How do the teams in HGC 2017 North America stack up going into Week 3?
- Gale Force eSports
- Team 8
- Tempo Storm
- Superstars
- Team Naventic
- B Step
- Team Freedom
- No Tomorrow
My Power Rankings going into next week
1. Team 8 (3-0)
Results this week: Defeated Superstars 3-0
It seems surreal that in a period of just two weeks, Team 8 has gone from being considered potential relegation material to best team in the HGC 2017 North America. But the facts don't lie - this team is 3-0 with a 9-1 record, and they destroyed a previously unbeaten Superstars team. To put things in perspective, Superstars had as many match wins as all of Tempo Storm's opponents COMBINED. It was so one-sided that Superstars pulled out the Cho-gall Auriel cheese on Braxis Holdout in Game 3, and it did not trouble Team 8 in the slightest.
Bottomline, Team 8 has been the most consistently impressive team in HGC 2017 North America and fully deserve this ranking. While Tempo Storm are the defending North American champions, they have been too inconsistent from match to match to deserve the #1 ranking so far.
2. Tempo Storm (3-0)
Results this week: Defeated Team Freedom 3-2; Defeated B Step 3-0
Tempo Storm opened this week in the worst possible way: with a sub 9 minute loss to Team Freedom, as Tempo Storm repeatedly fell victim to swaps from Artanis. In the end though, Tempo Storm was able to survive the spirited challenge from Team Freedom, and recover for the 3-0 obliteration of B Step.
The sub 9-minute loss to Team Freedom might not even be the most shocking thing about Tempo Storm's performance in HGC 2017 so far. For example, did you know that Tempo Storm has not picked Ragnaros once in 13 maps? Do they know something about the meta that the rest of NA teams don't?
Maybe Tempo Storm lost a bet or they are looking for a hidden in-game achievement: Win the first phase of HGC 2017 North America without drafting Ragnaros.
3. Gale Force eSports (2-1)
Results this week: Lost to Team Freedom 2-3
So last week, this team looked like the best team in North America. This week, we got to see Gale Force eSports first rotation pick TLV on Warhead Junction, which was an unmitigated disaster. This led to a decisive Game 5, where Team Freedom's Nazeebo was too much for Gale Force eSports to handle in the late game.
It's a really disappointing loss for Gale Force eSports, as this is the sort of match they should win if they want to be in the running for best team in North America.
4. Superstars (2-1)
Results this week: Defeated No Tomorrow 2-1; Lost 0-3 to Team 8
Their victory against Team Freedom last week seemed solid but not spectacular. That is, until we saw what Team Freedom was able to accomplish today. Suddenly that 3-1 win looks a lot more impressive, doesn't it? With a solid follow-up 3-1 match win against No Tomorrow on Friday, Superstars has shown that they are one of the better teams in North America, even if they aren't quite one of North America's best.
Let's get this out of the way: Superstars did not play very well in their match against Team 8. Multiple times, several members of Superstars did not use their heroics very well, and that cost them dearly. But despite this, they are still 2-1 overall with a head to head win over Team Freedom and an additional match win in hand, which makes it very difficult to drop them out of the #4 spot despite how poor they looked today.
5. Team Freedom (1-2)
Results this week: Lost to Tempo Storm 2-3; Defeated Gale Force eSports 3-2
Before HGC 2017 North America started, I believed that these guys were the #8 team in the league. I was dead wrong. Facing the hardest possible schedule in North America, Team Freedom rose spectacularly to the occasion for such a young team, managing to go 5-5 in map record and 1-1 in match record against the very best in North America.
This has got to be the most impressive one-week performance in HGC 2017 North America so far, and the only reason they aren't ranked higher is that Superstars has the clear head to head advantage plus an additional win.
6. Team Naventic (1-2)
Results this week: Defeated No Tomorrow 3-2
Team Naventic falls into a 0-2 hole in every match. After they played like total garbage in game 2, I was seriously thinking about ranking them #8 and concluding they were the worst team in HGC 2017.
Much to their credit, they really raised their level and was able to pull off the reverse sweep on No Tomorrow to get their first win in HGC 2017. They still need to work on drafting and positioning - if they don't step it up here, Naventic has zero chance of threatening the top 4 teams in HGC North America 2017.
7. B Step (0-3)
Results this week: Lost 0-3 to Tempo Storm
B-step is getting worse with every match, sadly. They started out pretty good with a 2-3 loss to Gale Force eSports, but then they came out flat against Team 8 and then were even worse against Tempo Storm, notwithstanding their solid Game 1 performance.
Yes, they have had an incredibly hard schedule so far, but the fact remains that they are 0-3 (3-9 in map record) and struggle mightily whenever they fall behind in a game. For a team that aspires to be one of the best in North America, being in danger of being relegated must be a big blow to their pride.
8. No Tomorrow (0-3)
Results this week: Lost 1-3 to Superstars; Lost 2-3 to Team Naventic
This team is just so frustrating to watch. In Game 1 versus Superstars and Games 1 and 2 of Team Naventic, they look like they could compete with the best of North America. And then that version of themselves just disappears and they lose all sense of discipline and organization.
This was especially apparent in Game 3 of their match against Team Naventic, where on their best map they just chose to all out brawl with no care in the world to maximizing their chances of winning the game. It was just so sad to watch...and then they managed to lose the entire match in a reverse sweep, too.
Unless something changes, this team seems destined to face relegation in the Crucible.
The HGC 2017 action continues Friday, February 3 @ 2 pm PST.
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