Esport MeHOTU brush aside Luminosity in RLG Tesla Cup despite veto chaos
HOTU won 2-0 on Mirage and Ancient to open the RLG Tesla Cup, even after arriving late and having their veto picks randomised.
HOTU began their RLG Tesla Cup campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over Luminosity, taking Mirage and Ancient despite a late arrival at the venue throwing their own map veto into disarray.
According to HLTV, HOTU's tardiness meant their picks and bans were randomised rather than chosen deliberately. That quirk produced an unusual outcome: Inferno, the map HOTU had permanently banned, ended up as the series decider. It never came into play, as HOTU closed out the series in straight maps.
Mirage was the tighter of the two, though HOTU looked dominant early on. The Russian side won the opening pistol and surged to a 6-1 lead on the T-side, only for Luminosity to respond by winning the final five rounds of the half to level at 6-6.
HOTU regained control after the side switch, taking the first three rounds of the second half before Luminosity hit back with three of their own to tie things at 9-9. HOTU then became the first side to reach double digits and pushed on to match point.
Luminosity briefly threatened to force overtime by winning the next two rounds, but HOTU shut the door on Mirage 13-11. Aleksandr "dwushka" Pakhnevich was the standout performer on the CT-side, finishing with eleven kills and a round swing of +3.12%, according to Dust2.us.
Ancient was a far more one-sided affair. HOTU raced to an early 5-0 lead on the CT-side under Aidos "kade0" Hairjan, and the pressure never let up as they closed the first half 10-2.
The second half was simple maintenance work for HOTU. They won the second-half pistol to go a perfect 4-for-4 in pistol rounds across the series, then converted that momentum into match point before sealing Ancient 13-4.
Major champion David "n0rb3r7" Danielyan was the series' standout individual performer, posting a 1.76 rating with 40 kills and a round swing of +7.20% across the two maps, per Dust2.us's figures.
Luminosity struggled to find any consistent form in response. Oscar "AZUWU" Bell had a difficult outing, managing just a 0.71 rating for the series and only three kills across the entirety of the Mirage map.
Luminosity's RLG Tesla Cup campaign continues tomorrow when they face ENVY in a Group B Elimination Match, with the loser facing an early exit from the tournament.