With Korea waiting in the playoffs, Europe’s Team Dignitas and Fnatic grabbed the final two playoff spots by defeating North America, China, and Taiwan. Check out the clips of the best moments here!
Europe’s Team Dignitas and Fnatic survived the final group stage, defeating the best of China, North America, and Taiwan. Last week, South Korea’s MVP Black and Ballistix won their respective groups and secured the first two spots in the playoffs of BlizzCon. As a result, Dignitas will face Ballistix and Fnatic will battle MVP Black in the semifinals. Meanwhile, North America’s Astral Authority and Denial eSports, China’s ZeroPanda, and Taiwan’s Please Buff Arthas were eliminated from the tournament.
Note: Click on the images for highlight clips.
Team Dignitas v. Astral Authority, 2-0 – Group A, Elimination Match (VOD)
The top-ranked teams from Europe and North America had not played each other in 2016. Finally, North America’s top seed Astral Authority faced off against Europe’s best, Team Dignitas. While Dignitas fell to an American team in BlizzCon 2015, they would not let that happen again.
In game one, Astral Authority focused their draft on an Alarak and Dehaka burst damage combination, while Dignitas selected a composition emphasizing counter-initiation and sustained damage.
Astral Authority took a marginal early lead by using Alarak to pull enemy heroes into a Dehaka Drag. Despite getting some early kills and the first Webweaver push, Astral could not do much siege damage. Once they received their heroics, Dignitas retaliated; as the game progressed, they began to dominate the majority of the team fights. Tyrael’s Sanctification, Gul’dan’s Horrify, and Falstad’s Mighty Gust helped negate the deadly fight initiation of Alarak and Dehaka.
Dignitas once again selected Gul’dan and Muradin, while Astral Authority again drafted Dehaka. Astral also grabbed Stitches, Malfurion, and Medivh. Dignitas responded with Zeratul. Before level 10, Astral successfully employed the Stitches Hook into Malfurion Entangling Roots combination to obtain some kills, but Dignitas still controlled the altars and led in core health. After level 10, Astral’s Stitches Gorge and Medivh Portal secured kills more consistently. However, Dignitas began to counter the predictability of the combination by using Gul’dan’s Horrify and Zeratul’s Void Prison to stop the combination or secure a counter kill. Although Astral led in hero kills, Dignitas controlled the objective and the map. With the victory, Dignitas eliminated Astral Authority from the tournament.
ZeroPanda v. Denial eSports, 2-0 – Group B, Elimination Match (VOD)
Both ZeroPanda and Denial disappointed in their first matches of the tournament. With Astral Authority and eStar Gaming’s eliminations, these two teams were the final representatives of North America and China. Chinese and American fans hoped that their respective team would restore the reputation of their region.
ZeroPanda targeted Denial’s Glaurung in the draft, banning Illidan and Chen and taking Zeratul. Furthermore, the Chinese team also grabbed two global heroes, Dehaka and Falstad. In the first team fight, ZeroPanda took a four to zero team fight victory. After establishing a quick lead, ZeroPanda never looked back as they controlled the map and the temples with their two global heroes. As a result, ZeroPanda methodically dismantled Denial to take the first game.
In game two, Denial drafted Jaina and Zeratul. Conversely, ZeroPanda drafted a Greymane-centric composition.
Denial hoped to set up Jaina’s Ring of Frost with Zeratul’s Void Prison. However, ZeroPanda countered with Tyrael’s Sanctification and Uther’s Divine Shield. While not as one-sided as game one, ZeroPanda won the majority of the team fights and controlled the Garden’s seeds. Like in game one, ZeroPanda’s Dehaka constantly exploited poor positioning by Denial. Furthermore, ZeroPanda’s Greymane crushed Denial in team fights. Denial could not reset Greymane’s Wizened Duelist quest talent as Tyrael and Uther constantly protected him. With the victory, ZeroPanda eliminated the final North American team from the tournament.
Please Buff Arthas v. Team Dignitas, 0-2 – Group A, Decider Match (VOD)
The dark horse of the tournament, Taiwan’s Please Buff Arthas (PBA), upset eStar Gaming and Astral Authority and nearly defeated Europe’s Fnatic earlier in the tournament. Teams and analysts constantly underestimated PBA and, once again, they went into this match as heavy underdogs.
In game one, PBA committed to an early Kerrigan, but Dignitas countered with Medivh.
PBA possessed the stronger composition in the early game, but Dignitas possessed a better late-game composition. PBA needed to establish an early lead, but Dignitas played conservatively early on. Moreover, Dignitas’ Medivh prevented PBA from getting any kills by using Force of Will and by scouting PBA’s positions. As a result, Dignitas cruised to a convincing game one victory.
In game two, Battlefield of Eternity made its tournament debut. PBA drafted Greymane and Thrall, while Dignitas drafted Alarak, Malfurion, and Li-Ming. Although PBA won the first two Immortals, Dignitas dominated the team fights. Dignitas used Alarak’s Telekinesis and Discord Strike combination along with Malfurion’s Entangling Roots to secure early kills in the team fights, immediately putting PBA at a disadvantage. After securing their first Immortal, Dignitas showed no mercy. During the push, Dignitas secured kill after kill and, as a result, ended the game.
Fnatic v. ZeroPanda, 2-1 – Group B, Decider Match (VOD)
After Dignitas captured the third playoff spot, only one spot remained. A Chinese team placed in the top four in the last two global championships. However, Europe’s Fnatic defeated ZeroPanda earlier in the tournament. Thus, ZeroPanda would have to avenge their earlier loss to continue China’s streak of top four placements.
In game one, Fnatic surprised with a Rexxar selection. They complemented Rexxar with Tyrande, Jaina, E.T.C., and Zagara. Conversely, ZeroPanda took Johanna and Chen to counter Rexxar and the burst damage composition of Fnatic. Fnatic took a commanding early lead as ZeroPanda could not survive the burst damage of Fnatic’s Tyrande and Jaina. As a result, Fnatic won the first two Zerg objectives. However, as the game progressed, Fnatic had more difficulty in bursting down a hero. Thus, ZeroPanda won the third Zerg objective and began a potential comeback. During the fourth beacon phase, ZeroPanda captured both beacons and cornered Fnatic at the top of the map. Fnatic ended up barely winning the team fight. However, at the same time, ZeroPanda’s Zerg sneakily destroyed Fnatic’s core, giving ZeroPanda the first game. View the end of the game below.
For game two, ZeroPanda drafted two global heroes: Falstad and Dehaka. On the other hand, Fnatic did not draft any and did not take Stage Dive on their E.T.C. In a back and forth game, Fnatic pressured ZeroPanda’s bottom keep for nearly five minutes in a very prolonged fight. Eventually, Fnatic won the team fight, securing two kills. As a result, they captured a late-game Dragon Knight and ended the game.
In the deciding game, Fnatic stuck with a more standard draft, while ZeroPanda brought out Abathur. Fnatic employed a Stitches Gorge, Malfurion Entangling Roots, and Twilight Dream combination in order to secure an immediate single hero kill. While the combination worked the first couple of times, they could not secure the kill later in the game. As a result, ZeroPanda took control. At the end of the game, Fnatic had just one keep remaining, while ZeroPanda had five structures remaining. However, Fnatic eliminated an overextending Tyrael, allowing them to get their first curse of the game. With the curse, Fnatic captured the bottom boss. In response, ZeroPanda rushed Fnatic’s core. View the exciting end to the game below.
With the thrilling comeback victory, Fnatic captured the final playoff spot and eliminated the final Chinese team from the tournament.
Looking ahead: A champion will be crowned
With Dignitas and Fnatic’s victories, the European teams will join MVP Black and Ballistix in a single-elimination playoff. Dignitas will face Ballistix, while Fnatic will play MVP Black. Unlike previous matches, the upcoming semifinals and grand finals will be best of five series.
Tune in to Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm channel on Saturday, November 5 at 12:00 PM PDT to see which team will win and become the BlizzCon 2016 champions.
Follow us on Twitter @GosuGamersHotS and on Facebook for more competitive Heroes of the Storm news and coverage from around the world.
