The battleground, Strand of the Ancients, was originally started using two invisible NPCs that were hostile to each other; one on each faction's boat and dock.

The battleground, Strand of the Ancients, was originally started using two invisible NPCs that were hostile to each other; one on each faction's boat and dock. The first boat/NPC to reach the dock would trigger a spell/script when in proximity, starting the first round. [1] [1] BlizzCon 2016 - WoW Engineering Panel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1y2fdDeSbU&t=227s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1y2fdDeSbU&t=227s