Miss any of the action Saturday? Here's the rundown on everything leading us into the Epic Eight.
We are just into the second week of Heroes of the Dorm, and there are only 8 teams remaining in the tournament. With the higher skill levels in play, we were able to see some creative compositions being used to great effect, much more so than last weekend. Worth noting for reference purposes, the first game of every match today began on Tomb of the Spider Queen.
Group A
University of Washington dominated University of California - Irvine in the game one, taking a four level lead by the game's end. In the second game on Towers of Doom, UCI took double tanks and The Lost Vikings, possibly trying to draw from some of the strategies used by professional teams. TLV had a huge effect locking down altars in the end game, but UW was able to lock down Protoges on his Lunara and seal the match. We were surprised to see that UCI allowed UW to take Zagara in both drafts, since they have been so effective at utilizing her.
In a close three-game series, University of Tennessee beat out Louisiana State University. In game one, LSU took a surprise Cho'Gall pick, but UT countered with a Tassadar/Tyrande combo. In game two, LSU was able to take a game through immaculately combining Mosh Pit, Devouring Maw, and Sundering. Tieing it up 1-1, this was one of only two matches to go into a gamer three. In the final game LSU took a double warrior comp that UT countered through Sonya and Falstad. Across the match, UT was able to win simply through better application of split pressure, giving them a gradual, but inevitable lead.
Group B
Boston College decisively defeated Johns Hopkins in both games in their match. On Tomb of the Spider Queen, BC got the first turn-in, and from that point on they were able to prevent JH from getting one SINGLE turn-in. During game two, KingPlato was absolutely unstoppable with his play on Illidan, causing havoc every time he was able to get into the backline.
UT Arlington also had a dominant performance against Carleton University. They are a favorite in this tournament and have been able to make use of having two pro-players from Team Blaze on their roster. Kladeous is a skilled drafter, and this was shown with his selection of Cho'Gall in game one. As early as level 10, UTA was creating 5-man wipes.
Game two was one of the craziest games we've seen in the tournament thus far. Carleton went for a gambit on their draft, banning out Zeratul and following with both Abathur and Murky picks. A risky strategy that pays off when coupled with tight execution
Group C
UConn dominated Ohio State, taking the series in a decisive 2-0 result. UConn took the first Malfurion pick of the day in game one, and also picked a rare Zeratul. DanLeefor3 was absolutely devastating on Zeratul as soon as level 13 empowered him with Wormhole. OSU brought serious aggression to game two, taking Thrall, Greymane, and Lunara. Fenrir had a great game on Lunara, illustrating how much damage she is capable of doing throughout a game due to her damage over time effects. UConn, however, was able to combo ETC's Mosh Pit with Valla's Rain of Vengeance to gain the takedowns necessary to clinch the match.
CAL Berkeley took a 2-0 victory after some great games against San Jose State.
In game one, Overwatcher, had some of the flashiest hooks of the tournament with Stitches. Sagemode was also very effective with his assassin play, utilizing Kael'thas and Raynor, two less common picks so far this tournament. The Golden Mishas are certainly taking advantage of their second chance, advancing to the Super Sixteen due to the disqualification of Harvard earlier this week.
Group D
East Carolina University barely pulled out an insanely close series with University of Minnesota, being the second match of the day to go to a game three. The first game started off very interesting, with ECU drafting their signature double support comp, as well as Anub'arak. If you want to see an interesting match, watch this one. At level 10 Tyrande and Li-Ming chose some rarely chosen ultimates, taking Starfall and Wave of Force respectively. ECU took Anub'arak as a solo tank again in game two, but Minnesota made better use of their ultimates, winning them the game.
Game three on Battlefield of Eternity featured some epic teamfights, with both teams drafting composition they are most comfortable with. By overall winning the team fights, and utilizing Valla and Greymane's superior auto-attack damage against the immortals, ECU was able to take a decisive lead and end the series.
Finally, and most unsurprisingly Arizona State University eliminated University of Pennsylvania two games to none. In the first game, ASU took the first two turn-ins generating a solid level lead. UPenn initiated a couple team fights to try and catch up that almost went decisively in their favor, but each time ASU managed to salvage with their entire team. The same trend occurred in game two, but ASU seemed more comfortable as UPenn didn't ban out Falstad, allowing MichaelUdall to be in his element. This game saw an amazing attempted boss steal by UPenn that they almost pulled off.
Leaving this series we can't help but be impressed with the shear individual talent spread across the ASU players. This has allowed them each to consistently make clutch plays whenever its necessary.
The Epic Eight gets underway Easter Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Pacific/ 2:00 p.m. Eastern. By the end of the weekend, only four teams will be left to battle it out for glory and, more importantly, full college tuition.
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