As for Springfield, Musa had a plan. They were going to run the one Treb Butch, two-Stalker and three-Rhino first-drop strategy on the map.

Running this setup is a risky move in War Robots, mainly because once the Stalkers die, the team would have to revert to their second drops, causing a huge risk of meching out as well as reduction of options in terms of strategy. In addition, it is susceptible to the two Treb Butch lineup, because the snipers can clearly overpower the lone sniper on the team.

However, Akrymadov was confident in making the plan work.

“Gentlemen, let’s end this series! Come on, show some strength!”

A far distance away from them, the Swedes went for two Treb Butches, Orkancilots and Rogatkas. Sweden also clearly wanted to contest control of the outer beacons from the get-go, with the Orkancilots dealing with the “inner beacons.”

“Treb, advance with one Rhino towards the research center and stay behind it! Stalker 1, get the high beacon at your back, then join up with Stalker 2 to capture the far end – don’t forget to use terrain and time your Stealth Mode! The other two Rhinos, go to the first inner beacon to defend it! Go, we don’t have much time!” commanded Arkymadov.

The vice-captain of the Russian team took over the reins for the final map. Medevdev is confident that Musa can handle the pressure of the third map; besides, he wanted to be able to train the vice-captain in case he retires next year. After all, years of playing War Robots at a professional level have taken a toll on his senses.

Just barely a minute into the match, the Russian Butch Treb sniped one of the Rogatkas out of the game, while the tag-team Stalker setup dealt with the other. The Russians captured all beacons except for the Swedish home spot; Akrymadov knows that there’s no need for them to try to force the issue and risk overextending their forces.

“Stalkers, retreat! Fall back to the research center! Rhinos, hide at different spots and apply pressure! Treb, keep firing when there’s an open opportunity!”

The styles of Nikolai and Musa can’t be much different: While the former relies on experience and instinct in order to make on-the-spot calls and seize the initiative, the latter is more cerebral and relies on preset tactics in order to create opportunities on the battlefield.

“Who the heck is captaining the Russian team? Their style is different now!” exclaimed Mark.

“It’s another person, more probably the vice-captain. This is definitely not the Vampire’s style of in-game calling,” commented the Swedish captain.

Hasanovic was right, but he can’t do anything as they can’t keep up with the tempo and calculated plays of the Russian side. Surely but slowly, they were being pushed out of the tournament.

They had control of their half of the map, but couldn’t go near the research center as the Russians now went for the two TT Fury and three Rhino strategy, with a Gareth poking in the sidelines. It was a solid balance of offense and defense; the Russians knew that they only needed to remain disciplined in order to be able to end the match and get to the semi-finals of the world’s largest War Robots competition.

Seeing that they could not even regain the control center, the Swedes decided on one final gambit to capture the inner beacon called The Port Area from the metropolis spawn. However, the Russians were quick to react and they repositioned two of their Rhinos and their lone Gareth, with one of their TT Fury bots providing overwatch from The High-Rise, which is completely in their hands at this point in time.

However, with the Rhinos providing a ton of firepower and using cover efficiently, the Swedish attack slowed down and turned to a crawl.

Recognizing this, the Swedish captain stood up and clapped at the crowd.

The crowd saw the gesture and they also clapped in response. Meanwhile, the Russians shouted altogether, “CYKA BLYAT!!!” as they jumped in joy at their luck.

Polar Pro has just swept the Swedish national team in reverse, 2-1.

Medevdev and Akrymadov smiled at each other, knowing that they both played a vital part in the win.

The Russians could not contain their joy as they embraced each other in front of a supportive Filipino crowd.

But then, the Russian captain knew that the real fight is still ahead of them.

You can read the next chapter here! As for the previous one, you can always go back!