Fnatic won group B, scraping by PBA. However, PBA upset eStar to once again reach the top eight of a HGC tournament. Check out the clips of the best moments of group B here!
In group B of the BlizzCon 2016 Fall Championship, Europe’s Fnatic and Taiwan’s Please Buff Arthas triumphed as #1 and #2 seeds, respectively. Unfortunately, Southeast Asia’s Imperium Pro Team and group B favorites China’s eStar Gaming fell from the tournament.
Note: Click on the images for highlight clips and on the headers for the video of the full match.
eStar Gaming v. Imperium Pro Team, 2-0
eStar has dominated in China for the last couple of years. However, the current lineup of eStar 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 roster for BlizzCon consisted of three members of eStar and two members of Super Perfect Team. As a result, Imperium Pro Team possessed a potential team synergy advantage.
Game one was a bloodbath. eStar drafted Abathur, Jaina, and Zeratul. Conversely, Imperium grabbed Chen and E.T.C. Imperium controlled the early portions of the game, dominating team fights and leading in core health. Despite the early deficit, eStar found a crucial kill on a lone Chen, which induced several poor decisions from Imperium. With the momentum now on their side, eStar completed the comeback.
eStar carried their game one momentum into game two, winning every team fight and every Punisher. As a result, eStar comfortably won the game and the series. Watch the final fight below.
Fnatic v. Please Buff Arthas, 2-1
In the last global tournament, Please Buff Arthas (PBA) progressed to the second group stage; they were the first team not from China, Europe, Korea, or North America to reach the top eight of a HGC tournament. On the other hand, this tournament would be Fnatic’s first global championship. Despite some impressive Auriel play from PBA’s ZoLa, Fnatic escaped with a narrow victory.
Fnatic drafted a double warrior and double support composition with Valla as their sole damage. Conversely, PBA drafted Zeratul, Tychus, and Sylvanas. Fnatic commanded the majority of the game, winning the first three Punishers and destroying the first keep of the game. However, PBA stayed in the game with some timely hero kills. In the battle for the fourth Punisher, PBA’s Auriel stopped a Mosh Pit attempt. As a result, PBA won the team fight and rallied to victory.
In game two, Fnatic exploited the global abilities of Brightwing, Falstad, and E.T.C. to narrowly edge PBA in level and structural advantage for the majority of the game. Despite fighting level 18 to level 20, PBA took a commanding team fight victory. PBA attempted to destroy the core immediately after. However, Fnatic landed a crucial Mighty Gust to interrupt Tyrael’s Sanctification and prevent PBA’s comeback. Consequently, Fnatic punished PBA’s audacity and evened the series, 1-1.
In the first game three of the tournament, Alarak and Sgt. Hammer made their group B debuts.
Unlike the previous two maps, neither team controlled the early portions of the game. However, the momentum swung into Fnatic’s favor after Malfurion landed a pivotal Twilight Dream that secured Fnatic 4 kills. Soon after, Fnatic punished an overextending Alarak, allowing them to win the series.
Fnatic v. eStar Gaming, 2-0 (Winners’ match)
The winners’ match pitted Europe against China for the first time in the tournament. Europe’s Fnatic has played as a team for several months, while eStar’s lineup has only practiced together for a few weeks. However, three of eStar’s members played in the last two HGC tournaments, while only one member of Fnatic has appeared in a 2016 HGC tournament.
eStar committed to an early Kerrigan, but Fnatic countered with Tyrael and two global heroes, Falstad and Brightwing. Fnatic utilized their globals to pick off several of eStar’s heroes. Moreover, Fnatic dodged and negated the majority of eStar’s dive attempts with Gust, Sanctification, teleports, and Ice Block. Thus, Fnatic took a surprisingly dominant victory in game one.
Up until this game, eStar banned Zarya in every game. However, Fnatic managed to acquire the Overwatch hero. In response, eStar drafted Illidan, Brightwing, and Tassadar. By employing a unique split-push strategy, eStar caught Fnatic off guard. eStar completely ignored the Punisher objective and sent Illidan to push a lane, while the rest of eStar defended. The strategy worked as Illidan destroyed two forts and a keep. However, eStar overconfidently engaged Fnatic in an unnecessary team fight. Fnatic eliminated four of eStar’s heroes and immediately pounced onto eStar’s core. With the victory, Fnatic moved onto the second phase of the tournament.
Imperium Pro Team v. Please Buff Arthas, 0-2 (Losers’ match)
In the losers’ match, Taiwan battled against the Philippines.
On Towers of Doom, Imperium Pro Team established an early lead. However, after winning a fight for the middle altar, Imperium stalled their capture of the altar. PBA punished Imperium’s greed as they returned to the altar and slaughtered the Imperium team. From then on, PBA took control of the game.
In game two, both teams drafted nearly identical compositions as in game one. Imperium once again picked Johanna and Muradin, while PBA took E.T.C. and Chen. While game 1 was competitive, game two was not. PBA dismantled Imperium. PBA’s E.T.C. landed excellent Stage Dives that constantly put Imperium in precarious situations. By the end of the game, PBA scored 22 kills to Imperium’s 5.
eStar Gaming v. Please Buff Arthas, 0-2 (Decider match)
In the final series of group B, eStar Gaming faced off against Please Buff Arthas. The winner would move onto the second group stage, while the loser would fall out of the tournament. Although many viewed PBA as heavy underdogs, PBA once again surpassed expectations.
In game one, eStar drafted Jaina and Zeratul, hoping to capitalize on the Void Prison and Ring of Frost combination. However, PBA decided to counter that combination with Tyrael and his Sanctification heroic. PBA not only won game one, but dominated. They controlled the Webweaver objective and won nearly every single team fight.
With their tournament life on the line, eStar drafted Dehaka. eStar started the game on fire, securing six kills in the first three minutes. However, eStar could not maintain their momentum as PBA became stronger and stronger as the game progressed. PBA’s Zagara landed several Devouring Maws that secured several key team fight victories, including two consecutive Maws that effectively ended the game (see below).
With the victory, PBA progressed to the second group stage of a global championship for the second consecutive time.
Phase 2 begins tomorrow
Fnatic and PBA moved onto the second group stage, which will commence tomorrow. MVP Black, Team Dignitas, Astral Authority, and Please Buff Arthas compose group A. On the other side; Ballistix, ZeroPanda, Denial eSports, and Fnatic will battle in group B.
View the phase two brackets, here.
Tune in tomorrow to Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm channel on Friday, October 28 at 9:00 AM PDT to watch the second group stage.
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