The first week of the Carnage Pro League culminated in a double-header featuring a recently reformed Team Excellent, led by the notorious Pew, the dominant Bad Monkey Gaming, and finally the ever-interesting REXXARS. It was a day of intense action, and a fitting end to an interesting and entertaining week.
Sealkid’s Illusory Veil sets up an important early kill for BMG
BMG vs xCet, KGE’s Revenge?
Superkge, now playing the initiator role for xCet, was out for blood against his former team - BMG - in today’s first best-of-three. He would unfortunately find very little as the Monkeys were excellent as always.
xCet went for their vintage draft with NoX playing Moon Queen as the hard farming carry, while BMG went for their predictable aggressive set-up. xCet took a risk sending their Moon Queen and Glacius lane top and were punished by a perfect Illusory Veil from Sealkid, setting up Bloodlust for the Monkeys. BMG was off to a powerful start, a situation augmented by Handsken’s great rotations into the enemy jungle, setting up multiple kills for his team. A teamfight in the top lane really put the nail in the coffin for xCet and they conceded at the fifteen minute mark, down 9k/10k in gold and experience.
BMG scored a huge win in the drafting department in the second game when they picked up Slither plus Ophelia, and the traditionally first banned Rhapsody and Chronos. xCet once again tried to put most of their eggs in the NoX basket and set him up with a safe-lane Soulstealer. xCet was caught off guard by an unconventional Slither dual lane in middle and sought the assistance of Pew’s Andromeda to slow down fUzi. First blood was finally claimed by Limmp’s Bubbles when Streufutter’s aggressive tower dive ended in his own death.
The game was quite slow by today’s HoN standards until nine heroes suddenly congregated in the middle lane, resulting in a three-for-one trade in BMG’s favor. By the nine minute mark BMG was significantly ahead, in large part due to Limmp, who was sporting a solid 4/0/2 and 450 GPM. BMG kept up the aggression until a teamfight in the bottom lane went poorly for them, after an insane Kraken ultimate by Streufutter. A slight respite proved too little or too late for xCet, as BMG kept up the pressure and took a dominating teamfight in the middle lane with a Restoration Stone Chronos locking down Soulstealer. xCet conceded shortly afterwards.
Superkge’s Devourer was both entertaining and deadly
REXXARS vs xCet, All-Stars vs Beastmasters
The action continued as the up and coming REXXARS hoped to boost their playoff hopes by crushing the veteran xCet. It was a battle of superstars, boasting over a decade of combined competitive experience, and the young, talented, and motivated upstarts, each vying for their first win in the Pro League.
Game one saw a fairly standard draft from REXXARS, other than the banning phase where they heavily emphasized removing The Dark Lady, and some of NoX’s other favorite hard farming carry heroes. xCet opted for Gemini instead, and decided to take an unusual Ellonia as their second support, a role handled by fajN`.
The game was slow in starting until seven heroes materialized suddenly in the middle lane, giving REXXARS the bloodlust kill on Gauntlet. Both teams played passively and farmed up on their carries, with both Puppet and Gemini going standard builds. xCet finally decided to take the fight to REXXARS at the 22 minute mark, resulting in a three-for-two engagement going the way of iNsania’s new squad. The game continued in a sluggish fashion, with a 7-4 kill lead for REXXARS at the 29 minute mark. xCet finally found a gank on an unsuspecting Voodoo Jester at the 40, mark and capitalized with a quick Kongor. REXXARS decided to group up and push the top lane, where a flustered xCet took an awful teamfight without their carry. The result is a lost top lane and four hero kills traded for just one. xCet conceded after another poor teamfight in the bottom lane.
Perhaps because of their recent weak results, xCet decided to change up their strategy significantly in the following game. They drafted an early game team revolving around Slither and Ophelia, while REXXARS selected a heavy physical damage team with Demented Shaman, Swiftblade, and Drunken Master.
Both teams mostly ignored each other until the Bloodlust kill on an unsuspecting Empath at the top rune. At the 12 minute mark xCet decided to push the issue with Ophelia and took their first tower of the game. Shortly after, REXXARS’ Drunken Master was caught out of position at the bottom rune and xCet took a commanding teamfight, netting them three kills and a tier one tower in the middle lane. xCet wisely pushed the issue with their superior levels and items, allowing the CEO and his team to take a stronger foothold in the game by forcing a Swiftblade buyback after a teamfight in the bottom lane. At this point Slither was around 500 GPM, and after xCet took Kongor REXXARS had no answer, as they conceded at the 29 minute mark.
REDREXXAR’S Rhapsody was instrumental in his team’s success
REXXARS initially played aggressively in the laning phase by sending Behemoth, Pestilence, and Rhapsody top lane, but were sent packing with tails between their legs by a great Devourer hook by Superkge. The Beastmasters retreated to the safe lane and decided to let Drunken Master fend for himself in the top lane. Meanwhile, Wretched Hag and Bloodhunter were fairly even in the middle lane until Pew’s Ophelia assisted with multiple kills for the CEO squad. xCet was able to pressure early, until Pestilence acquired a very quick Portal Key, allowing REXXARS a dangerous response. Both teams continued to farm until Superkge pulled off a sensational individual play, killing three heroes by himself with a Rune of Double Damage.
xCet felt confident enough to break base but were mercilessly slaughtered by an impressive initiation by Pestilence and Wretched Hag, giving REXXARS a four-for-one kill trade. After a free Kongor, xCet decided once again to push middle, landing a big entry kill on an unsuspecting Wretched Hag, courtesy of Superkge’s hook. xCet intelligently retreated after Hag’s buyback, but showed no signs of stopping. The next xCet push yielded some fruit, despite an amazing Rhapsody ult saving Hag, but at 34 minutes the game heavily shifted in REXXARS favor when they comfortably repelled xCet’s follow up push. xCet desperately continue to force the issue but were easily dismantled. REXXARS were now up 8k/20k and decided to contest xCet’s Kongor attempt where they came out ahead, five-for-one, forcing xCet to pass the concede vote.
Standings as of May 11
Monkeys Look Dominant, REXXARS Gain Momentum
The CEO can’t be too happy with his company at the moment. After a disappointing two game opener the team has earned only one point in the Carnage in Caldavar Pro League. BMG predictably continued their dominance and are now extremely likely to proceed to the playoffs. REXXARS comes off the weekend with two points and a nice confidence boost after a hard fought series, something they’ll need for their Wednesday match against BMG. The coverage continues on Tuesday at 12pm EDT | 1800 CEST with Team Excellent looking for their first win against Reason Gaming.
Carnage Pro League VODs - Week 1
The Last Of US Shows Promise In First Carnage Matches
BMG Dominant In Carnage Pro League Opening Match
Reason Prevails In Carnage Pro League Week 1
Carnage In Caldavar Portal
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