Welcome to This Day in History, a column examining notable historical moments. This edition will discuss the events that occurred on March 11 such as the Champions Cup, the Dark Warriors’ shutdown, and the Water Ninjas’ leadership changes.
Designed by Edu14463
Champions Cup COMMENCES
Firstly, Club Penguin Army Central established the Champions Cup in early March 2012 as a new community-wide spring tournament. The organization invited the 16 top armies, placing them in four random groups. The first group (Group A) included Nachos, Dark Warriors, Special Weapons and Tactics, and Team Gold. The following group (Group B) consisted of the Army of Club Penguin, Golden Troops, Pirates, and Metal Warriors. In Group C, the present armies consisted of Ninjas, Underground Mafias Army, Doritos of Club Penguin, and Watex Warriors. Consequently, Group D contained Light Troops, Ice Warriors, Shadow Troops, and Global Defenders.
These armies then faced off against one another for a pre-determined number of points. If an army won, they received three points while they obtained zero points if they lost. However, an army gained one point if a battle resulted in a draw. After the group stage concluded, the two top armies in each group then proceeded to a knock-out round. Next, each victorious army battled the randomly selected runner-up army of another group. Subsequently, the winners of these battles moved on to the semi-finals where a draw determined who they faced. Finally, the winners of the semi-finals fought for the championship title. With these set rules, the tournament commenced with the first group-stage battles.
Tournament Bracket
March 11, 2012
Nachos vs. SWAT
In the first battle, Nachos showed up with 25 penguins while SWAT had 32 troops. Despite the size advantage, Nachos made the battle competitive even as the Agents still came out with the win. Ultimately, SWAT gained three points and climbed the leaderboard for the group.
SWAT vs. Nachos
Dark Warriors vs. Team Gold
Unlike the previous close battle, Dark Warriors emerged as the much bigger army against Team Gold. With 35 penguins, DW accomplished a quick win after Team Gold surrendered the battle. As such, DW gained a better chance of advancing to the next round.
ACP vs. Pirates
After the first two battles, the Clovers faced off against the Pirates with a size advantage of over 20 penguins. Consequently, ACP obtained the first victory in Group B and gained three points as well. Finally, their max became one of the largest of the day.
Pirates vs. ACP
Metal Warriors vs. Golden Troops
While other battles were competitive, Metal Warriors and GT had an especially close conflict with 13 penguins each. As a result, the judges did not come to a decisive conclusion about the winner. In the end, both armies acquired one point with a tie for second in their group.
Metal Warriors vs. Golden Troops
Ninjas vs. Doritos & UMA vs. Watex Warriors
Following the tie, Ninjas defeated Doritos after the latter did not show up to the battle. With the no-show, Ninjas gained an automatic three points as they maxed 30 troops. Comparatively, the UMA-Watex Warriors battle resulted in a tie due to the close sizes of both armies. As these battles concluded, two battles remained for the first week of group-stage battles.
UMA vs. Watex Warriors
Light Troops vs. Shadow Troops & Ice Warriors vs. Global Defenders
In the penultimate battle, LT achieved victory over Shadow Troops with 40 penguins. While they had a size advantage, Shadow Troops’ tactics made the battle somewhat competitive. Despite this, LT turned out victorious in their first battle of the tournament. Next, IW beat Global Defenders with a major size advantage of 29 penguins. As the final battle concluded, the first weekend of the group stage ended along with it. The most successful armies were LT, IW, Ninjas, ACP, and SWAT with 3 points each. Lastly, the tournament continued into the next few weeks with several more battles. Ultimately, Ninjas came out on top for another tournament title. However, other important events occurred in the following years on March 11.
IW vs. Global Defenders
Dark Warriors Shut Down
Over their first several years in action, Dark Warriors experienced much success on the Top Tens and in war. Their most significant success in this time came in 2014 with multiple number-one placements and tournament wins. Subsequently, their success resulted from having leaders like Silverburg, XxToysoldier, Freezie66, Elmikey, and XiUnknown. Despite their dominance, problems emerged such as staff leaving for other armies and internal drama. Additionally, disputes between leaders exacerbated tensions within the army. Furthermore, many wars added additional pressure to an army with immense internal strife. Consequently, discussions about a possible shutdown began in March 2015.
Christmas Chaos IV Finals
March 11, 2015
As many leaders departed the army, they left the remaining higher-command members with a difficult decision. Moreover, a war with IW became a threat as tensions escalated between the two armies. Finally, the army officially shut down as XiUnknown came to a final decision on March 11, 2015. On the other hand, he left the door open for a future revival of the army. As such, the summer of 2015 became a setting for a promised revival on April 13, 2015. In short, the army only stayed closed for a short time. Moving on, there were other major leadership changes in 2015, like within the Water Ninjas.
Leadership Changes in Water Ninjas
In 2012, Jayden1092 founded Water Ninjas and became its first leader. However, trouble with other armies contributed to a merger into another army not long after. Simultaneously, a defacement preceded the creator’s departure from the community. Soon after, the army returned for its 2nd generation under the leadership of Angel, a Hot Sauce Army leader. Later on, the army shut down after many conflicts with armies like Snowball Warriors. Furthermore, its third and fourth generations saw the introductions of leaders like Orange. Next, the army’s fifth generation began with the leadership of Gator, Angel, and Jai. Finally, the new leadership team changed in March 2015.
Opening Event of WN’s 5th Generation
March 11, 2015
During their fifth generation, WN rose to the sixth position in the Top Ten rankings. For further success, the army decided on new leaders such as Taco, Orange, and Whats Up11. All had experience leading other armies before they were selected as leaders. However, Taco and Whats Up11 quickly faced removal which led to Bluex‘s ascension to leader. Subsequently, Bluex’s return marked the comeback of one of the previous leaders of the army. Most importantly, he cancelled the sixth generation, leading to a fifth era for the army. Lastly, he announced his return date as March 14, 2015, and left a message to the troops. Overall, these leadership changes contributed to major changes to the organizational structure of the army.
Water Ninjas Event
Conclusion
On March 11, the community witnessed great change and participated in competitive tournament battles. The first round of the Champions Cup had both close battles and blowouts that displayed the gap between different armies. Next, the turbulence in DW showed how even the strongest armies faced several trials to be successful. Finally, WN’s leadership changes were another chapter in an army’s history that had a significant amount of conflict. What do YOU think of these armies? What do YOU think of the Champions Cup? Would the tournament be something you would want to see again? What leadership changes do YOU think are the most controversial?
Aurora
Senior Reporter