Team Elevate Shuts Down Lamp to Win WGLNA Finals

An unpredictable win capped the most unpredictable season in WGLNA history, as eLevate stormed back from a 0-2 deficit to defeat I Love Lamp 5-3, capturing the Season 5 championship and cashing in on the $75,000 first place prize.

Team eLevate’s season began with a last-second merger with Burn All Empires, as the two squads joined forces in a power move to take control of the Gold League. But after beginning the season with three straight losses, the new lineup initially didn’t even look poised to make a playoff run, let alone make a serious push for the title.  

But that’s just where eLevate found themselves Sunday night at the Live Finals in San Francisco, as after pulling off the semi-finals upset to takedown top seed The Cunninghams, GeeForcer and crew overcame an initial run by upstarts Lamp, leading the charge with their aggressive playstyle on Murovanka to flip that shocking 0-2 start into their first ever WGLNA trophy.

“It was tough being down 0-2, but we were confident in our Murovanka defense,” said GeeForcer after the win. “That second Muro defense, we stole it out of their hands and after that kind of win, we were confident heading into Himmelsdorf that we could take it all the way. We were all just in the zone.”

Added eLevate’s Zoidbergenstein: “I knew if we hit Himmelsdorf 2-2, we would take it because Himmelsdorf had been our map all season. We did it against RUlette, we did it against Lamp in the Finals … we love that map.”

Next stop? Team eLevate travels to Poland to take on the best Tanks teams from around the world in the Grand Finals.  

“We’re so looking forward to Poland,” said GeeForcer. “We were there for Rumble in the West, but we didn’t play so well, so we’re looking to redeem ourselves. We’re confident with the new format. We think we can not only compete, but beat some of the top teams in the world.”

“I think if there’s a team that’s going to go to Europe and win, it’s eLevate,” added Zoid. “We can’t wait to show the rest of the world what we can do.”

Notes and Quotes from the Finals …

Play of the Day: With S.I.M.P. on the verge of pushing Lamp to a semi-finals tie-breaker, Baby Halo went on a rampage. Sure, the cap had hit 100-percent, but that doesn’t mean the game is over. Caster Ruukil explained: “Within World of Tanks, there is a mechanic that has been around for a very long time. If the cap goes to 100-percent and victory is declared, there is a moment or two where the game decides that it’s over. And in that moment, if a tank dies, the game is extended by five seconds. Following that, the game will resolve, but the scenario can be repeated, so if another tank dies, the game is extended again by another five seconds and the game will continue. And so, as long as you get a tank dying every five seconds, you can extend the game until every tank is destroyed. It will change the result if Team A caps and wins, but then Team B destroys all tanks. In this scenario, Team B ultimately is declared the winner. It’s the one percent of the one percent, and it’s something we’ve never seen in WGLNA before. When people talk about the Season 5 Finals, this is the play they’ll be talking about most. I was losing it when it happened.”

zGarmin on eLevate’s win: “The first map was tough, but our caller, Zonedelta, managed to keep us together and keep moving, and it's because of him that we managed to pull through.”

Finals MVP: “GeeForcer was the best player on the best team,” said Ruukil. “Dodoma, Akula, and Commander Jay also deserve shout outs, but GeeForcer wins it for the night. He played Himmelsdorf so solidly, every member of I Love Lamp had to respect him, and by respect him, I mean fear him.”

Zoid talks eLevate/Burn All Empires merger: “At the start of the season, we were worried. We had lost a couple of key guys from the team, so we asked ourselves what we could do to be the best this season. Was continuing to run under my leadership going to be best for the team? We decided, no, I don’t think so. Burn All Empires is a team we have had complete faith in since the season started. We never lost it. Under Gee and Zone’s leadership, they’ve taken us to a National Championship. The first of many to come.”