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Korumi thriller: hemeroid survives four lead changes

Korumi delivered four lead changes, Trajbalajka's long chase and hemeroid's winning Bio Rifle reply in the final second.

Normal Deathmatch on DM-1on1-Korumi was played to thirty points, and hemeroid made it clear immediately that there would be no gentle opening. At four seconds he hit Ampjunkie with the Sniper Rifle, scoring the match's only headshot and the authoritative first blood. Eleven seconds later he added Trajbalajka with the Flak Cannon for an early 2:0 edge. The lead did not bring peace. Jano began erasing the gap with rockets, Trajbalajka steadily found rhythm, and Ampjunkie kept interfering with the order during the opening minutes. Across 708 seconds the lead changed four times, and the winner was not finally settled until the score stood at 29:25, one second before the last logged frag.

Jano breaks the opening script and takes the lead

hemeroid held the early advantage, but Jano leaned heavily on the Rocket Launcher. At 95 seconds he cut the gap to a single point, and at 113 seconds he reached 5:5. Ten seconds later he killed hemeroid with another rocket and became the first new outright leader of the match at 6:5. The pressure continued with kills on Trajbalajka and Ampjunkie; the hit at 132 seconds completed a Double Kill and lifted Jano to eight. By 139 seconds he had nine while hemeroid remained on five.

Jano's surge came with a cost. He killed himself at 145 and 156 seconds, and eventually finished with five suicides in total. That opened the door for hemeroid. At 172 seconds he tied Jano at 7:7, and six seconds later he landed a 31.7-metre Rocket Launcher kill on Jano — the longest kill of the match — for 8:8. After another exchange hemeroid moved to nine at 192 seconds and ten at 221. Jano's first major push had changed the leader, but it could not keep the top spot under control.

Trajbalajka turns the chase into a lead

The middle of the match became less about one clean breakaway and more about constantly recalculating the table. Trajbalajka accelerated with the Bio Rifle, Flak Cannon and Stinger, while Cibot09 entered the kill log at 298 seconds and immediately began taking points from Jano and later from the front-runners. Jano tied hemeroid again at 14:14 in the 370th second, but hemeroid answered and stayed in front. The bigger danger was now elsewhere: Trajbalajka reached 17:17 at 454 seconds, then tied hemeroid 19:19 with a Bio Rifle kill at 493.

Then came the longest spree of the match. From 444 to 521 seconds Trajbalajka collected six kills without dying. He dropped Jano twice in succession with the Flak Cannon and at 517 seconds became the outright leader at 21:20. That was the third of the four lead changes. Cibot09 ended the spree with a Bio Rifle kill at 521. hemeroid used the opening: at 527 he rocketed Trajbalajka to make it 21:21, then at 552 a kill on Cibot09 moved him to 22:21 and produced the fourth and final lead change. Two seconds later he hit Jano with the Bio Rifle to complete a Double Kill. At 563 seconds he was ahead 24:21 and the match was tilting back his way.

From 26:23 to the final second

hemeroid reached 25 at 575 seconds, but Trajbalajka refused to disappear. At 615 seconds hemeroid removed his main pursuer with a rocket and moved to 26:23. The longest pause between opponent kills followed, lasting 26 seconds. When the fighting resumed, hemeroid added Cibot09 with the Flak Cannon at 646, the Bio Rifle at 658 and a rocket at 679. Twenty-nine points now sat dangerously close to the target.

The finish was still not ceremonial. Cibot09 killed Trajbalajka with the Shock Rifle at 690, eliminated Jano with a Shock Combo two seconds later for a Double Kill, and hit Jano again at 706. In that same second Trajbalajka rocketed hemeroid and climbed to 25 while the leader remained on 29. One second later came the instant answer: hemeroid killed Trajbalajka with the Bio Rifle, reached 30 and closed the match 30:25. It was an appropriate ending for a player who recorded a match-high twelve immediate revenge kills.

Match moments

• hemeroid scored first blood at four seconds with a Sniper Rifle headshot on Ampjunkie.
• Jano took the first new outright lead at 123 seconds after a rocket kill on hemeroid.
• hemeroid's 31.7-metre Rocket Launcher kill on Jano was the longest frag of the match.
• Trajbalajka produced the longest spree: six kills from 444 to 521 seconds.
• Cibot09 ended Trajbalajka's run with a Bio Rifle kill at 521 seconds.
• Trajbalajka led 21:20 at 517 seconds, but hemeroid tied the score ten seconds later.
• After Trajbalajka killed him at 706, hemeroid answered one second later with the winning Bio Rifle frag for 30:25.

Korumi ultimately rewarded neither the owner of the longest spree nor the player who fired the largest share of rockets, but the player who handled the shifts in rhythm best. hemeroid finished on 30, Trajbalajka on 25, Jano on 19, Cibot09 on 17 and Ampjunkie on 8. The Rocket Launcher dominated with 52 kills, the Bio Rifle added 23, and the Bio Rifle also wrote the final line. Trajbalajka collected 14 items and a six-kill spree; Jano produced 24 kills, but five suicides erased a large part of that work. hemeroid combined victory with first blood, the only headshot and twelve immediate revenge kills — the last of them arriving at the perfect moment.