iGDWC 2010: The Final and 3rd Place Match Previews

At last!

Over the weekend, the Pocket Gamer iPhone Game Developers World Championship reaches its climax, as four nations come together for 180 minutes of heart-pounding and arousing action.

First up is the third place match on Saturday evening, which pits the losing semi finalists, Japan and Finland, against each other in a battle for pride, honour and a lovely little bronze medallion.

Then, the big one. The showpiece event. The glamour tie. The one the app world has been waiting, well, two years for...

Australia vs USA
Firemint vs Lima Sky
Flight Control vs Doodle Jump

As the countdown to the big match-ups continue, we've put together a quick guide to this weekend's runners and riders:

THE FINAL (7.30pm, 11th July):
Australia (Flight Control) vs (Doodle Jump) USA

It felt strangely appropriate that these two iPhone development behemoths, accustomed to titanic duels in Olympic pools, would be contesting the final here in Bath.

Though separated by size, culture, and several thousand miles, both of these nations are famed for their never-say-die competitive spirit in the world of sporting competition.

Clearly this applies to app-battles too: having lost round-robin games early on, Australia and the US set themselves up for testing routes to the Final, squeezing through in second place in their respective groups.

Things didn't get easier in the knock-out phases, either, with the Americans being forced into extra time against the Serbs in the second round and only triumphing by the odd goal in the following two rounds.

The Aussies meanwhile ran even closer to the wire, triumphing in two nerve-jangling penalty shoot-outs en route to the semis, then coming from two-goals down against Japan to ultimately secure their Final berth.

On balance, Team USA has made easier progress, netting 17 times (compared to 15 scores for the Antipodeans), powering through their semi final by a margin of three clear goals, and clocking up fewer minutes on t'pitch.

However, this has to be slightly balanced out by an over-reliance on one player - Doodle Jump's Doodler has had three run outs for the side (compared to Flight Control's two), most notably in the semi-final, whilst Firemint's flyer was resting.

Hence, tiredness and over-exposure could be a factor for both developer and fans, but then again if you can't raise your levels for a World Championship Final, then you probably shouldn't be there in the first place.

Tournament Record:

Australia
Real Racing v Rally Master Pro [Germany] 4-2 (Group Stage)
Fruit Ninja v Alive-4-Ever [Hong Kong] 1-5 (Group Stage)
Flight Control v Golman [Serbia] 3-3 (Group Stage)
Real Racing v GTA: Chinatown Wars [England] 1-1 [4-3 on pens] (Second Round)
Flight Control v Skies of Glory [Romania] 2-2 [9-8 on pens] (Quarter Final)
Fruit Ninja v Chaos Rings [Japan] 4-3 (Semi Final)

USA
Spore Origins v GTA: Chinatown Wars [England] 2-4 (Group Stage)
Space Miner: Space Ore Bust v Radioflare REDUX [Austria] 2-1 (Group Stage)
Doodle Jump v Mystic Emporium [India] 3-2 (Group Stage)
Doodle Jump v Golman [Serbia] 4-2 (Second Round)
Space Miner: Space Ore Bust v HomeRun Battle [South Korea] 2-1 (Quarter Final)
Doodle Jump v Angry Birds [Finland] 4-1 (Semi Final)

The Squads:

Much like the Spanish team who are apparently competing in another sporting fixture this weekend, the Aussies rely on just two sources for their squad: Firemint and Halfbrick Studios.

There's a good balance to the squad, though, with a mix of instant-action in Fruit Ninja, the puzzle-style play of Flight Control, and the high octane simulation in Real Racing. Indeed, it's arguably the most rounded line-up in the finals and all three apps will doubtless be in with a shout of the Golden Thumb (awarded to the star of the tournament).

The US coach, meanwhile, opted for a blend of youth and experience, with Venan's indie title Space Miner: Space Ore Bust doing a lot of the donkey work for veteran Spore Origins, originally from Tricky Software (and published, of course, by EA).

Lima Sky's hitman, Doodle the Doodler, has been the pick of the Yankee bunch this tournament, finding the net more times than a novice tennis player. With that strange, yet effective, four-legged gait, he's sketched out a style very much his own.

Australia

App Store	Game	Developer	IGDWC 2010 Record
	Flight Control	Firemint	Won one, drawn one, scored five
	Real Racing	Firemint	Won two, scored five
	Fruit Ninja	Halfbrick Studios	Won one, lost one, scored five

USA

App Store	Game	Developer	IGDWC 2010 Record
	Spore Origins	Tricky Software	Lost one, scored two
	Doodle Jump	Lima Sky	Won three, scored 11
	Space Miner: Space Ore Bust	Venan	Won two, scored four

THIRD PLACE MATCH (7.30pm, 10th July):
Japan (Street Fighter IV) vs (DrawRace) Finland

Before the Final kicks off, though, we need to discover who's going to pick up the bronze medal. Yet again, we've got two very talented sides at the top of their game contesting this match-up.

Although they can't secure the greatest prize, there's pride and position to play for, as well as the maintenance of a great tournament record. In fact, before their semi-final blips, both of these sides had shown impeccable form, breezing through their groups unbeaten as clear leaders.

Japan's only draw came after Group E was already sealed and bagged, while Finland maintained one of the only 100 percent records in the opening round.

This form continued in the knock-out phases, with the Japanese breezing into the semis without conceding a single goal (indeed, before their bruising encounter with the Aussies, they'd only shipped three all tournament, compared to 12 scored).

The Finns arguably faced stiffer opposition, but they too progressed comparatively untroubled, without the need for extra time to see off Sweden and Scotland.

Even at the semi final stage, most of the smart money had been wagered on a Finland vs Japan final, yet despite top notch performances and good fan support they fell just short this time.

With such quality on offer it's tough to call this third place match. There are two very different and distinct styles on offer here, as the iconic beat-em up Street Fighter IV squares up to a more strategic line-drawing DrawRace.

There's not much help from the formbook either, since both games boast perfect records (although Capcom's app has played one challenge more).

Tournament Record: Japan
Space Invaders: Infinity Gene v 8-in-1 Arcade Park [Russia] 3-0 (Group Stage)
Street Fighter IV v Toki Tori [Holland] 2-1 (Group Stage)
Chaos Rings v Mystery Mania [Denmark] 2-2 (Group Stage)
Space Invaders: Infinity Gene v PushPixPull [New Zealand] 3-0 (Second Round)
Street Fighter IV v Bruce Lee: Dragon Warrior [Spain] 2-0 (Quarter Final)
Chaos Rings v Fruit Ninja [Australia] 3-4 (Semi Final)

Finland
Angry Birds v Paratroopers: Air Assualt [Honduras] 3-1 (Group Stage)
Zen Bound v Monospace [Switzerland] 4-2 (Group Stage)
DrawRace v TouchRacing Nitro [Spain] 3-2 (Group Stage)
Angry Birds v Labyrinth 2 [Sweden] 3-2 (Second Round)
Zen Bound v Championship Manager 2010 [Scotland] 3-2 (Quarter Final)
Angry Birds v Doodle Jump [USA] 1-4 (Semi Final)

The Squads:

As you'd expect from two of the top four nations, both squads offer strength in depth and span a host of genres.

Japan possesses arguably the deepest bench with Media.Vision's RPG Chaos Rings offering one of the most involved challenges of all the competitors Epic beat-em up Street Fighter IV and revitalised shooter Space Invaders Infinity Gene are both maintaining the highest standards expected of their illustrious gaming families.

Finland have a younger dynasty, but are regularly acknowledged as one of the brightest, upcoming stars in the App Store firmament.

It's no secret that Zen Bound is a meditative, soothing, puzzling experience unlike any other on the iPhone. Rovio's Angry Birds continues to fly high in the charts, and with a sequel on the way, its reign will surely endure long into the future. DrawRace takes a familiar genre and flip reverses it expertly, incorporating Flight Control's line-drawing aspect into a regular racer.

Japan
Chaos Rings / (Media.Vision) Drawn one, Lost one, scored five
Space Invaders Infinity Gene / (Taito) Won two, scored six
Street Fighter IV / (Capcom) Won two, scored four

Finland
Zen Bound / (Secret Exit) Won two, scored seven
Angry Birds / (Rovio) Won two, lost one, scored seven
DrawRace / (RedLynx) Won one, scored three
With only the third place match and the Grand Final remaining, please make sure you pledge your allegiance, register your vote, and tune in for the latest results from this, the Greatest iPhone App Show on Earth.

The line-up again is as follows:

FINAL: 7:30pm, Sunday 11th July
Australia vs USA

Flight Control (Firemint) vs (Lima Sky) Doodle Jump

THIRD PLACE MATCH: 7:30pm, Saturday 10th July
Japan vs Finland
Street Fighter IV (Capcom) vs (RedLynx) DrawRace Voting is open now, so have your say!! QUICK LINKS: Final Group Tables - Fixtures & Voting - Squads - Match Reports - News & Round Ups - IGDWC Home

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