In our very first split, we won a ticket to the EMEA Masters play-in stage, where we went to represent our region. Despite a tough group, we didn’t lose our way and in the last game we fought for the opportunity to tierbreak and advance to the Knockout stage. Although we didn’t succeed in the end, the 3/3 result and the experience we gained bode well for the future.
Our support Only35 returned to the roster and together with raining formed a very strong and reliable botlane. Thanks to his return we could enter the tournament complete and full of expectations regarding the group draw.
Due to the results of the previous years, seed two of the Hitpoint Masters is only placed in the last fourth basket. So it was clear that we would be attacking more from the position of an underdog and that we could mainly surprise. Fortune didn’t smile on us too much from the pool draw, as we got Arab Geekay Esports from the third basket with players like Leo, who played the Korean LCK, Elramir, who managed to dominate the entire EMEA Masters Spring last season, and on top with a player like Bong, who played at both MSI and Worlds 2023.
The fate of the second basket was more favorable to us, as we got EGN Esports, who are the winners of the Portuguese LPLOL. In return, the lot of the first basket assigned us Gentle Mates from the French LFL, whose jerseys are worn by, for example, Slovak support Kamilius, Korean marksman BAO, who has experience with LCK, and also Ragner, who knows what it is like to play the EMEA Masters finals.
It was with respect but not fear that we took on Gentle Mates in the first match. The favourite from France built an easy lead in the first few minutes, which grew to several thousand, but even from the deficit we managed to play a balanced game. BAO and its scaling proved to be a big problem, which could not be slowed down, and our nexus fell in the 39th minute, with a six-item 13/2/7 Jinx standing over it.
Despite the initial defeat, the GLORE players managed to bounce back and outlasted EGN on 35 minutes, thanks in large part to a 13/1/9 Kindred that was brilliantly piloted by jokaa. And as they say, “the taste grows with the food,” the win in the last match of the day against Geekay Esports, a team full of stars that didn’t exactly choose the best tactics, was this time mainly thanks to Envy Carry. His Yone was able to completely obliterate his opponent with Azir, and we scored our second win and ended the day with a positive 2/1 score.
Geekay came better prepared in the first game of the second day’s play, and the game went their way from the start. Nexus, along with GLORE players, could only resist for 25 minutes, and the Arab team evened the score. EGN also wanted to retaliate, but Envy Carry and raining in particular was against us. The game eventually went in our favor, and the Portuguese base capitulated in the 27th minute.
The 3/2 scoreline looked very promising, but Gentle Mates, our rival going into the last game, was proving to be a tough opponent. We needed help from EGN, who were facing Geekay, for a better chance of progression, and they didn’t do too badly at all. However, the experience of the Arab team was evident, and in a game lasting 41 minutes, Leo was unstoppable with Jinx, ending the game with a quint with a score of 18/2/8.
The cards were clearly dealt. A win means a tierbraker against Geekay and a defeat means the end in the EMEA Masters. The nervousness was evident from the beginning of the match, it was a big deal after all. However, the experience and composure of the LFL team was evident from the start and so came a fairly quick and unequivocal game.
Failure to progress to the next stage of the competition and defeats always hurt. Anyway, the desire, the play shown and the ability with which the GLORE players handled the level of their opponents was beyond expectation. A score of 3/3 is something to be ashamed of.
First split in Hitpoint Masters, first final, solid presentation of the team and the region in Europe are something to be proud of!
