Ballistix dominates GCWC to win second straight international event

Korea reigns supreme at the GCWC, but when it was all said and done, how did the rest of the regions fare?

Event Hub

Ballistix Dominates

Ballistix crushed MVP Miracle 3-0 in the Grand Finals, winning their second straight international tournament this year after winning BlizzCon barely a month ago. Even more impressive, they won the last two maps in a truly decisive fashion, winning in under 15 minutes on Sky Temple and under ten minutes on Battlefield of Eternity.

Ballistix's domination wasn't restricted to the Grand Finals. They did not lose a single match the entire tournament, dropping only three maps during the Round Robin Group Stage. Their playoff performance was even better, as they did not drop a single map in a perfect 8-0 run to the title.

They also showed a pretty innovative composition in game one against MVP Miracle in the upper bracket finals on Tomb of the Spider Queen:

Ballistix ran Zarya as a solo tank, and Tychus as the only standard damage dealer. They have what we might call an infinite shield composition: Tassadar shields, Zarya shields, and Medivh's Force of Will (Brightwing picked Cleanse over Phase Shield at level seven). This made it almost impossible for MVP Miracle to burst down a single target. With Zarya being the only front line target, MVP Miracle winded up dealing a lot of damage to her, but that just fed Zarya's energy levels and allowed her to put out an insane amount of damage. World's strongest woman, indeed. MVP Miracle is probably going to regret not picking a composition that could dive past a Zarya main tank.

Is Miracle the better MVP team?

MVP Black got off to an explosive start at the Gold Club World Championship, winning most of their round robin matches with ease. A late loss to Ballistix, however, dropped them to second place during the Round Robin phase. They then lost to MVP Miracle twice during the playoffs, falling 1-2 to MVP Miracle in the opening semi-finals match and again in the losers' finals. Both times, MVP Black had won the first map but was unable to close it out. Considering how dominant they had been for much of 2016, the shocking loss at BlizzCon to Fnatic and the losses to MVP Miracle at the Gold Club World Championship may be cause for concern.

This might be the best result for the Korean Heroes scene as a whole though, so long as MVP Black keeps playing. It was devastating for MVP Miracle not to make it to BlizzCon, and the team's future was very much riding on them having a strong performance here at the Gold Club World Championship. A Grand Finals appearance certainly fits the bill.

ETC Who? Tyrael reigns Supreme.

It was Europe who first showed the world the power of Tyrael at BlizzCon in 2015, but it is the Koreans who have continued to believe in the power of Sanctification. With a 69% winrate on a 68% involvement rate, Tyrael left no doubt about how good he is in the right hands. First banned for much of the tournament, ETC was totally ignored in Games 2 and 3 of the Grand Finals, as well as Game 1 of the Winners' Finals and Losers' Finals. Meanwhile, Tyrael was first picked in every game of the Grand Finals.

Looking Forward

Winning both BlizzCon and the Gold Club World Championship back to back cements Ballistix's spot as the unquestioned #1 team in the world going into HGC 2017. Which MVP team makes it into the Mid-Season Brawl? Regardless of the answer, we know this: Korea should be a powerhouse on the Global Stage for quite some time.

There were questions about whether the Chinese Heroes scene would survive after a major exodus of talent following the end of the Summer season. Fortunately, The Gold Club World Championship showed that the Chinese Heroes scene still has life. The production of the event from Netease did have some hiccups, but for the most part it was top notch, a promising sign that the Chinese Heroes scene can rebound to reclaim its former glory. ZeroPanda showed a stronger performance here than they did at BlizzCon, decisively defeating European regional champion and BlizzCon semi-finalist Team Dignitas in the playoffs.

Team Dignitas' loss to ZeroPanda doesn't negate the amazing performances European teams showed at BlizzCon. It does, however, suggest that they may not be Europe's strongest team anymore. The HGC 2017 European Pro League should be very interesting, with fierce competition between the three powerhouses in Team Dignitas, Fnatic, and Misfits for the title of best European Heroes of the Storm team.

Astral Authority certainly struggled a lot at BlizzCon and GCWC. However, they gained invaluable experience playing against the world's best, which should be a huge advantage over most of the North American Heroes of the Storm teams they will play during the HGC 2017 North American Pro League. Besides, Astral Authority has always shown that they know how to draft and play against their North American counterparts. Of much more concern is North America's ability to compete with Europe during the upcoming Western Clash. If North America cannot improve dramatically between now and then, the Western Clash will not be pretty.

Follow us on Twitter @GosuGamersHotS for more competitive Heroes of the Storm news and coverage from around the world.

QUICKPOLL Which MVP team will be better going forward: Black or Miracle? MVP Miracle - they defeated MVP Black twice in the playoffs

Thank you for voting! MVP Black has the better players

Thank you for voting!