It's been a long time coming, but for the first time after six consecutive stayGreen titles the Diamond Division has a new Champion - Lions eSports. After falling down in the Grand Finals to sG last cycle, the Swedes rallied back this time and delivered a fantastic match against the dominant foe.
Lions eSports finally did it. After they already broke the undefeated streak of stayGreen in the third cycle with a upset victory against the reigning HoN Tour Champion in the Upper Bracket Semifinals, they now got those results on the big stage and walk away with their first major title. The demoralizing loss to stayGreen in last cycle's Grand Finals and the crushing defeat suffered against stayGreen in the Upper Bracket finals seemed to motivate the Swedish powerhouse even more as they put up a clinic in all three matches.
Typical to Lions they played heroes that not a lot of other teams touch in competitive matches, especially not in an important Grand Final. Still, Lions brought out the Ravenor in all matches, incorporated Jereziah into their lineup once and also gave Kraken another chance to shine in an important competitive match. It is that kind of style and the aggressive nature of their game plan that makes Lions eSports one of the fan favorites.
This success should boost their popularity even more, as they had absolutely no problem against the seven time Diamond Division cycle champion led by captain Swindlemelonzz. Not only did they crush the entire series with a score of 3-0, only the Upper Bracket bonus point of sG puts a little bit of makeup on the result as it stands as a 3-1 win for Lions. The way Lions manhandled the team that won everything in the last couple of months was impressive and memorable.
The first match was just a sign of things to come, as Lions eSports showcased for the first time that night, that they mean business. Jereziah proved to be a good pickup, Ravenor dished out plenty of damage and sG found no answer to the aggressiveness. The Swedes went full-throttle and were relentlessly punishing every single mistake and pounced on every single opportunity that was presenting themselves to them. After just 29 minutes and a kill score of 27 to 7 the series was tied up at one apiece.
The statement got even louder, when Lions turned the second match into an even more dominant outing bringing in the Flux/Tempest combo - a strength of that wombo-combo never came into play though. Once again the Swedes brought the pain left, right and center and demolished stayGreen completely. It has been a while since stayGreen was forced to concede a match after merely 15 minutes, but Lions eSports got the job done.
So for the fourth match in two cycles Lions eSports had a match that could clinch the division crown. The only difference this time around, as opposed to last weeks matchup was, that Lions eSports took advantage of the opportunity. Despite stayGreen jumping to an early game lead, Lions kept their composure and continued to play their game to the fullest. Overall the lineup of Lions was pretty similar to the first game with Wretched Hag, Ravenor and Ophelia on their side again - so were the results. Once again the match only lasted for 30 minutes, once again the kill score was rather lopsided for the team around Handsken, once again they absolutely annihilated stayGreen.
Now the hunter becomes the hunted for the next cycle as stayGreen will be in the position of chasing the title for the first time in four months. Lions eSports now has the burden of defending the crown, shifting gears from being one of many to being the one everyone is gunning for. Showings like they did yesterday though leave little doubt that they are absolutely equipped to deal with these new circumstances as well.
| HoN Tour Diamond Division Cycle 4: Top 6 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Team | Ranking Points | Earnings |
| 1. |  Lions eSports | 3,500 | $ 5,000 USD |
| 2. |  stayGreen | 2,700 | $ 3,000 USD |
| 3. |  Too Much Sugar | 2,300 | $ 1,000 USD |
| 4. |  Justice League | 2,000 | $ 500 USD |
| 5.-6. | Team Excellent | 1,750 | $ 250 USD |
| 5.-6. | Internet Gangster | 1,750 | $ 250 USD |
