Today marks the third day of the HoN Tour World Finals in Bangkok, Thailand. On this sacred battle ground Hereos of Newerth's best competitive players have congregated to compete for not only a share of the final prize pool, but for the chance to be etched in HoN's eSports history books as World Champions.
With so much on the line, staying focused can be a daunting task for competitors, even veterans.
“There are a few primary components when it comes to game-play performance,” said Sam Braithwaite, eSports Director of Heroes of Newerth. “Physical, tactical, and mental preparation are all crucial to any team's success.”
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Cats in action |
“The amount of poise competitors show – especially some of the younger guys – is absolutely incredible. Ultimately, the team that can effectively balance all of these elements will emerge victorious.”
“This year's finals features a star-studded group – we're excited to see how things play out!”
Of course, while competitors prepare for their time in the spot light, event staff is working hard to ensure everything goes off without a hitch.
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Heroes of Newerth event team |
“A lot of preparation goes into planning and executing such a large eSports event,” said Adam Martinazzi, Heroes of Newerth's Community Manager. “Working along side Garena, our goal is to provide HoN's eSports scene with the best competitive experience possible.”
“As is the case with any event, there are bound to be minor hiccups or issues that arise – as a team, we have to adapt to ensure things proceed accordingly. So far it's shaping up to be a fantastic event – we've seen some of the best HoN matches of the year!”
The final matches of the HoN Tour finals are approaching and if the competition we seen thus far is of any indication, we've got some exciting matches ahead!
Newerthians,
I‘m Ryan “LoreMeister” McDaniel, Director of Content for S2 Games. I wanted to let you all in on some of the changes you have noticed over the last few patches in terms of the design and style of the Alt Avatars being created and introduced into the game. As many of you have surmised based on the announcement of HoN’s impending release in China and the art from the new HoN China website, there have been some serious changes in both the game and hero lore for our implementation into the Chinese market. In conjunction with our partners, we have done some intense localization that we feel will make HoN even more successful when it launches out of Beta later this year in China, and that has meant looking critically at who our heroes are and how they are best represented to a group that is unfamiliar with our normal Heroes of Newerth canon.
With that in mind, the Chinese HoN is built around a war between Heaven and Hell and all of the myriad deities and heroes of myth and legend. This has meant redoing some of our heroes who really don’t have a place in terms of familiarity with our new player base and redesigning them to let them be immediately recognizable. Thus, heroes like Apollo Artillery and Poseidon Tempest were born!
It also has led us to changing the base models around and, in some cases, reassigning avatars from one hero to another. One of the biggest changes here has been changing the hero Bushwack from his current base model into the hero Medusa, and bringing that amazing creation over to be the “base” in our China client for the hero. In other cases, some avatar models simply fit the silhouette of another hero better and those changes were made to facilitate readability in the game.
What does this mean for you? It means you will be receiving even more epic avatars that are based on the heroes of myth and legend as we roll out these changes for everyone. It also means that you will see more avatars that more closely resemble the “base” models for the heroes in game (either in our normal client or the changed base heroes in China) as we work to reduce the burden of knowledge for new players while still giving them access to awesome cosmetics. At the same time we will continue to deliver to you content that supports the core story of Newerth for all of our amazing players around the world.
Only three weeks left until the HoN Tour Season 2 World Finals in Thailand, and while the qualified teams are preparing for the oh-so important matches, the coverage team for the event is also ready to kick into high gear. For this purpose, the organizers are sending out four dedicated and well known personalities from the HoN community. The English coverage team will cover all angles of this amazing event, and look to offer all viewers a comprehensive and entertaining viewing experience.
The first member is, of course, Honcast's very own Nick "BreakyCPK" Caras. It’s hard to imagine any major HoN event without his defining voice, so the veteran will return once more to Thailand. Asked about his expectations and excitement, he stated the following:
"This event has everything set up going into it to be the most epic HoN Tournament we have ever had and I have no doubt it will live up to it. Not only will the competition be amazing with the biggest prize pool in HoN history but Garena knows how to put together a live event as they showed last GSL and I can't wait to share the experience with every HoN fan out there.
Second is another well known caster, the one and only Kyle "Beef" Bautista. It may be his first trip to Thailand, but he has been around for heated HoN Tournaments before. With recent casting experiences at the HoN Tour Season 1 Grand Finals and DreamHack Winter, he will now get to share his excitement and passion with the fans in Thailand.
"I'm extremely honored to be traveling to Bangkok as part of the English coverage team for the HoN Tour World Finals. With the best teams from around the world, and the biggest prizepool in HoN history this is sure to be an amazing event. I can't wait to see the venue, meet the fans, and cast some amazing matches. See you in Thailand!"
The third to travel to Thailand is a true veteran. The legendary support-man, Jascha "NoVa" Markuse, will join forces with the casters to offer expert knowledge on the game, and on the SEA teams. NoVa has been playing as part of the SEA scene for the better part of the last year, and his insight will prove invaluable to the coverage team.
"Although I have been to Thailand before, I haven't had the chance yet to visit a GSL event. I'm really looking forward to casting with Nick, Kyle, and Aydin, and helping to make this one of the best HoN tournaments ever. Let's go!"
And yes, you read it right, Aydin "iNsania" Sarkohi will be the fourth member of the coverage team to travel all the way to Asia. After a couple close calls with qualification for this event, Aydin will make it out after all, but in a new capacity. This will be his first time casting at a major event, but with plenty of online experience and a huge knowledge of the game and NA/EU teams he will be an important asset to the team.
With all these high quality casters, players, and entertainers, the HoN Tour Season 2 World Finals are starting to really shape up, with the event just weeks away. Live coverage of the event will start Friday, March 28th and conclude with the crowning of a World Champ on Sunday the 30th, so there isn’t too much time left to wait. Get hyped for the biggest event in HoN’s history and stay tuned for more information and announcements as the event grows closer.
Thank you to everyone who participated and congrats to the winners - AceJR
Top Five:
First Place: MrKrane
Second Place: Supernallaw
Third Place: _25minutes
Created in GIF form^^To see if in full function head to the forums.
Fourth Place: babyfood
Fifth Place: Hellscremer
Honorable Mentions:
KroToZ
WannaBMW
YouWhosay
`Avvi