The first ever DAoC 8v8 World Cup is upon us. Beginning November 5th, the best DAoC players in the world will compete in a winner-take-all tournament for bragging rights and international fame. Here is some pre-match analysis with teams listed in no particular order.
Team USA
Captain: Torm
The United States enters the inaugural DAoC World Cup with massive bragging rights on the line. Minutes after the world cup was announced, we saw confidence exuded from the captain akin to the following claim:
But despite all of the grandiosity, there’s no doubt that the USA has one of the best DAoC players in the world, in Torm, leading it in to battle. Torm has claimed that “all I need is Kuj and 6 warm bodies.” Those warm bodies include: Buji, Inter, Josh, Woke, Kuji, Kwel, and DeamO.
The biggest strategic advantage for Team USA is that this is essentially a guild group; these players have played together many times over the course of various freeshards, and the synergy is no doubt already in place.
While Torm’s cru loses Kasper to liberal Canada, enter Woke who is just as good of a minstrel player if Team USA decides to play Alb. Woke is coming off an impressive first season of Eden, after spending much of it farming Mourning and having to deal with the propaganda spread throughout the 8v8 channel.
Inter, Kuji, and Kwel are all around strong players capable of handling any role. The breadth of classes these guys can play gives Torm the utmost flexibility in setting his lineup. For many in the World Cup, they have already fallen victim to the face of death, one who will be prominently featured in the World Cup:
I suspect that Josh and some combination of Buji or DeamO will be playing support, but Team USA has kept its comp close to the chest thus far.
The biggest question mark will be if Team USA folds under the pressure of the 8v8 community expecting them to win. For one, this is essentially a guild group, whereas the remainder of the teams are true pugs. If USA loses, this will be a disappointment. More importantly, there are a lot of very big egos here, and Team USA could tilt quickly if they suffer an early tournament loss.
Team Canada
Captain: Dun
Team Canada went from early World Cup sleeper pick, to questionable to even participate after one of its previous players went full ‘Kanye. But since Norad’s meltdown, Canada has rebounded to fortify its roster full of intriguing talent.
Dun is a household name who has made his living playing crowd control classes often in push-heavy setups. He is perhaps the most weathered captain in the entire tournament, well positioned to lead Team Canada due to his experience leading the ‘Mourning cru and already dealing with adversity every Tuesday and Thursday.
In Eden season 1, it was Dun’s necro tanker that gave many of the players on Team USA repeated losses, forcing them to switch to a Mid Thanker in the process. That is to say, Dun has beaten Team USA players before, and there’s no reason to believe he cannot do it again.
Other notables for Team Canada include Ferboten, Scoobz, and Kasper.
Kasper is one of the most technically gifted, S-tier DAoC players who occasionally enters the conversation for best DAoC player in 2023. He took a gutted minstrel class and repeatedly shattered expectations, reminding everybody that you can still carry even with a padfoot that gets 3-rounded en route to a 55-1 start on Eden NA (see below).
But what will happen when he goes head-to-head against his group mate Torm who knows all of his plays?
While it’s true that Ferboten is one of the best heavy players, questions remain on how he will perform for Team Canada when he doesn’t have the best 7 players in the fight surrounding him. If playing with Dirty Company offers any indication, Ferboten could struggle against crowd control cycling with a Canada roster to support him who is clearly less skilled than his groups of the past. But, if he can stick the cab for Team Canada like he did the past 4 years on Phoenix and Eden, I think Canada has a real shot here.
Lastly we have Scoobz. Not very talkative in the 8v8 discord, Scoobz is a A-tier support player whose actions speak louder than words. He has played support on Alteri and every freeshard and will be looking to keep Team Canada’s frontline alive. If Canada can get their dps in sync, look for Scoobz to make things easy from a support perspective.
Team Germany
Captain: Nefcait
The Germans are here, and they mean business. Led by Nefcait, longtime 8v8er and freeshard player, Team Germany has gone tit-for-tat with Team USA in the bragging department.
The Germans are the most storied country in the DAoC freeshard arena. In fact, Nefcait and several others played Uthgard 1 as far back as ~2011. Here are some Nefcait pixels from ~11 years ago when the Germans were cleaning up on Uth 1:
The German roster also features Lugana, Salidry, Flo, and Jion. Lugana, a winner of the live 5v5 tournament in 2017, and key mover in the GGL vs Boyos drama, has shown a propensity to play any class at a high level.
However, that has not stopped Team USA captain Torm from issuing some harsh words directly to his former Booted guild mate:
You will spend longer time rebuffing, than fighting Lugana, do not worry about time my friend.
Luga will be looking to pounce on Team USA early.
Salidry, the former French-loving German who played for Dark Dawn in season 1, makes his curtain call and returns to his fellow Germans, looking to solidify his status as an A-tier player, and prove that he is not just “Bloodwyne with better group mates.” (troll aside, Salidry is a very good player).
The question for the Germans is who will round out the rest of this lineup? If Bloodwyne is called up, the inflammatory rhetoric and copy pastas coming from Blooder and Flo will surely pick up. As of right now, I think the Germans would benefit from playing a tank heavy setup, but it’s hard to project out not knowing the rest of their lineup.
Team UK
Captain: JONL
When the earliest freeshards came out, chances are that you were mercilessly trolled by — at the time — 14 year old prepubsecent JonL and JimD. Consider it a DAoC rite of passage. Now, in 2023, the long-time virgin Brits enter the World Cup leading Team UK straight off the hills and right into the tournament.
Even when he’s not trolling, there’s no denying JonL is one of the best players in today’s DAoC. He’s been featured in some DAoC Top 10 moments, including the first bomb ever on Phoenix:
Surrounding the British bash brothers, Team UK welcomes some Sad Pandas to its lineup including Matt, Mord, and Ostai. I thought we would see North and South Korea unite before the Boyos and Pandas did, but when His Majesty calls for an 8v8 tournament, the countrymen unite. And thus, the Lad Pandas were born.
Lastly, do not overlook Kebab and Onnit. Recently holding W while piss drunk to help earn Stunningstyles his cowboy hat, Kebab is a multi-dimensional player capable of playing just about any class. Onnit is less revered in the 8v8 community but has pugged with many of the Brits before; he offers stability and synergy for Team UK.
I think it would be in the best interest of Team UK to run a hib tanker. Sad Pandas have a lot of experience on that setup from Phoenix, and with JonL directing traffic, we could see the Brits continue to utilize the terrain to their tactical advantage. In b4 all the crying. As they say, accept it, luvs.
The biggest issue that could face Team UK is how to divide up the roles. Historically, JonL has thrived in a main CC or main dps role, with JimD playing tanks, skalds, and the like. How exactly Sad Pandas, Kebab, and Onnit fit into that equation remains to be seen.
Team France
Captain: Carina
The French enter the World Cup after, per sources, struggling to unify a team. Early reports coming out of France were that Hallibel or Hend would lead the French, but — just as it was with S1 Dark Dawn — it was all hype followed by very little results. The 8v8 world was waiting for a Torm vs. Halli showdown, but unfortunately it appears only one side is willing to put their reputation on the line.
While the French 8man views the absence of Dark Dawn as a slap in the face, I would note that this is not the first time the French leader has been slapped by his own countrymen… but I digress.
This weekend, Carina spearheads a squad that includes Azteq, Slyvz, Venise, Dorkiz, Chtiheal, Gorv, and Iska. These Frenchmen represent a formidable team that’s not necessarily top heavy, but also has a respectably high floor.
An 8v8 moderator for some time now, Venise is one of the most likeable, consistent players in the tournament. His love of DAoC is rivaled only by his passion for winning 8v8 fights. If we are lucky, spectators might expect to see one of Venise’s famous calls, much like this one from beta.
Azteq is a top tier player that doesn’t get the appreciation he rightfully deserves. He has dunked people on control classes, like bard, as seen from some beta 8v8 footage:
The others, including Slyvz, Chti, Iska, and Gorv, have been around for years and are capable of playing any class. On Eden season 1, the French necro tanker gave some of Team USA and Team UK members fits during EU prime. With their experience fighting the top talent in this tournament, I see no reason why the French cannot rally to win this.
I like the French’s chances on a caster setup with Azteq playing bard/pach/minst. We’ve seen the French make waves in other competitive areas of DAoC; Phoenix events in the tutorial zone and in the 3v3/TOA event comes to mind, where Azteq’s groups wreaked havoc. These guys have played together before and I am actually picking the French to be my surprise upset team that stuns the world and challenges for the championship.
Team Italy
Captain: Quickcast
The Italians have long lurked as one of the friskier groups to fight during EU. Quickcast, a veteran with years of experience on all classes, boasts a lineup that doesn’t necessarily jump off the page, but has a few key pieces that won’t exactly be an easy fight. Quick was one of the first to popularize the “five natty” comp on Uthgard, and is one of the original iron chins who have been playing 8v8 and coming back year after year after year.
He brings with him his longtime Fremen running mate, Scania, and the regular bard/minst player, Nylag. Toyboy is also in the lineup. As of this writing, Team Italy is still searching for its final few players.
The all-star player on Team Italy, however, is Xia, who many regard as the best support player in the game. During normal EU prime, Xia cures and supports some of the top players for Team USA and Team UK. You need but watch his POV for 5 seconds to realize that the Italians do, in fact, have the best support player in the game donning their flag:
With Xia holding down the backline, the Italians just need to not throw elsewhere to have a shot.
The biggest question mark for the Italians is do they have a few more talented countrymen to challenge their European rivals?
Team Scandinavia
Captain: Fuzion
It didn’t look like there would be a true Viking team, but just as he has led Error over the past few servers, so too did Fuzion answer the call and assemble some talent to represent Team Scandinavia.
Fuzion, known amicably as Ghost in the 8v8 drafts, is one of the better PacH Healers in DAoC as you can see in his footage below. I would venture to guess based on the captain’s strengths alone that Team Scandinavia, staying true to their blood, will choose Midgard.
To round out his team, Team Scandinavia enters the ‘tourney with household names including: Durrty, Yeppo, Froy, Shadori, Tobbe, Fantasii, and Pancakes.
Durrty may not have a set group in 8v8, but he has pugged with just about everybody and has experience with how many of his competitors play. That — combined with his ability to torment the minds of his opponents — give Team Scandinavia an edge in the mind games department.
Froy has played with many of the top players in the tournament and will likely be the anchor of Team Scandinavia’s support. If they are able to convince Shadori to log out from Uthgard and stop farming Finliath’s, he may also join Froy in the support department. If this happens, Team Scandinavia will have one of the strongest support tandems in the tournament, potentially trotting out Fuzion, Froy, and Shadori on support.
Yeppo, Tobbe, Fantasii, and Pancakes are the wildcards for Team Scandinavia. The good thing for Team Scandinavia is there is not a lot of film on these players. But that can be an advantage. If they are able to strike early and surprise their opponents, I could see Team Scandinavia, especially if playing Midgard, giving some of the top heavy teams fits.
I see Team Scandinavia playing best on Midgard. Putting Fuzion and Froy on mid support would instantly bring these Northmen into contention with any squad.