Last night the HoN Tour qualifiers finals were played. Gary Johnson (VOTE) 2024 faced Trademark esports (tdM) in a best of 3 match for $2,000 USD and 300 points in HoN Tour. If you did not have time to watch HoNCast or prefer the written over the spoken word, here's the recap of the games.
In the first game we had VOTE on the Legion side with swindlemelonzz on Magmus, KheZu on Wildsoul, Sender played Aluna, Zfreek took care of Ophelia and her bouncing minions and Skyzoe played Torturer. tdm on Hellbourne side started with mynuts on Tempest, iNsania with Engineer, Limmp on Pollywog Priest, Zai` played Bubbles and noobG was ready to carry with The Dark Lady.
The game was full of action from the first minute, with a very active and skilled Ophelia putting a lot of pressure on the Hellbourne jungle and top lane, resulting in several nice kills for VOTE early on. tdM seemed to be caught off guard a few times and although they eventually got a few kills they lost their bottom first and second towers quickly to Wildsoul and a stellar Ophelia.
It seemed that tdM could not get one thing in their favor. When they tried to get a tower they did not only lose a hero, the tower also got denied. When they finally did get a tower, VOTE destroyed both middle towers at the same time. In less than 18 minutes, all outer towers of the Hellbourne were destroyed and Kongor gave up his token to the Legion two minutes later.
VOTE gathered up and pushed the middle after Torturer got his Barrier Idol. Their efforts were rewarded as they managed to destroy the melee barracks and retreat before anything game-turning could happen.
There was finally a spark of hope for tdM after a major teamfight at the top entrance of the Hellbourne base around the 26th minute. tdM made a stand and were able to wipe out VOTE, making them waste two buybacks in the process. It was in vain though—Legion regrouped and attacked once again, this time destroying the top melee barracks and killing TDL, forcing buyouts while sustaining acceptable losses.
One final spread-out teamfight near the middle entrance of the Hellbourne base decided the game. Although Tempest was able to land a decent ultimate, the death of TDL just prior to that made sure that Legion would not suffer too much damage. When TDL bought out and came back, Wildsoul and Booboo had already begun eating what was left of the Hellbourne team. They killed TDL again and retreated to go for Kongor a few minutes later, which resulted in another teamfight and Wildsoul displaying such dominance that tdM realized that this game was over.
VOTE wins the first game!
Game 2
In this one we have tdM on the Legion side with Mynuts playing Ophelia, iNsania with Aluna, Limmp playing Zephyr, zai` on Wretched Hag and noobG with Pollywog Priest.
The Hellbourne consisted of swindlemelonzz playing Demented Shaman, KheZu selected Pestilence, Sender was on Glacius this time, Zfreek on Tempest and finally Skyzoe with Bubbles.
As in game 1 we saw a Bloodlust around minute 2, but this time for tdM after fending off an attack by VOTE, followed by a second kill for them in the aftermath. VOTE answered by dominating the bottom lane with two kills on Pollywog Priest.
After the first ten minutes tdM was able to stay ahead of their opponents in gold thanks to two tower kills and 5 to 3 kills. Zephyr was making a huge impact, tower diving without fear and escaping death on more than one occasion. More towers fell in the next several minutes on both sides, so tdM stayed ahead in gold while VOTE had a minor experience advantage.
The game calmed down at that point with both teams farming their side of the map while half-hearted initiation attempts never really resulted in any teamfights. After minute 24 we had some action again with both teams clashing in the middle and tdM winning it clearly, thanks to the slightly better positioning and more and better ultimate spells at their disposal. Multiple towers fell and tdM now had a comfortable lead in both areas.
The game went on for several minutes with two long pauses in between, but in the end the advantage that tdM had and connection issues by VOTE led to an early concede at around minute 30.
tdM takes game two!
Game 3
In the third match of this final, we have VOTE on the Legion side again. swindlemelonzz picked himself a Pebbles, KheZu played Tremble, Sender was on Engineer, Zfreek played Ophelia and Skyzoe once again with Bubbles.
tdM chose Tempest for Mynuts, iNsania got Glacius, Limmp played Dampeer, zai` was on Plague Rider and finally noobG with Wretched Hag.
The game was cursed by severe connection problems at first, but this was solved eventually and the game went on. Less aggressive in the beginning than last time, tdM managed to get Bloodlust once again by killing Bubbles at minute 5. A first destroyed tower followed as Dampeer, Tempest and Glacius pressed on.
VOTE countered by destroying a tower but in the following minutes the tdM Hellbourne managed to get several kills, with a dominating Dampeer eating his way through the enemy heroes. Short sequences of action were followed by long periods of quiet play that lasted until minute 17 when VOTE could clearly win a fight, kill Dampeer and push the top tower.
Another teamfight three minutes later was barely won by VOTE due to Tremble and Engineer buying out. A tower was denied in the aftermath of the battle and another teamfight followed right away, also won by VOTE. The slight advantage that tdM had was gone and they were now behind.
The game picked up the pace and became a mass of teamfights. The next one did not really have a winner as heroes on both sides died, but VOTE was very liberal with buyouts, trying to force a decision or major advantage gain at this point. tdM was able to hold against it and did not fall behind even though they had to give up towers.
After killing Kongor and destroying another tower, VOTE felt comfortable enough to try a push into the Hellbourne base, but a well countered initiation attempt by Pebbles forced them to retreat while losing several heroes. Feeling the need to make up for that fight, VOTE pushed the top lane this time, catching the retreating tdM heroes and forcing a savage battle in the middle of the Hellbourne base and forcing buyouts.
tdM forced VOTE back eventually and because Tremble was out of buybacks, they pushed the mid lane and managed to destroy not only the tower but also the melee barracks there. VOTE countered again, bringing the fight back to the Hellbourne doorstep where they were stopped and the fighting cooled down slightly.
Kongor felt the wrath of VOTE’s Legion after a short period of quiet farming, which then resulted in another major teamfight. This time Tremble proved too strong for Dampeer and the Hellbourne team was taken apart while the Token of Life was not even used on Tremble. Pushing the middle, VOTE killed the opponent’s melee barracks, making things equal again.
A waiting game ensued with both teams farming and being very careful. One mistake could mean losing the game and the series at this point, with most buyouts already used and so many towers down. Kongor respawning only added to the uneasy situation both teams were in. Near minute 56 the teamfight finally happened and heroes died quickly on both sides. tdM came out ahead but in the meantime their top base tower died to creeps, so they could not push.
tdM killed Kongor instead, securing both the Token of Life and Bananas for their team. Both items were necessary when the teams clashed again in the Hellbourne jungle. Again tdM won and with Tremble being dead for a long time, the remaining team pushed the top lane and got the melee barracks there. They clearly had the upper hand now.
VOTE needed to do something drastic. They tried to outmaneuver tdM in a daring attempt to destroy the bottom barracks, but tdM realized this quickly and forced a team fight that they won. This time they did not even lose Dampeer, and Bubbles was the only survivor for VOTE. tdM proceeded to destroy the rest of the Legion barracks.
It was MEGACREEP time. VOTE tried one more attack and were beaten back while the MEGACREEPS destroyed the World Tree, ending the game.
Trademark eSports wins 2:1 against Gary Johnson 2024!
Game 1
Please visit HoNCast or the HoNCast YouTube Channel for Games 2 and 3!
- Blaze
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