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[Review] Analysis of AoW vs HK in IBL in Infinity Kingdom

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Article Publish : 05/03/2026 16:43

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💠Introduction

What’s up, folks? Welcome back to my Illusion Battlefield League(IBL) series, where I take a closer look at different matches. The IBL tournament differs from regular IB in that everyone will construct marches and skill builds using a fixed set of skills. At different stages of the tournament, more immortals and skills will become available. Everyone has access to the same immortals and the same skills. Castle skins and Lord Talents do not affect the more fast-paced battles of IBL. Relocations and marching speed are also faster. The event is one of the most entertaining events in Infinity Kingdom, and players enjoy spectating, almost like a sporting event. In this article, I’m going to take a closer look at the match between Server 38’s Art of War(AoW) and Server 209’s Hungry Kitties(HK).

💠Table of Contents

Overview
Starting Positions and Talents
AoW
HK
Tower 1
Tower 4
Central Tower
Altars
Home Towers
Play-by-Play
Summary

💠Overview

AoW enters the matchup as the defending champion and clear favorite after going 8–0 in the first phase, then demolishing SPS, HMB, and DAM in Group Elimination before beating ToW and HOT in the Top 16 Duels. Their semifinal against SPS was largely used to experiment, showing how comfortable they were with their bracket position. HK has also had an impressive run, going 4–0 in the first phase, defeating UiP, DAM, and NG+ in Group Elimination, then beating GOD and upsetting Asgards before experimenting against their own farm alliance. Both teams have looked strong, but AoW’s championship pedigree, consistency, and experience should give them the upper hand.

💠Starting Positions and Talents

AoW

Started with 26 players and ended with 30
11 Attack talents
10 Defense talents
5 Support talents

Started with 28 players and ended with 30
12 Attack talents
14 Defense talents
2 Support talent

💠Tower 1

At Tower 1, AoW sent 8 players while HK committed 12, giving HK the early numbers advantage. Two HK players overlapped while trying to block AoW relocations on the bottom side of the tower, which slightly weakened their setup. The decision to contest Tower 1 fits the recent trend of teams moving back toward fighting all three neutral objectives, since opponents have been leaving disadvantage towers uncontested and weakening the opposite tower to stack the center.

💠Tower 4

At Tower 4, AoW sent 8 players while HK committed 10 with one overlap. HK only attempted to block one corner relocation, likely because they lacked strong edge spawns to contest more aggressively. However, their overall formation was messy, with too many gaps and open spots around the tower, which could slow support and give AoW room to move up.

💠Central Tower

AoW sent 8 players to the Central Tower while HK chose to give it up entirely in the opening minutes. That puts immediate pressure on HK to win both side towers before the Central Tower opens, because once AoW captures the middle, HK will be racing against the clock. If HK fails to secure both outer objectives quickly, AoW’s control of the center should erase the early deficit and give them the stronger long-term position.

💠Altars

AoW opted not to send anyone to either altar. HK sent two players to the Moon Altar.

💠Home Towers

AoW had two guards defending their home tower while HK had four at theirs.

💠Play-by-Play

At Tower 1, AoW opened by blocking three relocations, immediately wiping out HK’s initial numbers advantage. AoW drew first blood six minutes into the match, and both teams responded by sending two more players to the tower. AoW moved into the open front-row spots, zeroed another HK player, and continued pushing forward despite HK answering with a kill of their own. Over time, AoW steadily forced HK back and captured the tower at the 8-minute mark. Since HK needed early control of the side towers after giving up the center, losing Tower 1 first put them in an uphill battle for the rest of the match.

At Tower 4, HK opened by blocking one relocation, but AoW struck first by zeroing one HK player. AoW removed another shortly after, though they were taking heavy damage in return. HK continued reinforcing Tower 4 while AoW shifted priority toward Tower 1, leaving fewer resources to contest the fight. It took HK time to grind through the remaining defenders, but they eventually zeroed enough AoW players to take control. With AoW no longer sending reinforcements back, HK captured Tower 4 at the 18-minute mark, securing their first objective of the match.

At the Central Tower, HK’s decision to concede the objective gave AoW uncontested control of the area. AoW quickly surrounded the tower, secured optimal positioning, and captured it at the 12-minute mark without any resistance.

At the 7-minute mark, HK began pressuring AoW’s home tower, with two players relocating in from the Moon Altar while AoW failed to destroy either relocation. A few more HK members joined the invasion, but AoW quickly reinforced from Tower 1 and spawn. As more AoW players arrived, they outnumbered the invaders, stopped the push, and zeroed the remaining HK attackers. With the defense stabilized, AoW immediately turned the momentum around and began moving toward HK’s home tower.

Instead of abandoning the play, HK shifted roughly a third of their team toward the Central Tower and AoW’s home tower. AoW sent a couple of players toward HK’s home tower, but they were zeroed before reaching the objective. HK kept pressing AoW’s home tower, but AoW had nearly half their roster defending and HK could not break through. Meanwhile, AoW continued building their lead, reaching a 26,000-point advantage with 25 minutes remaining. Once the match was mathematically out of reach, AoW teleported to HK’s home tower and stole it to close out the game.

💠Summary

AoW defeated HK 100,000 to 44,600, with Fring earning MVP. HK’s early strategy was poor, mainly because they conceded the Central Tower when they should have sent the Tower 1 and Moon Altar players there instead. The altar play was a major waste of time, and although HK traded well in direct fights, their rotations were messy and overcommitted to AoW’s home tower, which AoW defended comfortably. AoW controlled the match, defended their championship, and HK never truly got close to winning.