Over a month ago, SLAKE announced that they were looking for three players following the departure of grim, bunnyhug and micho from their squad. However, they have not yet managed to find permanent players whose signings we could see announced via their social media channels. Despite this, they have already played their first two matches of the 13th season of Army Rising, in which they were most likely testing new players.
Season opener – vs LookingForOrg
The first match was against a team looking for an organisation, namely ex-Omen Esports (now Pandemonium). The match took place on the Anubis map, where, without well-rehearsed tactics in the new line-up, our partner was still able to put up a fight. They started on the defending side, where on a map like this, winning just 5 rounds in the first half is enough to secure a strong position for the rest of the match. Winning the pistol round made this task particularly easy, as it gave our partner a quick 2-0 lead. After that, the opponents won the first full round, and the lead became 4-0. From that moment on, the rivals decided to attempt a comeback, and they succeeded to some extent; thanks to winning three rounds, they closed the gap on SLAKE. However, a draw had not yet materialised, thanks to a win by our favourites. The score was finally levelled in the 10th round, allowing LookingForOrg to fight for a better result after the first half. The result we saw, however, could be considered a success for our partner, as it was a 6-6 draw.
In the first half, our partner’s team performed very well, but it is in the second half that they need to win a further 7 rounds. The pistol round could have helped a great deal here, but SLAKE failed to secure it. Immediately afterwards, however, they opted for a force round, which allowed them to break through their opponents’ defences and, as a result, take a 9-7 lead shortly afterwards. However, the time had come for the most crucial full vs full showdowns. In these, our partner performed just as well, bringing the score to 11:7. The opponents managed to score the next two points, and just when it seemed we were in for a comeback, SLAKE crushed the competition in the final two rounds, winning the match 13-9 and thus starting the season with a victory.
Defeat under unexplained circumstances – vs Valiance
The higher the Arrma leagues, the less often walkovers occur, yet even in the top leagues they do happen for unknown reasons. Unfortunately, this time one was conceded by our partner. It is very likely that this was mainly due to SLAKE’s ongoing lack of a fixed line-up. We are still waiting for the announcement of a new line-up, and until then, the next matches may look similar. The fact is that, following this walkover, our partner will play their next match this evening and may improve their record.
What are the next matches?
- vs Ankara Messi, Thursday 10 July, 7.45 pm
- vs Synapse Esports, Friday 11 July, 6.45 pm
- vs Signum Esports, Friday 11 July, 8.00 pm
SLAKE (x.com — Facebook — team profile)
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