In esports, there is often that one individual match that transcends the hypest of tournament finals, and cements its place in the game’s history. In Smite, that was Game 2 of a Smite Pro League set between SoaR and EnVyUs.
The match was only a minute and a half long, but the aftermath involved a sour fanbase, multiple player fines and two players walking away from competition.
“The Best Match In Smite History”
In a best-of-3 series between Team EnVyUs and Team SoaR, Game 1 had an unfortunate circumstance: one of the players on EnVyUs, Omega, had disconnected during the game and Hi-Rez staff concluded that the issue was not with their servers, but actually a problem with Omega’s own internet; as a result, the game continued to be played and SoaR took advantage, winning Game 1.
With a substitute for Omega heading Game 2, EnVyUs decided to try an unorthodox trick by completely rushing SoaR as soon as the second game started. Using speed items, the entire squad would rush the opposing team, try to overpower a few of their players and try to steal their jungle camp buffs.
It…did not work.
Due to the entire team being at level 1, four of the EnVyUs players were instantly wiped out by one SoaR player. Within 90 seconds of the game starting, EnVyUs surrendered, giving SoaR a 2-0 win.
The Aftermath
It’s widely considered that the early rush in Game 2 was a deliberate throw by EnVyUs; that strategy was a gimmick at best and, followed by the immediate surrender, was more of a display of salt and poor sportsmanship than any attempt at playing the game out honestly.
In Smite, custom games can be surrendered at any point, so the Smite Pro League has official rules that you cannot surrender before the 10-minute mark. The display by the EnVyUs squad clearly broke the rules, and drew the wrath of the league, the commentators, and much of the viewership.
The Smite Pro League fined all of the players $500 USD for their conduct, on top of the team having to forfeit any prize money earned from the match. But perhaps the most damaging long-term effect from the match was that two of EnVyUs’ best players, Omega and Snoopy, immediately quit the team afterwards.
While the match was a dark moment in the game’s history, a rage quit that went against the spirit of good competition, it continues to live in infamy amongst the community, as well as a piece of history from early competitive Smite.