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Relive the top moments from Red Bull Wololo: Londinium
After an epic six days of competition, Red Bull Wololo: Londinium concluded with a grand finale at the Royal Albert Hall. Here's the lowdown on the fierce rivalries and magnificent wins from London.
The final castle has been sieged, and soldiers from across history are all headed home: friends, Red Bull Wololo: Londinium has concluded. The Royal Albert Hall in London, England has fallen silent, the sold-out crowd has dispersed, and the dust has settled from an incredible final day of Age of Empires action.
Some of the world's top Age of Empires players came together in the iconic capital for a final day of incredible action in both Age of Empires IV and Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, with veterans from past Red Bull Wololo tournaments throwing their hats into the ring and challengers raising their swords, all to put on an unforgettable show with engrossing battles and calculated moves.
If you missed out on the action, here's the lowdown on a thrilling finale from the British capital.
01
Age of Empires IV - MarineLorD retains his crown to become back-to-back-to-back champion
Wam01 and MarineLorD faced off at the Royal Albert Hall
© Mark Roe/Red Bull Content Pool
Players from all over the world descended upon London to try their hand at taking down the reigning champion, Alexis 'MarineLorD' Eusebio, but the two-time winner proved to be undefeatable in the run-up to his grand-final appearance.
The French player is no doubt one of the top Age of Empires IV competitors in the world, and ever since the first Age of Empires IV tournament at 2022's Red Bull Wololo: Legacy, MarineLorD has had an iron grip over the competition, lifting the trophy and retaining the crown twice over – and now he's added a third to his collection.
Placing as the top seed for the Road to Wololo: Londinium 1 online qualifier, MarineLorD went on an almost flawless run throughout the event, losing just one map during his four game path to qualification.
MarineLorD made it three in a row
© Mark Roe/Red Bull Content Pool
I just wanted to have fun, and not to put too much pressure on myself
And during the offline main event, his semi-final bout against Canada's Adam '1puppypaw' Svoboda similarly looked one-sided. Against the backdrop of the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square, London, he went two maps up during the best-of-five battle, before 1puppypaw was able to close down a closely-contested battle during the third map, setting the score 2-1. MarineLorD was able to turn it around on the fourth map, Socotra, however, and shut down the game to earn his place in the grand final.
His opponent, another Canadian player Daniel 'Wam01' Svoboda, made short work of his opponents during his online qualifier run – dropping just five maps in total – and had a similar path in his semi-final battle against Spain's Juan 'VortiX' Durán. Wam01 took an initial two-map lead over his opponent before dropping the third, but was able to seal up the best-of-five game in the fourth map to earn his spot in the grand final.
Both players would then have one of the closest battles of the tournament during their grand-final clash, with each player trading maps to take the five-game series all the way to a decisive closing game, as Wam01 took the fourth map – and with neither player looking like the outright victor from the outset.
MarineLorD was able to inch ahead, however, and Wam01 was constantly having to bide time and play catch-up, as his armies fell to the wayside. MarineLorD was then able to take battle after battle, and was able to land the final blow at the 18-minute mark – sealing his victory, and his three-peat championship.
"I just wanted to have fun, and not to put too much pressure on myself," said MarineLorD after the game had concluded. "It went toe-to-toe, and in the end, [Wam01] played well."
02
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – Hera pulls off the reverse sweep to retain his title
Hera was pushed all the way for his win
© Mark Roe/Red Bull Content Pool
Kai 'Liereyy' Kallinge has been a firm fixture in past Red Bull Wololo grand finals, and this year's edition in London was no different. The two-time Red Bull Wololo champion made his sixth grand final appearance at this year's Red Bull Wololo, and the Austrian pro player put on a show for the masses.
He entered the Age of Empires II competition through the online Ranked Ladder Qualifier, and earned third place, slotting him into Group B for the group stage of the competition. As expected for one of the top players in the world, Liereyy fought through his opponents with a nearly flawless record, dropping just one map throughout his three Best-of-Three victories, earning himself a straight shot to the semifinals.
There, he would face Uruguay's Sebastian 'Sebastian' Gastelumendi, the only player to take a map off of Liereyy during the group stage – and Liereyy would not make the same mistake this time around. In the gripping best-of-seven match-up, Sebastian was dominated in a clean 7-0 sweep, with the Austrian player making sure he made his grand final appearance in style.
Canadian Hamzah 'Hera' El-Baher has made a name for himself throughout past Red Bull Wololo tournaments, and has been a regular face over the years with incredible performances that have seen him claim second place twice. With the crown claimed at Red Bull Wololo: El Reinado Age of Empires II after his previous two attempts, he entered Red Bull Wololo: Londinium to defend his title – and his run throughout the tournament no doubt entertained the crowd.
Similarly to Liereyy, Hera's journey started in the online Ranked Ladder Qualifier, and with a first-place finish, Hera was matched up in Group A. Three games to play, and three wins to his name – Hera dropped just three maps, and booked his place straight to the semi-finals. There he would face former Red Bull Wololo 2021 champion, Ørjan 'TheViper' Larsen, but the Norwegian couldn't keep pace with Hera, as the Canadian swept through all four maps in flawless fashion.
With the grand final set, Hera and Liereyy were ready to lock horns in a thrilling grand final for the ages.
Liereyy took the first three games in a relatively smooth fashion, but as a best-of-nine, it was still early days. Hera switched gears, and was able to then take the following three games, tying things up at three games each – turning the series essentially into a best-of-three. Game 7 marked a turning point on Rampart, with the game going back and forth, with each player gaining momentum on each side, but effectively pushing each other into a deadlock.
While each player was able to mount kills and make advances in each of their civilisations, both players were ultimately equal – and it went right down to the wire after the 1h 15m mark. Hera, however, had the momentum following his clearing of Liereyy's castles and crushing his paladins, and as a result of a higher score, Hera took the win, and pushed the score to 4-3 in his favour.
Hera had to mentally reset to come back from three games down
© Jake Turney/Red Bull Content Pool
I absolutely love this event
With the grand final on match point in Hera's favour, Liereyy had to crank up the heat on the eighth map – and both players certainly played their hearts out. With Hera on the Armenians, and Liereyy on Wu, both players built up their armies and clashed in spectacular fashion, with each army taking fights all over the map.
After an hour and five minutes of intense back and forth, Hera inched forward and was able to turn the tide – taking the fight to Liereyy, wearing him down, and switching the score through incredible stamina and strategy to take the upper hand. With castles crumbling, and a big fight going Hera's way, Liereyy typed "GG" into the in-game chat as Hera's army struck the final blow. Despite being three games down, Hera managed to claw things back and pull off the reverse sweep with five games in a row to retain his Age of Empires II Red Bull Wololo title.
"I'm absolutely ecstatic, and the crowd has been absolutely amazing. Thanks to everyone here, and first of all, GGWP to Liereyy, I think he showed up great today," said Hera following the final game. "I always talk about how Liereyy is so dangerous, and in those first three games, I made a few missteps and got hard punished. It definitely took a lot of mental reset on my end to come back and turn things around – and I'm so glad I did."
"I love games that push you to the limit," Hera said. "Just try to keep your head down and try to do the best play possible, and that's it," he advised after being asked how he was able to turn things around.
"I absolutely love this event," said Hera. "The last event was my favourite, but now this Red Bull Wololo is my favourite event."
