Round 4 has concluded, and so we are half way through the Swiss rounds; it is still looking great for the Aussies, as most are still in contention for the top cut rounds. So, the goal is to finish the Swiss rounds with 6 wins and 2 losses (or better) by the end of the eighth round. Round 4 gave the Australian players a good test as we go deeper into the Swiss rounds!
Dayne O’Meara (Umberrific) has recently finished as the number-one Aussie in the second season of the Battle Spot 2014 VGC ladder (as pictured). He continued that winning form, and won his fourth round match against Chilean player, huentefc, 2-1.
In game 1 [use the following battle code to watch this game: FEHG-WWWW-WWW5-SFRV], it was a battle of whose Mega Kangaskhan was better; Dayne’s was faster, and it used Hammer Arm on huentefc’s Kangaskhan, sending it down early and letting Dayne win game 1 comfortably. However, things were opposite in game 2, as huentefc was able to play smarter by leading with an Intimidating Salamence alongside Mega Kangaskhan. Dayne’s Mega Kangaskhan failed to KO the other Kangaskhan with Hammer Arm, thanks to that -1 attack drop from Intimidate. Things got to worse for the Aussie as huentefc’s -2 special attacking Salamance scored a critical hit on Dayne’s Rotom-Wash, KO’ing it with Draco Meteor. Huentefc won that match 4-0; watch the battle on your 3DS with this code: AA9G-WWWW-WWW5-SFSM.
Game 3 was never completed, as huentefc disconnected from the third match, and the two players couldn’t reorganise another time to replay. Huentefc conceded the match, giving Dayne a win.
It was also success for the other Aussies in group 1. Johnson Ng (Zantar) scored a 2-1 victory over Great Britain’s FroZen85. After losing the first game, Johnson was able use what he learned from that match to steam roll his opponent in game 2 and 3. Jordan Bradley (Bann) continued his win streak with a 2-0 thrashing over American, BlitznBurst. BlitznBurst wasn’t able to handle Jordan’s special attacking Tyranitar, as 4 of the 6 Pokémon he used were weak to Fire and Ice moves. Meanwhile, his Talonflame couldn’t offensively hurt Tyranitar, and Rotom-Wash was easily dealt with by Mega Kangaskhan.
Over in group 2, Jackson Lakey (FamousDeaf) scored an impressive 2-0 dominating victory over American, Jonathan Rankin (JRank), who finished top cut (top 16) at the Missouri Regional in January. Jackson got to play against same team that JRank used for that top 16 result.
In the first game [WLUW-WWWW-WWW5-KNPF], the combination of Jackson’s great plays and JRank’s mistakes allowed Jackson to dominate the game 4-0. In the game 2 [32DW-WWWW-WWW5-KNKN], Jackson got into a favourable position from the start, as it was Mega Tyranitar and Amoongus versus Talonflame and Hydreigon. From there, Jackson proceeded to Dragon Dance himself into victory as Jonathan was trying to get rid of his Mega Tyranitar quickly. Jackson recognized that JRank wanted Mega Tyranitar to go down, but protected it at key moments to give him another 4-0 victory.
It was also victory for fellow Victorian, Layne Hall (Lejn), as he defeated Dragoon124 2-0 (as pictured). In the first game [E8FW-WWWW-WWW5-RHQV], Layne was under pressure from the start, as Dragoon124 set up Trick Room with ease, but his opponent’s Slowbro had a very strange moveset: Safeguard, Trick Room, and Swagger. Slowbro was setting up Swagger on his ally Pokémon, but with some clever predictions, Layne managed to survive the Trick Room and the hard hits, and went on to win game 1. With knowledge of Dragoon124′s team, Layne dominated game 2, winning it 4-0.
It wasn’t great news for the other Aussies in group 2. Emma Williams (cobalte) and her opponent, Toddrick, couldn’t play their match; the host decided to do a coin flip to see who won, and it went in favour of Toddrick. Matthew Burris (ZzamanN) lost 2-0 to American, HeroOfTheWinds, who scored revenge on Team Australia, seeing as he was thrashed last week by Phil Nguyen (Boomguy). The best match up of this round went to Phil, who took on the 2012 World Champion runner-up, Wolfe Glick (Wolfey).
The cunning American is well known for his creativity and use of Pokémon that are not common in the metagame, which wins him the majority of his matches. Recently at the Virginia Regional tournament in January, he used a team that consisted of: Mega Lucario, Vaporeon, Mr Mime, Salamence, Tyranitar, and Amoongus. More details of that team can be found on his personal blog. When he played against Phil, however, it was a very different team; very standard Pokémon and strategy.
In game 1 [CUXG WWWW WWW5 PAXW], Phil was disadvantaged at the start when his Mega Aerodactyl and Aegislash versed Wolfey’s Mega Tyranitar and Mienshao. This allowed Wolfey to set up a free Dragon Dance on Tyranitar, but it also allowed Phil’s Aegislash to set up a Substitute. In a see-sawing match, Phil did managed to grab a 4-3 and a 3-2 lead over the American, though the two-time Dragon Dance Mega Tyranitar was able to overpower Phil’s Pokémon, eventually winning it with 2-0.
Game 2 [ST4W WWWW WWW5 PAX6] was equally as close as the first game. Phil made a minor change to his line-up; he replaced Amoongus for a Choice Band Tauros, hoping to counteract Wolfey’s use of Dragon Dance by removing +1 attack with Intimidate. Things were looking good again for Phil, this time going into a 4-3 lead. But Phil played the wrong move on the sixth turn, which allowed Wolfey to make a comeback by freely set up Dragon Dance on Mega Tyranitar. That gave Wolfey a 1-0 win, and he defeated the Australian two games to zero.
“I should of have known better at the fifth turn of the second game that he was going to switch Aegislash into Tyranitar, because I already saw 3 of the 4 Pokémon,” Phil said. “I should have expected Mega Tyranitar was his last Pokémon, and he and I knew from the first game that my Aegislash was faster than his.”
“Overall, I am really happy with how I played against a world-class opponent, and it was only one or two mistakes that cost me both games.”
After four rounds of Swiss play, Jackson and Jordan are 4-0. Layne, Johnson, and Phil are 3-1. Dayne and Matt are 2-2, and they must win every game from now on if they want to progress into the next stage. Unfortunately, Emma is 1-3, meaning her hopes of making top cut are over.
Tune in next week for round 5 action, as it will get harder for the Aussies that want to progress into the top cut!
Source:
http://ift.tt/1nFVAN7