Nordic Trifecta punches DHW ticket

 

The last two days of HoN were completely in the frosty hands of the Nordic players, fighting for one of their last chances to secure a DreamHack Winter 2013 spot without going through the dreaded BYOC portion of the event. With Garena pulling out of their second invite, the Nordic nations - probably the strongest force in the HoN scene - were granted a third spot and pushes the numbers of home teams to five guaranteed. 

 

Grabbing those three spots that were available are Denial eSports, The Law and Reason Gaming, while other prominent teams like Team Excellent or the team around the core of the former One Trick Pony team only have the BYOC left. Those two teams, that did not quite make it through actually faced off on the opening day in the third round, where Team Excellent's dreams of reaching DreamHack was shattered into pieces by the team called "Znoowy". Behind that name were well-known players and former team mates in One Trick Pony in Streufutter, ArchiTiger and Znoowy, who teamed up with former Justice League player Saintrox and Gold Division veteran lulpicks. The team sent some minor waves through the scene on the opening day, but couldn't carry that momentum over to the second and important day, where they got defeated by The Law and Reason Gaming.

 

Those two losses ultimately sidelined "Znoowy" from getting a direct seed into the DreamHack event, although he and some parts of his team are likely to attempt reaching that tournament through the BYOC. That hassle is not for the three deserving winners, who can now plan their trip to Jönköping, Sweden to compete against the best of the best from South East Asia and the international region. All three teams are by no means underdogs or expected wildcards, but rather interesting additions for the already stacked tournament.

 

Denial eSports just scored victories over fellow DreamHack competitor stayGreen and Too Much Sugar in the lastest Diamond Division cycle, bringing them all the way into the Upper Bracket Finals. They showcased their talent throughout the Sound Blaster Heroes League, have taken the Royal Road through the various divisions of HoN Tour with ease and are now already a lock for a podium spot in the seventh HoN Tour Diamond Division cycle. The story of this team continues to impress, now with a DreamHack appearance added to the resume. 

 

Reason Gaming might be at the same level, as Denial eSports, although they have a longer stretch of experience. The team formerly known as Justice League has already been around in the first season of HoN Tour, jumping up and down from Gold and Diamond every cycle. In the second season they became one of the most consistent teams in the HoN scene, while adding signature victories over Too Much Sugar and Lions eSports to their resume. They are always hovering around the top, but have yet to seal the deal and break into the top three of the Diamond Division - there best placement being fourth.

 

Last but not least is The Law, a team that springboarded onto the scene in the fifth cycle. They have been making a name for themselves fairly quickly in the scene, reaching the top six two consecutive times. The downfall came during the Sound Blaster Heroes League, in which they replaced Anti Moon Queen on short notice and then failed to record a single map victory in the group stage. The most recent cycle wasn't dreadful by any stretch of the imagination, but for the first time they couldn't reach the second weekend of the competition.

 

All that quite frankly doesn't matter at the Elmia, when the best teams are going head-to-head for one of the most coveted prizes in the HoN world. Eight of the ten teams are already determined, two more will join them at sight through the BYOC.

 

Participants

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•  stayGreen
•  Made in Thailand.Sorry Sorry
•  Lions eSports
•  Too Much Sugar
•  Internet Gangsters
• Denial eSports
• Reason Gaming
• The Law
• 2 BYOC teams