'Heroes of the Storm' Spring Philippines Finals crowns victor

A champion has emerged from the Philippines National Finals of the “Heroes of the Storm” Global Championship Spring Season.

The Philippines Qualifier, which began on January 16, ended with the Philippines National Finals on February 27. This was a double-elimination tournament which saw the eight best teams from the previous qualifiers competing for the right to represent the country in the upcoming regional tournament.

Renovatio – also known as Renovatio I – emerged the ultimate victor, taking home the Php 75,000 grand prize.

The other teams were Renovatio II, Renovatio 3, Team Unknown, PsiStorm, Altair Esports, Skyline, and Cow Level Gaming.


Round 1 – Fight!

Renovatio, Renovatio II, PsiStorm, and Skyline won their respective Round 1 battles, ensuring their place in the Winners Bracket, and allowing them to proceed to Round 2.


Round 2 – Hang in there!

Renovatio faced off against PsiStorm in the first battle of Winners Bracket Round 2.

The first match took place in the Tomb of the Spider Queen. Early in the game, Renovatio exerted heavy pressure on PsiStorm by capturing several siege giants and bruisers. Renovatio’s Li-Ming and Greymane also proved deadly against enemy heroes. PsiStorm summoned the Webweavers first, which stalled Renovatio’s forward push. Renovatio returned the favor by summoning their own Webweavers, then focusing their efforts on the top lane. They wiped out PsiStorm in the process. Towards the end of the game, Renovatio summoned the Webweavers again, then concentrated on the middle lane. Renovatio smashed through PsiStorm’s defenses and won. The final match statistics were 19 vs. 1 and Lv 17 vs. Lv 13 in Renovatio’s favor.

Cursed Hollow was chosen for their second match. The middle and top lanes saw plenty of action. Despite being cursed, PsiStorm put up an excellent fight, successfully thwarting Renovatio’s onslaught. PsiStorm then captured a Grave Golem, which devastated the top lane. After fending off this attack, Renovatio captured their own Grave Golem, then initiated an assault which led to PsiStorm losing all their forts. Renovatio then eradicated the PsiStorm team, and proceeded to crush their core. The final match statistics were 21 vs. 0 and Lv 17 vs. Lv 14 in favor of Renovatio.

Renovatio won the first battle of Round 2 with a score of 2-0.

The second battle of Winners Bracket Round 2 was between Skyline and Renovatio II.

The first match was set in the Battlefield of Eternity. Skyline laid waste to Renovatio II’s first upper lane fort. Then, an intense brawl at the battleground’s center resulted in Renovatio II’s successful summoning of an Immortal. With it, they obliterated Skyline’s first bottom lane fort. Not long after, Renovatio II gained the assistance of their Immortal a second time. This was, however, followed by Skyline summoning their Immortal twice in a row, which allowed them to flatten Renovatio II’s forts, ultimately leading to their victory. The match statistics were 16 vs. 10 and Lv 21 vs. Lv 20 in Skyline’s favor.

The second match was in the Cursed Hollow. The early game saw the destruction of several forts on both sides. Renovatio II captured the Grave Golem twice, and then cursed Skyline. With the help of more mercenaries, and a second curse, Renovatio II steamrolled their way to victory. The match statistics were 16 vs. 3 and Lv 18 vs. Lv 16 in favor of Renovatio II.

The third match occurred in the Tomb of the Spider Queen. Renovatio II gained the upper hand early in the game, thanks to a boss and the lethal abuse of Li-Ming’s powers. They demolished two of Skyline’s foremost upper and lower lane forts. Skyline summoned the Webweavers, but Renovatio II foiled their offensive, exterminating three Skyline members and crushing their forward mid lane fort. With the help of a Grave Golem, Renovatio II then razed Skyline’s second top lane fort. Far from defeated, Skyline slaughtered the entire Renovatio II team, then smashed their middle and bottom forts. Renovatio II sought vengeance, sneaking their way to the core via the top lane. Skyline vanquished Renovatio II, but not before their core was brought down to 35%. Not wasting time, Skyline summoned Webweavers and destroyed Renovatio II’s second mid lane fort. Skyline then killed three Renovatio II members, before proceeding to shatter their core. The final match statistics were 22 vs. 11 and Lv 23 vs. Lv 21 in Skyline’s favor.

Skyline won the second battle of Winners Bracket Round 2 with a score of 2-1 in their favor.

 

Semifinals – The going gets tough

Renovatio went head to head with Skyline in the Winners Bracket Semifinals.

The first match was held in the Garden of Terror. Renovatio dominated the early competition, destroying the foremost bottom fort and killing three Skyline heroes. Skyline retaliated by throwing siege giants and the Garden Terror at Renovatio. But Renovatio had their own Garden Terror, and with its help, they devastated the Skyline’s first mid lane fort. Renovatio then ravaged two more forts and butchered four Skyline members. Skyline recovered and crushed a top lane fort. But Renovatio summoned the Garden Terror again, and with its assistance annihilated Skyline. The Skyline base undefended, Renovatio bulldozed the bottom lane forts, then demolished the core unimpeded. The match statistics were 23 vs. 8 and Lv 20 vs. Lv 18 in Renovatio’s favor.

The Tomb of the Spider Queen was the setting for the second match. The early game saw all the lanes engulfed in violence as both teams attempted to push forward. Eventually, Renovatio extinguished three Skyline members. Renovatio then summoned the Webweavers and destroyed all three forward forts. Renovatio gained the assistance of a boss, which allowed them to wreck Skyline’s remaining forts. Renovatio swept into the base, crushing the core with the force of a tsunami. The match statistics were 14 vs. 4 and Lv 18 vs. Lv 15 in Renovatio’s favor.

Renovatio won the Winners Bracket Semifinals with a score of 2-0.


Meanwhile, in the Losers Bracket…

Renovatio II climbed its way to Round 3 of the Losers Bracket, then defeated PsiStorm.

After their defeat by Renovatio, Skyline found itself in the Losers Bracket against Renovatio II. Their match was set in the Cursed Hollow. Skyline experienced a promising start, summoning the Grave Golem, smashing through two forts in a row, and wiping out Renovatio II. Renovatio II continued to suffer heavy losses, and even got cursed, which allowed Skyline to destroy three more forts. A turning point came when Renovatio II managed to off three Skyline heroes. After cursing Skyline, Renovatio II’s laser focus on the middle lane gave them access to Skyline’s core, which they pulverized without hesitation. The final statistics were 21 vs. 19 and Lv 23 vs. Lv 22 in Renovatio II’s favor.


Finals – And the heavens trembled

Because Renovatio II won the Losers Bracket, they earned the chance to battle Renovatio for the championship.

Cursed Hollow was the arena for the first conflict between Renovatio and Renovatio II. From early to mid-game, both sides proved evenly matched, with neither team making any real progress. But this didn’t last. Renovatio razed the top and bottom lane forts, then recruited a Grave Golem to bring the pain to Renovatio II in the bottom lane. As if to mirror their opponent’s maneuver, Renovatio II took down Renovatio’s upper and bottom lane forts. Unshaken, Renovatio directed their fury at the middle lane, destroying both forts in the process. This gave them an unbroken passage to the core, which they dismantled with ease. The match statistics were 12 vs. 9 and Lv 18 vs. Lv 17 in favor of Renovatio.

The Battlefield of Eternity was selected for the second match. Renovatio was the first to summon an Immortal, which helped them push the bottom lane. Both teams destroyed one fort each. Renovatio’s Cho’gall successfully soloed an Immortal, summoning a giant demon that allowed them to bring down two bottom lane forts. After both sides suffered heavy casualties, Renovatio recovered to summon another Immortal. Three Renovatio II heroes were terminated, which enabled Renovatio to launch their final top lane push. Renovatio marched to Renovatio II’s core, and turned it to dust. The match statistics were 21 vs. 16 and Lv 17 vs. Lv 16 in favor of Renovatio.

Renovatio won the Final Round with a score of 2-0.




Off to the Regional Grand Finals!

At second place, Renovatio II took home Php 50,000. Third place winner Skyline received Php 25,000.



Renovatio and Renovatio II will both act as the Philippine delegates to the “Heroes of the Storm” Spring Championship Southeast Asia Qualifier, which will be held this March 5 to 6. In this event, they will compete against teams from Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand for the honor of representing Southeast Asia on the global stage.

The Southeast Asian champion will then go to South Korea for the next leg of their journey to the top. — TJD, GMA News