s defense was good and they punished their enemies for their aggression. The Russians only lost one heavy tank and earned the victory. The second battle on “Prokhorovka” was really passive. Both of the teams used artillery and periodically scouted enemies. The result of this battle was decided by the accurate fire of the Russian TD, which destroyed two Chinese T-50-2 and then the French 50-100. The only thing that was left was two surviving enemies. 2-0. The struggle on “Steppes” was quiet. Artillery destroyed the T-50-2 on both teams and then the Russians were able to destroy the Chinese scouts: the T1 and the second T-50-2 were destroyed. When the REDs got to the greens, they scouted the TD and destroyed it. The Chinese had to attack. Three surviving French tanks attacked the battle formation of the REDs. The guns were shooting and tanks were blowing up. As a result, there were only 5 Russians against one Chinese 13 90. It had enough shells in its auto loader to destroy 3 tanks, but then it was doomed. after a short run, Eclipse and Emelka destroyed it. The Red Rush, Russia, are the champions of the World Cyber Games 2012 in the World of Tanks discipline. The best team in CIS has become the best in the world. Their winning streak was broken only once: when they lost one map to their brothers from the Ukraine in the group stage. WaveKnight took second place. And after defeating the Vietnamese with a score of 3:0, Fulcrum gaming from the USA took third place. The success depended on the cooperation of the team and tactics. Luck and accuracy are not the important things. And The Red Rush proved it. The World of Tanks tournament at World Cyber Games allowed teams from all over the globe to get a lot of new information from each other about unique tactics and set-ups. Yes, the Russians are indeed the best now, but everything may change soon. Emelka from The Red Rush told us about the lack of experience of the Chinese players: … All their leagues, all their tournaments are played in 7/70 format. They played with a dozen. They haven’t got lots of practice in 7/42 format. 7/42 format became official a year earlier, so we have been practicing it from the beginning. So we've got a lot more experience. Also we’ve received some comments about the Chinese movement on “Himmelsdorf:” If there are the same amount of guns like 2 on 2 or 3 on 3, anyone who gets out first will be in a disadvantageous situation. In other words, if there is the same amount of guns and your skill is equal, the pushing is a fail idea. You shouldn’t do that. As for the World of Tanks discipline, we are sure that we will see World of Tanks in the eSport Olympics, because there are no analogues. World of Tanks requires you to think and it is not very dynamic, but the game play is easy for perception. These features make the game unique. World Cyber Games is a priceless experience for the Wargaming.net team and we will definitely try to analyze it and make our goals in eSports better. There is lots of interesting stuff ahead. Now - just root for the players, train and win! �