The past weekend was was an interesting one for Gold Division.

The first round didn’t go quite as planned, as five matches were decided by a forfeit. One of those teams, Just Farm, disbanded with gwefix joining Diamond Division squad [vtL]Vitriolic Gaming and Mzry joining a new Bronze team called [euni]Eunis 5. I expect to see him in Gold again soon with this new and improved team. Just Farm was showing some potential in the first Cycle but fell off the wagon in Cycle 2. Hopefully, these new lineups will prove to be stronger as a team. This gave a grateful [GGSe]GGS eSports team a free pass to second round.

Other forfeits from [hade]HAVE IT, [FRA]Frenchies, [tenQ]Ty4theprizemoney and [GsD]GorillaZ Gaming lead me to believe that they are changing teams or are disbanding due to their inconsistency since the first cycle, similar to Just Farm's situation.

After that unfortunate first round, we saw a few Loser Bracket matches with [cTi]Perfection Esp taking out [656]Way Of Life 2-0, [AR]Aids Reinfected taking out [MIES]MIES 2-1, and [WSD]Slash Defenders getting a forfeit win over [EWz]EagleWankerz.

In the Winners Bracket we saw [DoP]Domain of Pain go through their opponents with a strong showing, taking out Isot Pelit 2-1 and then [QsQ7]QsQ 777 2-0. Their opponents in the Winner’s Semifinals, [SOZO]Team Please, had an easier time beating [qMX]Qlimax Crew and [BLZE]Team Blazin EU 2-0 each. [zhiT]Shit Happens beat [L00K]L00K AT MY HORSE and [Due1]Do You Even Lift to make it to the Winners Bracket Ro4 and are set to face [Dmsn]AnotherDimension who have yet again made it to the semifinals, taking out [BLZN]Blazin and [DonD]DoberOnDamp. Hopefully this time, Another Dimension plays their matches as there are a few teams who believe they belong in Diamond Division.

We will see many tough matches being played out this Monday, with one of Gold Division's strongest showings ever. Eight teams will be duking it out to try and make it to the LB Ro4 the following day, which will not be any easier. Any of these eight teams are four wins away from 4th place so the pressure is on for [SePP]Seeking Perfection, Perfection Esp, [PPWN]Pwning Pwnies, Slash Defenders, QsQ 777, Team Blazin EU, Do you Even Lift and DoberOnDamp. The two teams who come out on top will have an even harder time in the 2nd LB Ro4 before the first Ro2 4th place match starts.

Perfection Esp has certainly impressed as I previously thought them out of contention. Pwning Pwnies had a similarly impressive run, taking out the Aussie team Qlimax Crew. Slash Defenders and DoberOnDamp have both proven strong, taking out talented competition. Now one of their roads will meet an end, as they plan each other's demise.

Sadly, Isot Pelit had their road cut short by the hands of Aids Reinfected. I was hoping they would make it this far, they had problem in Cycle 1 in Silver but managed to get through last Cycle, I hope this is just a repeat of ill fortune as I do believe they should be able to play in Diamond within the next few Cycles, as a team they may need to get back into rhythm of playing at a higher level.

I wish good luck to the teams who have dropped down to Silver especially Way of Life and MIES for playing through to the very end and I hope to see these teams rise up to the challenge again. Every team goes through hardships but those who band together and strive for greatness will be the ones to claim it! It is still not too late for teams to get into the 4-11th Place Tournament for the 4th seed in the HonTour Grand Finals.

If there is one thing I could tell Gold Division teams, it would be that experience playing together plays a big part when you face teams like [coL]compLexityGaming and [tdM]Trademark eSports. Teams who play more together bond faster and are able to rely on each other to win. You understand each other's limits and learn how to strengthen each other's weaknesses. No one is perfect and even the best players make mistakes. That is the unfortunate truth about the game we play. One mistake is all it takes to throw the game, give the advantage away or further an enemies hold. As a team, you must learn what it takes to win a game and for that to happen you must first suffer defeat and go from there.

I hope that Gold League will deliver some high quality teams in the near future, and first and foremost I look forward to the games and results from today's matches, best of luck to all participants!

- Crowslaw
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