by JR Cook - 9 years ago     show comments

It is the eve of the Americas Championship, and the hype is real.

I was fortunate enough to attend a series of press conferences earlier tonight featuring each of the teams competing in this weekend’s event.  There was a palpable air of excitement in the room, both from the players and the media in attendance.

One of the most interesting things that I took from these interviews, was the stark difference in confidence between the teams.  While the real games won’t start until tomorrow, the teams have spent the last few days at the venue practicing against one another.  This seems to have been a wake up call for some of the teams outside the North American region.

Here is a summary of what each team discussed:

Relics

The South East Asia qualifier was quietly confident.  While they are excited to have an opportunity to compete on such a large stage, they feel as if first place is a realistic goal.  They are not professional gamers, so their preparation time has been severely limited.  They spend a large portion of their time watching VODs and studying the game, as opposed to actually playing it.  As a result they feel like they are very strong strategically, but lack the mechanics of some of the other teams.  They believe the fact that they can play a wide range of Heroes will be an advantage for them.  They prefer larger maps such as Cursed Hollow, and they hope that a strong showing here will help to bring more exposure and sponsors to the SEA scene.

Immunity White

The Australia & New Zealand representative looks like a team that has been shaken by their first exposure to the top North American teams.  Their body language appeared defeated, and they seemed resigned to the fact that they simply do not have the experience or resources to compete against some of the other teams in this event.  They were very open about the fact that their typical aggressive style is not working, and that they are going to have to find a way to adapt.  The ANZ scene is quiet small, and they have had difficulty finding other top competition to practice against.  Their society isn’t accepting of the idea a professional gamer, which makes it difficult for the scene to grow.

Furious Gaming

This team from Latin America was a last minute replacement for the original qualifier, Brave Ozone.  Simply getting to the event on such short notice was a challenge.  Their team had essentially disbanded after the last qualifier, so they had to scramble to organize five players who had the visas necessary to travel here.  They understand the odds are against them, but they are excited to show off some crazy stuff, as they put it.  They said they play for the love of the game, and while they are definitely a dark horse, it would be an interesting story if they were able to make some noise in this event.

Murloc Geniuses

The team formerly knows as Zeveron represents North America.  While they acknowledge that Cloud9 is the team to beat, they say their priority is to beat Tempo Storm in the first round.  They take pride in the fact that they come up with new ideas, and don’t just recycle the same old comps in every event.  Their plan is to shake things up in the draft, and to focus on winning team fights.  They seemed quite confident, and whatever the outcome, it is safe to say the games will be interesting.

compLexity

Another NA team, they feel like their strength is that they are all friends outside of the game, and are much closer than some of the other teams.  They said they are super confident, and plan on surprising the people who underestimate them.  They plan to focus on the draft and versatile compositions.  Like several other teams, they feel like Cloud9 is the team to beat, and they plan to try and deny them a strong early game if they meet.

COGnitive

This North American team recently went thru a roster change, and they feel like they are a much better team as a result.  They were very confident, bordering on cocky.  They were very dismissive of other teams, and how those teams play.  Their style focuses on strong melee assassin play, so as a result they place a low value on warriors.  They agree Cloud9 is the best team, and that the game will be decided in the draft if they play.  They recognized the fact that they often get out drafted, but they plan to continue to play their game.

Cloud9

This is the team coming in with all of the momentum, and they are acknowledged as the team to beat by the other competitors.  When this was pointed, they said that while they have the best players and the best mechanics, that is no guarantee they are going to win.  While it was subdued, they gave off a noticeable air of confidence.  They feel as if the meta has shifted recently to a more aggressive style, and that favors them.  In a shots fired moment, they said they are more scared of compLexity than of Tempo Storm.  They expect some of the teams from outside of NA to try to pick some of the lesser played maps against them, in an attempt to find an advantage.

Tempo Storm

If there is a knock on Tempo Storm, it is that they can be overconfident.  It is hard to argue against that after hearing them tonight.  They openly spoke about Blizzcon as if it were a forgone conclusion that they will be there.  They are mainly focused on Cloud9, and like C9 they expect other teams to try to pick lesser used maps against them.  They feel as if the live tournament setting either exposes your flaws, or brings out the best in you.  If a team is going to beat them, they say that team has to win the early game, and keep pushing their advantage after.

Tune in to the official Heroes of the Storm Twitch channel at 10:00 am Saturday to watch all of the action.  Stay tuned to Blizzpro for additional coverage of the event.