The hype around the SoundBlaster Heroes League was big since the tournament originally was introduced back in November. Now the grand opening of the final stage of the tournament turned into a little disappointment with a reschedule and a forfeit.
| SBHL Round 16 | ||
 Lions eSports | FF | Pencils |
It was supposed to be the big opening for two weeks of non-stop HoN action, but it failed. First the news about the highly anticipated nxL Focus eSports against QsQ match hit, with QsQ needing a reschedule. The double dose of HoN was reduced to a single showing, but still two of the best teams in Europe were set to collide.
That and the expectation of a triple feature on Thursday carried through the late evening in Europe, as the match between Lions eSports and Pencils drew closer. Then the next news to finally crash Day 1 of the tournament for good.
The Swedish squad Pencils announced that they will forfeit the match and won't compete in the SoundBlaster Heroes League anymore. Rumours of them disbanding spread around as an attachment to the shocking announcement, but no official or even inofficial statement validating this has been made.
Overall the tournament could have started better, but tomorrow great teams like Orange eSports, Afraid, Vietnamese Dream and the top favorite Stay Green will enter the competition and we will finally see some top-notch Heroes of Newerth.
