We’re in the home stretch! Just two international qualifiers remain for the Sound Blaster Heroes League and it’s time to announce the 6th invited team! LIONS eSportsKlubb, the newest team to explode into the top 5 of Heroes of Newerth will join their counterparts from around the globe next month to fight for the title of Sound Blaster Heroes League season 1 champion!
LIONS has been an active sponsor in the HoN competitive scene for over two years, going as far as to bring home the NASL Season 2 gold medal under MyNuts in 2011. The current roster of LIONS eSportsKlubb was formed in September 2012. Captain Superkge and 6th man Aellgi had been playing together for 18 months in Team 90s when they were approached by the duo of Krebsen and Handsken. The later had high goals for their new team and with a final man added in the form of up-and-comer Sealkid the newest iteration of the LIONS team was complete. The team played with this line-up throughout late summer tournaments and placed high, including a second place finish in DreamHoN: Destination Dreamhack, barely missing qualification for the Dreamhack winter event. LIONS true successes started in HoN Tour season 1, where they qualified into the Diamond Division. After finishing 7/8th in the first two cycles the LIONS roster picked up new carry player Flensmeister and did some player shuffling with strong results. Since then the all Swedish team has placed better with every cycle, topping out 3rd, missing the cycle 4 Grand Finals by a narrow game 3 against #2 ranked sG. With strong dedication to the game, a possible team house in store for 3 members, and a highly skilled group of players the #5 ranked HoN Tour team is sure to make a splash in the upcoming Sound Blaster Heroes League playoff bracket.
The LIONS eSportsKlubb roster includes:
Emil “Superkge” Karlsson
20 – Ljungby, Sweden
The team captain of LIONS started his HoN competitive career with team Ninetees and a previous incarnation of LIONS before ending back up with the Swedish organization as the captain and carry player. While training with his team Superkge has made quite a name for himself in mid wars, even going as far as to take first place in the Trench Warfare Mid Wars Tournament. Since adding Flensmeister to the roster Superkge has taken on the role of initiator or suicide where his skills on heroes like Hammerstorm and Pharoah are used to give a positioning and surprise advantage in team fights
Patrick “Krebsen” Krebs
20 – Stockholm, Sweden
Krebsen has had a long history in Heroes of Newerth, transferring after 3 years of DotA, and playing on and off since the early beta stages. Before joining up with LIONS Krebsen played with team S00N, going as far as to finish 4th in the Dreamhack Summer EU qualifiers. After a short stint with tdM Krebsen joined the up with former S00N teammate Handsken to help form the core of the new LIONS roster. A large part of LIONS current success is the variety of line-ups that they can use, in large part due to the utility of Krebsen. When not playing a strong ganker in the mid lane, like Fayde, you can often find Krebsen in the suicide role on a hero like Bubbles or Wretched Hag.
Elias “Sealkid” Merta
19 – Stockholm, Sweden
The final member of the “new LIONS” team has a shared past with teammate Flensmeister, spending time in Clan 15 and Bunker Down with limited success in online events, notably receiving Bronze in the It’s Gosu March Invitational. Since joining the LIONS squad Sealkid has made a name for himself as one of the most consistent supports in the scene and frequently tops the charts in the “most underrated player” category. In addition to the fans he has made specifically for his play a certain outspoken compLexity Gaming caster has made it very known that Sealkid is his favorite player. While not warding up the map in tournament matches Sealkid can be found playing hard carries in the LIONS team competitive mid wars games, cooling down after important matches.
While teammate Superkge retains the title of captain of the LIONS team Handsken is the brains behind the drafting and in-game strategy calling. His strong drafts have long emulated a style displayed by compLexity Gaming HoN, focusing on a out farming and outplaying their opponents while patiently waiting for a mistake to capitalize on. Handsken comes from the same Team S00N of Krebsen where he also managed a fourth place finish in the Dreamhack Summer EU qualifiers before joining with LIONS. In addition to the drafting and strategy calling in the Swedish team Handsken plays the team jungler and secondary support, with a particular affinity for the strong pusher/initiator Keeper of the Forest.
The latest addition to the current team has previous experience in teams Bunker Down and Clan 15 where he played with future teammate Sealkid. After taking third in the It’s Gosu March Invitational Flensmeister eventually ended up on the Pencils team captained by PabloMcDad. Once again Flens found some success, hovering in the bottom of the Diamond Bracket, but when the opportunity arose he joined with LIONS as their 5th. The replacement of Aellgi allowed LIONS to rotate roles and expand their hero roster, incorporating the strong carry ability of Flensmeister as well as his active carry style, catering to semi-carries like Wretched Hag. Since adding Flensmeister the team has gone no where but up and with a strong 3rd place finish in cycle 4 Diamond the sky is the limit for Flensmeister and his new team.
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