In February 2013, Club Penguin armies saw a new tournament being announced. This tournament became just one of the most historic tournaments in history. This tournament is, of course, the March Madness.
Designed by Edu
On February 25th 2013, Club Penguin Army Central announced a tournament inspired by the NCAA’s ‘March Madness‘ basketball tournament. CPAC used the name of the NCAA tournament and took inspiration from the tournament structure to create a new army tournament. The idea would see four weeks of battles taking place, with the idea of the tournament lasting for the entirety of March.
The scheduling of the tournament was not easy as many changes took place. These changes came in the form of the armies which would participate. The original post was updated multiple times to include who was and was not participating in the tournament. Alongside the changes in armies, edits were also made to state who would be judging the first-round battles.
Round 1: Day One
The first round, also known as the ‘Sweet Sixteen’, took place over the course of two days. On day one, Saturday, March 2nd, four battles took place. The Pirates faced the Hot Sauce Army in a heated contest. The battle was close as the HSA started off strongly, giving Pirates everything they had. They were quick and showed consistency throughout the battle, proving themselves hard to beat. Despite their consistency, the Hot Sauce Army was outnumbered and outmanoeuvred as Pirates soon turned the battle in their favour. Therefore, the Pirates progressed to the next round.
The Army of Club Penguin faced the Pretzels in what was supposed to be a close battle. However, ACP showed that they were not going to be beaten easily, bringing 35+ troops to the battle. They greatly outnumbered the Pretzels, giving them the win. Nachos also had an easy day at the office as Light Troops forfeited the battle after seeing only 8 members online on their Xat chat.
Finally, in the last match-up of day one, Tacos would face Heroes. The two armies evenly fought throughout the 30-minute battle. However, Tacos just about earned the win, securing their place in the next round.
Tacos vs Heroes during their battle
Round 1: Day Two
Day two took place on March 4th and saw four more battles take place. The first battle was between the Metal Warriors and the Underground Mafias Army. The battle saw small sizes from both sides as each of them faced an uphill battle in the tournament. However, this didn’t stop them from trying. Ultimately, the Metal Warriors outperformed and outnumbered UMA, earning their place in the next round.
The second battle saw another uphill battle take place as Water Vikings took on the Doritos of Club Penguin. The Doritos saw sizes of up to 25 while the Vikings only managed to max 5. Despite that, the Vikings put up a great fight, tactically. However, it wasn’t enough to beat the Doritos. Therefore, the Doritos marched on into the next round. Much like Doritos’ battle, Special Weapons And Tactics managed to pull out a win against Dark Warriors. While the armies were close, SWAT pulled ten troops more than the Warriors, leading to them logging off. Their forfeit enabled SWAT to progress to the next round.
The fourth battle of the day was between Army Republic and Ice Warriors. Due to maintenance taking place on Club Penguin, the battle would take place on the following Saturday. Both of the armies were closely matched in size but the Warriors swept the battle with their size advantage, tactics and consistency.
Army Republic vs Ice Warriors in the first round
Round 2: Day One
The first battles of Round 2, also known as the ‘Elite Eight’ occurred on March 9th. Pirates took to Club Penguin to take on the Nachos in a highly anticipated battle. Both armies were evenly matched in size and only cancelled each other out in other aspects of the battle. This led to a tie-breaker being needed for the judges to be able to determine a winner. It was one of the closest matches of the tournament thus far. Ultimately, Nachos took home the win and proceeded to the semi-finals.
Unlike the first battle, the second battle was a one-way street as ACP showed up to fight Tacos. However, Tacos did not and ultimately forfeited the battle. This paved ACP’s path to the semi-finals.
Army of Club Penguin during their Elite Eight battle
Round 2: Day Two
On the second day, Doritos faced Metal Warriors. However, despite making it to the Elite Eight, the Warriors did not show up. SWAT, on the other hand, went on to face Ice Warriors. Both of the armies were closely matched but Ice Warriors outmaxed the agents. Whilst the agents were consistent, this was not enough to knock off the Ice Warriors. Therefore, the Warriors progressed to the next round.
Ice Warriors vs SWAT
The Final Four
Round 3, also known as the Final Four, took place one week later. ACP took on the Nachos in what would be a heated contest between two closely matched armies. The battle saw maxes of 40+ from both armies, with each of them coming out on top in different aspects of the battle. After an intense battle and a tiebreaker, the Nachos were determined as the winners, cementing their place in the finals.
In the second battle of this round, Ice Warriors faced Doritos. The Doritos soon saw themselves outnumbered by the Warriors during the battle. Despite this, they held hope and fought valiantly throughout the battle. With their tactics being superior to the Warriors, they put up a great fight. However, even though their tactics were on point, Ice Warriors was too big of a threat. This meant that the Ice Warriors would go on to face the Nachos in the finals.
Ice Warriors vs Doritos
The Championship
The Championship, also known as the finals, took place on March 24th between Nachos and Ice Warriors. The community was preparing for a clash of the ages which would see many troops get locked out of rooms. As they prepared for the March Madness finals, CPAC listed their rules for the battle. The battle would occur across 3 rooms with any lockouts during the battle being counted in the Town. This meant that whoever got into the room the quickest would have the size advantage.
The style of tournaments that we all know today was put into practice and determined who won the battle. The first room (Dojo) saw the Nachos dominate the Warriors, firmly placing one hand on the trophy. However, it was too early for any results to be called because, in the next room (Forts), the Ice Warriors were prepared for what the Nachos brought. Despite the Ice Warriors getting penalised for entering early, they secured the victory, making it all to play for in room 3.
When both armies entered the Berg, there was an even playing field for both armies as they both showcased their desire to win the trophy. The tournament allowed them the chance to etch their name in army history and in MM’s history. Despite each army winning a room before this, there was no clear winner of room 3. Both Ice Warriors and Nachos fought valiantly and cancelled each other out. Ultimately, the scores of each room had to be totalled up, meaning that the winner of the tournament would be decided by the scores from each room being combined.
The Nachos came out on top of the scoreboard (13-6), officially winning the first-ever March Madness tournament.
Want to watch the tournament finals for yourself? Be sure to click here to see the Nachos take on the Ice Warriors from the perspective of the Warriors.
Now, 11 years later, we see eight armies getting ready to battle it out for a chance to win this coveted trophy.
Which army will become the ninth winner of the March Madness tournament? Did the Nachos deserve to win or should there have been overtime? Would you like to see more posts like this? Be sure to let us know!