Here we are on day 2 of the HGC Finals group stage! Below are links to the matches that happened on day 2 (Oct. 26) and a short synopsis of each game. If you missed out on day 1, here is the link to our recap.

The matches were done on 2 channels, so I have both listed below, though Channel 2 only had one long, casterless video you can access here.

These matches are on the current patch with Mal’Ganis disabled.

Channel 1

Match 1: Tempest vs. Mindfreak

Game 1: Mindfreak takes an NA approach to this draft on Battlefield of Eternity with a main tank Uther double support composition. Despite this, Tempest’s hyper-aggressive main tank Tyrael draft proved to be quite strong and Tempest took the map.

Game 2: After a very back-and-forth early game on Towers of Doom, Tempest began to rack up kills and snowballed that extra EXP into an early level 10. This let them keep a talent advantage throughout the game and ended in Tempest securing the second game in this best-of-2 series.

Match 2: Leftovers vs. Heroes Hearth Esports

Game 1: Leftovers had achieved an early game level lead on Battlefield of Eternity that snowballed into having a very large structure advantage over HHE. Despite this, HHE managed to keep up in EXP very well by snagging kills with their Brightwing/Genji/Li-Ming reset composition. This composition gave HHE the advantage in the group team fights around the Immortals, and after multiple kills, Heroes Hearth Esports was able to take the final Immortal before marching to the Leftovers’ core.

Game 2: Heroes Hearth Esports’ Anub’arak’s beetles occupied tower shots so their Rehgar and Greymane could shred forts and/or keeps without being injured. This strategy earned HHE a solid structure lead over Leftovers and helped make sure that the top Leftovers keep fell to a mid-game objective on Sky Temple. This opening allowed HHE to rush and end the game after wiping out three Leftovers team members.

Match 3: Dignitas vs. The One

Game 1: This Volskaya game was a slugfest with neither team ever having an advantage over the other for too long. Dignitas got wiped at The One’s core and then The One got wiped at Dignitas’ core before Dig finished the job and came out on top.

Game 2: Game 2 was a pretty standard victory for Dignitas on Infernal Shrines. They secured an early level advantage and refused to let go.

Match 4: Leftovers vs. Tempest

Game 1: The Leftovers pulled out the Main tank Xul double support comp that we saw in NA a few weeks ago against Tempest in game 1 on Tomb of the Spider Queen. This off-the-wall strategy has seen success before, but Tempest made a point of deleting Xul when they could and marched through the Leftovers very convincingly.

Game 2: Game 2 saw the Leftovers on a more traditional comp. Despite this, Tempest handily took down Leftovers on Towers of Doom with 29 HP left on their core.

Match 5: Dignitas vs. Heroes Hearth Esports

Game 1: Dignitas drafted a Sgt. Hammer comp on Tomb of the Spider Queen while Heroes Hearth drafted a solo support Abathur. What was a neck-and-neck game became heavily one-sided when Dignitas secured multiple kills, robbing HHE of their precious gems. With three turn-ins in a row, Dignitas came out dominant.

Game 2: Heroes Hearth Esports tried to bring out a slightly different strategy, drafting Valeera in game 2 on Dragon Shire. While the early game seemed promising, Dignitas very firmly took hold of the game and, after an explosive and skill-testing fight over the bottom bruiser camp, took a very decisive victory.

Match 6: Mindfreak vs. The One

Game 1: During a fairly even match on Volskaya, The One managed to secure level 16 talents a minute or so before Mindfreak. This allowed The One to take out a keep, and after winning a later team fight, that downed keep gave them a window to end the game. The One’s draft capitalized on the isolation effects brought by Maiev’s Prison and Anub’arak’s Cocoon.

Game 2: Game 2 took place on Cursed Hollow and was full of many explosive fights, culminating in one final 5v5 on even talent tiers over Mindfreak’s boss. The fight saw Illidan’s Hunt, Tyrael’s Sanctification, Fenix’s Purification Salvo, and ended with The One wiping Mindfreak for yet another win.

Match 7: Tempo Storm vs. Team Liquid

Game 1: Once again Tempo Storm drafted solo tank Uther. Despite an okay early game on Volskaya, they lost in the late game when Team Liquid’s Diablo player could land one Shadow Charge on Uther and dock half his health.

Game 2: Tempo went for a much more traditional “protect Sgt. Hammer” comp this time on Dragon Shire. Tempo was able to sneak an early Dragon Knight and lock down the early game until Liquid got a solid turnaround fight and turned the tides. Catching Tempo’s solo laner in a bad rotation allowed Team Liquid to keep the lead, and it eventually culminated in a win.

Channel 2

Match 1: Miracle vs. Luna Meow

Game 1: Miracle exerted a ton of force on Luna Meow after taking the bottom lane of Towers of Doom. While Miracle defended that bottom bell tower, their Kerrigan took both of Luna Meow’s other towers and ended the game in a quick fashion soon after.

Game 2: On Battlefield of Eternity, Miracle scored a 6-minute keep and rode that pressure to an 8-minute-and-51-second victory with their Sgt. Hammer composition.

Match 2: Gen G vs. Team Liquid

Game 1: Gen G drafted an Alarak on Volskaya against Team Liquid’s standard composition and won with a very distinguished level lead.

Game 2: Team Liquid fell behind in the early game, meaning that Gen G’s forts were still up when Liquid finally got a turn in. This “banked” EXP bought them a level lead over Gen G and got them to level 20. Liquid rode one Web Weaver phase to Gen G’s core, but Gen G fought back and pushed Liquid to their keeps with a turn-in of their own. Gen G then landed another turn-in, but Liquid was able to dash past Gen G to help their catapults win a surprise victory over the #1 team in the world.

Match 3: Beyond the Game vs. Tempo Storm

Game 1: Tempo once more draft Kerrigan backed up by Uther and another support on Dragon Shire. This game was incredibly even throughout, with neither team really securing a permanent advantage over the other. Tempo Storm finally got a late-game Dragon Knight and knocked down one of BTG’s keeps before slamming in with two camps and level 20 talents for the win.

Game 2: In game 2 on Volskaya, we saw main tank Uther yet again backed by Tyrande and Valla versus an Alarak from BTG. It was another very even match between these two teams, but eventually, Tempo’s double supported Valla comp won out.

Standings

Here are the current standings: