2020 Fall Invitational

I am in.

@Morax lets dual cast the winners bracket on sep 19 and sep 26 using discord screen share.

Thanks to advait_hasabnis aka JohnBetty for a $30 donation to the prize pool! This brings the total prize pool to $345 and because of this I've decided to adjust the prize pool distribution to create prizes for 5th-8th place in the tournament.

Could we maybe get a nice Avatar as a reward as well ? Pretty please

I donate a free 1-month subscription to my stream to the top three players. They have to be redeemed by approaching me personally after the tourney ends.

Finals:
Date: September 26th (first 2 rounds) September 27th (Final Round)
Time: 14:00 GMT
Challonge: https://challonge.com/z16htxwt
Chat: /join #fall
Tournament Director: Swkoll

Map Pool:

Cobalt Valley
Crag Dunes
crazyrush
Palaneum

Forbidden Pass v4
Frithen
Open Palms
Oracle
Sleipnir
White Fire v2
Z-D Rasty Lite

Painted Desert
Seton's Clutch - FAF version
The Bermuda Locket
The Ditch

All games are BO5, expect the finals which are BO7. Same pick and veto rules as in the Group Stage but with 3 vetos per player instead of 2.

@FULL-POWER-BENIS said in 2020 Fall Invitational:

I donate a free 1-month subscription to my stream to the top three players. They have to be redeemed by approaching me personally after the tourney ends.

Bennis our first proper business faf streamer. Time to start the sellout.

Stop using the word sellout in the context of my stream. Its bad for business.

2020 Fall Invitational
Round of 8 and Semi-Finals
September 26, 2020
List of All Games Played

ROUND OF 8

Series 1 - Petric vs Turin Turambar
12728585 on crazyrush
12728786 on Frithen
12728883 on Z-D Rasty Lite
12729025 on The Bermuda Locket

Series 2 - archsimkat vs Nexus
12728773 on Frithen
12729015 on crazyrush
12729227 on Z-D Rasty Lite

Series 3 - Espiranto vs Tagada
12728602 on crazyrush
12728808 on Open Palms
12728942 on Frithen

Series 4 - BlinChik vs TURBO2
12728598 on Painted Desert Rebalanced
12728714 on Painted Desert Rebalanced
12728911 on White Fire v2
12729094 on The Ditch
12729410 on Palaneum
12729608 on crazyrush

SEMI-FINALS

Series 5 - Nexus vs Petric
12729793 on Painted Desert Rebalanced
12729534 on Crag Dunes
12729675 on Cobalt Valley

Series 6 - Tagada vs TURBO2
12729942 on Forbidden Pass v4
12730118 on Cobalt Valley
12730381 on Painted Desert Rebalanced
12730642 on Setons Clutch - FAF version
12731045 on White Fire v2

Also: here is a search string that you can enter into the Java client to pull up all Round of 8 and Semifinals tournament games (copy it to your clipboard, then in the FAF client, check the box for: display search query, and then paste this into the query input field, and press enter to perform the search directly from the query input field).

id=="12728585",id=="12728598",id=="12728602",id=="12728714",id=="12728773",id=="12728786",id=="12728808",id=="12728883",id=="12728911",id=="12728942",id=="12729015",id=="12729025",id=="12729094",id=="12729227",id=="12729410",id=="12729534",id=="12729608",id=="12729675",id=="12729793",id=="12729942",id=="12730118",id=="12730381",id=="12730642",id=="12731045"

2020 Fall Invitational
Finals and Third Place Set
September 27, 2020
List of All Games Played

Third Place Set - Petric vs Tagada
12736992 on Palaneum
12736855 on crazyrush
12736806 on Setons Clutch - FAF version

Grand Finals - Nexus vs TURBO2
12738400 on Open Palms
12738510 on The Bermuda Locket
12738711 on Z-D Rasty Lite
12738921 on Crag Dunes

Also: here is a search string that you can enter into the Java client to pull up all Finals and Third Place games (copy it to your clipboard, then in the FAF client, check the box for: display search query, and then paste this into the query input field, and press enter to perform the search directly from the query input field).

id=="12736806",id=="12736855",id=="12736992",id=="12738400",id=="12738510",id=="12738711",id=="12738921"

Congratulations to Nexus for winning the 2020 Fall Invitational. Nexus defeated Turbo2 in the grand final 4-0, completing his run of going undefeated for the whole tournament!

Congrats as well to our runner ups, Turbo2 in 2nd, Tagada in 3rd, Petric in 4th, and Espeperant, Archsimkat, Turin, and BlinchIk in 5-8th. Thanks to all the donors as well as all the streamers and casters who covered this tournament.

{S} Soul Reaver (aka Jean Kepler / Keplergamer) round of 8 game review.

I play TA since the 90's, and loved to spend a LOT of time watching replays on that game. And SC:FA is an even better platform to do it.

Decided to rate the replays for my own mental organization of what was happening. Now also describing why I gave the high or low rate. A great guide for those who don't have the time. Or are looking for a game to cast.

I'll add links to casted games when I watch all the tournament matches, to avoid spoilers as much as possible.

Series 1 - Petric (Fremy) vs Turin Turambar (Sonozaki)

12728585 on crazyrush 8
Typical action-packed Crazy Rush game.

12728786 on Frithen 7
Game was kinda even, then it wasn't and boom. Someone's not playing around. Deadly attack.

12728883 on Z-D Rasty Lite 9
With the tournament on the line, he rises up to the challenge and plays a much more solid game. Both sides fight until the very end in a very nice to watch game.

12729025 on The Bermuda Locket 9.5
Amazing game!!! Brutal fight on all fronts, with air, land and sea. Nail-biting, back and forth, action packed duel by 2 very determined players.

Jagged Appliance Cast:
Part 1 - Crazy Rush and Frithen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwjmT7CyeQ8
Part 2 - Rasty Lite and Bermuda Locket: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GwNupw7ydE

Series 2 - archsimkat vs Nexus
12728773 on Frithen 9
Both players moving their land armies in little groups everywhere so much that I thought that I was watching a "Dancing With the Stars" episode. Felt like they were trying every little trick in their book to try and break the enemy line but both stood strong. Until...

12729015 on crazyrush 8
I always love to see the openings here and how each one tackle the energy problem. Nexus gives us a masterclass on that matter. Then I just removed the strategic icons and health bars, zoomed in a enjoyed the fireworks. Love this map!

12729227 on Z-D Rasty Lite r8
The most one-sided game of the series, but it's non-stop action from start to finish, and no early GG - the commander only goes down with a bang.

Jagged Appliance Series Cast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roZ_kRTJm6k

Series 3 - Espiranto vs Tagada
12728602 on crazyrush 8.5
One team with a more solid and expensive approach, building PD's and going for T2 and T3 earlier, while the other on a MASS SPAM of T1 factories. Brutal game. Who will win?

12728808 on Open Palms 7.5
Again one with a more solid expansion, while the other in an aggressive expansion, with the danger of over-extending.

12728942 on Frithen 8
Kinda even until a simultaneous mirrored assault, one is successful, the other isn't, and the game just snowballs from there.

Jagged Appliance Series Cast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPW-7XhwmZg

Series 4 - BlinChik vs TURBO2
12728598 on Painted Desert Rebalanced n/a
Replay corrupted =( ...or connection loss. Was looking to be a great match.

12728714 on Painted Desert Rebalanced 7.5
Great to see this TA classic here. So much mass to reclaim on this SC version! Game is too one-sided for us to properly enjoy a battle on this map. Looking forward to other games here.

12728911 on White Fire v2 8
Ain't this another TA Classic? More even game, but a slow start combined with an early GG right when it was heating up really let's down. Still able to see some T2 Destroyer action.

12729094 on The Ditch 8.5
Wow, so much reclaim available on this map. And so many features on a 20x20km map. It's like Crazy Rush nasty big sis. They said on Total Annihilation that you don't send an army, but a huge ball of doom. This surely applies to this map. Big armies all around. And hard to predict who will win for most of the game.

12729410 on Palaneum 10!!!
What a nice little map, so many cool visual features, a real eye-candy, the map selection for this series has been stellar. But mostly, what a game! With the menace of the elimination, the need to step-up, to fight to the very end. This game is dynamite!

12729608 on crazyrush 8.5
Turbo gets ahead on mass production, but BlinChlk keeps his army closer together and tries to catch-up. Will he succeed? Extra-points for being the first game from this and the summer tourney that don't have an early GG / Comm assassination and we get to see the winning side taking the spoils and destroying the base.

Jagged Appliance Casts:
Part 1 - Painted Desert and White Fire - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xh8jmfe-O8
Part 2 - The Ditch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ym4ljyZXgY
Part 3 - Palaneum and Crazy Rush - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaP8yVdxWsI

Sorry for the delay, here's the rest:

SEMI-FINALS

Series 5 - Nexus vs Petric
12729534 on Crag Dunes 8
A nice, action-packed game, but short and not that even.

12729675 on Cobalt Valley 8
Not that much action than before, but a very skilled unit positioning, felt like a game of chess.

12729793 on Painted Desert Rebalanced 8.5
A more even game for this map this time. Petric had 10k more reclaim for basicaly the whole game, while Nexus had a better mass production. From all TA maps, this must be the one who benefit the most from all the SC:FA features. As you really have to split your units in small groups all around the map, with only the middle of the map receiving a little extra attention. Some nice battles there.

Jagged Appliance Series Cast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTaIbtOYCvc

Series 6 - Tagada vs TURBO2
12729942 on Forbidden Pass v4 7.5
Defend your expansion while conquering enemy one. Gather the extra resources, and win the game. GG. Didn't look like it was the map's fault at all, as some may say.

12730118 on Cobalt Valley 9
Amazing game! ...apart from the ending. Back and forth, even game. Painting the Cobal Valley black with so many wreckages. Writen mental tantrums. Reclaim war. A lot more than you would expect from a normal Cobalt Valley game.

12730381 on Painted Desert Rebalanced 9
Another great game apart from the early GG, but this is a Semi-Final BO5 series, so one has to save the energy for further matches. This closer to the full potential of a great game that this map can present. Not quite there, but much closer than before.

12730642 on Setons Clutch - FAF version 9.5
Again, the match is more dramatic if you take the elimination from the tournament into the account. And it was an epic game until the end, or close to the end.

12731045 on White Fire v2 8.5
Takes a while to get going, then is a one big sea battle until the end. Nice unique start for this map from Tagada.

Jagged Appliance Cast:
Part 1 - Forbidden Pass and Cobalt Valley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTaIbtOYCvc
Part 2 - Painted Desert and Setons Clutch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdSHzDuGK-A

======================================

THIRD PLACE SET

Petric vs Tagada
12736806 on Palaneum 4
This one ends really fast.

12736855 on crazyrush 6
One-sided but has some good battles.

12736992 on Setons 10!!!
Another great setons game, this map has been the star of this tournament, and this it's the best game here so far. Back and forth in land and sea, nukes, land drops and a great game from start to finish. Watch out for the naughtiest one Siege Tank drop from Fremy into Tagada, what a run he had.

======================================

GRAND FINALS!!!

Nexus vs TURBO2
12738400 on Open Palms 8.5
Very high skill level and intense game since the start but not very long.

12738510 on The Bermuda Locket 9
As expected, another very high skill level, as this is the Grand-Final of the tournament. A lot of action. Highlight for one big sea brawl.

12738711 on Z-D Rasty Lite 8.5
This game looked like it was going to end very soon, but somehow the loosing side holds and looks like it may turn the game around, will he be able to do it?

12738921 on Crag Dunes 7.5
Probably the most one-sided game of this Grand-Final series. Congrats to the winner of the tournament, he was on another level.

GG WP!!!

Also edited both posts with links to the casts that I found.

BEST GAMES (imho)

Time is money Prize (most action-packed game from start to finish)
Quarter-finals series 4 - BlinChik vs TURBO2
Game 4: 12729410 on Palaneum - Rate 10!!!
What a nice little map, so many cool visual features, a real eye-candy, the map selection for this series has been stellar. But mostly, what a game! With the menace of the elimination, the need to step-up, to fight to the very end. This game is dynamite!

Jagged Appliance cast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaP8yVdxWsI

EPIC!!!!! Prize
THIRD PLACE Series
Petric vs Tagada game 3:
12736992 on Setons - Rate 10!!!
Another great setons game, this map has been the star of this tournament, and this it's the best game here so far. Back and forth in land and sea, nukes, land drops and a great game from start to finish. Watch out for the naughtiest one Siege Tank drop from Fremy into Tagada, what a run he had.

Honorable mention
Quarter-Final Series 1 - Petric (Fremy) vs Turin Turambar (Sonozaki)
Game 4: 12729025 on The Bermuda Locket - Rate 9.5!!!
Amazing game!!! Brutal fight on all fronts, with air, land and sea. Nail-biting, back and forth, action packed duel by 2 very determined players.

BEST SERIES!!!
This one had a nice history arch, with the climax at the end:

Quarter-finals series 1 - Petric (Fremy) vs Turin Turambar (Sonozaki)

12728585 on crazyrush 8
Typical action-packed Crazy Rush game.

12728786 on Frithen 7
Game was kinda even, then it wasn't and boom. Someone's not playing around. Deadly attack.

12728883 on Z-D Rasty Lite 9
With the tournament on the line, he rises up to the challenge and plays a much more solid game. Both sides fight until the very end in a very nice to watch game.

12729025 on The Bermuda Locket 9.5
Amazing game!!! Brutal fight on all fronts, with air, land and sea. Nail-biting, back and forth, action packed duel by 2 very determined players.

Jagged Appliance Cast:
Part 1 - Crazy Rush and Frithen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwjmT7CyeQ8
Part 2 - Rasty Lite and Bermuda Locket: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GwNupw7ydE

Most Entertaining Player to Watch:
BlinChik was a try-hard fighter. Fun to watch from the qualifiers until the end of his participation of the tournament. GG WP