MeinMMO author Ody watched the Red Bull Wololo for the first time this year, the largest eSports tournament for Age of Empires. The strategy game series has shaped his childhood, and now it also delivered the best tournament final he has ever seen.
On Monday, April 6, 2026, the final of the Red Bull Wololo, the largest tournament for Age of Empires (AoE), took place. The strategy game series was launched in 1997 by Ensemble Studios, but it peaked with the release of Age of Empires 2 two years later. A third part followed in 2005. By the way, the name of the tournament is derived from “Wololo,” which monks used in AoE 1 to convert enemy units – this voice line has remained a meme in the community to this day.
I played these three parts up and down as a small child. The first AoE was my very first video game, and AoE 2 was consequently my second. Nevertheless, I had no interest in the large multiplayer scene that developed around the titles for a long time.
For this year’s Red Bull Wololo, I finally mustered the courage to check out the tournament. Looking back, I’m very glad I did, because otherwise, I would have missed the probably most epic final in the history of Age of Empires.
Two finals, both exciting until the end
To be precise, there were two finals that day, one in AoE 4 and one in AoE 2.
- In AoE 4, Daniel “Wam01” Svoboda faced the reigning champion Alexis “MarineLorD” Eusebio in a “Best of 5” match, which MarineLorD narrowly won 2:3
- In AoE 2, the Austrian Kai “Liereyy” Kallinger faced Hamzah “Hera” El-Baher, one of the greatest legends in AoE eSports and the only player I knew before the tournament
Let me tell you this: Both confrontations were really exciting and had their highlights that have stayed in my memory even after days. That includes the moment when Wam01 walled in MarineLorD’s knights in the middle of the fight during his third match – literally – to prevent them from escaping.
The final between Liereyy and Hera was even more impressive. For a long time, it didn’t look good for Hera – the champion was trailing 0:3 (in a “Best of 9”), struggled to make his moves, and was massively pressured by Liereyy. From that point, however, things started to look better for Hera – he managed to win one game after another, and the penultimate game is sure to go down in the tournament’s history.
A comeback that should go down in AoE history
When the match seemed lost for Hera, he made a move that was far too risky: He sent a bunch of villagers right into Liereyy’s base to build two castles there. They not only deal a lot of damage but can also take a lot of hits – and were now practically right at Liereyy’s doorstep.
This maneuver could have gone very badly for Hera. Both the commentators and the fans couldn’t believe what he was doing. But in the end, it was exactly this pressure on Liereyy’s base and a few decisive battles in the final seconds that turned the tide in his favor. I stood there in front of the TV, unable to believe my eyes.
Hera also retains his crown this year and played the most epic final before the largest audience to date: Over 115,000 viewers, according to Esports Charts, attended the tournament simultaneously, setting a new record for Red Bull Wololo in AoE 2. Of course, compared to the viewer numbers of League of Legends, Dota, or Valorant, that’s almost nothing – but for an RTS, it’s a notable figure.
Personally, I have gained a completely new appreciation for one of my all-time favorite games through this tournament. And it has also encouraged me to dare myself more often in multiplayer – even if I’ll probably never reach the level of one of these players.
Age of Empires 2 is still considered one of the best strategy games you can play. The Red Bull Wololo impressively proves that once again. However, even though it has significantly shaped the real-time strategy genre, it was not the first RTS. MeinMMO has set out to find out: Age of Empires, Warcraft or C&C are cool – But what was actually the first RTS in video game history?
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