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PROlane got in touch with the kindhearted caster that our community deserves, Gillyweed, to discuss Heroes Rising and the current state of North American teams.
Congratulations on a great job at Heroes Rising! You and Zoia did a great job keeping us hyped as well as casting all of the play-by-plays! If you had to choose one match to go back and watch from a purely entertainment standpoint, which would it be?
Thanks so much! It was a long event, but very rewarding. I loved getting to meet all of the up-and-coming teams as well. From a purely entertainment standpoint, I would go back and watch Bob Ross versus Tempo Storm. That series was really fun to cast and had the longest game of the tournament, but I was pretty tired by that point so I feel like I don’t remember it as much. I’d probably go on and watch C9 versus Bob Ross as well, especially that game on Blackheart’s Bay.
Many people expected Bob Ross Fan Club to show up to Heroes Rising and put on a display, but most didn't think they could stand up to the likes of Cloud9. What, in particular, do you think helped BRFC the most in making the jump from third-seed online qualifier to taking a best-of-five against the World Champions?
I think there were a lot of things that factored into it. A lot of people say that a team that comes through the lower bracket actually has the upper hand in the finals, because they’re riding that momentum of several wins, even though playing so many games can be tiring. But they’re also warmed up, which isn’t the case for the team waiting in the winner’s bracket. Also, they had just picked up Fan, who could give them a lot of insight into the drafting and mindset of C9. Finally, both teams are pretty momentum-based. I think all Bob Ross needed was one game win versus C9 to really tip the scales into their favor. Plus, they were playing for a lot - to prove they deserve sponsorship. But Bob Ross also simply played and drafted extremely well and absolutely deserved the win.
Outside of BRFC, which team, if any, do you think showed up the biggest in proving that they are legit contenders to break into the top of the NA scene?
I was impressed with both Panda Global and Team Blaze. Panda has very much improved in their play, and I think we’ll continue to see that improvement. Blaze has also really improved. What really amazed me about them was that they had their patented Blaze “style” in some drafts, but that wasn’t all they showed. We also saw some standard comps and good, solid play from them. I was additionally impressed with how well they did with so little LAN experience. I’m expecting great things from both of these teams as they continue to get more practice versus the top teams.
Tempo Storm had a lot of questions that needed answering going into Heroes Rising after have a huge shift to their roster over the recent months. How do you feel they did in their first LAN, and where do you see them heading in the future?
I think everyone should be impressed with Tempo Storm’s showing at the tournament. They’ve only been playing with that roster for a few weeks, they had members with no LAN experience, and to top it all off, they lost their shotcaller in Dreadnaught. Historically when we see that happen to teams, there’s a period of adjustment. To come in and get third and have great sets versus C9 and Bob Ross is something to be proud of.
With C9's loss to BRFC, do you think there are any pointedly glaring issues that need to be addressed, or do you think simply more practice, particularly in getting in sync with Arthelon, will help them to rise back to the top?
They took a long break after Gold League because they were really burnt out. They had to play in that immediately after BlizzCon, with a roster that they obviously were starting to think about changing. I think they said they’d only practiced something like 4 scrim blocks with Arthelon - not very much. They were only one game away from winning the tournament. I don’t think it’s any issue except being rusty with the game after a long break and getting the new player up to speed. I’m not concerned for C9 at all.
Both Team Blaze and Murloc Geniuses had good showings early in the tournament, but ended up falling short. Of these two teams, which do you see elevating their game play to the next level to possibly compete with NA's 'big three'?
Team Blaze took 4th place, so I’m not sure if you meant to say Blaze? In my opinion, 4th is excellent. I’m not sure which of the other teams you mean. Murlocs were in the 5th/6th bracket, and they’re now in the middle of roster changes. Panda was the other team in that 5th/6th position, but I think we’ll see them continue to improve. COG is another team that’s been around for a while, but they weren’t playing with a set roster. I think for the most part when it comes to these teams, they’re either new and haven’t been playing for a while, or going through a change and trying out different groups of players until they get a roster they want to build upon for Blizzard’s official tournament. Now’s the time to do it.
What are your thoughts of the state of teams such as SK gaming and Murloc Geniuses post-HR?
I think teams need to take a hard look at what is working and what isn’t, and make adjustments as necessary to have the time needed to start preparing your roster for the (hopefully) many events that are coming soon. It already seems like Heroes Rising was a way to test out those rosters and make adjustments, like is happening now. I hope that players who really want to put the work into becoming Heroes pros can find teams they work well with, as we have some really amazing and fantastic players in our scene.
Any casting plans in the near future that your fans can look forward to seeing you do?
I’ll be casting Gold League Jan. 15-19 and the 22nd during some pretty crazy hours. That’s all I have planned so far!
Thanks for the interview! =)
Thanks for the interview! =)
Watch the English rebroadcasts of the Gold League games on Gillyweed's Twitch channel and keep an eye on her Twitter for updates on her latest adventures!
