The end of season playoffs are in sight, games are starting to heat up as teams realise that winning or losing even a single map can be the difference between qualification and an early end to the season.
5MenStack vs Team Upheaval
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5MenStack are riding high in their first season of Heroes Lounge, including impressive wins over some strong Division 1 sides with their only loss coming from their match against Hard for Deckard. Team Upheaval are competing for the first time since Season 6, and are currently sitting at 3 wins from 6 games. They may have to win all 4 of their remaining games if they hope to qualify for the Mythic Championship.
Malfurion seems to have been one of the keys to 5MenStack’s success to this point, with 6 games played and returning a very health 83.33% win rate. E.T.C. has dominated with 5 wins out of 5 and Valla has an identical win rate from her 4 picks. Team Upheaval have ravaged through their foes with the Queen of Blades Kerrigan, drafting her 7 times with an 85% win rate. 6 of the aforementioned Kerrigan picks she has been accompanied in the Nexus by Tyrael who has helped keep her alive, 5 of these matches ended up in a victory.
Advanced Boss Callers vs Northern Exposure
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Advanced Boss Callers have a very solid record so far in their first season, with 4 wins from 5 matches but their case for the playoffs isn't helped by the fact that a scheduling mishap caused them to miss out on a Round 4 opponent. Northern Exposure are staying frosty while matching their opponents record with 4 wins out of 5 currently and will be in a strong position to qualify for the Legendary Cup if they are able to win both this fixture and their upcoming round 5 tie against The Forever Alones.
Stukov is the most common hero we see from Advanced Boss Callers, he has helped the team to victory 4 of the 6 times he has appeared. Medivh has appeared twice with a 100% win rate, but this has prompted 9 bans in return as a sign of respect to kankeli's prowess with the hero. Northern Exposure have found success with Sylvanas up to this point, 6 picks with an 83.33% win rate is a good showing. Jaina has not been picked up by this team, so I am unable to make a clever comment about how many times they have picked the talent Northern Exposure, consider me disappointed.
Complex vs CoB Geile Banger
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Complex are currently competing in their third season in Lounge, the captaincy for this season has been taken over by Lounge season admin Penelope. This roster also features the Chief Stream for Heroes Lounge Kharis and also caster Aviater. Complex are riding high in Division 3 at the moment with 4 wins out of 6 and managed to grab a map in both of their defeats, something that may help their chances of qualifying for the Legendary Cup if a tiebreaker has to be used to decide the final standings. CoB Geile Banger are the latest addition to the CoB community, they are also in their third season and have had lounge caster and CoB founder Gwels enter the fray as their captain this season. With 3 wins out of 5 so far they are definitely in a position where a run of positive results could push them up from mid table into a position that would qualify them for the Cup.
Tyrande is standing tall at the top of Complex’s picks, appearing 9 times with a very impressive 77.78% win rate. Chromie appears to be somewhat of a secret weapon for them so far winning all 5 games she has been drafted in, so far she hasn't been targeted by other teams during the banning phase but that may change if Penelope continues these impressive performances.
Geile Banger on the other hand have high priority for Johanna and Raynor, both appearing 7 times with 71.43% and 57.14% win rates respectively. They appear to have their own formula for success with Green Jesus himself, Thrall. He matches the aforementioned Chromie record with 5 appearances and 100% win rate. So the question for this match-up is, who would win in a fight Chromie or Thrall? Answers on a postcard
Gaming in the Rhythm vs AFK For Cocoa
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It’s a battle of the undefeated in Division 4 and first up we have Gaming in the Rhythm who have been competing in Lounge since Season 2 and until dropping down this season they have been competing in Division 2. With 5 out of 5 wins while not dropping a single map so far they have established themselves as a powerhouse in this division. AFK For Cocoa used to be called Team Moon Moon, but now they are not. This is their third season in Lounge, and after winning Division 5 in season 8 they will be aiming to improve on some poor showings in the Epic Cup for the last two seasons.
Both of these teams are in a prime position to qualify for the Epic Cup and require only a couple of wins to all but confirm qualification.
As mentioned in the Round 5 preview Gaming in the Rhythm have dominated with all heroes they have picked so far, Mephisto, Lunara and E.T.C. have all been picked 7 times with Johanna and Kael'thas following with 5 picks each. AFK For Cocoa have Junkrat, Johanna and Tyrande as their favoured heroes with 7 picks each, all with an 85.71% win rate. The most banned heroes against them are Garrosh and Diablo with 7 and 5 bans respectively, despite the fact they have yet to play them.
twitch.tv/khaldor vs Nexus' Most Wanted
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First up in this fixture we have twitch.tv/khaldor who could not be any clearer about their support for the caster Khaldor. This is their debut season in Lounge, both for the team and all 5 individuals. Coming up against them is Nexus’ Most Wanted, a team who have been competing in Lounge since Season 8 and as of this season have jumped from Division 7 to 5 and will be hoping they can stand up to the new challenge.
Both teams have 3 wins from 5 games which has them poised on the brink of the playoffs, this positive start to the season has made sure that their destinies this season are still firmly in their hands.
Jaina comes in as the most drafted hero for twitch.tv/khaldor by a narrow margin, she has 4 of the 5 games that they have picked her up. They also have impressive win rates with niche heroes Sgt. Hammer and Murky, both at 100% after 1 game! Nexus’ Most Wanted on the other hand have an unusual most picked hero with goat lady Yrel appearing 9 times with a 55.56% win rate. Lucio is their main healer of choice, he holds an impressive 80% win rate over 6 games.
Goats for Hire vs Twenty One Esport
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Last season in Division 7 Goats for Hire had a record of 6 wins out of 10 and managed to get all the way to the knockout stage of the Rare Cup. This season they have moved up to Division 6 and almost have as many wins as they did last season with 5, and with 5 matches still to play. Their team description claims that they are in fact goats, which considering their winning record this season or even the ability to play Heroes of the Storm at all, I would like to highlight as being very impressive if true. If Twenty One Esport are half the team that last seasons Mythic Championship winners Forty-Two eSports are then they are destined for success. They are sitting at 5 wins out of 6 at the moment and will be hoping to confirm a place in the Rare Cup in the upcoming rounds. Their roster includes Lounge writer and long time competitor peakstyle.
Goats for Hire have a priority for Johanna, winning 5 of the 6 games they have drafted her. They have found The Lost Vikings in draft on one occasion which ended successfully, prompting 3 bans against the hero. Their opponents Twenty One Esport have often looked towards Falstad when drafting, an astonishing 100% win rate over 8 games has been a catalyst to their success. Azmodan has been selected twice and has dunked his way to victory on both occasions.
4.EveR ! vs HaukiGaming
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Here in Division 7 we have two teams who are competing in their first season in Lounge. First up we have 4.EveR ! who based on their name I would make the unfounded assumption that they are in some way connected to 4.FuN ! who are currently in Division 3. They are running a 50% win rate so far this season, winning 3 of their 6 games. Their opponents are a fishy team called HaukiGaming, who make a bold claim to be stronk. So far they are yet to win a game this season, with their one win a BYE! In round 6. Although the Rare Cup might be just out of reach for them, they will be able to finish on a strong note if they can win their remaining matches.
Ana and Kael’thas have shown to be the most picked heroes by 4.EveR ! but have only returned 1 win from the 4 times they have been picked. Falstad, E.T.C. and Jaina on the other hand have managed 2 wins from 3. They have picked 34 different heroes so far, showing they don’t have any strong favourites that they like to secure in draft. HaukiGaming have enjoyed skating around the nexus with Lucio 4 times so far this season, and number only matched by Muradin. Sgt. Hammer has been drafted twice, but has been unable to AFK push her way through the enemies core as of yet.
I'm all rigged out for now, we have 3 more exciting rounds of matches to come before the end of the season.
Make sure to keep an eye on the calendar and in the #stream channel in our Discord for the latest casts!
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