A couple of weeks ago, the 3rd lost their #1 spot on the TWL ladder to a team calling themselves "Best In Tactics". It was a frustrating loss on Berlin, marked by a sequence of horrible events. At the last second we had to replace the designated commander and main Squad Leader due to technical problems and things did not end well for us.

After successfully defending the #2 slot last week, we challenged Best In Tactics again tonight. This would mark the 3rd time we have played them. The first time was on our way up the ladder. It was a hotly contested battle which we win 2 rounds to 1. The contest was marred by their breaking the rules in the first round and dropping an illegal orbital strike on our team at a critical time right at the end of the match (in TWL there are commanders but orbital strikes are prohibited at all times). They argued it, and were denied by an admin. The end result was we came away with a victory, but there wasn't a warm and fuzzy feeling between the two teams.

To then lose our #1 spot on the ladder to them was very disappointing, so tonight we were ready to go. The map was Minsk, with the ruleset for infantry only (no vehicles in any way). We had planned out a solid defense and attacking plan. It was going to come down to execution.

Round 1:
The 3rd came in as the EU side on defense. We had split into two squads, Alpha and Bravo to allow for some flexibility on defense. BiT pushed their entire team to the south side right off the bat, and tried to out-rocket us using the cover of the bunkers. We pulled a minor flank on the north, and between the crossfire of grenades and rockets, combined with ticket bleed we were wearing them down quickly. They realized this and tried an infantry push on the flag which was beaten back. A second time they came in, this time disguising their movements more effectively. They were able to get into the building, and after a prolonged battle over the flag they finally flipped it to end the bleed. At this point we had a handy ticket lead built up (30 tickets or so).

We quickly pushed back up from the rear flag, and settled in on the north hill with a 4-man squad, and to the south with a 3-man squad. Here the 3rd's superior teamwork and technical skills came into play. We staggered coordinated rockets attacks onto the tower, and slowly began to eat away at their remaining tickets. One person would fire a salvo for a kill, then the second would put more rockets on the same location to prevent a revive.

Eventually they realized it was a losing proposition and tried to fight their way out. They had some success, and pushed us back towards out second flag but it was too little too late and the 3rd ran the round out 59-0 winners.

Assault:
Our goal was clear. If we got them down to 58 tickets or less, we had choice of side for the deciding round, which would almost guarantee us the victory. We wanted to just outright beat them. BiT's strength in the past has been defensive tactics, whilst the 3rd is not called the Thunderbolts for nothing!

We split into two, with our main force being a 5-man squad on the north side. While they advanced, Bravo on the south used staggered rocket fire to suppress the enemy and divert their attention. BiT adjusted well as Alpha approached the building and they momentarily stalled the offensive. Some *great* reviving kept the drive alive, and we eventually established ourselves in the building and on the flag. We managed to get it neutral, and might even have capped it momentarily although in the gunfire and confusion it is tough to say. All I do know is they managed to drive us out and recap the flag. We had worn them down though and despite the bleed the round was close - very close. Less than 10 tickets separated us at 69-78.

We quickly hit them again hard from the north side. This time we skipped the building and moved onto the flag directly. Our numbers and organization paid off and we capped it, successfully driving them off the flag entirely after destroying a beacon on the north side.

Now came the hard part. While we had their ticket count low enough at some 58, were still down some 10 tickets, and needed to win the round to secure outright victory without requiring a third round. I hoped they would play into our hands and try to take the flag back. My hopes were well founded as they moved forward to engage us.

Some furious fire was exchanged, with revives and rockets all around. The north hill in particular was seeing some heavy action, particularly when the orbital strike hit us... wait a second. Orbitals are still illegal! We called the forfeit immediately, gaining victory. We went to wish them a good game when one of their team jumped in the walker and started just mowing us down. We asked him to cease fire, but he said he was "a sore loser" and kept on shooting us. At this juncture we disconnected.

In all it was a disappointing finish to an otherwise well played and exciting match. The 3rd had come in with a good plan and executed it well.

It may well mark out last TWL 8 vs 8 match, with the new BFCL season starting shortly. If so, we'll be going out with TG on top!