This past weekend, Gale Force eSports, led by Heroes of the Dorm winner Michael "MichaelUdall" Udall, emerged victorious with a stunning display of dominance at the Heroes of the Storm North American Regional Qualifier 2, earning a spot at the coveted DreamHack Summer Championship. And while the technical side of the tournament had slow lapses, with an emergency stream set up by community caster Jaycie "Gillyweed" Gluck, the competition was filled with upsets and memorable moments.
Day 1
The highlight match of the first day was centered between Brain Power and Cloud9. Just a few short weeks ago, anyone who followed the Heroes of the Storm professional scene would have easily cast their vote of confidence to Cloud9. But it was actually the relatively unknown Brain Power who took an incredible 2-1 victory over last year's world champions. And it did it with a brand new player who had been on the team for less than ten days. While Quinn "Srey" Fischer had a tough time getting back into the competitive scene since parting ways with Tempo Storm in April, it was clear that he was a perfect fit for Brain Power.
Day 2
Day two brought more surprises, as the former mighty Tempo Storm couldn't find its feet in a 0-2 loss against Team Naventic and Panda Global in the loser's bracket. While Tempo Storm failed to shine, many new teams emerged and made a name for themselves including Astral Authority -- who beat Tempo Storm and Panda Global -- and Gale Force eSports, who ended group play with a 4-1 record, taking out Astral Authority 2-0 in an epic Azmodunk-filled playoff series.
With exciting moments occurring in seemingly every match, it's easy to overlook some of the interesting changes to the meta, including the fresh resurgence of some old heroes in Anub'Arak, Arthas, and Tychus, as well as some new and unique heroes getting into the action, in the form of Tracer and Chromie. While some of these heroes saw more success than others, it is refreshing to see some new (and old) faces in an often bland and predictable draft.
Day 3
The last day of the North American Regional Qualifier still sported some insane surprises up its sleeve. Cloud9 received a crushing blow as its last chance at qualifying for the Summer Championships were extinguished when Gale Force eSports emerged as the new kings atop the North American hill with an astounding 3-0 victory over Team Naventic.
There were many incredible aspects to GFE's phenomenal play that contributed to the dominance it displayed over Naventic, but it is clear that its ability to outdraft its opponents is one of its greatest strengths. During the post game interview, team captain and Heroes of the Dorm champion Michael "MichaelUdall" Udall not only affirmed his prediction that his team would win the day, but went on to say that GFE will be the World Champions at the Summer Championships later this month. Only time will tell if that prediction will ring true.