Battling for Korea’s first spot at BlizzCon, MVP Black and L5 brawled in the first games on the new Machines of War patch.
Spring Global Champions MVP Black secured Korea’s first ticket to BlizzCon by defeating L5, 3-1. While they did not go to the fifth game like their previous series, the two teams brought out some unique drafts in the first match on the new Machines of War patch. L5 showcased the new Valla rework, while MVP Black surprised with a triple tank composition.
In their previous match in the group stage, MVP Black narrowly defeated L5, 3-2. However, last series occurred on the previous patch. The new Machines of War patch introduced several new variables. While the new map Braxis Holdout and the new hero Alarak were not available, the reworked heroes Valla and the Butcher along with the mount speed changes provided some interesting changes in the teams’ draft strategies.
Each team had different approaches to playing on the new patch. MVP Black stuck with their standard heroes, focusing on the same heroes that were strong in the previous patch. Conversely, L5 experimented more, focusing heavily on securing Valla early in the draft. The stakes were high as the winner would guarantee a spot at BlizzCon.
Games 1 and 2
MVP Black won the first two games with some impressive play from Kyocha’s Tracer and Sign’s E.T.C.
- L5 drafted Valla early in both games, in which she used a Multishot-focused build. While Valla did not win either game, her hero damage was very high.
- MVP Black drafted E.T.C., Tracer, and Brightwing in both games.
Game 3
Down 0-2, L5 drafted the most interesting composition of the series, highlighted by Medivh, Auriel, and Valla.
L5's unique draft succeded, allowing Valla to win her first game of the series:
- L5’s Auriel and Medivh saved their teammates with timely Detainment Strikes, Force of Wills, and Polybombs.
- Valla, with the protection of Auriel and Medivh, crushed MVP Black.
- In the deciding team fight, MVP Black’s Falstad attempted to Mighty Gust L5 into a E.T.C. Mosh Pit.
- However, L5’s Medivh countered with a Polybomb onto E.T.C., allowing L5’s Kerrigan and Valla to survive and kill three of MVP Black’s heroes.
- With the three kills, L5 marched across the map to end the game.
Game 4
In game 4 on Sky Temple, L5 drafted a standard composition. Conversely, MVP Black drafted a triple warrior lineup:
- After L5 committed to Thrall and Zeratul, MVP Black selected Arthas and Leoric as their last two picks to complement Muradin, Li-Ming, and Brightwing.
- MVP Black controlled the game from beginning to end with superior lane presence, stronger wave clear, and greater control of the temples.
- With three tanks in their lineup, MVP Black’s Muradin played very aggressively and put pressure on L5’s assassins.
- In the final team fight at the bottom siege camps, L5 secured their first takedown by eliminating Leoric. However, they spent too many resources doing so.
- The highly sustainable composition of MVP Black remained in the fight, allowing them to slowly eliminate the entire L5 team and win the series.
Fighting for the last spot at BlizzCon
With the victory, MVP Black will make their first trip to BlizzCon. On the other hand, L5 will fall to the lower bracket, but they will have one more chance to secure the final Korean spot at BlizzCon. In the next series, Tempo Storm will face MVP Miracle in a rematch of the group stage. Although MVP Miracle won the first match, the rematch will occur on the new Starcraft-themed patch. The winner will play L5 to determine who will join MVP Black as the two Korean representatives at BlizzCon. Tune in to OGN Global on Tuesday, September 20 at 12:00 CEST to see MVP Miracle battle against Tempo Storm.
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