Ladies and gentlemen, the long-awaited moment has arrived!

After several weeks of apparent lack of fighting in Westeros, today marks the start of what many consider to be the second most important competition, in which all alliances are vying for the title of champion.

The first six battles will decide which of them are worthy of advancing to the playoff phase, where the most formidable factions will clash in battles from within and without... Welcome to Siege of Winterfell!

Lining up on the battlefield today, on one side we have HOH:

The powerful alliance led by Spimmer and his leadership are strong candidates to secure a place in the playoffs at the end of the regular season. Among the most formidable members are warriors of the caliber of R0nY, BloodWick, and Tardis, all three of whom need no introduction. They will undoubtedly try to lead their teammates throughout the season in numerous battles starting today.

Today, however, the battle will not be easy for them. Standing in their way in a less than fortunate matchup will be one of the most feared alliances in SoW, with their terrifyingly effective strategies. With their proud purple and gold banners, waiting impatiently for the match to begin is...

FFS

The leader QUEENY, flanked by the incredible Josehf, Dreamon, and an old acquaintance, SiNa, who left HOH last season to join FFS, are perhaps among the toughest rivals to face at the start of the season. Their strategies, honed over years of fierce battles, would give them a significant advantage in this first round. However, it will not be a walk in the park for them either. HOH has a strong roster, and with the right strategies, the match could be decided in the final seconds. 

“Initially, we will split into two large factions between Armory and HotSprings, and depending on how the battles there go, we will decide what to do next.” This was the strategy decided by the HOH leadership, which is quite risky against a rival like FFS, who will surely have both a plan B and a plan C to counterattack if plan A fails. Will it be the winning move for them? 

 The echo of the wind could be heard on the battlefield along with the sound of the armor of the troops lined up awaiting the imminent start of the battle. The clouds above their heads covered the dark sky, giving the battlefield a gloomy atmosphere. 

Both alliances decided to split up evenly and aim to conquer the two most important buildings in the match in order to obtain their buffs: Armory and HotSprings!

In the early stages of the clash between the two factions, on the eastern side of the battlefield near HotSprings, HOH had numerical superiority and managed to make its presence felt on its rivals. Neik and his companions gained possession of the position during the battle against their rivals. “Let's keep it up,” exclaimed the member, seeing his faction successfully repel such a strong rival.

Meanwhile, in Armory, however, the situation was completely reversed in favor of FFS, who evidently deployed their best fighters to take possession of the latter, managing to repel HOH's defense almost effortlessly and taking possession of the location! In this first phase of the battle, the two alliances were evenly matched.

Suddenly, the FFS members began to move away from the hot zone of combat, targeting other positions. “What are they up to?” said Neik. The answer came shortly thereafter...

QUEENY and his loyal allies decided to immediately target the two positions close to Winterfel controlled by HOH in order to isolate them. As masters of SoW, the FFS leadership knew what needed to be done to win these hard-fought matches. While they may not have been able to give their best in AC, it was a different story for this type of battle.

In addition to conquering Stark Stronghold 2, the rivals wasted no time in capturing the first loot of the match, which gave them a significant advantage in this early stage of the battle. Caught off guard, the HOH members were busy recapturing the stronghold and did not have the time to pursue and counter their opponents. It was a very good strategic move by the FFS leadership.

“It's only the first loot, let's recapture the stronghold and defend HotSprings” was the clear message from the HOH leadership, which acted more as a response to their rivals' actions while awaiting an FFS offensive. 

The conquest of Stark Stronghold 2 was not easy at all: determined to keep HOH forces busy there, our opponents managed to delay its capture as long as possible, but in the end, thanks to our numerical superiority and a favorable position on the battlefield, it happened.

Next, Neik and his group headed straight for HotSprings without wasting a moment. As expected, it was the target of FFS since Armory was firmly in their hands. Neither alliance wanted to give an inch to their rivals: for FFS, it meant putting HOH in serious difficulty due to their already obvious disadvantage in terms of buildings in their possession on the battlefield, while for HOH, it was their lifeline to stay afloat in the match, so they had to defend it at all costs!

After a tough and intense battle, however, it was HOH that prevailed in defending it, but the price to pay for this was high because, using the building as a distraction for their rivals, the second loot of the match was also brought to safety by QUEENY and her allies.

The course of the match could not satisfy Spimmer and the alliance leadership, who saw themselves at a clear disadvantage. If they wanted to counter their rivals' dominance, they had to come up with something.

“Let's try a thrust into Stronghold Greyjoy 2” was the plan decided by the command. They wanted to try to emulate the tactic used by FFS, trying to drive them away from Winterfell by keeping them busy during the conquest of the third loot.

Neik and his companions found themselves fighting against a small FFS defense at the target.

However, QUEENY and her forces arrived in large numbers to reinforce the stronghold's defenses. Its crucial position required maximum effort to prevent their rivals from turning the tide of the match. Once they gained numerical superiority, the battle swung in their favor, and they managed to repel Neik and his companions.

The point of no return for HOH came next: unable to keep up with FFS after being defeated in Stronghold Greyjoy 2, they ended up unable to counter even the conquest of the third loot of the match, which was almost like a sentence of defeat for them, the score gap weighing heavily on their morale.  

With their huge advantage, FFS had nothing else to do but repel the HOH members who were now wandering around the battlefield without any real strategy to adopt.

However, the attack on Stronghold Stark 1 was successfully repelled by Neik and his companions: the few willing to suffer in order to gain as many points as possible. Subsequently, however, during the second wave, the siege was much more decisive and, with a different level of effectiveness on the part of Josef and his allies, FFS managed to prevail in this last position as well.

Neik did not want to give up, however, and after being repelled, he headed to Outpost Stark 1 in an attempt to help stop the advance of the rival army. But even there, the outcome of the battle was one-sided.

Determined to at least get as many kills as possible, the HOH member headed to the last building in his alliance's hands: Outpost Stark 2. Despite his efforts, however, the significant numerical disadvantage resulted in an uneven battle for his spears, who were surrounded by rival forces and defeated. 

In the final stages of the match, with the outcome already largely decided, FFS forces surrounded the rival base, preventing HOH members from counterattacking. Fighters who attempted to take the paths to the positions were quickly defeated, thanks to FFS's moral advantage and numerical superiority.

The battle was effectively over, with FFS winning by a large margin!

MVP

The best fighters of the match were:

R0nY for HOH. The HOH member was among the last to throw in the towel, showing great dedication and sacrifice in an attempt to turn the match around. If half of his teammates had had his desire and determination, the match would not have ended so easily.

Josehf for FFS. The formidable FFS fighter, known for the monstrous effectiveness of his Spears, once again proved to be one of the most formidable rivals. In one-on-one matches, defeat was certain for almost all HOH members against him.

“It wasn't the start to the season we hoped for, but we knew the strength and potential of FFS. They are an alliance that is strongly focused on this event at the expense of AC, and a negative result against them is to be expected. Let's prepare ourselves as best we can for the second round,” was the message from the leadership in an attempt to lift spirits before returning to their respective kingdoms.

Neik knew they were right, and despite the heavy defeat, it was accepted without much drama. Today's rivals have always been strong contenders for the SoW championship title. “It's only the first match of the season,” he said to his ally Ferrious on the way back to K345. In the past, he would get caught up in his emotions and react negatively to every defeat, but this time he took it more maturely.

Who will they face in the second round? Will they manage to get their first win, or is a cruel twist of fate just around the corner for HOH? Let's find out together!