By sjj_admin 
Originally published on GameOnAus.com in Apr 2022
World of Tanks ANZBL Season 3 Round 1 kicked off this week. With a possible promotion into the ANZPL on the line Season 3 of the ANZBL is sure to be the most exciting season yet!
ANZBL Season 3 Round 1 Game 1
Bundaberg Badgers Vs Auckland Archers
New team Bundaberg Badgers faced off against former ANZPL team Auckland Archers for the opening match of the evening.
Opening on the Badger’s map choice of Murovanka, they quickly established their supremacy over the Archers. Archers moved onto the 1 flag for a capture attempt but the Badgers countered with superb positioning. It wasn’t long before they’d bled the Archers down and taken the first match of the ANZBL for Season 3. The return leg proved to be more of the same, with the Badgers bleeding down the Archers and giving them a 2-0 lead.
Archer’s map choice of Cliff didn’t fair much better for former ANZPL team. Badgers moved quickly to set up for the Archer’s attack. Rolling in numbers, the Badgers were able to isolate Archer’s tanks. A brawl ensued but the Badgers were too good at sharing the damage, taking the win on defence. The return leg saw Badgers making the hill climb relatively unscathed to give them good vision. The Archers tried to set up and wait for the Badgers to come to them but in the end the Badgers were too good.
The Badgers take the opening game of ANZPL Round 1 4-0.
ANZBL Season 3 Round 1 Game 2
Canberra Centurions Vs Wollongong Wolverines
What was going to be one of the best games of the round fizzled. Due to unforeseen circumstances the Centurions were only able to field a four man team. Going up against the fully equipped five-player Wolverines was always going to be a challenge.
Centurions opened the proceedings on defence of their map choice Prokhorovka. Centurions set up their attack as best they could but Wolverines’ advantage was too much. The return leg was more of the same, with the Wolverines isolating tanks, getting kills and taking a 2-0 lead.
Heading to the Wolverine’s map choice of Murovanka, the Centurions moved two tanks onto the 1 flag and for a quick capture. The Wolverines used their numbers advantage to get resets in and bled Centurions and eventually took the win. Wolverines also moved to the 1 flag with a two tank capture but with the extra tank were able to defend better. After taking out an enemy tank the Wolverines moved to all out aggression, winning their attacking game on Murovanka.
Despite a valiant effort from the four-player Centurions, the Wolverines win game 2 4-0
ANZBL Season 3 Round 1 Game 3
Hawthorn Hellcats Vs Cairns Comets
The last match of the night saw the Hellcats and the Comets facing off. Would the trend of 4-0 continue or would we see our first tie breaker of the night?
The Comets started on attack of their Tundra map pick. They shuffled from the northern part of the map to the middle before moving through the river to isolate two Hellcats tank. They managed to pick up a kill. Hellcats struck back with some bleed onto the Comets. In the end the Comets were too strong, taking the attacking win. The Hellcats started their Tundra attack looking for vision. Pushing from the river onto the 1 flag, they moved before one of their tanks was in position to cover properly. The Comets took advantage by isolating tanks, dealing a lot of damage. The Comets leave Tundra with a 2-0 lead.
Moving to Sand River, the Hellcats needed to reverse sweep their map choice to have a chance at a tie breaker. The Comets had other plans and moved quickly onto the 2 flag getting a capture win on attack. The Hellcats pushed hard to salvage some pride but the Comets were too good, taking a win on their defense of Sand River.
The Comets finish the round with a 4-0 win over the Hellcats.
Fantasy League
Some good value players in this round’s Fantasy Team Of The Week. Fury (292.4) and BadBoiBubbles (281.2) from the Badgers excellent 2 star picks. ToasteD (289.1) and haha_yes (287.4) from the Wolverines and AthrunZulla (254.0) from the Comets rounded out the team for the best possible score of 1,404.2.
Next Week
ANZBL Round 2 kicks off at 7pm AEST on Monday 25th April with the Auckland Archers facing the Cairns Comets. At 8pm AEST we’ll see the Bundaberg Badgers take on the Canberra Centurions in my pick for match of the round. The last game of the night is the Wollongong Wolverines playing the Hawthorn Hellcats at 9pm AEST. All matches will be broadcast live at https://twitch.tv/worldoftanksanz.