Guild Wars 2

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m one of the team leads on SBI, my guild is Strike Force, and I would like to publicly acknowledge the sportsmanship that HoD has displayed toward us as SBI within this past week. I won’t say that it has been a cakewalk by any means to deal with the force that HoD brings to the table, not to mention JQ’s recent tactics that have improved, which at times can prove difficult to deal with two powerhouses at the same time. Posts are trickling in copy/paste form from a couple members of ours from other forums across the board and even posted directly to our community forum. These posts are stating the appreciation of level of game play we bring to the table. I know that we are a ways away from our “A” game, there’s always room for improvement. Yet, to hear props coming from the team you are primarily focusing due to the skill overall has seriously upped our game to a whole new level. I can only see improvement from here on out.

Thank you for making us a better server, slowly but surely we will throw down like Bobby Flay and dethrone you, not a threat, a promise ?. I would also like to express my thanks to those players on the other side of the wall for the professional manner in which we go about dictating our “war” against each other. Rather than to cry about what’s happening it feels like the teams are looking to improve and learn from what worked and what didn’t work then move on. This is probably the first time I have truly, truly seen this in any video game I have ever played personally. Trust me, you guys over at HoD have your fair share of respect from the SBI players as well. I can’t count the times that I am repelled from taking points because of a random HoD zerg is about to, without spilling everyone’s tactics here, raid on one of our locations.

I can appreciate the tactics implemented against us, we have been able to filter that to everyone the best we can and brainstorm how to tear you guys apart the next time you do it. Keep the new tactics comin’ we’ll bring our bag of tricks to the table the best we can as time goes on to crush your hopes and dreams as you do to me when I test out treb spots on your keeps….if I asked nicely..would you remove your mortars? I just want to take a peek inside I swear…

Good games so far ladies and gentlemen, let’s finish out the first full week with some blood, sweat, and tears of baby kittens.

You guys earned the nickname Steelbuff Isles.

What is dead may never die! :p

Wanted to say good game to HoD as well, really fun matches all around. Always amazed at the speed and efficiency of your zergs.

SBI will always strive to be better than we were yesterday. Being pitted against HoD has been good in terms of helping us identify where our failing are. Hopefully next time we will give you a better fight.

I’ve enjoyed our matchup against SBI this week more than any other. I look forward to seeing you guys again in WvW, we’ve definitely come to appreciate your tenacity.

Yeah, SBI is a great server to go up against. I also love seeing LoD there. (You guys only make Char?) :P

The sportsmanship seems great between all 3 servers really.

It’s been a tough and fun fight every day.

I would like to give a shout out to Steelbluff Isles. Fun fights, and you all prove a worthy opponent each night!

We here at JQ would like to award SBI the golden poodle award for faithful and speedy assistance to their HoD masters. Truly, you set the standard to which all lapdogs should aspire.

^^^^
Oh you…. (aeroh.8930)

SBI sure were a strong opponent due to HoD scrubs.
We really have a lot of scrubs who take all our resources from the castle and it allowed for you guys take it repeatively.
Though you guys didn’t have the castle for long. Is your server good at not taking them or are they just as bad?

HoD has been humbled this week, I hope they realize that during primetime when the bulk of SBI is on they have more than their hands full. of course there will be many (most) who say ‘look at the score’ I just hope the guys who know better…know better.

But I think they do since there have been a lot of posts like you say commenting on it. I have an idea many of them are coming from transfers who realized they might have taken the scores of match ups too much for granted when going to the ‘best’ server in NA.

Sick of seeing HoD and SBI working together to destroy JQ. Every now and then, their players get distracted and maybe hit each other, but if they’re not running a pincer on some undermanned JQ stuff, they’re literally running together.
It’s disgusting, it’s shady… and it’s hilarious when JQ actually manages to take stuff while being double-teamed.

I wish you two only the worst and most exploiting combatants in your next matchup.

fractalKinesis.8569:

Sick of seeing HoD and SBI working together to destroy JQ. Every now and then, their players get distracted and maybe hit each other, but if they’re not running a pincer on some undermanned JQ stuff, they’re literally running together.
It’s disgusting, it’s shady… and it’s hilarious when JQ actually manages to take stuff while being double-teamed.

I wish you two only the worst and most exploiting combatants in your next matchup.

We’re not working together
Stop saying this stuff
You guys don’t play a very strategic game. You guys take stuff at random instead of playing strategicly against other servers.

For example:
You guys took the castle in eternal. SBI was hitting all your bases while we tried to take back the castle you took from us. This didn’t work very well in your favour due to you losing all your supplies. You need to learn to say screw the castle and keep the supplies. If you would of reclaimed those supplies from SBI then we wouldn’t of taken your castle and if we did at least you wouldn’t of lost all your supplies & towers with the castle.

I guess we spoke too soon lol. I still respect most of SBI and JQ. I won’t let a few paranoid people ruin that. So Cheers to the good sports on both sides

FitGamer.4371:

We’re not working together
Stop saying this stuff
You guys don’t play a very strategic game. You guys take stuff at random instead of playing strategicly against other servers.

For example:
You guys took the castle in eternal. SBI was hitting all your bases while we tried to take back the castle you took from us. This didn’t work very well in your favour due to you losing all your supplies. You need to learn to say screw the castle and keep the supplies. If you would of reclaimed those supplies from SBI then we wouldn’t of taken your castle and if we did at least you wouldn’t of lost all your supplies & towers with the castle.

Yeah, I was in that castle thing on my crappy lowbie thief. That was some real PvP.
It was a good battle, but it started to drag on, and we couldn’t really get out of there while in constant combat, and our waypoint at the keep was taken down, so we had no choice but to be pinned down and lose everything. Believe me, we were all jabbering about not having anything but SM.

But your double-teams are what I’m talking about. Deny it all you want.

fractalKinesis.8569:

But your double-teams are what I’m talking about. Deny it all you want.

How do you think we lost the castle in the first place to you guys.
SBI took all our supplies and towers while you kept pressure on the castle.
Then the HoD scrubs kept taking all our castle resources instead of from the keep that was fully stocked.
If you looked at the map it happens due to it being 3 servers not just 2.

HoD really ARE a great server to go up against, they really test us and our resolve. Some people’s tactics are not sound because, as you say, they always look at the points rather than the actual, strategic fight. Would rather take HoD stuff because ‘they are ahead in points’ rather than focus on a position that is actually possible to defend and keep. Although, soon enough we will pull those little niggles together and get better. Would like to THANK HoD for making US better players

As for JQQ (as you are more affectionately known) jumping up and down on dead bodies, laughing when 10 of you kill a single guy, like it was a challenge or anything and the constant QQing about some non existent alliance between SBI and HoD. I dont think much respect has been sent your way. Its a shame, potentially these SBI, JQQ (whoops sorry JQ) and HoD matches ‘could’ of been some of the most competitive and sporting three way fights.

SBI has much respect for their HoD enemies but none for their JQQ (I must stop that lol) looking forward to our next HoD match up, as for JQQ…Meh! whatever.

Edit: “Double teams”?? You can count right… THREE servers… 1..2..3.. which means its 1 vs 2, you’ll always be against 2. What do you want? SBI staying on the west and HoD staying on the East and never both deciding what JQ have is a viable target at the same time? L2W3!

i was exhausted earlier and didn’t feel like running from my tower to the JQ tower we were assaulting so I just got a piggyback ride from my HoD ally. what a nice guy.

Karicus.8356:

HoD really ARE a great server to go up against, they really test us and our resolve. Some people’s tactics are not sound because, as you say, they always look at the points rather than the actual, strategic fight. Would rather take HoD stuff because ‘they are ahead in points’ rather than focus on a position that is actually possible to defend and keep. Although, soon enough we will pull those little niggles together and get better. Would like to THANK HoD for making US better players

As for JQQ (as you are more affectionately known) jumping up and down on dead bodies, laughing when 10 of you kill a single guy, like it was a challenge or anything and the constant QQing about some non existent alliance between SBI and HoD. I dont think much respect has been sent your way. Its a shame, potentially these SBI, JQQ (whoops sorry JQ) and HoD matches ‘could’ of been some of the most competitive and sporting three way fights.

SBI has much respect for their HoD enemies but none for their JQQ (I must stop that lol) looking forward to our next HoD match up, as for JQQ…Meh! whatever.

Edit: “Double teams”?? You can count right… THREE servers… 1..2..3.. which means its 1 vs 2, you’ll always be against 2. What do you want? SBI staying on the west and HoD staying on the East and never both deciding what JQ have is a viable target at the same time? L2W3!

Occasionally there are legit fights, where three forces actually all start killing each other in one neutral location. And those get fun. There’s been a couple times where JQ hits a fort, SBI rolls up, stomps JQ, then HOD kills SBI, and we all look at the carnage and go “well kitten now we’re all dead”

@fractalKinesis – I know right! 2 servers want the juiciest position and all roll up with their game heads on.. epic!

but seriously dude, there is NO Alliance between HoD and SBI. Seriously.. and JQQ has to stop blaming their loss on this. It’s, well, embarrassing. We all KNOW HoD are a tough cookie, we bang on their doors for hours and get pushed back, SO we go for an easier target, which is probably owned by JQQ, simple.. weakest target, more chance of success… And as for huge zergs bypassing SBI guys to kill JQ.. maybe the zerg is actually focused on one goal and chasing after two or three randoms isnt going to be benificial to them.

I was overlooking a supply camp the other night, minding my own business when i got stampeded by a HoD zerg, i was dead before i even realized what was happening LOL.. i laughed so hard but they were focused on something and their train kept on rolling… SO stand in their way they will kill us as much as you, move aside and they may see you too as ‘too much bother’

All we want is good WvW and you guys at SBI brought it. Good times. Look forward to coming up against WM some more this week.

Oh now stop. JQ has to hold two fronts on EB while I saw almost no crosses between the HoD and SBI side. Both your forces are always north in JQ territory. Everyone on JQ thinks you work together because we always have to fight you two and rarely see you both go at it.

When I left tonight, HoD was way up north attack JQ keep and we just took back Ogrewatch from SBI. Why are your forces way up north and attacking nothing down south? Either one of you. JQ has to work twice as hard to get and keep territory because neither HoD or SBI fight each other often enough. Anyone on JQ has seen this for themselves. This is why everyone in JQ is certain you have a pact of some sort.

Slayer Lord.5023:

Oh now stop. JQ has to hold two fronts on EB while I saw almost no crosses between the HoD and SBI side. Both your forces are always north in JQ territory. Everyone on JQ thinks you work together because we always have to fight you two and rarely see you both go at it.

When I left tonight, HoD was way up north attack JQ keep and we just took back Ogrewatch from SBI. Why are your forces way up north and attacking nothing down south? Either one of you. JQ has to work twice as hard to get and keep territory because neither HoD or SBI fight each other often enough. Anyone on JQ has seen this for themselves. This is why everyone in JQ is certain you have a pact of some sort.

I don’t see HoD complaining when JQQ and ET teamed up during our first matchup.

I have to say that those of us over at HoD absolutely respect the level of game play SBI brings to the table every…single…night. There is no doubt that SBI has improved as a server and has forced HoD to rethink many of our tactics and become better as well.

We happen to be in the one bracket in NA that isn’t a landslide victory. Yes HoD has held the lead all week and widened the gap slightly every day, but we did not do it easily. We had to fight for every inch of ground, every supply camp, tower and keep. I have personally watched SBI grow more and more organized as a server and have no doubt that the time will come when SBI is #1. Mad respect.

I would like to add an example of match play from last night. On the SBI home map by the end of the night from HoD hitting one side and JQ hitting the other, we pretty much had absolutely nothing on the map, everything was owned by JQ or HoD, this includes supply camps, we were literally wiped off of the map by both servers by the end of the night, left to start from scratch all over again. I’d also like to point out JQ was consistently on our garrison trying to breach the gate, which they did once, then they pulled off as henge were beating on the other gate. Yet, you don’t hear us speculating that HoD and JQ are working together, it was a smart tactical move by both teams to pound the team that was getting crippled. This will happen quite frequently as time goes on, it’s the nature of the beast and something that we have to live with if we cannot properly run countermeasures as servers. In short, it’s part of the game, we have to live with this. I know I did last night when I was crying listening to my favorite Justin Beiber/Allanis Morrisete Pandora station at the gym after getting my anal cavity scoped by both servers.

And every time we get attacked by SBI and JQ I read OUR chat saying that YOU GUYS have a pact. It’s all ridiculous. We will all be trying to take the same stuff. Also, How in the kitten (in advance) do you think such a pact would ever get organized and work? Are we having secret meetings somewhere?

Every time I read our team talking about JQ and SBI colluding against us I point out that they JUST attacked each other and/or took something from each other. People don’t like to acknowledge the truth though. They would rather see deception everywhere.

I had an absolute blast playing against HoD and sometimes JQ this week! HoD is very well organized and once they pick a target rarely will they stop until they have taken it. I just don’t see the same level of tenacity from JQ. Here on SBI we played mostly defense (at least when I was on) except when we finally made an organized push to take SM back from JQ. That 2hr battle between all 3 of us around inner SM and the Lord’s room was very intense and I lagged like I never lagged before. I absolutely agree that playing against HoD has made us a stronger, better and more prepared server. JQ needs to step up their game. If calculations are correct, it will be HoD, SBI, ET this week! Oh the battles that will ensue!

I have to say that those of us over at HoD absolutely respect the level of game play SBI brings to the table every…single…night. There is no doubt that SBI has improved as a server and has forced HoD to rethink many of our tactics and become better as well.
We happen to be in the one bracket in NA that isn’t a landslide victory. Yes HoD has held the lead all week and widened the gap slightly every day, but we did not do it easily. We had to fight for every inch of ground, every supply camp, tower and keep. I have personally watched SBI grow more and more organized as a server and have no doubt that the time will come when SBI is #1. Mad respect.

We gave away many of our tactics too early for them to be of any surprise use. On Saturday, SM should have been ours if the culling issue wasn’t so prevalent.

On EB, you fought hard for those supplies! I made sure of it. I look forward to next match

I find it quite odd that you guys were accused of forming an alliance yet every single time you guys from HoD or SBI post it is nothing but lovely praise, joy, and happiness. You guys are not doing a very good job of defending this accusation and I am not even on JQ.

We’re not allowed to acknowledge our adversaries on a job well done?

Samfisher.7942:

We’re not allowed to acknowledge our adversaries on a job well done?

Lol, im just saying that it is very odd what you guys are doing. Other servers claim you both team up on people. JQ is not the only one. The GW2Guru thread, the screenshots, the videos, and then the constant circle…kitty? You guys are doing. Very odd I should say.

I really got no idea what you guys talking about when you say we work together with HoD….

-_- I spent the whole night yesterday leading my guild Vs HoD and did not kill a single JQ in SBI map (except few).

I usually try to avoid forums because it’s usually full of complainers and conspiracies people but I’ll try to chime in to keep this post good.

First I’d like to point out last Friday my guys were trying to take west keep in SBI Borderlands from JQ and we stacked a bunch of trebs on the inner hill once we blew up their outer wall and HoD happened to have a group inside too. We knew the second we tried to push the Lord they could AJ us and we waited for a long time until we just said “**** it” let’s just go anyway. The second we pushed towards the Lord (hoping to use our trebs as cover to build catas closer) HoD right on queue ran behind and destroyed the few people left and all our siege leaving us to get owned by JQ. Of course people thought “ahh we got doubled teamed they must be allied!” Not true, it was a logical move considering HoD had the smaller force inside the keep at the time and sometimes it just makes sense to play within your means whereas other times you just play for fun and in HoD’s case it was probably both at that time.

So if we had an alliance with HoD I must have missed the message as we tried getting that west keep about 4 times seriously that night and couldn’t, it was a dead stalemate in that borderland (SBI controlled top, HoD their third, JQ theirs…etc) for over 6 hours.

Anyway, many kudos to HoD as I use them constantly as an excuse to try and organize our own server. Looking forward to slowly getting a proper alliance on SBI this Sunday.

Dekar.2759:

I usually try to avoid forums because it’s usually full of complainers and conspiracies people but I’ll try to chime in to keep this post good.

First I’d like to point out last Friday my guys were trying to take west keep in SBI Borderlands from JQ and we stacked a bunch of trebs on the inner hill once we blew up their outer wall and HoD happened to have a group inside too. We knew the second we tried to push the Lord they could AJ us and we waited for a long time until we just said “**** it” let’s just go anyway. The second we pushed towards the Lord (hoping to use our trebs as cover to build catas closer) HoD right on queue ran behind and destroyed the few people left and all our siege leaving us to get owned by JQ. Of course people thought “ahh we got doubled teamed they must be allied!” Not true, it was a logical move considering HoD had the smaller force inside the keep at the time and sometimes it just makes sense to play within your means whereas other times you just play for fun and in HoD’s case it was probably both at that time.

So if we had an alliance with HoD I must have missed the message as we tried getting that west keep about 4 times seriously that night and couldn’t, it was a dead stalemate in that borderland (SBI controlled top, HoD their third, JQ theirs…etc) for over 6 hours.

Anyway, many kudos to HoD as I use them constantly as an excuse to try and organize our own server. Looking forward to slowly getting a proper alliance on SBI this Sunday.

Hit me up in game Neo Amon if you want to include Oceanic guild in the talk

IomegadriveOne.5291:

I find it quite odd that you guys were accused of forming an alliance yet every single time you guys from HoD or SBI post it is nothing but lovely praise, joy, and happiness. You guys are not doing a very good job of defending this accusation and I am not even on JQ.

Why should we on HoD, and those of SBI, bother with defending against something that is not even happening? I think I speak for most of HoD when I say we respect what SBI has achieved. They’ve shown a lot of progress. The same can’t be said of JQ.

JQ has proven they are not the smartest when it comes to multi-player politics, and they pay for it. Some of their tactics are rather unsound or simply ineffective as well (looking at you, 6hr failed JQ siege of HoD controlled Dreaming Bay yesterday).

I’m sure some on JQ thinks we made some pact with SBI to double-teamed them on SBI’s home borderland today, and they’d be wrong. Simple fact was, HoD was hurting in the numbers department for awhile so pushing into SBI’s territory made little sense. Farther away, harder to reinforce, harder to hold.

JQ’s default tower of Redbriar is a much more attractive option for a number of reasons. Its closer to our spawn, there’s a defensible fallback position nearby in the form of Greenbriar, it opens the possibility of siege on SBI controlled Bay, etc.

And if anyone from JQ thinks SBI wasn’t attacking us, go ask them how much siege equipment they lost at Stargrove.

Really if SBi and HoD have any pacts or alliance, JQ will be playing around their spawn points only for the entire week. I’m on SBI and I fought mostly HoD every single day the entire week and occasionally with JQ when they Zerg in in force. HoD played and organised really well in both offence and defence. They always make an effort to guard and defend what they conquered and won’t let go easily without a fight and we need to learn from them. Great week of pvp and good job! Looking forward for our next match up!

Maybe if JQQ would spend less time being all (J)QQ on these boards and more pew pew on the battle field….

But then again, I’m sure the ones that realized we (SBI) have no alliance with HoD are not the ones posting here.

Also, really sad I missed the giant battle today. Heard it was epic

Thats a point, if there was an alliance, the maps would be 50/50 and there would be JQQ spawn camping…

SBI has proven to be good competition, I’ve enjoyed my time fighting against them and respect their WvW forces. JQQ isn’t nearly the threat that SBI has been. Mostly large zergs that crumble under any pressure. I’ve noticed that SBI will stand it’s ground and fight more often, where JQQ will just turn tail and run when they see a few of us coming.

fractalKinesis.8569:

FitGamer.4371:

We’re not working together
Stop saying this stuff
You guys don’t play a very strategic game. You guys take stuff at random instead of playing strategicly against other servers.

For example:
You guys took the castle in eternal. SBI was hitting all your bases while we tried to take back the castle you took from us. This didn’t work very well in your favour due to you losing all your supplies. You need to learn to say screw the castle and keep the supplies. If you would of reclaimed those supplies from SBI then we wouldn’t of taken your castle and if we did at least you wouldn’t of lost all your supplies & towers with the castle.

Yeah, I was in that castle thing on my crappy lowbie thief. That was some real PvP.
It was a good battle, but it started to drag on, and we couldn’t really get out of there while in constant combat, and our waypoint at the keep was taken down, so we had no choice but to be pinned down and lose everything. Believe me, we were all jabbering about not having anything but SM.

But your double-teams are what I’m talking about. Deny it all you want.

HAHA anyone that thinks alliances between servers work are so stupid it makes my brain hurt.

I know right, two ENTIRE servers co-operating without the ability to communicate easily? Its hard enough to get a small group of ppl to do the same thing and we can read each others chat!

IomegadriveOne.5291:

I find it quite odd that you guys were accused of forming an alliance yet every single time you guys from HoD or SBI post it is nothing but lovely praise, joy, and happiness. You guys are not doing a very good job of defending this accusation and I am not even on JQ.

It’s because SBI puts up a good fight and they do well at holding their positions despite constant attack from us. Whereas JQQ isn’t much trouble to break through.

We fight SBI constantly, the difference is we aren’t able to take their stuff as easily as we are JQQ’s. So JQQ just assumes we aren’t even trying to assault SBI. Which we are, constantly.

You know we can see what you’re sieging and where the fights are by looking at our map. And, well, most of the time it’s pretty quiet south of SM….

You must be kidding, I spent most of my time in EB, when I even could get in, with large forces trying to take Durios and their Quentin tower, which they have locked up tighter than fort knox btw.

Heck most of the time I’ve spent in EB was fighting with them on the south and east side of SM. Either they are pushing us or we are pushing them, or I’m spending all night trebbing their tower from the top of SM.

Okay you got us. We’re working with SBI to bring down JQQ, even though HoD alone has won against defeated the alliance between JQQ and ET in a previous matchup by 1000 point , it makes perfect sense why a greater server should team up with another greater server against some nobody.kitten

As for the JQQ guys, please QQ some more. Honestly we praise SBI not only because they were hard to fight against, also because – generally speaking – they have a better attitude than most of you. Everywhere I look there are JQ people QQing about “SBI + HoD alliance”. which is completely laughable. You are not nearly a strong enough server that an alliance between SBI and HoD is required to defeat.

Even if we WERE working together – which we were not – you still have no right to complain when you yourself have double teamed us with ET a week prior (and lost.)

I think most people on HoD will readily admit we focus more heavily on attacking JQ than SBI. That’s not an alliance, but because the JQ bases are rarely upgraded and have little siege presence and abysmally few defenders to deal with when attacking. I’m sure JQ players have attacked SBI positions and know SBI has very heavy defenses, not to mention faster reinforcements. Perhaps JQ can take notes on why your attacks on SBI and HoD fail and implement the same defenses to improve your game?

As for ignoring people on the road, that’s probably true. Fighting in the road doesn’t really help the score, so what’s the point of chasing someone down unless they’re going somewhere you want to protect? Heck, if you scare someone away from reinforcing where you’re heading that’s a victory in my book.

Keldrath.4735:

It’s because SBI puts up a good fight and they do well at holding their positions despite constant attack from us. Whereas JQQ isn’t much trouble to break through.

We fight SBI constantly, the difference is we aren’t able to take their stuff as easily as we are JQQ’s. So JQQ just assumes we aren’t even trying to assault SBI. Which we are, constantly.

Only started playing on JQ awhile ago but this seems to be the mentality that a good majority of the players on the other two servers seem to have. It’s not a pact or an alliance, it’s a tactic of taking from the one that’s the most vulnerable instead of constantly going after the winner to lessen their lead. I do find that it sometimes gets to the point of being ridiculous though. At one point today on SBI’s borderlands we were sitting at the only tower we owned with the outmanned buff while about HoD and SBI had about 20-30 of their forces attacking our tower from both sides. Eventually they started fighting each other as both forces started to swing towards the front of the tower (for rights on who gets the tower i can only assume).

^ Exactly, and the constant JQQ just shows how un sportman like you guys really are. The whole point of this is because you want to make JQ mad. It is to the point where it is a troll thread that needs to be deleted. You have all proven what the point of this is. I have seen barely any posts by JQ here and yet you continue to fight against somebody that hasn’t even showed up yet. Grow up people.

^ clearly didn’t even read the thread.

I’m going to chime in and say, why is it wrong to congratulate a hard-fighting rival? Sure, in the game it’s war, but it’s still a game that can be won and lost and nobody actually died for it. People saying that two teams complimenting each other as actual sportsmen is evidence of alliance are reading things in that aren’t there. Who says that we have to absolutely hate and despise our opponents? I love the challenge they bring and the constant demand to play better, play smarter.

And we’re well aware of how much siege you broke at Stargrove. Had your Fortify Keep upgrade not finished when it did though, that would have been a very different story. Also be aware of how many bodies you threw at that supply camp only to have them all die. Superior treb positioning was the only thing we were worried about.

Id like to congratulate the HOD nightcrew zerg. I guess whoever has the most aussies wins