THCDM13 Invite Duel Cup
Popular 
Reflex level designer, tehace returns to host his third duel cup, this time for the latest iteration of his map thcdm13, on July 11, 2015 July 12, 2015, commencing at 17:00 UTC. This event will not be open to the public, as it will be an invite only tournament, featuring four tough cookies including the infamous HAL_9000, the timing wizard afgh4n, the upstart Miha, and our favorite Dane Bjarke.
Update: In a last minute move, a North American version of the tournament has also been setup, scheduled to begin TODAY (Jul. 11, 2015) starting at 23:00 UTC featuring AZK, gramz, Kwong-Lo, and xero.
For the maximum amount of HAL, the tournament is structured in a round-robin format, meaning viewers can look forward to all potential match-ups, leaving no room for debate as who exactly is the king of THCDM13. To spice things up a bit, players have agreed to play their matches without the item timers.
My Predictions: I don't think it's hard to guess who the popular front-runner will be, after winning multiple tournaments already, HAL_9000 has to be the firm favourite. He plays the game with an almost effortless grace, constantly zipping around making his trademark lightening fast flick-shots while attempting some difficult, or otherwise, trick jump, never losing a step. His mechanical skills are really next to none, and when it comes to to movement, and aim, anyone that really thinks its wise to go toe-to-toe with him usually leave the server quickly, packing-it-up, and looking for their next opponent. However, as strong as he maybe in those departments, afgh4n, and Miha aren't exactly what you would call slouches, both of whom come with quite the kick, and will not be totally out-classed by HAL's twitch aim. Both of them have a very sturdy shot, and are capable of hitting high accuracies, and punishing their opponents with the slightest advantage. In their favour, HAL is know as quite a temperamental player, something the the Canadian legend gellehsak took advantage of, in their now famous Use and Abuse duel in the Challenge Promode 2013 CPM Master tournamentt, an advantage the other three participants must exploit, in his words:
Source.
If there's anyone that will be able to cause an upset, it will be afgh4n, especially as timers will be turned off, and players are forced to use the clock -- I'm not a very good player, but I can time quite well, and I'm not sure if I've ever been more frustrated than I was when I've had to play against afgh4n. He will know the timing of every item, down to the second, rarely making an error. As a result of this, he may have the largest advantage of any particular skill between the four participants. This should give him a meaningful advantage, and something they the other players need to be aware of -- if he's diving an item, chances are it's going to spawn as soon as he crosses it's path. Bjarke is a relatively new member of the CPM scene, especially in comparison to HAL, and afgh4n, but has shown tremendous growth, both in terms of tactics, and strategy, as well as aim, movement, and timing. I expect him to be able to steal a map under someone's nose, but who that might be is not very clear to me at the moment. Finally Miha, I'll be honest, I don't know much about him, other than seeing him (recently) beat gaiia, and me thinking "what the fuck, who is this guy?" I have been told (random twitch source) that he comes from QuakeLive, so I anticipate strong aim, and good positioning, cementing his spot as my dark-horse bet to win the tournament. From the small sample size of games I have seen, he should push afghan to three maps, and to win versus Bjarke, maybe even upset HAL. If there's one person that could totally ruin my prediction, it's this guy.
Links: Official Reflex Website, Official Post, 
#reflex
Stream:
Knockback TV (EU), PHGP.tv (NA)
Reflex level designer, tehace returns to host his third duel cup, this time for the latest iteration of his map thcdm13, on July 11, 2015 July 12, 2015, commencing at 17:00 UTC. This event will not be open to the public, as it will be an invite only tournament, featuring four tough cookies including the infamous HAL_9000, the timing wizard afgh4n, the upstart Miha, and our favorite Dane Bjarke.Update: In a last minute move, a North American version of the tournament has also been setup, scheduled to begin TODAY (Jul. 11, 2015) starting at 23:00 UTC featuring AZK, gramz, Kwong-Lo, and xero.
For the maximum amount of HAL, the tournament is structured in a round-robin format, meaning viewers can look forward to all potential match-ups, leaving no room for debate as who exactly is the king of THCDM13. To spice things up a bit, players have agreed to play their matches without the item timers.
My Predictions: I don't think it's hard to guess who the popular front-runner will be, after winning multiple tournaments already, HAL_9000 has to be the firm favourite. He plays the game with an almost effortless grace, constantly zipping around making his trademark lightening fast flick-shots while attempting some difficult, or otherwise, trick jump, never losing a step. His mechanical skills are really next to none, and when it comes to to movement, and aim, anyone that really thinks its wise to go toe-to-toe with him usually leave the server quickly, packing-it-up, and looking for their next opponent. However, as strong as he maybe in those departments, afgh4n, and Miha aren't exactly what you would call slouches, both of whom come with quite the kick, and will not be totally out-classed by HAL's twitch aim. Both of them have a very sturdy shot, and are capable of hitting high accuracies, and punishing their opponents with the slightest advantage. In their favour, HAL is know as quite a temperamental player, something the the Canadian legend gellehsak took advantage of, in their now famous Use and Abuse duel in the Challenge Promode 2013 CPM Master tournamentt, an advantage the other three participants must exploit, in his words:
- Hal is a very emotional player and he had just rage quit against gaiia on both maps they played. Hal's game changes drastically when his emotions aren't in check.
- Hal really gets uncomfortable when a game isn't flowing the way he wants it. He likes being able to calmly make flicks and 'pretty' shots to keep up this flow.
- I felt confident in my ability to exploit his current emotional state and on my ability to force him to slow down his game outside of his flow on 3 of the 5 maps (22 and 24 being the exceptions)
Source.
If there's anyone that will be able to cause an upset, it will be afgh4n, especially as timers will be turned off, and players are forced to use the clock -- I'm not a very good player, but I can time quite well, and I'm not sure if I've ever been more frustrated than I was when I've had to play against afgh4n. He will know the timing of every item, down to the second, rarely making an error. As a result of this, he may have the largest advantage of any particular skill between the four participants. This should give him a meaningful advantage, and something they the other players need to be aware of -- if he's diving an item, chances are it's going to spawn as soon as he crosses it's path. Bjarke is a relatively new member of the CPM scene, especially in comparison to HAL, and afgh4n, but has shown tremendous growth, both in terms of tactics, and strategy, as well as aim, movement, and timing. I expect him to be able to steal a map under someone's nose, but who that might be is not very clear to me at the moment. Finally Miha, I'll be honest, I don't know much about him, other than seeing him (recently) beat gaiia, and me thinking "what the fuck, who is this guy?" I have been told (random twitch source) that he comes from QuakeLive, so I anticipate strong aim, and good positioning, cementing his spot as my dark-horse bet to win the tournament. From the small sample size of games I have seen, he should push afghan to three maps, and to win versus Bjarke, maybe even upset HAL. If there's one person that could totally ruin my prediction, it's this guy.
| THCDM13 Invite Duel Cup EU | |||
| 17:00 UTC, 12 Jul 2015 | |||
| 1. | HAL_9000 | 3-0 | 6-1 |
| 2. | Miha | 2-1 | 5-3 |
| 3. | af4han | 1-2 | 3-5 |
| 4. | Bjarke | 0-3 | 1-6 |
| THCDM13 Invite Duel Cup EU Matchesshow |
| THCDM13 Invite Duel Cup NA | |||
| 23:00 UTC, 11 Jul 2015 | |||
| 1. | Kwong-Lo | 2-1 | 2-1 |
| 2. | AZK | 2-1 | 3-1 |
| 3. | gramz | 1-2 | 1-3 |
| 4. | xero | 1-2 | 1-2 |
| THCDM13 Invite Duel Cup NA Matchesshow |
The map is now available for download.
- This is an invite only tournament.
- Players must play on the most up-to-date version of THCMD13.
- Servers, and games, will be arranged via tournament administrator.
- Please remember to sign-in, and be available ten, to fifteen minutes before the tournament begins.
- Players have agreed to play without the use of item timers. Please ensure they are off.
- After all the matches are completed, the player with the most map wins, will be crowned the champion.
- In the case of a tie (in map wins), the winner will be determined by the victor of set the tied players played e.g.: After all the matches are played, Player A, and Player B have a tied amount of map wins. Whoever had won the set between Player A, and Player B, will be crowned the champion.
- Please report your scores to admin after you match is complete, and remember to take a screenshot of your result!
- Admins will have the authority to interpret the rules, to make a final decision on all necessary matters, including those not explicitly covered.
$13.00 USD, winner takes all.
Links:
Official Reflex Website, Official Post, #reflexStream:
Knockback TV (EU), PHGP.tv (NA)