By Sagar Mankar 
China’s sole representative, KPL Dream Team, won the Honor of Kings (HOK) Invitational Midseason at the first edition of the Esports World Cup (EWC), defeating Malaysia’s LGD with a 3-0 clean sweep in the final.
With this victory, KPL Dream Team claimed $1 million from a $3.05 million prize pool and earned 1,000 club points.
The KPL Dream Team’s debut roster features Fly, Pang, Rong, Yinuo, and NoFear. This roster was finalized after an extensive selection process involving fan voting and evaluation by a professional team before they were officially inducted.
KPL Dream Team’s Path to Victory at HOK EWC 2024
The KPL Dream Team’s path to the championship was equally impressive.
The star-studded squad took 1st place in Group B defeating all group teams – Weibo Gaming MY, All Gamers Global, Loops, BOOM Esports, and Team Falcons.
They dispatched Myanmar’s Impunity 2-0 in the quarter-finals and swept Hong Kong’s AG Global 3-0 in the semi-finals.
This dominant performance continued into the finals, where they maintained a perfect record without dropping a single game (13-0) throughout the entire tournament.
How Did the Grand Finale Unfold?
Facing the Malaysian team LGD, who also entered the final with a ten-match winning streak (10-0), the KPL Dream Team demonstrated exceptional teamwork and tactical adaptability.
In the first game of the final, despite LGD’s solid defense and resilience, KPL Dream Team’s mid-lane player, Xu ‘Yi Nuo’ Bicheng, turned the tide with an outstanding performance during a critical moment. They secured a crucial team fight victory after an intense 18-minute and 30-second match.
In the following two games, the KPL Dream Team maintained their momentum, quickly taking control and winning within 13 minutes each for a convincing 3-0 victory.
Yinuo was named the Finals MVP and won $50,000 for his exceptional skill and decision-making at key moments. In post-match interviews, he thanked all his teammates and expressed readiness for the next challenge.
What Was the Prize Pool Distribution?
The Honor of Kings Invitational Midseason boasted an impressive $3.05 million prize pool. The distribution was as follows:
- 1st Place: $1,000,000, KPL Dream Team
- 2nd Place: $500,000, LGD Gaming
- 3rd-4th Place: $250,000 each, KEYD STARS and AG Global
- 5th-8th Place: $140,000 each, LOOPS, Impunity, Team Secret, Weibo Gaming
- 9th-10th Place: $120,000 each, BOOM Esports and Kagendra
- 11th-12th Place: $100,000 each, Team Vitality and Team Falcons
Viewership Statistics
The HoK EWC 2024 event recorded a peak viewership of 480,189 during the finale Team Honor and Team Kings match, ranking 5th highest so far in EWC after MLBB, LoL, CS2, and PUBG as per the Esports Charts.
It averaged 93,510 viewers with over 2.5 million total viewers across 26 hours of airtime.
📈 Most viewed #EsportsWorldCup 2024 tournaments (Week 1-5):
1️⃣ Mobile Legends #MSC2024 – 2.382M
2️⃣ League of Legends – 1.123M
3️⃣ Counter-Strike 2 – 756.7K
4️⃣ PUBG Mobile #PMWC2024 – 564.8K
5️⃣ Honor of Kings #HOKxEWC2024 – 482K pic.twitter.com/6HI8Xy7V4X— Esports Charts 🇺🇦 (@EsportsCharts) August 5, 2024
Upcoming Events for Honor of Kings
After the HOK EWC 2024, the 2024 Honor of Kings Global Invitational Series is nearing its end, culminating with the Honor of Kings Championship set to be hosted in Indonesia in October 2024.
It will be the fourth and final event in Honor of Kings’ 2024 calendar. Earlier, we witnessed two league splits, with the first taking place in Turkey in March and the second in Malaysia in July, followed by a mid-season Invitational at the Esports World Cup.
Interestingly, the tournament will have only a $1 million prize pool which significant reduction compared to last year’s $10 million.
From $10 million last year to just $1 million this year, the year-end Honor of Kings #esports tournament will happen in Indonesia.
I take a look at this reduction in prize pool for the new Honor of Kings Championship 2024 on @EsportsDotNet.
Read: https://t.co/FjmYR2oyB2 pic.twitter.com/qv5HMB1aA5
— Wasif Ahmed (@wasifahd_) August 4, 2024
Similar to its last edition, the 2024 Honor of Kings Championship will feature 16 teams.
Perjalanan kita di berbagai event internasional tahun ini sudah luar biasa! Sekarang, saatnya fokus ke event paling bergengsi tahun ini: Honor of Kings Championship 2024! 🏆
📅 Oktober 2024
📍 Indonesia
🏆 Tim: 16 Tim Terbaik dari seluruh dunia
💰 Total Hadiah: $1,000,000 USD pic.twitter.com/4g387Gb9bw— TXT HOKID (@txthonorofkings) August 4, 2024
As per the 3 years of partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation, Honor of Kings will return to the event in 2025 and 2026.
While the tournament has concluded, Honor of Kings enthusiasts can still participate in on-site events at the Riyadh venue until August 25, 2024, where they can complete challenges to win prizes.
For more information, visit the official EWC website or Liquipedia. And remember to subscribe to Gaming Foodle for more news!
Discover more from Gaming Foodle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.