Diamond Profile Blog Joined May 2009 United States 9882 Posts Last Edited: 2016-02-24 22:21:37 #1

10 players to watch - NA Spring Championship

by: Patrick “ESVDiamond” Soulliere II



With 40 of the top players in NA about to be in one venue this weekend all playing for the coveted spot at the Global Championship in South Korea it can get a bit overwhelming knowing the players to keep an eye on. This article will present 10 of the players you want to keep an eye on above all. Most of the players here are some of the highest impact players on their team and will be a lot of fun to watch!



One of the hardest things in a game like Heroes is getting to know and learn about individual players with such a major focus of the game being on team play. This article will help you learn about some players you may never even have heard of. I have limited each team to no more than two spots per team, and each team will have at least one player listed. This list does not mean “these are the best 10 players” it is simply a list of 10 high impact players to watch.



1: Mike “Glaurung” Fisk





There is no more individually exciting player to watch in the NA scene than Glaurung himself. Known for having one of the most high risk/high reward styles in the Heroes pro scene, every game with Glaurung is something special. Predominantly playing melee assassins Glaurung has been one of the very top players in the NA scene since he started playing back in 2014.



What makes Glaurung so special is he has no fear to make wild and crazy plays that get fans excited. He might randomly 1v3 dive a keep as Illidan, 1v1 the best players with his legendary Zeratul, or disassemble entire teams with his flawless Kerrigan play. In this tournament I would keep a close eye on his Zeratul in particular should COG draft it. He uses a unique style with the Vorpal Blade talent to create one of the most flashy and creative Zeratul play styles in the world. He will sneak off and lie in wait for an unsuspecting carry to wander by and solo kill them outplaying them every step of the way.



While sometimes this playstyle can backfire leaving his team in weird spots, more often than not the plays instead propel his team to victory riding on his back. Glaurung could be the reason COG does not make it to Seoul, or he very well could be the reason they make top two and qualify, that’s what makes him such a “must watch” player. He is such an X Factor for any game he ever plays in that this makes Glaurung stand out above everyone else and the clear #1 player to watch.



Win or lose Glaurung is a superstar player and it’s always a true pleasure to watch him play.



2: Christopher “Zuna” Beuchter





Zuna at this point is probably the most well known and established player in all of Heroes of the Storm. Leading teams in other games to World Championship runs, Zuna has many years of experience in top level competitive play. He brings some of the most solid overall mechanics and legendary shot calling to make him the captain and star player of the Naventic roster.



No other player in this tournament will get as much attention as Zuna. When he dies you better believe twitch chat will erupt in a “ZUNA FEED” chant, and every time he makes a big play you will see "ZUNA" chants. Recently he appears to have taken on the dedicated melee assassin role over on his team from McIntyre and is playing a great deal of Sonya and Zeratul.



As the primary shot caller for Naventic most of their tournament success will come off the energy that a player like Zuna brings. He shouts so loud that in previous games entire rules had to be created to stop him from coming through on the broadcasts, and you better believe you will hear him in the background screaming at the top of his lungs throughout the entire event this weekend.



Zuna is the biggest superstar right now in Heroes of the Storm, and will be a player that you won’t want to miss.



3: Fan “Fan” Yang





Fan is easily the largest breakout player in all of 2015. Starting as a relative unknown player for a small unsponsored team named “Looking 4 Team” Fan has gone onto become a staple of the pro Heroes of the Storm scene. In 2015 he accomplished more than any other individual player has, winning both the Heroes of the Dorm 2015 event as well as the 2015 World Championship.



Earlier this year he swapped from the World Champion Cloud9 roster to Team Naventic (at the time known as Bob Ross Fan Club). The swap ended up showing to be a positive move where he helped lead his team to victory at the Heroes Rising LAN event winning 1st place over Cloud9. Here at the NA Spring Championship he will look to continue that streak of dominance by helping take Naventic to 1st place and the Global Championship in Seoul.



Originally known for his melee assassin play (Illidan in particular) Fan has over time switched to a more traditional ranged carry position. Expect to see him frequently play Heroes like Tassadar, Kael’thas, and Jaina throughout the tournament. While he is not as flashy as he used to be on melee assassin, his world class positioning and play will be a great resource for any ranged carry player looking to up their game.



Fan is a player that will be a large part of Naventic’s ability to win this tournament, and thus should not be ignored at any point.



4: Derek “Dunktrain”Arabian





The long time captain of Cloud9 is easily one of the most popular Heroes players in the world and has a solid resume of winning to back up his fame. One of the most versatile support players in all of Heroes history, Dunktrain is a crucial part of the Cloud9 roster that won the 2015 World Championship. When Dunktrain is on his game and doing well C9 rides waves of success and when he’s off they tend to struggle.



I believe Dunktrain is the largest single part of if Cloud9 makes it to Seoul or not, making him a player to keep an eye on. One interesting note is according to



This is a big weekend where Dunktrain can put himself into to “legend” status if he yet again can pilot Cloud9 to the Global Championship.



5: Quinn “Srey” Fischer





Our #5 spot brings the newest addition to the NA pro scene on this entire list in Srey. While he played something like 2-3 tournaments in the 2015 competitive season he was largely just regarded as a “ladder hero”. However after Blizzcon 2015 he began playing in the competitive scene on a regular basis. In the short time he has been around he has shown his skill and leadership potential, and has given control of the reigns to Tempo Storm. While Kayeoh is still labeled the team “captain” for all intents and purposes Srey is the current captain for Tempo Storm in reality. Tempo Storm is one of the premiere organizations in all of E-Sports and Heroes of the Storm, rising to the status where Srey is with only several months in the scene is rare and an exciting change for the Tempo roster.



He is known in particular for playing Johanna and Leoric boasting rock solid decision making in game. He is willing to die if it means his team can take a massive advantage from his death so don’t be surprised to see him shot calling from the grave. Srey’s biggest opponent this tournament will be Srey, if he can stay calm and composed and inspire his team than Tempo Storm will do well. If he falters and get frustrated early it could be a quick event for a roster with so much potential.



Don’t miss Srey play, Tempo Storm will ride or die based on how he does.



#6: Taylor “Arthelon” Eder





The newest addition to Cloud9 is Arthelon formerly of Tempo Storm. Brought in to relieve issues with Fan for Cloud9, Arthelon is one of the best ranged carries NA has to offer. With a multi game professional history Arthelon is a player that is always game and won’t crack under pressure.



Known in particular for his Sylvanas and Valla play, Arthelon is one of the highest impact carries that exists in the scene today. Lately however he has been put on some less impact roles like support, and this concerns me a bit. I’ve watched Arthelon hard carry entire games with his amazing mechanics and game sense, and while he is a fine support the amount he can do to influence the game is just less overall. I feel if Cloud9 keeps Arthelon on high impact Heroes like Li Ming, Valla, Jaina, and Kael’thas they will see much better success than having Arthelon on low impact Heroes like Brightwing.



7: David “Roflcopter” Young





Team Blaze’s ranged carry Roflcopter has quietly for some time now trending upwards to having the title of a top three ranged carry in NA. While he has shown amazing consistent play, Roflcopter has yet to have a high scale breakout performance to solidify himself as one of the absolute top. This event will give him the stage he needs, and if he performs like he has been recently he could easily end up the player that everyone talks about after the event.



One thing that has impressed me as of late is his ability to escape scenarios where no ranged carry should survive. He will be surrounded 1v5 at 1% health on Jaina, hit a perfect ice block, come out at just the right time to get a huge slow/root and somehow escape, moments later re-entering the fight at full health. This ability to survive adverse scenarios could be a difference make in Blaze taking their first top two finish at a LAN event.



8: Sammuel “Bigempct” Hua





Few people have such an appropriate gamer ID as Bigempct. Bigempct has the ability to set up some of the largest plays you ever have seen to lead his team to victory. Known as a very vocal player he can keep his team morale strong when things are rough or give them the focus to close out a lead in game. Playing ranged carry is a perfect role for a player like Bigempct and he will be the biggest part of the success or failure of Panda Global.



Bigempct has a very diverse Hero pool playing a wide variety of mages such as KT, Zagara, and Jaina, to more traditional AD carries like Raynor and Lunara. If Panda Global gives bigempct the setups to make the big plays and get ahead early and often then Bigempct will be in a situation where he shines. However if they do the opposite he might walk away littlempct. I’m always excited to watch bigempct play and this weekend should be no exception.



9: Miqueas “Wrath” Kim





Wrath is the team captain, manager, and primary ranged carry for Team Nom and this makes him a crucial person to their success. Team Nom has a rough way to start the tournament playing their opening match against defending World Champions Cloud9, and they will likely all look to Wrath if things go south to rally them to victory.



Wrath is an experienced competitor playing on the Heroes of the Dorm 3rd/4th place Illinois Urbana-Champaign team. The LAN experience will do him well as most of his team is lacking it currently. If Team Nom is to stand a chance they need their leader to show up strong and inspire his team with his actions and play. Wrath is thus the most crucial piece of the puzzle for Team Nom.



10: Jerome “KilluZiioN” Tanguay



The player with one of the top three hardest to remember how to spell nicknames in Heroes is the long time up and coming player in KilluZiioN. While KilluZiioN has spent most of his career in smaller amatur teams like Wild Growth he has now entered the big leagues with King of Blades Alpha.



Being the primary warrior for a team is a major responsibility. Much of how teamfights are both started, dictated, and ended are based on what you do and how you do it as a warrior. KilluZiioN is a player that has ample experience doing so and normally seems to be the player you notice the most on any team he plays. King of Blades Alpha has had an outstanding year thus far, but are still not favorites to qualify for Seoul. Clean play and using warrior CC correctly can be the possible difference between King of Blades Alpha dropping early or instead making it from group stages and only one step away from Seoul. One of the hardest things in a game like Heroes is getting to know and learn about individual players with such a major focus of the game being on team play. This article will help you learn about some players you may never even have heard of. I have limited each team to no more than two spots per team, and each team will have at least one player listed. This list does not mean “these are the best 10 players” it is simply a list of 10 high impact players to watch.There is no more individually exciting player to watch in the NA scene than Glaurung himself. Known for having one of the most high risk/high reward styles in the Heroes pro scene, every game with Glaurung is something special. Predominantly playing melee assassins Glaurung has been one of the very top players in the NA scene since he started playing back in 2014.What makes Glaurung so special is he has no fear to make wild and crazy plays that get fans excited. He might randomly 1v3 dive a keep as Illidan, 1v1 the best players with his legendary Zeratul, or disassemble entire teams with his flawless Kerrigan play. In this tournament I would keep a close eye on his Zeratul in particular should COG draft it. He uses a unique style with the Vorpal Blade talent to create one of the most flashy and creative Zeratul play styles in the world. He will sneak off and lie in wait for an unsuspecting carry to wander by and solo kill them outplaying them every step of the way.While sometimes this playstyle can backfire leaving his team in weird spots, more often than not the plays instead propel his team to victory riding on his back. Glaurung could be the reason COG does not make it to Seoul, or he very well could be the reason they make top two and qualify, that’s what makes him such a “must watch” player. He is such an X Factor for any game he ever plays in that this makes Glaurung stand out above everyone else and the clear #1 player to watch.Win or lose Glaurung is a superstar player and it’s always a true pleasure to watch him play.Zuna at this point is probably the most well known and established player in all of Heroes of the Storm. Leading teams in other games to World Championship runs, Zuna has many years of experience in top level competitive play. He brings some of the most solid overall mechanics and legendary shot calling to make him the captain and star player of the Naventic roster.No other player in this tournament will get as much attention as Zuna. When he dies you better believe twitch chat will erupt in a “ZUNA FEED” chant, and every time he makes a big play you will see "ZUNA" chants. Recently he appears to have taken on the dedicated melee assassin role over on his team from McIntyre and is playing a great deal of Sonya and Zeratul.As the primary shot caller for Naventic most of their tournament success will come off the energy that a player like Zuna brings. He shouts so loud that in previous games entire rules had to be created to stop him from coming through on the broadcasts, and you better believe you will hear him in the background screaming at the top of his lungs throughout the entire event this weekend.Zuna is the biggest superstar right now in Heroes of the Storm, and will be a player that you won’t want to miss.Fan is easily the largest breakout player in all of 2015. Starting as a relative unknown player for a small unsponsored team named “Looking 4 Team” Fan has gone onto become a staple of the pro Heroes of the Storm scene. In 2015 he accomplished more than any other individual player has, winning both the Heroes of the Dorm 2015 event as well as the 2015 World Championship.Earlier this year he swapped from the World Champion Cloud9 roster to Team Naventic (at the time known as Bob Ross Fan Club). The swap ended up showing to be a positive move where he helped lead his team to victory at the Heroes Rising LAN event winning 1st place over Cloud9. Here at the NA Spring Championship he will look to continue that streak of dominance by helping take Naventic to 1st place and the Global Championship in Seoul.Originally known for his melee assassin play (Illidan in particular) Fan has over time switched to a more traditional ranged carry position. Expect to see him frequently play Heroes like Tassadar, Kael’thas, and Jaina throughout the tournament. While he is not as flashy as he used to be on melee assassin, his world class positioning and play will be a great resource for any ranged carry player looking to up their game.Fan is a player that will be a large part of Naventic’s ability to win this tournament, and thus should not be ignored at any point.The long time captain of Cloud9 is easily one of the most popular Heroes players in the world and has a solid resume of winning to back up his fame. One of the most versatile support players in all of Heroes history, Dunktrain is a crucial part of the Cloud9 roster that won the 2015 World Championship. When Dunktrain is on his game and doing well C9 rides waves of success and when he’s off they tend to struggle.I believe Dunktrain is the largest single part of if Cloud9 makes it to Seoul or not, making him a player to keep an eye on. One interesting note is according to Gosugamers Stats for Dunktrain Rehgar is his lowest winrate main supports. Right now Rehgar is by a large margin the strongest support and likely strongest hero in the game. Will this throw off Dunktrain or will he stick to other supports like Khrazim, Uther, or Lt. Morales?This is a big weekend where Dunktrain can put himself into to “legend” status if he yet again can pilot Cloud9 to the Global Championship.Our #5 spot brings the newest addition to the NA pro scene on this entire list in Srey. While he played something like 2-3 tournaments in the 2015 competitive season he was largely just regarded as a “ladder hero”. However after Blizzcon 2015 he began playing in the competitive scene on a regular basis. In the short time he has been around he has shown his skill and leadership potential, and has given control of the reigns to Tempo Storm. While Kayeoh is still labeled the team “captain” for all intents and purposes Srey is the current captain for Tempo Storm in reality. Tempo Storm is one of the premiere organizations in all of E-Sports and Heroes of the Storm, rising to the status where Srey is with only several months in the scene is rare and an exciting change for the Tempo roster.He is known in particular for playing Johanna and Leoric boasting rock solid decision making in game. He is willing to die if it means his team can take a massive advantage from his death so don’t be surprised to see him shot calling from the grave. Srey’s biggest opponent this tournament will be Srey, if he can stay calm and composed and inspire his team than Tempo Storm will do well. If he falters and get frustrated early it could be a quick event for a roster with so much potential.Don’t miss Srey play, Tempo Storm will ride or die based on how he does.The newest addition to Cloud9 is Arthelon formerly of Tempo Storm. Brought in to relieve issues with Fan for Cloud9, Arthelon is one of the best ranged carries NA has to offer. With a multi game professional history Arthelon is a player that is always game and won’t crack under pressure.Known in particular for his Sylvanas and Valla play, Arthelon is one of the highest impact carries that exists in the scene today. Lately however he has been put on some less impact roles like support, and this concerns me a bit. I’ve watched Arthelon hard carry entire games with his amazing mechanics and game sense, and while he is a fine support the amount he can do to influence the game is just less overall. I feel if Cloud9 keeps Arthelon on high impact Heroes like Li Ming, Valla, Jaina, and Kael’thas they will see much better success than having Arthelon on low impact Heroes like Brightwing.Team Blaze’s ranged carry Roflcopter has quietly for some time now trending upwards to having the title of a top three ranged carry in NA. While he has shown amazing consistent play, Roflcopter has yet to have a high scale breakout performance to solidify himself as one of the absolute top. This event will give him the stage he needs, and if he performs like he has been recently he could easily end up the player that everyone talks about after the event.One thing that has impressed me as of late is his ability to escape scenarios where no ranged carry should survive. He will be surrounded 1v5 at 1% health on Jaina, hit a perfect ice block, come out at just the right time to get a huge slow/root and somehow escape, moments later re-entering the fight at full health. This ability to survive adverse scenarios could be a difference make in Blaze taking their first top two finish at a LAN event.Few people have such an appropriate gamer ID as Bigempct. Bigempct has the ability to set up some of the largest plays you ever have seen to lead his team to victory. Known as a very vocal player he can keep his team morale strong when things are rough or give them the focus to close out a lead in game. Playing ranged carry is a perfect role for a player like Bigempct and he will be the biggest part of the success or failure of Panda Global.Bigempct has a very diverse Hero pool playing a wide variety of mages such as KT, Zagara, and Jaina, to more traditional AD carries like Raynor and Lunara. If Panda Global gives bigempct the setups to make the big plays and get ahead early and often then Bigempct will be in a situation where he shines. However if they do the opposite he might walk away littlempct. I’m always excited to watch bigempct play and this weekend should be no exception.Wrath is the team captain, manager, and primary ranged carry for Team Nom and this makes him a crucial person to their success. Team Nom has a rough way to start the tournament playing their opening match against defending World Champions Cloud9, and they will likely all look to Wrath if things go south to rally them to victory.Wrath is an experienced competitor playing on the Heroes of the Dorm 3rd/4th place Illinois Urbana-Champaign team. The LAN experience will do him well as most of his team is lacking it currently. If Team Nom is to stand a chance they need their leader to show up strong and inspire his team with his actions and play. Wrath is thus the most crucial piece of the puzzle for Team Nom.The player with one of the top three hardest to remember how to spell nicknames in Heroes is the long time up and coming player in KilluZiioN. While KilluZiioN has spent most of his career in smaller amatur teams like Wild Growth he has now entered the big leagues with King of Blades Alpha.Being the primary warrior for a team is a major responsibility. Much of how teamfights are both started, dictated, and ended are based on what you do and how you do it as a warrior. KilluZiioN is a player that has ample experience doing so and normally seems to be the player you notice the most on any team he plays. King of Blades Alpha has had an outstanding year thus far, but are still not favorites to qualify for Seoul. Clean play and using warrior CC correctly can be the possible difference between King of Blades Alpha dropping early or instead making it from group stages and only one step away from Seoul. Ballistix Gaming Global Gaming/Esports Marketing Manager - twitter.com/esvdiamond