By Fantasy
Before the last round of the regular season started, the two powerhouses of the region were still in a tight race, but not in control of their own destiny. Hybrid Gaming needed both TurS and Get Together to lose, while they were in a must win situation. A win by HBX and losses of both Turtle Master and Get Together would have slingshot Peter_Yedsss and his boys straight into another playoff appearance - anything less would have forced a tiebreaker without hope for the old veterans. A tiebreaker only with Turtle Master would have ended in TurS advancing, a tiebreaker with Get Together might have prompted a play-in match.
For Turtle Master the situation was a little bit better, although not perfect. They needed a win and hope for a slip up of the rising stars in Get Together in order to avoid all mathematical trickeries. A tied score of both squads would have led to Turtle Master missing the cut, given their lackluster performance in Round 16 against GET2. That game facilitated this mess of a standing, in which the new kids on the block held all trumps in their hand. Get Together only needed to match the score of the TurS match in order to punch their first ever ticket to the postseason.
That it ultimately went down to a threeway tie was an act of GET2 showing nerves against KaiD, Hybrid Gaming finally living up to their potential matched up with KN5 and Turtle Master continuing the downward spiral in their clash against 4Dok. That led to all three teams having the identical amount of points after grueling 17 days of competing against the top teams of their country. It all came down to the head-to-head matchups, in which Hybrid Gaming dropped out the earliest. With all other matches out of the equation, only the matches between the three involved teams were taken into account. HBX’s bad outing against TurS and their tie against Get Together left them with only one point - way too little to advance.
TurS on the other hand was bringing a win and a loss to the table, Get Together a win and a tie. Ultimately that was pushing GET2 over the top, passed the Turtles and straight into their first playoff berth.
This now gives the Thai audience, the Thai casters and spectators from around the world a fresh opening to the offline event. Not only will Get Together start off the playoffs for the first time, they will also get matched up with another playoff rookie in Snoop Dogg. The team named after the popular American rapper is even more of a sensation than Get Together, considering the past. GET2 is composed out of several players with a long history in the competitive HoN scene in Thailand, dating back to 3MMM and Few Nhor. None of the players was completely unknown, none of the players came out of nowhere to have this success.
That unknown factor holds true for Snoop Dogg though, a team that practically came out of nowhere. From the start of the Thai HoN Tour season they qualified for the highest league in Thailand’s competitive HoN scene - as a no name team alongside all other hopefuls in that division. The main focus was on Neo.MRR, Hybrid Gaming, Turtle Master and Shooter eSports, none really paid close attention to Dogg. After Cycle 1 it became clear that these guys can play, after Cycle 2 they emerged as a threat. Finishing the first two cycles on the fifth and fourth place was already making a statement, nothing compared to the Cycle 3 impact though.
This time the team played consistently well, putting together a nine game winning streak to close out the cycle. Those nine wins on the last nine games were making the important push, leaving struggling and inconsistent top teams like HBX, TurS and GET2 behind. With a total of 13 wins, three draws and only one loss to Neo.MRR, the team looks like a strong contender and a team to look out for. This also shows once more how deep the talent pool in the country is. Five completely new guys have put together a project and team here, fighting against the old veterans and succeeding. Now they only have to work hard in order to take down the kings - the crown is near.
That crown still belongs to Neolution eSports.MRR, who have been on a tear the last two months. Following the long overdue snapping of their streak without a tournament title, the team is looking in prime contention to start a dynasty. That of course is nothing new for several members of the squad, who stuck to their guns and the organization through thick and thin. Duqui and Chitawan`X have been with the team ever since DreamHack Winter 2024, engineering the best possible team for the Neolution banner. Now it seems like they are onto the recipe of great success, marching over everyone in the regular season. 16 wins and only one draw against Turtle Master is the most convincing and dominating regular season ever played in SEA’s HoN Tour, even surpassing the marks set by the legendary Orange eSports. Their best results were 15 wins and two draws, now a new record is set.
Nothing indicated that Neolution eSports.MRR will stop at the second regular season title, as they will be prepared and ready for whomever on Championship Sunday. The big question now is their opponent. Which rookie will add icing on their postseason cake and not only have the Saturday as an experience, but also make it to the last and final day of the season. Is Get Together ready for the jump or will Snoop Dogg continue to impress?
About The Author: Fantasy
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