The past 12 months have been filled with wars and multiple creative tournaments seeing many armies come out on top. However, the winners of each of them have not always come out on top after winning a war or a trophy. In this post, we will explore why winning does not mean everything.
Designed by Edu
“Winning doesn’t matter” – A bold statement from any former army member. However, within the past year alone, we have seen this being proven over and over. Yet, while it’s been proven, there has been little discussion about it. Of course, armies can achieve great things by winning, such as coveted tournament trophies and awards. But we have seen armies lose wars but then go on to win tournaments and vice-versa. So, does winning or losing truly mean that the winning army is the best? Does it mean an army leader is any less accomplished because they have not won a tournament or a war?
Let us start with last year, 2023. Remember when it felt like the Rebel Penguin Federation would win everything? Well, I do. However, even when it felt like they were going to win everything, they were faced with tough competition. This led them to miss out on some trophies whilst maintaining others. In 2023, they walked into the March Madness tournament as one of the favourites to win. This was because, well, they are RPF. But also, they had won the Christmas Chaos in 2022 and were in great form. To nobody’s surprise, they went on to win the tournament.
However, their win in the tournament was not preceded or followed by their dominance in the community. In fact, in March, despite winning the March Madness, they placed just second in the ‘Top Ten of The Month‘. Yet, during the last full week of March, they placed sixth. This alone shows that the grass was not always green during their tournament run. The start of 2023 saw a lot of controversy and, in terms of the Top Tens, a lot of changes. It was truly anyone’s game with armies like the Doritos and Dark Vikings both claiming the top spot despite the former only returning for their annual anniversary event.
Help Force vs the Rebel Penguin Federation in the March Madness Finals
Funnily enough, the Help Force made it to the finals of the tournament but fell short, not able to win a single room. In the first full week of April, the Rebels drop from second to fifth with their highest max being 22. Only two armies maxed lower than them that week. Whereas, the Help Force went from sixth to fourth. In the following week, they went up by two places, once again, gaining second place. The Rebels maintained fifth. Both armies did drop and then rise again but regardless of their place within the Top Ten, neither army was dominant. It could be argued that HF was the ‘in-form’ army over the RPF, placing first in the Top Ten of February and placing fourth in the last full week of March. However, they did fall to sixth in the week after.
Following this, the Ausia Arena took place in May and the Rebels were nowhere to be seen. In fact, they did not participate. However, the Help Force did and they went on to face the Water Vikings in the finals. Ultimately, the Help Force won the tournament despite falling short in the March Madness, showing they should not be underestimated.
Help Force vs Water Vikings in the Ausia Arena Finals
The next big event after this was World War IX which saw most of the community collide in a heated war. Once again, the winner of the previous tournament was not involved. In the last full week of May, the Top Tens saw the Vikings take first while HF settled for second place. WV also went on to claim the top spot of the month of May despite being bested in the tournament. The World War saw the Vikings alongside Elite Guardians and Rebel Penguin Federation declare war on the Army of Club Penguin with several armies coming to their aid. It must be stated that while HF were nowhere to be seen in the war, they did announce their support for ACP. However, they did not take part in scheduling invasions.
Since their return earlier in 2023, the Water Vikings took many people by surprise because they were often competing for first place in the Top Tens. In fact, they were able to grab the top spot on March 6 despite returning on January 15. This was the first time that they had reached the top spot in the CPPS era. The rise was one to be watched. However, tournaments seemed to be out of the question as they failed to seize the opportunity. They went into the war having recently been beaten by the Helpers yet they came out of the war with several wins. Ultimately, no winner was declared and the war score was wiped but their battle wins, while they may mean nothing, still go down in history.
Army of Club Penguin vs Water Vikings in World War IX
After World War IX, the community witnessed the long-awaited Legends Cup. Before the tournament got underway, the Vikings claimed the top spot in the Top Ten of June. The war definitely benefitted the Vikings in early June but they were able to keep the momentum going afterwards. However, the week following the war’s ending, the Vikings fell from the top spot in the Top Tens, dropping to second. Second is by no means a bad position, however, was this a sign of things to come?
During the Legends Cup, the Water Vikings made their way to the Semi-Finals. However, they failed to get past their allies, the Rebel Penguin Federation, to proceed to the finals. The finals saw ACP and RPF battle each other to try and win the coveted trophy. Despite their part in World War IX on the opposite side of WV, they were able to beat the Rebels to win their first Legends Cup tournament.
ACP was also the army to gain the top spot in the Top Tens the week following the conclusion of the war. However, they were dethroned by Help Force in the next Top Ten as they dropped to fifth place. ACP had little momentum before the tournament and following the war despite them gaining first the week following the war’s conclusion. The Top Ten for the first full week of July saw EGCP claim first. They were also able to reclaim it in the following week. ACP climbed from fourth to second in those two weeks but failed to conquer EGCP.
ACP vs RPF in the Legends Cup Finals
Thereafter, the Legends Cup started and once again showed that winning one war or tournament meant nothing. The pattern of events changed from here with ACP going on to win their war against the Elite Guardians. However, the war ended after many extremely close battles with the score being 18-1-15 [W-L-T]. It could be argued that the cup win propelled the Army of Club Penguin to win their war. It could also be argued that EGCP were the favourite to win based on their Top Ten form. Yet, it was not to be as ACP was able to prevail against the odds. However, in terms of the top tens they finished fourth for the month of July. From here, ACP went on a great run in August (the month when the war took place) to claim the Top spot for that month.
In terms of the argument being made and the set of events that took place, they broke the cycle. They went on to win the Trick or Treat Trials Tournament in October. However, does that prove that winning is important or holds great meaning? From the first eight months of 2023 alone, it was proven that an army may win a tournament but go on to lose a war or vice versa. Interestingly, momentum had nothing to do with tournament wins (before or after). This is not the only time that it has been proven that winning means nothing either. In fact, some instances have little to do with wars or tournaments. However, that’s an editorial for another time (part two).
Part Two of ‘Winning Doesn’t Matter And It’s Been Proven!’ will continue from where I have left off and take a different look at why winning does not mean anything. Not all “successful” people within armies have won a mass amount of tournaments or had a lot of momentum. However, they were still able to become successful. Should we change the way we view a person’s success in armies? Do you disagree with the statement that the point has made? What do you think?
Coolguy
Executive Producer