WGLNA Match Day 16 – Recap and Review

The race for the all-important 2^nd place bye heats up!

This season of the WGLNA has been a tale of Apex and then the rest of the league. To those new to the WGLNA, Apex is a team that draws its roots back from the Cunninghams, through Team Noble. But during that time, they have changed continually. Always looking for the right mix of talent and chemistry. This season they recruited over half the players from the 2^nd place side of eClipse. Going into tonight Apex has won 60 games and lost 11 out of 12 total matches to stand undefeated.  They have 1^st place and with that the bye that will take them directly into the finals.

Facing them tonight is a team bringing back and old and respected name in the WGLNA. Top Tier may have been in hiatus but Captain Rude_Awakening felt confident enough about this team to bring it back. So far, they have rewarded him as they are on a 4-match winning streak and holding their own in a hotly contested race for 2^nd place. That would give them the other bye which will take a team past the playoffs and directly into the finals. Would they be up for the challenge or will they be yet another bump in the road for this seasons dominant Apex predator?

Apex vs Top Tier

Even before the match kicked off the Apex looked to have an early advantage in the pick of Ghost Town.  They hold a win rate of over 80% for this map, leading the league and on this night, it would be no different. What would be different, as of last week’s, 17.1 update, is what some are calling “The Maus Meta.” In these first to matches, the German heavy tank would be represented 9 times. To say they made up the majority of HP on the battlefield would be an understatement. Apex would prove the more adept in integrating these monster sized vehicles as they took an early 2 -0 lead.

#Apex dismantle @Top_Tier_WOT in the new #MausMeta on Himmelsdorf! #WGLNA @WorldofTanks pic.twitter.com/QYKDw5J39w

— WGLNA (@WGLNA) March 1, 2017

Top Tier would not get any breathing room as the next map would be Himmelsdorf, where Apex holds a season long undefeated record. That record would hold as Apex would bring a line up in match 3 of 2 T95’s to aid in their victory. Match 4 would see an epic Maus brawl that had Apex taking the win and a 4 – 0 and match point lead.

#Apex wins the #MausMeta brawl to stay undefeated on Himmelsdorf! #WGLNA @WorldofTanks pic.twitter.com/sjz3H3eP1X

— WGLNA (@WGLNA) March 1, 2017

Match 5 would be attack on Murovanka for Apex and because or in spite of brining 3 Maus they would cap out to take the match and the series 5 – 0. Again, Apex dominates and demonstrates why they won the league last year and look to finish this season undefeated. Top Tier on the other hand now left there hope to others as a win by Dare would knock any chance of 2^nd or even 3^rd place out of their grasp.

#Apex make it look easy with this attack win on Murovanka! #WGLNA @WorldofTanks pic.twitter.com/p3JPVOeJja

— WGLNA (@WGLNA) March 1, 2017

Match 2

Our second match of the night was a pivotal duel for that vaunted 2^nd place position. 3^rd place Dare Rising would leapfrog into that slot with a 3-point win. Dare came out hard in the first-round robin, including an impressive 5 -1 victory over last season’s runner up eClipse. Since then, though, Dare has had an up and down time. A victory tonight would lock them into 3^rd place and likely playoff match vs 07, who have the 6^th and last playoff spot.

Aquatic M60s dreams of 2^nd place lay in victory and in the hands of other teams dropping their last matches. While they had won this matchup in the first-round robin of the season this matchup looked to stand on a razors edge on who would triumph with both teams needing the win. Aquatic has had a solid season so far and are often overlooked over either Top Tier or Dare rising. Tonight, provides the opportunity to demonstrate just how good they are against a quality side.

Dare Rising vs Aquatic M60s

M60s would come out strong in the first match on mines taking a cap victory and an early 1 -0 lead. Yet on the defense they were not able to stand against Dare Risings 1 / 2-line push which evened the score at 1 all.

.@DareRising ties up the series with a big one-two line attack on Mines! #WGLNA @WorldofTanks pic.twitter.com/jhm9wExEsr

— WGLNA (@WGLNA) March 1, 2017

Yet Aquatic came right back on the first match of Murovanka. They would get the ace, not lose a single tank, to again pull ahead 2 -1.  But again, Dare would come right back and with some precise shooting by last season’s MVP, MyLittlePutin, would get the time out victory to even it back up at 2 -2.

.@DareRising wins a close Murovanka defense as they delay until time runs out. #WGLNA @WorldofTanks pic.twitter.com/2ULjbedJfN

— WGLNA (@WGLNA) March 1, 2017

M60s would again responded on the first battle of Prokhorovka to, once more, take a lead. Dare would also respond in the 2^nd match to bring things even at 3 wins a side. And in a nod to the new Maus Meta, we had seen them on every map and battle so far in this series and had an influence.

.@DareRising are able to even the score 3-3 once again after a close brawl on Prokhorovka. #WGLNA @WorldofTanks pic.twitter.com/oHY6ZZlgmA

— WGLNA (@WGLNA) March 1, 2017

The break in this back and forth affair would come in match 7 on Ghost Town as Dare Rising managed to cap out despite some clever sniping by M60s Morphic in his Udes 03 seemingly half a map away. That win, containing a total of 9 Maus and 1 Type 5 heavy, would put Dare on match point going into Match 8. This map was a bit lighter as only 8 Maus and a Type 5 heavy graced the battlefield. Yet after thousands of points of HP were lost it came down to a 1 vs 1 dual. It was Feelmypotato in his Maus vs Dare’s MyLittlePutin in a Bat Chat T. After a very tortoise, of in this case, Maus, and the Hare moment it was MyLittlePutin getting the kill, the match, and the series win, 5 – 3, for Dare Rising.

MyLittlePutin wins the 1v1 for @DareRising to seal the win for Dare! What a series! #WGLNA @WorldofTanks pic.twitter.com/GO5zpG48LX

— WGLNA (@WGLNA) March 1, 2017

An exciting end and victory for Dare has them leap into 2^nd and securing at the very least 3^rd place on the season. They still have a chance at 2^nd place if they can find their way to victory vs the juggernaut known as Apex. Even if they do lose, they still have a chance if eClipse loses to o7.

Aquatic M60’s made this match a fairly close run thing as they now must prepare for both Valence, their last match and the upcoming Semi-finals next Thursday the 9^th. They will be facing either eClipse or Dare Rising depending on the coming results in the next few match days.

Check out the standings after tonight's matches. @DareRising appear to have locked up third place above @Top_Tier_WOT. #WGLNA pic.twitter.com/HUlqONQ8A3

— WGLNA (@WGLNA) March 1, 2017

Be sure to join in all the excitement of the last few match days. Tune in at 5:30 pm PST at http://live.wgleague.net/ .

About Author

Harkonnen

Tank Nut and Gamer Wannabe! Huge fan of tanks and World War II history. Playing video games since I was six years old, from Streets of Rage on my Sega Mega Drive to World of Tanks, I’ve never stopped since and will always love games.

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