Earlier this month the greatest Quake players in the world came together for the Quake Champions Invitational at DreamHack Winter 2017, culminating with a spectacular finals series in both the Duel and Sacrifice events.
Of course, when the list of competitors features some of biggest names in competitive Quake, such as Rapha, Cypher, toxjq, Cooller, and more, you’re guaranteed a show. Facing off in the Duel final were two long-time veterans of the Quake scene: DaHanG and toxjq. Meanwhile in the Sacrifice finals, the NA-based Team Liquid (Rapha, DaHanG, winz, whaz) took on Stacked (noctis, fazz, toxjq, 2GD) from the EU.
Both matches had more than their shareof highlights, but here’s our top five plays from the DreamHack Winter 2017 Quake Champion Invitational Finals:
DaHanG Makes His Move To Win Game 1
https://clips.twitch.tv/FunObedientVampireHeyGuys
Keeping pressure on toxjq after trading Railgun shots in Game 1 on Blood Covenant, DaHanG senses his moment and pulls off an incredible flick Railgun kill. He then follows that up with smart use of Slash’s Plasma Trail ability to leap over to the Rocket Launcher spawn, closing off his opponent’s escape for the close-up Rocket kill and win. Within the space of 20 breathless seconds, DaHanG shows off great aim, awareness, movement skills and a killer instinct that sets the tone and the pace for the rest of the finals series with plenty more lightning-fast Slash kills to come.
Toxjq Does It All With Quad Shotgun
https://clips.twitch.tv/HedonisticFurtiveWasabiRalpherZ
Being down two games against Team Liquid in the Sacrifice finals and facing elimination on Ruins of Sarnath, Stacked needed a spark to stay in the game. Grabbing the Quad Damage, toxjq goes on a wild spree with the Shotgun (note: not even the Super Shotgun), clearing out the opposition, capturing the objective and notching six kills in the proces. In Sacrifice, controlling the power-up can be as important as the objective and as toxjq showed, it can easily turn a match around in the right hands, regardless of weapon.
Toxjq Finds a Counter to Clutch
https://clips.twitch.tv/DullFlirtyBobaMVGame
While plenty of pros made use of the likes of Slash, Anarki, or the Doom Slayer during the competition, DaHanG brought a menacing Clutch game to the tournament, using his Barrier Shield ability to bully his opponents. In Game 2 on Corrupted Keep, toxjq began to find some success against the mining robot with his own heavy Champion: Sorlag, but it wasn’t until Game 3 on Ruins of Sarnath where the giant lizard’s strength came to full light.
With Clutch’s ability recharging, toxjq smartly sees his opportunity and pushes with big damage from his Lightning Gun and Acid Spit ability while being stacked enough to weather DaHanG’s rockets, potentially setting the standard for countering Clutch in the future. So long as you know how pick your fights, no Champion is impossible to beat.
DaHanG’s Classic Quake Combos
https://clips.twitch.tv/CleanStrangeAyeayeJKanStyle
In the last round of Game 3 of the Duel final, DaHanG sets himself up to win the Duel championship with a series of perfectly executed Rocket Launcher-to-Rail combo kills – classic Quake style. With these two lightning-fast kills, DaHanG controls the remainder of the round and wins the match, proving that regardless of Champion abilities or health stacks, you’re always a threat if you can hit your rockets and rails.
Winz’ Can’t Miss Rail Rampage
https://clips.twitch.tv/OpenHandsomeShrimpMingLee
In Round 2 of Game 3 of the Sacrifice final, Team Liquid were looking for ways to lockdown the objective for the win. This was the perfect opportunity for winz to go on a wild Railgun spree, accounting for at least seven kills and even more hits before, poetically, going down to an enemy Railgun shot himself. The mad spree completely blunted Stacked’s counterattack and set Team Liquid up for a definitive victory in the Sacrifice finals. You can’t beat good aim.
Bonus Highlight – Stacked Out Last 2Z in Semifinal Nailbiter
https://clips.twitch.tv/FurtiveSaltyCobblerOhMyDog
It’s not part of the finals, but Stacked’s semifinal victory over the favored 2Z deserves mention too. Battling down to the wire on the third and final map, both 2Z and Stacked managed to get their Obelisks to 99 percent, meaning whichever team managed to capture the objective and hold it for one more tick would win. After a wild back-and-forth scramble where no one team could hold the objective for long enough to win, Stacked finally makes the breakthrough in what must be considered one of the most thrilling Sacrifice games in Quake Champions history.
The Dreamhack Winter Quake Champions Invitational tournament had more than its fair share of highlights. Be sure to let us know yours on Twitter @QuakeChampions or on our official forums. See you in the arena!