Read more of Group B Recap in Part 1, featuring the Winner’s Bracket, and the first team from group B to advance to the FInal Four.
[FnoH]FROG No HIPPO versus [Hoo]Team Who
The Losers Bracket featured two more teams that had not played before. In this case it was the amazing FROG No HIPPO, who were set to play Team Who on Saturday. And since both teams were on quite friendly terms in addition to being very skilled, this match was rather entertaining. Game 1 already started with a big surprise: the Hippos took the initiative here and threw all they got at Team Who, including a Klanx, played by [BETA]BigBigDik, who shredded the whole opposing teams in seconds. A well deserved victory for the Hippos. In game the Who Squad struck back, employing Gauntlet, Swiftblade and Legionnaire among other heroes to show the Hippos who's king of the river. The Hippos tried to make use of Bramble, but in this game they were simply outclassed by their opponents, which led to a third game being played.
This last game was once more proof that Team Who were the favourites here, they won in a little more than 20 minutes with a huge lead. All in all Team Who did well here after the complete upset that was game 1, and while the Hippos have to stay home for the rest of the season, they certainly showed some skill and compete with [NR]Night Raid as the second best American HoN team.
[aXe]Asian Reflexes versus [Ogr]Shrek is Love
The Ogres went into this game with quite some steam in their system after the close match they played against Nullstone Gaming two days earlier. Asian Reflexes on the other hand were still fresh and had yet to play a single game, not making it any easier for them to go against determined Ogres. And this was exactly the feeling you could get in the first game, aXe got some kills and even managed to fend off the Ogres time and again, but overall Shrek Is Love was just playing better and with more passion, eventually overpowering their opponents. And game 2 was more of the same, although the Ogres were able to make this victory even clearer than the first one. A short performance by Asian Reflexes, but in this situation, even better teams would have faltered against Shrek Is Love. Hopefully we will see more of them soon, but for the Playoffs, Shrek is Love advanced to the next round.
[Hoo]Team Who versus [Ogr]Shrek is Love
A matchup that could have easily been a Gold Division Final or a Diamond Division survival round in the Losers Bracket, Team Who versus Shrek is Love certainly felt like it would be a tough one for both teams. They both lost their first round and then succeeded in the second, only to face each other at this point, so close to the Losers Bracket Final. The first game had Team Who gain an advantage early on and the Ogres get back into the game later, turning into a showdown in the late game. Both teams had about the same gold and experience and the advantage bounced back and forth with several misplays on both teams. But at the end of the game Team Who managed to push through, defeating their opponents in one last teamfight and getting Shrek Is Love into quite some trouble. Game 2 followed quickly and here Shrek Is Love simply had to score. It was Team Who though, who got an early lead and they managed to keep it for most of the game. All in all their plays were a bit more coordinated and stronger than that of the Ogres and so this advantage eventually turned into another victory, dropping the Ogres out of the Playoffs, while Team Who surprised many by advancing to the Loser’s Bracket Finals.
[Hoo]Team Who versus [Null]Nullstone Gaming
This matchup was a little unexpected, but Team Who certainly deserved to be here and Nullstone Gaming would have greatly failed if they dropped out any earlier. And now it was for entry to the Final Four, so the stakes were high for both teams. In game 1, Nullstone showed their opponents just how strong they could be, a lesson in dominance by Nullstone Gaming was shown on Honcast and 20 minutes into the game, Team Who decided they learned enough and conceded, putting all their hopes in the second and hopefully third game. Game 2 had Nullstone in the lead once more, but Team Who was able to fight back this time, not allowing themselves to get dominated and toyed with. What followed was a pretty impressive game by both sides, that lasted almost an hour and was decided at the very last team fight, which was in favour of Nullstone Gaming. And this meant that Team Who, after a long and good run in these Playoffs, had to go home, while Nullstone Gaming moved on to the Final Four as the only representative of the Northern American Scene. A big task for Nullstone and a promise for the future by and for Team Who, they have great potential and their time may come soon enough.
Now with the results in, the next matches in the Final Four are set: [Mint]Fresh will take on [Null]Nullstone Gaming on Saturday at 12:00 EST | 18:00 CET and [tree]willowkeeper faces [Rea]Reason Gaming right after at 15:00 EST | 21:00 CET. The winners will move on to the Grand Finals, while the losers will be right out, no Loser’s Bracket this time. Honcast will of course cover all of these matches, so prepare for a long and exciting weekend with the best of the best of what Heroes of Newerth has to offer. Good Luck and Have Fun to all teams and players!
BlahC is a senior Hontour.com writer focusing on the NA/EU Diamond and Gold Divisions. After making a name for himself in the Dawn of War 1 scene, he began his career in journalism at DawnOfWar.de. As one of the first HoN Tour writers, BlahC has focused on the less known teams, bringing their name to the forefront. When he isn’t writing about HoN, BlahC enjoys playing RPGs, writing fiction, and listening to Metal, Avantgarde, and Neofolk music.
