One of the greatest and oldest gaming competitions over the last decade has been the ClanBase Nations Cup, giving players an opportunity across a wide range of titles to win fame and glory for their country.

Traditionally Australians avoid competing in the Nations Cup; the competition is primarily a European affair. The ping disadvantage usually makes it impossible for Australians to compete on an even playing field (not including the advantage foreigners have in being able to play in higher-skilled tournaments more often).

This time, however, a combination of players from local pro-gaming Team Immunity and other teams, including Vanguard and eXile5, banded together to win the gold medal in the Nations Cup for Battlefield 3, the first such win for Australia.

Matched against Belgium, Russia, South Africa and Finland in the group stages, Australia managed to squeeze out into the playoffs with strong victories against Russia and Belgium, while losing a tight match against the remaining nations.

It's worth noting that deathdoG, the Australian player (formerly from Counter-Strike: Source) was playing the above match with a 400 ping - a good example of why Australians usually don't play Europeans in serious online matches.

Nevertheless, the boys continued their push in the playoffs to reach the grand finals with a strong 528 - 199 win over pro-gaming powerhouse Sweden and a narrow 41 point victory in the semi-finals against Poland.

After losing in the group stages to Finland, the Australians got another crack at the Scandinavians in the Grand Finals. An interesting narrative played out with the Australians being hailed as one of the best infantry sides in the competition, while the Finnish were favoured on vehicle-based maps thanks to having the world's best Battlefield 3 jet pilot on their squad.

Unfortunately for the Finns, their skill was no match for the Australians' spirit and creativity, where the Australians used a number of unusual tactics like mass bailing from aircraft, ramming vehicles with jet planes and other unorthodox strategies to turn the tide in their favour, eventually winning the series 286 points to 92.

It's not every day Australians get to enjoy a victory against our European brethren on the digital battlefield; as I mentioned, the disadvantages are usually too great for many to consider even giving it a try. When we do successfully, however, it's worth cherishing. To all the guys that took part in Australia's first ever ClanBase gold medal - congratulations on a historic win.

Alex Walker is the regular gaming columnist for ABC Tech + Games. You can follow him on Twitter at @thedippaeffect.