WCG ’09 TF2 highlight match: H2H vs NfR.

It took almost four hours of stop-and-start play due to technical faults but H2H finally managed to complete their quarter-final match against Nefarious (NfR.), pulling ahead to win 3-0 on cp_granary and 1-0 cp_badlands.

The 4-0 aggregate score suggested a match that was smooth sailing for H2H but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The match was plagued by technical hiccups right from the start, ranging from problems with H2H Perpie’s terminal that forced the match to be delayed by almost two hours from the original 10am start time, then H2H can_lah_2’s PC blue screened at least four times throughout the match, forcing further delays on what was originally scheduled to be a one hour game.

cp_granary (H2H’s pick)

NfR. won the first engagement and took control of the mid cap, forcing H2H to fall back to their second cap and go on the defensive. NfR. tried to push into H2H’s second cap but H2H’s loadout of two Scouts, Soldier, Demoman, Heavy and Medic’s overwhelming firepower would repulse NfR. H2H then counterattacked. WilfredT managed to take out NfR.’s medic and a soldier before dying, allowing H2H to retake the mid cap. H2H then went on a lightning offensive, taking the remaining cap points in under 3 minutes.

The combination of H2H’s Dubz on Heavy and Nic and Medic proved to be instrumental to H2H’s win in the second round. H2H took the mid point and NfR’s second cap without much incident, but was overwhelmed at the final cap. Nic and Dubz held their ground on the final cap and took out NfR’s Medic and the two defending Scouts, securing a second point for H2H.

NfR fought back hard on the third and final round on cp_granary, overwhelming H2H right at the start to take both the mid cap and H2H’s second cap. NfR kept the pressure up on H2H, but the combination Nic and Dubz’s Medic and Heavy combo proved instrumental once again in keeping NfR’s offensive at bay, although just barely. It was at this point that H2H can_lah_2’s PC started to act up, with a series of four blue screen PC restarts forcing the match to be put on hold for an hour.

After much technical wrangling the match went underway again, with NfR to have control of four points and start from the third cap, while H2H would have to start from their base, a rough approximation of the match conditions at the time of the disruption. NfR changed their loadout to include a Spy that proved effective, taking out H2H’s Soldier and Medic from behind and proceeding to backcap H2H’s final cap. H2H countered by fastcapping the mid cap and NfR’s second cap. NfR could not muster sufficient defenses to stop the H train from steamrolling NfR’s final cap point and the third and final point of the first half went to H2H.

cp_badlands (NfR’s pick)

The SAFRA Champions League showed that Badlands tends to be a very protracted and drawn out map and the second half of the H2H vs NfR quarter-finals was no exception. The flow of battle seesawed heavily between both sides before H2H finally managed to make a breakthrough to NfR’s final cap point. NfR only had a single Heavy left guarding the cap. A double Scout and Medic push made short work of the sole defender and H2H finally managed to claw one point from NfR after over 20 minutes of play.

H2H started the second round of Badlands on a good footing, taking control of mid without much contest and kept the pressure up for the most part. However, NfR managed to stage a comeback with about five minutes left on the clock, even managing to partially cap H2H’s last point. H2H’s Elwin quickly called for a turtle and with only 1 minute 40 seconds remaining on the clock, the outcome of the match was never in doubt. H2H successfully defended the final cap to finish Badlands 1-0 and the match without giving a single point up to NfR.

What next?

H2H’s next matchup will be against VCO in the semi-finals, arguably the highlight match of the entire tournament. H2H and VCO are widely considered to be the best teams in Singapore, if not Asia, and have a long-standing friendly rivalry. Previously, VCO narrowly defeated H2H at the SAFRA Champions League to place first on the podium, making this a grudge match of sorts between the two teams. Definitely an explosive match not to be missed. GameSync will be providing a match report of what does down when the match happens.

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