It's the penultimate week of EU Season 11 and we have some of the most exciting games of the week previewed for you right here.
Division 1
RIP Hots Blizzcon 2k19 vs Hoplita S
Starting in Division 1 we have RIP Hots Blizzcon 2k19 who have had a very strong first season, they sit at 6 wins from 8 which is very respectable. A place in the playoffs is not quite guaranteed just yet but it likely they will make it come the end of the season. The hero this team just can't stand to play against more than any other is Junkrat who they have banished from draft on 9 occasions, nearly double that of the next hero Alarak who sits at 5 bans.
Hoplita S are a team playing under the banner of Spanish Hoplita esports. They have been with Lounge since season 9, they have been a competitive team in Division 1 ever since and only narrowly missed out on a place in the Mythic Championship last season by having inferior map wins in a tiebreaker. Hoplita favour a sturdy frontline as their most played hero is Johanna with a 57.14% winrate over 7 games. A hero that is somewhat less popular for them is Junkrat who they have also played on 3 occasions but you would not expect them to be able to pick that up in this matchup.
Division 2
Hippopotamus vs dears
In Division 2 we have Hippopotamus who are not far off the summit of the standings, sitting only behind Don Our Fedoras who have 1 better map score. They made their debut up in Division 1 last season where they only managed a single win together win a free win and two BYE!'s. They have been flying this season and will be a formidable force for any team who comes up against them in the Legendary Cup. ETC is their most favoured hero up to this point with 7 wins from 9, mostly being utilised as a main tank but he has also appeared in the offlane for them.
Their opponents are dears who I believe are predominantly if not entirely Finnish, are in their second season in Lounge although the individuals who make up the roster have a massive amount of experience between them. They just managed to sneak into the playoffs last season and had a very strong group stage before falling to eventual winners Team snOr in a well contested match. They have drafted Cho'gall this season in their Round 7 matchup but were unfortunately not able to secure a victory on that occasion.
Division 3
Lucky Play vs CoB Geile Banger
Lucky Play are sat at the top of the Division 3 mountain at the moment with 7 wins from 8 and a healthy map score. The only real blemish on their record is a 2-1 loss against Triggered Newbies in round 7. We saw this team with a much changed roster compete in Division 5 for part of Season 9, but they appear to have improved dramatically since then. Offlane Blaze is the standout hero for them so far being picked up 10 times with 7 wins to show for it, but only being banned out 1 time in response.
Facing them is CoB Geile Banger who are sat just behind them in the standings in 2nd with 6 wins. They have not lost a match after the defeat we featured in Round 5 and they will certainly be able to provide a challenge to their opponents here. They impressed last season in the Legendary Cup and are within reaching distance of qualification for it once again. Thrall is an overwhelmingly prioritised hero for them with 11 picks, a 63.64% winrate is what he currently sits at.
Division 4
Nexus' Most Wanted vs Unstopable
Nexus' Most Wanted have had a strong season so far with 5 wins from 8 matches. You only have to look back to Season 9 when they were competing in Division 7 to see how far this team has come, as they now sit on the brink of the playoffs. A couple of wins in their final matches would see them qualify for the Epic Cup, they have not failed to finish in the top 8 of whatever Division they have been in since joining Lounge in Season 8. Yrel is one of their most picked heroes and has a good winrate to justify it, as she returns a 62.5% success rate over 8 games.
On the other side of this encounter we have Unstopable who have a similar record to their opponents but with superior map score. They have scored some impressive victories so far in their debut season and will certainly be a force to be reckoned with if they can secure a place in the Cup. This team has played quite a variety of heroes so far and there are a few that they have picked up only the once that they have found success with and should certainly be taken into consideration by their opponents such as Zarya, Xul, Chromie and Alarak.
Scheduled for 16 Feb 2020 21:00 CET, casted by Coffee https://www.twitch.tv/heyitscoffee_
Division 5
Moustaches vs 500ms
Moustaches sit at 6 wins from 8 matches, a single victory would be enough to guarantee them a spot in the Epic Cup. They lost in the final of the Season 9 Rare Cup to Potatoes007 and will be looking to impress again in the Epic Cup this time around after a strong season so far. They have a few heroes with quite a few games played and a 100% winrate including Malthael (7 picks), Lunara (6 picks), Ana and Zagara (both 5 picks) making it very difficult for their opponents to decide what to ban, although Ana has been the main focus so far with 10 bans.
Last seasons Rare Cup winners 500ms occupy the final playoff spot at time of writing with 5 wins. They put together a good string of 4 consecutive victories earlier this season and will hope they can secure wins in their final fixtures. With their success last season they have shown they will be a team to be wary of if they make it to the Epic Cup this season. Mal'ganis has been one of the main features of their drafts so far with 7 picks and a 71.43% winrate, but it will be interesting to see if they maintain this bearing in mind his recent nerfs. Valla has been pivotal for them this season with a perfect record of 6 wins from 6.
Division 6
Hots shot vs Murphy's Best Friends
Hots shot moved up from Division 7 after finishing 7th last season and have had a respectable start to this season winning half of their 8 matches. The playoffs may be a bit of a stretch due to their negative map score but it could certainly happen. Anub'arak and Sonya sit at the top of their most played heroes list with 10 picks apiece and a 50% and 40% winrate respectively.
They are facing Murphy's Best Friends who moved down from Division 5 last season, they currently have 3 wins from 8 matches meaning that the playoffs might be just out of their reach but if they can pick up another win or two they can certainly look back and call this a positive season. Johanna has been one of the better picks for them this season with a 66.67% winrate over 6 games.
Division 7
FAT Mobile vs The Z team
One of our free agent teams, FAT Mobile have had a very good first season so far with 4 wins from 7. At the time of writing they are still to play their round 8 match, so they certainly have chance to win enough games to propel them into the playoffs. Greymane and Valla have been their favourite heroes so far with 6 picks and a 50% winrate each. Ragnaros is a sneaky pocket pick that has brought them victory on 2 occasions in their Round 6 game, and 1 of them involved a certain wave of lava!
Against the is The Z team who have had an interesting pattern of Win Win, Lose Lose, Win Win, Lose Lose up to this point and following that form should be winning their final two games, if they manage to do that they could well snatch a place in the playoffs, but only time will tell. Li Ming is top of their list with 9 picks and a 44.44% winrate, but Johanna with 6 picks has really brought it home for them by winning 5 of those games.
Thank you for reading, make sure to keep an eye our in the #stream channel of our Discord for any upcoming casts. Scheduled times mentioned are subject to change
Written by Poppin
Heroes Lounge Content Manager, Moderator and captain of EU Division 4 team AFK For Cocoa.
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