By Sören "Fantasy"
Game 1 Picks
Action from the prestigious Diamond Division returned to the battlefield of Caldavar after the incidents from last weekend. The matches kicked off yesterday with the two upswing teams [Pika]Pikachu and [myR]myRevenge colliding. The winner of the match would automatically be among the best eight teams in the second cycle, while the loser would be eliminated from the cycle. A lot of money, points and prestige was on the line, as both teams are aspiring prospects in the Diamond Division.
All three matches followed basically the same schematics—one team was playing an aggressive style to catch their opponents off guard. In all three cases it worked; the aggressive team gained possession of a huge initial lead that carried them through the match. On the first map myRevenge just ran away with the score early on, forcing Pikachu to concede the match after just 25 minutes with 350+ GPM on four heroes.
End of Game 1
Game 2 Picks
The second game saw Pikachu grab the early go ahead and extend that lead throughout. Carried by MisterP, who played a raging Draconis, Pikachu was able to get a couple of huge teamfight victories early on to move closer to a victory.
However, the road to victory wasn't as straight as it was for myR on the previous map, as the Swedish team had some amazing defensive stands with their backs against the wall. In the end a 20/4 Draconis with close to 800 XPM and 600 GPM was too much to handle, and the Lower Bracket series went into overtime.
End of Game 2
Game 3 Picks
The deciding match had interesting elements on both sides, as Pikachu once again gave the match-winning Draconis to MisterP in the hopes for a repeat performance. On myRevenge's side the emphasis clearly was on teamfight in the mid-game, as Flux, Engineer, Forsaken Archer and Tempest were a huge threat with those combination ultimates.
Unfortunately for the fans, this huge and exciting array of spells was only shown once, as myRevenge completely picked their opponents apart. Most of the time War Beast was pushing the top lane or farming while his team was applying pressure to PIKA. Draconis could take off with his Blazing Flight, but his farm remained down to earth—and myRevenge steamrolled the Europeans from Pikachu and scored the decisive map to move on.
End of Game 3
myRevenge continues their trend upwards in the Diamond Division after they picked up the sponsorship and a promising start in cycle one. At times, the team seems to have the potential to be a threat to the established teams. The same goes for Pikachu, who went through a couple roster changes but seem to be more settled now, ready to take on the enormous challenges that await in the champion’s league of Heroes of Newerth—the Diamond Division.
From myRevenge’s ArchiTigeR:
We feel great—this is the furthest we have reached in HoN Tour. We feel like we are getting among the top teams. About the tournament, we had a rough start facing [sG]Stay Green; I think they are a really good team and I loved that we had the chance to play them in the Winner’s Bracket and not in Loser’s.
After that we had [QsQ7]QsQ 777 if I’m not mistaken. We have played against them a couple of times and we know how their playstyle is. After that it was the revenge from [PUDG]Dendis jungldevos, their turn to try to stop us but that didn’t work because we played so well in those matches.
Then Pika. Pika was probably the hardest threat to face because of their new roster. I think that team can go far if they work as a team. As for preparation for the next team we face, we check their replay to see how they play and also practice ofc :).
Please click here for the HoNCast footage of PIKA vs. My Revenge.
- Sören "Fantasy"
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