Lions Clash Day 1 Game 1 Review: Birmingham Bulls v King’s College London

As part of our dedication to working with students from around the UK studying Esports, Lionscreed has taken on Freddie Price who is working in conjunction with Hannah Marie ZT to create this article: Lions Clash Match 1 Review

Match 1 (Ascent):

Birmingham Bulls were the first team on the attack, whilst King’s College pushed back on defense. The Bulls were quick and decisive at pushing B site and planting the spike, with King’s College attempting to counter by going through Anchor and Courtyard. However, Birmingham Bulls successfully hunted the entire team down, decisively winning the first round.

Round 2 saw Birmingham Bulls adopt the same tactic, going straight for B site, planting the spike, and killing Seeny and BlunT at Switch. King’s College tried moving around from A site to B site, however, they ran out of time to defuse the spike, granting Birmingham another win.

After two successful rounds, the Bulls continued along the same tactical path, swinging around to B site from B Main. However, this time, they had Dylxn and Thomas fake A site. Before moving to the B site, the Bulls neglected to watch their backs, resulting in the elimination of Gardz, Dylxn, and Just1ce by Ivolve in the Courtyard – a harsh correction from KCL. Despite the Bull’s best efforts, regaining dominance in the game was impossible and KCL took their first win.

Birmingham used their first loss to quickly learn from their mistakes. A shift in strategy to different sites and a constant eye on their backs led to a decimating 7-game win streak.
Although KCL attempted to claw back some games before switching to attack, they ultimately faced a clean defeat from the Birmingham Bulls.Although the Bulls impressively dominated the first half of the game, King’s College was still a formidable opponent – especially Kmat and Rayyan, who got some imposing kills at certain rounds.

King’s College commenced their first attack through Gelato where they headed to B site. From here they killed nearly all of Bull’s players, leaving Dylxn as the last player to 1v5. Eventually, they found and eliminated him at Anchor by mkat, making that King’s College’s first win in the second half.

In the second round, King’s College established the same strategy to go through mid however, they changed their plans as Seeny gets suppressed by Gurdz’s Zero/Point ability. As a result, King’s College pushed A site instead, planting the spike and waiting for the Bulls to counterattack. Dylxn, Melon, and Thomas move towards Scaffolding where they meet an awkward fate, resulting in another win for King’s College.

In the 16th round, King’s College moved swiftly towards B site, about to plant the spike. However, Thomas annihilates the King College team, earning himself an Ace – a handy win for the Bulls.

The 17th round was the most interesting, as the Bulls impatiently attacked King’s College first by dashing through Bench towards Well where they managed a quick triple kill. However, Ivolve and Seeny get their revenge back as they destroyed them all. Making that the quickest round in the whole match.

King’s College won the 18th round with a total wipeout at A Main and Lion, where Bath thought they could sneak up against their opponents from behind. However, King’s College suffered the same fate as they were wiped out in the 18th round by Gurdz who got an impeccable Ace at A-Main.

At the last round of the game, King’s College tried to seek another chance for a win at A site again, which allowed them to get the spike planted. However, the Bulls did not allow that, successfully eliminating them all. Birmingham Bulls became the winners of the first game.

Match 2 (Fracture):

The second half shows King’s College as the attackers, whilst the Birmingham Bulls were the defenders. In the first round King’s College moved swiftly towards B site planting the spike, whilst killing two players. The Bulls reacted to this confidently by trying to play it safe. However, the bulls failed, being eliminated by King’s College, granting the College’s first win of the first half.

The second round saw some of King’s College players going for B site again, whilst mkat and Ivolve were watching A dish. The Bulls reacted to this instantly as they dashed from A to B site, to assist their teammates in eliminating the whole of King’s College – a more commanding performance from the Bulls.

In the third round, King’s College fakes going to B site and heads A site instead. However, on the way, there were intensive trades between both teams at the attacker’s spawn. This caused King College to leave the spike, making them lose the round as they couldn’t get the spike in time to plant it. Birmingham Bulls were able to take the win, continuing the trade-off between the two teams.

In the 4th round, King’s College made an aggressive push towards B site, killing Thomas and Gurdz on the way. Both teams suffered high losses during the trades which turned into an intensive 1v1 between Ivolve and Just1ce. Ivolve skillfully won the fight making a win for King’s College.

In the 5th round, King’s College virtually wiped out the Birmingham Bulls team at A Dish, which left Melon to do a 1v5 in A Hall. Melon shows that they’re trying their best to fight, killing one player. However, King’s College would slowly pincer him to win the round. Birmingham Bulls would astonishingly retake it by winning four rounds in a row, until King’s College stop’s the winning streak, taking the last two rounds of the first half.

Birmingham Bulls started off their first round of the second half by steadily attacking B site through Attack Side Bridge. However, King’s College’s players aggressively pushed in, piercing them from both sides between A Gate and B Bench. This tactic resulted in a triumphant win for King’s College.

After what appeared to be a more dominant run, the Kings would, unfortunately, lose their winning streak in the 14th round as the Bulls impressively brought it back, winning 5 rounds in a row and making the score 11-8 to them.

Nevertheless, King’s College ensured to bring it back at the 20th round where they eradicated the whole of Birmingham Bulls. Between rounds 20 and 22 King’s College secured their score with the Bulls by equalizing it at 11-11. However, after an intensive 1v2 in the last two rounds Birmingham Bulls wins the Best of 3 with 2-0.

Final Overview:

Both teams put on an impressive display, demonstrating that they are here to win at Lions Clash. Although Birmingham Bulls eventually snatched victory from the hands of King’s College London, both had extremely notable performances and should not be underestimated for the remainder of the tournament!