Captain Lust's WNL Key Match Preview - Week 11 
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| Legend vs Apis Europae - Week 11 Match Preview [size=10pt] In the penultimate week of the competition, a new challenger rises. Legend are now on a 7 match winning streak and unbeaten for a whopping 8 games. Having crushed Sons of the Emperor, by defeating them in two successive match weeks (a first for this season of the WNL), Legend find themselves in 3rd place on 22 points, just behind Guard of Istiniar who trail leaders Apis Europae by a 4 point cushion. Legend are now a team that people are taking incredibly seriously but the hour is late and AE perhaps can't be caught on overall points and rounds. For Legend to win the league now, even with the 5 points they'd earn from a win here, it would require not only a landslide victory in this match but for AE to either lose or do fairly badly on rounds in their final game. Neither of which seems particularly likely. AE have earned their place though. With an incredible 9-1 record in the league, dropping only one match to Renegades, they have been dominant as expected. Throughout the second half of the season, they have looked, if anything, even stronger and even more consistent. It's the ability of their players, their consistent practice regime and experience playing as a team that sets them a cut above the rest. They will go into this match as the favourites and if they win, then only an IG upset in the final week could threaten their position. However as level 3 teams, there's a good chance they'll be poached at in the final week pick by teams looking to improve their standing with some extra points. The fear for AE here is Legend's momentum. Legend's last loss against Fearless Immortal Noobs will seem like a distant memory to them now. They did not need to pick AE this week but they are confident and ambitious. Many people closely link Peter's return to their recent success and with his table-topping scores and mythical raw talent, it's easy to see why. He is viewed as an explosive player that oozes natural ability and plays with the kind of flair that can swing entire rounds for his team. What's more, it seems he's found some comfort playing for the Legend side. After rifts created while playing for RNGD, Peter hasn't been active for any side in a long time and most considered him too difficult to manage. That's not the case at all here. Legend are more than just Peter though. No matter how important, there are few in the community who will say that any team can be top level, relying on just one player. Paulo has developed a squad that plays well together and is now feared by all. The maps and factions this week are the same two that were played in Week 6, for AE's only loss. Could the starts be aligning? Will they lose to yet another French based team? Certainly they'll need to put in a better Verloren performance this time but that will be something they're already considering carefully. Whether they're preparing specifically for Peter or not, they'll certainly have to deal with him on the day as he's not a player who's easily intimidated. I predict AE to win because I'm sane but who knows what Legend can conjure up. [size=12pt]Sons of the Emperor vs Guard of Istiniar - Week 11 Match Preview Aside from their default in Week 7, Sons of the Emperor haven't won a single match since the mid season break. Having lost both of their Legend matches in Week 9 and 10, they sit at 7th place in the League. Once the shining beacon of Warband's vibrant Turkish scene, they are now below their fellow countrymen Teutonic Knights, who sit in 4th. SoE need to find something this week to avoid slipping into insignifance, as they stand at risk of being overtaken by up to 6 teams if they take a loss. And IG are no pushovers. The teams met once before, in Week 3, where SoE took a 10-6 victory. It was around this time that they were making a name for themselves, getting good results against good teams. IG are a different team now though. Their league record is a mighty 7 wins 2 losses and 1 draw and except for a recent loss to the currently unstoppable Legend, they haven't dropped points for a long time. SoE will need to find their form of old to beat this renewed and ambitious IG side. For IG, there's plenty at stake too. They're 2nd in the league now and if they can challenge AE in the final week, they are one of few teams with a realistic chance to steal the title from the leaders. But a loss this week would be catastrophic and almost definitely throw them out of contention entirely, forcing them to rely on Legend to make an upset. The whole league will be watching this matchup closely. Both teams performed very well, taking convincing wins when these maps were last played in Week 6. The standard of play will be searingly high. Analytically, it can be said that IG struggles most against teams that show a lot of flair, with their famed organisation suffering occasionally against big performers that can shake up rounds and force the unexpected. SoE are filled with players of that potential. Tirtil is active and playing again. There's an inevitability about Tirtil's headshots that can't be prevented by any level of discipline. SoE's main weakness will be their cavalry, who simply aren't at the same level of the rest of their team. Fortunately for them, the maps this week don't place as much focus on horseman as others in the pool but it's an area where IG can gain a consistent advantage and with good cav play of their own, they might be able to take a hold of the match on Reveran Village. SoE will need to be unpredicatable and threatening at all turns, creating the difficult situations for both teams that can see SoE come out on top. SoE have a lot going for them to bounce back this week. Something is stirring here and I'll back them for the win. Druzhina vs Teutonic Knights - Week 11 Match Preview [size=10pt] Druzhina have had something of a second wind in the latter half of the season. Aside from a hiccup against rivals Kharakternyky, they have a perfect record since the break. Both teams took down hot prospect Calaquendi in different weeks but Teutonic Knights' result was a more convincing 12-2. They're also in 4th place against Druzhina's 8th, with 3 points separating them. DRZ have the potential to win this though. Volky is not only a butcher in mass melee but a clutch player against greater numbers. He is a player to be relied up if a round goes close and late. Teutonic's answer will be Charon, who is just as good, if not stronger in the melee brawl but perhaps doesn't have as much strength in the high pressure moments. The greatest difficulty for DRZ, in spite of the closed nature of this week's maps, will be Teutonic's Sir Arthur and BarbarianWarlord. These are two horsemen that win games left and right for their team. Their coordination with each other and overall technical ability provides a double threat that sees them handle more than their share of the work in every one of Teutonic's games. Even on Verloren, this will have an impact on the game and DRZ will need good coordination to shut them down. For Teutonic, a win here could bring them up to second, depending on other results but the Turkish side are not realistic contenders for the title. Finishing as the highest Turkish team will be a victory for them in any case. DRZ's aim is pride as well but they're alright the top Russian team after a fairly lacking performance from the eastern teams in general this season. Teutonic Knights are looking good going into this. Providing they don't make wacky mistakes or tactical errors, their players are strong enough to ease past DRZ. Teutonic win. full article written by @captainlust |
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