Welcome to Round Table, the series where we get a group of Heroes Lounge players, and discuss various topics in Heroes of the Storm. We are joined today by some Round Table veterans to give you our Power Rankings for the upcoming Blizzcon HGC event.

Hidderino: Former captain of the most rigged team in lounge Snipe City, currently mid/low-master player aiming higher as well as revered loudest moderator in lounge 

Epixors:  Aaaaaughibbrgubugbugrguburgle  (editor translation, offlaner for Minion Genocide, former captain and now sub for Don Our Fedoras, occasional toxic streamer - Twitch/Twitter)

Rozmex: Czech ranged carry for Minion Genocide open division team, grandmaster player, 2x Heroes Lounge winner, known Valla one trick -  Twitch/Twitter

Froge: The man who never feeds, Froge is a Grandmaster player and is player/coach for Treehouse Gaming

Robb: Offlaner for Treehouse Gaming, is the editor for the Round Table Series of articles, and keen backer of the #BanHidde movement Twitch/Twitter

This Round Table was handled a little differently, and to generate our rankings, each of us ranked the 12 Blizzcon teams from 1 to 12. Points were then assigned and tallied for each rank, to bring you the overall ranking you see below you. 12 points were given to 1st, 11 to 2nd, 10 to 3rd, continuing on the same way till you end with 1 point assigned to 12th place. The points each person gave a particular team is listed in brackets next to their comments.

Without further ado, please enjoy our rankings!

12^th: Luna Meow (5 points)

Robb: It was tough to decide between ANZ and Taiwan for the lowest spot, but I feel Lunar Meow is the weakest team in this competition. I'll be shocked if they win a single map. (12^th)

Froge: The Taiwan seed actually failed to win a single map in MSB. The field in Blizzcon is mostly the same, and it's hard to see them having improved much. Also garbage team name. (12^th)

Hidde: Worst team from the worst minor region, nothing more needs to be said. (12^th)

Rozmex: I think Luna Meow will be happy if they get one map win, based on their performance on MSB and slight struggles in Taiwan qualifier group stage. (12^th)

Epixors: Worst team with the worst name. Lost literally every game in MSB group stages 2-0. 12/12 team. (12^th)

11^th: Mindfreak (12 points)

Epixors: Mindfreak is a minor region team, but with very dedicated players. FAT94 and John have both announced they want to move to a major region to play there, so I expect them to come out swinging showing off what they can do. (10^th)

Froge: ANZ at this point is the best minor region, but they're still a minor region. They beat TheOne at MSB but that was it. (10^th)

Robb: With Arcaner and robadobah leaving to play in the European region, ANZ are a shell of their former selves. I think the players they have left elevate them above Lunar Meow, but not by much. (11^th)

Hidde: Mindfreak is also minor region team, therefore low on the list, however they have it in them to upset China. I put them below because I think China does have 2 better teams on paper. (11^th)

Rozmex: They took series of TheOne on MSB but i think it will not happen this time, Mindfreak is still from a minor region. Their premier division was infused with troll teams this phase and in my opinion they have got worse and less scrim than teams in China. (11^th)

10^th: TheOne (13 points)

Robb: Speaking of being a shell of their former selves, we move to the 2nd seed of China. I've always considered China overrated as a region, and I think they are even worse now. (10^th)

Hidde: Anything i'd want to say about TheOne I mention later in the BTG ranking. They're probably more likely to drop to their minor region opponents because they meet the much stronger MindFreak (when comparing them to LM) (10^th)

Rozmex: China will struggle again but as I said with Mindfreak I don't think they will drop series to minor regions, but they are still gonna be the worst major region, mostly for reason that they are really bad macro and only decent at teamfighting. (10^th)

Froge: The #2 seed from China. China is not a good region. Again, last of their group from MSB. Slightly more competitive than Taiwan so they might actually take maps. But nevertheless, I expect them to be dead last in their group. (11^th)

Epixors: The worse team from China, dropped to Mindfreak at MSB. Hasn’t looked particularly impressive during the regular season. If the other teams keep up the macro game I’d expect TheOne to perform pretty miserably. (11^th)

9^th: Beyond the Game (20 points)

Robb: See above for comments on China as a region, BtG is only ranked above TheOne by virtue of being the higher seed in China this season. (9^th)

Froge: Actually a pretty large step up from the previous three, but I still don't expect BtG to contest any of the other regions. IIRC they have a Korean coach who is working with them because he believes they have the most potential to make a splash at Blizzcon from China. Nevertheless, China has massive issues as a region. They basically have the competitive depth of a minor region, which puts a hard cap of any team's advancement because there just aren't good practice partners available. (9^th)

Hidde: China, well they are by far the worst major region and will struggle to do anything. Putting BtG here because they beat SPT and TheOne in the play-offs, not expecting alot from them. (9^th)

Rozmex: Basically what I said about TheOne, but BtG is #1 seed from China. (9^th)

Epixors: BTG is the better team coming out from China, and just has better structural support than Mindfreak does. Still a Chinese team though, so in the bottom 4 they go! (9^th)

8^th: Tempo Storm (28 points)

Epixors: Tempo lost their drafter and macro shot caller in Psalm, and has been recovering ever since. They’re still handicapped by Glaurung on the offlane, and haven’t shown signs of moving past HHE’s level yet. (7^th)

Hidde: TS looked pretty wonky in the play-offs for their region which doesn't look like a good sign for the NA region, they are still far below the power level of both KR and EU and will struggle to beat any of the teams from these regions. (7^th)

Froge: Psalm was a huge loss, even if they adapted reasonably well. The other EU and Korean teams coming are very strong, and this time there's no Ballistix (who historically have issues against new teams and unfamiliar metas because of the lack of a central shotcaller). (7^th)

Rozmex: Since Psalm left they had to get a new shotcaller and drafter. Tempo is still looking shaky, Glaurung is still not an impressive offlaner, they will still beat minor regions and China without problems. (8^th)

Robb: They did well at Mid Season Brawl, but I feel they have tapered off somewhat since then. Have the potential to surprise though. (8^th)

7^th: Team Liquid (29 points)

Hidde: Team Chokequid is my lowest ranked team from KR and EU because they're known to screw up on LANs, their performance in phase 2 has been mediocre at best and I do not see them beating any of the teams listed above here, then again I do believe they will be able to beat the minor regions as well as NA. (6^th)

Rozmex: Liquid on LANs is historically not doing well, on Western Clash they didn't win a series, they didn't look like the #2 team from EU in the last 3 weeks of HGC. I really would like them to prove me wrong. (7^th)

Robb: TL have a tendency to either look really good, or really bad, and I think that going into Blizzcon they're are not going to have a good tournament. Toss up between them and Tempo for who finishes 3rd in their group, I'm leaning towards TL though. (7^th)

Froge: Liquid on LAN, enough said. They probably won't clown to China or minor regions, but they have demonstrated the ability to clown to NA in grand style. And they haven't had a good LAN showing in years at this point. So as much as I don't want to put them down here, I kind of have to. (8^th)

Epixors: Liquid hasn’t looked good at a LAN in ages, and their last phase wasn’t particularly impressive either. Hope to be proven wrong, but don’t have high hopes for this group. (8^th)

6^th: HeroesHearth Esports (33 points)

Robb: The best team in NA, and they are looking pretty good. I see them on a similar level to Leftovers, but I think they will ultimately finish behind them. (6^th)

Froge: Similar situation to Tempo, though replacing Arthelon is arguably a positive (given that he literally ran into towers at clash). Still, roster swaps are going to limit their ability to improve and the top 5 are probably just too good to contest with that kind of handicap. (6^th)

Rozmex: Recent roster swap will make it difficult for them, Homi will be better than Arthelon in long term but for Blizzcon HHE will struggle a lot vs top 5 in my opinion. (6^th)

Epixors: The better team going out of NA, but also currently dealing with the aftermath of a roster swap since Arthelon’s retirement. Hope they put out a strong performance, but contesting the top teams will prove difficult. (6^th)

Hidde: Putting HHE below Tempo purely because of the recent departure of Arthelon, ever since this HHE has looked shaky at best and i do not believe theyre going to be making it out of the quarterfinals. (8^th)

5^th: Leftovers (41 points)

Hidde: Mopsio LAN magic, need I say more? Jokes aside, LE is looking extremely strong coming out of phase 2, being the only team to hold a candle to the almighty DIG and they had an insane showing on their first LAN and I have faith that they will be making it to the semi finals, depending on who they meet in the quarter and semi finals, I even believe they can upset and make the grand final. (4^th)

Epixors: The only team to beat Team Dignitas in phase 2 of HGC Europe 2018. Incredible roster when they’re meshing well, and Mopsio has shown to really carry team morale in LAN settings. They don’t have the opportunity to boot camp though, and are missing good scrims as a result, which will probably hurt them. (5^th)

Rozmex: The Mopsio LAN effect. Not being able to boot camp in NA/Korea will hurt them, but I think they will have a huge shot of getting to semis. (5^th)

Froge: Mopsio at LAN. They have been unable to boot camp, which is going to hurt them in contesting the top spots, but morale and leadership are huge factors in LAN events and Mopsio teams tend to perform well here. (5^th)

Robb: Have won their last 6 games in a row, and Mopsio is looking more and more like one of the best players in Europe right now. The lack of a proper boot camp is the only reason I am putting them this low, but they could certainly surprise people and beat some of the KR teams. (5^th)

4^th: Miracle (46 points)

Epixors: Miracle had the Miracle run and took the victory over Gen.G in the last phase. Incredibly hard to place them as a team, but excited to see where they’ll end up at. They have the opportunity to scrim both the top Korean teams and Team Dignitas, which will give them a lot of opportunity to grow. (3^rd)

Rozmex: Miracle is the second team after Balistix to beat Gen.G and they did it twice this split, they have also shown huge team improvement as well as individually, especially Judy & BlueB2tle. Then Frankle, who started this year as a rookie in Team Feliz, had an outstanding performance in KR playoffs. If they can manage to deal with the Blizzcon LAN pressure I think every team should be watching out for them. (3^rd)

Froge: Placing Miracle is a tough one. They beat Gen.G, lost to Blossom, beat Ballistix. Miracle at LAN is probably scarier than Ballistix at LAN because a lot of their players actually excel under pressure and perform better on LAN, but they are an unknown quantity. Kind of a KR Leftovers. (4^th)

Robb: Miracle did really well to qualify for Blizzcon in what is the most stacked division in HotS, but they are the weakest of the KR teams here in my opinion, and will likely fall short of making the grand finals, barring some sort of "miracle". (4^th)

Hidde: MRC is a big wildcard for me and sits very closely to LE in my opinion, they're the only team to have beaten Gen.G multiple times this year (beating them in both games for phase 2) and by beating BLX and BLS to get here they showed that they're definitely not to be underestimated. However this will be their first LAN and expectations will be high after this phase, in that regard I expect them to falter slightly on the main stage. (5^th)

3^rd: Tempest ( 48 points)

Robb: Don't get me wrong by having Tempest at number 3, I believe they have a serious shot at winning the whole thing. If they can muster up some good performances, they absolutely have what it takes to beat both Dignitas and Gen.G. (3^rd)

Froge: Tempest is good at running it down, but they've never diversified that much. They're going to run over most teams because of their teamfighting, but Gen.G and Dignitas can take them out pretty handily with reasonable prep. (3^rd)

Hidde: Tempest, the 2nd strongest team out of KR has been very consistent and very good over the entire year. They're the best team to put up against GEN.G and DIG for the top 2 spots but they need some ways before they'll be able to beat either of them, although I do believe they have it in them and they are definitely a top contender regardless of that and on paper definitely better than anything below them. (3^rd)

Rozmex: Arguably best teamfight team in the world and thanks to their teamfights they should beat most of the teams, if they step up their macro they will for sure have shot to win Blizzcon. (4^th)

Epixors: Tempest is the prime team fighting team in HotS, which is probably their greatest strength and biggest shortcoming. They will roll over many teams by pushing their buttons well, but fall short against the other top teams who will also #PlayTheMap. (4^th)

2^nd: Gen.G (56 points)

Epixors: Gen.G is still insanely scary, getting so close to having their victory taken from them at MSB, I expect them to have woken up a bit after the loss to Miracle. Guessing who’d win between Dignitas and Gen.G is incredibly hard, but for now, just to offer a bit of a different perspective, let’s say Gen.G. (1^st)

Rozmex: Gen.G the defenders of Blizzcon throne, they are the favorites to win, but they did also lost twice this split to Miracle, plus Dig already took them to the last map in MSB so this leads me to place them below DIG. (2^nd)

Hidde: DIG and GEN.G are the two favourites but seeing how the phase went all in all I put GEN.G below DIG purely based on performance in the league, they are the two strongest teams in the world and will most likely duke it out in the grand finals. (2^nd)

Froge: One of the big favorites to win, Gen.G has nevertheless shown some weakness and lapses in focus in regular season. Pretty much a shoe-in for the finals, and there is only one team I can really see beating them. (2^nd)

Robb: The favourites to win the tournament, and quite rightly too. The most dominant team in the history of HotS, but they shown that they are beatable, even if it is very tough to do so. (2^nd)

1^st: Team Dignitas (59 points)

Robb: Now I know what you are thinking, "Dignitas fanboy picks his favourite team, what a shocker". But I was there at Mid Season Brawl. Dignitas came within a hairs breadth final, and without the extra map for Gen.G winning the upper bracket, they may have done so. I feel this is the year for Dignitas, in what will be JayPL's final tournament (at least for a while), they have all the tools to make it happen, all they need is a little bit of luck on their side. (1^st)

Froge: Barring a massive clown in the Bo3 stages of the playoffs, Dignitas is going to continue ramping up throughout the tournament. If JayPL was burning out before, he can probably put on a stronger performance than ever right before retiring. And Dig has already proven they're more than capable of contesting Gen.G The final was a 3-3, and if it was a Bo5, Dig would have won it. (1^st)

Hidde: I think DIG will beat it out over GEN.G this year, purely basing this on results in the phase and the clashes, DIG has looked just a tiny bit better overall in my opinion and I think they're going to win because of that. (1^st)

Rozmex: Dignitas wants to win and want revenge on Gen.G from MSB and that will drive them, together with JayPL having his last tournament of his career. They shown us on MSB how can they deal with Gen.G and I think this time they will get the win over them. However I still expect a slow start into the tournament and showing better performance from series to series. (1^st)

Epixors: Honestly an incredibly hard call to make, and I may be putting Team Dignitas here just because everyone else is putting them at #1. They came so close to beating Gen.G at MSB, and I think JayPL will be fired up to give the performance of a lifetime, no longer having to worry about how he’ll do after the tournament should be a big weight off his shoulders. (2^nd)

And that's all for another edition of Round Table! Be sure to keep an eye out for our next edition, and once again, if you  have any ideas for new Round Tables or you want to be on one yourself, please hit me up on Discord!