Here we are in the penultimate round of Season 10 EU, it has been a fantastic season so far and it's not over yet! Let's take a look at some of the hottest upcoming matches.
Synergy Five vs 5MenStack
Match Link
Synergy Five are the team to beat right now in Division 1, sitting in pole position they have already qualified for the Mythic Championship with their 8 wins from 8 games. Their opponents 5MenStack are themselves a team to be feared, having won their Round 7 match again Team Upheaval in dominant fashion, they will be looking to confirm their place in the Championship with a win here.
Sylvanas and E.T.C. are top picks for Synergy Five, 5 picks apiece with 100% winrate has caused other teams to fear these heroes. The Lost Vikings have been drafted once which resulted in a win, certainly a sneaky pick for other teams to be wary of on larger maps. 5MenStack are still getting great value out of E.T.C. who is at 7 out of 7 wins so far this season. Hanzo is their most prioritised assassin being picked up 7 times and winning 3 of those, other teams have acknowledged this comfort and have responded by banning him 7 times.
Stardust Crusaders vs Oni Chan's
Match Link
The first team in this tie Stardust Crusaders who are currently sitting on 5 wins from 8 matches. This record sits them in 5th position in Division 2 , and on current form you would expect them to push on and qualify for the Legendary Cup. A scheduling mistake caused Oni Chan’s to miss out on a Round 4 fixture, something which may come back to bite them as the race for the playoffs is heating up towards the end of the season. To qualify they might have to win all 3 of their remaining games, something that is plausible after they strengthened their team with some mid-season additions.
E.T.C. has lead the charge for Stardust Crusaders with 7 wins from 10 games, causing their enemies to ban him out on 9 occasions. The healer they have found most success with is Ana who has won 6 of her 7 games, closely followed by Tyrande who has won 5 of the same amount. Oni Chan’s favourite heroes appear to be Raynor and Tyrande, both appearing 6 times with a 50% winrate. A hero who is not often seen on the offlane anymore is Yrel, but this hasn’t stopped Oni Chan’s from drafting her on 4 occasions with a 75% win rate.
Diablo Immortal vs FAT Rodimus
Match Link
Currently in their second season in Lounge, Diablo Immortal are currently on 2 wins from their 8 matches, the most recently of which an impressive win against Akolici Jana Khael'Thasa II (See the cast from Stavi0 here). FAT Rodimus as the name implies are a free agent team, their only win this season came from a BYE! but they did manage to take a map from Vacation in Purgatory in Round 1. After missing out on a round 8 game, they will be hoping to make an impact in their last couple of matches starting here.
Sylvanas tops the picks for Diablo Immortal, but has only won 2 of those 8 games. Stukov appears to have been a successful option for them, winning 3 of his 4 games. FAT Rodimus appear to have a preference for Malfurion and Gul’dan, both being picked up 6 times. As mentioned they have only won a single map and their composition for that game was Tyrael, Malfurion, Hanzo, E.T.C and Kael'thas, perhaps this is a combination that could help them secure a win in this upcoming match.
Zchmerglings vs Owl Exterminators
Match Link
Zchmerglings are in their fourth season in Lounge and have established themselves as a strong team in Division 4. They have won 4 out of their 8 matches and their hopes of qualifying for the Epic Cup are dwindling, winning their remaining 2 games and hoping they come out on top in a tie breaker may be the only path to qualification. Their opponents Owl Exterminators, exterminators of owls have been competing since Season 5 and their roster includes Division S League Manager Phalop and Lounge caster Fictional. At 5 wins out of 8 a winning finish over their last two games would see them qualify for the Cup.
One of Zchmerglings’ main weapons is Anduin, who they have drafted on 7 occasions with a 71.43% winrate and has prompted 6 bans again him. There appears to be one hero that the Zchmerglings fear more than any other and that hero is Sylvanas, who they have banned out 11 times, 4 more than their second most banned hero of Abathur. Owl Exterminators have Jimmy Raynor and Jaina as their most played heroes, the glorified ranged minion coming in at 55.56% winrate over 9 games and the dreadlord at 62.5% over 8 games. The Exterminators appear to have a couple of sneaky picks up their sleeves, in 3 games they have drafted Blademaster Samuro and have success every time. Gazlowe has also seen action winning the one game he was drafted in.
Digital Storming vs Sloth Highlords
Match Link
Digital Storming are a new team who are part of the Digital Mousquetaires community. So far this season they have won 3 of their 7 matches after missing out on a Round 7 tie, scuppering their chances of a playoff spot. On the other side of the map we have Sloth Highlords, a team who have been competing since Season 6 and are captained by resident Google Sheets maestro BWBloody. The Highlords match their opponents record to a T, with 3 wins and also did not play a match in Round 7
Alexstrasza is a somewhat surprising hero at the top of Digital Storming's most played list, with 7 games and a 42.96% winrate she has been mostly utilised on her stronger maps such as Volskaya Industries and Infernal Shrines. A secret weapon of theirs appears to be Illidan, a hero who is rarely seen in recent metas but he has appeared twice for Digital Storming with a 100% win rate. For the Sloth Highlords Diablo is their Prime Evil of choice, with 7 games returning a 57.14% winrate. Hanzo is one of their most successful heroes, managing 3 wins from the 4 times he has been drafted.
Bear With Me vs Operation Petticoat
Match Link
Captained by Lounge caster Celestina and containing Lounge writer pioavenger, Bear With Me are currently sitting at 3 wins from their 8 games and therefore are unlikely to qualify for the Rare Cup but have had a respectable first season nonetheless. Since the last time we featured them Operation Petticoat they have managed to pick up their first victory, a well fought win against Good Grief! in Round 7. Coupled with a BYE! in Round 8 they are at 2 wins from their 8 matches, keeping them off the bottom of the Division.
Gul'dan is the most picked hero for Bear With Me, appearing 8 times with a 37.5% winrate. Old man Deckard clearly has a potion for success with 3 wins from 3 games, the best record of any of their healers. Disappointingly despite having the chance to have a bear with them, Bear With Me have not drafted Misha at any point this season. There is still time for this to change in the remaining two matches. Operation Petticoat have found Raynor to be their most successful hero, he was involved in both of the maps they have won so far. Kael'thas is the hero they fear the most, banning him out on 10 occasions, more than double their next most banned hero Chen who has been banned 4 times.
The Rantners vs Xul - Push Alors !?
Match Link
The Rantners have pushed on from the last time we featured them, they are sitting on 5 wins from 8 matches with 11 map wins. This record puts them in a strong position to confirm their place in the Rare Cup if they can secure results in the last 2 rounds. Standing in their way in Round 9 is a French team in their debut season who go by the name Xul - Push Alors !?, they are currently at 4 wins from 8 matches. Qualifying for the Rare Cup will be tough ask, but they may just be able to squeeze in if they win their remaining matches and other fixtures go in their favour.
Arthas has pushed on as The Rantners favourite hero, in 10 games he has helped secure a very respectable 7 wins. A popular option for other teams in Johanna has not even been drafted once but has instead been banned a surprising 8 times. Maiev is at 3 wins out of 3 at the moment, and it will be interesting to see if they continue to utilise this powerful hero. When it comes to Xul - Push Alors !? as you can imagine the first thing I checked was if they had played Xul, and to my pleasure they have drafted him once with a 100% win rate. Their favourite hero so far is troll warlord Zul'jin who they have turned to on 7 occasions, but they have only managed to win 2 of those games. Despite this other teams have banned him out 6 times, the only hero that has been banned out against them more is Kel'thuzad with 7 by teams who respect his 80% winrate this season.
This has been your Round 9 edition of #RIGGED, we have 1 more week to come before the playoffs and I’m sure it will be an exciting one! Keep an eye out on the calendar and in Discord for upcoming casts!
.png){kind=small}
