The final day of SWC X started off with a fun Build-A-God panel with some of the Smite developers. With the help of the audience members, the team built an imaginary God called Bake Neko, a demonic yet adorable little cat. After that we had our Smite 2 Dev Insight panel where the audience got to see more of how Smite 2 looks, plays, and what to expect with the Legacy gems.
But let’s be honest, we were all here for the absolute madness that was the SWC final set. The Jade Dragons, the underdogs that nobody saw making it to the final two teams, walked away with the victory after five very intense matches. The Jade Dragons looked so smooth in Game 1 and 2, completely owning the map over the Oni Warriors. The Warriors were set to be one of the two favorited teams to take home the win, but The Dragons weren’t having it. Nika had another amazing day as the Dragons solo laner, bullying SoloOrTroll every chance he got. Once again, the crowd cheered for every single totem kill, and we even had a gentleman who was playing a tuba in the mix. I’m telling you, this day was absolutely wild.
Game 3 and 4 went to the Oni Warriors, and for a moment it seemed like they would do what the Warriors do best…take charge of the entire map to close it out in game 5. But some questionable choices with the Warriors support player Genetics on Ymir had the team on their heels the entirety of Game 5. The Warriors could not find any place on the map to contest, and The Dragons dominated every team fight that broke out. Midlaner Dardez was insane on Merlin, and ADC VaporishCoast was deleting objectives as if they were trivial. Jungler LASBRA on Pele was destroying midlaner Pegon from behind, and there was nothing that Genetics could do to stop it. Dragons support PolarBearMike shined on his Atlas pick, and the team moved with precision and a cohesiveness I wish we had seen earlier in the season from The Dragons. But they showed up to win at World’s, and in the end that is all that matters.
The crowd was moved to tears after this true underdog victory by The Jade Dragons. I cannot think of a better way to close out the Smite Pro League for Smite 1 than this. We might not know all the details of the future of Smite 2 and the Pro League, but we do know that there will be more local and regional LANs opening up more opportunities for folks to get their foot in the door, and I hope we will start seeing the Pro scene come together by the end of 2024.
Once again, my husband and I had a wonderful time at SWC this year. The staff at Hi-Rez and TitanForge are truly welcoming, accommodating, and just humble, down to earth people. We cannot wait to see what the future holds for both our beloved Smite 1, and Smite 2, and we will certainly be here for all of it!
Holly Hudspeth is a best-selling author living in Fort Worth, Texas. She has six published novels to date; The Skyy Huntington Series, which is an epic dark fantasy adventure, and One Small Detail, a stand-alone medieval fantasy. Holly also enjoys writing fan fiction based on her avatars from games such as EverQuest, Elder Scrolls Online, and World of Warcraft. Her first major purchase at the established age of nine was the NES, and she has been gaming ever since. She enjoys fantasy games, city builders, RPGs, MMOs, SMITE, and The Sims franchise. Most nights she is in SMITE with her husband and friends, or playing ESO. When she isn't gaming, she is probably either at Disney or planning her next trip there.
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