Nova Esports claims win at Honor of Kings Invitational Season 3
Nova Esports from Malaysia took down Korean bet Nongshim Redforce (NS) in a thrilling seven-game series that came down to the wire, 4-3, to lift the trophy of becoming champions at the Honor of Kings (HOK) Invitational Season 3 on Saturday, March 1.
The team added yet another trophy to its name, cementing itself as a global powerhouse after winning in the previous HOK Invitational behind LGD Gaming and the 2024 Championship behind Black Shrew Esports.
“We are very excited. This is our first championship after we built this team,” midlaner Wang “Wendy” Jinwen. Aside from Jinwen, the team is composed of toplaner Nicholas Ng “Xuan” Kai Shuan, jungler Yu Lim “CY” Chen, bottom laner Ong Jun “Muci” Yang, and support Wai Min “Weipit” Jing.
Nongshim Redforce became grand finalists after defeating all Filipino bets Rough World Era in the group stage, and both seven-game series against Elevate and Blacklist International in the playoffs.
READ: Blacklist exit Honor of Kings Championship 2024 with pride
The entire series went back and forth, particularly in game 5, when NS pulled off a winning play at the 19-minute mark, turning the game around and winning 15-16 by a hair.
Nova Esports bounced back in Game 6, making a statement by winning the game before reaching the 15-minute mark.
Game 7 saw Nova Esports dominate the entire game in the refreshing Ultimate Battle format, where the draft was a blind pick, with teams being able to use similar heroes. It was a shakeup of the already tried and tested competitive MOBA scene. With a dominating performance from the get-go and on the back of Finals MVP Xuan, the squad secured the championship with a score of 18-9, cementing the dynasty even further for the entire Malaysian HOK legacy.
Honor of Kings returns following the success of last year’s Clash 2024 at the SMX Convention Center.
The Honor of Kings Invitational Season 3 featured 12 competitors from around the world who fought for the lion’s share of the $300,000 prize pool.
The action spanned from February 21 to March 1.
The tournament also featured the interesting Global Pick and Ban system, meaning that a hero cannot be used twice in a series. Spicy drafts and picks were seen throughout the tournament as fans and pundits alike saw off-meta picks get played.
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