Ascension Trackmania: GranaDy wins the second stage

This Saturday 16 September, qualified drivers for the second stage of Ascension took to the stage at Le Zénith, joystick or steering wheel in hand, ready to do battle. Precise and determined, GranaDy wins the competitionIt was a fine revenge for the player who narrowly missed out on qualification for Montpellier in the first leg.

Extremely intense semi-finals

As was the case at the first stage of the AscensionThe drivers were divided into two distinct groups. Of the sixteen drivers, only the top eight - four from each group - advanced to the final battle. The stakes were high, with the qualifiers earning their place in the final leg to be played in MontpellierYou'll also get a share of the cashprize up for grabs that evening.

The semi-finals used the same format as the previous stage. As a reminder, in Cup mode, players must obtain a total of 120 points to unlock "finalist" status, before win another round to validate their qualification.

Breakdown of players

CarlJr dominates first semi-final

From the start of the evening, ZeratoR and Etoiles took the temperature in the room. And the least we can say is that the audience was ready to make some noise!

The evening began with the Third Star card and Heav's victory. Local boy Sam was quick to take the lead. Game after game, card after card, he maintained his position as leader. Unfortunately for him, Dirt6tuyau marked the end of his domination.

In the fifth map, the scores are close, but CarlJr is starting to pull ahead. At this stage, three players have already passed the 100-point mark. The two-time Trackmania world champion finally secures his finalist status on Glasticut, and wasted no time in winning another game to secure a slot in the final.

At the end of the first race on Pneumimporte, Richie, Heav, Worker and Affi also secured finalist status. To the applause of the Zénith, Affi finally won his ticket for the final, and then it was Heav's turn. The tension is increasingly palpable...

Richie, who had already been a finalist for several laps, was unable to finish. A new race began, the crowd went wild and the battle between Richie and Kappa was unbearable... The Team DNF representative passed the famous end tyre with ease and headed straight for the finish. Richie is the last qualifier for this semi-final! A victory that surprised him as much as his qualification for the stage "I'm not completely at Lille yet, and I'm told I have to go to Montpellier now... It's incredible. I still haven't realised it yet..

A crazy semi-final

After a short break, it was time for the second semi-final. Nobody knew it yet, but the future champion of the evening was hidden in this group of Legends, some of whom had arrived from Germany and even Australia.

mime took the lead for a while, but in the end pole position was hotly contested. That is, until GranaDy is moving up the rankings. A string of top 1 finishes and good results, he easily reached finalist statuswhich he validated after a few races on Glasticut.

mime, a finalist, was unable to finish. This difficulty did Massa and Snow good, as they too passed the fateful 120-point mark. The semi-final went from bad to worse, with more and more drivers getting closer to qualifying. mime ended up qualifying, closely followed by Massa.

There's only one place left and four players can take it. It's a real battle between Cocow, Mudda, Snow and Xerar. The public is impatient to discover the last player who will write his name in the history of Trackmania Ascension. Halfway through the race, Cocow and Snow take the lead, and the tension is at its highest... Cocow wins by the narrowest of margins!

The evening ended on a high note for the BIG structureBoth representatives, GranaDy and Massa, have qualified for Montpellier.

The cut for victory!

The semi-finals were already a great spectacle in Cup mode, but the final was even more entertaining thanks to the following features to Knock-Out mode. Like a game of Balloon Battle in Mario Kart, each driver had three lives - finishing last meant losing your life.

Much to the delight of the viewers on the ZeratoR channel and the several thousand spectators in the Lille venue, the eight finalists took their seats in front of their PCs. A few minutes later, Cocow lost a life. He soon found himself with only one life to his name, just like CarlJr, but in the end it was Heav who was eliminated first. Then it was Cocow's turn, followed by that of the great Canadian favourite.

The crowd erupted in cheers for the players still in the competition. As the competition continues, Affi maintains top spot with three livesunflappable, unbeatable, efficient. At this level of the competition, it was unlikely that he would survive the entire final without losing a single race. And what had to happen, happened: his counter went to two lives.

When they switch to Epinglace, Affi, Massa, Richie and GranaDy are all on an equal footingwith one last life. It was madness in the Zenith arena, as each race was now decisive. Despite the difficulty, Massa gives it his all and uses a different route. Richie falls...

At the end of the next race, Affi and GranaDy reach the final duel. GranaDy took the lead, but was soon overtaken. The two drivers are neck and neck. Affi pulls ahead a little, so that GranaDy is obliged to make the final cut if he wants to emerge victorious from this run..

Affi took off, GranaDy took off, the crowd boiled, Affi's car hit a ledge, while GranaDy's crossed the finish line. There's an explosion in the room. He's done it! GranaDy has just won the second stage of the Ascension racepocketing €5,760.

Final standings for stage 2

This latest stage of the Ascension was once again an opportunity for the thousands of spectators to admire some of the best drivers on the Trackmania scene. Of the sixteen qualifiers for the stage, only eight actually made it through to the Final. Nevertheless, they all showed that they deserved their place in this tournament. We'd like to congratulate them all on their performances in qualifying and on stage.

With the end of this new chapter, we now know the identities of all the players who will be taking part in the third and final round of Trackmania Ascension: GranaDy, Affi, Massa, Richie, mime, CarlJr, Cocow, Heav, Tjalic, Binkss, Wosile, Gwen, Arthaniir, Bren, Glast and Otaaaq. We can't wait to see all these driving geniuses battle it out for the €62,720 cashprize on stage at the Sud de France Arena in Montpellier!