EsportsJohn Profile Blog Joined June 2012 United States 4833 Posts Last Edited: 2017-08-03 12:34:36 #1



A Community At Large Written by: Larkin





With the growth of the HGC and its near constant provision of top tier competitive Heroes action, the concept of a grassroots tournament hasn’t had the same popularity as in other titles. Indeed, Arcane8’s second Bloodlust failed to pick up a sponsor outside of Twitch and was reliant on the community to raise nearly $7,500 (which they did, amazingly), but in the face of adversity, the cast shouldered on and produced one of the most enjoyable little tournaments to grace the Internet in a while.



Qualifiers throughout the previous weeks leading up to the event procured some well-known teams such as Superstars and No Tomorrow as well as some new teams with well known faces, Hold it Down and Donkeys “R” Us. Added to NA’s finest who made it through the community vote, including the defending champions Naventic, the lineup was sure to impress.



The trio of SolidJake, DunkTrain, and Zoia produced a tournament with a relaxed vibe, a lack of censorship, and yet quality production that produced a strong sense of something made by the community, for the community.



Roll20 rolled out the red carpet and beat Gale Force without dropping a map in the finals. During their royal road, they dropped only a single map all tournament. Despite their topsy-turvy performance in the HGC, they were able to collect themselves and play at the best of their game, and though the stakes were lower, it’s a good sign for the struggling NA team.





One of the more standard drafts in the tournament



Tempo Storm, stalwarts of the North American scene, took third place, but Hold It Down—a roster comprised of familiar faces such as Khroen, McIntyre, and Arthelon—managed to secure fourth. Khroen and McIntyre were unable to overcome their former teammates on Gale Force, losing two series against them in clean sweeps, but in general they demonstrated a solid level of play against Naventic and Superstars. The team originally said that they weren’t planning on playing very seriously as a team, but after Bloodlust, one has to wonder if sticking together might be a good plan for them. Their surprise performance suggests that they are definite contenders for the prized HGC pro division spots during the next Crucible.



While there is an element of truth to Tempo and Gale Force hiding some of their strategies for the upcoming Western Clash, they obviously did not play at their best. Still, the level of competition in NA seems far higher than it was earlier this year. Teams like No Tomorrow and Team Freedom have proven themselves to be real challengers, Tempo Storm are no longer dominant, and Gale Force and Roll20 seem to improve with every series. Superstars are still struggling, as are Naventic, but the latter does seem on the cusp of finally clicking together—however, this has been said of them for over half a year now.



Regardless, while the overall quality of NA is often inferior to EU, the standard of competition within it has never been higher, and the promise of more talented Open Division teams should fill the NA scene with optimism.



We can’t make too much of a serious inference about the regional meta following this tournament due to some interesting strategies, picks, and troll comps…but we can say that the meta is continuing to evolve. Cho’gall popped up, and Stukov seemed to have some popularity in the earlier rounds. Brightwing was a common second support. Tass, Dehaka, Uther and Genji remained the first pick/ban choices, and Tracer continued to be super popular. Abathur was also a very popular pick, particularly for Tempo Storm.





i wanna hang out with you guys so bad LOL this is amazing~@Arcane8_GG @DunkTrain @SolidJakeGG @TempoZoia pic.twitter.com/nUpSiEMZP3 — hyzen tal 💛🖤 (@hyzenthlayed) July 31, 2017





The best thing about the event though was its informality. Jake and crew put together a great selection of funny clips featuring the three of them just mucking around (as well as an impressive one of



I hope we see more like it.











Oliver "Larkin" Hughes has been watching people try really hard at video games for the past ten years, and reckons that’s a pretty okay way to spend the rest of his life.



You may run into him in Twitch chat.









Full brackets and results on Liquipedia With the growth of the HGC and its near constant provision of top tier competitiveaction, the concept of a grassroots tournament hasn’t had the same popularity as in other titles. Indeed, Arcane8’s second Bloodlust failed to pick up a sponsor outside of Twitch and was reliant on the community to raise nearly $7,500 (which they did, amazingly), but in the face of adversity, the cast shouldered on and produced one of the most enjoyable little tournaments to grace the Internet in a while.Qualifiers throughout the previous weeks leading up to the event procured some well-known teams such as Superstars and No Tomorrow as well as some new teams with well known faces, Hold it Down and Donkeys “R” Us. Added to NA’s finest who made it through the community vote, including the defending champions Naventic, the lineup was sure to impress.The trio of SolidJake, DunkTrain, and Zoia produced a tournament with a relaxed vibe, a lack of censorship, and yet quality production that produced a strong sense of something made by the community, for the community.Roll20 rolled out the red carpet and beat Gale Force without dropping a map in the finals. During their royal road, they dropped only a single map all tournament. Despite their topsy-turvy performance in the HGC, they were able to collect themselves and play at the best of their game, and though the stakes were lower, it’s a good sign for the struggling NA team.Tempo Storm, stalwarts of the North American scene, took third place, but Hold It Down—a roster comprised of familiar faces such as Khroen, McIntyre, and Arthelon—managed to secure fourth. Khroen and McIntyre were unable to overcome their former teammates on Gale Force, losing two series against them in clean sweeps, but in general they demonstrated a solid level of play against Naventic and Superstars. The team originally said that they weren’t planning on playing very seriously as a team, but after Bloodlust, one has to wonder if sticking together might be a good plan for them. Their surprise performance suggests that they are definite contenders for the prized HGC pro division spots during the next Crucible.While there is an element of truth to Tempo and Gale Force hiding some of their strategies for the upcoming Western Clash, they obviously did not play at their best. Still, the level of competition in NA seems far higher than it was earlier this year. Teams like No Tomorrow and Team Freedom have proven themselves to be real challengers, Tempo Storm are no longer dominant, and Gale Force and Roll20 seem to improve with every series. Superstars are still struggling, as are Naventic, but the latter does seem on the cusp of finally clicking together—however, this has been said of them for over half a year now.Regardless, while the overall quality of NA is often inferior to EU, the standard of competition within it has never been higher, and the promise of more talented Open Division teams should fill the NA scene with optimism.We can’t make too much of a serious inference about the regional meta following this tournament due to some interesting strategies, picks, and troll comps…but we can say that the meta is continuing to evolve. Cho’gall popped up, and Stukov seemed to have some popularity in the earlier rounds. Brightwing was a common second support. Tass, Dehaka, Uther and Genji remained the first pick/ban choices, and Tracer continued to be super popular. Abathur was also a very popular pick, particularly for Tempo Storm.The best thing about the event though was its informality. Jake and crew put together a great selection of funny clips featuring the three of them just mucking around (as well as an impressive one of Jake and his bear cat ). DunkTrain was on hand to give some fantastic beard advice , and Zoia did...um… this . The spirit and banter between players and casters as well as the rest of the community combined with some entertaining games, particularly the WB/LB finals, made Bloodlust a great little tournament.I hope we see more like it. Strategy