| FIELDING: The final of the New Zealand Command and Conquer Grand Masters Championship, held in Fielding yesterday, produced what critics today are calling one of the best matches of all time. Kurt Smith, a relative new comer to the C&C scene, met Conrad Ireland, Grand Master and 6 times NZ Champion, in what was predicted to be a very one sided affair. Nobody told Smith however and what unfolded was an epic tussle between the two. Smith, a 21-year-old bottle store attendant produced some unorthodox manoeuvres to unsettle Ireland, and eventually capture the New Zealand Command and Conquer crown of 2001.
The match, which was due to kick off at 2:30, was delayed by half an hour as the competitors had to wait for Conrads' mum to leave for work. Once she vacated the premises the lounge was theirs and the battle commenced. The initial stages of the confrontation were as expected with Ireland employing the Scorpions' Tail defence to Smith's Tiberian King. Base construction continued at a frenetic pace without much of an advantage to either party until Smith made the near fatal mistake of packing a monster bong just before undertaking his first major offensive. "Everything was going well, I had amassed two squadrons of Mammoth Tanks supported by rockets and choppers and was ready to deploy my troops in a two pronged pincer movement, but after that hit it was like, I think I'll just put the troops in an APC and drive them round a bit," Smith said after the match. Having years of experience under his belt, Ireland correctly diagnosed the reason for Smiths erratic behaviour and pounced immediately deploying tanks and artillery with deadly precision, destroying much of Smith's base. It seemed the result was a forgone conclusion, especially since at this point Smith's key strategy was to make lots of dogs because "they sounded cool." Thinking he had the match in the bag, Ireland took his foot off the jugular and sat back to finish his pizza and enjoy the finale. This gave Smith the time he needed to create an over-whelming arm of attack dogs which drew all of Ireland's fire, allowing the small number of tanks Smith had left to sneak in unnoticed and eradicate the NZ champion's base. Smith has no time to rest on his laurels, however, as planning for a title challenge are already underway. The rematch will take place early next week with organisers waiting for confirmation of Ireland's mum's roster before making the final date public. |
| Command and Conquer NZ champion decided |
Tuesday, 01 May 2001 12:00
