After the previous Cup write-up, we now come to the Championship write-up. Though it is already Thursday, the stats mentioned here were snapshot early on Monday, and may be radically different from what both divisions look like now. That being said, and without further ado, let’s head on over into:
While division 2 usually falls short of the skill level displayed by their bigger brothers, it would be folly to underestimate them. In both seasons 4 and 5, a team from this division made it into the top 6 of the Championship, beating out more than a few division 1 teams in the process.
At the top of the standings, we find the home of legendary feeder and Overwatch-hero-hater Undead, The Forever Alones, as well as team GRIEFINGS, whose name I shan’t spell out fully for reasons of paragraph length. Both of them have won all of their four matches so far, with The Forever Alones losing one map less than their competition. Whenever these two teams meet, it will be a clash of titans, or at least of memes. With both teams largely unchanged from last season, both of them are a force to be reckoned with in division 2. Team synergy counts in Heroes of the Storm, and these teams will surely use this to defend their spots at the top.
In hot pursuit, we find newcomers to the Lounge Deadly Penguin Squad, Heroes of Inclement Weather, and 1 Trick Pony. All of these teams have lost only one match, though the latter two are scheduled to duke it out in round 5. Deadly Penguin Squad, who should have a natural rivalry with veteran team PenguinArmy, have shown a preference for several Overwatch assassins, while Heroes of Inclement Weather bring out Gul’dan more often than expected in the current meta. 1 Trick Pony, meanwhile, seem to be one-tricking Tyrael with some success, having played him five times and having him banned out against them five times as well.
Several high finishers from last season’s division 3 are also present. Sadly, the promoted teams haven’t been able to break through to the top. CoB sGhoul, known as Digule Digule last season, are three and two, while Alt und Adipös and Team Why No Follow are two and two each. AuA, as they are known by the casters who don’t want to try and pronounce German, have won more maps and are holding on nicely for having been promoted twice in two seasons. Division 2 gets six playoff spots, so these teams will have to hurry up and not drop too many series if they want to clamour for a chance at the Championship.
The top division of Heroes Lounge has always been filled with teams that want to play at the highest level. Several teams have participated in Blizzard’s Open Division in the past, with a tenth place in the overall standings after seven cups being the best result. Matches frequently involve multiple Grandmaster players, and the quality is as you would expect.
As of right now, however, there is one team that rules the roost. Zenon Esports have not dropped a single map so far in their five matches played. Nor did they have an easy route to get here: they went up against Season 5 runner-up Flavia Felix in round two and ended with over double the takedowns over those two games. Most of the team are returning players to the lounge, with Nikurasu and Montana belonging to Season 4 team Namez 2 Hard, and the synergy of the team is not to be denied. Perhaps it is early to call favourites in a Swiss system with half the rounds to go, but Zenon Esports are definitely frontrunners in a stacked division.
Chasing teams are on the prowl to dethrone Zenon, however. Water Dragons have only lost one game so far, crucially also taking a map in that lost series, just as Memeldor’s Meme Machines and several others have done. Map Score could be the deciding factor at the end, especially if the field remains as close as it is right now. It should be said, however, that neither of the mentioned teams have faced Zenon just yet, though that will undoubtedly happen soontm for the Water Dragons, as they are the round 6 opponents of Zenon.
One team that have gone up against Zenon are newcomers Leklej Kapr. Apart from that 2-0 loss, they have only dropped one map, utilising Malfurion and Medivh for great success. Medivh and Abathur are common bans against them, but this just leaves open other heroes for the team of captain Oxeos to wreak havoc with. A great start for this new team, and one that they will seek to build on in the second half of this season.
Just like their counterparts one division lower, the promoted teams from Division 2 aren’t having the best start of the season. Battle Beast Boys are currently highest up with three wins and two losses, while Pocket Toads are two and two, as are Raging Xpress. The season is long yet, though, and with a total of ten playoff spots to be divvied up, none of these teams are out yet.
Division 1 wouldn’t be division 1 without a few Lounge personalities, and as it so happens, we have two teams that fit the bill. Lounge relics Don Our Fedoras and the new meme abomination that is Chen Needs Nerfs play host to some of the most seasoned Disciples of Salt in the Lounge, and as it so happens, they will be meeting each other in their round 5 match. DoF have been together for multiple seasons, but with last season winners Rzmx and Galnegunnar in the team, CNN definitely is no fake news. If you have time, tune in for this match tonight, which will be casted on the main Twitch channel.
.png){kind=small}
