By Beef

It's a new year, and already the first cycle of HoN Tour has wrapped up! Sync scored their record breaking sixth cycle victory, and have secured first place in the Season 3 standings! With one more cycle to go, teams are fighting for spots in the Playoffs, and getting all the practice they can with the Weekly Cups! Let's dive right in to the action.

HoN Tour Diamond Division

The first Diamond Cycle of the new year was also the first in over two years without Lions/BMG, as they were slumming it down in Gold, but there was plenty of talent to fill in. After a narrow 1-2 loss to Sync, newcomers Ride My Rocket fell to Gold, joined by longtime “elevator team” REXXARS. Dawn and Prime Icarus narrowly escaped elimination, and while PI fell to tree in the next round, Dawn took a smooth 2-0 victory over top dogs, Nullstone Gaming. In the second week Willowkeeper proved the better squad with a 2-1 victory over Dawn, and then faced Reason Gaming, who fell from the WB Finals after a close 1-2 series against Sync. In the end it was Reason who needed the rematch, and though Reason fought valiantly, Sync was determined to break the record, and score a 6th cycle victory!

HoN Tour Lower Divisions

The Gold Division was star studded for Cycle 7, with favorites BMG leading the pack, followed by fellow Diamond regulars Night Raid and Shrek is Love. NR and Ogr met in the 3rd round of the Winner's Bracket, where the Americans fell short, giving Ogre a shot at Diamond once more. On the other side, BMG were blindsided by Coollo (former MOE/WOP), and took a 1-2 loss to fall into the Lower Bracket nice and early. Eventually BMG eliminated Night Raid, ending the American hopeful's dream of Diamond this Season, and BMG made a run through the hard way, taking down Coollo in a revenge match, and a 3-0 sweep to bring home the Grand Finals over Ogr! In the Silver Division Dishonored took down izu 2-0 to bring home the victory and advance to Gold, while newcomers Kuro and Shirolchigo took home the Bronze Division in their first ever HoN Tour Cycle!

Weekly Cups

Grimm's Cup #12 brought Halfling Warrior Scout to the battlefield, as teams of three squared off in some awesome close-quarters combat. Diamond regulars Nullstone Gaming tried their hand, but were dispatched by Silver Champs, Dishonored, in the semifinals, while Grimm's United made their usual run through the bracket, all the way to the Finals. Here Grimms United proved their valor once more, in what must be their 20th or more tournament victory on the Grimm's map! On the Midwars side of things, more Diamonds made their appearance, with Shrek is Love making it all the way to the semis, before elimination at the hands of the combination squad, XVII Exclusives. On the other side, the multi-time champs Big Bux Money Crew were taken down by the ever-so active Dishonored. In the Grand Finals the Exclusives came out on top, with a 2-0 victory, giving Dishonored Silver in both Weekly Cups, in addition to their Silver Division title. Congrats to all teams!

This Week's Events

This week HoN Tour is on break while squads ramp up for the final cycle, and the exciting Playoffs to follow. But fear not, HoN fans! The Weekly Cups are here, and filling in for the Forests of Caldavar action is the 5v5 Cup this Saturday and Sunday! Aquarius Bubbles is on the line for this week's events, so make sure to sign up for Thursday's Midwars Cup #13, Friday's Grimm's Cup #13, or this weekend's 5v5 Cup #10, and get your share of fun, competition, and 30,000 Gold Coins!

See you next time for another HoN eSports Weekly!