Quite recently – on Thursday of last week, to be precise – BambikXDE reported on SLAKE’s progress in the Army Rising league; however, they only played two matches that Thursday. Since then, the SLAKE players have played three more matches. Before I tell you how they got on, I’d encourage you to read the article by my colleague on the editorial team:
Upcoming matches
SLAKE face some tough challenges ahead, as we currently know the names of our partner’s next three opponents. A date has even been agreed for one of them. On 19 July, at 7.45 pm, they’ll kick off their battle for more points; this time, their opponent will be Five Mana.
Their next opponents will be Horizon (date to be confirmed) and Menszczysni (date also to be confirmed).
Since that article was published, they have played matches against Anakara Messi, Synapse Esports and Signum Esports. Although ‘played’ is perhaps too strong a word in the case of the match against Signum Esports, as both teams forfeited that fixture. We would say that this is a bizarre situation (to say the least), but this is not the first such instance in Arrma’s history; on the contrary, we get the impression that it has recently become quite a common occurrence, with both sides forfeiting matches.
Ankara Ankara Ankara Messi
The match took place on 10 July at 7.45 pm on the de_anubis map. In terms of individual statistics, every player on our partner’s team performed evenly; none of the players had ‘negative stats’, which gives you a bit of a spoiler regarding the result.
Our partner started the match on this beautiful map on the defending side – the weaker side, as the attacking side is favoured, and quite heavily so. However, that didn’t stop them from winning the very first round – the pistol round.
This automatically contributed to a better start to the match. The attacking side did, however, manage to plant the bomb, so the second round was naturally a force round, which they lost; this made things easier for SLAKE in the third round, after which the score stood at three to nil. 3:0
It wasn’t until the fourth round that we saw a closely fought contest (excluding the pistol round), due to Ankara Messi’s financial difficulties. Because of these financial problems faced by the Polish team, the attacking side lacked the funds for an AWP. However, we do not know whether this would have affected the round’s outcome in any way, as SLAKE, the sniper, had nothing to do – the defence of bombsite A, or rather the water defuse site, was that solid.
In round five, the opposition played an ECO round; only ‘bMONSTA’ decided to play the so-called ‘hero’ role with a Galil. However, he failed to secure a single frag. 5:0.
Ankara Messi responds…
In round six, we witnessed the second full vs full round. Thanks to sound economic management and a strong start to the round by SLAKE, the scoreboard read 5–0 before this round even began. In this round, ezox666 opened the scoring with his sniper, thwarting Rocket’s plans, who was merely causing chaos at bombsite B. It seems the attackers’ original plan was to split at A, but this turned into a push on bombsite B in a 2v1 situation, where the wazak found himself in a 1v2 scenario – this time it didn’t work out. 5:1
The next round also went to the attackers, again a full-on clash. In this round, we essentially saw the attackers controlling the entire map. They had one player in the connector, one at A, one at mid and one at B. Ultimately, however, the attackers opted for a split push via the connector and the main route to B, which proved to be a masterstroke, whilst JumpeR, who was left in a 1v3 situation, couldn’t do much. 5:2
…but not for long
The Ankara Messi team slowly began to gain the upper hand, but not for long, as ezox opened the round with his sniper rifle, securing a kill at mid. The SLAKE players took a risk by taking the water shortcut from the connector, which paid off, and thanks to that they won round number eight. 6:2
An ECO round by Ankara Messi and a quick push through mid – what could possibly go wrong? Cutting off the opponent’s escape route, Paffcio knew exactly what to do in this situation, and he made the most of it, cutting off the mid lane from B and blocking the attacking team’s escape route. Ankara Messi were pinned down from all sides, almost as if SLAKE’s defence consisted of Ramos and Pepe in their heyday. 7:2
Another round of full-on action, but this time Ankara Messi’s kit is a bit lacking. An attempt to rush the B bombsite – once again, the quick push failed. 8:2
Ankara Messi returned to what had worked for them earlier: playing a strong mid-game in the opening phase. They ended the round with a split push to bombsite A, which proved to be a masterstroke for the Messi players. 8:3
The final round of the first half saw an attempt to catch the opposition off guard by quickly securing the water point – something Ankara Messi hadn’t tried before. They attempted a full-team push from the connector towards bombsite B, but three SLAKE players were waiting there, resulting in a lost round. 9:3
First half, 9:3.
Sides switched, with SLAKE now on the attacking side; right from the opening seconds, we see fast-paced play, a water capture and an attempt to push towards bombsite A, though the decision was changed shortly afterwards and it was bombsite B where Paweł JumpeR planted the bomb. 10:3
In the second round after the sides switched, the defending team opted for a force; in the first clash in the mid, it was SLAKE who emerged victorious, which set the tone for the round. 11:3
Round 15: full vs force. We see a swift push by SLAKE onto Site A using PMs. They stormed in as if it were their own territory, with NikS securing two quick eliminations; his teammates provided support, and the round was won without any losses. 12:3
Once again, we see SLAKE quickly secure the water point and use grenades similar to the previous round, followed by an attempt to enter Site A’. The site was already occupied, but Paffcio took a headshot from the Swede, and this time SLAKE lost the round. 12:4
Once again, SLAKE quickly secure the water, take control of shortcut A, and once again give the impression that they’re about to move in on site A.
The players from the partner squad all five entered from the main, where they’d won their duels, and the whole match ended just like that, at bombsite A. 13:4
| SLAKE |  |
13:4 |  |
Ankara Messi | | | anubis |  |
Rising S13, Round 3 |
A walkover for both sides – a classic ARRMY result?
The day after the match against Messi, a match between Signum Esports and SLAKE was due to take place. It was scheduled for 9.00 pm, but ultimately did not take place, and the match resulted in a mutual walkover – something that has become quite a common occurrence on ARRMY recently.
This time it went ahead, without any walkovers
The day after the mutual walkover, at 8.15 pm, SLAKE faced Synapse Esports. The map was different this time; we were watching Nuke. The opposing team had the final ban, with a choice between Train and Nuke; they banned Train, so we ended up watching Nuke in the match. On an individual level, no one stood out, although this time Paffcio had a poorer game (9/14); the rest of the team were on form for this match. Let’s just say that’s how the draw fell, and this match against Ankara Messi will be the one covered in most detail in this article.
SLAKE started on the attacking side, where they began by losing the pistol round, followed by round two. 0:2
The turning point came in the third round of the match. 1:2
The fourth round, in which the opponents were playing with inferior kit, went their way. 1:3
Something must have clicked for the SLAKE players, as from round five onwards we witnessed a four-round winning streak. 5:3
Synapse Esports roused themselves briefly, taking two consecutive rounds after SLAKE’s winning streak, which levelled the score. 5:5
SLAKE took round 11, whilst Synapse Esports won the last round, leaving the score level at half-time. 6:6
After the side switch, SLAKE won the pistol round and the next two. 9:6
Synapse Esports broke their losing streak by winning round four after the side switch. 9:7
From then on, we witnessed nothing but dominance from SLAKE, who won every round except round 20, and the match ended with a 13–8 victory for our partner.
| SLAKE | |
13:8 | |
Synapse Esports | | | nuke | |
Rising S13, Round 5 |
At the top
After five matches played (effectively four), SLAKE sit third in the ARRMY Rising league table. At the moment, they are in a position that qualifies them for the knockout stage. With three wins and one defeat, their round difference stands at +17. SLAKE are performing well so far. Without taking anything away from their previous opponents, the real test is yet to come.
SLAKE (x.com — Facebook — team profile)
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