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The Underdogs

Iran

It will be Iran's first participation into a Native Nation Cups and therefore it's a bit hard to imagine how they're going to perform since not many know what they're capable of. It doesn't look like any of the players on their current roster are well known among the competitive scene, yet their captain showed some confidence prior to the start of the competition so we could expect them to offer a good showing for their first matches.
This said, with such a small roster, having them completing all their group matches without dropping from the competition would already be a decent performance for a first time, as I simply don't see them making it past this stage.


Georgia

Georgia has been partaking twice in the NC already but with a really small roster of eleven men, it certainly isn't going to be an easy road for them this year. Especially since they have been placed in a group with the last finalist, BeNe, but also Germany and the United States, two teams which have proven their worth a long time ago. I'm not sure what to expect from Georgia this year besides one sided matches so I will be most likely looking at their confrontation against Yugoslavia but even there, I'm not sure they have what it takes to upset a team consisting of many veterans from the scene. However, I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

Brazil

The oldest player will certainly remember that this is not Brazil's debut as they already participated in the 2012 Edition of the Nation Cups, and also fielded a team the following year. Since then, it seemed the Brazilian community didn't have enough player or was unable to gather enough interest to continue playing in the NC; which is why we’re even gladder to welcome them back this year. There are some names on their roster which were already playing 4 years ago but with the ping difference, it certainly isn't going to be easy to approach a match with them, no matter their real strength. Their match against Canada will certainly be an exception as pings will be a bit better than against EU teams (to an extent).
But even with that, it is hard to see Brazil being capable of pulling out an upset in their group which, on top of the Canadians, consist of two favorites of this edition, the United Kingdom and Poland, and the Austro-Swiss coalition.


Czechoslovakia

Despite Czechoslovakia having a bunch of veterans within their roster, it's going to be hard for them to hope for anything else but a 4th place in their group. Last edition of the NC certainly proved that the team had some interesting qualities but it just wasn't enough to prevail versus Sweden, BeNe or France.  This year, their group doesn't look any easier but with the new system, at least do they have the chance to be qualified for the lower bracket as long as they don't end up being last.
It will be all about coming on top of their confrontation against Iran, which isn't that easy when you don't know much about the real strength of your opponent.


Wales

If Wales' participation in the Nations Cup certainly lead to an extensive press coverage, the team has some sort of potential. Fietta, their captain, managed to gather an interesting roster in a few times and if it would be somewhat short against many top-teams, the fact they have been placed in the arguably ‘easiest’ group of the competition improved their chances by much. That being said, they will have to play their A game basically every match of their group if they want to have a chance of upsetting France, Sweden or Finland.
In a similar fashion to the other groups, Wales' best chance to qualify is to beat Ireland, something doable but certainly not easy.


Ireland

Speaking about them, Ireland is making his second participation in a row for the Nations Cup. Their first participation wasn't necessarily successful in term of results, as you could have expected, but it probably helped them gain experience and going against Sweden in their first match tonight, they will certainly need it. But as said previously, this year their group isn't as difficult as previously, which is why I hope they will try harder this year as they have a fair shot at qualifying. A lot will probably come down to Kiano, their captain and most experienced player but no matter what happens, Ireland is probably one of the most fair-play team so any of their opponent should have a good time going against them.

Yugoslavia

Among all the underdog teams, Yugoslavia is the team which got the most chance to upset any other team. Their roster consists of a bunch of really skilled veterans but also many experienced players which are familiar with the competitive scene. Unfortunately for them, they also have one of the hardest groups and if I see no problem whatsoever for them going against Georgia, being capable of defeating any of the other three of Group B looks like a hell of a challenge.
Too much for Yugoslavia? We’ll see that in the upcoming weeks.




[size=6pt] PROOFREAD BY @SURKAN_MBW

 
The Mid-Tier



Austria & Switzerland

These guys certainly have some potential as the team have a good number of old players, experienced in tournaments and with good individual’s capacitiy. Yet in a group counting Poland and the United Kingdom, it’s really hard for the Austro-Swiss coalition to hope for more than a 3rd place.
On top of that, with Brazil always being complicated to fight due to the home-away system, and Canada a force to reckoned with, it will be required for them to play at their best in every match.
Their debut against UK was certainly not easy, and going against Poland this week probably won’t be any less difficult but if they can avoid these two matches impacting their moral too much, they should definitely have a good chance going against Brazil and Canada later on. It’s about keeping the team together until then.


Finland

Finland is a team that consists of a lot of veteran players, who can all be a big threat to enemy teams if they perform at their best. Last year Finland put up a lot of great fights especially by upsetting Turkey and qualifying for the playoffs, which is why I expect them to do as good this year. They have been put in a group with France and Sweden, who will both be quite a big obstacle to overcome for Finland. However, if they play as they did last year, they have quite a big chance of beating either, if not both of them, and end in the top two of their group. Their match against Wales seems to confirm their good form, even though the hardest battles are to come.

Canada

It’s not the first time Canada is partaking in the Nations Cup but it’s worth noting that this year, their team looks relatively scary, with tons of veteran player from the North American scene. Having the capacity to assemble a roster mostly made by members of the top three WPL NA teams, OE, wK and tK just sums up how complicated it is going to be for the other teams to defeat them.
Their roster is also quite substansial which is always a good thing when one or two of your star players are missing. The team didn’t fail in their start to the competition, being Brazil in a tense match. If the result was quite close, it’s mainly due to the ping difference which will probably be lessened for most of their other matches.
All in all, I’m really looking forward to see how Canada performs this year and think they can potentially surprise us.


Sweden

Sweden once again decided to bring a scary looking roster to this Nations Cup, and with almost all of them being Mount & Blade veterans, they will almost surely perform quite well overall. Sweden has been put in a group with France, who have also proven to be a very solid team in previous Nations Cups, and Finland, who can surely give them a run for their money. Overall Sweden's chances are quite good, and if they perform well, I expect them to get first or second place in their group with relative ease.  They could even become a threat to some of this year's favorites. During their opening match, Sweden gave Ireland no chance, beating them 12-0 and showing that the team is ready for bigger challenges.

Spain

Spain has been in almost every NC so far, so if we speak about experience, they've got loads of it. Last year was a rough year for them as they lost in the group stages and were out probably a bit too early to their liking. Their roster consists of a lot of veterans, and also some new faces. Their captain Charlini has been trying to assemble the best roster possible and Spain looks relatively strong this year. They have been put in a group with last year's winners, Turkey, which will be a great challenge for them,  as will Russia, one of the most dangerous teams of the competition. Unfortunately for them, they lacked some stuff against Russia, during the first week so it will be even more challenging for them to get this 2nd place but I expect Spain to surprise a lot of people this year by putting up stunning performances, and proving to everyone what the team is capable of.

United States of America

Last year, North America started their group with a draw against Finland and despite some really good performances overall, couldn’t quite qualify for the playoffs. This time, Canada and the USA are playing in two separate teams and the latter has been placed against BeNe and Germany, two veteran nations on warband, and Georgia and Yugoslavia, both experienced when it comes to the Nations Cup.
The USA certainly have the capacity to go far but due to the home-way system, it is basically always the same story of being flawless on your home side and grab some rounds on the away one. Last week, they almost managed in getting the draw against BeNe, but the round they gave up in the first set would be the deciding factor causing their defeat.
Surely the boys can have some regrets about it but it also proved that they can be a real challenge to arguably a top 3 nation of this edition. If they keep playing this way and avoid dropping a round early, then they might have a chance against Germany, and could potentially look at the 2nd place of their group.




[size=6pt] PROOFREAD BY @JARVISANDPI PUNDITS @KANE
 
The Favorites

France

During the previous edition, France probably surprised many people by reaching the semi-finals before eventually falling short against the NC winner, Turkey. This year, they will be looking at equalling last year, but with Paulo and Peter missing, their task is going to be harder than ever.
Tardet and Subzero took over the team, the latter having the charge of ingame leader due to strong experience in terms of tournaments, while Tardet will most likely bring the team some sort of cohesion and organization skills.

Same as many other teams, France roster is based on a mix of really good and experienced players, and some newcomers who are yet to prove themselves on the battlefield. It’s certainly a real risk for France to have two players who have never taken part in any sort of warband tournament as part of their main line-up, but judging from the training matches they’ve had, they seem to adapt quite well to the current roster.

All in all, France will have to pass through two big tests in their group (Sweden and Finland) before thinking about going any further. If they show themselves on good form against those two, and manage to take the victory then there is not much capable to stop them from taking first place in their group. However,  that’s certainly not going to be easy for them, and the way they perform in the groups could be a good indicator of how far they could make it in the playoffs.


Russia

The Russian team  really look on point this year.  Despite some early internal conflicts, the team definitely seem ready to have a major impact this year, and look like one of the the most serious contenders for the title. They’re lead by two really experienced players, Arni and Red_War, and while both of them are capable of having massive performances on the field, they also bring lots of cohesion to a team which certainly needs it.

It looks like Russia has everything a team needs to go far in this competition, and despite having a complicated group with Spain and Turkey, they had a really important win this week versus the spaniards, which potentially confirms their ability to claim the 2nd place of their group, and maybe even more.

To my eyes, the main problem of this team has always been fighting among themselves, so if they can fix that and advance all together in the same direction, then they’re definitely one the scariest rosters in this tournament, and a potential threat to anyone. The two captains definitely have their role to play, and their entire team will have to step up when time comes. Their group match against Turkey, the former NC champions, is certainly the kind of test Russia will be looking at to prove themselves in.


Germany

Germany’s performance last year was somewhat disappointing. It’s not so much that they played awfully because clearly, they fought at the best of their abilities but as they gave a win in the group early in the group stage, to Russia, they were forced to take the 2nd place of their group and thus got placed against BeNe in the quarter-final. The match surely was tense and Germany didn’t prove itself unworthy of their reputation yet eventually they lost and it felt like that they went out a bit too early for their liking or expectations.

It clearly looks like things aren’t as good as they were in 2013, when Germany claimed their first NC title under Scar’s captainship, after an amazing match against Turkey. Since then, the team struggled to make it pass the quarter and eventually Scar also gave up on leading the team – but still play with them.

If their roster isn’t obviously the same as it used to be, they still have a good bunch of veterans among their ranks and Germany isn’t lacking anything in term of experience. But in a similar fashion to many teams, they’re coming into this Nations Cup with a relatively small roster. If that leaves basically few room for players to miss matches, it also means that Germany doesn’t have to care too much about turn-over and can work on developing their line-up cohesion to the best of its ability.

Fabio is certainly a competent choice for captainship and I trust in his abilities to lead his team throughout the group-stage without too much troubles. After rolling over Georgia in their opening match, they will be facing USA this week and as it was said many times before, they’re always a team really hard to approach. If a lose wouldn’t be quite acceptable for Germany, a draw is a potential result which wouldn’t surprise me, and wouldn’t necessarily spoil Germany’s chance. But it would also potentially make their situation complicated if they don’t end up beating BeNe afterwards. And If I was Germany, I would really only satisfy myself with a 1st place, to maximize their chances going further in the tournament.


BeNe

BeNe’s journey in the two previous editions of the Nation Cup is rather heart-breaking as they reached the final twice and lost closely those two times against Poland and Turkey. They boys are still looking for this gold medal which seems so hard to get for them.

This year, long-time captain and veteran LeRoux has been taking a break from leading and seems relatively less active than he used to. Therefore, it will be Kane and Ceasar leading their boys what promises to be an intense and long road.
Despite having some key players missing, BeNe has still a huge and impressive roster, with many players known among the competitive scene. On top of that, most of them have been playing together for quite a long time, and therefore, you can expect a certain form of synergy that most of the other teams - forced to include new additions - won’t be capable to match.

As they managed to closely defeat Team USA, BeNe look a comfortable option for the 1st place. Would they keep the same form against Germany? Something easier to say than to do. No matter what, I don’t see BeNe not qualifying. Which leave us to one real question: Will they be capable to go as far as they used to without their beloved ex-captain LeRoux leading? On  paper, the answer is yes, as they possess the individual skill, team play, and experience that only the top teams can rely on. That said, it’s only fair noting that LeRoux created a lot of the cohesion within the team, and that he is an incredible leader, on top of being the deadly ranger he has always been. It will be their task to prove to us that they can live up to their own standards if he isn’t there.


Poland

Last year, Poland probably left the competition with some regrets as they got defeated by Turkey – who would later go on to claim the title – in the quarter-final of. Regrettable, because they were clearly the team which seemed to give Turkey the most resistance, France and BeNe being rather incapable of competing in their respective semi-final and final. Therefore, Poland’s final ranking was probably relatively unfair for them, and coming into this edition, they will be fully committed to ensure that what happened last year was just a mistake, and won’t happen twice.

Last time, UK was placed in same group as them and got defeated by them. This year, the story seems to repeat itself, partially at least, as her Majesty’s soldiers will face Poland in the groups once again. It could also very well be the opportunity for the boys (and girl) lead by Carpediem to redo their exploit and take an important victory. Certainly a close match many will be looking forward to.

Beside this match, I don’t really see Poland falling for Canada, even though they will have to be careful, and especially not against Brazil even if the huge ping difference will make it a hassle to play. Poland has always been a big warband nation, and this year is no exception whatsoever. It will be their job, once the playoffs phase is reached, to play at 100%, and show countless efforts so they don’t have leave the competition with regret, but as champions. At least the new system leaves a small margin for error this time but that doesn’t mean Poland is forced to use it.


United Kingdom

On paper, the United Kingdom once again have put together one of the best rosters in the tournament. As a nation graced with nearly unparalleled talent, for the United Kingdom it will come down to how dedicated their players really are in the end. They've have had a history of starting slow, working their way up, but eventually failing due to their lack of time put into the tournament as a team.

This year however their roster underwent bigger changes than in the last couple of years. With PuffTheDragon and Matt two very active and skilled players join their lineup who have not been a part of last years team. On the other hand the strong Apis Europae core of the team once again got weakened, as M and Azan will most likely not be playing for their nation this year. Losing two extremely experienced commanders that have lead matches at the highest level of play possible is definitely a loss. Losing players that have played in the last couple of years also means a relatively big blow to the level of teamplay, especially during the first few matches.

I'm confident the United Kingdom will make it out of their group, their match against two time champions Poland will tell whether they finish first or second. It will be interesting to see if the United Kingdom will be able to fill their gap in terms of commanding - names like OGL and Deacon immediately come to mind. Whether or not they will be able to bring that little bit more to the table, that has stopped them from winning this tournament thus far, only time will tell. They are the last big warbanding nation that hasn't won this tournament yet, maybe this year their dedication will be in better condition, and drive them to victory.


Turkey

The last year’s victors have come back to the battlefield with the hopes of re-asserting their dominance, and winning the most prestigious title on competitive Warband once more. Even though the 2016 victory for Turkey was the first time they have won the tournament, it was way overdue. Just looking at the past achievement of this team of almost always getting into the final 4 teams is indicative of its historic dominance on the field. Last year’s victory demonstrated to all the Warband community that Turkey, even when missing key players, are never a force to be underestimated. That being said, the main struggle for Turkey this year will be integrating the first timers on the national team such as Tomayus, Lidor, and Flawin, as this will be the biggest tournament they have participated in on a winning oriented team.

Turkey will have to put in a lot of work into their cohesion this year before the elimination rounds begin if they want to stay competitive on closed maps vs. some powerhouses such as Russia, UK or Germany.

We will have to wait and see if the reigning world champions will be able to come back to impress us once again, as they have been either completely dominating, or getting completely destroyed in practice matches. As the tourney progresses, it will be very interesting to see if Turkey starts progressing towards victory, or total decimation. So far so good with a first very one-sided win.




[size=6pt] PROOFREAD BY @JARVISANDPI PUNDITS INVOLVED ARE SCAR_MBW & CAN
 
Will most likely don't have time to post the two other previews before tonight's matches, hopefully tomorow. Sorry about the inconvenience but we'll try to catch up during the next weeks.

Also two other previews, focused on the players, should be released in the upcomings days/weeks, but I can't provide a date quite yet.
 
Same as Iran, Georgia is making its first step in the competitive scene
damn when u started playing warband 2016?
 
LorenzoMorl said:
Same as Iran, Georgia is making its first step in the competitive scene
damn when u started playing warband 2016?

Genuily started playing in late 2013 but didn't follow every events back then. This said, I usually put some research into my writting, just missed your team in 2013 and 2015. Sorry about the inconvenience, will edit it accordingly :wink:
 
Thanks for all the positive comments, they're always really appreciated. I've posted the 'Mid Tier' teams preview, if you notice anything wrong, feel free to PM me. Hoping to post the 'Favorites' part in the day aswell, can't promess anything as it mainly depends on our proofreaders but it should be fine, hopefully. Big thanks to Kane who helped quite a lot with the Pundits this time and Jarvis for the proofreading, as per usual.

On some other notes, we've reviews (for week 1) and previews (for week 2) which are currently being worked on, so stay tuned. As for the two 'new' pundits projects I'm working on, I'm hoping to publish it bewteen week 2 and week 4 but I'm still gathering informations.

Looking forward to week 2 matches.

 
My mans Tardet doesn't mention RW for team Canada! Four people on the roster are from RW and they are all close to if not starters on at least one map! :'(
 
Kragen said:
France is missing in mid tier :party:

Considering we drawed you guys in practice, so is Germany? :p



In all seriousness, If I still believe we didn't necesseraly deserve Pot1 and that France is clearly part of - if the not - the weakest faction in the 'Favorites' ; I wouldn't place us in the 'Mid Tier' just yet. It all comes down to opinions anyways, but we should wait to see how the match against Sweden (and also Finland) goes to have a clear indicator of how France can perform.
 
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