HONT #6

Hammer Cup IV

The fourth edition of the Hammer Cup was held from June 24th to June 28th 2024 during the Star-Spangled Speed season. There were six flights participating in the tournament: Forge, Smite, Maul, Claw, Thor and Sledge

Trophy:

Teaser video:

New tournament structure

A new format for the tournament was established for the fourth edition. The qualifiers were replaced by a "Ranking Day," during which the flights would be ranked, but none would be eliminated. Day 2 became the "Elimination Round," featuring matches as follows: Flight 1 vs. Flight 6, Flight 2 vs. Flight 5, and Flight 3 vs. Flight 4. The most notable change was Day 3, called the "Second Chance." On this day, the three losing flights from Day 2 would compete against each other, with the winning flight advancing to the semi-finals. The semi-finals would take place on Day 4, and the finals would be held on the fifth and final day.

High NT$ rewards

HC4 was the most generous edition in terms of NT$ rewards. 300 millions were awarded to the flights in total. Two NitroType GOLD were also awarded. One went to Sledge's Celestial Knight and the other went to Claw's Riko.

Expectations

Here's what was said about the odds of each flight before the tournament started.

FORGE

The champions of Hammer Cup III are in great shape. Ashes, the hero of Hammer Cup III, will not be alone. 3clipse, the former leader of Thor has been absent for a while, but he's now back! Let's not forget DH and HH, who remain precious assets for the red flight, which is undoubtedly one of the most powerful.

SMITE

After coming so close twice in a row to winning the trophy, Blaze’s flight is determined to set things right at Hammer Cup IV. Blaze won't be alone; he will be supported by TheChosenOne, Comet, and Godlovesusall. The purple flight is well-balanced and will be exciting to watch.

MAUL

Don't wake the dragon... oops, too late! Nusakan hopes to lead his flight to a first victory at the Hammer Cup. Supported by Lou, Cycix, Azazel, and Cyp3r3s, the blue flight could be dominant. Nusakan had a slump in recent days, but fortunately, he seems to be back in form! The only question mark: Cycix hasn't been on the race track for several days. Will he be back in time?

CLAW

It seems Claw is no longer just a one-person story! The Vytrail-Riko duo is explosive and holds great promise for the Hammer Cup. The green flight still lacks some depth in its lineup, but let's hope Slowpoke, Aquarius, and Roadto150WPM come through as reinforcements!

THOR

Although Thor has by far the most racers with 9 (!!), some questions remain. Epic will need to be formidable and set an example for his teammates, who have been rather quiet in recent days. However, everyone knows what A R E S is capable of, and the power racer has shown encouraging signs lately, which bodes well for the yellow flight.

SLEDGE

It's a debut for Sledge, entering the tournament for the first time. The orange flight, led by Brave and Believer, has nothing to be ashamed of against the competition. Despite the difficult loss of power racer IBD, Sledge can also count on AsA, Celestial Knight, and ChessMaster, all of whom have shown their potential recently. This flight is probably the strongest on paper along with Forge. Keep a close eye on them!

Day 1: Ranking Day

On Day 1, no flight would risk elimination. This was different from previous editions in which only the top 4 flights would advance.

In terms of participation, the ranking day was a tremendous success, eclipsing all previous editions of the Hammer Cup. For comparison, the inital hammer cup detained the record in terms of number of races during the qualifiers, which lasted two days. 3,586 races divided by 2 days means Hammer Cup I had, give or take, 1,793 races on Day 1. There were 3,297 races completed in Hammer Cup IV's initial day!

The participation was so impressive that for most of the day, HONT surged ahead of PR2W for the first time ever on the "last 24 hours" leaderboards.

Outcome of the ranking day

Sledge easily finished in first position, followed by Smite, Forge, Claw, Maul and Thor.

Day 2: Elimination Round

Day 2 continued the success in participation, totaling 2,546 races from 7 AM to 9 PM (EDT). This count excludes races from Gray flight racers. Combined, days 1 and 2 amassed 5,843 races, surpassing all previous Hammer Cup qualifiers by an astounding margin.

Epic (166) was left to face the mighty Sledge almost alone. The orange flight completed just enough races to secure a win while conserving their strength for the semi-finals. In the last minutes, Felfu arrived as reinforcement for Thor, but it was already too late.

In the second match, Smite faced off against Maul in a fiercely contested battle. Blaze (210), Godlovesusall (172), and TheChosenOne (80) delivered fantastic performances for Smite. However, it wasn't enough to beat Maul, who benefitted from solid teamwork by Nusakan (357), C3pr3s (170), and Azazel (80).

We witnessed another epic battle in the third match between Forge and Claw. While Smite vs. Maul was a 3v3 duel, Forge vs. Claw was a 2v2 showdown. Riko (432) proved to be a real game-changer for Claw. Vytrail followed with 129 races, and Slowpoke contributed with 10 races. These numbers were enough to defeat the Hammer Cup III champions.

Day 3: Second Chance

On day 3, Thor, Smite, and Forge clashed for the last remaining spot in the semi-finals. Epic stood out with 270 races, and Felfu contributed 52 races, but it wasn't enough to advance. Despite a herculean effort from Ashes with 419 races and 3clipse with 239 races, Forge also fell short. The absence of DH and HH likely cost the Hammer Cup III champions their place in the semi-finals. Smite triumphed, demonstrating exceptional teamwork. The purple flight, consisting of just four racers, each contributed over 100 races. Godloveusall (386), Blaze (207), TheChosenOne (135), and Comet (125) advanced to the semi-finals with high expectations.

During the second chance, these three flights alone completed an astounding 1,833 races. Comparing these numbers to previous editions is challenging since day 3 used to mark the first half of the semi-finals with four flights competing. However, it's safe to say that, team-wise, this was HONT's best Wednesday of all Hammer Cups, as a total of 3,246 races were completed that day.

Day 4: Semi-Finals

On Thursday, Sledge faced the winners of the second chance. The battle was closely contested, but ultimately, the orange flight emerged victorious. Celestial Knight was once again a hero, completing 439 races. This feat, combined with Believer's 211 races and Brave's 166, allowed Sledge to win despite a modest performance from the remaining members.

In the other semi-final, Claw faced Maul. The Vytrail-Riko duo once again dominated, proving overwhelming for the blue flight who, despite a solid team effort from Nusakan (341), Heaven (42) and Azazel (34), was no match against the green steamroller.

Another day, another record broken in terms of participation. Those four flights amassed 2,598 races on day 4! In total, HONT completed 3,467 races that day, marking one of their best performances ever.

Day 5: Finals

Sledge and Claw provided the most intense Hammer Cup final in history. Claw took the early lead, thanks to Riko's top form with 609 races. Vytrail also shined for the green flight, contributing 235 races. However, the orange flight leveraged their depth to their advantage. Celestial Knight (409), Brave (321), Chessmaster (104), AsA (72), and Believer (70) combined their efforts to surge ahead of Claw in the final hours.

The final ended 976 to 866 in favor of Sledge, who became champions in their very first participation. These two flights completed 1,842 races on day 5. As for HONT as a whole, the team completed 3,489 races, an incredible feat that even surpassed the numbers from day 4.

Tournament Links

Day 1 - Ranking day

Day 2 - Elimination Round

• Sledge Vs Thor
• Smite Vs Maul
• Forge Vs Claw

Day 3 - Second Chance

Day 4 - Semi-finals

• Sledge Vs Smite
• Maul Vs Claw
  
  

Day 5 - Finals (Sledge Vs Claw)