Developers World Championship: Match Report - USA v Finland (Semi Finals)

USA Doodle Jump (Lima Sky)

VS FINLAND Angry Birds (Rovio Mobile)

Marciano v Ali, Maradona v Cruyff, Hulk Hogan v The Rock, and New Kids on the Block v Boyzone. None of these classic match-ups had anything on tonight’s clash of the App Store titans.

Doodle Jump, Angry Birds, and Flight Control are the three greatest iOS icons to date. Two of these heavyweight contenders were in action in this, the second semi final of the iPhone Game Developers World Championship, whilst the third potentially lay in wait for today's winner.

While Japan and Australia were about to duke it out a couple of miles away in iStadium II, Lima Sky’s Doodle Jump and Angry Birds by Rovio Mobile were making final preparations for the biggest night of their respective lives under the watchful gaze of quite literally thousands of folk worldwide.

If you weren’t already familiar with the USA and Finland’s app royalty, you either don't own an iDevice or you are tuned into the wrong channel.

You'd have been glad that you did, though, as both apps were in fabulous form. Uncle Sam’s prodigal son, Doodle the Doodler, had bumped comeback kings, Serbia, out of the competition in the second round, but Angry Birds was a different species altogether.

The Nordic warriors had fair cruised through the group stages, deservedly earning the tag ‘dark horse’ for their commanding and assured performances. Defeating near-neighbours Sweden in the Last 16 by the odd goal in five meant bragging rights, too, were theirs for a year or four, at least.

To a sell-out crowd in the majestic iStadium then, America would take on Europe in Pocket Gamer’s iPhone dev. version of the Ryder Cup.

But who would sink the winning putt and who would be left cursing their luck in the sandtrap?

Over to the first tee...

Kick Off: 7.30pm, 7th July

The critical view: Special guest referee Pierluigi Colleen Roonio was flown in by the organising committee for this momentous event.

Goal line technology had been introduced earlier on in the tournament, but the hardnosed and old-fashioned Italian official was still sceptical in some respects. Could it be a factor this evening?

In stark contrast to the concurrent Japan v Australia game, Doodle Jump and Angry Birds flew out of the blocks. Doodle the Doodler bounced off some explosive (sky) high tackles from Finland’s flock in a ferocious opening period.

At a tempo unmatched by any game hitherto at the tournament, the two behemoths’ taut, effective, and simplistic approaches created some wonderful attacking opportunities at both ends of the park.

Competing in the air with great verve, USA and Finland weren’t willing to cede an inch in this addictive spectacle – you couldn’t keep your Retina displays off the action for an instant.

Angry Birds pressed even harder on the half hour, swooping on any tiny mistake in the American backline. Slinging and catapulting crosses in from the two wings, Rovio’s flyers weren’t reneging on their famed shoot-on-sight policy.

Lima Sky's backroom staff weren’t resting on their laurels either, frantically sketching and then relaying formation changes and set piece routines from the dugout.

However, something was still missing from the platformer's all-round performance; a lack of spring in the four-legged forward's step, perhaps.

As the stadium’s giant clock ticked closer to 8.15pm, both sides’ Facebook and Twitter networks were working overtime behind the scenes to rouse interest for, what now looked like, the decisive second half.

Before Roonio could blow for the break, the national flags were ceremoniously raised above the arena, each emblazoned with the PG Silver Award.

Encouraged by the critical acclaim, the forward lines of USA and Finland bucked their ideas up in an instant, propelling two quickfire scores past the respective goalies.

Lima Sky's side struck first, building a progressive passing move from its midfield platform and bounding up the pitch. Switching left to right with some neat analog-control, the anchor in midfield planted a cross on the leaping Doodler's forehead.

Of course, you're never more vulnerable than when you've just scored. So it proved for the US who succumbed immediately to a long aerial ball that caused havoc in the box before being smashed home by the fiery redheaded forward.

What drama. What heart. What pluck.

What would happen next?

Half time: USA 1 – 1 Finland The Fans’ 45: Zoinks. Yikes. Yeeha. The Americans had roused one helluva rabble for this dramatic encounter. In the iStadium tonight you couldn't hear yourself think, let alone type, over the constant U-S-A, U-S-A chants.

Instantly galvanised by the Yankee jingoism, the Doodler leapt highest at a corner to nod home at the back stick to take his tally to nine for the Championship. Only French hitman Fontaine and German predator Müller had netted more in any single Sepp Blatter-endorsed tournament previously.

The Finnish attempted to strike back immediately, rousing their own impressive crowd and upping their play through a good number of the available 135 levels. They enjoyed a concerted spell of pressure, too, and came close a couple of times thanks to some penetrating special attacks from their blond wingers. Somehow they just couldn't quite manage to unlock the American defence (or their special golden eggs, for that matter).

Suffice to say, they were also stretching themselves defensively as they continued to push forward and Doodle Jump promptly took advantage. Avoiding all manner of creative obstacles hurled in his path, Lima Sky's spring-heeled hero sped forward once more and, having bounced on the head of a challenging defender, found himself free on goal with time enough to dispatch the Americans' third.

In truth, the agile app couldn't take all the credit: a sizeable assist was due to the crowd, which seemed to be growing in volume with every passing second.

With 20 minutes left on the clock, both sides sent on replacements: the cumbersome, yet prolific, Finnish forward, Boomerang, was coming back into the frontline after a brief absence in the hope of turning things around.

Rather than answer this with a defensive change, an increasingly confident US bench simply brought on even more firepower in the shape of their World Cup upgrade.

Whilst the Finns continued to press relentlessly, all of their attacks were now being blunted by a literal wall of noise from the stands. The US fans just seemed to keep on coming, outnumbering their rivals at least 10-to-1. The stands (and our servers) were literally heaving under the weight of numbers until, in unprecedented scenes, we entered the final minutes with some of the people actually on the pitch.

Had the American fans misunderstood the soccer-style regulations? Did they perhaps think it was all over?

With the Finns increasingly distracted, Doodle Jump's energetic central midfielder took the opportunity to slip on his secret jet-pack and unleash a rocket of a shot beyond the out-stretched wing of the Finns' goalkeeper.

As the whistle blew just moments later, the iPitch was engulfed by celebrating Doodle Jump fans in crudely drawn replica jerseys and it would be harsh to say they didn't deserve to be out their with their heroes.

It goes without saying that the 12th man (and the 12,000th come to that) made the difference today. Whilst the Finns were a match in quality and critical appreciation, and certainly played their part in a wonderful match, when it came to support, even the Angry Birds' passionate fans were reduced to a chirp against the feverish furore today.

Rovio still had third place to play for, but it was the Doodle Jump creators who would be looking to reach for the (Lima) Sky in Sunday's final.

Full time: USA 4 – 1 Finland Final Group Tables - Fixtures & Voting - Squads

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