This article aims to expand on the strengths and weaknesses of the teams fighting in the Semi-Finals. We will take a look at who the keyplayers are, and what we can expect from this Semi-Finals.
Napoleon's Freelancers started in Group A of the ECS. Facing the Heroes of Agincourt first. A match they would win 16-0. Moving on to the winner's match of their group, they faced the Polish Eagles. A match Freelancers would win 15-1.
In Quarter Finals, Freelancers meet IG. A match they would also win 16-0.
So in total, Freelancers have played 48 rounds. Of these 48 they won 47 and only lost one round to PE. That is impressive. Freelancers utterly dominate their opponents. Even when they reach the win at 9-0, they push on to get themselves wins that show to everyone how strong they are. A 16-0 followed by a 15-1 and then another 16-0 shows to anyone that this is why Freelancers is part of the four giants (the other three being AE, Castellan and WeDontYou).
Strengths and Weaknesses
Next to the amazing skill all of their players have, Freelancers is a team formed by Napoleon. Which I think for them is a strength.
He seems to always get the teams he plays for in top shape. You could see it in team Turkey in NC2015. And you can see it again now. He has formed around him a team of superstars, and he makes it work.
I think a lot of people underestimate the work that you have to put in to make a team like that work. It's not easy keeping 8 very good players close together and get them to teamplay.
Next to this team-managing skills, he has also proved himself to be an excellent commander and tactician.
The other strength Freelancers have is Menethil. Menethil is an animal, a god of Warband. No matter in what position you put him, he will always do something. When you are facing a team of equal skill, a player like Menethil is what will make the difference.
It's hard to find a weakness in Freelancers. If there is one thing I could say it is that I wonder how well they can cope with early deaths. But I am not sure about this.
Let's say you get early kills on Freelancers, take out Menethil and Grenade before the flag spawns. I think that's the key to winning rounds. Because I am not sure if they can manage dealing with early losses.
Key Players
Mini-Interview
How do you feel your match in the Semi-Finals of the ECS will go?
Napoleon: We know the power of our opponent and as always we are working hard.In this match-up we seem to be favourites.We witnessed favourites failed sometimes against underdogs.So i wish it will not go the same way as it did in NC15 against BeNe.I feel like we would win 12-4 but yeah, some theories don't work in practice.
What have you learned from this ECS that will improve your team in future tournaments?
Napoleon: Can't say we learned a lot from ECS up to the present.We haven't fought top tier teams yet. So I can say tournament just started for us .For answer to the your question about future tournaments, there will be no Freelancers in future tournaments, because I just made F_ for this short tournament. I dont have enough energy to lead a team in longer tournament. I'd rather join a team and become a ordinary member for next tourney
Do you have a message for your opponents?
Napoleon: Yes, I do. Stop badmouthing and hate. Play your game for the victory. Respect the enemy for their hard work if you win. Don't lose your maturity in any case.
IR is the only team in the top 4 to start their tournament with a loss. In a very close game against DoF, IR couldn't make it happen. They were the favourites. However this seems to be the loss they needed. After this loss they would win 12 rounds every time against their future opponents.
In the Group C Loser's Match vs Malta they would show why they didn't have to go through qualifiers. While they won to Malta, Castellan would beat DoF in the Winner's match of Group C.
This meant that IR and DoF would fight again. After the performance of DoF against IR and Castellan, many considered both teams to be equal. However in this match, IR would dominate DoF and continue to the Quarter-Finals!
In the Quarter-Finals IR faced Legend. Again it seemed that both teams were equal in skill and it could turn out to be a close game. Again IR dominated, and that seems to be the story of IR.
They lost their first match, which hit them hard. After that they dominated their opponents.
Strengths and Weaknesses
One of the big strenghts of IR is their cavalry. Hopkiin and Donut deliver time and time again. They pick up kills when they need to. Next to their cavalry, you'd be a fool to underestimate the IR archers. Atilla is one of the players who can explode. He won't get 1 kill every round, he'll get 4 kills in one crucial round.
A weakness I see in IR, and this is not meant to insult them, is this: "Is it enough?"
Is what the offer right now enough to play with the giants? Although they have proven to be a strong time after their first loss, I wonder if they can step it up even more and be a threat to Freelancers.
Key Players
Mini-Interview
How do you feel your match in the Semi-Finals of the ECS will go?
Dragz: The match against Freelancers will without a doubt be the hardest of our ECS matches so far. Although Freelancers seem to be the favourites and most people believe that IR is not a "top team"
we will do our best to prove them wrong. I don't expect this to be a walk in the park for any of the two teams, both will have to play their best to win.
What have you learned from this ECS that will improve your team in future tournaments?
Dragz: The biggest lesson we learned is to not underestimate any team.
Do you have a message for your opponents?
Dragz: Nope.
Freelancers vs Irish Rebels
The first big question that comes to my mind is this:"Will IR be able to pierce through the consistency of Freelancers?"
With that I mean that for me this match comes down to IR. We all know Freelancers is a great team, a giant. I wonder if IR will find a hole in Freelancers.
Something they can exploit to get rounds on the board.
I think you need to look for early kills. If IR manage to get some green-text going early round, I feel confident that they can take rounds.
Another big thing is how solid IR plays. They cannot make a single mistake against Freelancers. Because Freelancers have the type of players that will capitalize on those mistakes.
Let's take a closer look at the maps and factions!
The first map is San'di'Boush with Nords vs Swadia.
Freelancers start as Nords, which I think gives them an advantage. IR will have to get in the flow of things, I think they will feel a bit nervous. IR need a good start, stopping Freelancers with no advantage is hard enough, if they get armour going it will be even harder. For IR to stand a chance, I think they need to get atleast 3 rounds on San'di'Boush. Anything else than that will be hard to work with on Field by the River.
Freelancers will play their game, solid, a tad defensive unless they see opportunities.
I hope IR plays a bit aggressive, tries to force some fights on Freelancers, as Swadia this will be difficult. What will be very interesting to watch is how IR use their crossbows in their engagements, perhaps they can draw Freelancers into a crossfire, get some damage done and wait for the flags?
On Field by the River the factions are Vaegirs and Sarranids.
I actually expect Field by the River will be easier for IR. Their cav can put in the work needed to secure rounds. If they can combine that with solid teamplay and not getting surprised by aggressive moves from Freelancers I think they stand a good chance on Field by the River.
To summarize for this Semi-Finals, I will be looking at IR mostly. See what they bring to the table, and hope they make it a dynamic, interesting match with solid performances.
For IR, look out for explosive cav plays, good multi kills from their arches, and solid, no-mistake-play by their infantry.
For Freelancers, look out for the entire picture, how they teamplay and how they move as a team.
You can watch this match live at MB_tv streamed by @CaptainLust at 19:00 BST!
Article was written by @LeRouxTheBee, images edited by @bombawarband, for which I am very grateful my friend!
Statistics came from Harman's ECS Statistics Thread, where he obviously does an amazing job!
Also thank you to all the four teams, as all of them helped me out getting pictures and providing me with additional information to make a hopefully cool article!
Thank you to the Sponsors of the ECS, pretty damn cool to see how far we've come.
Freelancers
Napoleon's Freelancers started in Group A of the ECS. Facing the Heroes of Agincourt first. A match they would win 16-0. Moving on to the winner's match of their group, they faced the Polish Eagles. A match Freelancers would win 15-1.
In Quarter Finals, Freelancers meet IG. A match they would also win 16-0.
So in total, Freelancers have played 48 rounds. Of these 48 they won 47 and only lost one round to PE. That is impressive. Freelancers utterly dominate their opponents. Even when they reach the win at 9-0, they push on to get themselves wins that show to everyone how strong they are. A 16-0 followed by a 15-1 and then another 16-0 shows to anyone that this is why Freelancers is part of the four giants (the other three being AE, Castellan and WeDontYou).
Strengths and Weaknesses
Next to the amazing skill all of their players have, Freelancers is a team formed by Napoleon. Which I think for them is a strength.
He seems to always get the teams he plays for in top shape. You could see it in team Turkey in NC2015. And you can see it again now. He has formed around him a team of superstars, and he makes it work.
I think a lot of people underestimate the work that you have to put in to make a team like that work. It's not easy keeping 8 very good players close together and get them to teamplay.
Next to this team-managing skills, he has also proved himself to be an excellent commander and tactician.
The other strength Freelancers have is Menethil. Menethil is an animal, a god of Warband. No matter in what position you put him, he will always do something. When you are facing a team of equal skill, a player like Menethil is what will make the difference.
It's hard to find a weakness in Freelancers. If there is one thing I could say it is that I wonder how well they can cope with early deaths. But I am not sure about this.
Let's say you get early kills on Freelancers, take out Menethil and Grenade before the flag spawns. I think that's the key to winning rounds. Because I am not sure if they can manage dealing with early losses.
Key Players
Everybody knows Menethil, one of the most respected players in the scene. Nobody can deny how strong Menethil is. Certainly during NC2015 the best ranger, arguably it's a title he still holds. I don't have to write much about Menethil. He's a god. He gets a lot of kills. And he makes the game seem effortless, yes I am a Menethil-fanboy. And I'm not afraid to admit it. Menethil has 29 kills and 6 deaths. He has played 32 rounds for Freelancers this tournament in three matches. K/D Ratio: 4,8 Kills/ Rounds Played: 0,91 |
Tirtil and Menethil is a deadly force, one where Tirtil certainly isn't any less dangerous than Menethil. Perhaps the ranger with the best pure aim right now. I feel Tirtil isn't a player who dominates players or teams. He'll get the same amount of kills against top teams or tier 2 teams. The thing is how consistent he is, he will always get kills, he will always do something. And that's what makes him so dangerous, the combination of pure aiming skill and his consistency in putting in work. Tirtil has 36 kills and 7 deaths. He has played 44 rounds for Freelancers this tournament in three matches. K/D Ratio: 5,14 Kills/ Rounds Played: 0,82 |
If you look at his stats, Grenade doesn't look like the beast we all know he can sometimes be. Having played only 24 rounds so far, I am confident his time is still to come. He is the kind of player who I'd like to refer to as 'support'-cav in the way that he is very skilled at teamplay, bumping, the right moments to come in, keeping enemy cavalry away. And that's what makes him annoying to play against, he'll get his kills, he'll do his job, but more so you can never really forget about him until you're sure he's dead. Grenade has 10 kills and 10 deaths. He has played 24 rounds for Freelancers this tournament in three matches. K/D Ratio: 1 Kills/ Rounds Played: 0,42 |
Mini-Interview
How do you feel your match in the Semi-Finals of the ECS will go?
Napoleon: We know the power of our opponent and as always we are working hard.In this match-up we seem to be favourites.We witnessed favourites failed sometimes against underdogs.So i wish it will not go the same way as it did in NC15 against BeNe.I feel like we would win 12-4 but yeah, some theories don't work in practice.
What have you learned from this ECS that will improve your team in future tournaments?
Napoleon: Can't say we learned a lot from ECS up to the present.We haven't fought top tier teams yet. So I can say tournament just started for us .For answer to the your question about future tournaments, there will be no Freelancers in future tournaments, because I just made F_ for this short tournament. I dont have enough energy to lead a team in longer tournament. I'd rather join a team and become a ordinary member for next tourney
Do you have a message for your opponents?
Napoleon: Yes, I do. Stop badmouthing and hate. Play your game for the victory. Respect the enemy for their hard work if you win. Don't lose your maturity in any case.
Irish Rebels
IR is the only team in the top 4 to start their tournament with a loss. In a very close game against DoF, IR couldn't make it happen. They were the favourites. However this seems to be the loss they needed. After this loss they would win 12 rounds every time against their future opponents.
In the Group C Loser's Match vs Malta they would show why they didn't have to go through qualifiers. While they won to Malta, Castellan would beat DoF in the Winner's match of Group C.
This meant that IR and DoF would fight again. After the performance of DoF against IR and Castellan, many considered both teams to be equal. However in this match, IR would dominate DoF and continue to the Quarter-Finals!
In the Quarter-Finals IR faced Legend. Again it seemed that both teams were equal in skill and it could turn out to be a close game. Again IR dominated, and that seems to be the story of IR.
They lost their first match, which hit them hard. After that they dominated their opponents.
Strengths and Weaknesses
One of the big strenghts of IR is their cavalry. Hopkiin and Donut deliver time and time again. They pick up kills when they need to. Next to their cavalry, you'd be a fool to underestimate the IR archers. Atilla is one of the players who can explode. He won't get 1 kill every round, he'll get 4 kills in one crucial round.
A weakness I see in IR, and this is not meant to insult them, is this: "Is it enough?"
Is what the offer right now enough to play with the giants? Although they have proven to be a strong time after their first loss, I wonder if they can step it up even more and be a threat to Freelancers.
Key Players
As I said before, Atilla is very explosive, both in-game and on teamspeak. If he focuses he can get very good shots. And if you put him in the right position he will get multiple kills every round. We all know he has a strong personality, but in my opinion this makes him as fun as he is. When he dies you know he will be angry, and when he gets crazy shots you know he'll be hyping up his team! Atilla has been looking in fine form this tournament, if he can continue his form against Freelancers, he might be what they need to start breaking down the wall of pure dominance that is Freelancers. Atilla has 37 kills and 18 deaths. He has played 36 rounds for IR in four matches. K/D Ratio: 2,06 Kills/ Rounds Played: 1,03 |
Hopkiin is one of those cavalry players who plays on the brink of madness. What I mean with that is that sometimes it seems he just goes crazy, but he has everything planned. He's the kind of players that will get you multi kills consistently. He doesn't care who you are, he'll try to kill you anyway. Seems to me that he isn't easily intimidated by his opponents. Come to think of it, he's one of those players who's just fun to watch. Hopkiin's job in the Semi-Finals will be to keep his team together. A quick and smart player like himself will need to be in the right place at the right moment every single time. I think he can do it! Hopkiin has 48 kills and 13 deaths. He has played 36 rounds for IR in four matches. K/D Ratio: 3,69 Kills/ Rounds Played: 1,33 |
Sebek is a beast infantry. From the times I've personally played with him I can tell you he can teamplay with anyone. And that's what makes him so versatile and useful to have in tense matches. He'll keep his composure and he'll adapt to any situation almost immediatly. Against Freelancers Sebek will just have to plow through Freelancers' infantry. Seeing as how he played in NC2015, I think there's a good chance that that is what he'll do. Sebek has 29 kills and 19 deaths. He has played 44 rounds for IR in four matches. K/D Ratio: 1,53 Kills/ Rounds Played: 0,66 |
Mini-Interview
How do you feel your match in the Semi-Finals of the ECS will go?
Dragz: The match against Freelancers will without a doubt be the hardest of our ECS matches so far. Although Freelancers seem to be the favourites and most people believe that IR is not a "top team"
we will do our best to prove them wrong. I don't expect this to be a walk in the park for any of the two teams, both will have to play their best to win.
What have you learned from this ECS that will improve your team in future tournaments?
Dragz: The biggest lesson we learned is to not underestimate any team.
Do you have a message for your opponents?
Dragz: Nope.
What can we expect from this Semi-Finals, and what do we need to look out for?
Freelancers vs Irish Rebels
The first big question that comes to my mind is this:"Will IR be able to pierce through the consistency of Freelancers?"
With that I mean that for me this match comes down to IR. We all know Freelancers is a great team, a giant. I wonder if IR will find a hole in Freelancers.
Something they can exploit to get rounds on the board.
I think you need to look for early kills. If IR manage to get some green-text going early round, I feel confident that they can take rounds.
Another big thing is how solid IR plays. They cannot make a single mistake against Freelancers. Because Freelancers have the type of players that will capitalize on those mistakes.
Let's take a closer look at the maps and factions!
The first map is San'di'Boush with Nords vs Swadia.
Freelancers start as Nords, which I think gives them an advantage. IR will have to get in the flow of things, I think they will feel a bit nervous. IR need a good start, stopping Freelancers with no advantage is hard enough, if they get armour going it will be even harder. For IR to stand a chance, I think they need to get atleast 3 rounds on San'di'Boush. Anything else than that will be hard to work with on Field by the River.
Freelancers will play their game, solid, a tad defensive unless they see opportunities.
I hope IR plays a bit aggressive, tries to force some fights on Freelancers, as Swadia this will be difficult. What will be very interesting to watch is how IR use their crossbows in their engagements, perhaps they can draw Freelancers into a crossfire, get some damage done and wait for the flags?
On Field by the River the factions are Vaegirs and Sarranids.
I actually expect Field by the River will be easier for IR. Their cav can put in the work needed to secure rounds. If they can combine that with solid teamplay and not getting surprised by aggressive moves from Freelancers I think they stand a good chance on Field by the River.
To summarize for this Semi-Finals, I will be looking at IR mostly. See what they bring to the table, and hope they make it a dynamic, interesting match with solid performances.
For IR, look out for explosive cav plays, good multi kills from their arches, and solid, no-mistake-play by their infantry.
For Freelancers, look out for the entire picture, how they teamplay and how they move as a team.
You can watch this match live at MB_tv streamed by @CaptainLust at 19:00 BST!
Article was written by @LeRouxTheBee, images edited by @bombawarband, for which I am very grateful my friend!
Statistics came from Harman's ECS Statistics Thread, where he obviously does an amazing job!
Also thank you to all the four teams, as all of them helped me out getting pictures and providing me with additional information to make a hopefully cool article!
Thank you to the Sponsors of the ECS, pretty damn cool to see how far we've come.