The fifth season of the Warband Native League would see the rivalry Warbands Three Kings continue. Freelancers had proved their mettle, taking the championship in season two of the ECS. They would make a return alongside defeated finalist Apis Europae, who were hungry to gain revenge for their lost title in the European Championship Series. Next to them stood KURWA with a truly fearsome roster. Beneath these three top favourites, teams such as Defenders of Wonwokie, Irish Rebels and unified French giants Unity offered genuine upset potential. Renegades would also make their return with a weakened roster but still offered some threat, alongside equally the equally strong Guard of Istiniar and Aequalitas.
After the short break, some had expected Freelancers to need some time to grow into the tournament, but they send out a message by flattening Irish Rebels in Week 1. Guard of Istiniar would cause an upset with their biggest result in some time, drawing with KURWA. Apis Europae would take full advantage of these results when they defeated Freelancers in Week 3. The troubles of last tournaments champion would continue as they fell to a surprising albeit close loss to Wonwokie, potentially leaving AE and KURWA to fight it out for the top seeds. KURWA regained the ground they had previously lost by defeating bitter rivals Apis Europae in Week 4, leaving everything to play for. In the final two weeks of the ladder stage, AE and KURWA would play each other another two times, with Apis Europae winning the first comfortably and falling to a narrow loss in the second. Elsewhere Freelancers and Ferocious Trident Wielders had strong run-ins to gain the higher seeds
Going into the knockout stage, KURWA, who had finished the regular season in first place, saw themselves confronted with French juggernauts Unity. It would prove to be a fixture more difficult than many expected as Paulos talented Unity side defeated favourites KURWA. With one of the tournament favourites eliminated, the quarter final between Freelancers and Apis Europae became even more vital. It was the men in black and yellow coming out on top, succesfully taking revenge for their defeat in the ECS2 finals. In the remaining two games of the tournament, Apis Europae then showed all its class and experience. After throwing Unity out of the tournament without losing a round in what many now expected to be a close match, it was an eight cavalry strategy that caught Irish Rebels completely unprepared on the second map of the finals, thus deciding the championship.
The fifth season of the Warband Native League was considered a huge success in the eyes of the community, as it saw incredibly exciting fixtures between hugely competitive sides almost every week. Desolation Valley was heavily criticized after the one-sided final, however, and was therefore removed from the mappools of the following tournaments. |