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Malaysia starts the HoK competitive season strong with a two-peat.
History repeats itself in Jakarta, Indonesia, as Nova Esports extends Malaysia’s HoK reign by becoming the KIS4 Champions. They take the crown after a dominating, near-flawless run, losing only one game to the Philippines’ Blacklist International.
From the start, KIS4 was looking a little shaky for some of the more promising teams in the tournament. The Philippines’ Blacklist and BOOM esports were trailing behind expectations, and even South Korea’s Noongshim Redforce, a team that has historically performed well in the past, ended in last place in their group.
But it seems that was just a quirk that comes with the new Group Stage format that KIS4 adopted. With no teams getting eliminated during the Group Stage, it seems that Blacklist and the others used that opportunity to play at a more relaxed pace. Not to say that they weren’t taking the matches seriously, but there was a clear difference once it was playoffs.
Blacklist, BOOM, and Noongshim looked back in form during the quarterfinals as they successfully dismantled their opponents – who all placed higher than them during the Group Stage. Meanwhile, Nova continued to bulldoze their way through the tournament, keeping their perfect run until they faced Blacklist. It was a valiant effort from the Codebreakers but the best they could do was wound the Malaysian titans, falling to them 4-1.
At that point it was up to Noongshim, who bested BOOM 4-1 as well. The South Koreans brought Nova to a full seven games last year so people were anticipating a close fight. Nova however were more than ready for them this time around. With a clean 4-0 sweep, nothing could stop Nova’s path to becoming KIS4 champions.
Banner photo from HoK Global Esports.