Over 50% of first round games are finished.
The next round will start within the next 24 hours. The template is Africa Ultima (which is totally DIFFERENT from Elitist Africa)
Example game:
https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=34503219Let's see what happened so far.
Comparing points scored to max points would give barely any information, it's still too early. So in this overview I'll focus on matchups alone.
Group AFrance A vs Ireland
3:4
The French were considered clear favourites to win this group, and by some they were even favourites to win the whole 2024 Nations' Cup. Seeing them behind Ireland is very surprising. Even more so when they got 2 free points from Irish non-joins. The result is only 1:4 in games actually played.
Germany B vs East and South Asia
2:3
We're only in the 1st round, but looking at names alone, this has potential to be the matchup that decides the 2nd promotion spot. Although after checking out FRA A vs IRL, it looks like the group is much more open than it seemed.
Anyway, this one looks like a close fight.
Nordics B vs Italy B
7:1
NOR B is killing it. Not really surprising. They have only 4 players, but all 4 are very strong. I could see them having the highest win rate in the entire group, at the cost of eating some penalty points for missing players. As we see, it's a valid strategy.
Actually, the matchups that favour NOR B the most are the direct ones against their strongest opponents. So, not this one. Their time to shine will be against teams that realistically fight for promotion. So the fact that they are doing so well here really bodes well for them.
Sucks for ITA B. Just after putting heavy effort into qualifying, they get destroyed like that. But if they don't lose their morale, the next rounds should be easier, on paper.
Group BUK A vs Nordics A
2:2
This one is a draw so far, but it's still early.
I'm sure that the defending champions, UK A, wouldn't be satisfied with a draw here.
Switzerland vs Germany A
4:1
Looks fantastic for Switzerland! After destroying the qualifiers, they have a great start into the main phase! Although it's in some part thanks to two non-joins from the Germans.
Really unlucky for the Germans too. This could be the worst matchup for things like that.
USA C vs Netherlands A
6:3
The quickest match so far! And the result is interesting too. USA C were considered a clear outsider and the favourite for the last place. What we're seeing so far is that the groups are much more open than most people imagined. This is getting interesting already!
Group CUSA A vs Australia and New Zealand A
3:1
Still too early to say much. USA A leads so far.
Germany C vs France B
5:3
The C team who steamrolled their group vs a team who skipped the qualifiers thanks to great results in previous editions. It's 4:2 in games completed and 1:1 in boots.
Netherlands B vs Canada A
6:1
Canada did better in the qualifiers than the NL B did, so this result comes as a great surprise to me. It's not even close. Many surprises in the first round already.
Group DUK B vs Poland A
1:5
POL A is a team that is never the favourite, yet always performs well. Now they got into the top seeding bracket, so they are expected to perform. And so far, they deliver.
Although they get 1 penalty point for a missing player.
USA B vs Italy A
2:6
USA B is plagued by boots, giving away 4 free wins. Thankfully, Johnny Silverhand joins USA B from the next round on to save the day.
But you know, both these teams will try to qualify. These 4 games could hurt in the future.
Czech Republic vs Belgium
0:4
Czechs qualified comfortably. Belgium qualified by a hair's width. And yet we have 4:0 for the Belgians.
A surprisingly bad start for CZE. And they have only 5 players as well, so that's a penalty point. Meaning, they have negative score so far.
Next round matchups!
ITA B vs FRA A
NOR B vs GER B
IRL vs EAS
USA C vs UK A
NL A vs GER A
SWI vs NOR A
USA A vs NL B
FRA B vs CAN A
GER C vs ANZ A
POL A vs BEL
USA B vs CZE
UK B vs ITA A
Substitutions for the next round!
matrixtch fills the empty spot in POL A. He played for POL D in the qualifiers, with a 4:3 win record. But it's a jump from D to A. How will this turn out? At the very least, Poles won't get penalty points anymore.
Johnny Silverhand replaces
Emu Pub in USA B. Emu went missing in action, and Johnny was on USA B's starting lineup anyway. So I guess, after some delay, everything is finally as intended?
Saleen147 fills the spot after
Johnny Silverhand in USA C. After his good performance in the qualifiers (3:1 for USA D), Saleen gets his chance to play again! Congrats on your promotion.