Well, we’re back here once again for some more SMITE World Championship 2018 action. Its Quarterfinals today, and this decides who goes to Semifinals. Great action here as Nocturns Gaming and Rival begin their set. And then its The Rematch, the epic showdown of Luminosity Gaming and NRG eSports begins once again. Who shall be the ultimate champion?

Quarterfinal #1 Nocturns Gaming Vs. Team Rival

Game 1

Nocturns Picks: Osiris (Beltway), Ah Muzen Cab (Zaionsix), Sobek (Noitulover), Da Ji (Sm1tero), Discordia (Nozq) – Bans: Odin, Ullr, Hachiman, Ratatoskr

Rival Picks: Raijin (Wlfy), Fafnir (KaLaS), Erlang Shen (Deathwalker), Ravana (iceicebaby), Medusa (Vote) – Bans: Artio, Sylvanus, Serqet, Isis

Action is slow for the first 5 minutes, however, after a busted gank by Nocturns on Deathwalker, Rival turns on Nocturns’ Sm1tero for first blood, another 3 kills, and a tower in a solo lane teamfight at 5:45. Rival would turn up the pressure and continue the slow bleed with objective takes and pick off kills. Rival would take all of Nocturns’ tier 1 towers by 13:10. Rival would then secure an early Fire Giant at 15:50 because their massive lead prevented Nocturns from stopping their pressure. Wlfy’s enormous damage would lead to a triple kill and a 8/0/6 KDA for his Raijin, this would secure a dominant victory for Team Rival in Game 1. Nocturns simply could not handle the constant pressure applied by Rival and sadly fell.

Game 2

Nocturns Picks: Erlang Shen (Beltway), Ravana (Sm1tero), Raijin (Nozq), Terra (Noitulover), Hou Yi (Zaionsix) – Bans: Odin, Ah Muzen Cab, Poseidon

Rival Picks: Osiris (Deathwalker), Artio (iceicebaby), Hachiman (Wlfy), Fafnir (KaLaS), Thoth (Vote) – Bans: Ullr, Sylvanus, Ganesha, Ares

Slow action for most of the game, most fights were even trades. Positioning was a key factor in this slow paced game. Clutch plays from Vote and Wlfy gave Rival great objective control. Rival consistently got more off of their kills than Nocturns. Superior control from Rival leads to an important Fire Giant at 47:15. Good defense led by Beltway keeps Nocturns in it for a bit longer. Rival takes second Fire Giant at 52:20. Rival’s incredible damage leads to a victory and they take Game 2, Vote was a crucial part of this win for Rival. Once again Wlfy’s damage and positioning was incredible, giving his Hachiman a Game 2 KDA of 8/6/4. Set MVP goes to Wlfy. Vote was almost perfect this game, but Wlfy’s overall impact was greater. Rival advances to Semifinals.

Quarterfinal #2  Luminosity Gaming VS. NRG eSports – The Rematch

Game 1

LG Picks: Cu Chulainn (Aquarius), Ne Zha (Mask), Hachiman (BaRRaCCuDDa), Ganesha (JeffHindla), Janus (Baskin) – Bans: Serqet, Ullr, Cabrakan, Hou Yi

NRG Picks: Sylvanus (iRaffer), Ravana (Adapting), Raijin (Yammyn), Artio (maniaKK), Rama (emilitoo) – Bans: Fafnir, Ah Muzen Cab, The Morrigan, Geb

It was the usual farming and counter invading for the early game, but Adapting of NRG found a crucial first blood on Aquarius, giving maniaKK’s Artio a lead. This wouldn’t slow down LG when Baskin of shows his skills as a hyper carry early with a huge triple kill at 11:00. NRG shows off their veteran skills at 14:30 by getting 2 picks on LG, plus a Gold Fury and Portal Demon. The slug fest would continue with LG and NRG trading blows and players, with both teams finding 6 kills from 16:30-18:30. An early Fire Giant is taken by NRG thanks to Adapting’s positioning and triple kill. NRG would maintain their objective control by taking all of LG’s towers, establishing a 10k gold lead. A great engage by NRG leads to 3 kills, a phoenix, and a Fire Giant at 25:00. A carefully planned siege afterward would secure a Game 1 victory for NRG eSports. Adapting showed his genius as usual and led his team for the win with a 7/2/9 KDA.

Game 2

LG Picks: Cabrakan (Aquarius), Cu Chulainn (Mask), Hachiman (BaRRaCCuDDa), Xing Tian (JeffHindla), Discordia (Baskin) – Bans: Ullr, Ah Muzen Cab, Hou Yi, Geb

NRG Picks: Ravana (Adapting), Erlang Shen (maniaKK), Raijin (Yammyn), Athena (iRaffer), Rama (emilitoo)  – Bans: Fafnir, Sylvanus, The Morrigan, Ganesha

Blood is spilled early in Game 2 at 1:00, emilitoo and BaRRa trade shots and Yammyn gets the finish for the first blood. Mask of LG quickly follows with Cu Chulainn’s transformation by killing maniaKK in solo. The game would have a slow pace after the early action, with NRG slowly controlling the game by way of consistent kills (1 kill per 2 minutes) and buff steals. Better positioning and awareness from NRG leads to a Fire Giant secure at 15:50, and a 12k gold lead. LG, however, was able to mount a base defense with a huge ultimate from JeffHindla’s Xing Tian at 20:00 despite the gold deficit. NRG prepares for another siege with a Fire Giant secure at 21:45, which leads to a Deicide and a resounding victory in Game 2 for NRG eSports. The Athena pick caught LG off guard and this allowed Yammyn to dominate the second game. The set MVP is of course Adapting, his high level play and team presence with Ravana was the most critical part of NRG’s strategy. NRG advances to Semifinals.

Those were some epic games so far. Stay tuned, two more quarterfinal matches are still to come, I’ll see you all again for EUnited vs. Black Dragons and Elevate vs. Obey.

Any thoughts or opinions expressed are mine alone. I am not affiliated with any SMITE organizations mentioned or Hi-Rez Studios. Images credited to SMITE eSports and Hi-Rez Studios.