Sweeps Across the Board

The first day of the HoN Tour Playoffs, the last chance to get your ticket to Las Vegas, Nevada are in the books and none of the top teams had much problems with the competition. All the top seeded teams took their series rather convincingly and all in a deciding 2-0 fashion.

The day started with the announcement that [PNIS]Pencils will not even participate in the qualifier and will forfeit their first round match against one of the top favorites of the tournament in [TteS]Tt eSPORTS. The Swedish squad with their two new American members apparently couldn’t field five players for the important match that could have led them a step closer to the HoN Tour Grand Finals. Now that chance seems to be moved as the same rules for this tournament apply as for the regular HoN Tour Cycles of the season. By that the forfeit in the first round results in an automatic default exit of the team in the tournament which would give [xCet]Team Excellent a pass through to the second round of the Lower Bracket, while Pencils HoN Tour Season would end immediately. Tt eSports will move on through the Upper Bracket and face [LION]Lions eSportsKlubb club in the next round.

The Swedish team and runner-up of the Sound Blaster Heroes League had little to no resistance put in front of them against Team Excellent. The series was the quickest to come to a conclusion with the Swedish organization marching out in convincing style. Both teams came off a rather disappointing last Cycle of the regular season and both teams used kind of the same arguments for their lack of success - we just wanted to get into the playoffs. Now Lions eSports has proven that you can get through with that attitude, while Team Excellent still needs to prove that the days off did not make them rusty, otherwise the big talk might backfire.

That was the lower portion of the bracket, while [357]QsQ and [AiD]Afraid are marching on in the upper portion. QsQ actually had to fight off the replacement for [aL]Absolute Legends in [Pika]Pikachu, who had the fortune on their side as [DCx]Justice League, [OTP]One Trick Pony and [f20]Vietnamese Dream all declined to jump in for Absolute Legends due to various reasons. On the first day Pikachu didn’t savour that opportunity and went down 2-0 against the resurging squad of NoVa and his boys. The reigning Gold Division Champion played a good match on the first map and then showed resilience and morale in the second one, after trailing for huge chunks of the match. Still they never conceded and played their game patiently, waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce and take control of the match. With superior coordination and a farmed Arachna, QsQ managed to turn the tides of the match and walk out victorious after all.

Afraid on the other side had to face the North American squad from [oo7]We Are Spies that went into the match with some confidence, ready to make the upset happening in the spirit of March Madness. Unfortunately for them the Madness ran out of magic, and We Are Spies couldn’t contest the European bunch anchored by drafter and captain Jollem. While the Spies now have to face Pikachu to fight for their tournament life and for their chance of still making it to Las Vegas, QsQ and Afraid will square off in the Upper Bracket for the chance of getting into striking distance of that coveted ticket. A victory in the Semis would put you only two steps away from the light of the desert city - America’s Playground.

You Missed the Action?

Due to the Honcast crew being on the road to Thailand, compLexity caster Beef stepped up to the plate and is delivering the full coverage package to you. In case you missed any series of the first round action, you can either go to the VoD archive to enjoy Pika vs. QsQ and 007 vs. Afraid again, or you can tune in to the stream tomorrow when Beef brings you the replay cast of Lions eSports against Team Excellent. Don’t miss the action, make sure to give Beef some attention and most importantly tune in on Wednesday when the Lower Bracket and the Upper Bracket moves further down to road to the Casinos.

In two days we will see the season crumbling for two teams, while other teams will celebrate a much needed victory to keep their eyes on the prize - the ultimate prize as in the HoN Tour Grand Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada.

- Sören Fantasy
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