NRG Esports’ European lineup made it two titles in a row last night at the Smite World Championship.
The tournament favorites cut a path through the tournament, eventually defeating regional rivals Obey Alliance in the final 3-1.
NRG Esports, who won the 2016 World Championship under the banner of Epsilon Esports, were riding a winning streak of over a year coming into the competition.
After sweeping aside Team Allegiance in the first round, NRG Esports ran into their toughest test of the tournament—American side Luminosity Gaming. Despite being heavy favorites NRG were pushed to five games, with Luminosity threatening the upset on several occasions.
Obey Alliance also took out a pair of American sides, SoaR Gaming and Team Eager, to advance to the final.
In the final itself NRG jumped out to a 2-0 lead with relative ease, snowballing their advantage in each game to put themselves on three series points. At that point it looked like NRG team captain Craig “iRaffer” Rathbone’s prediction of a 3-0 sweep was very much on the cards—a result which would have mirrored that of the European Regional Championship final two months ago.
However there was life in Obey Alliance yet. A measured tactical performance saw them take game three, perhaps trying to build momentum for a comeback. NRG were having none of it however, coming out of the blocks at a ferocious pace in game four. After a triple kill for first blood, NRG continued to win engagements they were just too much for their rivals.
The team take home $500,000 for their win, with Obey Alliance winning just $75,000—though Obey also received a $70,000 appearance fee as European runners up. NRG added an extra $100,000 to their total purse.
