HotS: Tempest Defeats MVP Black in Dreamhack Grand Finals

Tempest came back from a two game losing streak against MVP Black, to win the grand finals at this year’s Dreamhack Summer Championship. Tempest was down but they had some decisive plays in the last two games that turned the tide. Tempest went into this game previously beating MVP Black two weeks ago in the Superleague 2016 tournament. All five games were incredibly close and had some interesting draft picks that are uncommon in the competitive scene.

While this was a stellar showing from MVP Black it’s unclear whether or not their performance today means they will remain a team. A few weeks ago Bok Kim, Heroes of the Storm Coach for MVP Black, told the Korean Dailymail that the organization might “switch away” from Heroes of the Storm. “Both my players and I are sad by the reality of we have to face despite being best in the world,” Kim told the Dailymail. “As everyone agrees, the rate of Hero release is also too slow. And there are no tournaments outside of the Blizzard sponsored ones. I don’t know whether MVP Black’s players will continue playing Heroes after this year.”

This comment actually spurred a lot of discussion in the community, whether or not Heroes of the Storm as an esport was dying. As of now there are no other scheduled Heroes tournaments until Blizzcon 2016 in November.

HotS Dreamhack Grand Finals Recap

Game 1 Analysis

Game one began with both teams being very aggressive. Both teams were able to get a few kills in the first few minutes and it was apparent MVP Black wanted to win after they were swept by Tempest two weeks prior. However, near mid-game Tempest was able to win a team fight, taking out Thrall and Morales and capturing an immortal. Tempest used the immortal to push while Thrall and Morales were still down, and secure the win.

Game 2 Analysis

MVP Black secured an early advantage by winning a few small team fights. After that Tempest was consistently winning team fights and held a level advantage for most of the game. 16 minutes into the match MVP Black won a large team fight and was able to equalize the team levels at 18. Shortly after the win MVP Black secured a punisher and was able to push into Tempest’s base. Ultimately the push didn’t end the game, Tempest was able to kill two of MVP Black’s players while only losing one. Around 21 minutes into the match  MVP scored a triple kill and was able to use that downtime to secure the win.

Game 3 Analysis

MVP secured an early kill on Tempest’s Sonya, allowing them to secure a slight lead for the majority of the game. Both teams went back and forth until in the mid-game MVP Black was able to secure a curse. After the curse Tempest won a team fight by taking out two of MVP Black. Both teams retreated to their respective bosses and attempted to take them. While MVP Black was capturing their boss one of Tempest’s players got greedy and tried to deny, but was unsuccessful. After that MVP Black was able to kill four of Tempest’s players giving them a level and trait advantage. MVP Black pushed but was unsuccessful at destroying the core. Another team fight wiped out three of Tempest’s players which allowed MVP Black to score a curse and ultimately win the game.

Game 4 Analysis

Both teams started off the game by engaging in many early team fights, none of which resulted in any kills. Around 5 minutes MVP got some early kills and reached level 10 first. MVP Black also claimed the first dragon in the game. At the 10 minute mark MVP claimed yet another dragon and had a two level lead. Regardless, Tempest was able to come back in the late game with a few good team wipes and win the game.

Game 5 Analysis

For the most part in the early game both teams were neck in neck. By the time the mid-game rolled around Tempest was able to win a big team fight and equalize both teams levels. Tempest held this momentum until they won the game.

Source(s):

MVP Black Bok Kim Interview Translated: Link