tl;dr version:

iM wins repair tool round and selects Arica Harbor.
Arica Round 1 - Archaic win 59-0
Arica Round 2 - Archaic win 71-0

Archaic select Laguna Alta as map 2.

Laguna Alta Round 1 - Round draw at 0-0 (server gives win to Archaic).
Laguna Alta Round 2 - Archaic win 14-0

With an immaculate record on the venerable Arica Harbor, Team Immunity opted to take the fight to the sea-side township to flex some inf muscle and play into what had previously been a gaping weakness in the Archaic team's skill set. This illusion of domination was soon to be evaporated as the Archaic boys reminded of us why we have been scrimming them since day one. Their ability to perpetuate squad flow and play shone through to open an early lead which iM soon realised was going to be a tough one to claw back. The round dripped onwards with the fight being centralised on the B flag as both teams struggled to keep a full compliment of bodies in the large radius to wrangle control. Minor flanks were made by both teams but to my recollection, none were successful.

With this, Archaic maintained possession of flag majority for the larger portion (if not all) of the round and took the round 1 victory convincingly. While the effect of the loss was felt in the iM ranks, consolation was taken in that we had played the more difficult of the two sides and the next round was our stage to turn the tables.

Round 2 kicked off in superb form with iM securing both key flags and positioning themselves for the lockdown. Squad v squad skirmishes took place often simultaneously on the high and mid sections of the town but iM had their foothold and were quite happy to keep it that way. In a bid to dislodge the lockdown, Archaic went for the reach around but iM countered successfully by taking the only flag that Archaic currently held. This harmony was not to be though with the CyberGamer booking system exercising its authority and changing the map. I cannot and will not repeat the level of utter disgust I have for this occurring in a semi finals match of such intensity but I think you can catch my drift if I say that we were a bit more than disappointed.

After the usual map changing circus, the admin ruled that we replay the round from the start and we set out to repeat our efforts. This was not to be though with both squad runners getting the ultra troll spawn at the maximal distance from flag and both squads struggling to get into place in time to secure the advantage. The round played out in a pretty unconvincing performance from both teams in my opinion but Archaic's diligence in swarming won out and saw them come away with the win. Our top side squad was displaced for the greater portion of the round and without that foothold the mid squad was all but useless towards holding off the invaders. The win was chalked up and Archaic selected my personal favourite, Laguna Alta, to be the make or break map of the night.

Historically iM have had an upper hand on Laguna Alta but we were definitely not going to make the same mistake twice and went tenderly into Alta, preparing for some Archaic magic. Round 1 kicked off well with Archaic as Russia taking the two close flags (A & B) and iM contesting B and taking C. The gamble on B was countered successfully and the round settled into a rhythm of flag tennis as both teams struggled to get flag majority for the bleed. Despite opening an early lead over iM, iM managed to claw out of the 30 or 40 ticket deficit to level the ticket counts with some quality flag takes and squad wipes and the game was sizing up to be of epic proportions. The game eventually went down to the line with the showdown taking place at B as the Archaic APC rolled in and demolished our inf squad to finish the round 0-0.

Round 2 started and iM were happy in the knowledge that pulling off a win of 1-0 or greater was sufficient to take the war out to a third mystery map. Unfortunately it just was not our day with our hold on the A flag proving to be a costly addiction as too many tickets were not being recovered. The flag tennis again was the dish of choice and Archaic were clearly focusing their discipline into ensuring they picked up stray kills to get the lead and maintain it. The make or break moment was when the illustrious Mr Prime Time was kicked from server and the Archaic APC broke free from it's makeshift prison. Now loose, it was like a rabid cat in the pigeons, slaughtering our inf by the handful. This sealed our fate and the deed was done. Archaic had the victory and the iM boys were left with a heavy wake up call.

All the best to Archaic in the grand finals. You boys play a mean game and we will be looking forward to clashing again on the battlefield for another monolithic fight.

Chief

goooooooood read.

Nice write up Chief!. BL iM

well done Archaic

good stuff arc

nice work!

A few cases of AIDS hurting iM at crucial times

WD Arc, bl iM - great vid cast.

Wd Arc Bl iM
Shame that sudden map changes mid-round by the CG booking system have not been resolved this far in to the competition.

GG guys, was very tight on Alta and Arica was intense
I thought we had B and had something else flashing?

Yeah pretty sure we had A and C at that point with our top squad assigned to A and my squad on C - you were poised to get a bit of sandwhich action. Regardless, CG server had the last laugh in that skirmish.

back to the gym to work on them biceps

bl there team immunity.intel wd archaic esports msy

msi*

Very amateur for what is supposed to be a professional competition.

Good write up Chief.

wd arc bl iM. Good write up.