The day’s matchup consisted of one best of 5 round between team Eager and Cognitive Gaming. Here’s how it played out:
Eager vs. Cognitive
3-2, favor of Eager
Game 1 got off to a slow start, but Cognitive eventually took first blood. Shortly after, they came out on the winning end of a 3-0 team fight, which left them with a considerable gold and EXP lead. We saw a lot of sloppy engagement from Eager, as they were putting way too much faith into a weak early game Hel. Eager did, however, manage to steal the Gold Fury from Cognitive. Cog’s vengeance was swift, and they nailed a 4-0 wipe on Eager. This gave them room to take the first Fire Giant, but the game was still rather young and they didn’t want to make a premature assault on the base. Instead, they bided their time and cleared some minor objectives as they waited for the second Fire Giant to spawn. Once it did, they took it down and quickly breached the Eager’s base. At the 23 minute mark, Eager’s titan fell and Cognitive won the game.
Eager bounced back in Game 2, taking first blood and an early lead with just a few minutes on the board. They took both the first and second Gold Furies, which left them considerably ahead of Cognitive for most of the game. By the time Eager started moving in on the enemy base, they had over a 12k gold advantage. As they made their final push into Cognitive’s base, it became clear that there was no stopping them. A vote to surrender notification popped, and shortly after the titan collapsed as Cognitive gave in.
Cognitive didn’t fair much better in Game 3. They took first blood, but their lead didn’t last very long. Eager quickly caught up and gained the advantage. A 2-1 team fight in their favor at the Gold Fury, which they were able to take, put them even farther ahead. By mid-game, Eager had a comfortable 13k lead. After knocking out 3 of Cognitive’s members, they were able to take the Fire Giant uncontested. They didn’t waste any time in pushing to Cognitive’s base. It wasn’t long before the titan fell and Eager took the game and the match advantage.
Going into Game 4, it looked like Eager might not let the match go to Game 5. First blood went to Cognitive, but Eager pulled out a really strong lead. Just when it looked like Cognitive might not be able to recover from the beatings they were getting in team fights, they did some smart farming on the map that helped them even out the lead. Eager tried to shut them out by taking the Fire Giant, but Cognitive held the lead and took the next Gold Fury. They rode that momentum for a while and earned a steep lead. Eager just couldn’t hold up their defenses and their titan quickly fell as Cognitive evened out the match and forced it to Game 5.
From the outset of the deciding game, it was clear that Eager wasn’t going to give up the match without a serious fight. They took first blood, and only entertained a slight back-and-forth with Cognitive before they grabbed a solid lead. Eager had 5 kills on the board before Cognitive managed to squeak out 1. They took the Gold Fury after bullying Cognitive away, then the game started to landslide in their favor. With a 12 kill lead over Cognitive, Eager breached their base and took down the titan, winning the game and the match.
Because Eager already earned a seat at the Xbox Invitational through the UMG tournament, Cognitive Gaming gets the open spot in spite of their loss today. In addition to that seat, Cognitive is walking away with the $10,000 second place prize. Alongside the title of NA Xbox One Champions, Team Eager will be taking home a $25,000 first place prize.
What’s Next
Now that this tournament is over, there’s nothing left on this year’s professional circuit besides the SMITE World Championships in January. We’ll be seeing both Eager and Cognitive Prime at the Xbox One Invitational, alongside the many teams that qualified for Worlds throughout the professional season.
Follow @SmitePro on Twitter and stay tuned to GameSkinny to get all the latest information as we move closer to worlds.
