The Finals
Aror and Cyno celebrate their victory following the season five SMITE World Championship Finals. Aror and Cyno will try to lead the Titans past the Kings in Sunday’s Grand Finale. Image courtesy of Hi-Rez Studios.
Nothing else matters now. Over the course of SMITE’s ninth competitive season, some thirty teams across the Pro League, Challenger Circuit, and Open Circuit competed for a shot at SMITE’s ultimate prize: the World Championship. Now, eleven months after the season began with a knockout SPL qualifier last February, just two teams remain.
The Camelot Kings were supposed to be here. After losing in the final round of both Spring and Summer Masters, the Kings struggled past the Bolts, Dragons, and Leviathans en route to a first place finish at the phase three playoffs—and with it, the top seed at the SMITE World Championship. Bolstered in part by the late-season addition of Jarcorrr in the ADC role, the Kings found their path to SWC Grand Finals blocked by the Highland Raves—an SCC team—and the Olympus Bolts, who the Kings have routinely beaten all season. Throughout their first two matches, the Kings flashed their top-seed quality scoring a clean 5-0 and a spot in Sunday’s finals.
The Tartarus Titans, on the other hand, were never expected to make it this far. After defeating the Kings at Spring Masters and narrowly losing to them at Summer Masters, the Titans roster imploded. Prior to phase three, Titans’ jungler Layers announced he was stepping down to move home and focus on his mental health before Hi-Rez ultimately allowed him to play his SPL matches in absentia. After a slow start, veteran ADC and once-world champion Cyclonespin was replaced by Stuart, who had struggled on a lowly Solar Scarabs team. When it came time to compete at playoffs for a guaranteed spot at Worlds, Layers stunned the team by refusing to travel, resulting in his temporary suspension from the league and subsequent replacement by Cyno. Nobody thought this new Titans roster had enough time to gel in order to beat the likes of the Leviathans and Dragons. Yet, that’s exactly what they did.
We, the fans, weren’t supposed to be here, either. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Hi-Rez was not planning on hosting an in-person event for this season’s World Championships, but the fans and players rallied together to convince Hi-Rez that an in-person event was worthwhile. It sold out within hours.
Many of these players have never played in front of a crowd before, having joined the league during the pandemic-afflicted seasons seven and eight. When asked about playing in front of fans for the first time, Titans’ ADC Stuart noted how the heightened stakes impact the energy he brings to the game. “I don’t think I’ve ever yelled or screamed during my games, but during these games I put so much more emotion into them,” the hunter player said. His lane opponent, Jarcorrr, had a similar sentiment. “It feels amazing,” he said. “The energy you get from the crowd, whether they’re cheering for you or not, it’s just a feeling you have to experience to know what it’s like.”
Stuart and Jarcorrr are unlikely lane opponents. Just three months ago, they both played together as the duo lane for the Solar Scarabs. When Stuart left to join the Titans, Jarcorrr moved from support to ADC, eventually joining the Camelot Kings at the end of phase three. “After being kicked from the Leviathans, I was just looking for a place to fit in,” Jarcorrr said of his journey this season. “I’m just happy and grateful to be working with these guys.” Stuart also had praise for his own teammates: “I’m always confident, especially when I have teammates like Paul, Aror, Solo, Cyno. It’s really nice having them back you up.”
Paul especially has been a difference maker. Despite commanding four target bans in the decisive game five against the Jade Dragons, the two-time World Champion was still effective. Is it a waste to attempt to ban out Paul? “Probably,” Stuart said. “But what else are you going to do? You kind of have to ban some gods when he’s on a role like that.” The Kings, on the other hand, who won their semifinal against the Bolts through strong drafts, are not too worried about the picks and bans phase. “We came with the mentality to just take everything one game at a time” Jarcorrr said of their preparation.
No one knows who will win, but one thing is certain: the energy in the crowd at Arlington Esports Stadium on Sunday afternoon will be undeniable. Aggro, the former SMITE commentator who broadcast each of the last six World Championship finals, knows this all too well. “It’s hard to describe. It’s electric,” Aggro said of casting the SWC finals. “It’s easy to start casting poorly because you get too wrapped up in the energy of the crowd and start speaking too quickly and using too much air, but it’s the best part of doing an already great job.”
Everyone will be nervous, from the fans to the casters, to the analysts on the desk. Everyone, that is, except for the players. Asked how he felt about facing the Kings after their impressive 3-0 win over the Bolts, Stuart had nothing but nonchalant confidence. “I didn’t really watch the games too close,” he said. “I’ll watch them later. I’m just always confident no matter what.” Jarcorrr had confidence as well. When asked if he would score a 1v1 kill onto Suart during the Worlds Finals in front of all of the fans, Jarcorrr simply said “I probably will, yeah.”
The Titans will face the Kings on Sunday, January 15th to determine SMITE’s season nine champion.
