Pikachu returns to Diamond Division as Gold Champion

After a two-cycle absence of the well-known team Pikachu, the thunder and lightning returns to the Diamond Division. They don't return as just the average team, they return as Gold Champions.

It was one of the most controversially discussed issues of the third cycle, when the well-known and established Top 10 team Pikachu had to forfeit their first round match. As the HoN Tour rules stated they got punished with the disqualification and an automatic demotion into the Gold Division. After an exchange of more or less nice words on the forum the result became official and Pikachu had to move down to the Gold Division.

Mathias 'SemiJew' Larsen

How i look at things right now, and our chances, i'd say i'm quite positive. As many know, I've played for quite a bunch of clans. Just as you learn how to spot potential in a player, it's the same with clans. With Pikachu we definitely have that, but there are still holes in our playing. I think going through Gold League before stepping on to Diamond league was actually the best "option". It gave us more time to learn about each others roles, and increasing the synergy. As what comes to myself, I've been pretty rusty, so now ill be more calm going into Diamond League now, and I've surely gained a lot of confidence in my play over the last 2 weeks especially. If everybody wants this and we think more as one, we could probably end pretty high ranked.

The expectations were high and some members of Pikachu were very sure to move up right away, but with a stacked Gold Division including teams like Another Dimension, Dendis jungldevos, Absolute Legends and We Are Spies, they first lost to DmSn and then met Absolute Legends in the Lower Bracket. The bracket luck was not on their side and so they had to go for another round in the second highest Division HoN Tour had to offer.

This time the team left no doubt about their dominance and marched all the way through the Upper Bracket. The only two map losses happened against Have It, who they met in the Upper Bracket Round 3 and later on in the Grand Finals.

Said Grand Final provided very interesting and gripping matches and HoN entertainment, but Pikachu prevailed in the end and took the series 3-1. Therefor they receive a total of $1,000 USD and 1,000 points to the HoN Tour standing. In those rankings Pikachu will come closer to one of the coveted Top 11 spots that are granting teams the opportunity to compete for one of the four HoN Tour Season 1 Offline Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Moving up alongside Pikachu are Have It and Clan Milk, who both will be debuting in the big league of HoN Tour. Returning for the third time to the lights of the Diamond Division are QsQ 777. The team has been a part of Diamond from Cycle 1, but lost their status in Cycle 2 and 4. Three times the charm will be their motto going into their next time in Diamond.

Final standings gold division - cycle five

Place

Team

Money won

Points won

Promotion

Pikachu