What a competition it has been! We saw 16 teams battle each other for weeks and weeks, with many surprises, shocks, comeback victories and other dramatic moments to sustain the intrigue and excitement along the way. But in the very end, it was Bravo Sucks At Tetris who prevailed above everyone else so congratulations to them. They kicked off map 1 with a strong lead and although they appeared a bit shaky in some areas, they expanded that lead heading into the finale to the point where momentum was clearly in their favour. Commiserations must go to Lovebone who put in an unbelievable effort to make it as far as the grand final itself, they even had a great result in map 2 which looked as though it could've spurred a comeback but unfortunately it was not to be.

As far as prize money is concerned, Lotus, the founder of FoundTyme, will be the one to contact and pay the official players of each of the 3 teams that made it furthest in the competition. Here are the official top 3 teams of the 2018 Mavwar Hype Tournament with their backup players marked in brackets:

1st place – Bravo Sucks At Tetris – Purple, Misu, Ragecake (Nagi, Mr. Taco)
2nd place – Lovebone – Rails Barlow, Verbanski, Lobster Facts, Vanille (Blake)
3rd place – Pink Slip – Trice, Simba, Reflecter, Impressive (Rimrocka)

There could be many discussions on the very subjective topic of who is the true MVP of the tournament. But you, the public, have spoken in the polls throughout the course of the tournament, and the one who accrued the most of your votes was none other than Purple. Yes, you've decided that the new Mavwar champion deserves the most money and knowing him, Purple is no stranger to having dollar bills stuffed down his garments!

As for the MIP award, there were 4 nominees to consider in terms of who had improved the most from before the tournament began up until the moment it finished. One was 'god Lupe' who had a strong run with Coach Dave's Academy. Another was Impressive who had a few strong performances on the way to helping Pink Slip reach 3rd place. Then there was Ragecake, a self-proclaimed 'pot 5 player' before the tournament began and who at one point very nearly threw in the towel during the group phase. However, she recovered enough from that moment to pull off one of the most incredible comebacks for any individual player of any calibre in any competition, and was rewarded with a championship title for all her efforts and troubles.

But despite what the other nominees accomplished, the majority of the tournament staff (myself included) concurred that the one player who improved the most out of all that competed was Vanille from Lovebone. For a #4 player in the team, she rarely ever put a foot wrong, played to standard and put in strong performances game after game without fail, and seemed not just to be consistent but also steadily improve. With stacks of potential, her individual progression combined with the team-building effort and atmosphere of Lovebone was pretty much the ideal place for her to thrive in, and the public even took notice when they declared her the MVP of Lovebone's semi final match against Pink Slip! Watch out for Vanille in the future!

MVP Winner – Purple
MIP Winner – Vanille

The following credits are due for those who helped make this tournament what it was, thus we would like to thank:

Sponsors: FoundTyme (Lotus), MK, Dax, El Peri, Reeech

Server Host: eFreak

Server Admin: MK

Streamers: xBye, Infested Soul, Kitty, Vanille, Hollywood

Casters: Hollywood, Rails Barlow, VeryTrackDisco, Blake, Alexi, Infested Soul, TechnoBeaver, Bravo, Brightness, Dragon, Purple, xBye, Liquor, ProdigySim, Kissme

uMod Config: Epilemic

Articles: Dragon

Tournament Poster: Trice

Volunteer Team Flag Designer: Natasha

Trailer Cinematic Clips: BeejieBean

Trailer Intro: Vanille

And on a final note, we say a massive thank you to all who entered and competed in the tournament and provided us with many entertaining moments, and to all the viewers who tuned in throughout the competition to witness all the action, drama and clutch moments that decorated the entire event. Thank you and goodbye!

So apparently, there's another MVP vote open to settle the tie of total votes between Purple and Trice who each have 4 votes. Whoever has the most votes will win the MVP award. Go now to https://mavwar.com/ and vote for who you believe played best across the entire tournament!

The moment of truth we've all been waiting for is finally upon us! 16 teams entered the competition, and these 2 teams are the only ones to have reached the end of the road. The match to conclude the MavWar Hype Tournament is:

GAME 32 – BRAVO SUCKS AT TETRIS VS LOVEBONE – DIESCRAPER REDUX @ 22:00 EST FRIDAY AUGUST 3RD

Who would've predicted before the tournament even began, that these two teams would be fighting each other in the grand final? Despite the mass variety of predictions, the votes for other teams being 'certain victors' based on mere paper-theory alone, the cries and complaints about teams being overstacked or understacked, and all the hurdles and obstacles that they've had to overcome, both these teams performed better than the rest of the competition in those moments WHEN it mattered most! And who would've thought that two teams from the same opening group as each other no less, would enjoy a reunion at the final stage of this competition?

When they played against each other on Hard Rain in Game 12, Bravo Sucks At Tetris was actually leading against Lovebone and maintained that lead for 4 chapters straight. That is until the finale where the latter team staged an incredible comeback when Blake's tank managed to secure a wipe and Ragecake's tank did not, which gifted Lovebone victory in that game and subsequently, the top position of Group D as well. 20 games later, they will rematch each other on Diescraper Redux which is a 4-map custom campaign, the only custom campaign which received unanimous votes from the team captains who even bothered to weigh in on the vote when it was announced multiple times before the tournament went live. So who are the real favourites heading into the grand final?

Since Game 12, Purple's team recovered by stomping Beach Please, sealing a dramatic comeback victory against Group C winners Natus Vincere, and then holding their edge over Coach Dave's Academy in a very close semi final match. Bravo Sucks At Tetris have been steadily growing as the tournament has progressed and although they still have their weak points, they've always managed to do what must be done and persevere in tough situations to reach the grand final.

Team captain Purple has been in this situation many times before; he has by far the most amount of experience in matches such as these which could prove to be invaluable for this grand final and only a few players in history could match his record of achievements and tournament success over the many years.

Lovebone have been relentless; constantly scrimming whoever, wherever, whenever. They effortlessly dispatched of The Gang to seal top spot in Group D, they held their nerve in a tense finale on Blood Harvest to see off the threat of :Thinking: and then controlled the semi final on Urban Flight to deny Pink Slip at the penultimate hurdle. In speaking with Rails Barlow before the tournament even went live, he accepted the team that he had despite offers made to him for roster changes, despite the many claims that his team was understacked or had no chance of winning the tournament based on paper-theory.

The fact that Lovebone is in the grand final is not just a success story in itself, it is also proof that with enough effort, enough practice and enough motivation, a true team leader can guide their team to do and achieve things by working with their team rather than against it or trying to belittle it despite whatever preconceived notions or paper-theory claims people are so fond of spouting all over the place. It's one thing being a good player, but it's a totally different thing being a good leader! And that is something the MavWar Hype Tournament has highlighted to a fair degree.

Typical predictions may say that paper-theory favours Purple's team, but Rails Barlow's crew has proven again and again that that counts for little when you practise, rinse and repeat. Lovebone's activity also places them in great stead when it comes to custom campaigns and with the setting being a custom campaign, it's expected to be a very close match. In fact, for this grand final match every tank in each chapter will be made even to ensure it remains closely-matched!

Also, both team captains have a shot at winning the MVP award once the tournament is finished, being tied on 3 votes each. Trice currently leads the tables with 4 votes but should either Purple or Rails Barlow be voted MVP in Game 32, their 4 votes will take precedence by virtue of their tally of votes including the biggest match of the entire competition.

Speaking of Trice, he captained Pink Slip in the 3rd place match as they staged yet another comeback victory of many we have seen throughout the tournament. Coach Dave's Academy was leading after 3 chapters, but Pink Slip capitalised on a major opportunity in map 4 to destroy the opposing team's tank and not only reach the safe room but with significant bonus in their possession, giving them a 500-point lead heading into the finale. They left nothing to chance and survived two tanks to reach the chopper and take the game further away from David's bunch. Commiserations to Coach Dave's Academy for a valiant effort throughout the competition. But congratulations to Pink Slip for finishing in the top three and earning themselves a slice of the prize money which they will receive when the tournament is over!

And finally, the winner of the MIP award will also be announced in the wake of the grand final along with the winner of the MVP award. The staff have been reviewing the footage of the nominees across the entire tournament, while taking into consideration their pot level, their position in the team and where they were at before the tournament began.

In closing, we say thank you, good luck to both teams in the grand final and may the best team win!

Here is the upcoming game for 3rd place. This match is to be concluded before the deadline expires this Sunday and is as follows:

Game 31 – Coach Dave's Academy vs Pink Slip – No Mercy @ 21:00 EST Sunday July 29th

For both of these teams, Game 31 wasn't the final match of the tournament that either were hoping to play in. But nevertheless, there is prize money up for grabs for those who finish in the top 3 of the tournament, thus there is still incentive to play on despite the knowledge of not becoming the ultimate victors of the competition. As for the grand final, it will not take place until next week and will have a separate announcement to confirm it.

Game 29 on Dead Before Dawn was perhaps the most anticipated semi final match – a direct contest between two highly-decorated veterans of competitive L4D2 – Asian vs Purple. While the former's team had very strong form on the back of two dominant match victories in succession, the latter seemed to possess more past experience and knowledge of the lengthy and enduring custom campaign.

What ensued was a very close game between both teams. However, the momentum was always slightly in favour of Bravo Sucks At Tetris as they got a very marginal lead in map 1 and constantly edged ahead of Coach Dave's Academy on points in every single chapter. Purple's team even managed to reach the safe room of the lengthy maps 3 and 4. On average though, the difference between both teams was only about 100 points per chapter!

David might rue the missed opportunity when his survivor team looked in fantastic shape in map 3 without a single incap heading towards a late tank spawn in the map. This was without a doubt THE key moment of the entire match because despite all the pressure, Ragecake controlled her tank adequately enough to get an early incap on Leki and the support backed her up to seal a wipe and shut down the opposing team's momentum.

Game 30 on Urban Flight was a very similar story – Lovebone constantly edging their advantage chapter after chapter to make life harder for Pink Slip. The former clearly practised the custom campaign in advance far more than the latter team did but despite that, Trice's team still kept themselves in contention for the whole duration. But at no point during the match did it seem as if there was a key moment of any kind where if Pink Slip had dome something differently, the outcome would have been different too.

So in the end, the Trice factor clearly wasn't enough at this stage of the competition to keep the man himself on course for a hat-trick of Mavwar tournament titles. He'll have his work cut out to even finish in the top 3 against David's team. Will it be a close game, or will one team thrash the other in fury and go out with a bang?

In other news, we can confirm that the captains have nominated their team members for the MIP award at the end of the competition. But due to the nature of how MVP voting has transpired and the fact that there is prize money on the line for this award too, we decided NOT to open a public voting poll. Instead, it will be discussed and voted on by tournament staff only to fairly determine which nominee truly has improved the most and deserves the award. Here are the nominees:

Bravo Sucks At Tetris – Ragecake
Lovebone – Vanille
Coach Dave's Academy – Lupe
Pink Slip - Impressive

The table of MVP awards as it stands after the semi finals! It lists only the players whose teams are still in the competition and the eliminated players who have more than one MVP vote. Remember, the highest tally of awards at the end of the season, will determine who wins MVP of the tournament.

Rails Barlow (3)
Purple (3)
Trice (3)
Dusty (3)
Bravo (3)
Lupe (2)
Vanille (1)
David (1)
Leki (1)

That is all. Thank you and good luck!

Here are the upcoming games for the tournament semi finals. These matches are to be concluded before the deadline expires this Sunday and they are as follows:

Game 29 – Coach Dave's Academy vs Bravo Sucks At Tetris – Dead Before Dawn @ 21:00 EST Sunday July 22nd

Game 30 – Pink Slip vs Lovebone – Urban Flight @ 21:00 EST Monday July 23rd

Here are the download links for the two custom campaigns:

Dead Before Dawn - https://www.gamemaps.com/details/2268

Urban Flight - https://www.gamemaps.com/details/2639

Oh boy, the quarter finals sure as hell did NOT disappoint! It all began the previous week with Lovebone playing a thrilling match against :Thinking: on Blood Harvest. Before the tournament went live, the former team were regarded as THE underdog team of the entire competition, with the latter team regarded as heavy favourites by many to win the entire thing.

But that was not the reality in Game 25, as Rails Barlow captained his team and sealed their stamp on victory with emphatic style in the finale, with a death-charge straight out of the safe room door and a death-punch from the intro tank! Lovebone might still be underdogs in the eyes of some, but they are playing regularly and consistently enough where that label might not be so accurate anymore. They have a legitimately strong chance of becoming the champions!

In Game 26, Natus Vincere were missing both Disco and Twobar and thus had to field BOTH of their backup players. Despite that, they took control of proceedings out of the starting block by punishing Bravo Sucks At Tetris for being off-form in the first two maps. However, Purple made a strategical decision which influenced his team's upshot in form in map 3, culminating in a sizeable bonus, enough to take the lead going into the finale. And again, the team captain was there to seal the wipe with the intro tank and secure a comeback victory on Swamp Fever.

Purple's team started off this competition slowly, but they are gradually starting to gain more traction and even though they scored a remarkable 3.8k points on Swamp considering how many multicaps and booms they sustained, there's a LOT they could do to improve on that performance. They're a strong contender to win the MavWar tournament and yet somehow, we've still yet to see the best of Bravo Sucks At Tetris!

Game 27 may not have been anticipated as match of the week, but it sure as hell takes the accolade! Warriors of Heaven went into the match undefeated from the group stage, and looked like the favourites to advance onwards when they took the lead on Dead Air and maintained it for 3 maps. However, a big swing occurred in map 4 with Pink Slip reaching the safe room with a bit of bonus, but enough to grab a lead of 300 points going into the finale.

Pink Slip got wiped by the second tank in the hands of Dole and when sides were swapped, Bravo and his team looked like they could pull off yet another comeback victory of their own making. But Whishky died and with a last-gasp smoker-pull into a spit puddle, Warriors' bonus was lowered enough to deny them a win at the very death. In terms of the final score, it's the closest game of the tournament; separated by 22 points, in favour of Pink Slip! Trice, a reigning double-champion of the two previous MavWar tournaments, is proving he has a knack for this type of competition. However, will it be enough to win him a hat-trick of titles?

And in the last quarter final match of Game 28, the most anticipated match of the week turned out to be a shock many were not expecting. Coach Dave's Academy had been putting in more practice than what they usually did during the group stage and it really paid off on Dead Center; they were in complete control of the game against Lemon Party and had a final score which was almost double what Dusty's team could muster. It was a very impressive performance from Asian and his crew and it proved once again that no matter who you are, there are no guarantees of any kind in a tournament like this!

Lemon Party were one of the most on-form teams in the competition heading into the knockout stage, but Dead Center always has the potential for upsetting the established order and in that chaos, Coach Dave's Academy just blitzed it the entire way. Where do David and his disciples go from here though? They've won their last two games convincingly by extensive margins, and against teams who were not exactly the weakest of the competition either. Has Coach Dave's Academy just instated themselves as the hot new favourites to become the MavWar Hype champions?

With the final four teams that are still in play, we now have a bizarre situation where nobody has been undefeated. In addition to that, Lovebone are the only team still in the competition to have won their group in the opening stage of the tournament and while both themselves and Bravo Sucks At Tetris are still representing Group D in the semi finals, their success means that all the remnants of Group C have been knocked out. To further complicate the big picture, both Coach Dave's Academy and Pink Slip lost to teams during the group stage who were knocked out in the quarter finals and are no longer present to stand in their way. Who can predict how this will end?!

Now that we have reached the semi finals, the time has come for the captains of the remaining four teams to think about who to nominate for the MIP award at the end of the tournament. MIP (Most Improved Player) is where the captain nominates a main player (not a backup player or the captains themselves) from their roster who they believe has made the biggest jump in personal development since the time they first started playing for the team. The team captains will then inform the admins of their nominations, and the tournament staff will review each nominee and determine who is the worthiest winner of the MIP award.

The table of MVP awards as it stands after the quarter finals! It has been shortened to list only the players whose teams are still in the competition and the eliminated players who have more than one MVP vote. Remember, the highest tally of awards at the end of the season, will determine who wins MVP of the tournament.

Rails Barlow (3)
Purple (3)
Trice (3)
Dusty (3)
Bravo (3)
David (1)
Leki (1)
Lupe (1)

That is all. Thank you and good luck!