The start of HGC 2017 is about a month away. Teams guaranteed themselves $50,000 and another $50,000 if they finish in the top six or don't fall in the Crucible at the end of Phase 1.
The Favorites to Make the Western Clash
- Bakery (Captain & Support)
- JayPL (Tank)
- Snitch (Flex)
- Mene (Ranged Assassin)
- Atheroangel (Melee Flex)
Having attended every major global Heroes of the Storm tournament, Team Dignitas is Europe's longest-standing and most successful Heroes of the Storm team.
Led by the widely respected James 'Bakery' Baker, Team Dignitas has consistently put up strong performances internationally but has always fallen short of the ultimate goal: to be the best Heroes of the Storm team in the world.
They won both Europe Fall Regionals and placed fourth at BlizzCon, but their performance at the Gold Club World Championship was somewhat disappointing, finishing 5th/6th after a 0-2 loss to ZeroPanda. Are they still Europe's best? The other two contenders below certainly have strong arguments as to why they might be the best European Heroes team.
- Breez (Tank)
- SmX (Support)
- Quackniix (Captain and Ranged Assassin)
- scHwimpi (Flex)
- Wubby (Melee Flex)
Long considered Europe's third best team, things changed when Fnatic picked up Wubby from Team Dignitas after the first Summer Regional. Finally having an all Swedish roster, Fnatic was able to work on and improve team synergy, and they were rewarded when they made a massive breakthrough, defeating Misfits 2-1 in the tiebreaker during the Second Europe Fall Regional, advancing to BlizzCon.
Expectations were fairly tempered for them heading into BlizzCon as they had little international experience. On top of that, many felt that Misfits were the better team, especially after they won the Europe Nexus Games just before BlizzCon by defeating both Team Dignitas and Fnatic. However, Fnatic shocked everyone at BlizzCon with the best performance in 2016 from a Western team at an international event, as they made the Grand Finals, upsetting Korean powerhouse MVP Black 3-1 in the semi-finals. Although Fnatic ultimately fell 3-1 to the other Korean titan, Ballistix, they quickly became a fan favorite at BlizzCon for their incredible performance.
- HasuObs (Ranged Assassin)
- Splendour (Support)
- Nurok (Flex)
- Darkmok (Melee Flex)
- Blumbi (Captain and Tank)
Before the first Spring Regional, little was expected of these guys - they were considered a team of longtime B level talent. So, of course, they shocked everyone at the Spring Regionals when they finished 2nd to Team Dignitas. After Wubby left Team Dignitas the then-mYinsanity would rise to become the #1 team in Europe, defeating Team Dignitas at the second Summer European Regional and at the Summer Global Championship, where they secured their spot in the semi-finals with a win over Team Dignitas, cementing their title.
Of course, Team Dignitas would rise once more and Misfits went through a slump during the beginning of the Fall season. They almost fought their way into BlizzCon despite the terrible start, but ultimately fell 2-3 in the finals to Team Dignitas at the second Fall Regional and 1-2 to Fnatic in the tiebreaker to narrowly miss out on BlizzCon. Misfits did defeat Team Dignitas and Fnatic at the Europe Nexus Games, and many still wonder how they would have fared at BlizzCon and whether or not they are actually Europe's best Heroes of the Storm team.
The Challengers
- adrd (Captain and Flex player)
- Nic (Ranged Assassin player)
- bLaDe (Melee Flex player)
- BadBenny (Tank player)
- cursen (Support player)
Known as the mad scientist, adrd is one of Europe's best drafting minds. Originally on Team Dignitas, he parted ways with them after 2015 BlizzCon, but regardless of what team he has been on, crazy, innovative and quirky drafts have followed. Seemingly done for much of 2016 after struggling to find a team where he fit in, adrd has managed to build and captain a new team capable of strong and impressive Heroes of the Storm play.
Two Bees Determined doesn't necessarily have the strongest individual names or talent, but they have built up significant team synergy that only the big three of Fnatic, Misfits, and Team Dignitas rival or surpass. They showed fairly good play during the European Nexus Games, but it is clear that they are far better now than they were then, as they qualified for HGC 2017 Europe during the first qualifier without dropping a single game. Not even Misfits was able to do that. Look for this team to be the one that picks the Varian, or Sgt. Hammer during league play: remember, these guys will play absolutely anything, as long as it works.
- AlexTheProG (Tank)
- Crozzby (Captain and Ranged Assassin)
- ethernal (Melee Flex)
- Remmerballer (Flex)
- Gnappe (Support)
This team, in some ways, is the opposite of Two Bees Determined. TBD doesn't have the greatest individual talent, but they have incredible team synergy and innovative drafting. In contrast, The Damascus Boys has tons of talent, with most of the players being ex-Natus Vincere (pretty much everyone except Gnappe, although Remmerballer didn't join until Natus Vincere had dropped them). Natus Vincere was always one of the most talented Heroes of the Storm teams, but they just never quite managed to get the great results everyone expected. Gnappe, meanwhile, used to be the support for ePunks, which finished in fourth place at the Europe Nexus Games after they nearly upended Fnatic.
Let's Avoid the Crucible
- Arrakeen (Ranged Assassin/Flex Player)
- Unnstable (Support Player)
- Danatan (Warrior Player)
- Kirwa (Ranged Assassin Player)
- MaJiNTankFTW (Melee Flex Player)
A new team created after the announcement of HGC 2017 Leagues, BeGenius consists of several veteran European Heroes of the Storm players who have played at regionals before, but have never managed to break into the ranks of the elite. After qualifying for HGC 2017 during the second qualifier, they are going to get another chance to show they have what it takes.
- Cris (Ranged Assassin Player)
- nande (Melee Flex Player)
- WolfJoe (Support Player)
- chriZplosion (Co-captain; Warrior Player)
- mTwRaiDbawZ (Co-captain; Ranged Assassin/Flex Player)
The results for Diamond Skin were not initially good, as both Two Bees Determined and The Damascus Boys swept them aside during the qualifiers. The third qualifier was different, as they defeated ExcelenteEleccion 3-0 to qualify in the final European Qualifier. However, this team isn't likely to reach the heights ePunks achieved, as they have to rebuild team synergy after the losses of Gnappe and Remmerballer.
- CEBKAJE (Support Player)
- zwHydra (Melee Flex Player)
- PowerofDream (Warrior Player)
- Neon (Ranged Assassin Player)
- SirIceCream (Ranged Assassin/Flex Player)
SirIceCream is a new player, but the other four are veteran Russian Heroes of the Storm Players who played on Virtus.pro. Virtus.pro was a modestly successful Heroes of the Storm team in 2015 and early 2016, but had difficulty advancing.
With a team filled with veterans, it'll be interesting to see how they do during the HGC 2017 Europe Pro League.
Round-Up
Team Liquid, ExcelenteEleccion and marshrutka are reasonably strong teams that didn't qualify for HGC 2017. They'll be in the Open League, biding their time and staying hungry to take down those 7th/8th place finishers of HGC 2017 in The Crucible, after the first phase of HGC 2017 ends.
As for the teams in HGC 2017, they'll be trying to finish in the top three during the first five weeks of play, as the top three will represent Europe during the Western Clash. HGC 2017 Play should start in about a month.
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