How do the teams in HGC 2017 Europe stack up going into Week 4?
My Power Rankings from Last Week:
- Misfits
- Fnatic
- Team Expert
- Team Dignitas
- Playing Ducks
- Synergy
- Tricked eSports
- BeGenius ESC
My Power Rankings going into next week
1. Misfits (4-0)
Results this week: Defeated Synergy 3-0
Misfits definitely didn't have the best week, as they had to defend an ambitious core call from Synergy in Game 2 and needed a major throw from E.T.C on Sky Temple at the Boss to come back from a massive deficit induced by the Lost Vikings in Game 3. That being said, they remain perfect and showcased incredible poise under pressure, particularly after they lost a Keep just 5 minutes into Game 3.
Next week's opponent, Team Expert, is just as willing to pull out crazy compositions. With next week's match on the Valeera patch, Misfits had better watch out- different metas suit different teams.
2. Fnatic (4-1)
Results this week: Defeated BeGenius ESC 3-0; Defeated Team Expert 3-2
They had a routine match against BeGenius ESC, easily beating them 3-0.
Although they were clearly the better team against Team Expert, Fnatic had several late game mishaps that Team Expert exploited. In Game 1 on Tomb of the Spider Queen, they rushed the core after winning a teamfight only to wipe with 2% health left on the core.
Game 3 saw another spectacular throw after being ahead all game, when Fnatic allowed Team Expert to slowly destroy a keep by poking 5 vs. 4. Dehaka, who was split pushing top lane, came back too late to save the keep, which then resulted in Team Expert having Ragnaros take over the fallen keep and win the game behind a good Diablo initiation. It was an avoidable result that almost cost them the series.
Next week, they face Team Dignitas to determine who is #2 in Europe and who is #3. Fnatic should win this match, but they'll have to clean up some of the late game mishaps they had happen to them vs. Team Expert.
3. Team Dignitas (3-1)
Results this week: Defeated Team Expert 3-1
There were definitely some questions about whether Team Dignitas was still an elite team in Europe, particularly after they struggled to a mediocre finish in the Gold Club World Championship and lost 0-3 to Misfits in Week 1. Consider those questions answered after Team Dignitas solved the riddle of Team Expert and handed them their first loss in HGC 2017 Europe.
Team Dignitas faces Fnatic next week. Can Team Dignitas shock everyone and knock Fnatic out of the top 2? It is certainly possible but some would argue that under a new patch Fnatic's draft flexibility gives them the edge.
4. Team Expert (3-2)
Results this week: Lost to Team Dignitas 1-3; Lost to Fnatic 2-3
Team Expert is definitely a promising up and coming team, and they are clearly better than the European teams below them. But this weekend revealed that they aren't yet ready to break into the top 3.
The first two games against Team Dignitas revealed that even the powerhouses of Europe need to fear adrd's Medivh. However, a poor decision to take a fight near a destroyed fort against Ragnaros doomed them in Game 2 despite having a big lead, and once Team Dignitas started banning Medivh Team Expert had no answer.
There were some encouraging signs against Fnatic, as Team Expert showed they were capable of seriously challenging Fnatic without Medivh. Their ability to punish Fnatic's mistake on Dragon Shire in Game 3 was absolutely magnificent - very few other teams would have had the awareness to turn it into a win right then and there.
However, these matches also exposed some pretty big weaknesses in Team Expert's drafting: the inability to punish the other team for banning Medivh during draft, and the inability to build compositions to fully maximize the value of Medivh versus the top 3 European teams when they do draft him.
If Team Expert can fix these problems, they could be nearly unstoppable.
5. Playing Ducks (2-2)
Results this week: Defeated Tricked eSports 3-2
Playing Ducks definitely didn't have their best performance this weekend, as they quickly fell into an 0-2 hole. Somehow, they managed to pull off the reverse sweep, beginning with a dominant performance versus a surprise Cho'Gall Auriel composition from Tricked eSports followed up by a 2 vs 5 core defense versus the Tricked eSports triple warrior composition.
Not every opponent will gift them a win through a Cho'Gall pick however. It's up to Playing Ducks to find a way other than their opponents mistakes to gain momentum.
6. Tricked eSports (1-4)
Results this week: Lost 2-3 to Playing Ducks; Defeated Synergy 3-1
With the Misfits match in Week 5 the only truly difficult match left on their schedule, these two weeks are Tricked eSports big opportunity to put themselves on the map in HGC and earn some wins. Will they take advantage?
They got off to a great start against Playing Ducks with a 2-0 lead. And then everything fell apart. First they picked the Cho-Gall Auriel cheese and got run off of Battlefield of Eternity, and then they drafted a triple warrior composition on Dragon Shire despite the fact that they have not been very successful in HGC. Despite this, they had a great chance to win the game when they went core with 3 members on the enemy team dead. The only problem was, the 3 warriors focused the core and paid no attention to Falstad and Li Ming, who took down Jaina and Malfurion and then went to reset city.
This loss was embarrassing and hard for Tricked fans to swallow. Perhaps the lesson is clear now: Even when you are ahead 2-0 don't start playing with your food.
The first win of HGC 2017 finally happened for Tricked eSports versus Synergy. They were able to make an impressive comeback happen versus Synergy's Vikings on Towers of Doom, and they showed an ability to close out a game in Game 4 against Synergy when things got dicy with a decisive core call.
7. Synergy (1-4)
Results this week: Lost to Fnatic 0-3; Lost to Tricked eSports 1-3
Synergy has the worst late game shotcalling and play in all of HGC, as they frequently get a lead only to spectacularly squander it.
Against Misfits, their Lost Vikings comp got a Keep in 5 minutes...but they threw it away when ETC foolishly contested boss all by himself. They had a similar, if less egregious, issue against Fnatic this week. Maybe they would have more success when they played non-top 3 EU teams?
I wish. Just like versus Fnatic and Misfits, they built a significant lead in both levels and core health versus Tricked eSports behind The Lost Vikings. And then they spent the rest of the match either behind in number of towers or getting picked off. Synergy was unable to get even a single shot against the core from there on.
Does this team have a coach? Are they watching replays? Team Synergy shouldn't worry about individual mechanics or teamwork for a while. Instead, figure out how to call a shot and stick with it as a team.
8. BeGenius ESC (0-4)
Results this week: Lost 0-3 to Fnatic
While BeGenius has shown glimpses of solid play, the fact remains that they are 0-4. Their match against Tricked eSports next week is also a must win if BeGenius wants to record a win in HGC before the Western Clash, as Team Dignitas and Misfits are the other two opponents they will play in the next two weeks.
BeGenius should realistically start paying attention to the Open Division games being played this week. The chances of them having to fight for their spot in the crucible are very high.
The HGC 2017 action continues Friday, February 10 @ 18:00 CET / 9:00 am PST on the Valeera Patch (HGC matches have been played on Zul'jin matches so far).
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