Div2 Roundup.

2006-03-10 10:37

Hello! It has been a while but now I am back to roundup div2 and give my opinion on the upcoming qualification games to div1.

My thoughts about this division has proven not be all out correct but first for the clans that actually proved me right.

As expected both o and sd2 ended in top3 while osams fu ended below average.
Hhhv didnt play enough games to be in the race for top3 but i guess LS would have been too strong for them anyway. I didnt expect them to do this good when the season started and i had booked a place for LS in the lower parts of div2. However Tco always made strong efforts and helped them to top3.

Zoo did exactly as expected and ended high but just short of the playoffs, they started out good but just didnt score enough to squeeze past jmk who in turn impressed me as I had them in the middle of div2. Bad news for them is that they wont play nqr9 as they was put in gold and couldnt take that kind of pressure.

Triada and DD changed places from my pre-season tip. Triada played some really good games but couldnt pull through all the way to the playoffs, better luck next season. Finally SSC falled somewhat short and couldnt reach the higher parts this season, maybe with milton back for nqr9 they will show good old form again.

On a sidenot Luis clan dropped from the league but they where never any real threat to the top clans so it didnt affect this division much.

Qalification time!

The four teams to reach playoffs are then offcourse Suddendeath2, Oblivion, Loser Squadron and Jokkmokk.

No games have been played so far and i guess jmk wont stand much of a chance here against these three better teams. Feel free to prove me wrong though jmk.

For the two teams who will end up first and second i would say oblivion and ls with offcourse sd2 as darkhorse. Why is this then? Well i have a feeling that oblivion are just too strong for sd2 and ls are on a real hot streak finding out all the fun with qw again. The game between o and ls will probably be a three mapper where o will win dm2, dm3 and ls will win e1m2 despite o having mutilator. Sd2 can very likely take a map from both o and ls.

In the end it all can come down to wich of the top3 teams takes a 2-0 vs jmk and wich team dont. I fear that the team who beats jmk 2-1 or maybe even lose to them (if any) will be left out of top2.

Now it is up to the four clans to get the games played and we will see if I have given a somewhat correct vision of the qualis. Gl and hf!

/out

Comments (15)

---

Div2 Massively delayed update

2006-01-31 16:50

Hello again fellow quakers. I know there has been a long time since i updated my div2 coverage and a large amount of games have been played. I have been busy greeting new students at my university so the only qw time avaliable has been spent on playing eql with div4a team chosen.

Anyway since there are such many games this time and they have been vivible on the page for a while ill just run a quick update and compare the recent table with my pre-season predictions.

Satanic Slaughter Clan vs osams
2-1 dm3,cmt3 / dm2
Given these two teams previous games this game was to be a struggle for the lower positions of the table. The outcome seems fair enough with points for both teams as they continue to look for their winning streak. Not much of an upset here.

luis clan vs Satanic Slaughter Clan
2-0 cmt3, dm2
Pre-season i didnt think luis would win this easy versus ssc but the guys from finland have proven my prediction wrong so far this season and havent quite found their spark yet. Luis however have come out strong and are way higher than i thought they would be so far.

Satanic Slaughter Clan vs jokkmokk
0-2 dm2, cmt3
This far into the season this result is not much of an upset since jmk have showed some skill and team effort so far as they currently occupy the third place of the table. Once again ssc proved to weak for the task.

Oblivion vs Loser Squadron
2-0 e1m2, dm3
Loser squadron has given me a pleasant surprise so far as I predicted them to be much more rusty and out of shape than they are. Allthough the ever winning pracmachine of oblivion pulled throgh once again by a solid team effort to clinch these 3 points.

luis clan vs jokkmokk
2-1 e1m2,dm2 / dm3
I would have guessed jmk to win this game 2-1 or maybe even 2-0 with their lineup but luis showed skill and endurance as they won this 3 mapper to gain some on the top clans.

Satanic Slaughter Clan vs Suddendeath2
0-2 cmt3, dm2
Easy win for sd2 and they show that they earned their top3 prediction here. Still only weak life signs from ssc.

Loser Squadron vs Suddendeath2
0-2 dm2, e1m2
Once again LS faced a top team in div2 and couldnt win a map here either. If they want to continue to fight for the playoff spot they had better start winning some matches again. Once again a solid win for sd2

Suddendeath2 vs Hehe Holkeri H?visitk? Voittos?
2-0 dm3, e1m2
Not much to say here, obviuosly the lack of prac and rustyness of HHHV is paying of in a bad way for them and my top3 prediction was obviously wrong only judging them by their lineup. The sd2 train just steams on.

jokkmokk vs osams
2-0 dm2, dm3
Osams are having a hard time this season with only 3 map wins. Too bad for them one of those didnt come in this match as jmk heads for a playoff spot this season.

Hehe Holkeri H?visitk? Voittos? vs osams
2-1 dm2, e1m2 / dm3
Finally some signs of fighting spirit from both these clans, once again osams are a bit short of securing atleast 2points in a div2 game.

luis clan vs Oblivion
1-2 cmt3 / dm2, e1m2
Luis clan really impresses me this season as they took a map win vs mighty oblivion. But i dont think oblivion will end short of the first place now.

Oblivion vs osams
2-0 e1m2, dm3
Nice 3points and not much of a fight here. Osams are heading for div3, sad but true

Death Dealers vs Satanic Slaughter Clan
2-1 dm2, cmt4 / dm3
D2 are winning again but where is kingpin? Well i guess they can win without 12ms lg but as you can see they lost kingpins favourite map dm3, otherwise they could have make this a 2-0 win vs a weak ssc.

Fraggers United vs Suddendeath2
0-2 e1m2, dm2
As expected. I predicted these two teams to end up in the opposite sides of the table and atleast in this game they proved me right.

El?intarha vs Satanic Slaughter Clan
0-2 dm3, cmt3
Upset Alert! Nice comeback late in the season from ssc. Allthough there was some drama as Jkova got disconnected with 3min to go on dm3 with armor and rl. Not much to say about that, you cant really brake that late into a map. Ssc also won on zoo special map cmt3 and this was a sign of power from ssc side. I still think zoo will end up high in div2 this season though.

As far as i can see "most" of my predictions are right so far about div2.
HHHV and SSC have proven me wrong since they are not as high as i expected. On the other hand Luis, Jokkmokk and Loser Squadron are placed somewhat higher than i have foreseen.
I still think that O will win and sd2 will finnish 2nd followed by jmk, luis or ls.

Thats all for now and I hope I can stop by for updates on a more regular basis.

Comments (18)

---

Gaz interview

2006-01-19 23:30

I got hold of gaz in osams for some late night interviewing.

What is your irl status? I.e name (firtsname if you are shy),
age, work/school, other basic stuff?

My name is Gareth ("Gaz" is a common shortened form in the UK) Ellis, I'm 24 and I am the manager of the translation department for a health research consultancy (!). I am a huge football fan and I go to watch Bristol City (they play in div 3) every weekend, and I play rugby sometimes too. I also love music, films and chocolate.

Give us a brief resum? of your qw career. How and when did you start
and why do you keep playing?

I started playing in 1999 when I first got an internet connection - I joined a clan almost rightaway and moved from NQ to QW quickly. I played in a couple of really bad clans in the UK league before I moved to TSW (The Shadow Warriors). I was with TSW as we moved up from the bottom division of the UKCL, and I think we actually finished 3rd in the final season of UKCL, so that was nice!
Then I had a long break until August 2003 when a group of guys from the UK clans I was with decided to form a new clan - that clan was FIPS. That marked the start of my playing in the European scene, and NQR5 was my first international tourney :) After NQR6 fips folded and I joined Osams, where I have been ever since.


What is the greatest moment in your qw career?

In TSW we had a great moment where we beat our big rivals StrikeForce in the playoffs of a UK tournament - that was nice. In the "modern era" it is either winning the Trickery TDML (UK league) with FIPS 2 seasons in a row, or winning EQL division 3 with Osams last season.


What is the worst moment in the same?

Losing to VVV in the NQR7 semi-finals.


What sort of qw gaming do you enjoy the most? 1on1, 2on2, 4on4, ffa
or other?

4on4 definitely. I like 2on2s, but only on DM2/aerowalk, and if it's for fun. I can't stand camping/CS in that mode :) Sometimes I play 1on1, again mainly Aerowalk and some ZTNDM3. I've always been a 4on4 player over everything else.


Can you see yourself playing any other multiplayer game on the same
level as you play qw?

I used to play CS... heh... and my clan got to a reasonable standard in the UK. A similar thing happened as with Osams - we kept getting promoted and eventually we peaked out and got raped in a high division :)
In the future I can't see myself playing anything other than QW. I don't have the motivation to learn something new.


Do you usually whine alot during games or do you belong to the
quiet ones who just keep playing and have a fun time whatever the
outcome?

My nickname is often "WhineadoKs" as I'm always cursing on ventrilo. There is an MP3 that some Osams guys have of me shouting rather loud (and in Swedish) during QHLAN too :)


Who in your team do you think is the key to the most victories?

Steppa is usually the one who does the high-skills quad runs, but I think Thompen (Gorbatjevtarzan) is just as important - he's a very defensive player and he gives us stability and camps the important spots for us.

Where in the division do you think your team will end up?

Before the season I would have said bottom 4. Now I think it will be rock bottom, maybe 2nd bottom if we are lucky :)


What team will give you the most trouble and why?

All of them! A few months ago we were challenging a lot of the division 2 clans, but either they have improved or we have got worse. Look at EQL1 - we gave Zoo a really close game in the playoff but then they raped us in EQL2.

What team will win div1?

If LA are playing regularly, they will win, but tVS are looking very strong at the moment. Leftovers have surprised me too, I can see them making the semi-finals at least.

What are the good and bad things with eql as you see it? Is it
better or worse than nqr?

Being an NQR admin I am of course biased :) EQL is wonderful though, it's done a great job in filling the hole left by NQR. It has its flaws though, such as the promotion/relegation system from EQL1. We lost both of our games in the promotion playoffs last season, and we still got promoted. I think a similar thing happened where DQM won both their promotion matches and still didn't go up. Some tweaking needs to be done :)
It's all part of the experience of being an admin though and I know what it's like to be on their side of the "wall". They're doing a decent job so far.

Would you like to see another season of smackdown? Why or why not?

Not really. Last Smackdown we had 2 games against teams of our level (or thereabouts) and the rest of the games were rapes (either by us or against us). Rape games are boring either way, who wants to play in them?

Do you enjoy playing teams that are way better or way worse? Why?
Why not?

I'd always rather play against a team of the same ability, preferably slightly better. OK so you get beaten a lot but it's very satisfying when you pull off a win. Getting spawnraped is really dull, and is just a waste of time. If I wanted to sit here clicking randomly at my mouse all the time I'd play Diablo 2. I don't like doing it myself because I know what it's like for the other team.

And now for some quick ones!

Besmella or QW.nu

QW.nu because it had a bigger community. I prefer the fact that Besmella is udpated more though.

TB3 or Kenya?

TB3. There was a time when I'd have said Kenya but I've seen the light!

Playstation or Xbox?

I got an Xbox 360 recently and it's awesome :)

Rl or shaft?

RL - I always have higher ping than most so I can't shaft too well :P

Speccing div1-games or playing div5-games?

Div 1 of course!

Fallbunny on or fallbunny off?

I never know which is which. I think it should be in the mode when it doesn't slow you down.

Airgib or quadrun?

Quad run.

Dag or griffin?

Dag is a clever player and does some awesome stuff, but there is something poetic about watching Mr Griffin. He reminds me of a tank (albeit a very fast one) with the way he strides confidently around maps gunning down all those in front of him.

BGSR or BGSD?

I'm gonna say BGSD because of all the whine the various members gave me while I was NQR admin ;) But I love trashie <3

Nqr or eql?

NQR!

ParadokS or Milton?

Milton.

Shotgan Trick Bud or Sassa?

Shotgan Trick Bud, every time. Silly question!


Ok thank you for your time gaz, and gl!

Comments (29)

---

Div 2 just keep playing.

2006-01-19 11:08

Today i have a massive amount of games from div2 to bring you.

D2 vs Zoo.
Zoo just keep on winning after their initial loss to oblivion. In this game the faced the poles in D2. They started out on cmt3 wich they have played alot lately and once again found themselves on top after 20min. This time without Tmoe JKova had to secure the top position and Gizmo made a strong debut. We also saw menthol playing for once. After this it was time for Polands national arena, dm2, but this time the poles didnt stand strong enough and the Zoo animals took a nice 2-0 victory.

SD2 vs Osams
Osams are still struggling in the bottom and this game didnt make it better. SD2 took a comfortavle 2-0 win on dm2/dm3 and never seem to be shaken in this one. I think SD2 have a good chance at the higher positions this season.

SD2 vs D2
SD2 also faced off vs D2 the past days and eventhough this game was much closer than their osams game they still won it 2-0 on dm2/dm3 once again. D2 has to start showing some skills if they want to avoid the lower part or even relegation to div3 next season. Plast also said "our secret plan to takeover div3 in eql3 is going well" after the game, so thats maybe what they are aiming for. ;)

Zoo vs Jokkmokk.
Here we have one of the topgames this season as these two teams had to make it into three maps to decide the outcome. Jokkmokk started out good and won dm2 with a very close margin but after this it was time for zoo and their infamous cmt3 wich went in one way traffic all the game. With both Jkova and Tmoe back for this one jmk couldnt put up much of a fight. Last map was e1m2 and the zoo train kept on rolling making the third map quite easy. It seems like jmk missed keyplayer mogge for this one and I think he could have mad an asset on e1m2 atleast to make that one much closer. However zoo are very strong right now and jmk should be glad to have taken one point from this game.

Luis vs Osams
Finally osams won a map eventhough gaz was disappointed afterwards as he thought they could have won this game. However luis are strong on dm2 and started out on that one with a crushing blow to osams and won by a large margin. For second map cmt3 got picked and it seems like osams learnt from the zoo game as they won this one with +100 frags. As third map they played e1m2 and the poles upset osams here by winning with a mere 20 frags margin showing that polish clans can win on e1m2 also. "Polski klan wygral e1m2"
Anyway nice to see both luis and d2 have started playing their games now.

FU vs Osams.
Osams continues to be punchbag of div2 and after this 2-0 result vs FU i have a hard time finding clans that osams could beat this season. FU made a strong performance and won dm3 kinda close vs a trailing osams. After this dm2 was played and osams couldnt put up much of a fight after really pushing it to the limit on dm3. Also FU are a strong team on dm2.

The season is turning out much as expected eventhough i so far have misjudged teams like LS and SSC. Only time and games will tell how this is going to end.

Comments (23)

---

Div2 keeping up the pace.

2006-01-16 15:13

I have the honor to present three more div2 games today.

First out was Oblivion vs Triada. This game was no surprise as o won it 2-0. However Triada came very close to make it a 3 mapper as o won by a mere 5 frag margin on second map dm2. If triada contiunue to play like that they will score some points in later games. Oblivion will stay on top and probably win div2 as things are now.

Second game of the evening was Loser Squadron vs Osams. Ls looks really strong despite having been inactive for a while and they took osams down in two close maps even though osams fielded a strong lineup for this game. Old star player tco also seems in shape as he topfragged both maps.

Third game this sunday was Loser Squadron vs Satanic Slaughter Clan. Here LS showed that they are back to stay as they once again won 2 maps in a row to score three points. SSC seems to miss milton quite badly and the other keyplayers couldnt really step up to the task in this game eventhough they came close on second map, e1m2. As things are looking now i dont think LS will be fighting as underdogs in the lower parts of div2 but rather challenge ssc for their place above average.

So far so good. A lot of activity and things are shaping up. We are still waiting for luis and death delares to play some games and some other clans have only played one game. Suddendeath2 have been somewhat of a disappointment so far but they have alot of games left so there is no need to panic just yet. Osams have scored two straight 0-2 games and need to shape up a little to stay in div2. Thats all for now, stay tuned for more reports as the games are getting played.

Comments (27)

---

Div2 on the move. (wtf fakenicks)

2006-01-12 10:43

Yesterday another two games where played in division 2. Both games featured El?intarha. Unlike their previous loss to oblivion they really showed why they are expected to end up in the higher part of the division this time.

First out was the game versus osams wich started on cmt3. Tmoe made a nice performance here and they didnt let any of the opponents topfrag the map. Osams used their late addition harmacy who looked a little bit lost in cmt3 but i am sure he will find his way soon. They also used a player nicking lakso who is well known by most to be petter/xtalon, however the admin for the night (Term) didnt know this and warned the osams crew for using an unlisted player. (wtf fakenicks?)

Anyway, after the rough start on cmt3 osams faced continous problems on dm3. Once again Tmoe made alot of frags and keyplayer Gaz in osams faced some lagproblems like i have seen before the latest week. The map ended in a rather big win for zoo who walked out of the heat with three points.

Alltogether this game proved too hard for osams and i fear they will face some troublesome games this season eventhough i think they will hang in there and stay in div2 for eql3 also. Regarding zoo i think they will stay i the upper parts of the table and maybe even contest HHHV for their expected (my tip anyway) top3 position.

Zoo later this evening faced suddendeath2.

Zoo didnt take any chances and started out on cmt3 once again and also this time they where in the lead 1-0 after the first map.
Zoo are a team well known for their knowledge of cmt3/4 so this wasnt any bigger upset when the map ended and they had won it with 40 something frags even though phrenic in sd2 gave them some annoyance by topfragging the map.

Next was dm3 and this time a much closer call for zoo who apparantly where rescued by a telefrag on quadded sd2 guy by JKova late in the game and thus winning by a margin of a mere 6 frags.
The game then ended in a 2-0 win for zoo as and it showed that zoo had a nice selfconfidence from the earlier game vs osams. Nice three pointer once again for zoo and thus moving them in to second place in div2.

More news will follow, just keep the games coming all you div2 clans.

Comments (24)

---

Div 2 getting active.

2006-01-09 13:45

Today i bring you the latest hot action from div2 with some of the top teams involved.

First out are Satanic Slaughter Clan vs Oblivion. This game, like sscs first one vs triada, also went to three maps with ssc winning dm3 again. However oblivion where too strong on e1m2 and cmt4. I didn?t expect ssc to win this game and it was strong of them to keep it together long enough too score a mapwin to get the one pointer. On the other half of the field oblivion showed that they are the team to beat this season with an all over strong game on dm2/cmt4, allthough they should be somewhat disappointed not to get a three pointer out if this game.

The second game featured two more clans from the expected upper half of the division as we saw Jokkmokk take on Hehe Holkeri H?visitk? Voittos?. The lack of prac and not having their best lineup made HHHV a quite easy target for the well trained and strong team of jmk as they where taken down 2-0 on dm3 and dm2. As expected their composition of 4 strong players without a clear starplayer made jmk a frightening force for HHHV.

In the third game oblivion made short work of el?intarha for another win this season. Only this time they didnt settle for two points. On e1m2 the mighty mutilator once again denied the oppnonents the win and on cmt3 it was a little closer but zoo don?t seem to have scared o too much on that map either. Thus ending the game 2-0 and getting three points to add to their previous two.

The fourth game was a bit of a surprise as fragunit took down triada 2-0 on dm2 and e1m2. Triada never got close enough to make it into a three mapper. Oho seems to have faired well in his move from div5 to div2 and made a descent amount of frags. On the other hand triada couldnt keep up the steam from their previous win and thus getting left behind with zero points after this game.

Finally we saw o once again in their match versus suddendeath2. These two teams are on my top3 for this division and i expected a close game betwen them. They didnt disappoint me at all when they started out on dm3 with a mere two frag win for sd2. This offcourse set the pace for the upcoming maps and the next one ended in a nice +40 frags for oblivion on e1m2.
Finally cmt3 was to be played. O didnt make many mistakes and ending also this map with a tightish +40 frag lead. Allthough sd2 did a nice performance i think they didnt have their strongest line for this game and i am now sure of my predictions of both oblivion and sd2 ending top3 for this season.

More news will be avaliable as the games passes by.

Comments (26)

---

Div 2 Preview

2006-01-06 16:00

Division 2 preview.

Hello fellow quakers and welcome to
my preview EQL2?s division 2.

I was given the opportunity to write
news for division2 this eql season.
So here it goes and I hope you like it.

First off I?ll start with introducing
the teams, their key players and a hint
about their expected performance as well
as providing much info of their past as
i can to get you guys up to speed with
the teams.


El?intarha
It is not any bigger surprise to see
El?intarha (from this point I?ll call
them Zoo) in div2 this eql given their
good past seasons of both nqr and eql1.
As the nqr site is down it is hard to
recall much info from those games but I
remember that they made some strong
performances. Eql1 was somewhat of a
comeback season and they played 9-9 in
maps.

Key players are T-Moe, Ananas, JKova
and menth0l.

My tip: Above average.


Fraggers United.
This team have always impressed me and
have pulled of many nice victories in
big tournaments but lately they have lost
some of their edge and eql1 was somewhat
of a disappointment from their side.
Hopefully they can pull their game back
together and show the rest of div2 what
FU are capable of in tournament play. It
will also be interesting to see what new
player Oho can do outside of div5 where
he has dominated almost every map he played.

Key players are Bamsen, Katsku, Blasta and
Anza if he is going to play.

My tip: Below average.

Jokkmokk.
This team is very interesting and have gone
from noobish to skilled in a short period of
time compared to many other teams. I have
personally experienced their evolution from
raping them in 2 easy maps through playing
even with them and finally getting raped by
them. They are well suited for for taking
much points in this seasons div2.

Key players are hard to mention since their
success is based on the strength of many of them
but i would have to say that atleast Smala-
Greger, mogge and koffe rise a bit from the
rest of the crew.

My tip: Middle.

Death Dealers.
This mostly polish team has a good mix of
skilled players and they did well in last
season by finishing 3rd in div2 and thus
competing here once again. With newcommer
kingpin from sweden they will have atleast
one guy with good ms when playing vs northern
clans.

Key players are plast, billy and kingpin.

My tip: Middle.

Triada.
This clan is sort of new to the scene having
only competed in the ongoing nqr ladder.
With a good mix of polish, swedish and one
russian player they will ping good overall
and will be a force to look out for. Their
latest assets in Locktar and racersnigeln
have really strengthened their lineup.

Key players are Avenger and Locktar.

My tip: Below average.

Luis clan.
The Luis clan have showed up again this
fall after being away for some time
(I remember these guys from their time in nqr2
i think) and are playing a solid teamplay with
macler as their starplayer.

Key players are macler and darkaeon.

My tip: Below average.


Suddendeath2
This team looks very strong judging by their
lineup. They are newly formed after suddendeath
having quite alot of members and I don?t really
see many weaknesses in their team. It will be
interesting to see what impact Votary will have
on division2 after playing in the much lower
skilled teams clanBE and chosen since spring
2005.

Key players are Grisling, Vortex, phrenic and
molle.

My tip: Top3.


Oblivion.
After winning div2 last eql many thoght that o
would play in div1 this season. However since
the qualifiers where a great setback for eql
and most games where not played o ended up in
last place for the div1 qualifiers and thus
remaining in div2 for this season. No new players
have arrived for this season except for old o
player score and they lost callen betwen seasons.

Key players are djevulsk and mutilator.

My tip: Top3.


Loser Squadron.
This must be one od the oldest clans to make
a comeback this season after being inactive
(as a team anyway) since around 2000. This
team also have a mix of skilled and less
skilled players and their success will be
decided upon the lineup for each game.

Key players are PreMorteM, TheChosenOne and
TimmI.

My tip: Below average.

Hehe Holkeri H?visitk? Voittos?
Here we have another exciting team with
comebacking players from clans like Slackers
and Paranoia. In this clans case we will also
see their progress being dependant on the
current lineup.

Key players are Goljat and Champ. With a warning-
sign put up for Slebe.

My tip: Top3.


Satanic Slaughter Clan.
Or also known as "We don?t have milton" wich
in this case is true since they lost him to
comebacking tVS in div1. However they have
milton junior aka skisso. Ssc have been a strong
team for many seasons and after dropping from
div1 to div2 they will end up in top3 for sure.

Key players are Skisso, Slaughter and Blob.

My tip: Above average.


Osams.
Osams to me is like an old friend. I have played
versus them since back in the day of nqr2 and
they have had a similar evolution like jokkmokk
however a little slower one. After raping div3
last season in eql they have now moved up to
take on some harder opponents in div2.

Key players are Steppa, Gaz and Lunna. Also here
i would like to raise a warning finger for another
player. Manny is his name and a manny in shape is
a really dangerous force on the field.

My tip: Below average.


Thats all for now and I wish all clans of division2
the best of luck and I will return with reports as
soon as the games begin. /Hooraytio.

Comments (4)

---