Outpost On Fire 4 Preview - Bcrbo Preview

Some say the world will end in fire;
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favour fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
(c) Robert Frost

While we are still a couple of days away from the sudden overcrowding of Antwerp, Belgium, it is a good time to think about the who’s and what’s of the coming event and unfortunately also the who will not be there.

As with all Outpost on Fire events, the community roared and buzzed with enthusiasm, filling the newsposts and forum threads with overjoyed praises of support and happiness. With it being an unplanned and unexpected event just popping up casually, Steven "dfb" Leunens still managed to entice the top teams and they signed up instantly. This is why for the most part, it will be a premier event with hints of an invite-only, with the open slots gladly being taken by the local Belgian teams.

Although we quickly got the slots filled and the event seemed to be an extremely prominent on the calendar, it suddenly grew quite quiet and nothing much happened. Then questions started popping up, questions surrounding the teams that would attend. In what form or constellation would we see them, would we see them altogether?

Yes/No?

Well even though LowLandLions is mentioned as a paid team, it was Adam Vanner who supplied the sign-up fee but the players themselves do not have the personal means to afford a weekend in Antwerp for what they think of as a low-income event. The support of LowLandLions will only kick in for events after this, as it was all organized quite quickly and not feasible for the Belgian organisation to book everything correctly. So that's a first no.

Then the RG-Esports debacle. With the Dutchmen having had consistent line-up problems being a strain on their performance, the four remaining players no longer could imagine them rebuilding yet another line-up and said adieu to one another. A second no on the attendance sheet.

Team PLAYZONE next. Ehm, Clan Virus now. Ehm no, suXus. The long awaited appearance on a big event has been a road filled with traps and blockades, being slung from organisation to organisation and never feeling quite at home. Joyous news when they finally were rescued from the brink of the abyss by suXus who promised them a full Outpost on Fire ride. However, with only one day to go, everything is still up in the air, as nothing, flights nor hotels, have been booked and time is pressing. A no, until a Christmas miracle would see suXus managers pay still.

ROX[KIS]? Everyone is dying and vying for the Russians to attend the event, prove their worth and transfer their local efforts into international acclaim. With the known problems of Russians, the team is undergoing its VISA process and as of yesterday, only half of the team was set to cross the borders. Yesterday, on Wednesday, the team then finally got the green light by its government and their hard efforts in attaining the VISAs have paid off, with all of the team all entering Europe for the first time in their lives.

TCM-Gaming up next. Good news off our chests first, yes they will attend. But not in the same shape or form as you have seen them in past events. Some of you will already have seen that the lone Dutchman has said his goodbyes to the team and mySn has left the team to go inactive too. Therefore Mumma & froz were mainly busy restructuring the line-up and not even having quite found the perfect mixture, they will attend the event with cozje of LowLandLions and blazeh of eMpathy, hoping to surprise by lack of preparation and playing free of pressure.

Will we see the same expression of joy on his face on Sunday too?

The Chosen Twelve

It comes across as quite odd to me, that an event of the reputation and history of Outpost on Fire and with GameVibes behind it, has to struggle this much to get a very small-sized event filled completely. I remember reading the first announcements, with everyone being upset that there would only be sixteen slots, people expecting more and gunning for a second, early Antwerp eSports Festival magnitude of an event.

So where are you now? Those who cried so loud to be included and angrily fearful of not being able to participate? Where are the many Dutch teams who have the time and energy to attend the e-series KaoS COD4 LANs but tread back into silence when one of the big boys is close to home. Where are the German teams who had the time to attend maXlan 2011 but cannot see themselves as part of the Outpost on Fire 4 event? Where are the Brits who only need to take a train ride in order to gain another unique experience in one's gaming career?

I could think of at least five to ten teams who could potentially be here, but for some reason did not apply or not bother to sign up. Maybe everyone is taking a lengthy Easter holiday, but I somehow doubt it.

So even though we have four groups with only three teams in them, we should still see some interesting matches and some exciting results. The most entertaining matches during the Group Stage should be the Antwerp Aces v Anexis eSports match-up as well as ROX[KIS] against the mixed TCM-Gaming crew. YoYoTech versus both TheLastResort and Adeks should also serve for some good matches and some matches to enjoy from your comfy chairs at home.

Group A of Apocalypse? B of Break-through? C of Careful? D of Daring?

Group A will be the main group of the first Group Stage, with any of the three being capable of securing a spot in the second Group Stage, without having to pass the Single Elimination Playoffs first. Obviously one would rate YoYoTech the highest, but they recently lost one of the team's strongest players and have to make do with their back-up, link that with the fact that their preparation has not been the smoothest and they will need to have things come together rather quickly, if they wish to pass this first test with flying colours.

Likewise, TheLastResort have had a strong Winter period, but have dropped the ball a couple of times as well in the last weeks. The re-addition of pr0phecy should help them recover, though, taking away stress and having one of the team's strongest players return. Will it be enough to take down the Finns and the Turks? Speaking of those, Adeks will come into this group as the big unknown. They have done really well in a lot of Esports Heaven cups as of late and should be gunning for a good placing here, proving that the Turkish scene is not quite yet dead and buried. If they are willing enough, I could see them pose a real threat for the two aforementioned teams, but they will need more than just wanting it really badly.

Only the left three will make another appearance under TCM-Gaming...

Group B losing its top seed in the form of LowLandLions will surely have hurt the process. Yet, some of the lesser teams in the group will finally see their chances of surviving a bit longer in this event extended. Especially the local BeNeLux battle between aNimus-Gaming and Team WinFakt! could prove interesting, as the first have been playing better and better lately while the latter have somehow dropped from the potential strongholds in The Netherlands quite a bit, aided with their multiple line-up problems.

While these two dogs are fighting over the bone, the third Go?czy Polski might just as easily walk away with the bone in question. The Poles have a long-standing relationship with Call of Duty and every time they attend the Western-European events, they end up doing better than we estimate them. Couple that with their recent strong runs in the Full Tilt Poker Challenge, taking out some of the best teams in Europe, they should definitely not be underestimated and could very well barking the others up the tree.

Group C will be a tough one to call. Although not as touch as might appear so. In all honesty, Anexis eSports should roll this group, with their heritance and recent showings in local events as well as their Gamersject Winter Challenge performance. However, if they were to think less of either KnightS or Antwerp Aces, things could turn sour really quickly.

Especially the young Aces group should and could surprise followers-on but they will need to have lifted their game up one more notch, from their maXlan 2011 showing. They did really well there, but kind of struggled with the last hurdles, losing to MysTique Gaming, a team that is arguably not of the same level as the Hungarians. The KnightS team will have to endure a beating in the first Group Stage, unless they pull off the surprise of all surprises and beat either of these teams.

Group D pits a crippled TCM-Gaming against a (over?)confident ROX[KIS] team and should deliver us with an ecstatic match of greatest v upcoming. KaoS TV should do well to cast this match, lest they want a barrage of criticism on their heads, as there isn't a fanatic in Western-Europe who is not curious about how the Russians will fare. They have handily taken over the torch from the Team Empire players as the dominant force in Russia and they all surprised us in Antwerp during the Summer, so maybe these could do something similar or maybe even something more impressive.

What about the third in the group, Dfiance? Well, the team got announced quite late and rumours have it that they are plagued with internal problems, so the gelling might not have gone so well either. What they should be after the most is using these matches as warm-up and relaxing, as they should, realistically, be thinking of the Single Elimination phase already, a place where they might end up surprising some other team.

The Tournament of Impossible and Improbable Possibilities

With 40 pcs available and sixteen teams at the most, the Vita Nova responsible admin crew thought it nice to experiment quite a bit with possible tournament formats. Outpost on Fire 4 ended up with a mixture of all things possible in a LAN environment. For those who lost what will happen: We have a Group Stage first, then a Single Elimination Bracket, then another Group Stage and finally a Bo3 Single Elimination 4-team Playoff to determine the winner.

The biggest advantage is the fact that no one is out after the Group Stage, possibly forgiving bad or unexpected results. Should Anexis eSports drop to Antwerp Aces, they could quite easily recover in the Single Elimination Bracket and still able to win the tournament with a good run in the second Group Stage.

This allows for recoveries and comebacks that seem improbable and impossible, as nothing is written in stone at practically any stage of the tournament. We will still have eight teams remaining after the Single Elimination Bracket who are still all on equal footing in terms of the Second Group Stage. Teams should therefore not worry too much, if they were to be having a bad first day or not feeling quite as sharp yet in the opening moments of the event.

The best of the best in Croatia, yet 75% will not be present in Antwerp...

So who will take it you ask? Well, I think most of you will agree with me when I put Anexis eSports in there as a shoe-in for reaching the Grand Final. YoYoTech should be considered as the second-best team there, but might falter earlier than that. I think CEFO will surprise many as well as Antwerp Aces who I think will make it to the final Playoff Bracket. TCM-Gaming will have to have the tournament of individual prowess if they want to make it to that same Playoff Bracket, because they are coming in without teamplay on a heavily modified line-up and not too much practice either.

All in all, I think it will be a sun-filled tournament where a lot is possible and upsets will be lying around the corner to take us by surprise. Welcome to the Outpost on Fire 4 is all what's left to say.