The stage is set. ANZPL Split 1 2023 Playoffs Week 2 has been completed. Who will be we seeing at Fortress Sydney? Who has already qualified for the Grand Final? Keep reading to find out!
ANZPL Split 1 2023 Playoffs Week 2 Upper Final
South Sydney Skorpions Vs Perth Panthers
Fresh from a week off, the Skorpions were ready to face the Panthers. These two teams have a fierce rivalry, even with the Skorpions coming out on top more often than not. With a straight shot to the Grand Final on the line, would that trend continue? Or would the Panthers get the win?
Himmelsdorf
The Panthers kicked off the Upper Semi Final on attack of their map pick. They pushed quickly along the 8 line as the Skorpions took up standard defensive positions. The Panthers were able to turn down the D line without being spotted. Time was on the side of the Skorpions and they were ready to sit back and let the Panthers come to them. JS from the Panthers took a shot at D5 and now the Skorpions had the information. His team pushed onto the 2 flag but Auzzie caught them out. The Panthers drove through the cap and removed Auzzie. Auzzie’s teammates boxed three of the Panthers in at A4. The game equalised into a 3v3 but the Skorpions had the healthier tanks. They used that advantage to take the opening win.
The Skorpions looked to push their advantage on the return leg. They sent Russian to the hill as tey spread to the south. Meanwhile the Panthers looked towards the 1 flag with only Godmode watching the 2 flag. Shots were fired but not a lot of damage came through. Auzzie found a way to the D line opening up an angle on Kritakil at F4. Russian came off the hill and ran the K line with JT while Auzzie snuck onto the 2 flag in the north but quickly retreated. The Skorpions pulled the trigger and dumped onto Kritakil but it was Russian that went down first. Kritakil was traded for Raspberry with the Panthers firmly in control. After a courtyard skirmish the Panthers levelled the series 1-1.
Prokhorovka
The action moved to Skorpions’ map pick and they started on the attack. They ran the train line with Auzzie scouting the town around E7. The Panthers had found a hold down position around E3. Auzzie tried to sneak to A6 but Bailes was waiting for him. Shots were traded all round with both teams scoring hits. JT was traded for Kritakil and Godmode, giving the Skorpions the tank advantage. Bailes won his battle against Auzzie and joined the main battle but he was too far away. A 2v1 results in favour of the Skorpions. Bailes tried to run but he was spotted and went down.
The Panthers moved to attack on the return leg. Bailes scouted around E7 but it was the Skorpions making moves. They pushed aggressively down the 1 line and found JS on his own at K1. JS got some support from his teammates as Night went down. He survived the 2v1 with Auzzie also going down. The game settled a bit with the Panthers looking for a way to press their advantage. Balies started applying cap pressure on the 2 flag. JT went down but Godmode found himself in the guns of Russian and went down. Raspberry moved to A6 looking for the reset shots onto Bailes. He found a shot onto Twit but the target needed to be Bailes. With Twit protecting Bailes the cap timer ran out, giving the Panthers the win.
Ghost Town
Ghost Town started with the Skorpions on defence. They sent two tanks along the 1 line with another two watching the 2 flag and Night at C5. The Panthers sent four tanks to the north eastern part of the town. Twit pushed onto the 2 flag, taking some damage but his team weren’t in a position to provide support. They eventually arrived and traded some shots. Raspberry rotated, looking for an angle onto Twit. The move caused Twit to reposition, stopping the cap. He started it up again. The reset came in and JS joined Twit on the cap. They drove forward looking for shots onto JT. JT went down but the Skorpions struck back removing two Panthers tanks. The Skorpions used their numbers and took the win.
Playing for a spot in the Grand Final, the Skorpions moved to attack. They moved into the south of the town and found a Panthers line up ready to brawl. Kills were traded as both teams backed off. JT found his way onto the 2 flag freely. It was up to the Panthers to respond. JS found a great angle onto JT from K4 as Russian added his tank to the cap. The Panthers pushed in for another brawl. It came down to a 2v2. The Skorpions held their nerve and took the win.
The South Sydney Skorpions defeat the Perth Panthers 4-2 and claim their spot in the Grand Final.
ANZPL Split 1 2023 Playoffs Week 1 Lower Semi Final
Adelaide Action X Vs North Sydney Sentinels
The Sentinels have had a rough season and it wasn’t going to get any easier. Action X had the edge over them in recent matches, but their line up was still full of class players. Their opponents, Action X, only just missed out on first place this split and they were hurting from their loss last week. Would the Sentinels defy the odds and head to LAN? Or would Action X go hunting and claim the spot for themselves?
Cliff
The Sentinels started on attack of their map pick. They found early shots into Action X as they climbed to the donut. The Sentinels tried to pincer Gloster and Rowendy but it was TheReturned that went down first. Action X’s Lightningman survived an encounter on 17 HP as the Sentinels pushed forward. RNG was in Action X’s favour with low rolls from the Sentinels letting their opponent’s tanks live. Action X used that advantage and took the opening win.
Moving to defence on the return leg, the Sentinels were the first ones to the hill. Action X met them there as Dongerlord made the hill climb as the brawl broke out. After a one-for-one kill trade the Sentinels had the better position. Action X were in trouble as the Sentinels found the angles and took the win.
Ruinberg
Action X started on attack of their map pick as they headed south looking towards the 2 flag. Gloster and Dongerlord from Action X found Wym0 at K0. Wym0 found the kill onto Glosteras Wym0 fell to Dongerlord. Meanwhile at F8, the Sentinels found an over match, removing Rowendy and Trax. They were firmly in control. Soon it was Dongerlord against four Sentinels. It wasn’t long before he fell and the Sentinels took the win.
The Sentinels moved to defence. They sent two tanks to the south as two held at E1. TheReturned pushed up towards the 1 flag with vision along the A line. Action X spread along the 0 line. Trax took a shot at K0. He and Ravvi dumped over the road to remove Rainbow. They were joined by Dongerlord and dealt a chunk of damage to Del. He went down as TheReturned won his battle against Lightningman in the north. Action X started to chip away at the dual E100s. Wym0 went dow, soon followed by Speed. That left TheReturned on his own. He soon fell and Action X took the win.
Tundra
The Sentinels started on defence as they had two tanks in the town and two watching the 1 flag. Action X pushed towards the 1 flag. Rowendy tried to sneak towards A4 but the Sentinels rotated three tanks there and he was in trouble. Trax joined him in retreat as Rowendy went down and the Sentinels turned their attention to Trax, who traded his life for TheReturned. It was all uphill for Action X now but they were still fighting. They brought it back to a 3v3 with the HP in favour of the Sentinels. Ravvi was the first to go down closely followed by Dongerlord. The Sentinels found an angle onto Lightningman to take the win and move to match point.
It was do-or-die for Action X on their defence of Tundra. They sent four tanks towards the 1 flag with Ravvi watching the 2 flag. The Sentinels poked, looking towards the 1 flag themselves. Not seeing a way in they started to rotate to the 2 flag. Syndy from the Sentinels carefully pushed south, looking for information. Not seeing any Action X tanks there, the Sentinels looked for a way in. When two Sentinels were spotted heading into the town, Action X dumped onto Rainbow. He got away as Syndy and Wym0 pushed to E3. They found themselves in a crossfire and had to back off. The Sentinels were using the river well but it was Rainbow to go down first. It came down to a 2v2. Trax got the better of Syndy, leaving Del on his own. With a minute on the clock, Ravvi was hiding. Trax went down but it was too little too late for the Sentinels as the timer ran down. Action X take the win and send us to a tie breaker.
Prokhorovka
With the fastest attacking win, the Sentinels chose defence on the tie breaker map. They spread in the north with vision onto the caps. Action X moved to the eastern side of the train line. They spotted Wym0 at A0 and trapped him there. The Sentinels rotated over the train line with Del crossing at E6 into the arms of Rowendy and Lightningman. Now with the tank advantage, Action X pressed onto Wym0 and he went down. They closed the net as more Sentinels went down. Holding W, Action X found the win and took the tie breaker.
Adelaide Action X defeat reigning champions the North Sydney Sentinels 4-3.
Next Week
The road is now paved to the LAN final at Fortress Sydney! Proceedings will be kicking off from 1pm AEST with competitions and giveaways for all. There will also be a Community Agora for players to give feedback about the game.
The battles start at 6:30pm AEST with the Lower Bracket Final. Adelaide Action X and the Perth Panthers will be fighting it out to see who will proceed to the Grand Final and who will take third place.
Then from 9pm AEST the South Sydney Skorpions will face the winner of the Lower Bracket Final in the Grand Final Showdown!
Who will be crowned split 1 2023 champions? Tickets for the finals are on sale now. You can also tune into https://twitch.tv/worldoftanksanz from 6:30pm AEST Saturday 27th May to see all the action!
