By Blaze
Losers Bracket
Round 1 and 2 of the Losers Bracket did not see much action, too many free wins were in it to really matter. One of the few matches that were played was [Sjol]Sjolopimperne versus [GiGW]GirlsGoneWild, where the returning team of Sjol showed their experience and won with relative ease. Sjol continued on their course of success after the early drop down to the LB by defeating [SOGO]Suns Out Gnz Out in Round 3. Now they are set to play against [OddM]YoloBackToHoN420 who share their pain of being defeated by [Ryss]Vodkagaming in the Winners Bracket, so this will be an interesting matchup.
A team that did not have to play in the Losers Bracket so far is team [DNKE]DONKEKONG. The team was recreated out of the remnants of the old DONKEKONG and Team Cheesecake, but this did not stop them from losing to one of the surprise teams of the Qualifiers, [Adde]Adrians Familj. After the monkey’s drop down in Round 2, their first opponent in the LB did not show up and it was a free win in the third round, but their recovery time is now at an end as [CzSk]The Tyrants are ante portas. The Tyrants have had a large presence in recent weeks, and have done well so far in the qualifiers; they might just give DONKEKONG a hard time here in the Losers Bracket. And since they are already here, this is their last chance at a good placement for the start of the new Season, so everything is on the line right now. Having reached the Diamond Division last season means nothing if you can't get beyond Silver in the next.
Another surprise visitor just recently joined the Losers Bracket, team is [Pot]Potato. With the lineup that this team has to offer, it is quite a shock to see them here this early. Sure, they did not have much practice as a team so far, but still it is an unusual sight to see players of this caliber down in the trenches after just four rounds. Despite their early struggles, they won’t likely be departing the Qualifier in the next round; their next opponent[zQ]Systembo Laget has had only one real challenge so far, and they lost that one to a team who later lost to the Potatos. But this is no time to rest for the Potatoes, stronger teams will drop down eventually and they should use every match to practice and refine their teamplay while they have the chance.
Of the Carnage in Caldavar veterans, a surprising number have made it through several rounds in the Winners Bracket, where they still remain. Only a few dropped down to the Losers Bracket and had to fight for their lives there. The best known of those teams is probably [eN]Essence. They had a somewhat good run in CiC and were going into this tournament in good spirits. Their happiness ended early though, as they were kicked out of the Winners Bracket after a close match in Round 2. Since then they haven't had a match to play because of free wins, including one at the hands of [EWz]EagleWankerz, whose greatest achievement was to have [QsQ]Style play for them once in Season 1. Now Essence is preparing to play against [Huss]Hussars and their chances to continue seem good, although the Hussars should not be underestimated. They did go to Round 3 in the Winners Bracket and also faced Grimms United in last weeks Variety Cup in the finals. Of course the Qualifiers and the Variety Cup cannot be compared directly, but it shows that the Hussars are motivated and skilled enough to go places in the future, and maybe the future is already starting on Saturday.
Another well known team from CiC are the guys of [21cm]LisaAnn. With the recent addition of new players, among them the very talented carry player [tri]Abu11Ibrahim, who already helped Happy 5 Friends enter Diamond Division early last Season, the team seems to be capable of making it to at least Gold Division. But to do that, they need to work on their teamplay, something that has seemed lacking after recent roster changes. They lost to a good team in the Winners Bracket Round 3, but now no more mistakes are allowed to happen if they want to get to Gold Division the easy way. Their opponent for Saturday will be [GOD]The Gods, who have been in the Losers Bracket for a while after losing a close match in The Winners Bracket in Round 2.
In total there are 32 teams left in this bracket and 16 games are going to be played next Saturday. Whoever drops out now will be Silver, and it will take another Round to get close to Gold Division placement matches, so all teams will do their best to stay in the tournament, dropping out now would be a huge disappointment.
Silver/Bronze Placement Match
Teams who did not make it past the third Round in the Losers Bracket are now here, the Silver/Bronze Placement Match. This is the last hope for teams who hoped to skip Bronze and go to Silver Division directly, but it is a tough event for all the participants, as only the top two teams will make it into Silver, while the rest have to start in Bronze. 14 teams made it here after considering forfeits, and the competition will be hard, even if some of the teams here might not show up at all, some have actually worked to get this far and they will do their best to get as far as they can.
Of the matches set to be played this Saturday, [eZL]EZLIFE eSports versus http://hontour.com/team/view/6332/][EPDS]The Expandables will very likely be the most interesting, as both teams have worked hard and had some experience and limited success in Carnage in Caldavar. [BUNY]Trigger Happy Bunies and [MiB]Made in Bracke both received a free win and can watch potential opponents play in the first Round. And both teams kind of deserve this little break, as they are the favourites to make it to the finals here, the Bunies have been playing in many events in the recent past and Made in Bracke even had some Bronze Division experience last Season, so it's time for them to take the next step.
No matter how it goes, the last two teams standing will be quite relieved to have made it into the Silver Division, while the rest of them has to try again once HoN Tour Season 3 starts properly.
Both the next Losers Bracket matches and the Placement matches will start this Saturday at 12:00 EDT | 18:00 CEST, so be ready for some intense and entertaining life and death struggles. Beef and MiniMaggot will have the action covered on Honcast, with The Tyrants vs Team Cheesecake up first, and a highly anticipated grudge match, Instant Reflex vs Dawn to close out the day. Good Luck and Have Fun to all teams!
About the author: Blaze
Veterans Return, Upstarts Upset - HoN Tour Qualifiers
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