SMITE World Championships Day One .

The time has come. The most legendary tournament in the SMITE world, and one of the largest in the entire world. With a prize pool over over 2.5 Million Dollars, it’s an exciting time for everyone. The day one matches were fantastic and the energy was absolutely explosive. It will be exciting to see what unfolds during the duration of the tournament.

Match 1

Cog Red v. DID

TheBoosh almost falls early from an early push, and Ra ends up being the one pushed out of lane. This is a big early advantage in the mid for DID. Snoopy goes down less than five minutes into the match. Divios takes Sensei at 2:55. bringing the score to 1 all. Cog takes the gold camp. This gives Cog Red the early gold advantage. This is a big early game move—evening out DID’s early kill.

A minute later–Divios is in trouble alone in his lane, but Cog Red manages to turn the bad situation around ambushing and picking up a second kill for Cog Red, a big kill for Divios uses the momentum to take the blue camp. Cog Red secures their gold advantage as they take down the gold fury, but Snoopy is in trouble. He turns it around and gets a kill. CR manages three consecutive kills in the scuffle.

aZuan is chased but pulls away. Divios chased and manages to falls under tower avoids gank. abing falls bringing the score to 9-1 in the advantage of Cog Red. Boosh and snoopy destroy the tower at about the ten minute mark giving a significant experience advantage to Cog Red.

Divios kills Sensei at 10:45 and a second tower falls for DID. abing is chased,resulting in a gank by dagayrz. Sensei is killed again by divios. Theboosh falls shortly before the Tier one in mid lane falls.

DID is in trouble, Scrambling to keep cool heads and carry some sort of a game plan. Over aggression has played to a disadvantage. Dagarz takes abing bringing continuing to slaughter DID. Theboosh scores his last kill bringing the final kill count to 20 as another fury falls. In the end there was to much of a gold disadvantage alongside a substantial experience differential. The titan falls moments later completing this one-sided match.

 

Summary

DID needs to go back to the drawing board after the first match. They were extremely aggressive in the early game, and the strategy bit them hard. DID was picked apart, separated, dissected, and killed. Cog Red as a unit that is reminiscent of Samsung White in the League of Legends Word Championship last year. Quick match, decisive victory.

Divios was definitely the MPV of the first match. He dominated the lane, tanked enough health to invade towers, and picked apart defending champions. Cog Red places more wards and continues to dominate the vision game. They had complete visibility throughout the match up, and the visibility gave them incredible aggressive power. Dagarz also played an excellent game. His team play was impeciable. He delivered the right blows at exactly the right moment. His reactions were flawless.

Looking at the map, Cog Red dominated the jungle. Almost every camp fell to Red. 74 mana, 57 speed, 50 power, 90 mid, 56 back, 100 fire giant, and 100 gold fury. 66 total map control for Red. The most impressive stat by far, is the mid camp percentage. 90 mid camp control is rare in professional competitive play.

When asked in the post match press conference Snoopy stated that he got overconfident and didn’t know enough about his opponent. The team as a whole says their biggest competition is Cog Prime but they are really looking forward to playing SK Gaming.

 

Match 2

We Love Bacon v. SK Gaming

The game starts off with a bang, leading to an early team fight in left lane but the match remains even; no one dies. SK demonstrates a prowess for minion clearing. The red buff falls for SK leading in to a team fight. Zyrhoes dies giving first blood to SK. Maniakk picks up a kill almost thirty seconds later.

SK pulls a slight 2k gold lead at 6:30. Ymir throws up a wall and zyrhoes picks up the kill with a great assist from badgah. Onetroll scumbs to maniakk, but maniakk dies after some creative juking.

SK continues to pick up camps, further increasing their lead. Maniakk takes blue buff at about 10:45. Maniakk leads the team in experience this allows him to use his level scale to his advantage. Ra teases mid lane but Wlb doesn’t fall for it. There are two more kills for SK which gives them control of the jungle. Maniakk finishes their right tier two, increasing the gold lead to 7,200 in favor of SK.

SK maintains a huge level advantage. At 15 minutes, the team average level is 14 while Wlb averages 13. Zyrhoes picks up a kill on oreitroll. Oreitroll has been completely shut down in the opening match. A Big scuffle in right turns into another jungle pick up for SK. Zyrhoes picks up another buff unopposed. Hann kills maniakk. Badgah gets a kill in mid. Realz gets killed bringing the score to 2-13. SK gets a 13k gold lead as they pick up another gold fury.

The game, at this point is almost unrecoverable. The Fire giant falls unopposed. SK makes a push as the giant falls. Another inner tier tower falls; SK gangs up on the right phoenix and it falls easily. Mid phoenix is the next to fall. Shortly after that SK is on the titan and it is defeated at the 23:40 mark.

Summary

SK moves on to fight Cog Red in the next round. Maniak carried SK throughout the game. He did a great job managing lane, carrying through on kills, and managing the jungle. Zyrhoes also played incredibly well. Like the first game, the team that controlled the jungle and the wards to win the game.

Match 3

Titan vs. OMG

OMG plays an aggressive early game running in a 5 man group. Their early play results in a slight gold and experience lead for OMG. Titan starts off by playing safe, maybe too safe. OMG continues to push the jungle, disrupting the timer for the jungle camps. Blue buff falls to Titan. Big exchange in jungle; no dice followed by pressure on left side of the map and another big exchange 3-1 at 5:00. Titian picks up two more kills as Athena steals the gold buff.

The match remains extremely close. Titan seems to be perfectly countering OMG’s aggression. If they stick to plan, they might beat them in long game. At the 7:30 mark it is 3-5 OMG.

Titan has a slight experience disadvantage. Repikas kills NiFeng giving OMG a 5-4 lead. OMG goes for the second gold fury and in the process finds themselves in a massive team fight in the mid. Titan pushes the battle right over  to OMG’s lower tower. PrettyPriMe falls, increasing OMG’s lead to 8-4.

OMG has a 6k experience lead as they pick up another unopposed gold fury. Their management of the furies is giving them a major lead and Titan refrains from pushing the low towers. Right tower finally falls at 17:40.

Titan picks up a kill against NeverAns as they topple the mid tower. Titan begins to pick up speed as they  secure another kill, bringing the score to 6-8. The experience lead quickly begins to shrink. Titan maintains six towers.

A 2 for 3 exchange further decreases OMG’s lead and brings it  to 9-10, OMG. FightingJ picks up a kill in a 3v1. Titan goes for the fire giant but couldn’t coordinate the team and ends up abandoning the attempt.  In a 5v5, Odin’s ring comes up late which leads to Titans first lead in the match.

Titan takes the fire giant and OMG’s gold advantage, despite four furies, shrinks to 3k.Continuing the trend, another big team fight occurs in left. Ataraxia get the triple kill as tier two tower falls. Soon after that the left phoenix falls at 25:38 and Titan picks up the gold lead for the first time in the match, leading by more that 2k at 23:50. Mid phoenix falls. Repikas scores two more kills. Titan pushes for the win at 27:20  bringing the final score to 23-11

 

Summary

Titan put on an unbelievable performance. OMG played an incredible early and mid game, taking four consecutive gold furies unopposed. But OMG was unable to capitalize on their early lead. They let their 1^st tier towers fall, and Titan snowballed their momentum. After 15 minutes, the game belonged to Titan. They played conservative in the early game, allowing OMG a slight lead, but they never allowed OMG to pull away.

They remained conservative in the early team fights. Repikas played an excellent game—specifically in the final minutes of the match. His Attaraxia conquered in the late phase of the match. Although they had a couple bobbles (the fire giant early), they played an incredibly disciplined game—maybe the most disciplined team featured in the tournament so far.

 

Match 4

Cog Prime v. 404

Cog Prime was incredibly aggressive at the start of the match, placing wards and managing the jungle. The game was incredibly quick. At just over eighteen minutes, it was almost too quick to cover. Cog Prime scored first blood and dominated 404 for the rest of the game.

MLCStealth played the game of his life. With six kills, no deaths and thirteen assists, he was easily the commanding force in the match. His play under the Phoenixes, particularly, was especially impressive.

Cog Prime, the favorite in the tournament, played extremely well in the late game. Their ferocity in the final minutes proves their place as one of the greatest SMITE teams in the world. 404, unfortunately, will not be found in the World Championship finals, but they will be walking away with a substantial cash prize.

Round 2, Match 1

DID vs We Love Bacon

DID draws first blood at 25 seconds with Abing getting the kill and it was only a matter of minutes before Abing got another kill. Night’s kill at the four minute mark brought the match to 3-0 for DID. DID already had a 1k gold advantage when they were in the position to take the harpes. WLB wasnt about to let them take it without opposition and with that picks up to kills. Abing, with another kill reaches level 10 with a perfect KDA. At the end of this skrimage, DID leads 5-2. WLB as a consulation, moves on to gold fury unopposed.

WLB gains a slight gold advantage with the fury. Abing was backed into a corner but with the help of his ultimates, turns the tide of the exchange ending in a 7-7 tie. The gold, at this point, is extremely close. WLB has the experience advantage of 3600. At 13:45 there is a large exchange at the gold fury with Abing picking up another kill. When the dust settles, WLB holds the lead at 12-9. Exchange near mid ends in a 1 for 1 with Anubis pulling off an incredible kill, keeping the game competitive at 13-10.

With Ares falling, two more kills follow, which further increase WLB’s lead. A 4 man DID group in mid causes Ares to narrowly escape a 4v2 unfortunately he was assassinated by Loki. Abing picks up yet another kill but despite his carry, WLB continues to pull away with a 19-12. There is a big fight at the gold fury which resulted in a triple kill anubis. With four players down from DID the gold fury falls easily and there is a massive gold lead for WLB. 23-15 WLB.

Vakasura and Loki 1v1. Loki escapes with less than 50 health. WLB continues to push into DID territory, keeping DID away from towers. Qe3 pulls a double kill in a major exchange in the right lane. 26-16 WLB. WLB Continues to the fire giant. They kill it unopposed. Over 10k gold advantage for WLB. DK for Loki, but DID loses big. 30-18 WLB. Exchange at blue buff 5v5. Two DID players fall, and WLB pushes for the titan. The left and middle phoenixes fall. WLB picks up another gold boost from the fury. Dk for agni. Thor manages a kill. All DID gods are dead. They push the titan. 37-19 WLB at 32 minutes.

Agan, DID was unable to play well in the late game, and they paid dearly for it. We Love Bacon played extremely well, pushing lanes and managing the jungle. As with other winners so far, by controlling the gold fury, WLB was able to force DID into corners and capitalized from their errors. Loki did a great job managing the map. Abing, despite the loss, played an incredible game. He drew first blood by backing WLB into a corner after a failed five-man push.

Although it is sad to see DID eliminated from the tournament, they managed to scramble and play very well with what they had. DID came into the match ups this weekend with an incomplete roster—both in person and on the god selection screen. And given that, they played like heroes. The international community will definitely be a reckoning force in season two.

 

Match 2

OMG vs. 404

OMG grabs the speed buff early and they take it unopposed. There is a Big aggressive push in the mid lane from OMG, with Anubis leading the charge. OMG takes red buff. At this point in the game OMG has a slight gold and experience advantage. Anubis makes the first kill on Athena. Doing a fantastic job early at jungle control, OMG has managed to take almost all the buff camps. Theres a Big exhange in mid at 6:00. Thor from 404 gains a kill. OMG escapes with just one death, though. 404 takes red buff and harpies.

OMG has greater time discipline. They continue to take camps efficiently, keeping 404 out of the jungle. An exchange in the top right jungle ends with a couple kills, the score sitting at 4-2 in favor of OMG at 9:45. OMG attempts to take the gold fury after the exchange, but 404 quickly snipes the buff. OMG picks up another kill, extending their experience lead to over 3k. Yet another group of harpies falls to OMG. There is an exchange in mid that results in the fall of Thor and Athena and a score of 10-7 OMG. OMG takes the gold fury and there is an exchange which turns into a chase, at the end of the battle both teams take casualties 13-10 in favor of OMG.

At 17:00, NiFeng picks up a kill. Two kills later, OMG pursues the fire giant unopposed. They kill the giant. OMG picks up two more kills. At this point, 404 cannot keep players on the field; OMG holds an 8k gold advantage. OMG continues doing what they do best—dominating the jungle. NiFeng steals a blue buff from 404. 404 is gets picked apart. OMG takes the second tier mid tower with little resistance. 18-10 OMG.

At 21:00, 404 rallies one last time. OMG kills the Left Phoenix. The mid phoenix falls shortly after it. OMG takes the final tower, and they pause to gather items before pushing for the Titan. Anibus kills Thor. The final Phoenix falls. The titan is 404’s final defense. The Chinese team picks up one last buff before pushing. They kill the titan, and the game ends. The final score is 23-10 at almost 25 minutes.

OMG played an incredible game in the second round. Again, they did what they did best—they controlled the jungle. Their timing was immaculate. No other team in the tournament so far has managed the jungle as well as OMG has. And, as a group of former DotA 2 players, they are extremely well-versed in jungle management tactics.

404 tried their best, but they were completely outclassed by OMG. They, unfortunately, are out of the running for the World Championship trophy. They will, though, be extremely well compensated and will have a shot at the 3^rd or 4^th place prize.

 

Match 3

SK Gaming vs. Cog Red

Cog Red pushing the jungle early. SK puts pressure on the harpies and take them easily. Cog Red takes down a group of harpies, too. Ao kuang drops red buff at 53 seconds. Both teams gather in left jungle, but SK backs out. Ymir clears waves with the red buff at left. Mid harpies prepare to spawn, and both teams prepare to kill them. Divios draws first blood on Osiris nearr 5:00. Maniakk falls shortly afterward.

Gold is even at 5:45. A skirmish between the teams at mid ends in a 2 for 1 trade. Two more players follow shortly afterward. SK gaming secures a temporary lead, 4-2. Divios pushes hard at 8:00. He almost falls to a two-man push, but he escapes with less than 100 health remaining—proving his spot as of the most skillful carries in the world.

An exchange at mid results in to no kills; Cog Red flees. SK uses the momentum from the skirmish to push and kill the gold fury. Dagarz scores a double kill shortly after. Badgah puts up a wall (an incredible placement) that separates him from three pursuers. He fails to stay away, though, and dies from overconfidence. The game is even, 4-4, with almost identical gold.

Right harpies fall to Cog Red. A 3 on 3 team battle in he middle proves fruitless. The teams back away from each other and drop into the jungle.

Maniakk pursues Divios again under tower, and Maniakk, learning from early game mistakes, backs away this time. Zyrhoes picks up a kill about a minute later.

Cog Red appears to be having a problem with ward coverage. On the flip side, SK is doing a great job neutralizing wards.

5-4 SK. Cog Red is down one tower. SK pursues the gold fury. They get the fury. Team fight. No gains or losses. Theboosh picks up a kill. Badgah and zyrhoes get kills, and zyrhoes kills snoopy, further extending SK Gaming’s lead to 9-5. SK attacks the the fire giant, and they kill it about a minute later. SK now holds a 6,800 experience and 6,100 gold advantage over Cog Red. Two CR towers fall back to back. SK attacks the lefft phoenix, and it falls a few seconds later. Realzx scores a Double Kill. Sk pulls back just long eenough to topple the final mid tower. They now have about 10k gold advantage. SK Gaming picks up another Gold Fury kill and uses the momentum to pick up a blue buff. They pursue the fire giant on the Fire Giant. Cog Red teaes a fight. Realzx picks up a double kill shortly before the Fire Giant falls. SK now controls all areas of the map. Maniakk miraculously survives the team exchange and the giant fight. The last Cog Red turret falls. A Phoenix goes down. SK Gaming leads Cog Red 13-7 at 27:11.

Maniakk gets stuck in a 5v1 confrontation, but he manages to escape. The mid Phoenix falls again. Realzx kills Snoopy as snoopy tries to fall under phoenix. SK leads 14-8. The left Phoenix respawns, but not for long. All Phoenixes fall shortly after the last respawn. SK holds an incredible gold lead. Apollo takes the Gold Fury again and picks up a Red Buff. The right Phoenix falls again, followed by the titan 37 minute game.

SK Gaming pulled one of the greatest upsets of the tournament so far. With the win, they solidify their position as one of the greatest and most underrated teams in the tournament. Winged Blade proved to be one of the most useful and influential items in the match.

Cog Red started the match on a sweet note with Divios’ first blood. Maniakk pushed too far under tower as Divios tried to teleport back to base, and Divios capitalized on the mistake. From there, though, the game went downhill for Red. Red was unable to recover once towers began to fall.

Apollo was, easily, the player of the game. His KDA was spectacular, and his five kill streak proved to be one of the biggest turning points in the match.

And with that, SK moves on to the next round of the tournament and Cog Red falls into the loser’s bracket. Cog Red will be fighting for third place against a yet to be determined opponent.

 

Match 4

Cog Prime v. Titan

The audience erupts in the opening seconds of the biggest match of the day—the statistical favorite Cod Prime and the unpredictable underdog Titan.

Orange and blue buffs go to Cog Prime. Harpies fall to both Cog Prime and Titan. Titan picks up a Red buff. Red buff to Cog Prime. The first two minutes are a perfectly mirrored match up. BaRRaCCuDDa controls his lane very well. Kanyelife falls to MLC, first blood. Cog Prime takes the lead, 1-0. An with that, Cog Prime picks up a slight gold advantage. BaRRaCCuDDa picks up his second kill, increasing Cog Prime’s lead to 2-0. PrettyPrime puts MLC in time out; he kills him effortlessly. 2-1, Cog Prime.

Gold is almost even. Experience is even, the advantage teeter-totting between the two teams. BaRRaCCuDDa falls. 2-2, Cog Prime. Another trade in the jungle gives Titan two kills, 3-3. Titan scores a Red Buff, and Thor kills harpies. A battle in mid gives Cog Prime a kill and a slight lead. Cog Prime keeps a gold lead of less than 1k.

MLC picks up two kills, and Cog Prime kills the fury, 7-3 Cog Prime. They now have a 6k experience lead and 4k gold lead. BaRRaCCuDDa picks up another two kills about a minute later. 9-3 cp. Titan’s left tower falls. Thor picks up a speed buff. Titan’s mid tower falls. Cog Prime picks up a Blue Buff.

Cog Prime maintains excellent ward placement. 11k experience lead and a 10k gold lead for Cog Prime. Titan seems to be falling apart in the team play, but they are not defeated yet. Cog Prime Gold kills another Gold Fury. The top right tower is weakened, but Cog Prime does not commit to finishing it. Ataraxia falls; 10-4 for Cog Prime.

Titan picks up Red Buff. Titan takes the mid tier one tower. The game isn’t over yet.

Kali is pushed down to less than ten health; she barely escapes on a shield from her support. A 4v5 team fight breaks out in the eastern jungle; no deaths. Cog Prime takes another gold fury. The score has stagnated. It stands at 10-4 at 26:00. Cog Prime’s aggressive play has halted.

MLC picks up a double kill. Barraccudda picks up a kill. The final Titan tower falls. Cog Prime takes the Fire Giant. They prepare to push the Phoenixes. All five members of Cog Prime push the mid. The mid Phoenix falls. They retreat to pick up buffs. They now hold an 18k expeience lead over Titan. Cog Prime pushes again at 30:00. They target the left phoenix. MLC picks up yet another kill. The phoenix falls, shortly followed by right. They push the Titan. MLC manages another double kill, and the Titan falls at 33:00.

 

Stay tuned to MMOGames.com for more on SMITE, professional eSports, and the SMITE World Championship in Atlanta Georgia. Catch highlights from the remaining match ups via Twitter at @MMOGames

To find information on of the rest of the Smite World Championships head over to our day two coverage.