MVP Black, Cloud9 HotS, rise to the top two spots, as Tempo Storm and Team Liquid drop in rank. How did this happen and how do you defeat MVP Black?
A hint of what was to come...
The MSI MGA 2015 international Heroes tournament was the beginning of a power shift. Team Liquid and Tempo Storm were the undisputed champs, and everyone expected this tournament to reveal which was the strongest team. There were talks about MVP Black's off-meta style, but NA and EU fans were still confident in their teams chances.
However, as most know, there wasn't a climatic battle between Team Liquid and Tempo Storm. In fact, neither of those teams won the tournament; MVP Black did and they did so convincingly. A 3-0 victory left Tempo Storm reeling and started speculation that Korea is just on a different level of Heroes skill. Despite all of this, one NA team left the arena proud: Cloud 9. They defeated Team Liquid 2-0 for third place, cementing a victory less about prize pool and more about regional pride.
The aftermath.
vs.
Cloud 9 and Tempo Storm left MSI MGA with two very different feelings. One, proud of what they accomplished, and the other, dejected. The tournaments that followed felt like ripples expanded from the same MSI MGA 2015 stone; Cloud 9 defeats Tempo Storm during the ESL NA Major League Summer playoff, and defeats Tempo Storm again in recently concluded Road to Blizzcon Americas Championship.
On the EU side of things, the ripple continued. Team Liquid, the clear favorite to win Enter the Storm cup #3 is defeated by Bob?, the up and coming team that already defeated Team Liquid earlier in that month during the Stormgrounds invitational. As Team Liquid drops to the #4 spot in our rankings, it marks the end of an era. Team Liquid is still a powerful team, but Bob? has ended their dominating reign over EU.
And Korea?
MVP Black has earned the #1 spot in our rankings, and shows no signs of letting it go. Their winning performances during the 2015 HOT6 Heroes of the Storm Super League is what we have come to expect from the team that defeated NA's finest. MVP black's playstyle is defining the current meta and it is clear now that the Koreans have always been 1 or 2 steps ahead of any other region.
Just look at some of the latest meta fashions that Korean has been doing all along:
- Double and even triple warrior,
- The early adoption Leoric as our lord and savior.
- Placing Tyrael and Arthas as a top tier heroes.
- Using Sonya to punish Kael'Thas and Jaina.
- Raynor as an answer to beefy lineups
These are all innovations that started with Korea and we are just now beginning to see them in other regions. The only other international tournament on the radar is the global world championships at BlizzCon, and right now it looks like MVP Black is the favorite. Tempo Storm, Cloud 9, and Team Liquid are all facing the same Korean threat, but their victory conditions are all different.
Defeating the Korean Threat
Tempo Storm needs to improve their mechanics and figure out how to defeat MVP Black when the fights get chaotic and the lanes get hostile. Their shotcalling is impeccable, but it doesn't mean much when you enter the mid-game losing skirmishes. Tempo Storm will need to get out of their hero pick comfort zone and bring strategies that MVP Black isn't used to already crushing. Kaeyoh and Arthelon are some of the strongest ranged assassins players in the game right now, and Tempo Storm needs to take advantage of that.
Match example of what Tempo Storm needs to do: Game 1 and 2 vs. compLexity: Americas Championship
Cloud 9 needs to outplay Korea mechanically and not get out drafted. The team's biggest strength is their individual players, so if they find themselves being outplayed (or even worse, playing scared) I don't think their strategy or draft is strong enough to save them. Cloud 9 would benefit from studying the Korean style so they don't lose confidence; it will be jarring playing against individual players just as strong (maybe stronger) then themselves so they have to find a way to keep confident.
Match example of what Cloud 9 needs to do: Game 1, 2 and 5 vs. Tempo Storm: Americas Championship
Team Liquid, despite a small slump, has actually threatened MVP Black more than any other team. MVP Black's team captain, Sake, has already said that when Team Liquid plays heroes in their "western" style, it is very difficult to defeat. Team Liquid can control a game unlike any other and if they figure out how to repeat their game 1 success over MVP Black, they will stand a good chance to win. SGT. Hammer, late game carries, extremely safe play- these are the things that Team Liquid are good at and they should use these strengths to challenge the Korean expectation of how Heroes is played.
Match example of what Team Liquid needs to do: Game 1 and 3 vs. Natus Vincere: Enter the Storm #3
Follow us @GosuGamersHotS for more eSports news.
More on GosuGamers Heroes of the Storm:
