Congratulations Premier winners The Hardies!
The first map of the OZF 17 Premier Grand Final was the quintessential TF2 map, Badlands.
The Hardies came out swinging, taking a very dominant first round and it looked as if the top seeded team would make quick work of the first map. But not to be outdone,
eLo_aSsAsSiNs returned kind with a very quick equalising round off the back of an excellent midfight, which then went on to set the tone for the rest of the match. Despite some excellent individual play by the scouts of
The Hardies, they continued to struggle against the mids of
eLo_aSsAsSiNs, and with the scores locked at 3-3 after 30 minutes, the first map went to a golden cap, which was finally taken by
eLo_aSsAsSiNs after a myriad of failed last pushes and a couple of costly ÜberCharge drops by Hawk.
Granary followed as the second map, and
The Hardies were keen to reaffirm their top-seeded status after they narrowly lost Badlands.
eLo_aSsAsSiNs seemingly had no answer to seph’s mid bombs, and lead by Zaka's aggressive solo ÜberCharges,
The Hardies were quick to open up a very commanding 3-0 lead. Despite the best efforts of yewl and lock, both of whom had notable plays,
eLo_aSsAsSiNs were unable to really make their mark on Granary, going down to
The Hardies 5-1.
With the map count tied at 1-1,
The Hardies looked to be in the ascendancy as they again took an early first round on what proved to be an extremely messy affair on Process. The messy conditions really allowed for ohai and sussurus to shine in a way that Granary did not. Despite strong performances by both
eLo_aSsAsSiNs scouts, some impressive sniping by Geoh, backed by solid Demoman play from Enrith managed to increase
The Hardies lead to 2-0 with half the map gone. After winning a gruelling 12-minute round to put themselves within a round,
eLo_aSsAsSiNs had the chance to force a golden cap with 2 minutes left to play, but were unable to capitalise off their mid win with
The Hardies taking Process 2-1, bringing the overall map score to 2-1 in their favour.
With their Grand Final life on the line,
eLo_aSsAsSiNs looked to yewl for guidance on Gullywash, and he delivered, pumping out excellent damage as both teams quickly capitalised mid wins into rounds, with the scores being locked at 2-2 within 10 minutes. However, Elmo. was a constant force for
The Hardies on the flank and Zaka persevered with his aggressive solo ÜberCharges. It looked as if
eLo_aSsAsSiNs had no answers as they quickly found themselves at a 2 round deficit. The teams continued to trade rounds but
The Hardies constantly with the advantage, found themselves 6-5 ahead with less than a minute to play.
eLo_aSsAsSiNs attempted one final last push, but found themselves denied by the ÜberCharge of Hawk,
The Hardies taking the map and with it the title, becoming ozfortress Premier Season 17 Champions by a map score of 3-1.
Thank you to all the players and support staff that helped make this season possible! Reminder that Summer Cup 2017 is coming soon so go sign up!
Placements
1st -
The Hardies
2nd -
eLo_aSsAsSiNs
3rd -
Intoxicated
Awards

Champions:
The Hardies

Best Demoman:
yewl

Best Medic:
sage (Gramps) and obla

Best Pocket:
Zaka

Best Roamer:
seph

Best Scout:
Elmo.

Best Utility:
ohai
Most Improved Player:
Benjamin
Most Valuable Player:
Geoh
Friendliest Team:
2-19 and the pencil jumpers
Most Improved Team:
xenophobiaphobia and Intoxicated
Credit to yauch for the match writeup.

