It's safe to say no one has taken a rest since Cloud9 took the top- spot at BlizzCon only a month ago. As the hype gets bigger so do the tournament sizes and the competition.
#5 Team DK
While Team DK actually disbanded after clinching third place at BlizzCon, they’re still sitting at the #5 ranking thanks to their wins against Tempo Storm in the group stages and wins against MVP Black back in October at the Super League playoffs. Mere days after being disbanded Team DK players actually transferred over to restart Team No Limit.
TNL has yet to compete in any matches together but if they keep the same momentum that they did as Team DK, they’ll soon be jumping up in the rankings.
#4 eStar Gaming
eStar's ranking is based on competitions with EDward Gaming and Team YL, considering the three are the only Chinese teams in the top 20 global rankings. Their 3-0 record against Team YL and 6-2 record against EDward Gaming solidify their #4 position, as well as a 7 game win streak from BlizzCon training, Gold Series and ECL.
However you also have to take into consideration that eStar hasn't played against any teams outside of China and Korea. Cloud9 will be the first non-Chinese or Korean team they will play in the Gold Series Hero League Playoffs. This could possibly be the real test to see if eStar can stay at their position.
Next up for eStar Gaming: vs. Team Brave Heart in the group stages of ECL Autumn.
#3 Fnatic
Fnatic is coming off of a HOT run at Dreamhack in their home country of Sweden, taking the crown winning every BO3 match and dominating Team Liquid in the finals 3-1. Team Liquid just happens to be Fnatic's biggest competition, beating them out in the #1 spot in Europe and the #2 spot globally. However, Fnatic DOES have a lead on matches, beating Team Liquid out 5-3.
After not qualifying for BlizzCon, Fnatic made some roster changes, releasing 3 players (one of whom joins Team Liquid) and signing on new ones after Dreamhack. They've got huge momentum going on right now, winning the last 8 of 10 major matches. They fell short, however, in WCA Qualifiers losing to, you guessed it, Team Liquid.
Next up for Fnatic: vs. Na'vi in the group stages of Heroes Battle Arena.
#2 Team Liquid
As the lone Spanish team in the high rankings, Team Liquid shows no chance of slowing down despite roster changes and big loses to Fnatic at Dreamhack. They've kept up by dominating the first Enter the Storm EU Qualifier. Although they have a solid lead in the #2 global spot and the #1 European spot, as already stated earlier, their main competition is Fnatic. The two last played each other in the Dreamhack: All-Stars finals, which was also the last time TL has competed.
Liquid recently qualified for World Cyber Arena 2015 and placed in Group B alongside Cloud9, Cognitive, MVP Black, Braveheart and eStar Gaming. Yikes. The group games will begin in mid-December and this will definitely be the group to keep an eye on.
Next up for Team Liquid: vs. TCM Gaming in the 4K Heroes Showmatch
#1 Cloud9
In case it's not obvious by now, Cloud9 grasped and protected the top spot thanks in major part to their HUGE run at the World Championship at BlizzCon 2015. At the time, C9's major competitor was fellow American team Tempo Storm, going into BlizzCon group stages with a 2-4 deficit. Both already advanced to BlizzCon, but Cloud9 took the top spot against Tempo Storm in the Americas Championship Qualifier. They were unable to compete with each other again in the World Championship playoffs due to Tempo Storm falling to the bottom spot in the group stages.
While competing for the World Championship, C9 was invited to Season 2 of the Chinese based Gold Series Hero League. Surrounded by the top-ranked Chinese teams C9 was able to barely pull themselves through the group stages.
It's also worth mentioning that Cloud9 is the only top ranked team that haven't had any roster changes since their merger in July. Why should they? They're world champs.
Next Up for Cloud9: vs. eStar Gaming in Round 1 of the playoffs of Season 2 of the Gold Series Hero League.
With major tournaments like WCA, Gold Series, and ECL coming up there's definitely room for all teams to make a minor or even huge jump in the rankings.
Check out the full Heroes of the Storm rankings here.
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