2009 ASSAULT CUP - CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF UT!
-=-=-
Hello! I will be your friendly correspondent for this Assault Cup event, organised by the lovely XB, ably assisted by several other people whose names are harder to spell. As Cup journalist I have been asked to provide a preview of the eight official teams and their members in order to look at how this event is shaping up.
I have ignored team strength ratings but have included player ratings (as according to this post), so that the fans can judge for themselves how important a part the ratings might yet play.
I was also asked to point out players who may be key to their team's successes (or failures) in the upcoming matches. I limited myself to two key players per squad and used various criteria, but these opinions are mine and should not be taken too seriously.
Feel free to post your comments, and here goes!
-=-=- -=-=- -=-=- -=-=- -=-=-
THE TEAMS
(In alpha order of cap name)
-=-=-
TEAM D1SC
D1sc(c) (9) - KEY PLAYER
Uzi (7)
Basdo (24) - KEY PLAYER
Ulv (29)
Thrasher (38)
jEr (43)
Syphus (53)
#team.d1sc
POSSIBLE POSITIVES: The positives here are plain to see. Apart from having two outright fraggers this team also has at least three experienced, trustworthy, good-all-round, mid-rated players who pug very regularly and are as up-to-speed as they ever will be. If they do make mistakes it won't be owing to lack of recent gameplay experience. There's also little that Basdo can't do in AS and he may be one of the best teamplayers in the cup. Watching d1sc and Uzi tear it up will boost the morale of this squad no end, if it happens...
POSSIBLE NEGATIVES: The captain and Uzi have not been doing as much pugging as plenty of other Cup players lately, and while pugging isn't everything you could still use it as a pretty reliable litmus test as to who's up to speed and who isn't. And on top of that, d1sc will also have to get to know his team. How familiar is he with the players under his command? Who are the launchers, the fraggers, the frontmen, the backmen, who's good at comms, who likes sheep a little too much? D1sc may have to get some pretty hefty squad training in before the cup begins, or this team could fall by the wayside undeservedly quickly.
-=-=-
TEAM HOI
Hoi(c) (21) - KEY PLAYER
Sphere (8) - KEY PLAYER
Ban (22)
Spoq (23)
YMD (25)
Killing_Joke (36)
ODIN (55)
#team.hoi
POSSIBLE POSITIVES: A very middle-of-the-road sort of team, going by player ratings, but at least two of the players in here may well have been underrated. It could also be argued that if the captain makes the team then this team is the strongest, since Hoi has no glaring weaknesses on either attack or defence, knows all the launches and the tricks, and has excellent comms and good tactical awareness. He regularly captains in pugs and so is used to giving out commands and knows how each map plays out from a captain's perspective. On top of all that, Hoi has at least four talented fraggers to play with, leaving the team strong on attack with both frag and launch capability, and strong in defence with motivated teamplay, a veteran captain who's always in a good mood, and no really weak players.
POSSIBLE NEGATIVES: It's all a sham, Hoi doesn't know what he's doing and the above paragraph just set him back €10. That's forward planning for you.
-=-=-
TEAM METEOR
Meteor(c) (26)
m1cr0 (4) - KEY PLAYER
Stylefish (14) - KEY PLAYER
Mena (32)
Opium (33)
Target (46)
Flow (54)
#team.meteor
POSSIBLE POSITIVES: If player ratings are anything to go by then this team may be considered less immediately strong than most of the others, but their strengths are not to be dismissed. With the noteable fragpower of m1cr0 and Stylefish, supplemented by that of Opium, Mena and the charismatic, gibberish talking team captain himself, this crew, if properly organised, may just be able to force their way through all but the tightest of defences, especially since the maximum number of enemies they'll face is now 5 instead of 6. Comms should also be above average, what with three of the team being in the same Pro squad, which may in turn make defence a trump card for this team.
POSSIBLE NEGATIVES: But can Met make himself understood in time to marshal his troops? Will this team's fragpower be enough against the big guns in the other teams, or will the captain be forced to favour a more 'airborne' approach? And if so, who are the most trustworthy launchers? There may be some team selection headaches in Met's future... Also, as Wish said, pings may play a big part in determining the fate of Met's team, and therefore server choice is obviously critical. If all else fails, Met, shoot the barrels!
-=-=-
TEAM SALVA
Salva(c) (3) - KEY PLAYER
Riv (6) - KEY PLAYER
Mido (19)
Axl (31)
Pitbull (42)
Solar (48)
#team.salva
POSSIBLE POSITIVES: Many and varied, looking at the squad. People will pinpoint this team as the one to watch, purely because, unlike any other squad, they have two top tier players in the roster. There's more to it than that, however: Mido and Axl are both absolutely excellent AS players who seem to get stronger every time they play. Both regularly do things you didn't realise they were able to do, like holding def objectives alone, or ultra-killing their way to the next one on attack. Salva has been dealt a terrific hand here, and it's not difficult to imagine this team getting off to a flying start.
POSSIBLE NEGATIVES: Comms will be a big factor. If they get the comms right (ie. if Salva keeps a grip on them), this team will virtually be able to talk their way to victory. But get them wrong and they may suffer from such problems as Riv's randomised teamkilling followed by twenty-five minutes of high-pitched giggling, or trying to glean more from Axl's laconic 'incoming', or getting Pitbull and Solar to talk at all. If Riv can climb out of his pj's and take things seriously then that may make the difference for his team. So stfu!
continued...
-=-=-
Hello! I will be your friendly correspondent for this Assault Cup event, organised by the lovely XB, ably assisted by several other people whose names are harder to spell. As Cup journalist I have been asked to provide a preview of the eight official teams and their members in order to look at how this event is shaping up.
I have ignored team strength ratings but have included player ratings (as according to this post), so that the fans can judge for themselves how important a part the ratings might yet play.
I was also asked to point out players who may be key to their team's successes (or failures) in the upcoming matches. I limited myself to two key players per squad and used various criteria, but these opinions are mine and should not be taken too seriously.
Feel free to post your comments, and here goes!
-=-=- -=-=- -=-=- -=-=- -=-=-
THE TEAMS
(In alpha order of cap name)
-=-=-
TEAM D1SC
D1sc(c) (9) - KEY PLAYER
Uzi (7)
Basdo (24) - KEY PLAYER
Ulv (29)
Thrasher (38)
jEr (43)
Syphus (53)
#team.d1sc
POSSIBLE POSITIVES: The positives here are plain to see. Apart from having two outright fraggers this team also has at least three experienced, trustworthy, good-all-round, mid-rated players who pug very regularly and are as up-to-speed as they ever will be. If they do make mistakes it won't be owing to lack of recent gameplay experience. There's also little that Basdo can't do in AS and he may be one of the best teamplayers in the cup. Watching d1sc and Uzi tear it up will boost the morale of this squad no end, if it happens...
POSSIBLE NEGATIVES: The captain and Uzi have not been doing as much pugging as plenty of other Cup players lately, and while pugging isn't everything you could still use it as a pretty reliable litmus test as to who's up to speed and who isn't. And on top of that, d1sc will also have to get to know his team. How familiar is he with the players under his command? Who are the launchers, the fraggers, the frontmen, the backmen, who's good at comms, who likes sheep a little too much? D1sc may have to get some pretty hefty squad training in before the cup begins, or this team could fall by the wayside undeservedly quickly.
-=-=-
TEAM HOI
Hoi(c) (21) - KEY PLAYER
Sphere (8) - KEY PLAYER
Ban (22)
Spoq (23)
YMD (25)
Killing_Joke (36)
ODIN (55)
#team.hoi
POSSIBLE POSITIVES: A very middle-of-the-road sort of team, going by player ratings, but at least two of the players in here may well have been underrated. It could also be argued that if the captain makes the team then this team is the strongest, since Hoi has no glaring weaknesses on either attack or defence, knows all the launches and the tricks, and has excellent comms and good tactical awareness. He regularly captains in pugs and so is used to giving out commands and knows how each map plays out from a captain's perspective. On top of all that, Hoi has at least four talented fraggers to play with, leaving the team strong on attack with both frag and launch capability, and strong in defence with motivated teamplay, a veteran captain who's always in a good mood, and no really weak players.
POSSIBLE NEGATIVES: It's all a sham, Hoi doesn't know what he's doing and the above paragraph just set him back €10. That's forward planning for you.
-=-=-
TEAM METEOR
Meteor(c) (26)
m1cr0 (4) - KEY PLAYER
Stylefish (14) - KEY PLAYER
Mena (32)
Opium (33)
Target (46)
Flow (54)
#team.meteor
POSSIBLE POSITIVES: If player ratings are anything to go by then this team may be considered less immediately strong than most of the others, but their strengths are not to be dismissed. With the noteable fragpower of m1cr0 and Stylefish, supplemented by that of Opium, Mena and the charismatic, gibberish talking team captain himself, this crew, if properly organised, may just be able to force their way through all but the tightest of defences, especially since the maximum number of enemies they'll face is now 5 instead of 6. Comms should also be above average, what with three of the team being in the same Pro squad, which may in turn make defence a trump card for this team.
POSSIBLE NEGATIVES: But can Met make himself understood in time to marshal his troops? Will this team's fragpower be enough against the big guns in the other teams, or will the captain be forced to favour a more 'airborne' approach? And if so, who are the most trustworthy launchers? There may be some team selection headaches in Met's future... Also, as Wish said, pings may play a big part in determining the fate of Met's team, and therefore server choice is obviously critical. If all else fails, Met, shoot the barrels!
-=-=-
TEAM SALVA
Salva(c) (3) - KEY PLAYER
Riv (6) - KEY PLAYER
Mido (19)
Axl (31)
Pitbull (42)
Solar (48)
#team.salva
POSSIBLE POSITIVES: Many and varied, looking at the squad. People will pinpoint this team as the one to watch, purely because, unlike any other squad, they have two top tier players in the roster. There's more to it than that, however: Mido and Axl are both absolutely excellent AS players who seem to get stronger every time they play. Both regularly do things you didn't realise they were able to do, like holding def objectives alone, or ultra-killing their way to the next one on attack. Salva has been dealt a terrific hand here, and it's not difficult to imagine this team getting off to a flying start.
POSSIBLE NEGATIVES: Comms will be a big factor. If they get the comms right (ie. if Salva keeps a grip on them), this team will virtually be able to talk their way to victory. But get them wrong and they may suffer from such problems as Riv's randomised teamkilling followed by twenty-five minutes of high-pitched giggling, or trying to glean more from Axl's laconic 'incoming', or getting Pitbull and Solar to talk at all. If Riv can climb out of his pj's and take things seriously then that may make the difference for his team. So stfu!
continued...
Last edited: