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MATCH REVIEW
| | | Since the beginning of the competition, it was rather obvious a lot would come down to this encounter between Polish Eagles and Sacrosanct, in group A.
Maps were Naval Outpost and Legacy Town, two relatively closed areas, but knowing both rosters had depth in every class category, it was rather unclear who would take the advantage on either map.
On Naval Outpost, Polish Eagle started as Vaegirs while Sacrosanct would play Rhodoks. Things started to kick off when Bendetto got the first kill of the match on ColonelKurtz, taking one of the two cavalries from Polish Eagles, quickly followed by Garde picking up Prince who had isolated himself. Polish Eagle eventually fought back with a bunch of trades and a nice double kill from Matafiks but Sacrosanct had started too strong and despite Bendetto disconnecting, they took the round.
On the second round, flag spawned at the boat in favor of Polish Eagles. When Sacrosanct reached that position, fight broke out at the rock with an opening kill from Prince on Garde but Sacrosanct infantry was too strong and picked up kills one by one, doubling their score in quite a convincing fashion.
Momentum was clearly in favor of Sacrosanct and they could have closed the first side without losing a single round if it wasn’t for Polish Eagle to push aggressively in melee without waiting for the flag to spawn, Warhammer and Prince putting on some big numbers by literally slaying almost the entire team of Sacrosanct.
"POLISH EAGLE LOOKED UNSTOPPABLE ON LEGACY TOWN"
Flag spawned at the boat again during the new round. However a mistake from Prince who had isolated himself from the rest of his squad allowed Sacrosanct cavalries to pick him off without any possibility for revenge. Without their main archer support, Polish Eagle fell short, losing the engagement and Sacrosanct managed to close out the first side in their favour, 3-1.
The first round of the second side saw the flag spawning on the boat with this time Sacrosanct in a defensive position. Berg got the first opening kill, but PE quickly responded with Woj and Marek getting two kills each while the teams were engaged. However, being in a 4v7 situation, Sacrosanct managed to clutch quite the impossible, with everyone from their remaining players heavily stepping up, only losing one cavalry in the process.
With the flag spawning in favourr of Polish Eagles in the following round, Sacrosanct sent all of their infantry and archers through the arch while their two cavalries would bypass in the middle. Unfortunately for them, Prince found two opening kills on PuffTheDragon and Bendetto, just when the two packs were about to clash. Things went from bad to worse for Sacrosanct, unable to take down more than two players from Polish Eagles.
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On the third round, flag spawned on the boat once again and despite Polish Eagles taking the first kills, same as the previous round. It looked like Sacrosanct could clutch it again for a moment but this time Polish Eagle didn’t let this round slip away from their hands and came back closer from Sacrosanct, 3-4, mainly thanks to Woj and Sebek carrying the whole squad that round.
The fourth round was pretty much a reverse of what happened before, momentum completely switching side as Sacrosanct decimated the Polish squad near fountain, only losing two players also looking dominant for most of the fight.
On the last round, Polish Eagle had the flag spawning to their side but they had lost any economic advantage and were back to almost default gear. Sacrosanct took their time and despite Garde falling early, kills were efficiently traded by Ascarion, Pusiak and PuffTheDragon to push Sacrosanct to a convincing first map victory, 6-3.
Starting the second map, Legacy Town, three rounds down, didn’t necessarily mean the end of the world for Polish Eagles however it certainly limited their room for mistakes as one round lost could cost them the victory. Having to play the weakest side first, PE had no choice but to play all in and hope for the best.
It didn’t prevent them from pushing straight towards the Sacrosanct squad, contesting a huge portion of the map during the first round. However, when flag spawned behind them, they got caught a bit out of position and Sacrosanct could take the flag first. Both teams exchanged a couple of javelins, Prince taking royal low before eventually getting killed by Ascarion. When fight broke out, both teams had trades going their way until it reaches a 3v3 situation which Polish Eagles managed to win, getting a very important round.
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| Polish Eagles | 9 | | | | Sacrosanct | 6 |
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On the second round, flag spawned in favour of Polish Eagle however, instead of defending it, they ran through mid-alley, denying that part of the map to their opponent. As Sacrosanct were falling back a little bit to re-position themselves, Pon managed to take down Ascarion with a javelin which lead the Polish squad to initiate an aggressive push. A few kills got exchanged but eventually synergy and momentum were stronger in PE side and they took the second round, only trailing by one round.
The following round, both squads met eachother relatively soon and it was Polish Eagle who managed to take the strongest positions, sending Sacrosanct back to their spawn. Luckily for Sacrosanct, flag spawned at the other side of the map which helped them arriving a bit quicker than the Polish Eagles. Vernon teamkilled BlackTide with a javelin but BlackTide eventually had the time to take Prince down before that, keeping things somewhat even. Vernon redeemed himself as he slayed Pon but the rest of his team didn’t find the same success and despite a messy fight with way too many unnecessary teamkills on both sides, it was Polish Eagle to get back to an even score line, 6-6.
Starting the last side of the match, it was certainly Polish Eagles in the driver's seat, and things went from bad to worse for Sacrosanct as they couldn’t repeat the same success PE had as Sarranids.
The first round was close to an extent, as it came down to a 4v4 situation, but it was Polish Eagles who took it once again. At this point Sacrosanct probably felt the momentum definitely switch in favor of their opponent, as PE got the flag spawning toward their side and didn’t have any problem whatsoever closing the round, losing only one player.
Fully geared-up, Polish Eagles knew not much separated them from the final victory, and the last round saw them rolling over a Sacrosanct team clearly running out of steam, to take the match 9-6.
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Conclusion
Polish Eagles versus Sacrosanct certainly was the match we were expecting, as it provided lots of tense action, close combat, and important clutches. For a long time, both teams looked capable of taking the match. Sacrosanct with a great display on the first map, for instance. But the Polish Eagles managed to achieve what not many could have seen possible, getting a clean sheet as Sarranids against Nords, on a closed map.
Same as last week, Sacrosanct will most likely share many regrets about this match, because they once again didn't miss much and looked extremely strong on the first map. For their first tournament on Native, they certainly don't have to feel ashamed - as they were placed in the hardest group, and if there is one thing which is certain, it’s that Sacrosanct have incredible potential. While it is unlikely they make it to the playoffs for this event, I hope they will learn from this experience and stick together in future, as other tournaments will most likely happen after the Warband Summer Cup.
As for the Polish Eagles, they will certainly feel happy about the outcome of this match but ttheir task isn't over just yet. They are yet to face Apis Europae, and considering the winner of that will take the first place, they will intend to come prepared, as a victory could grant them an easier road in the playoffs.
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Good job mate 
