World Of Tanks Season 3 came to its compelling conclusion this weekend with the grand final match between the Melbourne Matildas and the Perth Panthers to see which team would be crowned ANZPL Season 3 champions.
A somewhat unexpected grand final matchup, Matildas finished the regular season in 3rd and beat the South Sydney Skorpions their semi final match.
Panthers have their own fairy tale they were seeking to complete. Panthers ended the last round of the regular season in 7th but a gutsy win against Adelaide Action X saw them jump into 4th and steal a spot in the finals. They continued their winning ways with an upset semi-final win over two-time ANZPL champions North Sydney Sentinels.
The stage was set for an exciting match. At the end of the night a new ANZPL champion would be crowned.
Map selection had the Panthers banning Cliff and Ghost Town and Matildas removing Prokhorovka and Mines. Panthers selected Himmelsdorf, Matildas selected Sand River leaving Murovanka as the map for the third game and Tundra for the tie breaker if needed.
Matildas came out firing, taking both attack and defence on Panther’s map pick of Himmelsdorf. Panthers took a game back with a defensive win on Sand River but Matildas retaliated with a defensive win of their own.
Everything was on the line heading into Murovanka. For Matildas, one win would hail them as ANZPL Season 3 champions. For Panthers, the only way forward was to take both attack and defensive wins to keep their dream alive.
Panthers took an attacking win on Murovanka, giving them the best chance of sending the grand final into a tie breaker but Matildas would be working hard to be the ANZPL Season 3 champions.
In the end it was Matildas that emerged victorious with an attacking win, taking the grand final series 4-2. Well played Panthers and congratulations to the ANZPL Season 3 champions the Melbourne Matildas!
