17 hours ago
Draw could make or break Nova's World Cup run
KUALA LUMPUR: Newly crowned Malaysia Honour of Kings (HoK) Spring League (MKL) champions Nova Esports are hoping for a favourable draw at the HoK World Cup (KWC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next month.
Nova, together with reigning world champions Black Shrew Esports (BSE) and All Gamers Global (AG Global), have qualified for KWC by finishing in the top three during the MKL.
Nova won the Season 3 Invitational in Manila, in March and have been in strong form this season.
They carried that momentum into MKL, finishing second behind BSE in the regular season before going unbeaten in the playoffs. Nova edged BSE 4-3 in a thrilling Grand Final on Sunday (June 8) to clinch the title.
Nova's manager, Noel Leng, said avoiding teams from China, who are the powerhouse nation in the esport, would give them a better chance of going deep at KWC.
KWC is part of the Esports World Cup.
"It depends on the luck of the draw in Riyadh," she said yesterday (June 8).
"For us, we hope not to face Chinese teams early on. That said, we will prepare thoroughly to face any opponent at the KWC."
In the MKL Grand Final, Nova trailed 3-2 after five games with BSE needing just one more win to secure the inaugural league title.
However, Nova dug deep to win the sixth game, forcing a deciding Game Seven, which they went on to win, lifting the trophy and pocketing US$15,100 (RM63,948.50).
Noel added that the team anticipated a tough and drawn-out encounter, especially after their earlier victory over BSE in the upper bracket semi-finals.
"We beat them 3-0 in the upper bracket semis, and we knew they would analyse that loss to try and counter us," said Noel.
"They also defeated AG Global 3-1 in the lower bracket final before facing us again, so they came in with strong momentum.
"We knew that if we could push the series to a seventh game, we would come out on top as we've never lost a Game Seven before."
Nova will now take a short break before resuming preparations for the KWC. A training boot camp in China is being planned before the team travels to the Middle East.
