Gamescom 19 Tournament Analysis
Our first tournament at a public convention was well received by the audience: full rows and an audience cheering on the teams to do their best.
Team performance
Trelleborg continues to be at the top of their game-winning the Gamescom 19 tournament, even without their team captain Felix “flxha” Hasenberger, who did not make it to the tournament. Krone, John Deere and Landeier by Astragon continued to show strong performances as well, further cementing their strong standing in the league. John Deere even managed to be the first team to score 800 points or more in an official FSL match during the Friday qualifier round.
But one team stood out and surprised everybody: team Horsch. Their tactic based on the Fendt Ideal really took everybody by surprise. It secured Horsch a slot in the final and their first Circuit Points in this season. Horsch was stopped by Trelleborg in the end, but not without winning one of the matches in the BO3 final.
| Rank | Team | Circuit Points |
Average Points per Match |
Average Bails per Match |
Average Wheat per Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trelleborg | 180 | 693 | 28 | 25.682 |
| 2 | Krone | 100 | 630 | 28 | 23.360 |
| 3 | Landeier by Astragon | 80 | 536 | 26 | 23.706 |
| 3 | John Deere | 80 | 572 | 28 | 24.047 |
| 5 | Horsch | 70 | 733 | 33 | 24.741 |
| 5 | Landwirtschaft 3.0 | 70 | 541 | 25 | 24.166 |
| 7 | Amazone | 30 | |||
| 7 | BG Powered by Stark | 30 | 540 | 28 | 23.117 |
| 7 | Grimme | 30 | 422 | 19 | 22.035 |
| 7 | Lindner | 30 | |||
| 7 | mYinsanity | 30 | |||
| 7 | SDL by Logitech G | 30 |
With some teams making 800 points or more per match on a regular basis during the tournament, the average points, bales and wheat per match went up compared to FarmCon 19.
| Tournament | Average Points per Match |
Average Bails per Match |
Average Wheat per Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| FarmCon 19 | 566 | 26 | 23.142 |
| Gamescom 19 | 583 | 27 | 23.856 |
The Rush
Trelleborg did not rush in a single match, something nobody expected after FarmCon 19. Instead, John Deere and Krone jumped into the fray and rushed like there Is no tomorrow. Both their quarter-finals ended with a win by rush.
That’s why we decided to change the rush mechanics slightly. You now have to drive a vehicle of its pod to claim it for your team. This will make a rush harder to execute, but still a valid option, if you think your opponent is just too slow. You can find the details in the recent FSL Patch Notes.
What gets banned
Since the good old Rush continued to be such a big risk during the tournament, the JCB Fastrac 4220 never made it into a single match. Next one on the list was the Deutz 9 Series again, it wasn’t hit as hard as the JCB but continued to be banned in a large chunk of matches. This might change in the coming tournaments since the requirements for a successful rush are not the same anymore.
A newcomer among the regularly banned vehicles was the Steyr Profi CVT 4145, its narrow tires and high speed (55km/h) are giving it a huge speed advantage when driving through an unharvested part of the field.
The Horsch tactic
The tactic Horsch used to great effect during the tournament was based on the Fendt Ideal combine harvester being pushed by one of the strong tractors available in the FSL. Horsch liked to use the Fendt Vario 1000 or John Deere 8400 R to push the combine and pull the Fendt 1290 XD bale press at the same time. With the Fendt 1290 XD being the fastest bale press.
Pushing the Fendt Ideal resulted in practically doubling the working speed of the combine from 9km/h to 19km/h. Enabling Horsch to constantly score around 800 points or more as the only team during the tournament. They even got close to 900 points in their match against Landeier by Astragon with 893 points.
Countering this tactic started in the pick & ban phase, with banning the strong and fast tractors like the Fendt Vario 1000 and John Deere 8400 R, making pushing the Fendt Ideal much harder. Next in line was denying Horsch the Fendt Ideal combine harvester and Fendt 1290 XD bale press on the field. This combination turned out to easier said than done, only Trelleborg managed it in the final after all.
Match Replays
In case you would like to watch a specific match again, you can find all of them on YouTube now.
Quarter-Finals
Trelleborg vs mYinsanity
Krone vs Lindner
John Deere vs AMAZONE
Horsch vs Die Landeier by Astragon
Semi-Finals
Trelleborg vs Krone
John Deere vs Horsch
Final
Trelleborg vs Horsch Game 1
Trelleborg vs Horsch Game 2
Trelleborg vs Horsch Game 3
Summary
It is safe to say that Horsch left an impression during the tournament, but the recent FSL patch 1.2.1 tweaked the Fendt Ideal, forcing Horsch to come up with something new. The question is if they can do it? But Horsch is not the only team who will have to adapt. In fact, all teams have to since the changes to rush are affecting everybody.
Even with Horsch and their unique tactic, Trelleborg reigned supreme during Gamescom 19. They lost only one single round, but never a whole match since the very start of the league at FarmCon 19. This is pretty amazing and begs the question of which team will stop their run.
The next tournament will be at the Zurich Game Show starting on the 15th of September, giving the teams some more time to train and work on new tactics. We are already excited for Zurich and hope to see many old and new FSL fans there!
If you missed the final, you'll find the recordings here: Twitch (EN), Mixer (EN), YouTube (DE)
