While the HoN Tour World Finals main event doesn’t start until tomorrow, the Wildcard event will be see a conclusion with today’s matches. Thursday afternoon in Bangkok turned into a black day for the national champs seeds, but it was significantly more favorable for two online teams and the two SEA HoN Tour veterans. Each of those four teams are now only one more win away from a guaranteed spot in the World Finals event and a large payout just for qualifying.

The advancement of ADN Gamer and Turtle Master came as no surprise, with each as the favorite of the entire wildcard event. For that matter, ADN was already the favorite to win the SEA HoN Tour Grand Finals three weeks ago, but a lackluster performance against Made in Thailand.Sorry Sorry sent them on a detour through this extra qualifier. In the end, the road might end with them just where they belong, in the main competition to fight for the biggest HoN title in the game’s history. Thai team Kimochi.Tt eSports had little to no answer for the Malaysian powerhouse, having to concede the game, ending their HoN Tour season so close to the big show. The exit comes as a disappointment to KcTt as one of the top tier teams from the old Thai regime, having reached the Grand Finals of a cycle back last year. Now they end the first ever SEA HoN Tour without a G-League appearance and on the wrong end of a routing at the hands of ADN.

Turtle Master, the bronze medalists from SEA HoN Tour Playoffs, is also looking to make a run into the main field. The trailer for the event showed confidence in the team's appearance, and now they can back up the CGI and deliver with consistency on the servers. On Thursday they took the first step against Thai newcomer My Boss Farm 50 Minutes. With this TurS is only one step away from re-entering the GSL venue, an event that brought them fame and momentum last year. Back then TurS was a fresh team in the Thai HoN circuit, just coming off the transition from DotA to Heroes of Newerth. As a surprise to many, the team was able to secure the runner-up position in a group with Trademark eSports, granting them a direct seed in the upper bracket and a date with the future champs, stayGreen. Now they might be destined to dance with swindle and company again, provided they win the next match and get into the race.

Out of said race are the two teams that received Wildcard Seeds as a result of a National Championship. Indonesian National Champion DC Fabulous ends the season with no more than the billion rupiah already on their bank account, as their path to the main event was blocked by Nok 2 Hua. The N2H team from Thailand is once again looking strong and determined to be the cinderella story of the tournament, similar to the way they played that role in the Thai HoN Tour Grand Finals event last year. Back then they came in as a low tier team without much in the way of expectations, but were able to string together a nice win streak all the way to the 7th/8th place - a position in striking distance of the offline portion in that cup. With a 2-1 victory over DC Fabulous they march on, one victory away from the big breakthrough and the giant stage.

Last of the bunch still in it is TaJi, the new and improved version of KaiD. The history with this team is overwhelming, but their recent successes leave something to be desired. Now it looks like they are back on track and ready to go, kicking things off with a victory over a formidable team in bRix with 2-1 score. Although the Malaysian squad of bRix went through a rollercoaster in their performance, usually the squad delivered in clutch time - not so much this week. With this loss the great season of the newcomer team ends just short of the World Finals, something that would have solidified their “miracle status”. In Cycle 1 of SEA HoN Tour they came out of nowhere, and marched straight to the playoffs. After that, roster issues, changes and forfeits due to a lack of active players were the norm, allowing the buzz around the team to slowly fade away. Once playoff time in the SEA HoN Tour came though, they were back with a vengeance, defeating DC Fabulous, upsetting iMpunity.Earth and then seeing their season end against Made in Thailand.Sorry Sorry in the quarterfinals. Now TaJi closed the chapter for them on the entire season, sending the runner-up Malaysian Singapore National Champion home early.

This sets up the semifinals with at least one more Thai team ready to the World Finals, determined to perform in front of their roaring home crowd. The battle for Thai supremacy in this Wildcard round will take place between Turtle Master and their old nemesis of TaJi, while Nok 2 Hua has the chance to take out yet another National Champion, facing ADN Gamer. The real Malaysian Singapore National Champion around MrGhost and Shuiyu will do everything in their power to avoid that loss, preventing another humiliation after the SEA HoN Tour Grand Finals debacle. All their efforts and commitment were centered on reaching the World Finals and performing well, closing the chapter of their HoN career with a bang. Now only a win over N2H can put them them in a position the have a chance to achieve that goal. It’s do or die time - loser leaves town today, when the field closes to eight teams in the biggest HoN tournament ever.