Nomia is an ANZ team that, frankly, not enough people know about. They have dominated their region but, in Katowice, are considered one of the teams you don't need to worry about. All this changed during their match against Misfits.
Nomia were considered underdogs in every way when they were first paired up against Misfits. Before the match, they were underestimated. During the draft phase, they were criticized. During the opening moments of the match, Twitch chat was taking bets on whether they would lose before the 10-minute mark. Even Nomia themselves admitted that they expected Misfits to win the whole tournament.
And then the game on Infernal Shrines started and Nomia held their own at every turn.
They had an experience lead for the majority of the match and their explosive team fight composition seemed to be working. As the casters correctly identified, Misfits' draft was perfect for the battleground. It allowed them to win nearly every objective and the Sylvanas push potential put Nomia at a huge structural disadvantage.
But none of that seemed to matter.
Nomia shows up
At the 13 minute mark, they were ahead on kills and reached level 16 first. Twitch chat was already proven wrong and now, chat became different.
"A PogChamp N PogChamp Z PogChamp"
"Aussie hype!"
"ANZ > EU"
"What am I watching?
At 15 minutes, it became a 2 level lead with Misfits at 16 and Nomia at 18. Nomia had lost all forts and a keep, and yet, they were controlling the battleground. They won the race to 20 and used this advantage to start taking objective after objective.
It was at this time that people started remembering the "Minor Region *Shrug*" comment from Blumbi just a day before. Was his team's preparation for this match sabotaged by the overwhelming groupthink at play? Was anyone realistically assessing Nomia's strength or were we all just shrugging ourselves?
The Mechanics
There was an incredible moment when Nomia was pushing with a late game Punisher and they managed to get a multi-hero Void Prison. Malfurion walked up for the Twilight Dream but he was masterfully countered by a Wailing Arrow from Misfits. Then, Falstad on the side of Nomia timed his Mighty Gust to disengage from Void Prison with precise timing.
It was this moment that made it clear Nomia isn't just a "minor region" team. They can hang with the best teams in EU, pick their comfort picks, and take control of the match.
Just watch this pick off that sealed them the game. Arcaner on Falstad is a playmaker. Muradin's Storm Bolt is immediately backed up by an Epic Mount and Mighty Gust combination. This level of execution isn't what anyone expected from Nomia but here it is, for all to see.
Not just a win
Dreadnaught said it best when describing their win. It wasn't just a squeezed out victory from luck-- "It was dominant". Benjamin94 (akaFat94) of Nomia was allowed to play his best hero, Zeratul, and it was a nightmare for Misfits the entire game. Robadobah on Muradin is a beauty to behold and teams going forward should look to ban these heroes.
Going into Game 2 on Cursed Hallow, Misfits immediately (seriously, it was about as fast as you can possibly execute) banned Zeratul. During the game, they were playing like the Misfits we know. They were disciplined, slow and careful. Their rotations weren't so bloodthirsty and, instead, they slowly gained an XP lead off of superior lane soaking alone. Misfits won the race to 10 and looked to push this advantage.
But Nomia snuck a boss under the nose of Misfits while they were level 9. It was a confident play that reminded us what Nomia is all about-- playing their way whether you like it or not.
After a boss push, Misfits and Nomia clashed and the ANZ team's fighting prowess was on full display. Killing three of Misfits' heroes and taking 0 casualties, Misfits was now behind by two levels and hadn't secured a single hero kill. Nomia proceeded to take the second boss.
After some intense skirmishes and back-and-forth objective pushes, Nomia found themselves at level 19 while Misfits was at 20, giving them the Storm Talent edge. Somehow, Nomia managed to intercept them, bully Misfits away from the capture point and steal the boss, losing no heroes in the process.
But Misfits remain disciplined and didn't panic. They knew Nomia was down on keeps and their passive clearing would eventually stop Nomia's push. Nomia never stopped their push, however, and drove so hard that they arguably threw the game. Wiping at Misfits' core, their own core was left exposed to catapults and the match was tied 1-1
Nerves
Game three was what we expected from Game one.
Nomia was behind throughout the entire game and their draft looked afraid. Rather than adapt to the Dragon Shire battleground and counter Misfits' heroes, they picked comfortable heroes that the analysts couldn't understand. The result was a game with zero Misfits deaths at the 14 minute mark and 6 for Nomia.
Nomia chose first pick and spent it on Zeratul, but Benjamin94 looked like a different player. He was missing skill shots, the Void Prisons weren't there, and Misfits were hardly scared. Pick after pick, it looked as if Nomia was completely out-matched on Dragon Shire.
Misfits took the series, 2-1. The match that everyone thought Misfits would win ended up surprising no one in the end. And yet, it still feels that Nomia had won 2-0 and somehow dropped the ball.
Could Nomia be the real deal?
It's hard to explain what happened during game 1. Was Misfits sleeping and it took 2 games to wake up? Or was Nomia as skilled as they looked but lacked the stamina to keep up that level of play? It's important to note that Misfits is the top-seeded team and still the favorite to win the tournament. If Nomia performed this well vs. them, do the other teams stand a chance against the Aussie underdogs?
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