Upsets galore on the first day of competition at the Hirez Expo 2018 and DreamHack Atlanta. The winners and losers of the day set up two EU vs NA matches on Day Two at the SMITE World Championship in Atlanta, Georgia.
Match #1: Dignitas vs Spacestation Gaming
The European team got off to a slow start in Game One, but still managed to pull off the win thanks to steady play and some missteps from their opponents. SSG came back to tie things up in Game Two, but Dignitas were too strong in Game Three and bounced the popular North American team from the tournament in the first match.
Match #2: Splyce vs Obey
Splyce had an aggressive start, jumping out to a 4-1 lead at the 10 minute mark. The team kept up the pressure deep into the game and managed to take Game One. In the second game, Splyce took an early lead again, but Obey bounced back quickly on the back of some misplays by the American squad. 16 minutes in, the teams were even in kills with Splyce maintaining a small gold lead. The NA team then picked off Obey left and right, forcing them back into the base to defend. Splyce charged through their line to take the 2-0 match win.
Match #3: Eunited vs Trifecta
One week ago, Trifecta were a few plays away from missing the SMITE World Championships, but today they stood toe to toe with World Champions Eunited with tournament survival on the line. In Game One, Eunited took first blood but lost an early T1 tower. EU then caught Trifecta off guard at 23 minutes when the took an early Fire Giant. Despite these early losses, Trifecta quietly maintained an objective lead. After being patient up to the 29 minute mark, Trifecta unleashed their power, taking the Fire Giant and Gold Fury with ease and then moving on to the undefended Tier 2 towers. Trifecta held on to their lead to take a surprising Game One win.
In Game Two, Trifecta didn’t let up the pressure, taking first blood. 16 minutes in, EU got a well deserved Gold Fury after a fierce teamfight that went in their favor. More smart plays from EU caught Trifecta off guard in the late game, and objective after objective fell in favor of the world champions. Trifecta wasn’t done; they relied on a strong defense to push EU out of their base, but a final five man attack by EU broke Trifecta’s ranks, and the match was tied at 1-1.
At the start of Game three, the teams traded kills early on, a departure from the timid efforts in the previous games. Once Trifecta got out to a hot beginning, it was impossible to slow them down. The team killed all over the map, taking early objectives with ease. The favorites Eunited looked helpless as Trifecta took a 19 minute Fire Giant. After another Fire Giant went their way just six minutes later, Trifecta had all but won the game. Trifecta eventually pushed their way into Eunited’s base and took the 2-1 win, and sent the world champions home after just one match.
Match #4 Team Rival vs NRG
The first game started off hot, as the teams traded kills. Deathwalker harried Maniakk and Adapting early on, which would become his main strategy. NRG was playing with a sub, Homiefe, but the team still looking confident coming into the match. The confidence began to crumble as Team Rival kept winning fights around the map and immediately pouncing on objectives. Rival strolled into NRG base at 28 minutes, taking the titan and winning the first game handily.
Game Two started much like Game One, with Deathwalker harassing his opponents, but this time he had help from his teammates to secure the first blood without trading his life. It took NRG a full 10 minutes to respond with a kill of their own. Just as fans were settling in for a long match, Rival secured the Fire Giant and took out NRG’s objectives. Rival ran away with the game early, sending NRG packing in just under 21 minutes.
The action continues on Saturday, November 17th at the Georgia World Congress Center in Downtown Atlanta.
