By Blaze
Saturday - [coL]compLexity Gaming versus [Rea]Reason Gaming
This was one of the best series in a long time and probably one of the longest as well. The first game was pretty slow paced and had Reason Gaming ahead with a gold and experience lead from the very beginning. After a meager 22 kills after 45 minutes and not too much of a shift in resource lead, Reason Gaming pressured their opponents around that time extra hard and they were finally able to break base and win a huge teamfight, which led to their first victory of the day. Game 2 was a bit more balanced, no team was able to come out ahead initially. Reason Gaming had some interesting picks for this game, Succubus and Kane, while compLexity selected a rather standard lineup, with perhaps the Tremble standing out a little. After early game, more fighting happened and a back and forth began, with Reason Gaming starting out well but losing ground again later. In the late game, Reason was in the lead comfortably again, but a teamfight gone sour for them in their own jungle allowed compLexity Gaming to get back into the game. And after another big failed teamfight for Reason Gaming at coLs main base, the game turned around completely, allowing the americans of compLexity to win the game all of the sudden.
Game 3 became a textbook back and forth, with both teams winning several fights and winning as much as they lost. With a tiny lead Reason Gaming was able to get into the late game and here they kept holding this advantage while compLexity struggled to find the right way to fight this team. Especially the pick of Monkey King for coL did not pay off as the main carry and despite them doing some good work, Reasons The Dark Lady fared much better in the end because of her items. Reason Gaming eventually got the upper hand back in a big teamfight in Legion jungle and carried the game home from there. Game 4 was required and it was all or nothing for compLexity Gaming already while Reason Gaming was able to play a bit more relaxed. A long and slow paced game, game 4 wasn't much of a looker at first, but it picked up after almost half an hour, when compLexity Gaming picked up the pace and got some good fights going. And this increase was too much for Reason Gaming, with two annihilations compLexity Gaming pushed ahead and took the game from Reason, forcing the fifth and last. With over 5 games played already, game 5 looked like the teams would be tired and the game a drag, but it was a bit faster than the previous game and with Thunder Bringer for Reason Gaming, we got to see at least a little different action. compLexity pressured their opponents in the mid game quite intensely and scored several hits as well as tower kills. However, this pressure turned into a disadvantage when Reason Gaming counter-pushed and defended with incredible skill. The advantage of compLexity melted away over the next 20 minutes and eventually a huge teamfight in coLs base decided the game, when Reason Gaming broke into the base and killed all kinds of heroes and buildings. And after over 6 hours of preparations and gameplay, Reason Gaming finally won the series and advanced to the Winners Bracket Finals while compLexity Gaming set sails for the Losers Bracket.
Sunday - [SynC]Sync eSports versus [DRz]Druidz
Compared to Saturdays marathon match, Sunday was way less interesting and a rather short affair, despite it being BO5. Sync was eager to get through this as quickly as possible and considered Druidz merely as a stepping stone. Of course Druidz wanted to show their skills here, but it wasn't really their time, but let's start from the beginning. Game 1 had Sync develop an early lead with several kills scored quickly. Druidz focus on farm for Behemoth did not really pay off and they failed to put up enough pressure, so Sync used that for more kills and started to roll over their opponents. And after merely 16 minutes, Druidz decided to concede, Sync was just too much to handle in this game. Game 2 marked the next attempt of DRz to make an impact, but again it was Sync who got the initial kills, leading to a huge advantage early on. And Sync did what they do best, make maximum use of their assets, which led to another early concede, this time at around minute 22. With two games lost in a row, Druidz were now hard pressed and needed to win, so Game 3 had to be their salvation. But again, Sync was ahead early on, scoring twice as many kills as their opponents and putting DRz in a very bad spot. Druidz fought hard this time and did not look too bad at first, but the lead and intensity of Sync eSports was still too much for them. Minute 23 was reached at least, making this the longest of the three games, and Sync eSports had an easy evening, getting into the Winners Bracket Finals with relative ease while Druidz may now try again in the Losers Bracket.
And that's what happened so far. Going into the new week, we will have the four teams sort out who will get into the Grand Finals, with the following matchups for the weekdays:
Tuesday - [coL]compLexity Gaming versus [DRz]Druidz
After last weekends performance, compLexity Gaming is certainly the favourite to win this match. They fought a hard game against Reason Gaming and, despite several mistakes, almost won the match and delivered a very entertaining performance at the same time. If they learn from the mistakes that they made, they may even have a chance to win the whole thing, but for that they now have to defeat every other team in long series, starting out with Druidz right here. And Druidz will be keen on making up for a relatively poor performance on Sunday. Sync eSports seemingly toyed with them in that match and defeated them soundly with barely an hour in pure, total playtime. They know that they have to do better this time, otherwise it will be a little bit embarrassing for them to get kicked out early after making it into Dreamhack Summer so quickly and getting picked up by their nice sponsor. Expect an interesting match this Tuesday, a lot is on the line for both teams.
Thursday - [Rea]Reason Gaming versus [coL]compLexity Gaming
Two veteran top level teams going at each other in a BO5, this is just what the doctor ordered! After Reasons shaky performance in the DEBL during the Group stage, they got better again just in time to defeat compLexity Gaming in the first round, a match that many people expected them to lose. But here they are now, once again at peak performance, and once again against Sync eSports. Now one thing is certain: Compared to Sync, Reason had plenty of practice this last weekend and they know how to stay in a game and turn it around. This may very well prove to be an advantage, as Sync only got 3 quick victories, which were not much practice at all. So while Reason usually would not be the favourite in this matchup, they should be considered even, at least this time, and chances are surprisingly good for them to give Sync something to think about for the Grand Finals.
A good program for the week, isn't it? The party will start on Tuesday at 16:00 EDT | 22:00 CEST when compLexity and Druidz clash, followed by Reason versus Sync on Thursday at 12:00 EDT | 18:00 CEST. Honcast is well rested after the marathon on Satuday and will cover both matches on time, so tune in and enjoy the show! Good Luck and Have Fun to the teams playing!
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.
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