Tag Archives: Ireland

24 August 2013

ETC2013 Popularity vs Performance

By WarHamSandwich

So last time I put up a table of how the various armies performed (on average) at the ETC in Serbia. There were some interesting results, and today’s post follows up that line of thinking by comparing the popularity of army choices with their score rank. Popularity in this case just means how many teams included that army, and the table below puts the armies in order of popularity.
RankVsPop
So the numbers in the ‘Difference’ column highlights any disconnect between how popular an army is versus how well it performed at the ETC. A positive number means that the army performed better than its popularity, a negative number means that its popularity was higher than its performance warranted.

Tau weren’t the most popular army, but really the first three are so close that it makes little difference. The captains made those choices fairly rationally: Necrons, Tau, and Heldrakes are solid performers.

There is an interesting hiccup in places 4 and 5 where Grey Knights and Imperial Guard were both quite popular but didn’t do as well as their popularity suggests. Both armies were in the bottom half performance-wise but were both present in more than 75% of teams (my own included!)

Tyranids were fairly popular, and by the results that seems to be justified – similarly with Chaos Daemons (slightly under-represented), and Dark Angels.

Eldar were quite under-represented and were the ‘sleeper hit’ of the ETC, doing quite well for the 11 teams that brought them. Of the remainder, only Space Marines have a big positive difference showing that they did a better job than their low popularity would have predicted.

There is of course a big caveat here: armies fill particular roles on a team so simply picking the highest average scorers may very well lead you astray with too much of one role and too little of another. So we don’t have a magic formula for army selection just yet.

It also creates an interesting mind game for next year: do you bring a team that works well against the popular armies of 2013, or do you focus on bringing what did well in 2013, or do you bring counters to what did well in 2013? How much will the new codices between now and Aug 2014 change the meta?

Lots to think about for the new captains!

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21 August 2011

ETC 2011 DAY 2

By WarHamSandwich

As I mentioned yesterday, Warhammer 40,000 doesn’t quite have a world championship, but this role is at least partially fulfilled by the growth of the European Team Championship (ETC) to incorporate teams from all over the world, far beyond its European origin.

While it is a highly competitive international event, it’s important to retain some perspective, and ensure that all players enjoy the complete range of experiences on offer, as clearly demonstrated by Woody:

ETC 2011 finished in Switzerland today with the final three rounds of the two-day  six-round tournament.  What I’ll cover here is a brief round up of the results, mainly focusing on the performance of team Republic of Ireland, and team Northern Ireland.

NOTE: All results courtesy of TableTopTournaments

Here are the standings going in to day two:

OVERALL PLACING END OF DAY 1

Place Team Points Difference
1 Germany 6 184
2 Poland 6 144
3 Sweden 5 162
4 Italy 5 68
5 United States 4 100
6 Spain 4 46
7 England 4 40
8 Latvia 4 34
9 Wales 4 20
10 France 4 -6
11 Czech Republic 3 36
12 European Union 3 0
13 Switzerland 3 -10
14 Belgium 3 -28
15 Ireland 3 -58
16 Denmark 2 -12
17 Scotland 2 -16
18 Finland 2 -56
19 Norway 2 -94
20 Belarus 1 -38
21 Austria 1 -52
22 Northern Ireland 1 -144
23 Russia 0 -140
24 Greece 0 -180

How does this get shaken up by Day 2?

ROUND 4

Team A Team B Points TP
Poland Germanyvictory 0 : 2 57 : 103
Swedenvictory United States 1 : 1 82 : 78
Italy Spainvictory 0 : 2 73 : 87
Latvia Englandvictory 1 : 1 75 : 85
Wales Francevictory 0 : 2 41 : 119
Switzerlandvictory Czech Republic 2 : 0 86 : 74
Belgium European Unionvictory 0 : 2 62 : 98
Irelandvictory Denmark 1 : 1 84 : 78
Finland Scotlandvictory 1 : 1 77 : 83
Norway Belarusvictory 0 : 2 29 : 131
Austriavictory Greece 2 : 0 110 : 40
Northern Ireland Russiavictory 0 : 2 56 : 104

Team NI faced off Russia for their opening game, but the great Bear of Russia proved a difficult opponent.  Loss for Team NI.  Republic of Ireland looked like a victory mid game, but the Danes pulled back the draw.  Not a bad start for RoI, top half of the table!

Worth noting that this was the first ever loss in a round by Poland, so well done to the German team for that performance.  I’m sure there’s an inappropriate WW2 joke in there somewhere, but let’s just leave it at that.

ROUND 5

Team A Team B Points TP
Swedenvictory Germany 2 : 0 99 : 61
Polandvictory Spain 2 : 0 95 : 65
France United Statesvictory 0 : 2 61 : 99
Italy Englandvictory 0 : 2 74 : 86
Latviavictory European Union 2 : 0 112 : 48
Ireland Switzerlandvictory 0 : 2 55 : 105
Walesvictory Czech Republic 2 : 0 86 : 74
Austria Belarusvictory 0 : 2 74 : 86
Denmark Scotlandvictory 1 : 1 75 : 85
Finlandvictory Belgium 2 : 0 119 : 41
Norway Russiavictory 0 : 2 50 : 110
Northern Ireland Greecevictory 1 : 1 76 : 84

Team RoI faces the host nation, Switzerland, and lets them win out of sheer politeness.  Team NI get back on the horse with a hard fought draw against Greece.  Things are heating up at the top, with Germany, Poland and Sweden all on 8 points.

ROUND 6

Team A Team B Points TP
Polandvictory Sweden 2 : 0 103 : 57
Latvia Germanyvictory 0 : 2 47 : 113
England United Statesvictory 0 : 2 67 : 93
Switzerland Spainvictory 0 : 2 66 : 94
Walesvictory Belarus 2 : 0 100 : 60
Italy Francevictory 0 : 2 71 : 89
Finlandvictory European Union 2 : 0 90 : 70
Denmarkvictory Czech Republic 2 : 0 91 : 69
Russiavictory Scotland 1 : 1 83 : 77
Irelandvictory Austria 2 : 0 103 : 57
Belgiumvictory Greece 2 : 0 91 : 69
Norway Northern Irelandvictory – : 160

RoI took on Austria in the final round, but flight schedules meant the Austrians couldn’t stay the course and had to concede.  Not the way RoI would like to win it, but there you go.  Similarly Team NI got a walkover from Norway as they had to leave early.  A bit of a flat end, but the boys did us proud and hopefully they had a great time!

FINAL RESULTS

Place Team Points Difference
1 Germany 10 258
2 Poland 10 174
3 United States 9 160
4 Sweden 8 158
5 Spain 8 58
6 France 8 52
7 Wales 8 -6
8 England 7 36
9 Finland 7 36
10 Switzerland 7 24
11 Latvia 7 22
12 Denmark 6 -6
13 Ireland 6 -56
14 Belarus 5 36
15 Italy 5 24
16 Scotland 5 -6
17 Russia 5 -26
18 European Union 5 -48
19 Belgium 5 -120
20 Northern Ireland 4 -40
21 Czech Republic 3 -10
22 Austria 3 -40
23 Norway 2 -416
24 Greece 1 -264

Great performances overall from teams RoI and NI, and we hope for even better next year!  For excellent video coverage of the full event, check out RHQ.tv

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20 August 2011

ETC 2011 DAY 1

By WarHamSandwich

Warhammer 40,000 doesn’t quite have a world championship, but this role is at least partially fulfilled by the growth of the European Team Championship (ETC) to incorporate teams from all over the world, far beyond its European origin.

ETC 2011 takes place in Switzerland today (Saturday 20th August) and tomorrow (21st).  I’ll be doing a brief round up at end of both days, mainly focusing on the performance of team Republic of Ireland, and team Northern Ireland.

NOTE: All results courtesy of TableTopTournaments

ROUND 1

Team A Team B Points TP
Russia Belgiumvictory 0 : 2 66 : 94
Northern Ireland Austriavictory 1 : 1 78 : 82
Norway Latviavictory 0 : 2 57 : 103
Switzerlandvictory England 1 : 1 84 : 76
Scotlandvictory European Union 2 : 0 106 : 54
Spainvictory Czech Republic 2 : 0 113 : 47
Denmark Polandvictory 0 : 2 63 : 97
Germanyvictory Wales 2 : 0 120 : 40
Greece United Statesvictory 0 : 2 30 : 130
Italyvictory Sweden 1 : 1 82 : 78
Finland Irelandvictory 0 : 2 69 : 91
Francevictory Belarus 2 : 0 88 : 72

A good start for team Ireland, beating Finland in a close match up.  The first game of a tournament can really make or break players’ confidence and this got the whole team on a good footing.  The Northern Ireland team held their own against Austria, all to play for in round 2!

ROUND 2

Team A Team B Points TP
Germanyvictory United States 2 : 0 105 : 55
Spainvictory Scotland 2 : 0 97 : 63
Latvia Polandvictory 0 : 2 57 : 103
Irelandvictory Belgium 1 : 1 82 : 78
Switzerland Francevictory 0 : 2 59 : 101
Italyvictory Austria 2 : 0 86 : 74
Swedenvictory Northern Ireland 2 : 0 121 : 39
England Belarusvictory 1 : 1 79 : 81
Finlandvictory Russia 2 : 0 88 : 72
Norway Denmarkvictory 0 : 2 44 : 116
Czech Republicvictory European Union 1 : 1 83 : 77
Walesvictory Greece 2 : 0 108 : 52

A good start in Round 1 means a tough opponent in Round 2!  The RoI team faced off Belgium, and came away with a draw.  Another solid performance which puts them in a good position for Round 3.

Joe “Maynard” Cullen wore his lucky hat and beard, and it appeared to pay off getting 11-9 with his Chaos Marines against seer council Eldar:

Team Northern Ireland lost their way slightly in round 2 and were defeated by the Swedish team.

As a twist of fate, RoI would face Sweden next in Round 3, can they get revenge for their Northern brethren?

ROUND 3

Team A Team B Points TP
Germanyvictory Spain 2 : 0 107 : 53
Polandvictory France 2 : 0 112 : 48
Ireland Swedenvictory 0 : 2 38 : 122
Italyvictory Belgium 2 : 0 106 : 54
Denmark United Statesvictory 0 : 2 55 : 105
Latviavictory Scotland 2 : 0 97 : 63
Finland Englandvictory 0 : 2 55 : 105
Walesvictory Austria 2 : 0 97 : 53
Switzerlandvictory Belarus 2 : 0 92 : 68
Northern Ireland European Unionvictory 0 : 2 51 : 109
Russia Czech Republicvictory 0 : 2 32 : 128
Norwayvictory Greece 2 : 0 92 : 68

After a poor performance in Round 1, the Swedes were fighting hard to get back up to the top.  Team Ireland stood in their way at the end of day 1 but unfortunately got steamrolled by the Nordic Nightmare.  A harsh result for RoI, but tomorrow will be a chance to get back in the tournament.  Team NI suffered at the hands of the Merc term, they’ll need a good start tomorrow to lift their spirits!

OVERALL PLACING END OF DAY 1

Place Team Points Difference
1 Germany 6 184
2 Poland 6 144
3 Sweden 5 162
4 Italy 5 68
5 United States 4 100
6 Spain 4 46
7 England 4 40
8 Latvia 4 34
9 Wales 4 20
10 France 4 -6
11 Czech Republic 3 36
12 European Union 3 0
13 Switzerland 3 -10
14 Belgium 3 -28
15 Ireland 3 -58
16 Denmark 2 -12
17 Scotland 2 -16
18 Finland 2 -56
19 Norway 2 -94
20 Belarus 1 -38
21 Austria 1 -52
22 Northern Ireland 1 -144
23 Russia 0 -140
24 Greece 0 -180

Overall good start to the ETC for team Ireland with one win, one draw, and one loss.  Team NI didn’t get such a good start, with one draw and two losses.  Here’s the matchups for Round 4 tomorrow morning:

Team A Team B
Poland Germany
Sweden United States
Italy Spain
Latvia England
Wales France
Switzerland Czech Republic
Belgium European Union
Ireland Denmark
Finland Scotland
Norway Belarus
Austria Greece
Northern Ireland Russia

Ireland plays Denmark, and Northern Ireland plays Russia, best of luck fellas!

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