by JR Cook - 8 years ago     show comments

When you are the defending Fall Regional Champions it is hard to say that you shocked the world, but in many ways that is exactly what Murloc Geniuses did this weekend at PAX West.

Despite the fact that they won the first Fall Regional at Burbank, most of the hype coming into the second NA qualifier centered around Gale Force eSports, Team Naventic, and Denial eSports. While many people had Murlocs making it to the playoffs, few people were predicting them to win.

These questions remained after an up and down Day One. They were taken to a Game Three by Team Name Change in their opening match before pulling out a victory. Next they were swept in the Winner’s Finals by Denial, although the games were closer than the score would indicate. They ended up facing TNC once again in the Decider Match, and this time they were able to beat them convincingly.

On the Group B side of things, Naventic steam rolled their way to the top spot in the group. In a bit of a surprise, Astral Authority was able to beat a star studded Gale Force lineup to claim the second spot.

The stage was set for an epic playoff, with the final NA ticket to Blizzcon on the line.

The day started with Astral Authority taking on Denial eSports. Denial quickly showed why many people considered them to be the team to beat with a decisive 3-0 sweep. The combination of K1Pro on Medivh and Glaurung on Kerrigan was devastatingly effective.

In the second match of the day, Murloc Geniuses faced off against Team Naventic. Given Naventic’s dominant play in the group stage, Murlocs found themselves once again in the underdog role in the eyes of many. What followed was an epic five game series, with seemingly endless twists and turns. Games Two and Three were especially epic, leaving the standing room only crowd at the ESL Arena both amazed and confused thanks to a near miracle comeback and a thrilling base race. In the end, MG were able to take the win and move on to the Finals.

While they had already secured a trip to Blizzcon with their victory in the first Fall Regional, Murloc Geniuses still had plenty to play for. In addition to an extra $5000 in prize money, they were also out to prove that they are indeed the best team in NA and that their first win wasn’t a fluke. The fact that a Murloc victory would result in a playoff between Denial and GFE for the final Blizzcon spot only added to the excitement.

Game One was a back and forth affair, with Denial appearing to have a small advantage. They ended up opting for a very risky Core push and Murloc was able to successfully defend and then repush for the win after getting a five man team wipe on Denial.

Denial tried to go back to their combination of Medivh and Kerrigan, but Murlocs was able to get repeated kills on Glaurung, rendering the strategy ineffective. The end result was another MG victory, putting them one win away from back to back titles.

Denial was able to regain the momentum with victories in Games Three and Four and it looked as if we might see a reverse sweep to crush the Murloc dream.

Denial opted to go to Blackheart’s Bay for Game Five and drafted what appeared to be a strong comp. However, Murlocs were able to grab the early advantage, and snowball that into a comfortable victory along with a second title.

^{photo courtesy of Artemishowl}

Once the Murloc Geniuses celebration was complete, attention turned to the eagerly awaited tie breaker between Denial and Gale Force.

In the end, the playoff proved to be anticlimactic. Game One was decided when GFE made a bad decision to contest a boss and lost three Heroes as a result. Game Two brought a Rexxar pick for Denial and everyone knows that iDream doesn’t lose with Rexxar. The end result was a 2-0 sweep for Denial and a ticket to Blizzcon.

^{photo courtesy of ESL}

Congratulations to both Murloc Geniuses and Denial eSports For earning their way to Blizzcon and GG WP to everyone associated with this event.