Korea’s MVP Black wins ‘Heroes of the Storm’ Spring Global Championship

After three days of grueling combat, victors have emerged from the “Heroes of the Storm” Spring Global Championship – and they are none other than South Korea’s MVP Black.

The event, which took place in Seoul, South Korea from April 1 to 3, gathered 12 of the world’s best “Heroes of the Storm” teams. Among them were Philippines’ own Renovatio I, who won the Spring Southeast Asia Regional Finals; and North America’s Cloud 9, who made history by conquering BlizzCon 2015’s “Heroes of the Storm” World Championship.

The teams were segregated into the following two groups:


Group A:

Big Gods (Latin America 1st place)
Cloud 9 (North America 1st place)
eStar Gaming (China 1st place)
GIA (Taiwan 1st place)
mYinsanity (Europe 2nd place)
Team No Limit (Korea 2nd place)


Group B:
EDward Gaming (China 2nd place)
MVP Black (Korea 1st place)
Negative Synergy (Australia/New Zealand 1st place)
Renovatio I (South East Asia 1st place)
Team Dignitas (Europe 1st place)
Team Naventic (North America 2nd place)

APRIL 1 – GROUP STAGE 1

Day One of the event saw fights between Team No Limit, Big Gods, mYinsanity, GIA, Team Naventic, Renovatio I, EDward Gaming, and Negative Synergy. The double elimination format of the bracket meant that four teams – two from Group A, two from Group B – had the opportunity to move forward to the second day of the event.

The results of the matches are as follows:


Group A:

Team No Limit (2) vs. Big Gods (0)
mYinsanity (2) vs. GIA  (0)

Winners match:
Team No Limit (2) vs. mYinsanity (0)

With 2 wins, Team No Limit advanced to Group Stage 2 on April 2.

Losers match:
GIA (2) vs. Big Gods (1)

With their defeat, Big Gods were eliminated from the tournament. GIA were awarded another chance to procure a slot on April 2.

Comeback match:
mYinsanity (2) vs GIA (0)

With 2 wins, mYinsanity advanced to Group Stage 2 on April 2. GIA were eliminated from the tournament.


Group B

Team Naventic (2) vs. Renovatio I (0)
EDward Gaming (2) vs. Negative Synergy (0)

Winners match:
EDward Gaming (2) vs. Team Naventic (0)

With 2 wins, EDward Gaming advanced to Group Stage 2 on April 2.

Losers match:
Negative Synergy (2) vs. Renovatio I (0)

With their defeat, Renovatio I were eliminated from the tournament. Negative Synergy won another shot at advancement.

Comeback match:
Team Naventic (2) vs. Negative Synergy (0)

With 2 wins, Team Naventic advanced to Group Stage 2 on April 2. Negative Synergy were sent home.

You can view the April 1 Group Stage 1 matches here () and here.




APRIL 2 – GROUP STAGE 2


The second day saw fights between EDward Gaming, Cloud 9, eStar Gaming, mYinsanity, MVP Black, Team Naventic, Team No Limit, and Team Dignitas. Like the previous day’s competition, Day Two’s double elimination format sent four teams onwards to the Finals.

The results of the matches are as follows:


Group A

EDward Gaming (2) vs. Cloud 9 (1)
eStar Gaming (2) vs. mYinsanity (0)

Winners match:
EDward Gaming (2) vs. eStar Gaming (1)

With 2 wins, EDward Gaming secured a spot in the April 3 Finals.

Losers match:
Cloud 9 (2) vs. mYinsanity (1)

Cloud9’s victory gave them another shot at advancement to the Finals. mYinsanity, on the other hand, were ousted from the competition.

Comeback match:
eStar Gaming (2) vs. Cloud9 (0)

With 2 wins, eStar Gaming earned a slot in the April 3 Finals. Cloud 9, however, were ejected from the tourney.


Group B

MVP Black (2) vs. Team Naventic (0)
Team No Limit (2) vs. Team Dignitas (1)

Winners match:
MVP Black (2) vs. Team No Limit (0)

With 2 wins, MVP Black advanced to the April 3 Finals.

Losers match:
Team Dignitas (2) vs. Team Naventic (1)

With their victory, Team Dignitas won another stab at the Finals. It was, unfortunately, the end of the road for Team Naventic.

Comeback match:
Team No Limit (2) vs. Team Dignitas (0)

With 2 wins, Team No Limit advanced to the April 3 Finals. Team Dignitas were sent home.

You can view the April 2 Group Stage 2 matches here, here, and here. 

 

APRIL 3 – FINALS

On April 3, top four teams MVP Black, eStar Gaming, EDward Gaming, and Team No Limit battled it out for the championship in the tournament’s Final round.


Semifinals

In contrast to the previous two brackets, the Semifinals was a best-of-three single elimination competition.

MVP Black (2) vs. eStar Gaming (0)
EDward Gaming (2) vs. Team No Limit (1)

MVP Black and EDward Gaming moved on to the next and last stage of the tournament.


Grand Finals

The Grand Finals saw MVP Black and EDward Gaming duking it out in a best-of-five single elimination competition.

MVP Black (3) vs. EDward Gaming (0)

With their decisive victory over EDward Gaming, South Korea’s MVP Black have emerged as 2016’s undisputed “Heroes of the Storm” Spring Global Champion. Not only have the team made history, they also won the grand prize of $150,000. Runner-up EDward Gaming took home $75,000. In third place, Team No Limit were awarded $50,000, as were eStar Gaming, who came in fourth.

You can view the April 3 Finals here.


Spring 2016’s Heroes of the Storm!

South Korea and China dominated the “Heroes of the Storm” Spring Global Championships.

Though considered underdogs, China’s EDward Gaming shocked the “Heroes of the Storm” community by proving themselves fierce competitors. Composed of Guo Jiayi (gemini), Pu Hao (m), Chen Tianze (canjian), Song Jize (sk), and Huang Haojie (sr), they held their own against MVP Black, giving their rivals an extremely close match in the first set of the Grand Finals. They also displayed their willingness to take risks with unconventional hero combinations, such as when they used Lt. Morales and Sgt. Hammer in the second set.

At the end of the day, however, MVP Black – which currently consists of Lee Jung Hyuk (Sake), Jung Won Ho (KyoCha), Yi Tae Jun (merryday), Lee Jae Won (Rich), and Yoon Ji Hoon (Sign) – steamrolled the competition. Incurring not a single loss in the entire event, they showed just how near-perfect they were in terms of precision and teamwork. They also demonstrated an uncanny understanding of their heroes’ strengths and capabilities, and were as effective with more traditional picks, such as Muradin, Zeratul, and Uther, as they were with newcomers like Li-Ming, Xul, and Greymane.

We can look forward to seeing all twelve teams, and those aspiring to make it to the international stage, in battle in the near future. For although the Spring Season is over, the upcoming “Heroes of the Storm” Summer Global Championship promises more surprises, more drama, and more action. — TJD, GMA News