by JR Cook - 8 years ago     show comments

After two days of intense Heroes action, four teams are all that remain at the NA Fall Regional. This event has been a coming out party of sorts for Heroes such as Auriel, Medivh, and even Sgt. Hammer. Auriel has been first ban in several games, and the playmaking potential from Medivh’s portals has been shown repeatedly.

Denial eSports grabbed the top spot from Group A. They started off a bit slow in game one versus Dumpster Tier Superstars, but they quickly found their stride. They ended up sweeping both DTS and Murloc Geniuses 2-0 to earn their spot in the playoffs. Denial showed glimpses of what their potential can be with iDream now on the team, but they also showed some vulnerability.

Murloc Geniuses went thru some ups and downs on day one, but they were eventually able to secure the second spot from Group B. Long known for their creative team comps, MG used more traditional drafts at the first Fall Regional and the result was their first major victory. They returned to their creative ways at PAX West and the results were mixed. They drafted Auriel/Cho’Gall in game one versus Team Name Change. While TNC appeared to have the edge early, the combination of Divine Aegis, Molten Block and Cleanse made Cho’Gall too much to handle as the game progressed In the end he was virtually unkillable. TNC took game two, but MG claimed the series with a win in game three. As mentioned previously, MG lost 2-0 to Denial but the series was closer than the score would indicate. The stage was set for a MG vs. TNC rematch, with the winner going to the playoffs and the loser going home. Unlike the first series, MG was clearly the better team this time around, and they were able to take the series 2-0 thanks to picks like Medivh and Sgt. Hammer.

As you would expect from the so called Group of Death, Group B proved to be quite interesting.

Team Naventic claimed  the top spot in Group B and didn’t seem to miss a beat despite a recent roster change. Astral Authority was considered by many to be a legitimate playoff threat, but Naventic was able to comfortably dispatch them 2-0. Next they faced off against Gale Force eSports in the Winner’s Final. The result was an easy 2-0 victory, proving that it might be time to once again consider Naventic the top team in NA.

This set the stage for a showdown between GFE and Astral for the second spot in Group B. Expectations for both teams were high thanks to recent roster additions (Fan for GFE and Equinox for AA). GFE was the team with all the start power, but their new roster clearly lacked the synergy. Frequent mistakes from GFE were quickly punished by Astral, and the end result was a 2-0 sweep and a trip to the playoffs for AA.

Tune Sunday at 10am PST to see which of these four teams is able to claim the final Blizzcon spot for North America. You can watch all of the action live on Twitch or check out the Heroes YouTube page if you can’t make it for the live stream.