ASL SCANDINAVIAN OPEN 2020 (February 26th - March 1st)

The Magnus

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2019
Messages
322
Reaction score
364
First name
Flavius Magnus Maximus Augustus II
Country
llSweden
ASO 2020 is over and we have a new champion - Michael Hastrup-Leth won his first ever ASO tournament by defeating George T.

See you all at ASO 2021.
Congratulations, Michael, for your first win in Copenhagen - and your second-in-a-row Scandinavian win after winning Supporting Fire last year. Time for you to go to Helsinki :) .

Also big thanks to Michael and Bo for organizing a very well structured event at a great location. I was lucky enough to have a total of 9 very pleasant games against 8 super opponents (I played one guy twice :)).
 

The Magnus

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2019
Messages
322
Reaction score
364
First name
Flavius Magnus Maximus Augustus II
Country
llSweden
P.S. 2: What is the member nick of Jim Bishop? Thanks!
It is Sparafucil3

P.S. 3: We had national elections on Saturday which I missed due to the tournament and my party did not make it into the parliament by just 962 votes... Eh!
Well, at least you have your priorities straight (ASL beats politics, and there are 961 other Slovaks to blame) :) .
 

Jacometti

Elder Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
3,913
Reaction score
1,898
Location
Halifax, NS
Country
llCanada
With less than 2 years of experience and only about 60+ games played, this has been my first ASL tournament and getting a taste of what advanced competitive gaming can look like. I had a wonderful reception - played two friendly games on arrival, Feast Day with Toby Pilling and the classic Bidermann's Escape with Michael Hastrup-Leth. Understandably I was quite nervous which led to some rule lapses and tactical mistakes but found both of them very supportive, thank you guys!

In the tournament I lost 4 games and won 1:

Round 1: Messenger Boys as the defender against Mr. T - After my discussions on the setup of this scenario with Juan Santacruz I decided to forego defending the forest road very strongly, which was a mistake. George waltzed through there and despite me trying to divert my scattered defending forces over there and build up at least some defense, he managed to send one squad as riders in my rear as early as Turn 2. My reinforcements managed to hold on to one of the two major buildings, but failed to hold two more of the minor ones... George, it was a pleasure meeting you in person, a game in a relaxed and yet meticulous manner...

Round 2: Red Horse Recon as the attacker against Mikael Strand - This one I played as a defender against Juan Santacruz in preparation to the tournament where I gained some valuable lessons. I opted for a careful strategy against Mikael's well-placed defensive forces. I hoped to break them early and continue my advance across the whole width of the map board. However, the dice were against me and his three squads managed to resist for 2 turns... So I chose a different strategy and focused on securing the road. On my turn 3 I managed to position my vehicles in key positions on the map along the northern road and after I prevented Mikael's reinforcements' advance he conceded.

Round 3: Speed over Caution as the attacker against Olivier Dietsch - Oh boy, where do I start... Olivier prepared a clever ruse and I ran into it full force. As the scenario title suggests, I went for the careless aggressive approach and it did not pay off. I sent my three best gyro tanks through the orchard to outflank his beast and I stumbled subsequently across three HIP squads with the result of three (!) burning wrecks. (A lucky firelane shot also KIA'd one of my leaders and reduced my infantry forces.) So the trap sprung shut in the most effective manner. The orchards went ablaze and the wind picked up, soon covering half of the map board in a fire and smoke inferno, which helped the advance of the rest of my forces but of course it was doomed.

Secret Round 4: To No Avail as the attacker against Søren Sørensen - I had a real shot at this one, had a good advance going. But after hitting a wall of wires on the left flank and a sequence of very nasty sniper shots which killed off my 9-1 and broke two squads, my spearhead lost focus and I let myself be embroiled in a to-and-fro in the center. In Turn 4 I developed a plan of attack which actually went very well, but alas a bit too late: I needed just 2 more MF with one squad in my last turn (and average dice rolls) to win...

Round 5: Order 831 as the attacker against Jens Thomander - It started really well but both of my tanks lost smoke in my first prep fire on turn 2... and I kinda forgot that they also had smoke mortars. Plus I also lost focus in my advance, was a bit too careful and slow in turn 3 and realised in turn 4 that I would not be able to reach the bridge in time (perhaps if I would have sent Riders, but I did not properly plan for that). In the last two desperate turns Jens started rolling threes and fours on his prep and def shots, which sealed my fate. I will replay this one this week with my buddy Gerhard to see what happens when the smoke works better :) Overall, a game in a very pleasant and relaxed atmosphere, Jens you make for a great company!

Overall, I really liked the structured bidding system and the depth it adds to the scenario selection. (Of course it favours experienced and well-prepared players, but that is the point of a tournament...). I would like to thank Michael and Bo for faultless organisation, I came home drained like a grapefruit but inspired and my play has benefitted enormously! Looking forward to seeing everybody again (Gothenburg in November?) or playing on VASL!

P.S.: I am Slovak (SVK), not Slovenian (SLO), I would appreciate much if you could please update my player profile :)
P.S. 2: What is the member nick of Jim Bishop? Thanks!
P.S. 3: We had national elections on Saturday which I missed due to the tournament and my party did not make it into the parliament by just 962 votes... Eh!
Hi Michal,

thanks a lot for sharing your first tournament experience with everyone! I loved reading this, because it is a mirror image of my very first ASL tournament. That was way back in 2000 and called Westwall (now defunct). I had no idea what to expect, was afraid I would get massacred or laughed at, and my wife had told me "just go and try it out, if you don't like it you will never have to go to another ASL tournament".

I had a terrific time, met my lifetime best friend Chris Mazzei for the first time, played great opponents (including the illustrious Christian Koppmeyer of Grenadier fame) and learned so much about playing ASL!

It's 20 years later and that event changed my life in so many positive ways.....friendships, a real hobby, organising Arnhem tournaments, designing scenarios, etc etc.

I hope you will continue the ASL tournament journey in coming years.....and share it with the community. Go Slovakia!
 

MichalS

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Messages
91
Reaction score
88
Location
Bratislava & Wien
First name
Michal
Country
llSlovakia
Hi Michal,

thanks a lot for sharing your first tournament experience with everyone! I loved reading this, because it is a mirror image of my very first ASL tournament. That was way back in 2000 and called Westwall (now defunct). I had no idea what to expect, was afraid I would get massacred or laughed at, and my wife had told me "just go and try it out, if you don't like it you will never have to go to another ASL tournament".

I had a terrific time, met my lifetime best friend Chris Mazzei for the first time, played great opponents (including the illustrious Christian Koppmeyer of Grenadier fame) and learned so much about playing ASL!

It's 20 years later and that event changed my life in so many positive ways.....friendships, a real hobby, organising Arnhem tournaments, designing scenarios, etc etc.

I hope you will continue the ASL tournament journey in coming years.....and share it with the community. Go Slovakia!
Thank you Peter for your kind words!

It really was one of my best ASL experiences so far. The tournament setting helps to isolate from all kinds of real-life pressures and concerns so one can invest all cognitive capacity into playing (and learning) the best one can. And of course seeing all the different playing styles, meeting wonderfully kind and friendly people is great too!

And yes, I am hoping to put Slovakia and Eastern Europe on the ASL map! Everybody seemed a bit surprised but there is actually a slowly growing community of players in my region. I have played 6 players from Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland so far and I know of at least 5-6 more. Would be happy to come to Copenhagen the next year and perhaps I can also persuade at least my regular gaming buddy Gerhard of the Vienna Halfsquad fame (Austria) to come too. (And I am also planning to attend Conscripts! with another Slovak player this coming May.)
 

bo_siemsen

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2004
Messages
430
Reaction score
475
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Country
llDenmark
Everybody wins at Scandinavian Open 2020
The results of Scandinavian Open 2020 are now finalized. All players who competed and completed the main tournament came away with at least one win. But only one came away with 5 – our winner Michael Hastrup-Leth. The new ASO crowd – Juan Santa Cruz, Jens Thomander, Alex Koestler and Michal Sedlacko combined for 10 wins while friendly visitor Jim Bishop contributed with a good amount of friendly gaming, lots of stories, a bit of rules lawyering and willingness to step in when we needed an extra player. Personally I have had enough of playing bocage, questions about bocage and explaining bocage and the effect of wall advantage etc. This year really was the year of bocage at ASO :)

Our 3 mini tournaments were all won by mini tournament specialists:
French in Focus Mini – Jes Touvdal
Deluxe Mini – Tomas Davidson
Best of Main Tournament – Jesper Led

The award for best first time ASO participant went to:
Juan Santa Cruz who won 3 of his 5 games and by virtue of tie-breaker ranked ahead of Jens Thomander and Alex Koestler who also won 3 games each.


Final Standings – Main Tournament

PlayerNationality
Wins
First Loss
Michael Hastrup-LethDK
5 wins​
no loss​
G.TournemireFRANCE
4 wins​
5​
Jonathan KayCAN
4 wins​
4​
Toby PillingUK
4 wins​
3​
Olivier DietschFRANCE
4 wins​
2​
Ketil HøgenhaugNOR
4 wins​
2​
Kenneth KnudsenDK
4 wins​
2​
Björn LorenzenGER
3 wins​
4​
Stefan FiedlerSWE
3 wins​
4​
Kåre JacobsenDK
3 wins​
3​
Juan Santa CruzESP
3 wins​
3​
Rich DomovicUS
3 wins​
3​
Ran ShiloahISR
3 wins​
3​
Michael HemmingsenDK
3 wins​
2​
Andreas CarlssonSWE
3 wins​
2​
Jens ThomanderSWE
3 wins​
2​
Derek WardDK
3 wins​
2​
Magnus RimvallSWE
3 wins​
1​
Alex KoestlerHOL
3 wins​
1​
Mikko LukkariFIN
2 wins​
1​
Thomas HarjoNOR
2 wins​
1​
Niels LarsenDK
2 wins​
1​
Anders OlssonSWE
2 wins​
1​
Oddgeir DrevdalNOR
2 wins​
1​
Martin KristensenDK
2 wins​
1​
Nils BakkeNOR
2 wins​
1​
Josh KalmanISR
2 wins​
3​
Michal SedlackoSVK
1 win​
1​
Carl-Alex Friis NielsenDK
1 win​
1​
Søren SørensenDK
1 win​
1​
Sami PelkonenFIN
1 win​
1​

TEAM TOURNAMENT
The Inaugural International Team tournament at ASO (which was started as an excercise in Excel creativity) was won by “Team International” as they defeated Team Norway (6-2), Team Denmark (11-9) and Team Sweden(6-4). The most important result was of course Team Denmark crushing Team Sweden by 8-7 through the weekend. Team Norway defeated Denmark luckily and Sweden defeated Norway. And I am not biased at all. All games in the Main Tournament and Mini tournaments were included in the scores.

Team International 2020 included anyone not from Sweden, Denmark or Norway:

Alex Koestler
Björn Lorenzen
Daniel Bottemanne
G.Tournemire
Jonathan Kay
Josh Kalman
Juan Santa Cruz
Kirby Vincent
Jim Bishop
Michal Sedlacko
Mikko Lukkari
Olivier Dietsch
Ran Shiloah
Rich Domovic
Sami Pelkonen
Stephen Burleigh
Toby Pilling


Thanks
Thanks to everyone who participated at ASO 2020. Whether it was the main tournament, mini tournaments, only friendly games or just for showing up to get a sniff of the atmosphere. And thanks for all the positive feedback.

Also - BIG thanks to our loyal sponsors without who our End of tournament prize ceremony would have been a lot shorter. So, big shout out to

Multiman publishing
Trojan Games (Andreas Carlson)
Bounding Fire productions (Sam Tyson)
Le Franc Tireur (Xavier Vitry)
Lone Canuck Publishing (George Kelln)
- and of course Michael Hastrup-Leths stack of unread books about WW2
 
Last edited:

bo_siemsen

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2004
Messages
430
Reaction score
475
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Country
llDenmark
With less than 2 years of experience and only about 60+ games played, this has been my first ASL tournament and getting a taste of what advanced competitive gaming can look like. I had a wonderful reception - played two friendly games on arrival, Feast Day with Toby Pilling and the classic Bidermann's Escape with Michael Hastrup-Leth. Understandably I was quite nervous which led to some rule lapses and tactical mistakes but found both of them very supportive, thank you guys!

Michal
I am really happy to hear that it was such a positive experience for you. The ASL community at large is a positive and embracing group and I hope others who've read your story gets inspired to go to tournaments. In Copenhagen or elsewhere. I doubt they will be disappointed.

Hope to see you back next year


Bo
 

M.Koch

Grenadier TD
Joined
Sep 4, 2004
Messages
2,555
Reaction score
988
Location
Germany
Country
llGermany
Congrats for another successful edition of ASO. You deserve to be called Europe's top notch tournament for sure.
And congrats to Michael for winning ASO.
One side note.... Alex Koestler is a Dutch citizen ?
 

Jacometti

Elder Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
3,913
Reaction score
1,898
Location
Halifax, NS
Country
llCanada
I share Bo's sentiments about Bocage.

As a tournament director, think twice before you put too much Bocage into your scenario list.

You will be sick and tired of Bocage, Wall Advantage and HIP rules questions before the tournament is over......
 

Del

Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Messages
102
Reaction score
154
Location
Frozen North
Country
llDenmark
With less than 2 years of experience and only about 60+ games played, this has been my first ASL tournament and getting a taste of what advanced competitive gaming can look like. I had a wonderful reception - played two friendly games on arrival, Feast Day with Toby Pilling and the classic Bidermann's Escape with Michael Hastrup-Leth. Understandably I was quite nervous which led to some rule lapses and tactical mistakes but found both of them very supportive, thank you guys!

In the tournament I lost 4 games and won 1:

Round 1: Messenger Boys as the defender against Mr. T - After my discussions on the setup of this scenario with Juan Santacruz I decided to forego defending the forest road very strongly, which was a mistake. George waltzed through there and despite me trying to divert my scattered defending forces over there and build up at least some defense, he managed to send one squad as riders in my rear as early as Turn 2. My reinforcements managed to hold on to one of the two major buildings, but failed to hold two more of the minor ones... George, it was a pleasure meeting you in person, a game in a relaxed and yet meticulous manner...

Round 2: Red Horse Recon as the attacker against Mikael Strand - This one I played as a defender against Juan Santacruz in preparation to the tournament where I gained some valuable lessons. I opted for a careful strategy against Mikael's well-placed defensive forces. I hoped to break them early and continue my advance across the whole width of the map board. However, the dice were against me and his three squads managed to resist for 2 turns... So I chose a different strategy and focused on securing the road. On my turn 3 I managed to position my vehicles in key positions on the map along the northern road and after I prevented Mikael's reinforcements' advance he conceded.

Round 3: Speed over Caution as the attacker against Olivier Dietsch - Oh boy, where do I start... Olivier prepared a clever ruse and I ran into it full force. As the scenario title suggests, I went for the careless aggressive approach and it did not pay off. I sent my three best gyro tanks through the orchard to outflank his beast and I stumbled subsequently across three HIP squads with the result of three (!) burning wrecks. (A lucky firelane shot also KIA'd one of my leaders and reduced my infantry forces.) So the trap sprung shut in the most effective manner. The orchards went ablaze and the wind picked up, soon covering half of the map board in a fire and smoke inferno, which helped the advance of the rest of my forces but of course it was doomed.

Secret Round 4: To No Avail as the attacker against Søren Sørensen - I had a real shot at this one, had a good advance going. But after hitting a wall of wires on the left flank and a sequence of very nasty sniper shots which killed off my 9-1 and broke two squads, my spearhead lost focus and I let myself be embroiled in a to-and-fro in the center. In Turn 4 I developed a plan of attack which actually went very well, but alas a bit too late: I needed just 2 more MF with one squad in my last turn (and average dice rolls) to win...

Round 5: Order 831 as the attacker against Jens Thomander - It started really well but both of my tanks lost smoke in my first prep fire on turn 2... and I kinda forgot that they also had smoke mortars. Plus I also lost focus in my advance, was a bit too careful and slow in turn 3 and realised in turn 4 that I would not be able to reach the bridge in time (perhaps if I would have sent Riders, but I did not properly plan for that). In the last two desperate turns Jens started rolling threes and fours on his prep and def shots, which sealed my fate. I will replay this one this week with my buddy Gerhard to see what happens when the smoke works better :) Overall, a game in a very pleasant and relaxed atmosphere, Jens you make for a great company!

Overall, I really liked the structured bidding system and the depth it adds to the scenario selection. (Of course it favours experienced and well-prepared players, but that is the point of a tournament...). I would like to thank Michael and Bo for faultless organisation, I came home drained like a grapefruit but inspired and my play has benefitted enormously! Looking forward to seeing everybody again (Gothenburg in November?) or playing on VASL!

P.S.: I am Slovak (SVK), not Slovenian (SLO), I would appreciate much if you could please update my player profile :)
P.S. 2: What is the member nick of Jim Bishop? Thanks!
P.S. 3: We had national elections on Saturday which I missed due to the tournament and my party did not make it into the parliament by just 962 votes... Eh!
Michal, that’s quite a lineup of absolutely top-class players- Pilling, Hastrup-Leth, Tournemire, Dietsch! Talk about a ‘Masterclass’ for your first tournament.
And the sight of the burning orchards was amazing , pretty much half the board seemed to be either in flames or covered with smoke.
 

Ketil

Recruit
Joined
Feb 27, 2014
Messages
8
Reaction score
9
Location
Oslo
Country
llNorway
Congrats to Bo and Michael for again winning the first prize for the best tournament in WEurope, Michael for talking the throne to Denmark. And thanks for a great weekend:)
 

Jacometti

Elder Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
3,913
Reaction score
1,898
Location
Halifax, NS
Country
llCanada
are you going to bring your sneaky sleezers back to ASLOK this year, mr Hogenhaug ?
 

Ketil

Recruit
Joined
Feb 27, 2014
Messages
8
Reaction score
9
Location
Oslo
Country
llNorway
It would be great to come with my sneaky sleezers to Albany This year , ASLOK unfortunately has to wait mr Struijf? . I meant «taking the throne Michael» ?. The spelling went a little fast here...
 

Juan SantaX

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2019
Messages
978
Reaction score
566
Location
Sevilla
Country
llSpain
Outstanding organization and great tournament!!

I was amazed with the size of the tournament, with friendly gaming, main and mini tournaments, and level and friendship of the players!! This was a found treasure indeed!!

And special mention to Bo and Michael for their work as tournament directors, a work not paid.

I’m will for sure come back next year, if you allow and life is kind to me.
 

bendizoid

Official ***** Dickweed
Joined
Sep 11, 2006
Messages
4,630
Reaction score
3,244
Location
Viet Nam
Country
llUnited States
Michal, that’s quite a lineup of absolutely top-class players- Pilling, Hastrup-Leth, Tournemire, Dietsch! Talk about a ‘Masterclass’ for your first tournament.
And the sight of the burning orchards was amazing , pretty much half the board seemed to be either in flames or covered with smoke.
I thought the same thing, his first tournament and he gets to play some of the best players in the world, cool.
 

MichalS

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Messages
91
Reaction score
88
Location
Bratislava & Wien
First name
Michal
Country
llSlovakia
I thought the same thing, his first tournament and he gets to play some of the best players in the world, cool.
Oh yes, that was indeed a boon and I am aware of the favourable and perhaps rare circumstances and the value of this experience.
But then again perhaps my Eastern European charm is irresistible.

But of course I perceive this as a commitment to learn and improve so as to be able to offer these gentlemen a worthy game in the future as a way of repaying this lesson.
 

bendizoid

Official ***** Dickweed
Joined
Sep 11, 2006
Messages
4,630
Reaction score
3,244
Location
Viet Nam
Country
llUnited States
Oh yes, that was indeed a boon and I am aware of the favourable and perhaps rare circumstances and the value of this experience.
But then again perhaps my Eastern European charm is irresistible.

But of course I perceive this as a commitment to learn and improve so as to be able to offer these gentlemen a worthy game in the future as a way of repaying this lesson.
I like your style. +
 

Jacometti

Elder Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
3,913
Reaction score
1,898
Location
Halifax, NS
Country
llCanada
Oh yes, that was indeed a boon and I am aware of the favourable and perhaps rare circumstances and the value of this experience.
My first ever tournament game in 2000 was against Christian Koppmeyer. I still remember what we played "Morning in Mouen". I had the British.

My setup was not so bad, my execution not so good.....until I got a Stuart tank as reinforcements. Then my play deteriorated to clueless pretty quickly.

I lost, obviously....and in the post-game analysis CK kindly explained to me that "it is generally a good idea to keep your tanks alive a bit longer than one Turn".

Wise words well remembered.
 

bendizoid

Official ***** Dickweed
Joined
Sep 11, 2006
Messages
4,630
Reaction score
3,244
Location
Viet Nam
Country
llUnited States
I usually think, when one doesnt know what to do; keep your tanks together. Seems to serve well.
 
Top