ESL Studio 1

Attendance

Player Interviews

DevM:

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2) I have been scriming with my partner talisman (big thanks to him). My focus as of these last few days has been on finding ways to defeat the current soviet meta in an efficient way but I can't say more until the series!



3) "You have won enough tourneys DevM" Those are the words from my friend of the other side of the bracket HelpingHans, In my eyes there's no stopping until I have proven 100% that I am the best at tourney play which doesn't seem quite set on stone .



4) I think that the match up is very even, it's hard for me to say who will win and I am sure that no player will leave that series with no losses. I'm rooting for Luvnest to win but I realistically think that hans is in great shape and will take the series either 3-1 or 3-2.



5) Im sorry to any KappaClaus supporter but I took upon myself to destroy the king of the current soviet meta. History will be made! No more will the axis players feel oppressed by DHSKs and M4Cs, no more will lead lease terrorise everyone! VonIvan and his strategies will be brought to burn in the fires of mount doom!

... (hopefully I am up to the task of this words) ... 1) I think that so far the only person that tested me was talisman, more specifically his soviets but other than that I haven't had great difficulties getting to where I am now.2) I have been scriming with my partner talisman (big thanks to him). My focus as of these last few days has been on finding ways to defeat the current soviet meta in an efficient way but I can't say more until the series!3) "You have won enough tourneys DevM" Those are the words from my friend of the other side of the bracket HelpingHans, In my eyes there's no stopping until I have proven 100% that I am the best at tourney play which doesn't seem quite set on stone4) I think that the match up is very even, it's hard for me to say who will win and I am sure that no player will leave that series with no losses. I'm rooting for Luvnest to win but I realistically think that hans is in great shape and will take the series either 3-1 or 3-2.5) Im sorry to any KappaClaus supporter but I took upon myself to destroy the king of the current soviet meta. History will be made! No more will the axis players feel oppressed by DHSKs and M4Cs, no more will lead lease terrorise everyone! VonIvan and his strategies will be brought to burn in the fires of mount doom!... (hopefully I am up to the task of this words) ...

VonIvan:

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2) Training has gone pretty well so far, I've learned OKW can scale better than Ostheer vs USF, and I've won every game vs said faction with OKW since the beginning of this week.



3) The biggest factor for me is that I've never had the honour of winning a more international coh2 tournament, compared to NA ESL, and that I want to show the community NA is still a shining beacon of hope, and also secretly #1 seed.



4) My best guess would be that both players will come close, and one of them will win the ace match to grab it, I feel Luvnest may be relatively more crafty than Hans when countering his opponent's strategy, although Hans is a CoH2 tournament veteran, so anything is possible. It'll all come down to whoever beats their opponent's allied faction.



5) 1) Pretty good, I haven't had a game yet where I've lost with a legitimate strategy.2) Training has gone pretty well so far, I've learned OKW can scale better than Ostheer vs USF, and I've won every game vs said faction with OKW since the beginning of this week.3) The biggest factor for me is that I've never had the honour of winning a more international coh2 tournament, compared to NA ESL, and that I want to show the community NA is still a shining beacon of hope, and also secretly #1 seed.4) My best guess would be that both players will come close, and one of them will win the ace match to grab it, I feel Luvnest may be relatively more crafty than Hans when countering his opponent's strategy, although Hans is a CoH2 tournament veteran, so anything is possible. It'll all come down to whoever beats their opponent's allied faction.5)

Luvnest:

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1) So far so good. Finndeed's games felt more like a friendly game, especially after meeting him in London this year. Baumy's OKW was quite strong in automatch and his Soviets were quite predictable, so I knew what to expect and countered it accordingly via an appropriate map pick. Aimstrong so far was the toughest nut to crack, but he also showed a very distinctive pattern in his playstyle. After losing couple of times in automatch against him on stream, I was a little worried, but the additional focus playing off-stream and good preparation led to a successful 3-0 for me.



2) Training has been very good so far. I almost trained exclusively with my good friend Theodosios, who sadly got kicked out of the tourney after Von defeated him decisively. We analysed each other's opponents and discussed map and faction choices as well as build orders. Then we set up custom games (poor Theo had to go through several periods of heavy-Aimstrong-esque-T1-play which is a quite different to his usual playstyle).



3) Obviously the plane ticket to the UK to meet up with the usual PC-Gamer-Weekender subjects. The thrill of having a chance to play in a live event is also one of my main motivations. That would be the icing on the top of an already excellent cake for me. The money would also come in handy for my summer vacation, not gonna exclude that here of course.



4) DevM vs VonIvan is an interesting match-up. Von's Soviets are on of the best out there (after mine of course ). But I think there is a discrepancy between his Axis and Allies gameplay. In order for DevM to succeed, he has to take advantage of Von's Axis, secure the wins here and hold his ground against swarms of M4C Shermans.



5) 1) So far so good. Finndeed's games felt more like a friendly game, especially after meeting him in London this year. Baumy's OKW was quite strong in automatch and his Soviets were quite predictable, so I knew what to expect and countered it accordingly via an appropriate map pick. Aimstrong so far was the toughest nut to crack, but he also showed a very distinctive pattern in his playstyle. After losing couple of times in automatch against him on stream, I was a little worried, but the additional focus playing off-stream and good preparation led to a successful 3-0 for me.2) Training has been very good so far. I almost trained exclusively with my good friend Theodosios, who sadly got kicked out of the tourney after Von defeated him decisively. We analysed each other's opponents and discussed map and faction choices as well as build orders. Then we set up custom games (poor Theo had to go through several periods of heavy-Aimstrong-esque-T1-play which is a quite different to his usual playstyle).3) Obviously the plane ticket to the UK to meet up with the usual PC-Gamer-Weekender subjects. The thrill of having a chance to play in a live event is also one of my main motivations. That would be the icing on the top of an already excellent cake for me. The money would also come in handy for my summer vacation, not gonna exclude that here of course.4) DevM vs VonIvan is an interesting match-up. Von's Soviets are on of the best out there (after mine of course). But I think there is a discrepancy between his Axis and Allies gameplay. In order for DevM to succeed, he has to take advantage of Von's Axis, secure the wins here and hold his ground against swarms of M4C Shermans.5)

HelpingHans:

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2) Unlike Vonivan who has been training his socks off for this tournament I have done considerably less training. I believe I have the ability to beat my next opponent Luvnest and no extra amount of training will really help me overcome him. I'll probably get some practice games in tho on Friday and Saturday so I'm in the zone though. What I have done a lot though is analysis my opponent, but that's all I'll say on the matter.



3) My fan base which has been behind me since day 1. I absolutely love seeing the heartfelt support in the twitch chat with emoticon spam and support across the forums.



4) Though I respect both players immensely I would love it if VonIvan beats the Portugal Prodigy DevM. He's put so much effort into this tournament, god knows he deserves it, KappaKlaus. However I expect DEVM to win based on his history and his ability both as axis and allies whereas Von's weakness is his axis.



5) Hoping to have a repeat of the ESL March monthly against Luvnest I had last year. Fully intending to hang up my washing on Siegfried Line . 1) My matches have been pretty easy so far and straight forward. Probably tested the most in my first game against Barton. His sniper mirco was intense but I managed to negate it with the use of the half-track.2) Unlike Vonivan who has been training his socks off for this tournament I have done considerably less training. I believe I have the ability to beat my next opponent Luvnest and no extra amount of training will really help me overcome him. I'll probably get some practice games in tho on Friday and Saturday so I'm in the zone though. What I have done a lot though is analysis my opponent, but that's all I'll say on the matter.3) My fan base which has been behind me since day 1. I absolutely love seeing the heartfelt support in the twitch chat with emoticon spam and support across the forums.4) Though I respect both players immensely I would love it if VonIvan beats the Portugal Prodigy DevM. He's put so much effort into this tournament, god knows he deserves it, KappaKlaus. However I expect DEVM to win based on his history and his ability both as axis and allies whereas Von's weakness is his axis.5) Hoping to have a repeat of the ESL March monthly against Luvnest I had last year. Fully intending to hang up my washing on Siegfried Line

Semi Finals Live Stream

The battle-lines are drawn. This Sunday, four of the game's titans fight to decide who goes to the ESL's Studio One in Leicester for the finals. The right to hold a trophy aloft at one of the most prestigious e-sports venues in Europe is at stake, as well as the title ofof Company of Heroes 2.That's right. The Grand Championship Series will end in a final that will be a defining moment in the history of our community. Something for us all to savour, be it the 50+ people in live attendance or the 2,000+ watching the live stream. This will to be an event we've all dreamed about.We couldn't have gotten this venue without the generosity of ESL UK. We have been sitting on this possibility for two months now, but only had it confirmed yesterday. It's a dream come true for Stormless and myself. We saw a big League of Legends final there last year, and although our production will be heavily down scaled, it'll still be off the charts compared to anything CoH2 has seen before. You won't want to miss it.If you want to travel to Leicester England for the 1st of July, there will be a travel and info pack going out to all the Kickstarter benefactors. But, given the increased size of this event, any fans of GCS are welcome to attend.The same travel and info information will be given to anyone who is interested in coming, on a as-requested basis, please email redditcoh@gmail.com with the. I'll send you the relevant details. (This will also help us understand attendance numbers.)In my own words, here's the hype of the semi finals and the venue:Each of the four players were asked the following five questions:What have your matches been like in G.C.S. so far any moments that you've felt truly tested?How has the training gone for this semi final, is there anything you can tell us about your preparations?What's the biggest factor for you in motivating you to win this tournament?What are your thoughts on the other semi-final what outcome do you expect to see?Any words for your opponent ahead of Sunday's big match?The Semi-Finals are live Sunday 11th June on twitch.tv/Stormless 11am EST / 3pm GMT/ 4pm BST / 5pm CEST