Despite missing a couple of key bowlers in Scott Kuggeleijn and Freddie Walker, both ill, Northern Brave took the blowtorch to the stellar Auckland Aces' line-up.
It was a scorching Auckland afternoon but it was the Aces feeling all the heat as they quickly lost three big wickets at the top - and then cartwheeled along in a rough day at the office.
George Worker was the first to go in just the second over, caught off Anurag Verma (3-14) who was superb as he took 2-8 in his first spell, opening the attack alongside Zak Gibson.
First drop Mark Chapman was run out by a sensational collect and throw from the young man Katene Clarke who only enhanced his reputation as one of the most dangerous fieldsmen in the country.
But the unluckiest and perhaps biggest early wicket came the very next ball when Martin Guptill, after a respectful start, became Verma's second victim as the ball ricocheted up off his thigh pad, bumped onto his elbow and then crashed down into the stumps.
Three big wickets gone at 23/3 and all for single-figure scores - the Aces were in all spot and it was a trend that would continue as the sharp Matt Fisher quickly removed Cole Briggs.
Then spinner Freddy Walker (3-10) took two wickets in four balls in his second over, and still no one had got into double figures.
Ish Sodhi had the luxury of coming on for the ninth with the Auckland Aces already 42/6, and he was not a man to let an opportunity slip by - taking a wonderfully economical 2-5 off his four overs.
Lockie Ferguson found a brace of boundaries off Fisher, sandwiched between two tight overs from Sodhi who then accounted for Sean Solia with the last ball of the 12th.
Now there was a real and present danger of the Aces breaking an unwanted record, 55/7 with the lowest Dream11 Super Smash score ever recorded in the men's league standing at 72 by the Wellington Firebirds against Northern in 2015.
Verma and Sodhi and been part of that match, too - for opposite sides with Sodhi having taken 3-12 that day. Now, Verma took the eighth, Sodhi the ninth with his wrong 'un - and just like that, it was on: 61/9 as Ben Lister walked out with a rather tough assignment.
Ferguson was still there and managed to scrap and scrabble enough to squeeze past the undesired statistic at the close of a fighting 14th over.
Then back came classy Sodhi looking to rip out the last wicket.
Incredibly, Ferguson was the only Auckland Aces batsman in double figures at that point - going past his previous T20 best score of 24* and finishing with the top score of 26.
Number 11 Lister then produced two surprise sixes off Gibson to reach his career best as well, taking full advantage as Gibson tried to attack his stumps.
Their 10th wicket partnership reached 31 before the resistance ended in 17.2 overs with the Aces rolled for 92 - their fourth lowest T20 tally - while Sodhi finished with the most economical figures off four over in men's Dream11 Super Smash history.
Clarke's good day continued as he and Tim Seifert then ticked off the first 73 runs of the chase without loss.
By the time a wicket fell, the result was all but in the bag with Brave needing just 28 more off 10.3 overs.
Youngster Adithya Ashok gave the Aces something to smile about with a screamer of a diving catch to remove Jeet Raval, and Cole Briggs made a well judged take to remove Joe Carter at 73/3 off Solia.
But Northern had taken an overall steady, calm approach to building their chase and were rewarded with a memorable victory with 29 balls to spare. Seifert finished the six-wicket win unbeaten on 38 not out.