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Red Bull Wololo: Legacy concludes after upsets and triumphs
Red Bull Wololo: Legacy has come to a close, and the Age of Empire tournament will be remembered for its incredible upsets and magnificent wins – get the lowdown here.
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The last castle has fallen and the soldiers are headed back to their homes. Red Bull Wololo: Legacy has ended and as the dust settles we can see just how incredible an event it truly was. Some of the best Age of Empires players from across three of the series' games came together to test their might, and the results might not be what you had expected.
Previous winners went home earlier than some would have predicted. New faces emerged as victors, defeating veterans of the game. Each battle was as engrossing as the last, and every single decision by the players mattered.
More than 80,000 fans tuned in from around the world to watch Red Bull Wololo: Legacy as it happened, alongside the live studio audience at the historic Castle Heidelberg in Germany. If you missed out on the action, here's a recap of some of the biggest moments of the tournament.
01
Age of Empires I: Chim Sẻ Đi Nắng takes the crown
One of the most exciting parts of Red Bull Wololo: Legacy was the chance for the top players in Vietnam's Age of Empires I competitive scene to showcase their talents to the world. In a thrilling best-of-five Grand Final, Nguyễn 'Chim Sẻ Đi Nắng' Bình – one of the most successful Age of Empires I players in the scene – faced off against Nguyễn 'BiBi' Hùng, who had proved to be a tough contender throughout the earlier stages of the tournament.
Chim Sẻ Đi Nắng proved why he's one of the top Age of Empires players
© Julian Schilase/Red Bull Content Pool
In the end, CSĐN didn't give BiBi even a moment of breathing room, winning the Grand Final in three straight matches. Speaking about his victory, CSĐN said, "I’ve played in Age of Empirestournaments for almost 13 years, and this is the most special one I’ve ever taken part in. The event is really really cool and I’m so happy that I’ve been able to be a part of it."
02
Age of Empires II: TaToH takes down Liereyy in a thrilling Grand Final
The Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition tournament at Red Bull Wololo: Legacy had all the makings of an epic battle, and it didn't disappoint. With four returning Red Bull Wololo champions facing off against a crop of 12 other talented players, it felt like anything could happen in these matches.
Returning champion Kai 'Liereyy' Kallinge – the only two-time champion at Red Bull Wololo – showed why he was the one to beat. After making it out of the Group Stage relatively unscathed, he faced off against long-time rival Ørjan 'TheViper' Larsen in the quarter-finals. The two had previously battled in the Grand Final of Red Bull Wololo V, where TheViper took the win, and Liereyy clearly didn't plan on history repeating itself. Liereyy took a convincing 3-1 win before eliminating Ville 'Villese' Jämsä in the semi-final with a 3-0 victory, firmly planting himself as the tournament favourite in the Grand Final.
What Liereyy didn't count on was Roberto 'TaToH' Jiménez – the only player who had managed to defeat Liereyy in their Group Stage. TaToH had survived this long thanks to a reverse-sweep against Marco 'JorDan_AoE' Bloch in the quarter-finals, followed by an impressive 3-1 against regular Red Bull Wololo attendee Hamzah 'Hera' El-Baher. TaToH had attended almost every Red Bull Wololo in the tournament's history, but failed to make a splash each time – now was finally his chance to prove himself.
TaToH was the only player to defeat Liereyy at Red Bull Wololo: Legacy
© Julian Schilase / Red Bull Content Pool
TaToH immediately set about asserting dominance, taking the first two games in the best-of-seven before Liereyy had a chance to respond. "It was a good start," said TaToH of his early lead. "But with Liereyy I have seen other players have a good start against him in other tournaments and then get reversed swept, so I wasn't fully confident at all. Liereyy is one of the best so you can’t be overconfident against him."
The two-time Red Bull Wololo winner bounced back with two wins of his own, levelling the playing field with just three games left to play. TaToH responded in kind with another win, before closing out the series with a dominant victory to take the Red Bull Wololo Legacy crown.
03
Age of Empires IV: MarineLorD crushes all comers
Age of Empires IV was a brand new addition for Red Bull Wololo: Legacy and it brought together some seriously strong contenders. Players came from around the world, from Canada to Greece and South Korea, to prove their mastery of the most recent entry in the Age of Empires series, leading to some truly spectacular action.
One such player, Themistoklis 'TheMista' Bonidis, asserted himself as a leader in the field early on, easily securing his Playoffs position before knocking out RecoN and Pedro 'LucifroN' Durán – the latter of whom had taken out veteran Age of Empires II competitor TheViper on his way through the tournament. TheMista was clearly on a roll, right up until he met Alexis 'MarineLorD' Eusebio in the Grand Final.
MarineLorD took the Age of Empires IV title with a 4-0 win in the final
© Julian Schilase / Red Bull Content Pool
MarineLorD had a slightly tougher road to the Final, having lost his first match of the Group Stage and needing to survive through the Decider matches to secure his Playoffs spot. Once there, he was near-unstoppable. A 3-0 victory over 1puppypaw – who had gone undefeated in his Group Stage – led to a 3-1 win against Aleksandar 'Beastyqt' Krstić, one of the first players to have been invited to Red Bull Wololo: Legacy.
In the Grand Final, MarineLorD didn't let up, and TheMista found himself on the back foot. What happened next was historic – a 4-0 sweep by MarineLorD led him to take the overall victory, and TheMista wasted no time in congratulating his opponent on a truly incredible win.
"It feels incredible," said MarineLorD about his victory. "I've won some online events in the past, but offline it feels different. The trophy is amazing, I'm so happy."
Catch up on previous Red Bull Wololo events
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