It’s finally time to get the 2018 HGC season rolling! This offseason brought some major shakeups to established rosters in the regions. We have a new super team, another team promoted through disbanding, and a team owned by this website, which won’t create any Reddit rage about “conflict of interest” or “bias” for me throughout the season! We’re just going to have some good, clean, overly opinionated fun together, and I can’t wait.





If you missed the EU version of this article, go check it out. Essentially, what we’re doing with this series is picking three big matches to watch each week. However, we’re not just going to be looking at play on the field, relative strength of the teams, or any of that “hardcore analysis” stuff. Instead, we’ll be focused on the actual humans playing the game, and the storylines going into each matchup. Ultimately, esports are wonderful because they tell more human stories than you’ll ever find on Netflix or HBO. From that perspective, we’re kicking off the 2018 NA HGC season with some real House of Cards type stuff.

Old Gods vs Gale Force Esports

Both of these new rosters are the result of the most volatile shakeups in the region. The mass exodus of GFE, the layoffs of Superstars, the implosion of Naventic, and the inevitable death of Murloc Geniuses all played a role in bringing us these lineups. As a result, there’s interpersonal stuff happening all over the place.

Gale Force Esports had a disappointing season at the end of 2017, missing Blizzcon. At one point this offseason, the only active member on the roster was Akaface. MichaelUdall returns to keep the organization in the HGC, and with him come three veterans with something to prove. Bkid and Fury have both come back to a team that once identified them as “the problem”. It’s a fresh start for everyone.

Then, you have the old gods. Four players who many critics have written off as “past their prime”. They’ve also got Hosty, who weirdly is like the only player who’s role on the official HGC website is actually listed as “specialist” instead of flex. I guess his hero pool only consists of Abathur, Sylvanas, and the Lost Vikings?

Anyway, the most interesting thing about Old Gods is that every one of these “old” players has, at one point in the game’s short history, been the best player in the world at their role. If this roster brought everyone to their peak performance, you could have the greatest team NA has ever assembled. That said, two of those players are transitioning to brand new roles. Once the best Falstad in the world, k1pro is now taking a turn at support while longtime tank player Erho is moving to the offlane. The entirety of Old Gods is made up of interesting questions that could have fascinating answers all season long. None of this even addresses the fact that Zuna, k1, and KingCaffeine are all facing off against their teammates from last season. This match could be the start of a very intriguing new rivalry in North America.

Marquee Matchup: Erho vs bkid

Two former tank mains who were once regarded as elite within their roles have now been pushed to the offlane. Bkid started his offlane journey last season amidst the many woes of Naventic, and actually looked solid in spots with heroes like Malthael. Erho will debut in the HGC at his new role this week, but has been studying hard and practicing like crazy on his stream. Both players are trying to find a second wind, a fresh start for their careers, and their success in their new roles will be critical to either team taking this first victory.

Tempo Storm vs HeroesHearth Esports

Rest in peace Murloc Geniuses, may a pod of tidehunters mrlgrlglglgl you to thy rest. The longest-running team in North America is gone, and in its place we have a shiny new super team! Every member of the team is a veteran with Blizzcon experience and a big personality. The community seems fairly split on whether this roster will run away with the league, or implode in spectacular fashion. The especially interesting piece to this team is the simple question of “who’s going to play what?”





Both psalm and Glaurung are known for their Medivh, Fan and Glaurung have both been known to takeover games with Illidan, and at some point someone is going to have to play Dehaka. We will also see Cattlepillar stepping into the shoes of one of the most well-respected tank players in the game, Fury. With three shotcallers, two captains, a mountain of talent, and a heavy burden of expectation, how will Tempo Storm debut this season?

Standing in their way this week will be another super team, though one with far less pomp and/or circumstance. The HeroesHearth roster came together with the simple goal of demanding the respect of the HOTS pro scene. McIntyre and Khroen were both left out in the cold during the midseason roster changes, and BBJ and ishb00 had narrowly missed the HGC twice. After a hiatus from the competitive scene, the team was completed by returning veteran Arthelon, who had been ousted from the scene in the wake of one of Naventics early mini-implosions. The team may have used Even In Death sprays all season long, but they have no intention of following in their footsteps.

Marquee Matchup: Cattlepillar vs ishb00

If Fury was the problem, Cattlepillar is aiming to be the solution. The tank role has historically been where star-studded teams start to crumble. We saw it when Naventic got rid of Erho, and again when GFE picked up Equinox and moved him to tank. Now we once again see a team release their highly talented tank and replace them with a role swap. Can Cattlepillar be the one to buck the trend? Standing in his way will be a true tank in every sense of the word. He loves playing tanks, he likes talking about tanks, he grinds tanks in Hero League--ishb00 is every coach’s dream of what a tank player should be. That said, he’s brand new to the professional scene. In his debut, he’ll have to initiate into some of the greatest damage dealers North America has ever seen. Is the young gun up to the task, or will his inexperience become an opening for the veterans to attack?

Gale Force Esports vs Team Freedom

For my own sanity, I’m limiting this series to three games per region rather than previewing every match, so I feel kind of bad about putting GFE on here twice. However, this has the potential to be the game of the week. It’s either this or Spacestation Gaming vs Old Gods, so watch that one too and tell me which I should have picked.

We’ve talked already about GFE, but it’s the fact that they play the opening game against Old Gods that makes their match with Team Freedom so rich with intrigue. GFE is one of the great organizations in HOTS. Their fans expect wins and are shocked by losses. If they win against Old Gods, it will set up a fight for top three with TF. If they lose, a win against Freedom will potentially right the ship and immediately flip the conversation around to their opponents.

For Team Freedom, this first match is all about showing that the core of the roster remains strong. In their epic run to Blizzcon, so much of the conversation was about their pickup of Kure, how they’d found the solo queue stud and Dorm champion who transformed them into an elite squad. Now with Kure and the equally talented Daneski off to sad cat land with Team Twelve, its up to KZN, Zugrug, and nazmas to remind fans that they also went to Blizzcon, and played pretty well.

Marquee Matchup: bigempct vs Lutano

The commonalities between these players are fascinating. Both are well-respected talents, they were both on Crucible teams last season, and they’ve joined established, world-class rosters to prove that they are better than what happened to them in 2017. In a less-than-amazing opening schedule, this could be the biggest match of the week. A win on either side could immediately shine a spotlight on that player, propelling them into the conversation alongside names like Fan, Kure, and Psalm.





Heroes has had its rough moments this offseason, but it remains one of the greatest esports games I've ever seen. Week 1 is going to be excellent, and it's just the prelude to another fantastic year of HGC action!





Don't forget to check out the community All Pro Awards to find out who our panel thought were the best players of the 2017 season.