Believe the Hype Knocks Out Instinct
By blandestk | Published: November 8, 2009 10:07pm EST
 Believe the Hype's solid run in Anaheim took them to a second meeting with third-seeded Instinct for a spot in the Top 6. Instinct defeated BTH 3-2 in the Winners Bracket, so the teams would settle the continuation with an 11-game series. The underdogs roared out of the gates, catching Instinct a bit by surprise. Game 6, Capture the Flag Onslaught, saw BTH score the first three flags. Shell shocked, Instinct stopped the bleeding and started to rally. The favorites scored four straight to lead 4-3, and looked as if they might take the game; but BTH tied the game and then pushed a dynamic run for the 5-4 win. Cloud was 33-27 in the win. Back-and-forth action ensued on Team Slayer Amplified. Instinct led 45-43 before Believe the Hype locked down the map down the stretch. Cloud was 15-9 in leading BTH to a 50-47 win. Down one going into the series, BTH now led 4-3. The shocking run continued on Heretic for some Oddball interplay. The game was close for the majority of the action, but Believe the Hype played as if they were the favorites, using excellent positioning and team-shot to control the map. They racked up a huge chunk of ball time and went on to win 250-168. Maniac chipped in with a 30-21 game, while Clutch added 24 kills to just 18 deaths. Believe the Hype were improbably one win from a comeback series win at 5-3. Instinct, backs to the wall, took the initiative to save their tournament in the next two games. Capture the Flag on The Pit was tied 1-1 and 2-2 before Instinct procured the power weapons and the overshield, which led to a winning flag run. FearItself was superb, going 25-14. Fear took control of the latter stages of Team Slayer Narrows, putting distance between Instinct and BTH, in what had been a close game. Instinct took Game 10 50-44, which set up a final game for all the marbles. The crowd sensed momentum for Instinct, but BTH did not wilt under the pressure. The teams traded leads on Team Slayer Construct, but half way through the game Clutch used rockets to firmly control the upper areas of the map. BTH parlayed that control into a nice cushion of 10 kills, which they extended until the end of the game. Believe the Hype won 50-40 and eliminated the third seed. The eighth-seeded squad now moves on to play the other upstart from the tourney, Dynasty. The winner of that match will claim a spot in the Top 4. Instinct, like Final Boss, finished a disappointing tournament after team changes that were perhaps a bit rash. |
