By Blaze

Cycle 3 of HoN Tour Season 3 in the Gold Division has been more exciting than ever before because of returning pros and Diamond dropouts keen on returning from where they came this time. The returning Pros are of course [xCet]Not Excellent, previously known as Team Excellent, complete with Pew and NoX, Panny and Massera. Indeed it was big news when they announced their return and took over the remains of Instant Reflex to form their own team and start out in Gold Division. It has been a while since they were active, but hey, can't be that hard to get to Diamond, right? Well, let's take a look at how the weekend went for them and the other teams.


Winners Bracket

16 teams started out here last Saturday and while some were pretty famous, others were far less known and even the first round was a struggle for them. The first teams to lock horns were [Dawn]Dawn and the [Tele]Telechubbies. The Telechubbies did their best in this matchup but Dawn was a little too strong for them. At least they made them work for their victory, still it meant an early visit to the Losers Bracket for the Telechubbies.

Next match in line would have been [Adde]Adrians Familj versus [FnoH]FROG No HIPPO, but the Hippos got a free pass here, as Adreans Familj forfeited the match. [PI]Prime Icarus and [CAT]Catman Champions managed to start their match in time and it was a pretty dominant victory by Prime Icarus, as they overpowered their opponents in both games.]

Further down the bracket, [YLTP]You Love To Party lost to [z]izu, the [KNX]REXXARS got a forfeit victory from [ToT]Throes of Throws, the same was true for [SolC]The Solaire Club, who were scheduled to play against [Ryss]Vodkagaming and [Ogr]Shrek is Love showed [TZP]TangZangPang some ogrely love. And finally it was Not Excellents time to shine against [2012]FunintheSun v2, which went pretty well, as they won both games despite a little bump in the second. All in all the first round went as expected, favourites won, some teams forfeited and we marched on to the second round.

With only 8 teams left in the Winners Bracket, things moved a lot quicker. Dawn defeated FROG No HIPPO in two games, Prime Icarus impressed by taking out izo and the REXXARS tore up the Solaire Club. All that was left was Shrek is Love versus Not Excellent and here we had a pretty big surprise as the Ogres clobbered the veterans in two games, sending them right down to the Losers Bracket. A big victory for the Ogres and a wakeup call for xCet, reminding them that many things have changed and that the newer teams are pretty strong now. A lesson they will hopefully remember in the Losers Bracket matchups to come in the near future.

On Sunday then we had the semi-finals of the Winners Bracket in which Dawn and Prime Icarus as well as Shrek is Love and the REXXARS fought about who was the most promising team in this Division. Between Dawn and Prime Icarus we saw an entertaining match, with Dawn winning the first game, PI coming back in an impressive second game and the final game having to bring the decision, which saw Dawn as the winners in the end. The other match between the Ogres and the REXXARS was much more one-sided and ended with the REXXARS going to where the Losers are while Shrek is Love qualified for the WB Finals the next weekend.


Losers Bracket

The first round in the Losers Bracket - you could call it the round of Death - was decided three times by forfeits and only one time by a proper game. The Telechubbies, the Catman Champions and Throes of Throws all profited from that and will remain in the Gold Division as well as have a chance at continuing in the Losers Bracket. Only TangZangPang and FunintheSun v2 battled it out and it was TZP who made it through, properly earning their continued stay here.

The next round had more dropouts from the Winners Bracket enter the fray. Not Excellent, after their surprise loss, were now set to play the Telechubbies and this time they did not mess up, defeating their opponents in two games. The Solaire Club had much more problems with the Catman Champions and it took them three games and a lot of sweat to continue in the Losers Bracket. izu had it easier against Throes of Throws, defeating them with not too much effort in two action packed games while TangZangPang sent the Hippos packing in the last match of the round.

The last round in the Losers Bracket last Sunday evening had only 4 teams left and it had interesting matchups. First Not Excellent continued their run in the Losers Bracket against The Solaire Club. This time they did not underestimate this Carnage in Caldavar veteran and beat them in two games. And the second match was another action filled event, seeing TangZangPang playing against izu. izu were ahead in the first game and finished this one in style after taking their sweet time, but TZP was able to come back in the second game, forcing and eventually also winning the third game.


Championship Weekend

With these results, the matchups for the weekend are set and we can look forward to some intense matches to decide who will go Diamond and who doesn't. On Saturday at 12:00 EDT | 18:00 CEST we will have Not Excellent and Prime Icarus as well as TangZangPang and the REXXARS play against each other in the Losers Bracket and at 15:00 EDT | 21:00 CEST the Winners Bracket Finals will be played, consisting of Dawn and Shrek is Love. Good Luck and Have Fun to all teams!

About the author: Blaze