SoW finals!

The ultimate Siege tournament had reached its climax, the finals were here and everyone was excited for them, awaiting to see what NBe had planned for the fight. For BaN, the reigning champions, this was the moment they had been building toward all season and the expectations were high on them, everyone in Westeros saw them as the favourites to win it all. Ashun could barely contain his excitement as he prepared for the battle ahead, eager to prove himself in the most important match of the tournament.

Their opponents, NBe, were a formidable alliance led by an experienced strategist as well, Arto. Unlike some previous opponents, NBe wasn’t aiming for a head-on fight, but they were not there to save resources either, they were ready with strategies in how to combat their opponents. They knew BaN’s strength was too great to duel them directly so they instead planned around desynchronizing BaN’s movements and exploiting any cracks in their coordination to obtain points on the map from buildings. It was a similar strategy to the one that worked against WxC, but unlike them, MooON, the BaN strategist, was on an entirely other level, Ashun thought.

As the match began, the battlefield was filled with tension on both sides, and anxiety from the pressure kicked in for Ashun, he was still lacking experience on this front. The tactics which MooON employed at the start were identical to the ones against NBe from across the seasons: she created an Armory team, a Hot Springs team, a Winterfell team, and an interception team. They were designed specifically to counteract the map movement that NBe was going to attempt, as Arto was a veteran in doing so. MooON wanted to instead force them into head-on fights.

NBe opened the match by sending their forces to both sides of the map, splitting their army between the Armory and the Hot Springs roughly equally. It was a bold and risky move normally but it made sense for their plan. It was designed to stretch BaN’s defenses and disrupt their carefully laid plans, as they had their armies split out much more. The Armory team however, quickly overwhelmed the NBe fighters on the left flank, securing the building with after a bit of resistance, but it was where the most fighters were not taken from, so it was only normal. But the Hot Springs was a different story.

Ashun, stationed with the Hot Springs team, found himself in the thick of the battle, whilst not being able to fully focus on the battle at hand, as he was looking at many comrades die next to him. NBe’s fighters were relentless, and they were not wasting any second in an attempt to throw the map into chaos, an alliance truly worthy of being in the finals. Ashun struggled to keep up with the chaos around him, the clashing of weapons, the shouts of his comrades, and his lack of experience compared to everyone else made their mark known. For a moment, doubt crept into his mind. Was he ready for this? Could he stand strong in the face of such fierce opposition?

But as the battle raged on, Ashun took a deep breath and steadied himself, remembering that his alliance has got his back, MooON was ready for this scenario. Even when it feels overwhelming, trust the plan, that was the way forward for Ashun. Thus he pushed through his fears and fought back with renewed determination.

But despite his and everyone else's efforts, BaN lost control of the Hot Springs. NBe, immediately rushed with a bold push toward BaN’s base. It was a decisive move, one that could turn the tide of the match if executed successfully. But MooON had anticipated this maneuver and had reinforcements that were already there to win the fight. When NBe’s army arrived, they found themselves face-to-face with the full strength of BaN's right side and intercepting army.

The clash at the base was ferocious, NBe threw everything they had into the attempt to capture the base, hoping to break BaN’s defenses and secure chaos on the battlefield afterwards. Ashun, now at the base, fought alongside his alliance with everything he had, the overwhelming pressure he had felt earlier was gone, replaced by a sense of purpose and unity. And together, they had come out on top, they had won this.

With their base secured, BaN shifted their focus to Winterfell, where NBe, having lost much of their army in the failed base assault, could no longer contest the critical resources. BaN quickly secured them in return to gain a decisive lead early on, that they planned to build onto. But the match was far from over. and what followed was a masterclass in strategists clashing, Arto and MooON were going all out!

NBe attempted to regain control of the map by targeting isolated buildings and making surprise pushes. But MooON was always one step ahead forcing NBe into head-on fights, battles they could not win against BaN’s better strength. Every move Arto made was countered with precision, and every attempt to regain the upper hand was met with resistance.

The battlefield became like a chessboard, with armies as the pieces and buildings as the prizes. For Ashun, it was amazing to watch it unveil, especially as part of the fight itself. After an hour of relentless fighting, BaN emerged victorious thanks to the strategies employed by MooON.

Ashun couldn’t help but smile as he looked around at his alliance mates, their faces glowing with pride and joy. They had done it, they were the champions once again. The season had been filled with challenges, triumphs, and lessons for Ashun, it was a great experience overall that he wished to relive next season.

BaN celebrated their hard-fought victory, already dreaming of defending their title next season. The ultimate Siege tournament was over, but the bonds forged on the battlefield and the lessons learned would carry them forward. Together, they were ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.