ANZPL Split 1 2023 Round 5

Originally published on GameOnAus.com in May 2023

ANZPL Split 1 2023 Round 5 has run its race. Who has made it through to playoffs? Read on to find out!

ANZPL Split 1 2023 Round 5 Game 1
Perth Panthers Vs Melbourne Matildas

Teams were jostling for position on the ladder. Would it be the Panthers to bounce back after their tie breaker loss last week? Or would the Matildas carry on their form from the previous round?

Sand River

The action opened with Matildas on attack of their map pick. Moving three tanks through the middle they were spotted early. With a fourth tank spotted running the A line, a lot of information had been given over to the Panthers. The Matildas put three tanks on the cap and put the pressure on. It was the Panthers that kept finding the reset shots, though, forcing the Matildas off the cap. Bailes from the Panthers was the first to go down and missed shots let the Matildas’ Bubbles live longer than he should have. The game came down to a 2v1 in favour of the Matildas. Magic_Shells and RavioliAldente found the shots onto KritaKil to give the Matildas the win.

Moving to attack, the Panthers started their return leg by moving through the river to find the 1 flag undefended. They had all the time in the world to set up. The Matildas had taken defensive positions and weren’t willing to give them up yet. When Bailes was spotted at J0, Magic_Shells joined Whippet at E0, but copped a lot of damage.  The early bleed damage served the Panthers well as they took the win to level the series 1-1.

Ghost Town

The Panthers brought a very heavy line up to their map pick’s defence. Looking to the north, the Matildas had eyes on the 1 flag. They found good shots onto the Panthers’ Twit, but this just made the HP even. Magic_Shells was traded for the Panthers’ JS, with Twit going down soon after. The brawl continued and while the game resolved into a 3v1 in favour of the Panthers, the one Matildas’ tank had more HP than all the remaining Panthers tanks combined. Bailes used his HP well to protect his teammates and to go up 2-1.

Moving to defence, the Matildas aggressively moved RaviloiAldente through the 2 flag. He was spotted, giving the Panthers knowledge of how far up their opponents had pushed. The Matildas pushed into the south of the town but the Panthers were ready for them. RavioliAlednte went down first, before Magic_Shells was traded for JS. When the dust settled the Panthers had emerged victorious.

The Perth Panthers defeat the Melbourne Matildas 3-1.

ANZPL Split 1 2023 Round 5 Game 2
Adelaide Action X Vs Wollongong Wolverines

It had been a season to forget for the Wolverines. Their return to the ANZPL had been full of pain. Their opponents for tonight, Action X, started the night in first, so it was unlikely to get any easier. For their part Action X were looking to lock in first place and get that first week of playoffs off.

Ghost Town

The Wolverines started on attack of their map pick. They drove into the south of the town. Meanwhile Action X had spread along the west side of the map. Action X’s LightningMan and the Wolverines’ Sir_Robin were locked in a stalemate at K4 as the Wovlerines found their way onto the 2 flag. Action X’s Rowendy found the reset shot, forcing a rethink from the Wolverines. They persisted with the cap as Action X’s shot connected. CJ from Action X was the first to go down before both Sir_Robin and Flaming from the Wolverines followed him. Action X used their number advantage, held W and took the opening win.

Moving to defence on the return leg, the Wolverines took a reasonably standard defensive setup. Meanwhile Action X drove through the south of the town, finding Flaming on his own and punishing him. Action X drove three tanks onto the cap. The reset shots came in, but only onto Rowendy. Eventually the Wolverines drove into the cap circle. While it got them the tank advantage their HP was extremely low. Action X found their shots and went up 2-0 on their opponents’ map pick.

Himmelsdorf

Action X started their map pick on defence and drove very aggressively to D8, before getting Trax to cross the courtyard. Ravvi spotted the three Wolverines’ tanks that had come off the hill. Instead of driving onto the cap, the Wolverines forced a brawl in the north of the 8 line. Kills were traded but the Wolverines were firmly in control. They found the kills and took the win.

Action X moved to attack, sending CJ over the hill for vision onto the 2 flag. While CJ was also spotted, it let Trax sneak around to the 2 line. The Wolveriens were pushed back on the north west slightly as Action X pushed onto the 2 flag. CJ copped the rest shot as his teammates pushed onto Sir_Robin. Trax joined CJ on the cap but with the other three Action X tanks holding the Wolverines at bay, it was looking dire. The Wolverines’ AVP was able to rotate around to get the reset shots. Action X’s slow start came back to haunt them as the Wolverines took a timed win, forcing a tie breaker.

Murovanka

The Wolverines went into the tie breaker map on defence. They found some early shots onto CJ. Trax also took a lot of damage rotating back to the north. Rowendy found his way onto the 1 flag, starting the cap. When Action X’s Dongerlord went down, his teammates went full on brawl. The game resolved into a 4v2 in favour of the Wolverines. They pressed their advantage and took their first win of the season.

The Wollongong Wolverines defeat Adelaide Action X 3-2.

ANZPL Split 1 2023 Round 5 Game 3
North Sydney Sentinels Vs South Sydney Skorpions

The last match of round 5 was the Sydney Derby. The Sentinels had not had the season we’d come to expect from them. On the other hand, the Skorpions were in fine form. Would they be able to take that form into playoffs? Or would the Sentinels find a win?

Ghost Town

The Skorpions started on the attack of their map pick. They looked towards the south of the town. Meanwhile the Sentinels also looked to the south. The Skorpions pushed Auzzi onto the 2 flag, starting the cap. Wym0 from the Sentinels found the reset. TheReturned from the Sentinels found himself deleted as the Skorpions abandoned the cap to force the brawl. They displayed great teamwork as the Sentinels fell one by one to take the opening win.

Moving to attack, the Sentinels brought a tank destroyer to the fight. They settled into the south-east of the town. For their part the Skorpions positioned on the southern side of the 2 flag. Auzzi took punishment from Del in the tank destroyer, but it was returned tenfold as Del was deleted. A brawl ensued. When the dust settled the Skorpions had gone up 2-0 on their map pick.

Cliff

The Sentinels started on defence of their map pick. TheReturned raced to the hill as his teammates bled down the Skorpions. In the end it was TheReturned that went down first but was quickly followed by Raspberry and Benny from the Skorpions. The Skorpions could not find a foothold as the Sentinels took the win.

The Skorpions were looking to wrap up the series with their defensive game. Auzzie found himself in trouble on the hill but gave better than he got. The Skorpions were able to bleed the Sentinels quite handily. That damage forced the Sentinels to push forward. They had some success, getting a two-for-one trade. The Skorpions struck back, removing Rainbow. The game ended up in a 1v1, JT from the Skorpions versus Del from the Sentinels. Being on attack, time was against Del. He found himself a way down the hill, as JT still thought he was on the hill. Del headed back up the hill and once again scaled down the cliff face. Eventually JT found the angle, securing this team the win and first place.

The South Sydney Skorpions defeat the North Sydney Sentinels 3-1.

Fantasy League

Russian (360.7) and JT (296.4) from the Skorpions starred in their team’s win, along with MadHouse (321.5) from the Panthers. Action X’s Ravvi (324.9) and the Wolverines’ Saxon (279.1) featured from their teams’ tie breaker outing. Curiously nobody picked either MadHouse or Saxon.

Next Week

As we head into week one of playoffs, we say goodbye to the Wolverines for this split. Having finished on top of the ladder, the Skorpions also get a week off.

First up in the playoffs we have the upper bracket final between Action X and the Panthers. They are then followed by the Matildas and the Sentinels in the lower bracket final.

Tune in for more ANZPL action from 7pm AEST Fridays at https://twitch.tv/worldoftanksanz!