Source: S2 Games - check for more pictures
The first day of DreamHon Winter has ended and three of the five "big" teams have already suffered setbacks. QsQ, Tt eSports and Gary Johnson all had to concede defeat on a variety of maps and are under some pressure heading into day two.
Orange and coL on top
The tournament started with a huge match between rivals compLexity Gaming and Gary Johnson. Not only were they expected to go into the playoffs, but the personality clash between both teams was looming over the games. The first match actually lived up expectations as both teams exchanged blows, with coL pulling ahead and grabbing the victory. The second clash, CoL carry Haxxeren stated in the post-game interview, was one-sided right from the picking phase. coL have begun the tournament with a 2-0 victory, even as Gary Johnson will end up carrying the burden of an early defeat.
The rest of the games ended with pretty much expected results. coL obliterated paiN Gaming, Cats lost to Orange eSports and Gary Johnson, while the Malaysians edged out paiN to go 2-0 in the group.
Tomorrow the undefeated teams - compLexity Gaming and Orange eSports - will compete against each other, looking to cement their leads and secure the advancing spot. Arguably, the highlight match will be between Gary Johnson and Orange eSports.
| Group A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1. |  compLexity Gaming | 2/0/0 | +4 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1. |  Orange eSports | 2/0/0 | +4 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3. | Gary Johnson 2012 | 1/1/0 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 4. |  paiN Gaming | 0/2/0 | -4 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 4. |  Cats Gaming | 0/2/0 | -4 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
tdM throning above Group B
Group B saw two ties, one undefeated team and will see an interesting battle for the two playoff spots. In the best position is Trademark eSports, who won both their initial matches against QsQ and vTi.Dynasty. Another win against Team MRR or against Tt eSports would bring them into the playoffs and the contention for the World Championship on Saturday.
The race behind them is fairly open with Tt eSports in the best position. The American-Oceanian squad won their early morning duel with Team MRR from Thailand to jumpstart their day. Unfortunately for them, the day ended in a little bit of a disappointment as they tied against vTi.Dynasty in a dramatic series.
That tie almost saved the hopes of QsQ, who were facing the abyss after their first two matches. They tied against Team MRR, taking the lead in Game One, but then lost to Trademark eSports. Earning only one point after two matches, QsQ was almost out the first day. TT eSports tying with vTi.Dynasty, however, is sure to breathe a bit of life back into the squad.
The same can be said for Team MRR and vTi.Dynasty, who went into this group as clear underdogs. Now, after the first day of competition, both teams are seeing lite on the horizon as both teams have one point - the same as QsQ.
The better chances are with vTi: they already faced the "dominator" of this group, Trademark eSports, and have "only" Team MRR and QsQ left. With good plays and help from Trademark eSports they could secure the second place and therefore mount the biggest upset in DreamHon history. The passionate speech that Tale gave after the upset against Tt eSports can be seen as motivation to shoot for the bigger stage now.
Team MRR on the other hand is fighting an uphill battle, as they would have to win against Trademark eSports in order to keep their chances alive.
The key matches will be games between Trademark eSports, Tt eSports and QsQ, as those three teams have got the best resumes going into the competition.
| Group b | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1. |  Trademark eSports | 2/0/0 | +4 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2. | Tt eSports | 1/0/1 | +2 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3. | QsQ | 0/1/1 | -2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3. | vTi.Dynasty | 0/1/1 | -2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3. |  Team MRR | 0/1/1 | -2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
