It is time to gaze into our crystal ball and predict the shifting alliances for this week's Vampir Scramble. The patterns in recent battles have been remarkably consistent: one clan racks up the kills in the qualifiers, while another sneaks into the finals by securing a fat zero in combat stats but snagging the final hit points. The real carnage, of course, is reserved for the grand stage. With recent server migrations bunching up multi-time winners and a fresh set of rules for the streamer groups, let us dissect the state of play.

Predicting Alliances in the General Group

First, let's look at the general server groups for Vampir. Group A has seen a concentration of serial winners in the Nell1 and Carp1 servers. The former hosts 'Strange People' and 'Headless People'—both boasting a solid four-win record—while the latter is home to the three-time winner, CommanderZ. However, only one clan per server gets a golden ticket to the qualifiers. 'Strange People' snagged it, entering the finals with zero kill points but a massive 20,000 points from the final hit. CommanderZ had higher kill counts, but it seems they ran into a brick wall against Twilight.

Group B is a showdown between multi-time winners: 'People Wearing Wigs' from Lilith1 and 'War Tribe' from Olga3. Both are tied with three wins. 'People Wearing Wigs' is currently riding a three-game winning streak, while 'War Tribe' spent their time trading blows with 'Fair Trade Commission' in Olga3. Since the recent server migration moved 'Fair Trade Commission' to Olga2, leaving 'War Tribe' to rule Olga3 alone, we expect a fierce comeback. Even though they didn't take the crown, they managed to scrape together over half the kill and occupation points compared to 'People Wearing Wigs' in the finals.

Group H feels like either a cosy alliance between Abigail and Gunpo, or a massive gap in power. While Gunpo managed 168 kill points during the qualifiers, their finals performance was a bit of a damp squib, yielding only 10 kill points and 30 occupation points.

The winners of the previous Vampir K-group, 'Execution', have set up a real rivalry with 'Neutral Recruitment'. In the finals, 'Execution' clocked in 641 kill points and 7,500 occupation points, while 'Neutral Recruitment' trailed with 234 and 4,790 respectively. It was likely a much tighter affair than the scoreboard suggests.

Predicting Alliances in the Streamer Group

Let's turn our eyes to the Vampir streamer groups. In the Diamond group, it is a three-way dance between SpartaA, Reaper, and Myth. The real story is in the stats: during the qualifiers, Reaper scored zero, while SpartaA and Myth logged 423 and 421 kill points, respectively. Yet, it was Reaper and SpartaA that made the finals. Reaper secured 20,000 points via the final hit, crushing the competition's total. SpartaA eventually took the win in the finals with 10,000 points to 6,610. It’s pretty clear Reaper had some help from an alliance to push through the qualifiers.

In Gold Group 1, it looks like Seoul and Timberland have formed an alliance. During the qualifiers, Oscar3's 'Crazy Dogs' were severely handicapped; while other clans fielded 42 or 43 players, 'Crazy Dogs' could only muster 22. Despite the disadvantage, they fought tooth and nail, earning second place in kill points. However, the final hit point gap was insurmountable, keeping them out of the finals. The grand finale ended as a total blowout for Seoul, who monopolized both occupation and final hit points.

Finally, the rivalry between Bite and Mayfly in Gold Group 2 is worth a look. Bite swept the kill points during the qualifiers, but managed to sneak into the finals with a 20,000-point final hit despite zero kill points. The finals were a real brawl, but Mayfly walked away with the trophy by dominating occupation and final hit points. One has to wonder what their alliance landscape looks like behind the scenes.