In the grand finals, Astral Authority once again triumphed over Denial eSports to win their third consecutive tournament.
In the final week of the NA Nexus Games playoffs, Astral Authority (formerly Murloc Geniuses) once again asserted themselves as the #1 team in North America. With standard yet robust drafts, swift lane rotations, and superior team fighting prowess, Astral Authority cruised through the Nexus Games.
Denial eSports v. Gust or Bust, 3-1 (Losers’ Finals)
In the losers’ finals, Denial eSports crushed Gust or Bust. While Gust or Bust upset Gale Force eSports last week, their play this week was not nearly as impressive. Unfortunately, Gust or Bust played without Equinox and without him the team lacked the synergy that they displayed against Gale Force.
Despite playing with a substitute, Gust or Bust managed to win game three primarily due to Denial’s uninspiring Lost Vikings play. With the exception of game three, Denial easily won the other three games with superior map control and team fighting. Denial displayed heavy emphasis on drafting Tychus for damage, Malfurion or Brightwing for their support, and E.T.C. or Muradin for their tank. Similarly to last week, both teams first- or second-banned Zarya, despite her recent nerfs.
Astral Authority v. Denial eSports, 4-1 (Grand Finals)
Astral Authority dominated Denial last week in the winners’ finals. However, last week, Denial played without one of their players, Glaurung.
Since Astral Authority won the winners’ finals, they started the series with a 1-0 lead. In game two on Cursed Hollow, Denial took a commanding victory with excellent map control. Denial avoided 5v5 team fights and instead won via superior lane rotations. At the end of the game, Astral Authority’s Falstad had less than 10,000 hero damage.
In game three on Warhead Junction, Denial attempted to win via map control. They drafted the Lost Vikings, but Astral Authority countered with Falstad and Zeratul. Astral Authortiy pressured the Lost Vikings and forced and dominated team fights. While Denial secured the often-banned Zarya, she had little impact. With Denial’s loss, Zarya possessed a mere 30% win rate during the NA Nexus Games.
In game four and five on Sky Temple and Garden of Terror, Astral Authority drafted Alarak for their player, psalm. With psalm’s Alarak, Astral Authority slaughtered Denial in the final two games. Unfortunately, Denial had no answer for Astral’s impressive Alarak play as Alarak secured kill after kill. The kill count in the last two games combined was 25-1 in favor of Astral Authority. With the two victories, Astral Authority won the series and thus won another North American tournament. Astral Authority has now won their last three tournaments, demonstrating that they are the clear #1 North American team.
Looking ahead to BlizzCon
The top two teams of the NA Nexus Games, Astral Authority and Denial eSports, will represent North America at the 2016 Blizzcon Global Championship. Tune in to Blizzcon 2016 on October 26-28 and November 4-5 to watch the biggest Heroes of the Storm international tournament of the year.
You can view the BlizzCon tournament schedule, here.
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