Broadcast live from CCP's EVE Fanfest in Iceland via Twitch, the Amarr Championship finals ran the full five matches of tactical piloting and capacitor warfare to decide the which in game character would take the throne of the Amarr Empire. This event was the culmination of 3 days of matches which started on the 19th of November last yer. You can see ">day 1, ">day 2 and ">day 3 on youtube.
This is the first time since 2003 that a lore related player tournament has been held and has been a hotly anticipated event for both Tournament Fans and Lore Buffs alike. Additionally the prizes themselves are also quite impressive - Special edition Silver and Gold Magnates. Of which only a small number of Silver Magnates still exist.
The result of the initial 3 days of matches resulted in the finalists being chosen and were flown to fanfest to participate in the final to represent their 'house' lord. Representing Lord Aritcio Kor-Azor were Anariasis, Hoodie Mafia and Sarek Manyatar, captained by champion Lysus; Tash-Murkon champion Kelon Darklight sought to bring victory to Lady Catiz with his fellow pilots Lucian IV, Maxine Antilles, and Wasa Qc.
In the rounds leading up to the finals, Kelon Darklight's team had stormed through without a single loss; the Kor-Azor team under Lysus's leadership had tied with the Khanid team during the round robin, but ultimately won their place in the final on their overall tournament performance. With each team given only two hours to theorycraft and fit eleven unique setups before submitting them for bans, the pressure was on well before the fights began. The compositions each team fielded showed a marked difference in tactics, but both teams pulled out some brilliant plays that highlighted their true skill as champions for their respective houses.
The first match ('t=28m56s" target="_blank">28:56) saw both teams bringing in heavy firepower - an Apocalypse flown by Lucian IV on the side of Tash-Murkon against a missile-fit Legion for Anariasis of Kor-Azor. With Heretic, Pilgrim and Pontifex support, Lysus' team made short work of the shields of Wasa's Purifier while the Tash-Murkon Curse and Executioner turned their damage on to Sarek's Heretic. The Kor-Azor team were having none of it, dropping team captain Kelon's Executioner before finally losing their Heretic. A flight of logistic drones kept the Legion in good shape, its missiles largely unfazed by the neuting power of Maxine's Curse as Wasa's Purifier dropped before the Pilgrim of Hoodie Mafia. As Lucian's Apocalypse also fell to the Kor-Azor assault, it was a simple task for team captain Lysus to burn through the Curse's drones and seal a first match victory as time ran out.
Despite having to option to bring the same composition again for round two ('t=50m" target="_blank">50 min), the Tash-Murkon team decided to switch things up and bring some Navy ships on grid to fight. In a great opening gambit by Hoodie Mafia, the Kor-Azor Vengeance managed to sneak round the bulk of the Tash-Murkon team in order to apply some tackle on Maxine's Heretic and the Navy Augoror of Lucian. Shields dropped on both sides as the teams danced around each other, trying to get to optimal positions and ranges on each other. Sarek's Purifier for Kor-Azor was the first casualty, followed by the Heretic of the Tash-Murkon team. Kelon's Crucifier bought some crucial rep time for his team before succumbing to the damage of Lysus' Navy Omen and the Absolution of Anariasis. That same Absolution and Vengeance were slowly burnt down, leaving Lysus to try and use transversal to mitigate the onslaught of fire from the Navy Augoror and Navy Apocalypse combo of Tash-Murkon. It wasn't quite enough, and the scores were now level at one match each.
Round three ('t=1h10m" target="_blank">70 min)saw much more dominant play from the Tash-Murkon team; Lucian charged into the fray with his Devoter, making short work of the shields on the Absolution of Anariasis while a combination of light drones and the Navy Slicer of Kelon Darklight melted the Kor-Azor Purifier. One ship down, Lysus' team focused on Wasa's Oracle but were forced to back off as their captain's Navy Omen took heavy fire and eventually dropped. Both teams took some time to re-position and fall back to safer ranges, giving Hoodie Mafia a chance to tackle the Tash-Murkon Devoter and gave Anariasis an opportunity to lay on some rapid fire with his Absolution. The active tank on the Devoter proved too strong as the Kor-Azor team reluctantly backed off before being picked off by Maxine's Zealot and Kelon's Navy Slicer. Team Tash-Murkon needed just one more win, but House Kor-Azor wasn't about to give in quietly.
They returned with the same setup for round four ('t=1h33m" target="_blank">93 min), squaring off against a formidable line-up of Crusader, Sacrilege, Abaddon and Tormentor from the Tash-Murkon team. The Kor-Azor team chose to pick on captain Kalen's Tormentor while the Tash-Murkon side burnt down Sarek's Purifier for first blood. Another show of tactical Vengeance piloting from Hoodie Mafia locked the Tormentor down, but the rep drones from the Sacrilege and Abaddon bought Kalen's team some much-needed positioning time as the Navy Omen of Lysus joined the skirmish to finally take him out. Maxine's Crusader and the Absolution of Anariasis clashed in a flurry of fire, dropping within seconds of each other and leaving Wasa's strong but slow Abaddon to try and deal with the assault frigate and cruiser of the Kor-Azor team. As the time ticked down to zero, a fifth and final match would be needed to decide the next leader of the Amarr Empire.
After a number a technical issues, the teams landed on grid for the final round ('t=2h14m" target="_blank">134 min). While the Tash-Murkon team chose to stick with a heavier firepower composition, Kor-Azor fielded a toothy smaller ship fleet with a Guardian support. Kelon flew his Executioner straight into the action, applying heavy pressure to Sarek's Dragoon as the rest of the Tash-Murkon team quickly established control dominance but struggled to outdo the repairing power of Anariasis in the Guardian. Switching all damage on to the drones was too late to save Wasa's Purifier, but allowed Maxine's Curse to get in range of the logistics ship and apply full neuts onto it. With the Kor-Azor repping power significantly reduced, Tash-Murkon traded Kelon's Executioner for both the Sacrilege and Dragoon of their opponents. With Lucian's Apocalypse free to apply its significant damage, it didn't take long for the Omen of Kor-Azor captain Lysus to buckle and burn, sealing a victory for house Tash-Murkon and securing Lady Catiz as the new Empress of Amarr.
You can watch the full finals in the video below.
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