After three intense weekends of qualifiers, the eight teams that will represent North America in the Heroes Global Circuit are set, featuring everything from familiar faces from the 2016 season, names from the Grandmaster leaderboards, and even a crazy Twitch streamer.
Automatic Qualifiers
Astral Authority
Jun “Jun” Jang - Support
Manuel “Fury” Medina - Tank
Rori “CauthonLuck” Bryant - Assassin
Ben “cattlepillar” Bunk - Flex
Harrison “psalm” Chang - Flex
Denial Esports
Francis “aPm” Filbert-Brodeur - Support
John Paul “KingCaffeine” Lopez - Tank
Stafford “McIntyre” McIntyre - Assassin
Kun “iDream” Fang - Flex
Keiwan “k1pro” Itakura - Flex
Both of these teams received automatic qualification for the HGC by virtue of their qualification to the 2016 Fall Global Regional at Blizzcon this November. While their performance indicates a disparity between North America and the rest of the world, it will be interesting to see how stable rosters, a consistent league format, and more international tournaments help these teams develop. After very convincing performances at the NA Fall Regional Qualifiers, Astral Authority is a favorite to lead the league. Denial's fate is less certain. The dismissal of Glaurung and addition of McIntyre was beneficial for their drafting, as they now have a much deeper collective hero pool. However, we have yet to see this new roster play. Their first few games will be important for setting the tone for their season.
Players to watch:
Astral Authority - cattlepillar
At the flex position, cattlepillar's hero pool is a huge asset for Astral. Look for them to have consistently strong drafts to complement their mechanical strengths.
Denial - McIntyre
After a year of watching the core of the former Cloud9, the strengths and weaknesses of Denial are known. Their X-factor this season will be the new addition, McIntyre. If the team remains cohesive and McIntyre adapts well, look for Denial to be a threat at the end of the season.
Qualifier #1
Gale Force Esports
Stefen “akaface” Anderson - Support
Fan “Fan” Yang - Assassin
Jon “Equinox” Peterson - Flex
Khalif “Khroen” Hashim - Flex
Michael “MichaelUdall” Udall - Flex
Team Naventic
Kenneth “Kenma” Buechter - Support
Josh “bkid” Choir - Tank
Christopher “Zuna” Buechter - Assassin
Thomas “Tomster” Maguire - Flex
Sammuel “bigempct” Hua - Flex
These two teams earned their spots in the HGC during the first weekend of qualifiers. That result was expected, given the power that each roster has. Gale Force had a disappointing run in the 2016 Fall Regional Qualifiers, falling well short of the cut in both qualifiers. Their shortcomings were likely due to the loss of Flex player Roflcopter and the short notice addition of former Naventic player, Fan. While they did not do well in their first competitions together, they showed great promise in the Braxis Holdout demo games against Denial. Naventic enters the HGC with a chip on their shoulder, having missed out on qualifying for the Fall Global Championship at Blizzcon. Though they reached the semifinals both times, they were unfortunate in having to face Astral Authority both times. Given that they did not reach the finals in either qualifier, they were left out of the tiebreaker match where Denial took out GFE to claim the second NA spot. They have everything to prove this season. Look for Gale Force to prove that they are back after a rough autumn, and for Naventic to prove that their strength never left.
Players to watch:
Gale Force - Fan
In his time at C9 and Naventic, Fan was constantly in the conversation for best assassin player in NA and the World. He is by all means a playmaker, and in a game where one team fight or objective can swing all of the momentum, the team with a playmaker is often the favorite. Look for Fan to have many defining moments for GFE this season.
Naventic - Zuna
Zuna's name has become very familiar over the last year of his career for both good and bad reasons. When Zuna is on his game, he is one of the most threatening players in NA. When he is off, however, he is frequently beaten in lane or randomly picked off, allowing the opponents to steal momentum and begin to snowball. Look for Zuna's play to either carry Naventic to even higher highs on good days, or hurt the team more on bad days.
Qualifier #2
Team Freedom
Jérôme “Killuziion” Tanguay - Support
Merek “Zugrug” Kangas - Tank
Zachary “Insomnia” Hacker - Assassin
Philippe “Nazmas” Laberge - Assassin
Dane “Daneski” Coleman - Flex
No Tomorrow
Ed “TigerJK” Hong - Support
Aaron “erho” Kappes - Tank
Jason “Jason” Mei - Assassin
Kevin “TalkingTrees” Marco - Assassin
Skylar “Casanova” Mulder - Flex
Both of these teams put up very convincing performances in the second qualifier, going 9-1 on games. Team Freedom consists of 5 players who are relatively new to the scene. Other than their performance at the qualifiers under the name Grandmaster Jackets, not much is known about Team Freedom. They have everything to prove entering this season. No Tomorrow, alternatively, is made up of a group of veterans. With former Naventic players erho and Jason headlining the group, No Tomorrow has a very strong lineup. Their combined talents can lead to a successful season this season.
Players to watch:
Team Freedom - Insomnia
Similarly to Fan, Insomnia is the playmaker for Team Freedom. He helped TF put together an impressive highlight reel at the second qualifier. If they continue that level of play, look for Team Freedom to comfortably avoid the Crucible for requalification after the Mid-Season Brawl.
No Tomorrow - Casanova
While four of No Tomorrow's players have been around the scene for a while, not much is known about their new flex player, Casanova. His recent play in the Melee Assassin / Bruiser position has been impressive, and with heroes like Thrall and Zarya in higher tiers in the meta, look for him to have a big positive impact in this position.
Qualifier #3
Dumpster Tier Superstars
Jeffery “iakona” Donal - Support
Quinn “Srey” Fischer - Tank
Francisco “Goku” Avalos - Assassin
Raphael “Hosty” Tsantilli - Assassin
Kayla “Faye” Murray - Flex
Chu8 my hotDoge
Chandler “buds” Gavran - Support
Justin “Justing” Gapp - Tank
Jaehyung “Chu8” Park - Flex
Mike “Glaurung” Fisk - Flex
Orie “YoDa” Gue - Flex
While these teams qualified at the last minute, they both breezed through the third qualifier, going 9-0 through four matches. While DTS has been around since last summer, they are starting to find their niche in the Heroes scene. Strong play in obscure team compositions (e.g. TLV + Abathur + Zeratul) put them in a unique position to succeed this season. Alternatively, what began as an apparent joke of an entry in Chu8 my hotDoge, the league is looking at another very obscure threat. Chu8's wide hero pool coupled with the impressive play of YoDa and buds carried C8MHD through the third qualifier. Their success will likely come down to their drafting more than their playing.
Players to watch:
DTS - Hosty
In the week leading up to the third qualifier, DTS gambled and added Hosty to their squad. Their gamble paid off that weekend as they ended up qualifying, but it will be interesting to see how he meshes with the team in the long term. His role as a teammate will have a bigger effect on DTS than his play.
Chu8 my hotDoge - Glaurung
Though he is often criticized for his small hero pool, aggressive play style, and questionable attitude, Glaurung has matured over the last few months and grown into a very impressive player and shot caller. His drafting and shot calling in the third qualifier helped C8MHD cruise to a qualification and impressive win over former qualifying favorite, Vox Nihili. His new role on the team will define the level of success C8MHD sees this season.