The Most INCREDIBLE World First Race in HISTORY?

Finally the race is over and has without a doubt become legendary among the races so far. 18 DAYS of tough as nails progress - with Echo taking the win in an incredible display of mental fortitude and skill. Here's Mike's summary of the experience he had while casting.
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[@Preachgaming]

Evening all, Chris here again with Mike's summary of this legendary Race to World First. 18 days of hard progress, Echo somehow managed to push through the mental exhaustion and smash the Jailer in spectacular fashion. Also you may have heard we now have a series of our own Displates available to purchase. Use this link for a 23-27% discount on those and ANY other plate on the site: displate.com/preachgaming?art=619e85e06e135

[@RetroGenetic]

Let's post as answer here for higher probability of being seen and getting answered, is there plans on the round table? And will there mayhaps end up being more than 2 guilds in it, as I would say that SK Pieces would absolutely deserve their seat and same for Method (and naturally Skyline, but language barrier)?

[@darthdarth4338]

I just gotta say, I could listen to Mike tell a story all day, everything just flows when he speaks. I watched near the end of the World First and watched Echo clinch it but listening to Mike re-tell things just is *chefs kiss*. Thank you Mike for all you do! I hope we continue to see you cast the WF races in the future!

[@sandsand5483]

All those years of drama time helped, I bet.

[@mejia111andres]

This is what I was waiting for, amazing casting btw

[@brianbulk1144]

I just feel the hype and the awsome time that was you casters were amazing thanks for that preach!!!

[@Aeloues]

Videos like this genuinely make me miss the class videos and legacies, the outro music is so nostalgic for me. Mike has always been able to just speak things so well and naturally I could listen all day long.

[@JonasSchewelius]

Can't stress enough how good it is to have you on the coach with echo during RWF. perfect fit, love it!

[@OakenTome]

I only realized you were there casting when I heard your voice in the clip of the Jailer kill. A “hold up, is that Preach?!” and a hype kill in one vid is just👌

[@rorycookman433]

Really enjoyed the casting you did preach! Loved the race

[@RalucaVezeteu]

I absolutely loved the casting team and I would so much love to see some of the best casting moments

[@jauffretv]

Loved the world first, the Echo casting team were all fantastic. Watched for several hours every day and the team were always on top form. Looking forwards to the next one!

[@irevisibel9237]

Had a blast watching the race casted by you, Peyton, Alex & Co. Thanks again that you changed your mind and went to Hamburg full-time :)

[@MrCuprum]

i cannot imagine a rwf commentary without preach as part of the casters team, glad you made it!

[@georgisaksson7500]

ty for the commentating on the WF race :) brilliant stuff

[@octobeastX]

was great to watch, you casters made it even better. keep doing it lol.

[@MicMac1141]

You guys did a fantastic job. Such a great race!

[@TheRealGrimpaw]

Very good video. The race to World First has been amazing time for me for the 3rd time in a row.

[@kelptea]

Eventhough I fell out of love with the game itself, it's wonderful to hear someone so passionate about it!

[@positivepatrolleader4914]

Man I love this, this was the best part of my day.

[@H25Invicta]

Great job Mike. Thank you.

[@jotarokujosuke275]

Watching the fight when preach was casting and getting context on what was happening at that point in the vid, this RFW sure is amazing piece of entertainment i have watched.

[@Siggy152]

Hey Mike. I know you have high standards you hold yourself to. And that is why you do such a great job casting. But i think i speak for a lot of people when i say we couldn't care less if you played 10.0 or not. You are synonymous with the Race to World First. Not many people know the Hardcore raiding scene better and this experience does not diminish with a new expansion. Losing this much experience on the couch would be devastating to all fans of the race to world first and a severe loss. So please mate, even if you don't play 10.0, it doesn't matter. You will do an amazing job regardless, of that i am sure.

[@bryanbeaver4338]

Wow preach amazing take and fantastic video as always. Love from the NA and if this was your last Race we'll miss you on the next. GGs man

[@brandonallen5109]

You guys made this RWF 1000% better. You're casting and commentary were fucking BIS !! Loved to see it.

[@jonnylater]

Gingi gets me every time I watch the kill, man just screams in elation, peaking mic and all, and keeps going.

[@GoogleyMoogley]

Gingi is a gift.

[@Immersed94]

This was such an interesting race, because it lasted 3 weeks, and for the first half there was no question Liquid was the guild that played and performed better, and for the second half there was no question it was Echo. It showed great potential and hunger from the young guys in Liquid, and the veteran experience and endurance from Echo. I think both guilds should be very proud of their performance overall, and I also think Liquid will only get better from this, which is all we wanna see at the end of the day. Crazy race man. One for the history books

[@MisterAwesan]

All the casters were soo good this time around. There were no weak links. In previous events you'd sometimes turn in and the casters would be talking about random crap for 30+ minutes while Method was pulling the boss.. like come on! This time there was so much knowledge there, explaining what they were doing, what they were thinking about, etc. Super fun to watch.

[@chinaman1]

There's still tettles!

[@StarShopping69]

Listening to Mike talk about the casting desk is the most wholesome thing

[@dapineaple]

I think it’s good that you brought up the mental strain that Liquid was under after they started falling behind. A lot of people have been shitting on them that they gave up once they started falling behind, but it’s a hard thing to overcome.

[@faaeen]

Despite not playing wow for years this event was such a blast to follow. I imagine this is the amount of hype football fans feel during the finals? GG

[@KumaNicol]

This is the first, and thanks to it, definitely not the last, world first race I have ever followed. I was always a doubter PvE races were anything special or fun, I stuck to watching PvP content mostly. But god damn if I didn't feel the energy on close wipes, or the immense pride they felt on getting world first kills. So fucking great, what a joy to watch. Great casting as always, by all involved.

[@dianak6537]

Had a great experience watching the RWF, the casters gave 100% to keep the content engaging. Never watched prior races, was busy playing WoW at my own pace and the mythic scene wasn’t relevant to me. After quitting though, it’s nice to revisit the nostalgia of progression. Good to see fun of teamwork and competition is still achievable for the few there, albeit at a high cost (time/soul).

[@ducbinh199]

I don't even play WOW but watching it live anyway bc Mike is that good at casting, really hope he can be involved in some way when the 6.1 ultimate WFR happens. with frosty not casting this time, most of FF14's well know streamer and content creator is doing the race themself, and seem like no one gonna cast it this time, it's a bit sad really.

[@RaddyC]

Frosty isn’t casting? Why not?

[@Kelenae]

@@RaddyC busy with family stuff i believe but he is running it still.

[@TheRealLink]

I think Preach would have a blast both casting it and also in Prog.

[@Mizzou58]

Let's do it brotha

[@razriga]

I know basically nothing about WoW, but watching Mike having the time of his life, and then telling us all the juciy tibits was great

[@djsage007]

Watching the race was so fun :D

[@Heero_effect]

Echo casters were the only reason I watched all day at work. And the fact that echo and method took 1 and 2 is impressive.

[@tsulong]

Mike is such a great personality for casting, and a joy to watch/listen to. If he's not keeping up with wow and won't be doing rwf for it anymore, I'd love to see him cast for frosty and xiv's savage/ultimate races.

[@wullivieh]

Loved the race as a viewer! There were stretches that were a bit boring with the splits, but the bosses themselves were a lot of fun to watch. I was super hyped from Halondrus onwards. I felt like on Halondrus production also started to really shine as well (they had some fun cutting between viewpoints timed perfectly on aftershocks, which was so smooth!) And Echo definitely chose some great casters :) Good job!

[@luzif0r]

Honestly, the entire casting team was amazing this time, but you'd still be my favorite among them if you hadn't played for literal years. No RTWF without preach!

[@kimaclaret]

Gingi energy was off the charts. I can't imagine what raiding would be like with him in the room 😆

[@wowzakimotips]

The ELX was coursing through his veins

[@neretilderem7029]

His energy was great, but his style is horrible. He sounds like one of those outdated sports commentators. "Come on chat, send the energy! Chat, this is it! Chat, what do you think, can Echo kill him this round?! Chat, we need you now!" .... ehhh, it was painful. Just let Preach talk next time

[@TheSilverwing999]

Gingi can be terrible. His takes are sometimes just not ok

[@kaizoc5314]

@@TheSilverwing999 Welcome to the human race

[@GrayzBDF]

This video is THE SINGLE most important part of the entire race for me Why? I'm a 100% about the process and mindsets and since Mike gets it he can break things down in ways that hold my interest much longer most. There are so many things I don't care about tied to competitive WoW content anymore From my unique and specific perspective this video hits ALL points: The race, mindsets, fatigue, pep talk, the ANALYSTS ❤, strat calls, casting, production, the secret " casting deal" , your Family ❤ and so many other key factors This is most exciting video since I saw the one about Blood Legion and that means that this one is pure magic. Straight up ❤ Keep on evolving, Mike! You and your beloved friends and team are going places What a huuge milestone for all involved in making this happen. HISTORY ❤❤❤ Lots of love, bro

[@Riitmi]

I've personally been done with SL for months now and awaiting good news from 10.0, but the rwf still interests me greatly and even if I don't play 10.0 the rwf will still be on my radar. With this said, Mike is one of the true OG Wow content creators and I hope he doesn't turn down an opportunity to cast the next one despite potentially being less knowledgeable

[@williambutterworth6693]

Preach absolutely has to be included in future RWFs. He is WoW hall of fame and his casting sessions are S tier. The knowledge vacuum of one expansion/patch is so outshone by countless years of experience with the game. Would be a travesty for him not to be involved!

[@Pandaemperor]

Spam this peach to bring back preach

[@peterparkerspiderman7875]

Thx Mike!

[@tipps8676]

You and Alex made this an incredible experience for me to watch. I have never tuned into a Twitch channel as much as I have in this RWF. I am a WOW refugeee (stopped after MOP) and now a Hardcore FFXIV raider, but the way you and the team casted, made it so accessible to old/new players. Incredible job! Thank You!

[@DioD3]

Awesome race. Caster team was so good. Best of all the guilds running rwf

[@TK-ok9bh]

Thanks for the tweet Max.

[@TheCynicalJay]

Thanks for addressing your earlier statement about not covering WoW. That was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the vid lol

[@troger147]

Dude!!! Haven't watched a video in a while, but dang, your hair is looking great!!!!!

[@meriwidget3474]

I'm glad you had a lot of fun, your casting (and Alex) was amazing and fun. I was happy Echo did so well, Scripe has been fun to watch. But for me, the endless splits made watching it pretty miserable. I could only handle watching your casting segments simply because you and Alex made it fun. Glad you got to meet some of your FC friends and happy you made it home safe.

[@Skyblade12]

The reason this could have been predicted was because everyone I heard talking about it said that it was going to be tuned for full tier and double legendaries. It wasn't a race of who could down the boss, it was a race of who could get the gear. And, yes, it was a combo of two raids.

[@poorwowgameplay]

Sepulcher is definitely two raids pushed together.

[@scrummpybear]

i loved the raid race because of the length. Most are over inside a week (with splits) or just after reset. This was great to have content for this long.

[@Lancun]

There is no way in hell that a race like this should ever happen again. The sheer amount of split runs required to even remain competitive borders on the obscene. The gateway to actually be a newcomer in a scene like this is utterly impassable for how many damn alts you need just to try and challenge Blizzard's stupid loot system. If ML isn't returned in 10.0, that'll tell you all you need to know about how sincere Blizzard is about wanting to improve the game for its small remaining playerbase.

[@andrew7539]

Master loot won’t prevent split runs, just make them a little more streamlined.

[@Lancun]

@@andrew7539 It's commonplace for the best of the best to have to do dozens. Sure. Split runs have existed in this game for as long as multi-class tokens have. But nowhere near to the degree of nonsense that was on display during this run. Hundreds upon hundreds of split runs. If they're going to tune a raid this tightly and have it this untested to make nerf after nerf after nerf happen just to make things possible, then their loot system needs to change.

[@Skyblade12]

@@Lancun It wasn't Master Looter. It was tuning the fight for massive power boosts that weren't available any other way. Had Tier and Double leggos been a 2-5% power boost, it would have been fine. Having 40-60% of the player DPS locked just to make it interesting to view has ruined the raids for anyone except the top two guilds.

[@MMO-Kenna]

Preach, Mike what a LEGEND! You summed it up perfect I was there for the full journey streamed it all day and night. At work, in the bath, audio while driving. Best gaming/esports event Ive ever seen and probably ever will see.

[@CoachEd]

happy to see scripe and the boys taking it home. started watching due to their ff runs and stayed for rwf. im hoping the dance-like raids of FF helped scripe look at the jailer and say "yeah i know how this feels"

[@cbrdealer]

Looking at how much viewership went up when Mike was casting shows how much the WoW community loves Preach. I really do miss the old school days watching preach. Hopefully he is at least still able to cast the races. I just cant get into the FF thing, even if its preach playing it.

[@kabes7]

You know, I stopped playing WoW a year ago but I was still absolutely glued to this RWF from start to finish. I'd watch the Echo stream most of the day, and then when the boys were done for the day I would swap to the Liquid stream for the night (in my time zone). I watched pretty much every day, for hours. Thought it was cool how much viewership it had across the board despite the poor state WoW is on the whole. Shows that people still give a crap about the game, which is awesome. I so hope they turn things around next expansion. Also glad you were able to come for the whole thing, even though it would've been hype had you just shown up out of nowhere for the Jailer.

[@iversithy1927]

Incredible race, everyone played so well and it was awesome to see how many guilds were "up there". For me personal the best part was simply watching Firedup play. From all guilds NA/EU/Asia I think he is simply the most insane.

[@scoops2]

Firedup’s consistency is absurd. This man is a machine. Does incredibly difficult mechanics, incredible damage, and somehow only messed up around 1 in 100 pulls or less

[@EpigenicGaming]

@@scoops2 Wait who's Firedup?

[@Immersed94]

Firedup is an animal. Watching him play Halondrus was just jaw dropping at times

[@tiyangina3571]

@@EpigenicGaming im not sure wether you're joking but just in case you arent or someone who doesnt knoe reads this: Firedup is a mage on the roster of Liquid of whoms pov maximum was raidleading most of the time.

[@EpigenicGaming]

@@tiyangina3571 I genuinelyn didnt know! So hes Estaup in the meters I presume?

[@ZodaSoda]

I hope MogTalk or whoever runs a stream for FFXIV Raid content going forward contacts Mike, hes a fun guy to have cast anything honestly

[@Dabasin]

I watched the race probably 10-12 hours a day the whole time. On the side of cource, while working and stuff. And been switching the channels between the top 4 streaming guilds from time to time. This might be bias coz i was rooting for Echo, but god were you guys the most entertaining casting crew in any of the streams. I had a hard time not laughing out loud most of the time. It was absolute perfect. The race was intense as fuck, but i got to say, you six made it as memorable as it was in my eyes.

[@moulderzmoulder]

i cant imagine a race wothout u. it feels like you are also kinda part of echo tbh. pls pls pls come back to 10.0 rwf casting preach, this was one of the most fun twitcht expierences i ever had on twitch.

[@ACactusHealingRhino]

Regarding your perceptive commentary on mentality affecting play vs an opponent. You gotta learn to be the hammer AND the nail. You nailed it Preach, seeing how passionate you were about this whole thing was pretty sweeet. Old WoW vibes up in here. Much love

[@crooxys]

What a race indeed :D

[@IsaacFNghost]

Damn... I had no idea the race was even happening. Haven't missed a race to world first in years and I miss one that was this legendary.. feels bad man

[@kasper1241]

That Rygalon kill was so insane. They were not even close to the enrage. They had 6.5 seconds left which in this regard is miles.

[@cmerk100]

It was always going to take three weeks because of legendaries

[@undacoval3rotha]

Hair looks great my dude!

[@FalloutFM]

I haven't watched you for a year or so, and I gotta say, that hairline do be looking good homie, worth every penny

[@Experiment.626]

Amazing race just so good and huge Grats to echo well deserved and was awesome to see method back on track!

[@Woeden]

Nice haircut, the results are crazy, grats.

[@violetbliss4399]

I tuned in now and then, I don't really wish for this type of gameplay to affect WoW's design (it does, just look at weakauras vs boss design this time) and I would love a less extreme balance for players of the race and other players both, straight off the bat. However, I thought the Echo stream was fantastic in production with just the right personality mixes, and it was still nice to watch the players outdo themselves, no matter what I think of current WoW raid design personally. Also the highlight reel was really awesome!

[@MrThePrankstar]

37 minutes, 29 sec. Not a single mention of the GigaChad who carried Echo through their darkest times?

[@adamosborne9440]

I don't play WoW anymore but watched the RWF on the Echo stream... AMAZING time! Would love to see you cast for XIV in the future, and certainly hope to see the Echo boys prog Dragonsong Ultimate and/or Pandaemonium tier 2!

[@kimaclaret]

I don't play WoW anymore either, but I'll always watch the races. I love what they've done with the productions. Seeing that for FF would be fun, so I'll 🤞🤞

[@Maria_Erias]

@@kimaclaret This is one of the things that makes me sad about the path Blizzard's driven WoW down. Things like the RWF, The Big Push, or even watching one of Taliesin's puppyishly enthusiastic videos fills me with nostalgia for what WoW used to be. That sense of nostalgia lasts for about 2 minutes, until I realize what two expansions worth of abysmal writing and lackluster storytelling stapled with hamster wheel repetitive systems has actually done to the game at large.

[@Skyblade12]

@@kimaclaret I'll take raids that can actually be beaten by people who aren't the top 0.00001% of players over a decent show that lasts a month.

[@scorpiowarrior7841]

I didn't get to watch most of it cuz it's been one hell of a ride getting back into wow....but this is why I love this game. The jailer was the fist world first kill I was able to watch live and holy shit it was amazing.

[@NateScreenPrints1]

Tettles: “yep. There’s a secret phase. I was digging around in my nose. Searching around my hair. Found it.”

[@ShadowReaper90]

Please stick around even during 10.0. Aside from your knowledge, you're great to listen to. You're like the big daddy of Warcraft.

[@truetype80]

I jumped into the stream minutes before they killed it lol. Also funny they learned the boss fight the same way we learned to play music in band lol

[@cameronharvey4746]

I think the biggest thing to take away from this race and all of the races in THIS expansion is how blessed we are to have two teams that are so insanely close to each other in skill despite the massive differences in play/leadership style. Both teams were so frequently within 1% of the other on multiple bosses even when using completely different strats. It is amazing to watch.

[@Sevarid]

Casters were awesome and every combo had something that made me stick around sometimes the entire day with some combos being more banter and others analytical really hope that blizzard can turn the game around from the state it has gone down the past few years!

[@CyanShaman]

Actually forgot this was even happening.

[@scrummpybear]

I have to admit, thinking it would die before double leggo is a little silly imo. Its one of the main features of this xpac, farming them crafting them, powering them, of course the last boss would be designed around its power.

[@chrisdavis3551]

Yall here that We get Mike back APRIL 19th. Ty lawd i miss The Daily Preach, and my guides. Chris FIx IT

[@ACarlosA]

Here in Cali, I loved listening to you, Mike, with both Alex and Jordan, early in the morning on my commute to work. The three of you quickly became such a comfort to hear. It was very sad when the Jailer died and I knew I had to find something else to listen to.

[@sgt391]

I'm happy for the new method people. Let's hope for a 3 or more guilds race next year

[@chinaman1]

I think method really showed their capabilities this tier. Sco really put a strong team together.

[@Immersed94]

Method played very well, especially in week 3! But if we're being honest, this race also showed that for a more "normal" race that lasts 9-10 days, Liquid and Echo are miles ahead of the competition. Would love if they prove me wrong next tier though, I respect the hell out of Sco for the effort he puts into his org

[@wl3588]

I had a great time watching the RWF. Insane playes by Echo and Liquid and really enjoyed all the casters of the Echo event!

[@YunaxEU]

lorgokz flexing was my fave part of the race lol

[@Karizi1]

Your hair is looking really nice!

[@hub1986]

GZ to Echo

[@Clubby_]

Good video, nice chat :)

[@Rook986]

I don't think longer=better for these races

[@jorethor]

Is the emmet-selch video coming out?

[@saj61]

I hope it's not the last time you cast RWF because I'd love to see you 6 get back together next tier. Normally I mostly watch Max but I had major buffering issues trying to watch them and to begin with was a little bummed out but you guys were so good that I really wasn't bothered by the fact I couldn't watch much of Liquid. I think that was also reflected in the viewership numbers as well, main channel had significantly more average viewers than normal. Plus I think you are probably slightly more popular than maybe you realise, there were a lot of people Pogging in chat when you turned up for your shifts.

[@redictor]

where do i watch the vods again? they should still be around for a while longer, right?

[@xbree_]

Though I don’t know a thing about wow enjoyed the video!

[@casualboomer3593]

All the casters over the years that Preach has said "Oh, your shift is over? Bummer, you missed the kill" are scratching their chins and evaluating their life choices.

[@hullu87]

that 32:20 when steakloins eat hotwings and pain starts to kick in :D

[@AftermathRV]

the person that made Unat? Fair nuff! i was thinking dark animus Can you imagine Dark anihondrichus?

[@Biggiewhite75]

Oh I have experienced sooo many bad moments of the Power Going out during a Major Live Broadcast, it is the worse. So I get the Screaming and Panic

[@richarddevenezia8186]

24:55 Any "Death Sentence" spell should be able to be interrupted with a "Hunger Strike" counter-spell

[@misterbrady100]

Interesting that they switched a heal for a dps. I suppose they 'found the damage' by hoping more dps would kill the boss faster. By killing the boss faster perhaps that meant that there was less overall damage going into the raid, which would mean less healing is okay.