World Championship 2019
over 4 years ago
In a dramatic and nerve-wracking World Championship finals on December 8, Gearbot won the best-of-five series against GKZhukov with 3-2.
Over the past three months, more than 1,000 players from around the globe have battled to reach the finals for a chance to compete for the title of the first KARDS World Champion and for part of the $6,500 prize pool.
The four best players were ready to battle it out at the KARDS Headquarters in Reykjavik, Iceland.
The Four Horsemen
Before we go into the details, let's have a look at our four champions qualified for the semi-finals!
First: Honorable Mentions
This final weekend of the World Championship kicked off with the semi-finals and the battle for 3rd place.
GKZhukov and Gearbot won the semi-final matches relatively clearly against Drogear and Fenrir with 3-0 and 3-1.
Fenrir won the match for the 3rd place against Drogear and scored a solid 3-1 victory.
Reaching the semi-finals of the KARDS World Championship against almost 1000 contestants is a major achievement. Congratulations to Fenrir and Drogear!
The Final Battle
The final battle between Gearbot and GKZhukov couldn't have been more dramatic. The pressure on both players was immense.
While Gearbot was considered by the community to be a tad bit stronger, GKZhukov certainly had shown a convincing and strong presence in the semifinals.
The five final matches showed a tug of war between Gearbot's unconventional and strong LAST RITES + M6A1 SEIRAN combo featuring a more defensive style throughout the opening and middle game.
While Gearbot started strong and scored an early victory 1-0, GKZhukov was able to claw back and evened out the score to 1-1.
The following matches were testimonies for the great skills of both players. With excellent tactical maneuvers, great strategic planning and cunning mind-games, it was an exciting display of what the best KARDS players are capable of and a joy to watch! KARDS is indeed quite easy to learn, but you can also go extremely deep. The battle waged forth and back until the score was 2-2.
The final match had to decide!
This final match was a mini-drama in itself, it was unclear till the end who was going to win. After 11:34 minutes in that final match and 16 turns, Gearbot won the final match and the title of KARDS World Champion 2019.
Fair sportsmanship all around as GKZhukov immediately shook hands and congratulated Gearbot for winning the finals and for becoming the first KARDS World Champion.
The Results
1st place and KARDS World Champion 2019: Gearbot
2nd place: GKZhukov
3rd place: Fenrir
4th place: Drogear
Match for the 1st place: Gearbot vs GKZhukov 3-2
Match for the 3d place: Fenrir vs Drogear 3-1
Semifinals 1: GKZhukov vs Drogear 3-0
Semifinals 2: Gearbot vs Fenrir 3-1
