GosuGamers rankings are determined through an algorithm that gives every tournament a different weight. Things such as prize pool, size, diversity of competition and other factors are all taken into consideration when determining ranks. Therefore rankings are less of a "right now" understanding of teams globally, and more a look over time on the continuous performance of a team. We do this to avoid "flavor-of-the-month" rankings that fail to tell a teams all time legacy.
In the past few weeks, the Heroes of the Storm has seen some major upsets in just about every region, making the Summer Championship one of the most interesting yet. With Cloud9 not even qualifying for DreamHack Summer and MVP Black losing four games to Tempest, there's definitely a power shift happening across the board.
While the top two teams haven't changed, that doesn't necessarily mean they've been performing their best. MVP Black, previously considered unbeatable, recently had a pretty shocking 0-4 sweep to Tempest, leaving fans to question how they will perform at the Summer Championship.
While their loss in Super League isn't enough to knock them off the throne, it is important to note just how much it hurt them. Before their loss to Tempest they were sitting at a rating of just under 1650, far more than any other team ever. Once they lost to Tempest though, they dropped nearly 70 points from one series. If MVP Black doesn't perform well at the Summer Championship, it's only a matter of time before a new team claims the number one spot.
eStar Gaming is considered a top-tier Chinese team, and their performance reflects that. In fact, the only losses they've had recently, and really their only series' that weren't a complete stomp were against MVP Black. If they are able to topple MVP Black in Sweden, there's no doubt their rating will shoot up.
Coming in next on the list are three European teams that are fighting to be considered the best. Team Dignitas and mYinsanity have both qualified for the Summer Regional, leaving Fnatic out. While Fnatic may not have qualified, that doesn't necessarily knock them out of the top European teams. The future performance of Fnatic will dictate whether they rise again or fade into obscurity.
When it comes to mYi and Dignitas though, the teams are nearly equal. Even though mYi dominated Dignitas in the Summer European Qualifiers, it's extremely important to note that the teams are within four rating points of each other. With these teams being so unbelievably close, the Summer Regional will determine the top European team.
Over the last year Cloud9 was easily considered the best North American team, and even rose to the number three team in the world. However, when Naventic took on the Bob Ross Fan Club roster there was a new challenger in the mix. Until recently Cloud9 was able perform as the top-tier team everyone knew them to be, but that's gone downhill quick. Cloud9 has lost many surprising matches recently, and for the first time in what feels like forever they won't be seen at a major regional event seeing as they didn't qualify for DreamHack Summer. Take a look at Cloud9's rating changes over the last month.
With the fall of Cloud9, Naventic had seemingly taken a commanding lead over North America. They were the first NA team to qualify for the Summer Championship and have been a very serious contender in the scene. Even with their recent loss to Gale Force eSports in the Grand Finale of the second NA qualifier, they're still rated the number one team in North America, placing just 6th in the world.
Another North American team worth pointing out is the relatively new Gale Force eSports. Even though they're currently ranked 19 overall, they've made serious progression since their creation. In the second NA Summer Qualifier, GFE won a convincing series 3-0 against Naventic, and their rating have really shot up.
There are major changes happening in Heroes eSports right now with top teams beginning to fall and newcomers beginning to climb the ranks. The Summer Global Championship will be a major event for all of the teams involved, and it will ultimately determine the future for some of these teams.
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