Eldritch Hounds

 is a team participating in the Smite Pro League. The team is owned and operated by Hi-Rez Studios.

History
The Eldritch Hounds was created by Hi-rez in 2022 to promote SCC branding. The team roster was chosen due to qualification in the SCC Play-ins tournament. The original roster consisted of Remakami, Oathhhh, ErupTCrimson, Quig, and dudemanbro429.

2022 Season
The Eldritch Hounds replaced the power vacuum left by the SCC team Winner Dogs who became the Valhalla Valkyries. As the Winner Dogs were the biggest threat in NA SCC, the Eldritch Hounds stepped up and took that title now that the Winner Dogs were gone. The Eldritch Hounds dominated phase 1 of NA SCC, they were the team to beat. While not immune to losing a game every once in a while, they did not lose a set in NA SCC. As the Spring Masters competition approached, the Eldirtch Hounds set their sight on fighting SPL teams. They would get their first chance against the Valhalla Valkyries, a struggling team in a stagnant spring phase. The match at Spring Masters was an important one for both teams. Did the Valhalla Valkyries get lucky that the Eldritch Hounds didn't compete in the tournament to play in SPL and were the Eldirtch Hounds actually SPL material? This was answered in their match, which ended in a 1-0 and later a 2-0 win for the Valhalla Valkyries. Due to the format of Spring Masters, the Eldritch Hounds got to face a couple of SPL teams before their 2nd match against the Valhalla Valkyries. The most important of these matches was the one against the Solar Scarabs. The team, which has looked horrible after their great Worlds performance after S8, was itching for a win. The Eldritch Hounds would 2-0 the Solar Scarabs, starting a tradition in which the Solar Scarabs would get humiliated during these tournaments by SCC teams. The Eldritch Hounds played well against the Scarabs, ErupTCrimson even got a pentakill during the second game. While the Eldritch Hounds lost to the Valkyries, their win against the Solar Scarabs proved that they could stand up to SPL teams. The summer split was the same story for the Eldritch Hounds, except that they did not face the Solar Scarabs. The team was miles ahead of any SCC team, and they tried to take on the Valhalla Valkyries in the Summer Masters Tournament. Two sets were fought, and two sets were lost against the Valkyries. After the second set, it was over for the Eldritch Hounds. The Hounds realized that a big change had to be made. Two tournaments have passed and they had not beaten the Valkyries, a team that, being SCC not too long ago, should be within their weight class. That is when on August 21st, the Eldritch Hounds replaced Remakami with Duck3y. While Remakami was not doing poorly and in fact, did well for himself in solo, the Eldritch Hounds did not believe that they could continue with him. The fruit of this change would not be realized until the Smite World Championship commenced. Phase 3 was a regular phase for the Eldritch Hounds. They were still dominant, and still the team to beat in NA SCC. As the team managed to qualify for the first day of the World Championship, the team that the Eldritch Hounds had to beat was the Valhalla Valkyries. This time, with Duck3y being in solo, the team managed to overcome this hurdle and win a 2-0 set. The Duck3y change managed to pay off, their rival was defeated. In the end, though, the team would lose 1-3 to the Tartarus Titans and 0-3 to the Highland Ravens. This would mark the end of the season for the Eldritch Hounds.

Play-in Tournament
Before the official start of the SPL, Hi-Rez decided to host a tournament, the Promotional Tournament, in order to find out who will become the next two SPL teams. On February 9th, Hi-Rez posted the rosters for the Promotional Tournament. The Eldritch Hounds had parted with DudeManBro429 and ErupTCrimson. In their wake was BennyQ and VaporishCoast. While the team did look well, casters did not believe that they were the strongest team in the tournament. Yet, in true Eldritch Hounds fashion, they would sweep the tournament and would only lose one game in the entire tournament. This was against the Niflheim Wargs, who still lost to the Hounds in a 3-1 set. The Hounds, who many doubted, had shown that they had it in them to compete against the legacy names in the SPL.

2023 Season
Coming into the 2023 season, many believed that the Eldritch Hounds were a good team, but still a team of unproven rookies. After the track record of SCC being promoted to SPL teams, many believed that the Eldritch Hounds would be bottom 2. In the kickoff tournament, they would win their set 2-0 against the Styx Ferrymen but lose 1-3 against the Jade Dragons. Due to the Division format this season, the Eldritch Hounds were placed in the order division alongside the Highland Ravens, Styx Ferrymen, and Camelot Kings. As the summer season started, the Eldritch Hounds lost their first 3 sets. Many believed that the Hounds were bottom 2, and their real test would be against the struggling Gilded Gladiators. If they won, it would show that while bottom 2, they aren't last. They won this set, and the matches next. Atlantis Leviathans, Styx Ferrymen, Jade Dragons, and even Camelot Kings fell to the Hounds. The Hounds were a rising team of rookies that while scrappy, definitely had a lot of potential. While they failed to get a win against the Highland Ravens, and later struggled to get wins against the Ferrymen, the team did better than many believed. Into the Playoffs for Summer Masters, the Eldritch Hounds would 3-1 the Jade Dragons. Yet, they would then be kicked from the tournament after losing to the Camelot Kings 1-3 and the Styx Ferrymen 1-3. While they had disappointing Playoffs, they would still qualify for Summer Master. They would face the Niflheim Wargs again, yet these were not the original Wargs that they faced during the promotional tournament. The original Wargs were now the Valhalla Valkyries in NA SCC, these Wargs were one of the most talented EU SCC teams. The Hounds would defeat the Wargs in a 2-1 set, and their next match would be against the Highland Ravens who they would defeat in a 2-0 set. Finally, in the semifinals, the Hounds would face their nemesis. The match against the Styx Ferrymen went to 5 games. In an exciting match, the Hounds would lose game 5 to the Ferrymen. To say that the Eldritch Hounds were heartbroken would be an understatement. Their last set of the tournament would be a set against the Jade Dragons for 3rd place, which they won 2-0. The Eldritch Hounds, a team that many had underestimated and written off, had placed 3rd in the Masters Tournament. The team had exceeded expectations, but they wanted more. As of now, the fall split had not started.