Day 2
Finals: Ballistix vs. Fnatic (3-1)
Ballistix took apart Fnatic in the finals of the Heroes of the Storm Fall Championship, winning 3-1 to claim the world championship.
The South Korean team started off the series with superb teamfighting centered around Jeong "Jeongha" Ha Lee. Using Tyrael, Jeongha was able to save the day on countless occasions, using the powerful Sanctification ability for devastating results. In addition to the excellent use of Sanctification, Ballistix was on point with their macro play, ensuring that late in the game Fnatic was unable to secure any objectives and make a move towards even footing.
Game 2 saw Fnatic take a lead early on, but after a nearly three minute-long teamfight that saw multiple deaths on both sides, Ballistix was able to pull ahead. The defining moment of the match came when Ballistix's Jeong "Jeongha" Ha Lee, using Zeratul, respawned to come in for the finishing kill on Fnatic's Tychus. The kill on Tychus was monumental as both teams had just begun to respawn, leaving Fnatic in a 4-on-5 situation for a full minute, allowing Ballistix to grab even more key structures to gain a bigger lead, resulting in a Game 2 win.
Facing elimination, Fnatic managed to turn it around on Warhead Junction in Game 3 with some dominant global hero abuse as well as a pocket pick for Simon "ScHwimpi" Svensson with Tracer. The game was truly neck-and-neck, but Fnatic took it to Ballistix when the stakes were highest late in the game, snowballing off a double kill to gain an advantage. Thanks to the timely double kill, Fnatic was able to gain access to powerful nukes which allowed them to take down the core, bringing the series to 2-1.
Fnatic's Game 3 win appeared to perk up Ballistix, as the South Korean team pulled out all the stops during the Game 4 draft. That resulted in picking up Tracer for Seung-Chul "sCsC" Kim, which paid dividends for Ballistix throughout the match. With the game on the line Fnatic managed to take control of the objective, silencing the majority of Ballistix in the process. The late rally failed however, as sCsC was able to stall long enough for his team to come back into the fray, taking a game-winning teamfight by scoring kills on both Dob "Quackniix" Engstrom and Pontus "Breez" Sjogren to become the Heroes of the Storm World Champions.
With the second ever Blizzcon World Championship title under their belt along with a handsome $300,000 first prize, Ballistix have thrust themselves into the conversation for the best team in the world. Given the Fall Championship marks just the second major tournament win for the team, it seems Ballistix could be on the verge of a dominant run in the competitive scene.
Semifinals
Ballistix vs. Team Dignitas
Ballistix destroyed Team Dignitas in the second semifinal series of the Heroes of the Storm Fall Championship, winning 3-1 to claim their spot in the finals.
Ballistix came out with a solid strategy in Game 1, opting to deploy their top assassin player, Seung-Chul "sCsC" Kim, with Sgt. Hammer while drafting three heroes with global presence to surround him. While Sgt. Hammer did heavy damage to structures, the rest of Ballistix capitalized by isolating heroes with their global abilities and picking them off, gaining a substantial lead that Dignitas was unable to match.
In Game 2, Ballistix started off rocky, as Dignitas' Jerome "JayPL" Trinh dominated on his comfort pick, Stitches. After securing a few kills, Dignitas made a small blunder, getting caught off guard by Ballistix's Do Joon "Noblesse" Chae at their shaman camp. This turned into an all-out teamfight where the majority of Dignitas were killed off and the camp was stolen by Ballistix. The Korean team quickly snowballed from there, earning a decisive victory.
During Game 3, Ballistix built a full Illidan team comp, but their overconfidence during the draft may have been their undoing as Dignitas' Joshua "Snitch" Bennett was able to counter with a LiLi pick. Thanks to her very powerful Blinding Wind talent, Dignitas was able to win every single teamfight.
With their tournament lives on the line, Dignitas made a valiant effort in Game 4, but was unable to secure kills early on. An Auriel/Valla combo by Ballistix became far too dominant, as they skyrocketed to a 10-1 kill advantage. Following the two-level lead, Ballistix played a safe, mechanical game, pushing the lead further. A last-ditch effort by Dignitas to defend the base was undone by Seung-Chul "sCsC" Kim's Valla as he terrorized the entire Dignitas backline to secure the win. Ballistix will play the European team Fnatic in the finals of the Blizzcon Fall Championship for the lion's share of the $1,000,000 prize pool.
Fnatic vs. MVP Black
Team Fnatic dismantled MVP Black in the first semifinal series of the Heroes of the Storm Fall Championship, winning 3-1 to claim their spot in the finals.
Late in the first match, Fnatic's team captain Dob "Quackniix" Engström made the call to sneak the boss camp while his teammates tried to lead MVP Black off of the trail. At the last second, MVP Black figured out the ruse and composed a five-man dive onto the boss point right as it was about to be taken down. Fnatic still managed to lock down the boss, but not without a hefty price, losing three of their five members in the process. MVP Black knew they had only one chance to win, so they ignored the boss trampling towards their core and decided to go all-in on Fnatic. Getting the core to under 50 percent, MVP Black's team was finally taken out by the freshly revived Fnatic members, allowing them to march down the map and end the game.
Game 2 showcased Fnatic's Jonathan "Wubby" Gunnarsson, as he was able to unlock the power that is Dehaka on Sky Temple. All throughout the match, Wubby was seen split-pushing for his team, gaining valuable experience and knocking down towers while also maintaining a global presence as he used his Brush Stalker ability to instantaneously travel to his team in the thick of a teamfight. As a result, Fnatic was able to earn the win and jump out to a 2-0 series advantage.
Game 3 took a turn for the worse as Fnatic jumped out to a huge lead on Towers of Doom, with 27 core health to MVP Black's 12. Despite the odds being stacked against them, Jae "Rich" Won Lee pulled out an amazing Ley Line Seal on Medivh that set MVP Black up for a huge team wipe against Fnatic. This put Fnatic on their heels and they were not able to regroup, as MVP Black's crisp rotations destroyed enough bell towers to eventually secure the win.
The final match of the series saw Fnatic make an interesting call, as they drafted Medivh for Simon "ScHwimpi" Svensson in an effort to showcase his own variation of the Ley Line Seal. That move paid off, as Fnatic was able to grab a relatively easy win to advance the finals.
Day 1
Group B deciders
Fnatic won a hard-fought match against Zero Panda during the Heroes of the Storm Fall Championship Group B decider match, taking the series, 2-1.
Zero Panda started out behind after Fnatic's Jonathan "Wubby" Gunnarsson intelligently drafting Rexxar, a solo lane warrior that Zero Panda was not equipped to deal with. After some very close teamfights Zero Panda was able to edge out an objective win and a huge Zerg wave that trampled Fnatics' remaining structures. Noticing the huge swarm, Zero Panda quickly started a teamfight that dragged out just long enough for Fnatic's core to be destroyed, as the European team was unable to get back in time to defend their base from the Zerg swarm.
Game 2 was perhaps the most even game of the night as Zero Panda started off with an early lead but had no answer for Fnatic's Valla being played by Dob "Quacknixx" Engström. Deep into the second contest, Quackniix saved the day after his teammate, Pontus "Breez" Sjogren, had his well-placed E.T.C. Mosh Pit heroic ability instantly canceled. Quacknixx was able to jump into the thick of it, whittling down Muradin to very low health, ensuring Fnatic would get a multi-kill that led to a Dragon Knight capture, and a Game 2 win.
The deciding match of the series came down to an amazing Mosh Pit near the end of the game by Fnatic's Breez, allowing his team to kill Guo "GM" Jiayi on Brightwing and start to wipe out the rest of Zero Panda's squad, securing the series win. With the win, Fnatic will face MVP Black during Saturday's semifinal contest for the right to advance to the Heroes of the Storm Fall Championship final.
Group A deciders
Team Dignitas took down Please Buff Arthas in the Group A decider series of the Heroes of the Storm Fall Championship, winning 2-0 to claim their spot in the semifinals.
The blowout started during the draft phase, where Team Dignitas captain James "Bakery" Baker denied PBA Jaina, a hero they've relied on throughout the tournament. This forced PBA to draft a second specialist hero in Zagara, which made Dignitas members nearly unkillable, as PBA did not have the burst to deal with the double warrior frontline. They went on to defeat PBA in a terribly one-sided match that ended in 14 kills to 1.
In Game 2, PBA tried to target ban Thomas "Ménè" Cailleux's Valla after he tore them apart in the first match. Ménè's response was to simply draft Li-Ming and proceeded to systematically delete each and every one of PBA's players in multiple teamfights. While Dignitas certainly had a dominant 2-0 showing, they were not without mistakes as Lawrence "Athero" Harper made a handful on Alarak, one of the newly released melee assassins. That might be a problem against some of the better teams remaining in the tournament, such as Ballistix or MVP Black.
Group B
Zero Panda will join Team Dignitas, advancing through the Heroes of the Storm Fall Championship Elimination round, defeating Denial 2-0.
Zheng "C" Xiangzhi was an absolute madman with Dehaka in Game 1. His MVP moment happened just two minutes into the match, where he used his Brush Stalker ability to flank the majority of the Denial team and secure a quick quartet of kills, setting his team up for a huge lead they would nurse through the remainder of the game.
Game 2 became a painful war of attrition as Zero Panda attacked Denial with smart calculated plays, exacting small penalties each time. The first example of this was early Level 3, where Denial was attempting to pressure Zero Panda's mid fort. Zheng "C" Xiangzhi -- once again on Dehaka -- Brush Stalked in and nabbed two easy kills on the enemy Malfurion and Jaina. Once in the lead, Zero Panda tightly held the reigns of the second match and did not let go until their Garden Terror knocked out Denial's core for a 2-0 victory and a trip to the winners bracket.
Group A
Team Dignitas became the first team to advance through Group A of the Heroes of the Storm Fall Championship, defeating Astral Authority 2-0.
Joshua "Snitch" Bennett of Team Dignitas was on fire in Game 1. Using Falstad, Snitch was hyper aggressive, taking risks early on that never seemed to pay off. During the mid game, that seemed to change as he took advantage of an opportunity where Astral Authority was clumped together in the mid lane, diving in and using his Mighty Gust heroic ability to literally blow Astral Authority away into teammate Thomas "Ménè" Cailleux, who was using Gul'Dan. From there Ménè took over with his Horrify heroic, splitting the team up, which allowed him to secure two kills for Team Dignitas. That eventually spelled doom for Astral Authority in Game 1 as Dignitas was able to hold onto their substantial lead.
Game 2 saw Ménè demonstrate his mastery of Gul'Dan, as he singlehandedly turned the match in his team's favor with his excellent Horrify ultimate. His first great heroic use was around the 11 minute-mark where he used Horrify to score a kill on Ben "Cattlepillar" Bunk's Dehaka in the top lane, giving his team a much needed experience boost. Later in the match, he executed another incredible Horrify that pushed Astral Authority's support player, Jun "Jun" Jang, far out of position, securing Dignitas a hard fought 2-0 victory.