Following six weeks of regular season action, the TrackMania Grand League’s Spring 2022 season is coming to a head. Here is what you need to know about the finals.
Photo credit: Ubisoft Nadeo
The grand finals are set to take place this Sunday, 24 April. While some of the prize pool has already been divided out based on the players’ regular season performances, there is still a total of €7,500 to play for – as well as the prestige and glory of being crowned the TrackMania Grand League champion.
But how did we get here? How does the TrackMania Grand League work? Who are the favourites going into the finals? Don’t worry, we have the answer to all these questions and more.
The Final Battle of the TMGL
With sixteen players having fought among themselves during the course of the six-week-long regular season, the number of competitors for the finals has been whittled down to just nine. Ubisoft Nadeo have split the finals themselves into several stages. In each stage, more and more drivers will fall by the wayside, until there are only two remaining. Those two drivers will then battle it out for the crown.
The first round of the finals will see the field shortened from nine to six drivers. Then, the second round will remove a further two drivers, determining the final four. Each of the final four drivers are guaranteed to receive prize money for their performances. As with the previous round, the final four stage will result in the elimination of two more drivers.
The Regular Season
Let’s back-track to what brought us to this point: the regular season. Here, the top twelve finishers all earned a share of the prize pool €11,100. The lion’s share went to the overall victor of the regular season, Patrick ‘Mudda’ Radisich.
The Australian stood head and shoulders above the rest of the field during the regular season, with the likes of three-time TMGL champion Carl-Antoni ‘CarlJr’ Cloutier and Karmine Corp’s Brendan ‘Bren’ Seve trailing him in second and third.
Current reigning TMGL champion Thomas ‘Pac’ Cole also earned a spot in the finals. This is despite the fact that he only managed to finish the regular season in 6th position overall, tying with Aurélien ‘Aurel’ Bouard. One of the major turn-ups of the regular season was the performance of Hubert ‘mime’ Dziedzic, a newcomer to the top level of the Grand League. The Polish driver managed to snag fourth position for himself overall.
The other three drivers who made it to the Finals are Sébastien ‘Affi’ Affolter, who finished second in the last TMGL split, Martin ‘Kappa’ Krompolc, who won the tournament’s inaugural ‘beta’ season, and the German fan-favourite Dennis ‘Massa’ Lotze.
Who is the Favourite?
One driver who has experienced the glory of winning the whole thing is CarlJr. The Canadian driver is an omni-present at the highest level of Trackmania, and many will still see him as the one to beat.
However, while Mudda and CarlJr may be the favourites, it is absolutely anyone’s game. Perhaps Pac’s surge up the ranks during the latter stages of the regular season will see the reigning champion holding the momentum he needs to retain his crown.
If you want to tune in and find out who will become the new TrackMania Grand League champion, head on over to the TrackMania Twitch channel at 5pm CEST on Sunday 24 April.
Who do you think will win this season of the TMGL? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
