G'day, Forts fans!
On Saturday eight competitors entered Tournament XVIII and one undefeated champion emerged. Navigating a gauntlet including commander bans, an expanded map pool, and a fallen opponent battling back for a shot at redemption, EtaN adds yet another medal to a collection already filled to bursting. Congratulations!
And congratulations to our runner up [DFC] Matteo who came within a tenth of a second of plasma burn away from victory against EtaN in match 12. Firework, our third place finisher, was coming off a tournament fastest victory in match 11 with a time of 2:24 before falling to Matteo's comeback bid in a gritty slugfest that went the distance. The finals belonged to EtaN though, as once again Matteo's laser fell milliseconds short of turning the tide.
Adaptability and versatility were on full display as the players learned of their map and bans mere minutes before each match. The maps themselves were drawn from the ranked pool and submissions from Forts Map Making Contest II. With so much uncertainty to prepare for could they still bring their best to the competition?
The answer was a resounding "yes" and produced some of our most exciting matches to date. Dominance was displayed alongside epic comebacks. Ambitious gambles that paid off and calculated risks that wound up costing everything. Topping them all was an unbelievable coreswing never before seen in tournament play and perfectly executed.
A special shoutout to Ximsa, maker of the Observer Tools used during the tournament and now compatible with replays. All tournament XVIII match replays are available to watch in the Featured tab of your Forts Replays menu once you click Download. Attempt the epic coreswing at your own peril!
Thank you to all our competitors, the mapmakers from Forts Map Making Contest II, our hosts, Bobereto and Project Incursus and Special commentator Nozehed. If you missed watching live you can watch the recording on their channels BoberetoG Tournament XVIII cast and Project Incursus Tournament XVIII cast . Final results archived at the Tournament XVIII Challonge site.
Discord
If you haven't already, join the Forts Official Discord for more information on mapmaking, modding, strategy, and a special upcoming tournament announcement.
Cheers,
EWG