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!