World Of Tanks ANZPL Season 4 Round 2 has an outright ladder leader but the competition is still close. Three gripping matches saw your favourite teams battle for points that will become pivotal at the end of the season.
ANZPL Season 4 Round 2 Game 1
Brisbane Bulldogs Vs Christchurch Conquerors
My pick for match of the round started off on the Ghost Town map, which is also this week’s tie breaker map. The Bulldogs started their map choice on defence but it was the Conquerors who came out on top. The Bulldogs picked up a win on the reverse through an excellent isolation of one of the Conquerors, levelling the match at 1 each.
The Conquerors took Himmelsdorf for their map pick, bleeding out the Bulldogs to take a 2-1 lead. The Bulldogs came out firing on their attacking round, isolating Whippet from the Conquerors and moving quickly to take out another two tanks. The Bulldogs win the round sending the match to a tie breaker.
Having the fastest attacking win, Bulldogs chose defence on Ghost Town. The Conquerors sent Whippet down to map position A4 to spot on the 1 flag as the rest of the team moved in. The Conquerors tried for a quick three tank cap but the Bulldogs were able to get reset shots in. A brawl ensured but with Bulldog’s Madhouse so far away from the battle it was effectively a 4v5 fight. By the time Madhouse arrived the Bulldogs were already down two tanks and the Conquerors were able to mop up the rest.
With all teams winning on attack, the Christchurch Conquerors kick off ANZPL Season 4 Round 2 with a tiebreak win over the Brisbane Bulldogs.
ANZPL Season 4 Round 2 Game 2
Adelaide Action X Vs North Sydney Sentinels
Diving right into the action on Cliff, two separate brawls broke out between the Action X and the Sentinels resulting with three tanks left on each side. The Sentinel’s Wym0 ended up in a 1v2 with reasonable health but eventually goes down to the Action X. In the reverse leg of Action X’s map choice the Sentinels’ Returned took the hill to give his team some serious spotting advantage. Action X positioned well part way up the hill and around the donut before the Sentinel’s Del rotated around the hill forcing the Action X to retreat with losses. Action X moved onto the 1 flag but time and the Sentinels are against them. With resetting shots coming in from the Sentinels becoming too much, the Sentinels win the game. We leave Cliff with a 1-1 score line.
Heading back to Himmelsdorf for the Sentinels’ map pick, the Sentinels moved quickly along the 2/3 line. A stalemate with Action X forces them to rotate around the courtyard. Action X have anticipated this and rotated to defend the 2 flag. Ultimately the Sentinels left their run too late. The Action X get a timed win and take the lead 2-1 in this match. Action X attack quickly along the K line but the Sentinels are prepared. Pushing a bit too far south allows the Sentinels to pick Action X apart. The Sentinels take the game and force the match into the fifth tie breaker in a row for Season 4.
With all the wins in this match being defensive, the attacking/defending choice falls to the team that has done the most damage. The Sentinels have been the more destructive team and they chose to defend Ghost Town. The Sentinel’s Rainbow was isolated early but not punished by Action X. And when Saxon and Ironguard from Action X got jumped it allowed the Sentinels to take a 3v2 tank advantage. Action X managed to bring it back to a 2v2 contest but with the Sentinels up 4,000 HP it was always going to be tough for Action X.
The Sentinels win on defence of Ghost Town taking the match 3-2 in a tie breaker in the second match of ANZPL Season 4 Round 2.
ANZPL Season 4 Round 2 Game 3
South Sydney Skorpions Vs Perth Panthers
The Skorpions kicked things off with a defence on Mines. With it being so successful for them in Round 1 it’s no surprise that they’ve picked it again for ANZPL Season 4 Round 2. The Panthers send two tanks onto the 2 flag but Skorpions are able to get reset shots in. Persisting with the 2 flag cap longer than they should have and not rotating caused the Panthers to bleed a lot of HP. The Skorpions punish them with their superior map control, taking their defensive win. The Panthers turned aggressive on their defence of Mines. They pushed hard onto the Skorpions. In the end it was the Skorpions that prevailed, walking away from Mines with a 2-0 lead over the Panthers.
The Panthers had a much better showing on Ghost Town. They rolled in numbers to get some kills but the Skorpions’ class (and some luck) shone through in the brawls. Both teams fought furiously but, in the end, the Skorpions secure a defensive with on Ghost Town. The Panthers were able to redeem themselves on their defence of Ghost Town. They took an early two-for-one trade before moving on and taking a defensive win.
The South Sydney Skorpions secure the first outright win of the season right at the death knell of ANZPL Season 4 Round 2.
Fantasy League
Part of me doesn’t want to talk about the ANZPL Fantasy League. Somehow I did even worse this week and dropped a spot in the rankings. But with in-game gold and amazing HyperX headsets up for grabs, I need to see the best players in the ANZPL so I can pick them for Round 3! Plus, I need to beat JayRated for bragging rights.
Three players earnt over 300 points this week. Returned (366.0) from the Sentinels, Russian (349.5) from the Skorpions and Whippet (325.6) from the Conquerors. At only three stars Returned is definitely a bargain this round! MerryTurnip from the Conquerors is still leading the Fantasy League standings, averaging 67.5 points per game.
Next Week
ANZPL Season 4 Round 2 is over. We now look ahead to Round 3. The undefeated Skorpions take on the winless Bulldogs first up. Following them is the Sentinels and the Conquerors, both teams still searching for their first outright win. The night finishes with the Action X taking on the Panthers, both teams hoping for a win to keep them in touch with the ladder leaders.
With ANZPL Season 4 Round 2 in the rear view mirror, I can’t wait to see what Round 3 has in store for us! Tune in from 7pm AEDT Fridays at https://twitch.tv/worldoftanksanz!
