From left to right So1dier, Zoia, Arthelon, Dreadnaught, Kaeyoh. Not pictured is Zuna, who was not present at the event.
On Friday, Tempo Storm competed in the 2nd ESL NA Major League and did so in dominating fashion. With the recent addition of , Chris "Zuna" Buechter, something seems to have clicked with the already powerful team. The momentum first started during the WCA 2015 American Qualifiers, when they defeated Cloud9 Maelstrom 3-0 in the finals. Now, they defeated the previously #1 ranked NA team again, 3-0 to take the spot for themselves.
Earlier in the week, I had a chance to talk with Tempo Storm about their thoughts on the games future, what they think WCA 2015 will be like, and some questions about the new hero.
Has anything surprised you so far about Heroes growth?
Dreadnaught: I always expected the game to get big. But one thing that caught me off guard was that it didn’t grow linear like. It was just Heroes of the Dorm and than everything snapped. Prize pools are huge and now everything has exploded. That caught me off guard. We spent a year doing nothing and everything blew up.
So1dier: What's surprised me is the huge improvements since the alpha. Before, you would see heroes like Kerrigan and Raynor that were just super out of control. Now the game is getting exceptionally balanced. For a game that is just being released, it’s in a really good spot.
Dreadnaught: Remember old Abathur, Uther and Raynor?
So1dier: Hyperion could single handedly 1v5 if you played it right. Ultimate Evolution allowed the use of Heroics back then, so Abathur and Azmodan could back door at any point of the game. And cores were so weak! If you had an open core you would just lose. Sneak through your base within 10 seconds; you had to always pay attention.
How do you think the new Melee Assassin, The Butcher, will influence the game?
Arthelon: We will really have to wait and see. With melee assassins, it’s hit or miss. They are either really good, or they can’t get their job done. For example: Thrall was really good at release but with a couple nerfs he is rarely seen. It all depends on The Butcher's kit and whether his combo will be deadly. Melee assassins weak point is, if they can’t get their combo off and kill someone, they are useless.
How has the team changed since Zuna's inclusion to the group
Dreadnaught: I still do the shot calling. Zuna is a natural fit. He fills all the holes we need personality wise. His LAN experience increases our play by 10 fold and the energy he brings to events is just incredible. His confidence helps so much and, overall, he is a really bright player.
How does Tempo Storm plan on facing China in the next leg of WCA 2015?
Zoia: China is really far away, so were not going to worry. Honestly, China are scrubs, we are not worried about them at all.
The whole group laughs
Zoia: They are, it's true! As long as we are on top of NA, we will beat China easy.
Dreadnaught: What he means is, China is mechanically strong, but they are really behind meta wise.
Arthelon: I wouldn't even call them strong mechanically. They are good, but it’s nothing extraordinary.
Dreadnaught: Their compositions seem very weak compared to the other regions. NA and EU have different metas, but both sides can respect the differences. They can understand the thinking behind it. But with China it’s like … why are you picking Arthas?
Zoia: Listen, what we want is BlizzCon. Cloud 9 Maelstrom and Team Liquid. Those are the big names that matter and we expect to face them. Oh, and eStar. That is a Chinese team I have got to give credit. They are really on top of the meta in China and seem to be extremely flexible with their comps.
What do your future plans look like now?
Zoia: Keep an eye out of us in all the major tournaments, we are going to destroy them all! Big shout out to our sponsors: Twitch, g2a, Func, and Namecheap.
Tempo Storm - Heroes
Wayde “Dreadnaught” Penfold - Shot caller, Captain, Support
Chris “Zuna” Buechter - Assassin, Flex
Taylor "Arthelon" Eder - Ranged Assassin/Specialist
Josh "So1dier" Miller - Warrior/Flex
Kurt "Kaeyoh" Ocher - Ranged Assassin/Specialist
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