As the Battlerekt tournament series nears the finish lines, the power rankings in both regions are solidifying more and more. In Europe new contenders are popping up constantly, but Intolerant stays a constant at the top of the leaderboard. A team to give Legendary a real run for their money in North America has still not been found, despite valiant efforts by everyone.
Early scare, no problem
Intolerant. Daebak. Intolerant. Intolerant. Intolerant. Functional Sociopaths. Intolerant. That’s the champions of the European region in order. From Week 1 on it was Intolerant to dominate the continent with two stumbles in between. Throughout the first seven weeks they’ve reached a level of consistency that is only slightly rivaled by Daebak in Europe. Other top teams come and go, newcomers and new team creations break through to the Top 4 constantly, but Intolerant and Daebak remained a fixture. They were poised to add yet another title to their already impressive resume and keeping their chance intact to one-up their most recent record of three straight titles. For them to improve on that milestone all three remaining weeks of Battlerekt have to go to Intolerant – an incredibly tough task given Daebak and Functional Sociopaths gearing up in the background.
After Week 8, Intolerant is still on track – even though the competition was stiff this time. Especially with Impact, the newcomer to the Semifinals, pushing the defending champions to the limit and beyond at times. As one of only a few teams, Impact stood their ground in the middle of the map with a strict and clear gameplan in mind and acting upon it. They weren’t going in for crazy aggression or dives in the backlines to snipe out supports, they were content in having their real estate set up in the middle of the map, close to the orb, and just poking. For a while that strategy seemed to throw Intolerant off, as their usual game of ‘Joltz going crazy and teams overextending in order to finish him off’ was just not there. Impact didn’t play into the hand of Intolerant, so the game was interesting and different. In the end though, the result was the same as always – Intolerant walked away victorious to once again face Functional Sociopaths for a third straight Grand Finals matchup.
After two unsuccessful attempts to overcome Intolerant, the Sociopaths had something special prepared for this week. In a throwback to their Week 5 lineup, they rotated Jade back into the mix and shifted in Freya for the second game of the Grand Finals. Whatever crafty thing they had planned only worked out in the first three rounds of the first game. They took those very confidently and looked like the true champs of EU – until Intolerant responded with three unanswered of their own. Functional Sociopaths once again, as in previous matchups with Intolerant, was in control of the middle orb, but couldn’t capitalize on the extra resources. A confidence breaker to start off Game 2 was all that Intolerant needed to overcome Functional Sociopaths in the end. A sixth title, the second in a row, and the dream of four straight still alive.
Europe VoD
New NA team?
In Europe the fluctuation of teams has been noted and discussed. Every other week it seems that one of the previous Top 4 teams rotates out to make space for a newcomer. Usually that newcomer team is a remix of old veterans with one player fairly new to the competitive scene – at that’s at least how it’s been for eight weeks in the Old World. In the New World the world order is different. Legendary is the clear top dog while Unsung, Excel Wizards, and Deadly Insplosion rounded out the Top 4 week in and week out. Team RMS first broke through that trot a few weeks ago and again last week, and now we had ssW Deer as a new introduction. The new team of Week 6 Battlerekt champion stro alongside Weredeer and silklash brought some fresh wind into the stagnant North American scene – especially after a good outing in their debut.
Obviously they ran into Legendary straight away, but for a few rounds they held their heads high. They were able to go toe-to-toe with Legendary, answer their aggression and beat them in their own game – punishing overly aggressive and near reckless moves. In Game 1 they were even on game point with 2-4 lead, but in the most crucial moments the clutch gene of Legendary showed up again. A comeback to 5-4 in Game 1, a more precise and more aggressive 5-1 victory in Game 2 sealed the fate of ssW Deer and put Legendary into their eighth straight Grand Finals.
Opponent there was Deadly Insplosion again. After a narrow defeat a week before against Excel Wizards, DI finally got their revenge and this time with a statement. It was a close encounter, with the evenly matched teams trading blow for blow in Game 1 and Game 2 turning into a slugfest. Excel Wizards changed up their game, changed up their lineup – and got horribly beaten as a result. Poloma and Varesh, two heroes that were phased out for a few weeks now, made their return, but not in a good way. From the get-go DI pushed the issue with no regards for Excel’s gameplan. They dove straight into the base of the Wizards, relentlessly pursuit Poloma and Varesh and punishing every single slipup. A 5-0 sweep of the crushing kind – the next epic chapter to a great rivalry of the two teams.
Another good chapter was the Grand Finals as well. Legendary and DI had met each other in final game of the Thursday Night Battlerekt Extravaganza five times before already – with all five times obviously going to the undefeated and undisputed Battlerekt NA champion, Legendary. This time was no different, as Legendary put on a vintage performance. Just as they so often do, it was ReapWhatUSow with his Shifu going on the offensive, Ninjas on Sirius following suit and Averse being the silent, but deadly killer from the backlines. Throughout the series DI tried to punish the aggression and throughout the series it was Legendary dishing out the punish. A quick and clean 5-2 and 5-2 later the eight title was in the books. DI tried the “if you can’t beat them, join them” approach in their lineup this week, putting in a Sirius for the normal Lucie – once again coming away empty handed. It’s back to the drawing board for them, as time is running out to dethrone the dominant Legendary on The Proving Grounds.
North America VoD
Join the fray!
Time is not just running out for DI and Excel Wizards to get that big upset win in, but also for you to sign up to challenge the teams on North America and Europe with your Battlerite skill. Don’t let an opportunity like this pass you by, sign up and enter The Proving Grounds.
