The first week of the Carnage of Caldavar Pro League kicked off on Tuesday with a high level, back and forth match between Sync E-sports and Bad Monkey Gaming - the first of six best-of-three series to be played this week. Both teams were competing for points that will allow them to advance to the four-team Playoffs in the first cycle of this exciting tournament. Finally, Heroes of Newerth fans and players have a reprieve from the tedium that often sets in after big offline LAN events.
Game one saw fairly predictable drafting, with teams branching out slightly since the recent, massive balance patch. Sync went with a heavy physical damage, multi-core line-up, while BMG went with a multi-core lineup emphasizing magic damage. Perhaps in light of the recent changes to the jungle, both teams also opted to run a dual support set-up.
BMG played the role of the aggressor by establishing a tri-lane top with Sir Benzington, Rhapsody, and Riftwalker. Sync responded in kind with a Pandamonium, Nymphora, and Torturer lane - Fnatic.MSI anyone?. The lane was expectedly chaotic with the first kill barely going towards BMG, while Sync scored a counter kill almost immediately after. After an incredibly risky tower-dive by BMG, Sync picked up more kills and it appeared that they would come out massively ahead with a seven to one kill advantage. BMG was not deterred however; as an incredible rotation by their newly acquired player, Limmp, set up a triple kill in the top lane and bought the Monkeys some breathing room.
As the mid-game progressed, both teams were heavily punished for over agressive extensions. This did not deter the former Lions squad, however, and they were rewarded with two kills deep in the top lane after a beautifully executed teamfight. The game snowballed in BMG’s favor here, with Hag and Benzington getting solid footholds and Magmus setting up perfect ganks with his newly acquired Portal Key. The HoN Tour World Finals runners-up, with their freshly acquired core items, took a dominating teamfight in the Hellbourne jungle where Sync’s Pandamonium was not able to assist. In the end, fUzi’s Wretched Hag was simply too farmed and too tanky to deal with. 1-0 BMG.
Game two saw some interesting bans, including the removal of Limmp’s signature hero, Kraken, as well as Parasite, Rhapsody, and Devourer, a fantastic hero for Sync’s young playmaker, m`IcKe. This left open the terrifying Puppet Master and Chronos, which were each snatched up by the teams immediately. Both squads chose to run a jungler, with BMG matching Sync’s early Ophelia pick with their Tempest. BMG ran an unorthodox off-lane Chipper, handled by Jonassomfan, matching up up against Flensmeister’s Soulstealer in the bottom lane.
First blood quickly went to the Sync squad after an overly aggressive Compel in the middle lane by Rally. Despite fantastic early ganks set up by Zlapped’s Ophelia, BMG grabbed an early edge off a Tempest rotation to the bottom river combined with a poorly executed Sync Magmus stun. A perfect bait at the tier one bottom tower netted BMG kills on Soulstealer and Magmus, utilizing another beautifully executed Tempest ult by Handsken. Sync was down, but certainly not out as they took a huge teamfight in the middle lane, scoring four kills for a Magmus buyback, all set up with an excellent Chronos ultimate followed by a Lava Surge that hit multiple heroes.
It looked like Sync’s early game team fight was in control after they secured a 1600 gold and 4200 experience lead at the 16 minute mark. However, BMG took the fight to Sync in the middle lane and came up big with a three for one exchange after a well placed Rally stun by Limmp killed off two Sync heroes immediately. By the 21 minute mark the gold and experience had swung mightily in BMG’s favor, and Sync struggled to find farm against a Puppet Master with Assassin’s Shroud. After a gank onto Chronos, BMG capitalized with a free Kongor and marched down the bottom lane with a double-damage infused Puppet Master. After forcing their enemies back to the base, BMG fell back to farm their pushed lanes. At this point BMG is ahead 12000 in both departments, and the game ended after a forced initiation by Sync went disastrously.
BMG takes a commanding 2-0 victory over Sync E-sports and nets three points towards the first cycle of Carnage Pro League, while Sync comes away without a point in their first match of the season. Sync will have to look for revenge in their next match against BMG in Week 2. For now, BMG looks forward to their matches versus The Last of US and Team Excellent this weekend, while Sync will take the second part of Saturday’s double-header for The Last of US.
Carnage Pro League VODs - BMG vs Sync - Week 1
12 Weeks Of Carnage, A New Off-Season Event
Carnage In Caldavar Portal
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