The IGPX Action Reports Archive |
The 2049 season's second playoffs match pits Team Velshtein against Team Satomi. Last year's final race found Team Satomi and Team Velshtein duking it out in the face of heavy downpours. It nonetheless had audiences standing and cheering in celebration of Team Satomi's victory and the fierce battle that was waged. IGPX's official bookmaker places the odds of either team winning at about the same level. Almost confirming this towards the beginning of the race, audiences saw Team Satomi taking on Team Velshtein's formation, following closely behind them. Entering the second lap, Takeshi appears in the front of the pack. From the get-go, Cunningham faced Takeshi head-on for a one-on-one battle. But at the pace with which things picked up, there seemed to be no room for second guessing. Reaching the halfway point of the second lap, there were minimal points with which the racers could take a breath in this struggle to survive. Amy and Liz in a coordinated move send Jan flying forward. With their built-up momentum, they went for Dew and caused his mech to crash. It was excellent timing, as Dew was focused on his teammate, Jan, being vaulted just moments earlier. A pit signal is called for Dew. The race then enters the second half, and the match turns into an all-out war. In the fury of attacks, no pilot was able to deliver a fatal blow to an opposing team's pilot, but no pilot was able to shake off attacks made by opposing pilots perfectly either. Through the innumerable attacks, every machine was decorated with scratches on the front sides. Eventually, the protective layers of metal on the mechs peeled off and slowly became less useful throughout the race. The fighting was so intense that it ushered the pilots quickly into the second half of the third lap, where still no pilot had changed into Speed Mode and the pilots were all crowded together in one spot as the proceeded into the home stretch. Two pilots proceeded past the finish line in a sheet of spray. The judges had to yield to a replay to make the call as to who finished first (this has become commonplace this season). Those two pilots were Cunningham and Takeshi, who continued attacking and blocking while making circling around each other's mechs for a big chunk of the race. In the end, confirming with all available angles on the footage, it was Takeshi's mech who barely passed the finish line first to win the match for Team Satomi. At that point, the standing ovation that was occurring in the audience for the six pilots who all passed the finish line in their respective mechs only increased more fervently to an intensity as there has almost never been before. The lengthy applause and the cheering that continued afterwards as fans left the stands was for Team Satomi who have now placed in the finals for two years in a row, and for Team Velshtein who showed an incredible display of power during the race. With the result of this race, Team Satomi and Team White Snow are the two teams facing off in the finals. This is the second year that a 1st-year rookie team is facing off against the previous year's league champion. Will Team Satomi proceed to become champion again for a second year in a row as Team Velshtein has been able to do in the past? Or will Team White Snow be able to pull off a win, making it so that a rookie team will have won the championship two years in a row? The finals race is in two days, and it will have the whole world watching to see the results! |
Episode 24 Action Reports |
Report #01: Team Satomi Vs. Team Velshtein -The fierce fighting seen a year ago returns! |