TheManWithNoNameTerywjThere was never a previous LAN where Heavy was used to this extent. No one ever said "Hey we should run Heavy a lot" when Quick Fix was irrelevant (or they were just massive douchebags).
so what was the reason for the stalemates?
...the quick fix?
...the map?
...the HWG?
...the fact that there was a ton of real money on the line?
or was it potentially a combination of all of the above?
It was a combonation of the above.
Gullywash has always favored the heavy during last pushes, on both sides. You could push last without one, or hold last without one, but having a heavy helped you a lot! You saw this in previous LANs, teams want to win when there is money on the table, so they will play in the way most likely to be successful. It might not be enjoyable, but so what?
What the quickfix does is make the heavy viable outside of last. One of the few real counters to quickfix is... Get this, the heavy (a class that is slow, boring and borderline broken itself), AND the Heavy is one of the best QF "uber" targets. The massive amount of health the heavy has to begin with, when you add overheal and the rapid healing of the QF "uber" makes the heavy quite the force to be reckoned with.
So of course, when there is something on the line, the strongest lineup to have includes a qf and heavy. The opposing team then has to run heavy as well, and likely quickfix.
Now why is this bad? Robin Walker just scolded you comp guys for not being flexible enough? Because TF2 should be a fast game in any competitive setting. Those of you who actually play 6 v 6 probably know just how boring it is stalemating at one point for long periods of time. The heavy is likely the class that slows the game down the most, possibly behind the engie. To use a heavy means that it takes longer to get from Point A to Point B, which leads to people waiting for extreme adventages before pushing (to ensure that they all can push out without getting split up). A weapon that seems to encourage the use of heavy outside situational plays slows the game down, plain and simple.
The way I see it, there are 2 ways to fix this problem: ban heavy as a class, or ban the quickfix. I don't care which one we go for, but something had to be done.
What we have is a weapon that is fun and interesting, that sadly was overbuffed and favors the use of the heavy, which slows down the game. It's not just one game, its the entire lan, minus maybe 1 or 2 maps. The game seemed slower then past LANs, and just did not seem enjoyable to the spectator, or most of the players. It got to the point where I refused to watch the final live, it wasn't worth my time. Since then, I went back and watched the VOD, and it s comparably better. Part of that might be because Viaduct was in it (which is less stalematy then most 5 cp), and part might be because it seemed there was less use of the QF/heavy strat.
I would also like to see Gully replaced, but that is another story...