Caster and esport personality Elliott “Venruki is a former World Champion and an established member of our analyst desk. Check out his to 5 teams to watch for the North America region below:

#1

Team Name: Method Black

Roster: Snutz, Smexxin, Samiyam, Gorecki

Snutz holds the most World Championship appearances of any North American player having placed top 3 five times since 2010. Last year was the first time Snutz played in a regional final and failed to qualify for the World Championship. For a player of his caliber, this was unacceptable and resulted in him going back to the drawing board. With a hand-sculpted roster, who currently sit 1st on the NA ladder, Venruki puts this team at Number 1.

#2

Team Name: Super Frogs

Roster: Chanimals, Wealthyman, Mageiden, Kubzy

Another all-star roster, Chanimals leads his frog army again with the addition of Mageiden for this year. Chanimals was the most recent North American representative to hold the World Championship, and he hopes adding Mageiden on the mage will free up Wealthyman in more of a multi-classing role. Utilizing his elemental shaman, they could run the Warlock-Shaman-Druid composition we saw XRB use to win Europe Cup #1.

#3

Team Name: Bologna Ponies

Roster: Novoz, Thugonomics, Chunli, Vellido

Formerly known as Splyce, this is one of the few rosters to stick together through the off-season. This team came 5th at BlizzCon last year utilizing Vellido and Chunli’s synergy as Windwalker Monk, Death knight. This composition is still strong, and with Thugonomics bringing his patented Destruction Warlock, this is a team that should be feared.

#4

Team Name: Method Orange

Roster: Trill, Mes, Cdew

Another strong cleave team, Trill and Mes are melee specialists. They’ve added Cdew for 2018 and hope to bank in his experience as a 3x BlizzCon competitor in return for that final accolade all 3 of them are so hungry to achieve. As a fan favorite, these players are popular streamers and Venruki states this support can give them a home-town advantage. The roster is still hosting try-outs for a 4th to round out the squad, so watch this space!

#5

Team Name: The Rejects

Roster: Jahmilli, Roastyz, Sethcurry, Rubcub

Every off-season has sob-stories, but you wouldn’t think this is one looking at the roster. Each of the 4 players are considered some of the best of their class, and although they haven’t ever played together this makes them a real wildcard. Jahmilli led Tempo Storm to #1 in online competition last year, and if we learned anything from BlizzCon 2017, it was to never count out Rubcub.