Unlike the quick shutouts and 3-1 sets we saw in the NA Quarter Finals, both matches today went all the way to Game 5. Underdog team Enemy continued to upset the brackets by unseating the #1 seed while Cloud9 and Eager had us wondering until the very last minute who would come out on top.
Fifth Place Match: Cognitive vs. Team SoloMid
In a surreal Best of 1 match, two teams who everyone expected to see at worlds battled it out for the fifth place prize. Cognitive grabbed a huge lead early on, dominating pretty much every team fight. But they couldn’t quite break into TSM’s base, and it was their undoing. Toward late game, TSM built a formidable offense that Cognitive just couldn’t stand up to. SoloMid quickly turned the tides and started pushing toward Cognitive’s base, taking the titan and the fifth place spot.
Enemy vs. EnvyUS
3-2, favor of Enemy
#1 seed EnvyUS was the favorite going into this match, and they hit the ground running in Game 1. Less than 60 seconds in, they initiated a team fight that wiped several members of Enemy. However, they gradually lost their advantage as the game went on. Enemy managed to take a 10 kill lead, with a significant gold/EXP lead as well, which cleared the way for them to take EnvyUS’ titan and the first game.
EnvyUS got an early lead again in Game 2, but Enemy stole it away as the game went on. Towards the end of mid-game, EnvyUS came roaring back and wiped out Enemy in a team fight, which gave them the advantage. Shortly after, they got another full wipe on Enemy to further their lead. After taking the Fire Giant, they didn’t hesitate to go for Enemy’s phoenixes and the titan. After a long battle, EnvyUS won the game.
Enemy grabbed a steady lead in Game 3, which they maintained from start to finish. In a fairly textbook game, Enemy bided their time until they could grab the Fire Giant and break EnvyUS’ base, nabbing the win.
Game 4 was significantly slower than previous games. In what could have been the deciding game, both teams took a safer route. EnvyUS took a slight lead, but we didn’t really see much action until mid-game. A 3-1 team fight fell in favor of EnvyUS, giving them more of an edge. Enemy just wasn’t able to hold their defense this time around, and EnvyUS took their base, forcing the match into Game 5.
Most people expected EnvyUS to emerge victorious in Game 5.
In the deciding game of the match, EnvyUS took the early lead. With Enemy off to a shaky start, it looked like EnvyUS was going to breeze through this game to secure their spot in the Finals. But Enemy wasn’t going to go down so easily. They made a huge comeback in the later half of the game, surprising everyone as they shut down EnvyUS. Enemy took the game and the match.
EnvyUS will go on to face Team Eager on Saturday for the third place spot, and we’ll see Enemy take on Cloud9 in the NA Finals round on Sunday. Regardless of what happens in those Finals, we will be seeing Enemy at the SMITE World Championship event in January.
Eager vs. Cloud9
2-3, favor of Cloud9
This was a highly anticipated matchup, and it proved to be an intense set of games.
It didn’t appear that way at first, though. The first two games were relatively unremarkable. Game 1 made it look like Cloud9 might take the match in a landslide as they took an early lead that snowballed into a fairly run-of-the-mill win. After a long back and forth in Game 2, they nabbed their second win as well.
Then things started to heat up in Game 3. Eager grabbed the advantage first this time, engaging Cloud9 in a 4-2 team fight at the Gold Fury camp that fell in their favor. Cloud9 followed up with another team fight that ended in a 2-3 trade, favor of Cloud9. This helped them take a gold/EXP/kill lead. But this didn’t last long, as the gold/EXP lead gradually shifted back to Eager, despite Cloud9 continuing to lead in kills. Eager dominated the next few team fights, eventually taking that kill lead as well. A team fight at the Fire Giant ended 3-1 in Eager’s favor, which gave them enough of a boost to push for Cloud9’s phoenix. A team fight at Cloud9’s base wiped out all their members, giving Eager their first win of the match.
Determined to nail another win and force the match into Game 5, Eager continued their momentum into Game 4. First blood went to Cloud9, but a 3-1 team fight fell in favor of Eager and gave them the lead. This lead got bigger and bigger as the game went on, and Eager broke through Cloud9’s spotty defenses to take the titan and the game.
Game 5 didn’t go quite as well for Eager. Cloud9 took a slight early lead, but there was very little action in the early game as both teams tried to evaluate their situation and carefully plan winning strategies. Slowly and steadily, Cloud9 increased their lead. They consistently had the upper hand in team fights, and a Gold Fury grab only put them farther ahead. Cloud9 continued taking little wins here and there, and eventually they had a 20k gold lead on Eager. After breaching their base and taking down all 3 phoenixes, Cloud9 quickly regrouped and went in for the kill, taking Game 5 and securing their spot in both the Finals round this Sunday and the World Championships.
Eager will be back on Saturday for a BO1 Third Place match against EnvyUS, with the winner moving on to the Wild Card game against a TBD EU team. Cloud9 is heading to the Finals to battle it out with Enemy for the NA Super Regional Champion title.
After today’s games, the brackets stand as follows:
What’s Next
Tomorrow, November 20, the EU teams will return to the stage for their Semi-Finals matchups:
Titan vs. Team Dignitas (BO1 Fifth Place Match, 9:00 AM EST) Epsilon vs. London Conspiracy (10:30 AM EST) Fnatic vs. Paradigm (2:30 PM EST)
Once the Semi-Finals are over, we’ll be seeing the Third Place BO1 matches, as well as the NA/EU Wild Card match that will give one lucky team another shot at going to Worlds.
To keep up with all the action, tune into the SMITE Twitch channel or follow @SmitePro on Twitter. And stay tuned to GameSkinny for all your SMITE coverage as this exciting tournament continues.
