As expected, MVP Black did not drop a single game in group A. However, Denial had their hands full with a scrappy Latin American team.
On the first day of the BlizzCon 2016 Fall Championship, Korea’s MVP Black and North America’s Denial eSports emerged out of group A as the #1 and #2 seeds, respectively. While Australia’s Reborn and Latin America’s Burning Rage put up valiant efforts, they were eliminated from the tournament.
Denial went into their first match against Reborn as heavy favorites. However, the analysts were not as confident in Denial’s chances.
In game one on Tomb of the Spider Queen, Denial crushed Reborn with a much stronger draft.
With insufficient wave clear and minimal damage, Reborn could not win team fights nor control the objective.
While Reborn fared better in game two on Cursed Hollow, Denial once again emerged victorious. In both games, Denial selected Zarya in the later stages of the draft. Reborn could not kill Zarya and, as a result, she annihilated the frontline of Reborn and protected her team’s backline with countless shields. With Denial’s triumph, Reborn fell to the losers’ bracket.
MVP Black v. Burning Rage, 2-0
In the second series, Burning Rage unfortunately had to face the Korean juggernaut, MVP Black. Despite entering the tournament as Korea’s second seed, many viewed MVP Black as the favorites to win the entire tournament. MVP Black showed their prowess, winning game one on Infernal Shrines in a little over seven minutes.
Psst. Click on the images for clips!
Burning Rage lasted much longer in game two. However, MVP Black Rich’s Alarak and Kyocha’s Tracer secured numerous rotational kills. By the end of the game, MVP Black secured a total of 29 hero kills.
MVP Black v. Denial eSports, 2-0 (Winners’ match)
North America had not won a single game against a Korean team in nearly a year. While Denial hoped to end that drought, they could not dent the armor of MVP Black.
In game one, Denial surprised by drafting Gul’dan. However, MVP Black negated the efficacy of Gul’dan with excellent Kerrigan and Tyrael play from Rich and Sign, respectively. As a result, MVP Black easily ended the game in just 11 minutes.
Denial drafted a substantial amount of stuns for the second game. MVP Black, however, decided to show Denial how to play Gul’dan.
Denial successfully won the first Zerg wave objective 100-0, but MVP Black punished them during the ensuing push with a full team slaughter.
After Denial’s failed push, MVP Black took complete control of the game. MVP Black easily secured the second Zerg wave objective and proceeded to end the game in less than 12 minutes. Denial could not stand toe to toe with MVP Black in team fights. In the two games they played, MVP Black led in the hero kill count, 25-0. With the victory, MVP Black moved onto the second group stage, which will begin on Friday, October 28.
Reborn v. Burning Rage, 0-2 (Losers’ match)
The two underdogs of the tournament faced off in the losers’ match. In game one on Infernal Shrines, Burning Rage secured an early lead by winning the first Punisher and pushing with their Sylvanas. While Reborn won the last punisher of the game, they suffered a near team wipe, allowing Burning Rage to end the game.
In game two on Cursed Hollow, Burning Rage channeled their inner MVP Black and dismantled Reborn in less than 11 minutes. During the second tribute, Reborn did not take advantage of a 5v4 fight. Despite fighting with one less hero, Burning Rage pounced onto their hesitant opponents. After winning the team fight, they captured the boss and the curse, allowing them to quickly end the game and eliminate Reborn from the tournament.
Denial eSports v. Burning Rage, 2-0 (Decider match)
In the final series of group A, Denial faced off against Burning Rage. The winner would move onto the second group stage, while the loser would fall out of the tournament.
Burning Rage attempted to counter Denial’s Abathur selection with Dehaka. Their strategy worked in the early portions of the game as Burning Rage secured the first curse with an experience lead. However, Burning Rage could not capitalize on their curse. After Denial secured their heroics, Abathur could clone Jaina, which tilted the later team fights into their favor.
In game two, Burning Rage grabbed Alarak and Sgt. Hammer, while Denial drafted Kerrigan and Gul’dan. In the best game of the day, the Latin American team dominated early. However, a few overextensions allowed Denial back into the game. In the deciding team fight (see below), the two teams met near the boss and traded kills, but a key heroic would secure three more kills and thus the match for Denial.
Looking ahead to group B
MVP Black and Denial eSports moved onto the second group stage; MVP Black will join group A, while Denial will join group B. Tomorrow, group B (phase one) will take center stage. Many view Fnatic and eStar Gaming as the favorites to emerge out of the group. However, eStar has had only a few weeks to practice as a team since three members of China’s original representative, Super Perfect Team, could not attend due to visa issues. eStar’s lineup for BlizzCon consists of three members of eStar and two members of Super Perfect Team. Thus, the Philippines’ Imperium Pro Team and Taiwan’s Please Buff Arthas both possess a good chance to move onto the second group stage.
Tune in tomorrow to Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm channel on Thursday, October 27 at 9:00 AM PDT to see which two teams will move onto the second group stage.
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