Ballista Royale Championship!

After months of grueling matches and exciting battles we have our two final teams!

First we had our Ballista Royale World matches where teams from each world competed against each other in an effort to be ranked the top team from their world. After the top 32 teams were chosen, we had our preliminary matches that narrowed the playing field down to our top 4 teams: Teamecho, Channelfournewsteam, Zing, and Chaostheory. Our playoff matches decided the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams. Now at our Fan Festival the fight for the top was finally decided in one of the most exciting matches in the entire tournament!

Championship Combatants!

Siren's Channelfournewsteam and Phoenix's Chaostheory were our top two teams. Let's meet the players!

We had a chance to talk to each of the members who attended our Festival to battle live on stage.

Siren: Channelfournewsteam
	Channelfournewsteam is a team that has impressed players with their ability to score early in the game and control the flow of play throughout the match. Team leader Edarion wears headphones during each match to concentrate on the battle sounds and stay alert for his next team decision. When asked if his team follows any specific regiment for training, team leader Edarion responded on the Ballista Royale website by saying: "...we tried to keep it as organized as possible. Sometimes it was less turnout than expected, but we happened to employ strategy and even small skills training just like any professional sports team would (just not on a daily basis)...they have given us room and have even started playing Ballista just to help us train. Our biggest help has always been the different people around Siren, giving us tips, scrimmaging with us, and also giving us moral support. My members on the team may think I'm crazy to be so passionate about a thing like Ballista, but hopefully they will realize in the future that it will pay off." Anyone facing Channelfournewsteam has to definitely look forward to some unbridled skill and intuition.

Phoenix: Chaostheory
Chaostheory is headed by team leader: Shinfuuma and during the tournament has faced such famous teams as Penguins, Omegaweapon and team Leave. A team member even took the time during the tournament to thank the many teams they've faced and showed some genuine appreciation for their hard efforts that helped train and strengthen Chaostheory's skills. Mystywysty on the Ballista Royale website had this to say about the tournament so far: "My experience with the tournament thus far has been one of many emotions. I have confidence in my team's ability to play and win but uncertainty sinks in when I begin to think of my opponents. Before a match begins, I always get anxious, but once I hear the Ballista music I am calm and focused. After matches I am happy for my team because we have won but a feeling of sadness for my opponents is prevalent as well. It's too bad not everyone can win." The members of Chaostheory have shown talent and skill but also a love for their game and the matches themselves. They definitely belong here at the championship match.

Siren VS Phoenix!

It was a thrilling match that kept us gasping and cheering down to the last minute.

The two champion teams prepared early with their characters and gear in order to be at their best when it came to this championship match. The stage was set with two sets of PCs for each team and the two overhead monitors on the right and left of the stage showed the match from an independent GM camera so that the attendees could easily see the match. This same camera ran the match live on PlayOnline.com for players who didn't attend Fan Festival. There were scoreboards on either side of the stage that kept the score for each team which faced the audience.

When the match began, Channelfournewsteam focused on the Tarutaru BLM from Chaostheory in order to quickly acquire gate breach status. Mystywysty from the Phoenix server worked to keep the BLM alive despite the Siren team's efforts. The Elvaan MNKs on each side solo'd each other pretty regularly during the match. When the match first began, both teams kept all members alive for nearly 10 minutes, preventing any gate breaches. Channelfournewsteam took the lead in the match with a score of 10 points, but Chaostheory began their score early as well and closed the gap at various times during the game.

The crowd went wild for every single petra score! While the scoreboards kept the audience up to date, the action on-screen was difficult to avoid. After the teams scored their first few sets, gate breach status was popping up over and over again on both sides. Both teams were cheered when gate breach status was reached.

The WHM on Channelfournewsteam ended up using their 2-hour Benediction to save 3 of their members from deadly -ga spells. The BRD on Chaostheory always kept status effects on the members of Channelfournewsteam, elegy (slow) for instance. At the end, the team from Siren was able to keep the gap wide enough that the Phoenix team wasn't able to catch up. The victory for Siren was very close, however, since the score for Chaostheory was 24 against Siren's 26 and under the 2 minute mark Chaostheory was able to attain gate breach one last time. All in all, it was a very exciting close match.

Siren NA VS Siren JP!

The attendees were surprised to find out that the Japanese Ballista Royale champions challenged the North American champions.

Both winning championship teams hail from the world of Siren. Lovehame the Japanese Ballista Royale champions were kind enough to join us for an impromptu match with the newly crowned North American champion, Channelfournewsteam.

The match started off evenly matched as it seemed neither team would be able to score for some time. About a third of the way through the match, Lovehame was able to achieve gate breach and score the first points. This breakaway from the stalemate must have invigorated the Japanese Ballista Champions or caught the North American champions off guard because the score rose continuously for team Lovehame from that point on.

It was an intense match and the North American champions held their own for some time however in the end Lovehame scored 44 total points and prevented a single goal against them. Congratulations were said on both sides and the NA champions have some new strategies to study over as well as some great prizes.

Prizes and Congratulations!

To the victors go the spoils! Our Champions received the rarest item in FINAL FANTASY XI!

Each member of the championship team, Channelfournewsteam from the world of Siren, receives the Laurel Crown! This item is only worn by those who have successfully become the regional champions against all other teams, and as such only one other team of players owns this crown. The Laurel Crown isn't just a fancy bit of headgear. Using 30 Ballista points, players wearing the Laurel Crown are able to instantly warp to the Ballista NPC in Ru'Lude Gardens. Outside of the game our Ballista champions were also rewarded with a top of the line gaming machine complete with the Treasures of Aht Urhgan logo designed by Yoshitaka Amano emblazoned on the side panels! But we didn't forget our second place team who battled so far to get all the way to our Festival match. They received Logitech® G7 laser cordless mice as well as Logitech® G15 Gaming Keyboards , sure to improve their PC gaming experience.

This PC is equipped with a 7800 GT video card provided by Nvidia, a Cooler Master painted case, and an Intel Pentium D 820 processor!

Final Thoughts

We had a wonderful time seeing these talented players cross worlds to compete.

It's a rare occasion when we are able to see players from different worlds come together and hone their skills. We were very impressed by the abilities and ambition of all the players in the Ballista Royale tournament and we hope that we can see that same spirit and excitement in the newest Conflict: Brenner! So to everyone out there in Vana'diel from across all the worlds, don't let up on your training, fight to be the best and your efforts will be rewarded.