On the second of December, in the year of our Lord, two thousand and twenty-five, the sixth iteration of the most prestigious Age of Empires II tournament began. King of the Desert is the gold standard of 1v1 Age of Empires tournaments. The name of the tournament is a nod to Arabia, the most popular and respected land map in Age of Empires II history. The map’s openness and resource distribution has lent itself to fast and dynamic gameplay since time immemorial, since the days men played games in LAN parties and strange beasts roamed the earth. Those days are long gone, now but a fading memory of the chosen few who endured the dark days of dial up internet and commercial free YouTube. Yet, despite the changes to economy and manners that have occurred since, Arabia remains the supreme competitive 1v1 experience. Now, on December 2, 2025, I and thousands of others hop online to watch the world’s best players compete on the game’s best map.
Match of the Day: Lewis #17 vs Lyx #46
As seeding would suggest, Lyx is a major underdog coming into this match. Lyx is a Chinese player who is a known quantity, having played the game for many years. He is willing to take tremendous risks and employs odd strategies to catch his opponents off guard. Lyx loves to play aggressively, controlling the tempo of a match by forcing his opponent to respond to his pressure. With control, Lyx shines. Without it, his micro cannot keep up with the very best.
Lewis is a relative newcomer to the AoE II scene. He is a young British player that has steadily improved his gameplay since appearing in the tournament scene in 2023. Lewis usually favors playing standard games, following meta strategies and using his excellent APM (actions per minute) to gain advantages over his opponents. Unlike Lyx, it is unknown if Lewis has reached his peak or if untapped potential still lies within him waiting to be awakened. Fortunately for Lewis and fans of the game alike, King of the Desert is the best litmus test competitive Age of Empires II has to offer.
Game of the Day
