Blizzcon Group C

So, if you remember, in my review of Group A, I called that the "group of death." I was wrong. Group C is the group of death. Every team here is a candidate for  the finals, except for RED Canids, which is still a strong team coming out of the minor region of Latin America.

On a sad note, this was the last season of HGC Copa America. I wonder how Latin America will be decided going forward.

So, NA 1, Roll20, EU 2, Team Dignitas, Korea 3, Tempest. All three of these teams are capable of hanging with MVP Black, FNATIC, and Ballistix (who are sponsoring L5 again after dumping them after they won Blizzcon last year... seriously, what the fuck is wrong with Korean Heroes eSports sponsors), but only two of these teams can go through.

So, what happens?

Match 1: Roll20 over RED Canids

The sad thing is RED Canids is going out 0-4. They will lose this 0-2, and the losers' match. Roll20 already has their vision set on getting out of this group.

Match 2: Team Dignitas over Tempest

Also a 2-0. Dignitas is still, as I have been saying all year, the best team fight team in the world. That has not changed. They will take the fights they want, and Dignitas has wins over MVP Black and Ballistix this year. Tempest is good, but they needed to avoid EU teams to make it out.

Winners' Match: Team Dignitas over Roll20

Sorry, but it's 2-0. Roll20 is not in the elite spot yet. Adding Goku made them stronger, but, at this point, Dignitas is looking to make their third straight push for a Blizzcon championship. They lost 3-0 against Cloud 9 (everyone do a shot) in 2015, lost in the semis to Ballistix in 2016, and they are tired of coming up short. Hot knife through butter, Dignitas dominates Roll20.

Losers' Match: Tempest over RED Canids

As we bid farewell to the Latin American HotS scene, Tempest knocks them out easily. You can skip this match, but don't. Show up, cheer for RED Canids. They have worked really hard and been consistent in a region that is getting very little love. It won't change Tempest running them over.

Deciders' Match: Roll20 over Tempest

I keep going back and forth on this. Last night, I had Tempest. This morning, I have Roll20. Bottom line: Roll20 took two games off of MVP Black at the Mid-Season Brawl, and Tempest could not hang with the top in their own region.

So, since this will be a 2-1. Here's how Roll20 wins: Tempest either targets Glaurung, or they fail to target Prismaticism.

In 2016, the common wisdom was, when playing Glaurung, target his hero pool. This no longer works. If you ban Medivh, Glau goes back to his assassins and wrecks you, and you wasted a ban on Medivh. If you don't ban Medivh, Glau sets up the combos and wrecks you.

Tempest needs to target Prismaticism. The swing on Roll20 is: does Prismat get Chromie when the map calls for it? If he does, Roll20 starts picking targets and Chromie starts deleting. To win, Tempest must target Prismaticism in the draft and try to chip away at what he can do.

I don't think, in the end, Tempest will manage this. They go after Glau, as most teams still do, and they get wrecked.

Group D coming in a few minutes.