The Red Alert Blog of Boo: 2021

The Official Red Alert Awards 2021

Happy New Year!

Here are the official Blog of Boo awards for Red Alert 2021.

Best newcomer

Dynamic burst onto the Red Alert 1 CnCNet scene in 2021 after realising that Remastered is shit. He quickly rose through the ranks after receiving 100s of free lessons from the likes of myself and the legendary bartsama on 1v1 play. Unsurprisingly he has become a formidable foe on 1v1 and is one of the very best ore map and standard map players in all of Red Alert. He transferred his pr0 remastered skills over to the proper version of the game with amazing success. Dynamic absolutely deserves the title of best newcomer. He is now also pretty good in 2v2 and might soon be Lordy or Oldpro level in that format of the game.

Congratulations to Dynamic on his much-coveted Award. Hopefully 2022 is an even more successful year on CnCNet and he is able to harness that massive ego of his into becoming a semi-good P4 2v2 player (maybe then he will be able to compete with OldPro).

Butler of the year

Behind every great player, is a loyal and devoted butler. The butler has some quasi-romantic affection for his master and will go to war for said master. A top player can rely on his butler to trash talk and troll the enemy in his absence and set up appropriate grudge matches. Alternative terms to butler include "weed carrier" and pocket holder". An obvious example would be Lordy who hardcore butlers for Beast. Lordy fears no1 on CnCNet and will even trash talk superior players such as Yuzgen because he knows he can get Bea5ty to come down from OP head office to come and sort the mess out if needed.

Another good loyal butler is Muad Dib aka "The Mad Dog". Muad will bark and bite at every player on CnCNet with the exception of his alpha daddy, NastyNate. Muad is well trained and a loyal servant to Nate and will never bark or bite at his master. A good doggy. NastyNate is the only player on CnCNet to never have had a bite off the mad dog. This is evidenced by Muad even going so far as to drop the world renowned "Dib" portion of his name in order to accommodate his shiny new butler player tag "NastyMuad".

There are also "mercenary butlers". These are players who haven't won over the affection of an individual master to serve, so instead will butler themselves around on twitch chat looking for someone's approval and a full time butler position. Such players include Philly, Butcher and Petersky.

This year, however, given his meteoric rise to the top of the game, Dynamic's butler deserves the much sought after title of Butler of the Year. Dynamic's butler, the mighty super mega Budowouter has proven to be a butler of exemplary standard. Always faithful to his master, Budo has supported Dynamic in all aspects of the game since his move over to CnCNet. Budo can be seen 50+ hours a week butlering for Dynamic and they really make an admirable Batman & Robin type duo. Congratulations to Budw on this highly prized award.

Lifetime achievement/Best streamer award

A special achievment award goes to the Turkish Rambo, Mr Yuzgen. I was thinking about this and this man has probably played more games of Red Alert than anyone in history. He has averaged 10,000 games per year for over 2 decades. Only robskate and katsh probably come close for longevity and dedication. Yuzgen has volunteered his asshole to legions of aspiring pros and takes loss after loss like a true champ. The game would be in a far worse state without everyone's favourite cuddly Red Alert Turkish uncle. Farming Yuz has helped many a great player train and ascend to the next level.

Moreover, Yuzgen voluntarily streams himself getting pumped for 8 hours live on Twitch every night. This entertains dozens of players, and ensures there is regular pr0 Red Alert gaming content being streamed. For this reason, the Turkish George Clooney deserves the title of streamer of the year.

Now onto the main awards, player of the year

BRONZE

This goes to Jacob. Amazing performances in LCS series vs the likes of R3sistant and Faust. Jacob also won several 1v1 tournaments and the inaugural Red Alert Royal Rumble. Jacob deserves the award for 3rd place based on these performances. I'm not saying he is a better player than eg Ford, however he achieved more in competitive play in 2021 than our favourite "retired😉" Canadian friend.

SILVER

This is pretty quick and straight forward. Faust pumped everyone else and proved he is the 2nd best active player in the world in 2021.

GOLD

Bea5ty crushed Faust in their 1v1 match, proving himself to be the best active player in the world in 2021 and as a result, receives the award for Player of the Year.

A very special interview with the FOUNDER and CREATOR of CnCNet: The Almighty Myg

For a period in the mid 2000s, Red Alert was on its knees. There was a splinter of players on Kali and Tunngle, among other servers. The game was in terminal decline and it was completely dying out. It was literally on life support. Fortunately there was one man who had a vision. Myg wanted people to be able to play the classic games online which he loved as a child. He wanted this to be free and open for all in a growing democratic community. Without Myg's vision, hard work and selfless input it's a fact that none of us would be playing this game today. Myg literally saved classic C&C titles including Red Alert from extinction. One could argue that for this very reason Myg is the most important person in the last 2 decades of our game. Hence follows a very insightful, in-depth interview in which we learn about the early days of CnCNet and the influence of key individuals in making Red Alert what it is today. I think you will thoroughly enjoy reading this!

[Myg answers in bold]

1) In which year was CnCNet formed and what gave you the idea/motivation?

CnCNet was formed probably in the late 00s. It was online systems like Mplayer/Kali/TEN/HEAT.NET which inspired me to make it. I was too young to make sense of those online systems of my youth so I missed out and wanted to make up for it.

2) Who helped you in the early days and what was the feeling like when you got the first game running?

At the start it was me and "Nyerguds" who played around with many different ways to play online and then "Godly Cheese", "Tore", "Netrunner" and "Pichorra" came along after we started the official program. "Tore" provided hosting for the project. I also kept in contact with planetcnc to make sure people were aware of how our project was going. The first revision was supported and updated by "Irony". The second revision was done by "hifi" which was the biggest step we took. The project then moved on to "FunkyFresh" who laid the foundations for the current day client and backend. It was a feeling of elation and pride when we got it to work the first time. Most of my design theories were just that; theories, so to see it work in reality was a very relieving experience.

3) Did CnCNet initially focus on Tiberian Dawn exclusively? When did Red Alert get added?

Yes, CnCNet was a baby of Tiberian Dawn and not intended for RA or other games at the time. Red Alert was added when "hifi" took the reigns.

4) What was the ultimate goal of creating CnCNet?

My ultimate goal of CnCNet was to have 6 player Tiberian Dawn games online with playable experiences.

5) Which other platforms did you play C&C games on prior to creating CnCNet?

I would mess around with WOL sometimes but first we tried TCP/COM which used the serial port functionality in the games to play. Then we tried VPN systems like Hamachi or OpenVPN with a mixture of a chat client for front-end (which I still think is a good idea to this day, if not insecure).

6) You are best known as a Tiberian Dawn player would that be correct? Who do you recall as being the best player you ever faced?

Yes, my only reputation in the games would be Tiberian Dawn, though it has been so long people have forgotten me and I have forgotten how to play. Back in my day "Lovehandles" was my greatest adversary, we had a respectful rivalry and would try to avoid playing eachother.

7) Can you tell us a little about yourself and what are your hobbies outside of the C&C universe?

I can say a little... I have a hobby of nostalgia; making communities dedicated to games I like or games of my youth that I wish to preserve or allow others to re-experience.

8) How active do you remain as part of CnCNet in 2021?

I currently only have a role as a discord moderator. In this community it is all about programming talent, free time and passion. With those things you can raise up to the top and direct the project as you wish. You only get respect here with those things.

9) What are you most proud of with the success of CnCNet and what are your hopes for the future and its longevity?

I am most proud of the fact that I actually started something that grew into an amazing platform it is today. I cherish the people I have met and the friends I have made over the years. My hopes were partly fulfilled when EA came back to remaster C&C. I had hoped that EA would take the reigns of C&C and remove the burden for the CnCNet staff. Don't get me wrong, CnCNet is amazing but it requires dedicated volunteers with free time and money and that is a very scarce resource. I just wanted people at CnCNet have to do less work and still enjoy the games. Its longevity is quite certain at this point since EA open sourced Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert: So some of our dreams have come true and it is thanks to EA and those who worked with them.

10) Is there anyone you would like to give a shout out/thanks to or any other final comments?

Shout outs: "Nyerguds", "Godly Cheese", "Tore", "Netrunner", "Pichorra", "Irony", "hifi", "FunkyFresh", "ehy", the CnCNet developers/modders and the CnCNet discord staff and anyone else my spotty memory can't remember.

A huge thanks to Myg for the interview. Please let know in private if you would like to be interviewed next. Regards.

Some Red Alert Literature every player would be wise to check out

There is actually loads of phenomenal Red Alert content out there. I'm going to provide a short list of some valuable pages scattered around the Internet to make it easier for casual players to find:

[Click link/description to be taken to page]

Milo's Guide to Competitive Red Alert 1 (Considered to be the RA Bible and essential reading for all players)

Ford's blog. One of the best players of the modern era has written dozens of articles providing valuable insight and knowledge.

http://ra.afraid.org/ a very useful 25 year old website containing 100s of maps, stats etc

http://www.igl.net/red/ case's ladder. Old ranking system from the first era of the game with database and head to head scores of past legends

http://ratimes.weebly.com/ Finnish legend At0m1's insightful blog from the 2010s

There are many many more websites and video sites out there. However these are 5 of the best and should hopefully be very useful for aspiring players and pros alike looking to expand their knowledge or interest in the game.

Thanks for reading. Subscribe for more.

Player Focus Series: Jacob

This is an interview I know a lot of you would have been looking forward to. Jacob came out of nowhere the last few years and has rapidly risen up the ranks of Red Alert online to become one of the best players in the world. He had some amazing series in LCS with Faust and R3sistant and proved his status as a top 5 player and a challenge for just about anyone. He is also now a burgeoning RA YouTuber, check out his videos and support him by subscribing via the embedded video below:

Jacob is best known for his amazing Germany tank production and pillbox/turret spam but he is a creative well rounded player who is adapting his game and will only get even stronger with time.

So without further a do here is an interview with the Californian Commando, Jacob:

[answers in bold]

1) Tell us a little about yourself and when did you start playing Red Alert online?

I'm 20 years old from California. I started playing the game back in 2012 on first decade that I got as a gift during christmas. I mainly played Tiberian Dawn, Red Alert 1, and Command and Conquer Generals but I really enjoyed Red Alert 1 the most. I only played the missions and skirmish. Then I discovered cncnet in 2017 which I only played skirmish until 2018 where I started playing some kotg games with bart.

2) Do you play any other games online apart from Red Alert? Or any other interesting hobbies outside of gaming?

I also enjoy playing Warcraft 3 online. I do not really play many online games.

3) What is your favourite map and why?

I would definitely say V3-Ribbon-Isle because of the tank battles and you can use cruisers and turrets very well on the map. I also enjoy Keep off the Grass because of being able to use many tactics on it.

4) What is the most memorable game(s) you ever played?

I would have to say the game that I played with Dutchy vs Faust and Butcher on 4c niklas where I had 10 grenadiers put in transport boats and I quickly sent them into faust's base and naded his power which was a very quick game. I also had many great ladder games I remembered playing vs Bart and Maddux on ladder and also the LCS tourneys were great.

5) Who has been your greatest rival(s) in your time playing online?

I don't really have any rivals but I would have to say that Ford is one of the toughest opponents that I played and I remember losing many games vs him.

6) You chose to represent the NM stable for Clan Wars, what made you choose NM despite offers from the other teams (apart from crush yelling at you not to play for OP lol)?

NM is a great team, good at all maps and which has a lot of good tankers and also hezb who is a really good builder and tanker. I am friends with everyone in NM and also NM is very good at teamwork.

7) What do you consider to be the strongest and weakest parts of your game?

I would definitely say that production and tanking as germany is my strongest and my weakest is building as soviets.

8) Are there any changes you would make to Red Alert or CnCNet?

Not really, but it would be cool if they allowed the game to have more than 8 players in a game.

9) What advice would you give to aspiring players who wish to improve?

Try to always focus on scouting and knowing what your opponent is doing. Also try to always make sure that your side bar is always being used for building and/or training units even when controlling units during battles.

10) Any final comments or shoutouts?

Thanks Crush for the interview, also I would like to say thanks to the creators of cncnet for making a great free client to be able to play Red Alert 1 Online.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more!

Why Ribbon fell out of favour (Referencing Milo234) FORGOTTEN MONEY SECRETS IN RED ALERT

It's pretty simple. Look at the picture. Trucks act 100x better if your gems/ore are to the RIGHT of your ORE REFINERY. If your gems/ore are on the LEFT then your trucks go haywire (programming bug from original game - probably fixable). You will lose time consistently having to manually move your trucks, meanwhile your opponent has a nice easy life and can focus on combat and scouting/guarding/attacking. This is why the "old" ribbon has become known as a terribly unfair map. This is also a truth on other similar maps and is even worse on ore maps. Liquid sucks and is unfair for this reason.

Player Focus Series: Sant1

There hasn't been a Player Focus interview for a while. Long overdue! What a way to resume the series by interviewing the current Brazilian number 1, Santi!

Santi started out on CnCNet as a soviet builder on P4 but he has quickly risen up the ranks and has now become one of the strongest tankers in all of Red Alert. It's also very encouraging to see him playing the 1v1 Ladder and his 1v1 game has improved rapidly in the last few months and he is getting the results to show for it! Hard work pays off! So without further ado let's interview the Ronaldinho of Red Alert:

[Player answers in bold]

1) Tell us a little about yourself and when did you start playing Red Alert?

I'm a 27 year old Brazilian, I'm calm in everything, I just want to have good games in my free time. The first time I played was in 2001/2002, I was 7/8 years old and my brother had PS1 and we played. I believe that in December 2015 I started playing online games on CnCNet.

2) Do you play any other games online?

I currently only play Red Alert 1, when I had a good computer I liked to play PUBG and GTA5.

3) Who do you consider to be your biggest rival(s) in your time playing on CnCNet?

I have no rivals in Red Alert 1, but I liked to play with Fury [top level Brazilian player] 1v1. He was better than me so it was my goal to beat him.

4) What is your favourite map and why?

P4 2v2 for being a fair map and Rasta NC Aron 1v1 as it's the favourite of the Brazilians. I've always played it 1v1.

5) What is your most memorable game or favourite victory? And why?

There was a game that Fury and I were representing Brazil. We played against 2 representatives from Germany. I think it was Faust and Soul (I think it was them, I remember they were strong). It was a tournament that Commander was hosting - it was called 'The World Cup of RA' - they were stronger than us, no doubt about it. I was still a rookie and Fury managed to do helis and chrono fast so we won - 1 or 2 minutes more and we would have lost. I have the link to this tournament, but it's already off the page. This game was amazing to me, because I thought it was a lost game.

6) Who is your favourite Red Alert YouTube/Twitch streamer, and why?

I liked to watch the NC Lauta, at the time I was a noob and watched him play to learn something but nowadays I like to watch the OP Beast because he is the best. And sometimes I watch the noob AK47.

7) Who is the strongest player (s) you ever played?

Mega Tocaia! Of course lol

8) Tell us a little about BR clan and why did you decide to join Nasty?

The BR clan was the same as the UFF clan (known for being the lag clan lol), we just changed the name to do something different and include non-brazilians. It was a clan I shared a lot of things with, we had some good players. Unfortunately most of them don't like to explore the game and play only P4, Rasta and other Infinite Ore maps. I wanted to explore more so I accepted Lordy's invitation to go to the TA clan which was a very strong clan. After a while the clan had no active members and I decided to join Nasty because I believed it would help me learn even more. I'm sure this was the right decision - we have great players including NastyNate who I think is the best apart from Beast. I learn a lot from these guys.

9) Are there any changes you would make to Red Alert or CnCNet?

No, the game is amazing. We just need more pro players.

10) Would you like to give any shoutouts?

To all of the players who collaborate and help to keep this great game alive.

11) Any final comments?

More professional players and less toxicity. Leaving egos aside and collaborating with the community can help a lot. Hoping for players to be honest and no cheating. Thank you Crush for the opportunity to be interviewed.

Tocaia is the best of all time! Ak47 is a newbie! Go go Brazil! Go Go Favela!!!!!

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more.

Tiers List October 2021 OFFICIAL (1v1 and team game rankings combined - all map types)

5% Body Fat: Maddux

6% Body Fat: Bea5ty, Ford

7% Body Fat: Faust, Jacob, R3sistant, Herm

8% Body Fat: Crush, NastyNate, Kicknass,

9% Body Fat: Leigh, Robskate, Blitz, Dynamic, Tanja

10% Body Fat: K0bra, Ad, Sputnik, Muad^Dib (aka the Mad Dog), Katsh, Kipp

11% Body Fat: Bart, Lordy, Yuzgen, Butcher, Doc

Near misses: Hrvatska, Croboy (both pr0 as fuck but a bit rusty). Santi - getting pr0 too but inconsistent. Oldpro - would be top 10 but is inactive at the moment so I didn't include him. RC not active enough otherwise would be top 10 as well. Mclovin not been seen in 2021 otherwise would be 2nd after Maddux.

Because there are way too many good players I have limited it to the 25 best players only. Only the Top 25 Have been ranked (this list is in order for each tier - best player in each tier first). So if you don't make the list you are not in the official Top 25 active Ranked players at the moment. Try harder. Get better and don't complain or cry about it. These rankings are OFFICIAL and were voted on by a panel of top pro expert players. I did not have any input in choosing the rankings - I asked 3 respected pro players to vote in a series of polls. So don't hate on me if you disagree, I just transferred the data into excel!!!!!

My record win streak against some top players

My longest ever win streaks in 1v1 without incurring a loss. Have had some big loss streaks too (probably biggest to Faust or Ford 17 games or so) . But losses don't count because I only really lose when drunk/hungover. 😝

Anyway here they are, ranked historically most recent first.

Yuzgen - 22
Bart - 48
Butcher - 12
Blitz - 8
Ford - 6
Faust - 5
Robskate - 11
Dynamic - 10
Lordy - 18
R3sistant - 5
Jacob - 8
Bea5t - 2
Milo - 4
Katsh - 12
K1ckn - 6
Doc - 15
Maddux - 5 (only played him when rusty after 2 year break)
Rc1985 - 4
Ehy - 2

On a side note I am 98-1 against budw. His 1 win on shallow grave means more than his 98 losses. Well played mega budw!!!!!!!

R3sistant vs Robskate Match Review: Report from Robben Island

What a fitting way to celebrate 25 years of Red Alert 1. The game was released for PC on 22nd November 1996.

This match saw 2 veteran legends of the game face off in a best of 15 games 1v1 clash. Whoever won 8 games would take home the bragging rights.

Before my review you can catch both halves of the stream courtesy of k0bra1 and yuzgen at the following links:

Kobra part 1

yuzgen part 2

*Spoiler Warning Review*******

************************************

What an extremely close match. It went right down to the wire and was settled by the smallest of grenadier tosses on Pico map. Oldpro the self-proclaimed greatest tesla shifter of all time and brains behind the Pico map would have been so proud were he still around.

This match started out predictably. Both players winning on their respective home maps (r3sistant on p4, rob on nxnw). They went back and forth and it had everything. We even got a rare robskate service depot sighting on the 4c niklas game, a rare phenomenon which occurs only once every 25 years. The 4c game was incidentally the best game of the match which leveled it up at 7 7.

Until recent years robskate always seemed to have r3sistant's number, winning various bo9s etc.

I think it is a testament to how much r3sistant's overall game has improved that he was able to pull off the 8-7 victory this time.

The match really wrote like a Hollywood movie script and will be remembered as a seminal part of red alert history.

Well done to both competitors on putting on a spectacular show. Hopefully we will see more great matches in future.

Regards

Official Announcement

Bartsama has been promoted from the role of Marketing Director to the role of Chief Operating Officer of "4am Alien Chat Ltd."

I've henceforth resigned from my position with immediate effect as it has been rendered untenable.

I leave behind a historic legacy. Any queries can be directed to the new COO via telegram or snail mail.

Fight Night: Bea5ty vs Faust Review

The most anticipated Red Alert match in years took place on August 15th 2021.

The 2 players many consider to the best active players in 2021 clashed in a 1v1 Best of 15 battle for the ages.

Make no mistake about it, this was a monumental match in Red Alert History.

For various bullshit political reasons, we never really got to see the top 2 active players compete in a series like this for decades in Red Alert during previous eras. 2021 was the first time I can remember in which the top 2 active players of the year clashed in a set 1v1 series format.

Kudos to both players for their sportsmanship and bravery in stepping up to the plate. This generation got to see Beast vs Faust after being deprived of Ehy vs At0m1 or Ehy vs NastyNate, for example.

Before my review, you can watch the match in full courtesy of K0bra1 who streamed the match live on Twitch:

*Spoiler warning**********

Well firstly, Congratulations to Bea5ty on a completely dominant, crushing 8-1 victory. This was merciless and his accurate aggressive play turned this into a total bloodbath. He knew exactly how to exploit Faust's weaknesses. In particular the Ribbon Isle game in which he sneakily managed to enter Faust's base with his 2nd group was the most impressive game. Bea5ty was in great shape and proved beyond any doubt that he is the best RA1 player in the world with this victory.

It has to be said, I was very disappointed with Faust's play. I expected so much better. Normally he plays much much much better than that performance. It is honestly the worst I ever saw him play. He made many basic mistakes when he is usually extremely precise and accurate. Something seemed amiss. Maybe the pressure of playing Bea5ty got to him. Whatever it was, he definitely played his D game. It is unfortunate that he played his worst on the biggest stage, but sometimes that happens in competition.

I heard rumours he showed up to this match drunk/hungover which is very disappointing if true. He knew this was a legacy match in Red Alert and it was disrespectful to the fans and to Bea5ty if he showed up badly prepared and not in top shape. This was not some casual 2v2 tournament or ladder games, this was an era defining match in Red Alert so if you turned up not in top physical shape then you let yourself down more than anyone, Faust.

I hope Faust can take some pride in knowing he has dominated every single other player over the last year and he is the clear world number 2. Sometimes you need to just take your hat off and say you lost to the better player and there is absolutely zero shame in losing to Bea5ty. Faust has been a fantastic ambassador for the game so let this defeat not diminish his legacy in Red Alert 1, especially his impeccable tournament record.

Let this take nothing away from Bea5ty, he was ruthless and clinical and there was only ever going to be 1 winner. Because of the scoreline there is absolutely no need for a rematch as he has already proven his superiority. In my opinion there is only one player who has a chance against Bea5ty and we all know who it is. It is not Mclovin because he would have 0 chance vs Bea5ty on maps like Rasta, Pico, Kotg, HJK etc. It is not Nate because he gets trashed by Bea5ty in 2v2 let alone 1v1.

It is time for you to step up Mr "I am rusty I only played 375 ladder games in a week" AndrewFORD.

Stop being a depressive emo cunt and give the fans what they want. Everyone wants to see Bea5ty vs Ford as it is this generation's Ehy vs NastyNate. Do not be remembered as this generation's rubber ducky vagina which is what NastyNate is now best known as unfortunately.

*Disclaimer* some may say that Bea5ty already pumped Ford on ladder this month. I can assure you that Ford has been fucking around playing Ukraine all maps and doing troll builds. He even lost to me many many many times and I am shit. Those games mean nothing. A serious, locked in Ford playing as Germany would have a good chance against Bea5ty. In fact he is the only one who would have a chance at the moment*.

Right now, Bea5ty is the best RA1 player in the world after this victory over Faust and it is completely undisputed now. Nobody has the right to take that away from him so credit where it is due. If anyone questions it they can challenge him. Ford, be a man and step up.

Thanks for reading

Top 5 Asia Pacific Players

2021 actively only. Have not seen much of Yaunger, Pinky323 and other Chinese legends active this year which is why I have not included them. Pinky323 was a Starcraft player that I briefly played with years ago and was a friend of Sam-wk (he had played RA as a youngster on Chinese Gaming Arcade) . Witnessed him defeat At0m1 in 2v2 series without losing a game. He would probably be the best I have faced from this region in terms of raw ability were he a regular Red Alert player. However this list is based exclusively on 2021 current level.

5) Gravediga (New Zealand)

Diga is still a very good player whose best performance this year came when winning a competitive 5 map 1v1 tournament in which he defeated players such as Yuzgen and Lordy en route to victory. It is true though that this was a rare gem in an otherwise average couple of years. Diga used to be a far stronger player around 4 years ago when he was playing more often. He has really cut down his playing time since becoming a father (pr0 life tip people) and it is true he is definitely not the force of old at present. He will tell you straight up he is not the same player who helped me to defeat Ford and NastyNate in 2v2 P4 as seen in the video

Overall I think 5th place is an accurate ranking at present. Were this ranking done in 2017 Diga would probably even have been 1st.

2) RAM-Katsh (Japan)

Katsh is still a wiley old veteran and a great match for anyone but the elite builders on CnCNet especially on maps such as V3 Rashowdown and HJK6. People might be surprised to learn that Katsh is actually extremely strong on maps such as Keep off the Grass and Pico. His micro management and raw speed are some of his great strengths and he is a veteran legend of our game. It is true though that his tanking ability does really hold him back and he is noticeably somewhat mediocre on a range of maps, particularly ore maps. On balance this ranking is fair.

3) K1ckn (Australia)

Kickn is an exceptional GQ player and a very strong soviet builder. He has had great tournament successes in the last couple of years as well. He is one of the strongest players in CnCNet (around top 10). However it is true that he is held back by his lack of willingness to learn popular maps such as Arena Valley Extreme, Path Beyond, Keep off the Grass etc. This is the only reason he is not ranked higher as I believe he is missing the overall range of skills and map knowledge which the top 2 possess.

2) RC1985 (Singapore)

RC has not been playing much in 2021 but has been spotted on the ladder more often as of late. He is one of the absolute best rush style players in all of CnCNet and I am qualified to say that as a certified light tank cheeser. The weakest part of his game is definitely soviet building and I believe the others on this list are stronger in this department. However he more than compensates for this with his Germany play. He is extremely fast with production, scouting, attacking etc and can overwhelm the enemy. His map knowledge is also great as he can play all types of maps but he particularly excels on maps such as 4c and Ribbon Isle. Overall I think his ranking is fair at present as his rustiness means he is not performing to the same level of rank 1 at present. When in shape however RC is a match for anyone and probably the strongest 1v1 player from this region as proven by his 25-25 50 game series with Ford.

1) R3sistant (Australia)

One of the absolute best soviet builders in CnCNet, R3sistant has improved to rank 1 in this list because he has massively improved his tanking ability with SGQ training. He has also really upped his game by learning ore maps, path beyond etc and has now become a real all rounder and this has translated into impressive results in the last year - multiple team tournament finals and victories, a 1v1 match win over Blank and respectable performances against elite players in LCS. He is a stronger 2v2 player than RC1985 and I think right now absolutely deserves this ranking as he has massively improved as an overall Red Alert player and long gone are the dark days when he would only play P4 2v2 with Lauta all day.

Thanks for reading. More to follow.

Top 5 Current Canadian Players

This list only includes players who have been active in 2021, therefore players such as Dany, Greendragon and Kr0nic are not included.

Narrowly missing out in 6th place would be Bee^ and Megajimm.

5) Butcher

Davie the Butcher is best known for flying around looking for some other peoples' business to stick his beak into. In terms of gameplay he is very good on Arena Valley Extreme map as he uses his big anteater nose to sniff out incoming light tank rushes. He is also pretty solid on Q and GQ games however quite frankly, even RA168 is better at defending rushes than Butchy boy which is why he only has a 5% win percentage against me. Overall an OK player and I think 5th place is about fair.

4) OldPr0

OldPr0 is the polar opposite of Butcher in terms of playstyle. Oldpro is quite predictable and not the smartest player but he is solid at what he does (bunkering and 10 CY teslas). I have given him the slight edge over Butcher because he is definitely a better 2v2 player at present and he is stronger than Butcher 1v1 on maps such as HJK6 and P4. It is true that Butcher is better on small standards and Q however overall OldPr0 has a small edge. OldPr0 constantly asks Butcher for a Bo19 match and Butcher keeps ducking him because he thinks he will lose. Hopefully now this match will happen and we can see who is the 4th best Canadian once and for all.

3) Fluffy

The goose! Has really improved over the last year or so and introduced "The Fluffy method" to our game. The Feathered One Is now equally adept at GQ tank fights as it is at building. Fluffy is ranked higher than Oldpr0 and Butcher because this goose species player can both build and tank to a decent level, whereas Butchy can only tank and Oldpr0 can only build. Overall I think Fluffy has a greater range of weapons at its disposal and deserves to be ranked 3rd place Canadian. in the absence of players such as Dany and Greendragon. Everyone honk for Fluffy.

2)Rushyboo aka Herm

A total legend and one of the best builders of all time. Would be 1st for pretty much any other country not named Kosovo. This guy is a legendary player and only misses out on 1st spot because he doesn't possess the same level of virginity powers as our rank 1.

1) Ford

An amazing player who became so great by sacrificing his whole teenage social life years in order to master this game. He is the greatest expert in terms of stats in all of Red Alert and he is the proud author of the 2nd best RA blog blog https://c9andrewford.blogspot.com/?m=1 This virgin is a force to be reckoned with and arguably the best active player in all of Red Alert. Certainly the best germany tanker and producer.

Thanks for reading. More to come!

Top 5 Current USA Players (2021 active only)

*Blank does not count for this list as he has not been actively playing during 2021 - otherwise he would obviously be at the top end of this list*

Honourable mentions: Xxtreme (solid tanker who plays lots of maps), bartsama (standards map bipolar troll genius), Aegon (very good P4 player) and many other decent players such as kidzero and Bakenast. Lots of good players from USA.

I try to be as fair and objective as possible with the selections and it is my honest opinion, I don't let personal differences impact it. I believe these selections are very fair.

5) Stackopoly

Very good on the 2-3 maps that he plays. He just spams tanks though and doesn't really know how to do anything else. He has excellent tank production. This sort of one dimensional play though only takes you so far and I'm pretty sure he would lose to any of the other players on this list on maps like HJK6, Rasta, Keep off the Grass, Shallow Grave or pretty much anything that isn't Ribbon Isle or Basement tank spam, or 1v1 in general on anything that isn't a Ribbon Isle clone. Think on balance this ranking is pretty fair as he excels in one specific aspect of the game but doesn't possess the same range of important skills as the higher ranked players.

4) Dr4g0n.

Strong solid player who is very good on tanking and building aspects of the game on a wide range of maps. Can be very solid on T Dawg, P4 mini, ore maps and will play any 2v2 map going. His main drawbacks are that he doesn't play 1v1s (Qmax/Qmaster doesn't count) and he is maybe not quite as fast as his brother. Overall he is a solid player both as soviets and allies and I think 4th place is about fair.

3) Pr1de

Very good player, one of, maybe even the best, GQ/SGQ tankers in CnCNet. Has also become a pretty solid builder both with teslas and turrets. He really is a great player but I can't place him above the top 2 on this list as he only really plays team games. He played some 1v1 games with bartsama and took a heavy beating so his 1v1 game isn't much to shout about at the moment and that loses him a lot of brownie points. Can't possibly put him above the top 2 for this reason.

2) Robskate

Still a legend. A great Q tank fighter who in a micro managing small tank battle on a map such as Path Beyond or North by Northwest is even to this day one of the best that CnCNet has to offer. He's also very capable of large scale GQ tank battles on a tdawg or P4. I've not placed him 1st because it is true that his building skills are not up to scratch and I do believe that the number 1 ranked player has become even stronger than Robskate in the last year or so.

1) ORA-Jacob

I think it's pretty obvious that Jacob is the best active American player right now. His LCS performances against Faust and R3sistant were impressive and he also was the winner of the 2021 Royal Rumble FFA Tournament. He's become an extremely strong player over the last year and I think it is fair to say he has surpassed Robskate at this point as he has a greater range of weapons in his arsenal (2nd best turret player on CnCNet after Ford?). Jacob is now one of the top 5-10 strongest players in all of Red Alert and definitely deserves the title of the best active American Red Alert player.

Thanks for reading. More to follow.

Top 5 current UK RA players

My honest opinion.

Honourable mentions... Kippa would be 6th. Solid 2v2 tanker but shit at 1v1. Abacus., doc, shadow etc all decent players. Romper, Loopy and Ndiaz rounding out the top 10.

5) k0bra1

A solid tanking player who is a bit one dimensional. Specialises in Q tank games. Does not have the range of skill sets as some higher ranked players

4) Lordy

Ranked him above k0bra because he is more unpredictable and a better 1v1 player. He rushes and apc and attempts to build sometimes. Overall he has a greater range of skills than k0bra.

3) Blitz

Very good GQ and tank fight player. Pretty solid all round but excels in tank fights. Lacks a bit of the creativity and adaptability of the top 2 players on the list.

2) Leigh

Definitely stronger than the others on this list. Solid tanking, exceptionally good on ore maps. His only real weaknesses are long games especially soviets and maybe not the best in 1v1. Definitely a clear 2nd best UK player in my opinion.

1) Crush

Definitely the best UK player and anyone who says otherwise is just being a hater. The best rusher, builder, long game player, producer, 1v1er and tactically diverse player from the UK. The only department where i may not be best is Q tanking. Clear UK number 1 and it is not close. The only one from the UK who can regularly beat players such as faust, jacob, ford, hezb, rob and even beasty in 1v1s. Also the best long game allies or soviet player by miles. Like I said, anyone who disagrees is just being a hater as I don't think it is even close to be honest. A massive winning 1v1 record against all other UK players (eg won 18 of last 19 vs lordy on ladder, 5-0 vs kobra and beast in tournywith rushyboo). Definitely a better all round player than Leigh especially on stuff like p4 and 1v1 even though he is good tanker.

By the way it is not a coincidence that the top 3 are all Scottish. England are fkn shit.

LCS Official Results To Date (21st July 2021)

For historical reference, here are the official LCS match results at present. Further information including maps lists, videos and dates the matches were played can be found at this link LCS Results Challonge . Once again a big thank you to all players and fans involved in making these matches a success. It is hoped the series will resume in Autumn 2021 at some point (October+) after a Summer break.

LCS 1: F[A]ust 10-8 ORA-Jacob

LCS 2: F[A]ust 10-7 R3sistant

LCS 3: F[A]ust 10-1 NastyRobskate

LCS 4: F[A]ust 10-6 oP-Lordy

LCS 5: ORA-Jacob 10-4 R3sistant

LCS 6: F[A]ust 10-8 ORA-Jacob II

LCS 7: F[A]ust 10-2 ORA-Xxtreme

How good was Ehy?

Ehy has achieved mythical legend status in Red Alert. Seen as some sort of Michael Jordan-esque GOAT. Was he really the goliath and behemoth everyone says he was? The answer is a combination of yes and no. I'll try to explain and offer my honest perspective on this much debated topic. I've been around on-and-off for the last decade in Red Alert online competitive play and have faced all of the top dogs so I feel like I can offer some valuable insight on this topic for the history archives. Here's my 2 cents...

Ehy dominated a time in Red Alert (approx 2009-2015) when there wasn't much competition in terms of 1v1 play. The narrative is true that his top potential opponents of the time such as NastyNate and At0m1 actively avoided him (Basically they knew he had surpassed them and didn't want it proven - this is the truth. Trust me). Ehy was left playing players such as Robskate, Smash, Yuzgen, Katsh and myself. He definitely had a huge edge on us at that time. It has become apparent however that he was privy to certain advantages that no one else knew. The most notable of these was GQ. Players have studied his historical games and notice that he was actively using the powerful GQ concept. This is how he was able to defeat pretty much everyone (including NastyNate in 2v2s) with relative ease in tank fights.

I would say that his skills in terms of building (especially soviet 10+ cy play on P4) were on another level to everyone else past or present. In terms of that side of the game he would still remain above everyone. However I think were he playing in the current era the gap in 1v1 play would not be so dramatic. The competition has caught up somewhat. You have players such as Ford, Beast, Faust, Jacob and others who are now really very good. Players like myself and Robskate are playing at a higher level than we were in the doldrums of Ehy's peak 2012-2013 era. I do however feel that Ehy was definitely stronger than all of these guys. I played against every top player in the last decade 100s of games and I can say with 99% certainty that Ehy was better than them all. He just had a more hungry "need to win" psyche. He took defeat as a personal insult and he was savage in his search for revenge or retribution. I think he had a more killer instinct. It was extremely hard to win games against Ehy. These other guys I mentioned, while phenomenal players, just lack a little bit of that viper demon that Ehy had. I think it's possible to get wins far more often against these guys than it was against Ehy. Ehy was a different beast. I am sure fellow players such as Robskate and RC1985 would agree with me on this consensus as they played against them all as well. He didn't just want to win a series. He wanted to dominate. He wanted the opponents' blood and to not have a single loss on his resume.

A side note on Milo - Milo was obviously old and past prime when he returned in Summer 2020. He showed he was still a match for anyone on a tanking game, however the best version of Milo I played was not on the same level of Ehy. Ehy was far superior at defending rushes than Milo ever was. Lordy/Croboy type light tank rushes just simply wouldn't work against Ehy - on the other hand, Milo probably had an overall losing record on maps such as P4 and Money Map 2. Additionally, I can say with absolute confidence that Ehy would annihilate Milo in a soviet 1v1 scenario or in 2v2 format. All round peak Ehy was a far stronger player than peak Milo as he was more accomplished in more aspects of the game. Sure in straight up tanking Milo maybe even had an edge, but Ehy was ticking more boxes. I love Milo to bits and he is a legend of the game but this is my honest opinion.

There is one major edge Ehy had over everyone else which is often overlooked - mistake mitigation. Ehy simply made far fewer mistakes than other players. He was more robotic and game theory optimal play. Ford for example has a tendency to sometimes goof play, Jacob can do bad build orders on certain maps. Beast sometimes neglects production and Faust is liable to getting cheesed or rushed from time to time. These are all aspects which Ehy obsessively worked at in his game to iron out. He trained hard and desired to play mistake free Red Alert. You could describe him as the Novak Djokovic of Red Alert. Winning with consistency and no unforced errors. It is hard to recall Ehy having any real weaknesses as he had perfected every detail of his game. This is the major reason I place him above the rest of my opponents. I hope this makes sense.

The scary thing is we maybe never really saw peak Ehy, as he would often troll in games (especially 2v2s - which would annoy his partners! I had a few angry run ins with him). He also did not have someone really unlocking the best in him in an intense 1v1 rivalry as he dominated most of his 1v1 match ups. Imagine a world where we got to see Ehy vs Ford or Ehy vs Faust for example. You would get to see Ehy in his final form. I would absolutely bet on Ehy to win either matchup.

So yes, Ehy really does deserve the plaudits for his play in Red Alert. He stepped up to the plate and dominated his era of the game. I wasn't the biggest fan of him personality wise and we often clashed but I realise in hindsight he was just extremely competitive and I have nothing but respect for his play. His legend will live on through all ages for as long as this classic game survives. We hold out hope that one day he will return to CnCNet and put the new kids on the block in their place!

Hope you enjoyed reading.

Crushyboo

Who do I like in the Red Alert community? #positive vibes

Who do I like in the Red Alert community?

Time for a more positive post. There's lots of really cool people in this game who try to make the game grow and make it the unique and diverse community it is. I can't single any one out in particular however here are some people I have a fond opinion of::

The Lebanese crew (Madman, Fighter, Ad etc etc). All these guys are really cool with a great sense of humour and a respectful attitude to the game. They will always try to help you whenever possible and I only have a high opinion of them all. Even the Lebanese who have moved abroad to other countries are pretty cool guys too (except Butcher - he is a fat bitter cunt with a big nose and a body odour smell problem).
Blitz - A respectful beta male who takes great pride in his role as the Scottish #3 player but who also cares about the well-being of the game more than anyone. He has an extremely good attitude and work ethic and has offered a lot of helpful insight to a range of players.
Milo - How can you not love the legend? One whiff up your nostrils of his famous moist sweaty jockstrap is enough to grant you immortal Q powers. A loveable big cuddly teddy bear (even if he is a bit of an egomaniac :-) ).
Robskate - Always a good opponent and works hard for the well being of the game. Happy to play anyone, anytime. Ultra competitive. I would like him more if he made service depots.
Fluffy - Always warms one's heart to see the g00se spread its feathers high and mightily wide.
Bartsama - A freak
Jacob - cool little naive autistic computer wizard. Nice and respectful but a little naive and easily taken advantage of by nefarious malicious forces.
RC1985 - I like him because he dominated Ford for years in this game and made him a man. He literally single handedly forced Ford to grow some testicles.
Ford - Great Asian player. Really good games with him. Really competitive and fun. I love a challenge against Ford
Boy - a legend and a good pal in Red Alert.
Herm - A legend. Everyone's favourite chameleon name changing VPN weirdo. All love Herm.
ORA-members. My people. Much love.
Lovehandles - A legend. we go back years he was around 10 years ago when I started. Cute blond danish guy who is the best shifter and GQer in the game even though he hates Red Alert. No one is more talented than Lovehandles.
Iran - a legend.
Funky - Much respect is owed to funky.

Some people I think are OK but have boring/no personality:

k0bra, faust, at0m1, maty, panter, kipp etc etc etc

Cheers.

Peace.

Till next time

C-R-U-S-H-Y-B-O-O

Last Commander Standing 5: ORA-Jacob vs R3sistant

Thanks to Blitz for organising this match and thanks to K1cknass for streaming. Well played both.

Last Commander Standing 5: ORA-Jacob vs R3sistant. 22nd May - Challonge

k1cknass - Twitch

*SPOILER WARNING*

Jacob won the match 10-4.

Hiatus

I have decided to take a hiatus from Red Alert 1.

I do not feel like my efforts and hard work to help this game and our community are appreciated. I would rather spend my time helping people more deserving. I am constantly undermined eg "I won't stream FOR crush". Idiot you are streaming to help the game not for me. I do not benefit financially or otherwise whether you stream or not. People are too petty to put personal differences aside for the good of the game and I am sick of it. I will not donate any more time to helping this cause anymore. The same people who diss LCS spend 4 hours watching it every week.

The game also has a net negative impact on my life. It was a great way to pass the time during the long coronavirus lockdown of the last year. However I completely lost the passion since returning to normal life 3 weeks ago. I was hoping to play one final match as a "farewell" but I have realised it is not worth the energy or disrespect I receive after some comments from a few players. I just decided it is not worth it. Even if by some miracle I would have been able to win it would have forced me to play another match the following week(s) and I have zero interest or drive to do that. I really overplayed Red Alert during corona lockdown and now I would rather make better to use of my now limited free time.

I have given control of the LCS series to Blitz so he should be contacted regarding its organisation going forward. I wish it every success.

You can still read my historical blogs and view my YouTube content.

Thank you to everyone who supported my efforts and I wish you continued success in helping grow this game.

Faust vs Lordy LCS 4! LIVE TONIGHT 7PM UK TIME (9th May)

Map list of match and rules

Watch cousinad with me on Twitch!

https://www.twitch.tv/cousinad?sr=a

Best of 19 games. First to 10 wins. Tune in live on twitch!

*SPOLER RESULT*

F[a]ust won this match 10-6.

Last Commander Standing 3: F[a]ust vs NastyRobskate

Congratulations to F[a]ust for making it a hat-trick of wins in the Last Commander Standing series!

LCS 3 was an emphatic 10-1 victory against the veteran legend Robskate. It's clear that Robskate did not play his best game on the day and made a lot of mistakes - however this does not take anything away from Faust who was clinical and dominant in his victory. With this win Faust cements himself as the best active player of Red Alert 1 online in 2021. This title shall remain until someone takes the crown off him in the LCS format.

Previous results:

LCS 1: F[a]ust 10-8 ORA-Jacob

LCS 2: F[a]ust 10-7 [TB]-R3sistant

LCS 3: F[a]ust 10-1 NastyRobskate

Thanks to k0bra1 for streaming and to Ford for joining myself in the commentary booth. You can catch a video of the broadcast here:

LCS 4 to be announced soon!

Last Commander Standing 2 Report

What another phenomenal match! 2 of the best players on CnCNet faced off in an epic best of 19 match. F[a]ust (reigning champion from week 1) and [TB]-R3sistant.

K1cknass did a fantastic job streaming the event alongside commentator Robskate. Robskate's knowledge was extremely insightful for the live audience which peaked at 48 people. Thanks to all who watched. You can catch a replay of the event here:

https://www.twitch.tv/k1cknass/v/1000299818?sr=a&t=0s

*Spoiler Warning*

Ultimately Faust won the match 10-7. At one point he was trailing 6-3 but made a roaring comeback during the middle point of the match. There were some extremely close games which could have gone either way, especially Union Break. Overall, this was a fantastic series and both players did themselves proud, with it being played in an extremely good sporting manner.

A special thank you to Ford for fixing some of the maps and creating LCS versions.

We look forward now to LCS 3: F[a]ust vs Robskate. Will Faust be able to complete a hat-trick or will the wiley veteran legend be able to upset the young apprentice!?? All will be revealed!

A final shoutout to crystal ball Fighter who correctly predicted the score in LCS 2!

The concept behind LCS (Last Commander Standing)

Red Alert was crying out for an event which would bring the best players in the world face to face on a regular basis. LCS is intended to play out like a Boxing heavyweight title, combined with an event format like UFC.

For example, LCS 1: F[a]ust vs Jacob. LCS 2: F[a]ust vs R3sistant.

For years the Red alert community have argued over who is the best player in a certain era. Well we no longer will need to argue. Whoever is the reigning LCS champion can declare themself to be the best. And if anyone disputes it - they are welcome to challenge the champion and prove it in the Bo19 map format which is designed to test all play-styles of the game.

25 maps. 3 maps can be rejected by each player. Leaving 19 total maps. The decision for a 19 game series was based on the idea that the average game length is around 5-6 minutes. So we would have at maximum a 3-4 hour PPV style series. Ideal for the twitch audience and content creators, and ideal for hopefully one day attracting outside sponsorship!

Bo9s if we are honest are very luck based and someone can go on a hot streak or opponent can have a bad day or be rusty etc. In a Bo19 grueling match like LCS, players will have all week to train intensively so they are in the best possible shape for the match. Also in a Bo19 format the best player is far more likely to win.

The ultimate hope is that LCS continues for years and years in Red Alert and gives something for the community to look forward to every single week (or fortnight, depending on how often the matches will be). It is also hoped that LCS will set the bar in Red Alert and give people a goal to aspire to. Competing in the LCS event could be seen as the ultimate achievment in competitive online Red Alert.

For years the Ladder has been great way for players to compete 1v1 - this can be used as great practice and training for LCS and for selecting the best number 1 contender. Also if we are completely honest - everyone wants to see the best players 1v1. There is a reason no-one remembers who won the doubles (2v2) event at Wimbledon. It is because people only care about watching Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Murray duking it out 1v1. Fans and spectators want to see who the best player is. Who is the MAN!? And 1v1 is the way to do that. For as fun a game as 2v2 is, it lends itself to a lot of random results and upsets and it cannot universally define who the best player is. 1v1 is far more important in Red Alert, just as it is in all other sports/games and this is a hard reality people need to wake up to. On a personal note I also find playing 1v1 is far more fun and enjoyable (albeit more stressful and intense as well) than 2v2. There's nowhere to hide in a 1v1 scenario.

The hope is that LCS becomes the start of something historic in Red Alert. Maybe in 10 years time at LCS event number 500, Faust, Jacob, Hezb etc will look back at their participation in the first LCS events as a real proud achievement.

Let's grow the event so it attracts a bigger and bigger audience every single week. With the ultimate hope of growing the game and attracting new players! More players = more fun for everyone. You never know - maybe someone will accidentally stumble across the LCS stream on twitch and a couple of years later will become the champion having started out on Red Alert from scratch.

In the meantime I hope you all enjoy LCS 2, this coming Sunday 25th April @ 12:00 UK TIME. All information including the map list and link to K0bra's live stream can be found here:

https://challonge.com/l7zhlply

Thanks for reading!

The first ever LAST COMMANDER STANDING (LCS1) match. F[a]ust vs ORA-Jacob.

18th April 2021. 2 of the best players in the World went toe to toe in a best of 19 match. Faust and Jacob.

Video of the event courtesy of K0bra1 who streamed is available here:

*Special guest commentary from Robskate, Ford & Cousinad*

*Spoiler warning*

All information is available here including map pool https://challonge.com/y8k61g36

Well played all! An awesome match and thanks to all who made it the great event it was. At one point over 40+ live twitch viewers. Faust got revenge for the 2v2 match (with A team) vs Jacob (Pr1de) a week prior which had finished 5-3 to Jacob's team. A well fought and well deserved 10-8 victory for F[a]ust!

Announcing LCS 2, F[a]ust vs [TB]-R3sistant, this coming Sunday April 25th @ 12:00 LONDON UK time:

https://challonge.com/l7zhlply

A suggested OFFICIAL MAP POOL for 2v2 Bo9/Bo15 * LONG OVERDUE* -

In recent Bo9 or Bo15 matches in 2v2 series there have been many arguments over bad or dubious map choices. For example Rasta Pro Aron (1hr+ game), HJK6 (too much like 2 x 1v1). Also there has been a problem of some maps basically being duplicated (eg V7 and V10 being chosen in the same series - very similar maps), the same with Chrono Unlimited + Chrono Gems (Essentially who has the faster chrono build order will win both times). I've thought about this in great detail so I suggest an official map list which players can choose from in order to stop any arguments in future. I've balanced it so that all map types are represented.

First of all I will list the Bo9 suggestion. I have given teams the option to choose the Gem or Ore version of the map in most cases so there is a list of 18 maps total. 1 map out of 2 must be chosen from each category. For example in category 1, the option is P4 Sudden Death OR P4 Mini - a team can only choose 1 of these 2 maps. If team A selected P4 Sudden Death then team B would have the option to later choose P4 Mini. To retirerate: TEAMS CAN ONLY CHOOSE 1 MAP FROM EACH OF THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES. If team A chooses Tdawg Gems they cannot later choose Tdawg ore within the Bo9, they would need to choose a map from the other 8 categories.

P4 Sudden Death / P4 Mini Tourney Edition
Tdawg Gems / Tdawg Ore
Crush Basement Gems / Crush Basement Ore
V7 Gems / V7 Ore
Ribbon Gems/ Ribbon Ore
4c Gems/ 4c Ore
Answer The Door / Big Open Ore
Chrono Unlimited / Chrono Gems
Pico / KOTG

For Bo15 the solution is simple. After 9 maps have been played the categories unlock. Teams can choose any of the remaining maps that were restricted after 9 games. For example if team A chose P4 Sudden Death in the first 9 games, they would now be able to choose P4 Mini in games 10-15 (if team B had not selected it already).

BOOKMARK THIS PAGE FOR REFERENCE IF YOU INTEND TO USE IT GOING FORWARD.

Top 5 active players in rival clans according to CrushyBoo - 10th April 2021

Top 5 active players in other clans as of 10th April 2021 in my opinion

[A]

1. Faust

2. Rushy

3. Tanja

4. K0bra

5. Kippa

[TB]

1. H3zb

2. K1ckn

3. D1ga

4. Lordy

5. Sk3lly

[BAT]

1. Diaz

2. Hrvats

3. Kasper

4. Miko

5. Metz

[1]

1. Dr4g0n

2. Loopy

3. Wario

4. Petersky

5. Castle

Nasty

1. Bea5ty

2. Nate

3. Robskate

4. Dolche

5. Muad Dib

Cousin

1. Leigh

2. Ad

3. Sputnik

4. Claus

5. Squid

[WP]

1. Angleon

2. Natu

3. Fullon

4. Shimi

5. Entidad

Jacob is definitely the best active player in ORA clan. I did not rank ORA clan as it is not fair as I couldn't be unbiased, I also don't want to create disharmony within my clan. Jacob is definitely the best active overall player in our clan at the moment as he is a bit stronger than me (proven as he wins more than he loses in my ladder 1v1s against him) and he is more well rounded than Pr1de.

Just my opinion and if you don't like it - whatever.

The Mount Rushmore of Red Alert: The MOST IMPORTANT players in the game's 25+ year history.

This post is extremely important. It will not be based on the 5 best players of all time - which is not only subjective and basically impossible. Instead, it will be based on the 5 players who are most pivotal in shaping the game's history. Such things are considered high priority in this list: map making, knowledge spreading, video creation, and outstanding achievements. It is extremely difficult to narrow this down to just 5 players. I would first like to give some honourable mentions:

Robskate - a 25 year veteran who has the most longevity of any pro at the top of the game. His sharing of knowledge on standard maps has been extremely important to the development of legions of top players, and without Robskate's presence the game would have been in a far worse state. It's very likely that players such as Ehy and Ford would never have reached their potential without Robskate as a regular frequent opponent.
Defmike - A very important map maker who has befriended 100s of players throughout his tenure playing Red Alert. Many players will have fond memories of interacting with this top bloke.
RC1985 - The most popular Red Alert YouTube channel in history, with 5 million views+. He narrowly missed out due to some on the list having a more tangible offering.
At0m1 - A Q expert and the first person to create videos on Veoh. Also founder of TA clan and author of a very popular mid 2010s blog which you should check out http://ratimes.weebly.com/ He narrowly misses out as his coach is on the list and offered an even greater contribution (read on for more).
ORA-boy - 22 years a member and subsequent leader of the greatest clan in Red Alert history. His ability to keep a team happy and keep a machine well oiled should be commended. A true legend of the game.
Iran/Lovehandles/hifi/Myg/Tore etc. Hugely important in saving the game from terminal death during the late 2000s.
Ehy - One of the first major successful YouTube channels like At0m1. His videos have inspired 100s of players (myself included). He is also remembered as the dominant player of the CnCnet era and one of the greatest players of all time.

So without further ado here is what I consider to be the Mount Rushmore of Red Alert:

5. Ford - A YouTuber/Twitcher who offered the single most important discovery in the modern era of the game. Also one of the top 10 players in the game's history. This Canadian is a real inspiration to all autistic people the world over and is an ambassador for the Canadian Autism Society. Ford unleashed the potential of aggressive GQ which completely changed the game dynamics of tank battles. He also probably possesses the single best map knowledge of any player in the history of the game. He knows every statistic inside out and he is truly a Professor of Red Alert. Check out his blog for more info https://c9andrewford.blogspot.com/

4. FunkyFr3sh - Probably the single most important person in terms of the success of the Red Alert side of things on CnCNet. A strong player in his own right, he is best known for helping to design and oversee the implementation of CnCNet5. The modern game literally would not exist without his input and help (along with others such as Iran). He truly deserves legend status in the game at this point and is often taken for granted (on occasions by myself as well which I regret). He deserves the utmost respect of every player on CnCNet and I don't think he gets the credit he deserves. Every player who plays daily for free on CnCNet does so because of Funky's endless hours of hard work - don't forget that!

3. Faramir - A forgotten legend of the game. His name lives on in maps such as WIDE OPEN (by Faramir), and his map creation contribution is 2nd only to the 1st ranked player on this list. Modern players can thank Faramir's genius for such maps as the gargantuan V3 RIBBON ISLE. He wasn't known as the strongest player in the world but that isn't really important. Faramir literally shaped the way the game is played today. Without his contributions to the community it is very likely that competitive custom game Red Alert would have died out years ago. 10s of thousands if not millions of games have been played on his maps throughout the years.

2. Milo234 - An absolute legend who literally wrote the Red Alert Bible in 2006 which you should read here https://funkyfr3sh.cnc-comm.com/milo/ra.html Every single top player of the last 15 years of Red Alert has been inspired by this man's literature. This guide is the single best way to elevate your game to the next level and has been an inspiration to players from Ehy to At0m1 and Ford. It also inspired my own personal play. Milo returned in summer 2020 and still competed at a high level, winning the ladder 1 month and showing that even as a family man approaching 40 he was still one of the strongest tankers in the history of the game. He also created many famous and important Q themed maps such as Q 10 v 10. Milo's lasting legacy with the guide, and his efforts to keep the competitive scene alive during a life-support existence for the game during the mid-2000s are a hugely important arc in the game's history.

1. Niklas - Words such as "legend" and "genius" don't do this man justice. Referenced by Robskate as probably the best player he ever faced, Niklas's name lives on in the modern era through the hugely important milestone map called 4c Niklas. Every top pro has played this map 100s of times 1v1 and 2v2. Other maps such as NSC Niklas were also made by this legend - his contribution to the custom map scene would later inspire people to create maps such as HJK6 and P4. Niklas was one of the game's first real true super-pros (along with such names as Nike1). His contribution to the early days of the game in establishing build orders (the same build orders Robskate uses 25 years later on Path!) and his implementation and discovery of the importance of Q, Bookmarks etc were revolutionary in Red Alert. Niklas's contributions to the game inspired every legend and player who came after him and that is why I awarded him the title of the most important player in the game's history. After all, there's only 2 maps on the current CnCNet ladder which feature the names of LEGENDARY players in the game so you know he is in good company.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed. Stay tuned for more and don't forget to follow!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW RED ALERT FFA WORLD CHAMPION 2021

ORA-Jacob was the last man standing, outlasting 17 other players in the Free For All tournament of Saturday 27th March 2021.

The tournament was not without drama as, for example, Bayrock was not happy with the positions in his semi final game. Maty unfortunately lost due to disconnection in his round 1 game as well. However there were some real highlights in a couple of games. Not least the titanic struggle between 3 of the pre tournament favourites in Blitz, Rushy and Jacob in game 1 which was a 3 pronged base trade and went down to the wire.

There were some nice games on Hatuken which saw Bayrock conquering Madman, Tankmatch and FrostyCap. However, the game of the tournament must surely be the huge shock in Round 1 as RandyMarsh literally came back from the dead in his King of the Hill game to claim victory. He had been wiped out early on by cousinad but slowly built tanks with NO POWER while he let Ad and Wasibi duel then bided his time and picked up the scraps with 3 healthy war tanks when the other 2 players were dead. He had literally been squashed by Ad within 3 minutes but was somehow able to win - that is what FFAs are all about!

The tournament was fast and furious and took 56 minutes to complete! At the end it received a fitting finale as Jacob defeated his old nemesis Lordy on the Mining Operation map to seal victory.

You can watch the final here courtesy of N8Diaz:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/965568560

Jacob therefore won the right to a Yuzgen Tshirt as his trophy. However we agreed that he would prefer the prize of owning the Remastered Collection game on steam and so he received a copy of the new game as his prize. Maybe we will see him replacing Dynamic as the top Remastered player going forward!?

Thanks to all who participated and a huge congratulations to Jacob once more on a unique victory which shall echo through time.

The Yuzgen tshirt proved very popular and if you would like to purchase one they are available here:

https://pro-q.teemill.com/product/yuzgen-tshirt/

Tournament Bracket

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Some gone but not forgotten pros of the CnCNet 4 era (circa 2009-2014)! RARE VIDEO ARCHIVES! Part 1

Welcome to today's history corner story-time with Uncle Crushy.

Most modern players on CnCNet are only familiar with the lobby we have today which was designed by FunkyFr3sh, Iran and others. The modern lobby is vastly superior to what we had before and features game room names, friends list etc. The old lobby was very basic, here is a reminder of what it looked like:

Regardless, the old lobby had some very nostalgic times. There were many well documented players playing in those days (late 2000s to 2013) such as Ehy, Robskate and NastyNate. There wasn't really much of a clan element and I would say in general the old lobby had a less toxic atmosphere. People just played games - there were very few players playing in those days and so everyone kind of knew everyone.

Some players who modern pros may not heard of included:

DizzyMan - An American best known for being a strong tanker and good builder on maps like P4 and HJK6, he was pretty strong player even by today's standards. I believe he retired from the game around 2014. He was a member of MAN clan. There are several videos of his play on YouTube for example:
Cousinsmash - He was a very strong tanker who was capable of beating anyone in a 1v1 and performed very well in tournaments. He was active in the MPlayer days in early 2000s (forget his old username) and returned to CnCNet, playing from around 2012-2015. He was very influential in my own personal development to becoming "pro" as I sparred with him lots and lots of games on several maps playing 1v1 (mostly P4 and Path Beyond). Playing against smash was how I learned shifting and Q while I was a nubenator.He is best known for winning a strong Union Break 2v2 tournament in 2014 where he partnered Ehy to defeat some very strong teams such as At0m1 & Turret, Nate & Yuzgen:
NaughtyLove - This guy was really talented. He didn't play for long at all maybe 1-2 years around 2012-2013. He was 2nd ranked place on the very old IGL Red Alert ladder around 2013, behind Ehy. Naughty (aka Matt) was a really nice and helpful guy who was a pleasure to ask questions of when I was starting out. I believe he encountered some real life problems which is why his Red Alert career was short but very successful. He was particularly skilled in Q Master and this first person video shows this:

I don't want to flood the page with more videos so I picked these 3 players as the stand outs. If you ever see some random new player come along and feel like their play is very strong, it could be one of these guys hiding! Some other notable names include Danco-Cro (A croatian co-op map fan who had a very distinctive rocketmen defensive build on Ribbon Isle which stumped many a tanker!), Ifuc (A grenadier wizard who was very strong on 4c Niklas and P4 maps) and many many more players. I'll probably do another article with some more videos on this era of CnCNet with some more rare video footage in future! This was a great and happy era of Red Alert history, even if it wasn't the most busy in terms of player footfall.

Stay tuned for more Red Alert History Corner with Uncle Crushy! Thanks for reading and don't forget to follow!

Some recent March 2021 Tournament results

Congratulations to ORA (Hank and Jacob) for defeating TB (Lordy & Kickn) in official challenge match earlier this month. The ORA team won the match 5-4, video here:

Well done to [WP]Entidad and Lordy who won the [WP] clan 1 year anniversary tournament. WP members teamed up with a non WP member to create a balanced tournament which seems to have run smoothly. Full results here:

https://redalert1og.challonge.com/es/wijlfnt7

Also well done to Faust and Kipp for winning Liquid 2v2 Tournament 20th March 2021. Victory for [A] clan once again! Furthermore, another great tournament performance from my student Bart who reached the final and narrowly missed out in a 2-1 defeat in the final with his partner H3zb. My coaching programme seems to be really paying off and Bart's play and results have really upped their game in the last couple months which I am delighted to see. If you too would like some CrushyBoo secret pro training coaching then message me privately.

https://challonge.com/55vxe5fc

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Red Alert Head to Head series, EPISODE 4: Bart vs Oldpr0

Today's instalment features a long overdue clash of the titans. The man otherwise known as FourLetterWord [4LW], Mr Bartzilla and the self-proclaimed top 5 builder of all time, [420] GodOldPr0.

The 5 categories which will be judged out of 10: Tanking (Shift, Q/GQ,Stacking,Positioning, Rushing), Building (Teslas,Base Crawl, Turrets, Chrono etc), Infantry (scouting, guarding, engineers, grenadiers, thieves), Teamwork, Map knowledge. Each of the 5 categories will receive a score out of 10 and we will get to a total at the end.

Bart

Country: USA

Best known for: Being a total freak troll weirdo, but a likeable one at that

Tanking 7.75

Building 7

Infantry 9

Teamwork 7

Map knowledge 8.75

The sama is famous in Red Alert for his magic hat box of tricks tactics. Games with this opponent are completely different to any other player on CnCNet. Concrete walls, APCs, Rocketmen, Dogs, Sandbags, Transporters, MCV driving are all other common features of games with the 4LW. In general his tanking is generally slightly above average so 7.75 is fair. He has pretty solid Q and an OK rush, however his production is very poor and he is pretty weak in large tank battles. His building is better than people might expect and he can be quite smart with turrets and flame towers for example and he is semi-ok when he plays serious on maps like T-dawg so on the whole 7/10 is fair for this category. His infantry is obviously the strongest part of his game. He is extremely skilled in infantry sneak attacks and his rocketmen use and apc tricks are very good. He is far above average in this category and there's not many players better in Red Alert in all honesty in the infantry department. Likewise, he has a very good map knowledge and has played and understands most of the common maps on Red Alert. He is most likely a top 10 level player on small standard maps but he is obviously quite out of his depth when it comes to huge gem maps. His teamwork is a mixture - when he plays serious he can be a pretty strong partner (as proven by us defeating BAT team in clan tournament) - however, if he is in troll bart mode he is the last player on CnCNet you want on your team - you would rather have Balky as your partner if Bart is in troll mode. A mixed bag - I've given him 7 for teamwork basing his overall average serious and troll performances.

Oldpr0

Country: Canada

Best known for: flaming teammates and having an imaginary poker pro career.

Tanking 7.75

Building 9

Infantry 7.75

Teamwork 6.25

Map knowledge 6.75

OldPr0 was officially voted the Rank 1 most delusional player on CnCNet, however he is also the rank 2 most underrated player. His tanking has actually gotten better recently and his production is strong. He still can't shift or use bookmarks properly but at least he has learned to spam the tank button and can Q/GQ so on the whole I think his tanking level is pretty similar to Bart's. For a man who claims he is a top 5 builder of all time, I think he a tad over-exaggerates. No one can deny that he is very strong in a 10 CY game as soviets, however his allies game lacks depth and there are still some stronger. He is definitely well above average in this department and it is easily the strongest part of his game. I think a 9/10 score for building is pretty accurate. His infantry use is a mixture - on maps like pico and P4 he is pretty good with grenadiers and solid with engineers, however he is in general quite poor with rifle infantry. He often lets himself get scouted by enemy infantry and his positioning can be mediocre at times. Overall I think his 7.75 score is fair. His teamwork is awful. It's a running joke in Red Alert that he literally lets partner play 1v2 for 10 minutes before entering the game. I honestly feel like 6.25 is maybe slightly generous, however I've not ranked him lower as it's true he can sometimes do his famous "steamroll" every once in a while (maybe 5% of games). On the whole he needs to look in the mirror and realise that his team-play is generally atrocious. Worst of all, he is famous for always blaming his team and criticising after every single loss. There is never a game that goes by which he doesn't have an excuse for. His map knowledge is really not much better and very average. He only really wants to play P4 or HJK/V3 type maps. If this was done a couple of months ago I would have given him a 5.5 for map knowledge but in fairness to him he has made an effort to start playing ore maps and other maps he isn't comfortable with so I've reflected that in giving him a very fair score of 6.75/10. Hopefully in time he will improve this map knowledge area of his game and his overall play will improve as a result.

Total average scores: Bart 7.9/10

Oldpr0 7.5/10

Congratulations to bart on being an overall stronger player in March 2021! My opinion only of course!

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