EPT
Tournament Preview:
Heroes Super League 2016 S1
By: r_gg
Super League 2016 Season 1 is finally here! The last Super League was full of great plays, interesting meta shifts and plenty of upsets, so we can expect plenty of great moments coming from Korea once again. The tournament will kickoff on January 25th at 7:00PM KST with an exciting event match between Jaedong and Moon, where the two legends of Starcraft and Warcraft are going to be fighting off each other in the Nexus with makeshift teams of their own.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/pTw52FU.jpg)
The format of the tournament is same as last time: two groups will face off in a dual-tournament format, and the top two teams of each group advance to the playoffs in a double elimination bracket. The games will be played on Monday and Tuesday every week at 19:00 KST, all Bo5 matches. Keep on reading for our preview of each team and what to expect from the group stages.
Check the Brackets and Schedules Here: Heroes Liquipedia
Stream Links:
- OGN Global Twitch (ENG)
- OGN Twitch (KR)
VODS are expected to get uploaded on OGN Youtube Channels.
Article Outline
- Team Snapshots
- Group Stage Expectations
Team 1.4
The Tryhards
A team composed of several high-ranked soloQ players, Team 1.4 is an amateur team that managed to come out of the qualifiers alive. The team is comprised of players from Team Blackheart's Silver Coin that originally qualified in HCOT Season 2, but ended up withdrawing due to problems with their roster. Now that the team finally got a chance to show their perform on stage, it will be interesting how the team fairs against the veteran teams.
Roster (Rank on December Leaderboard)
- hitmaN (129)
- Daisy (71)
- SuriShield (153)
- 마인팽 (136)
- Blessing (73)
Team Redemption
The Pub Champs
Another amatuer team, Team Redemption is actually a team that has been spotted a couple of times in small tournaments, but this is the first time the team has shown up on a highly competitive stage. While the expectations are low, they might surprise us with some interesting plays.
Roster (Rank on December Leaderboard)
- confidence
- SaintTail
- 코코넛우유 (84)
- Overheat
- PantheraOnca (134)
- F4ntasy
RAVE
Ambitious Aggressors
RAVE HotS has a long history in the Korean Heroes scene. The team had poor success in the beginning, often ridiculed as “Team 555”, but after a successful roster shuffle the team showed great promise in the previous season of Super League. They have a strong taste for aggressive melee Heroes like Kerrigan and like to experiment with unique builds and team compositions. RAVE managed to defeat the new MVP Sky to qualify for the main event and they are a strong contender to make it to the Top 4 in the playoffs this time. The team managed to maintain a strong presence in HCOT Season 2 by finishing 3rd place, but they should be looking to step up their performance to the next level in this tournament in order to break into the ranks of top class teams.
Roster
- NaChoJin (flex)
- Hamelin (flex)
- NMx31 (assassin)
- Jocker (warrior)
- CrozOver (support)
Key Characteristics
- Like aggressive compositions centered around NaChoJin’s melee Assassins.
- NaChoJin and Hamelin are the key players.
- Signature Heroes: Kerrigan (Hamelin), Chen (NaChoJin)
Team Hero
The Trump Card
Team Hero is Danawa Joker after they lost their sponsorship from Danawa. Danawa Joker was the rising star of the post-Blizzcon Korean scene, finishing right behind MVP Black in HCOT Season 2. Unfortunately, the team had to go through a big roster change after their key player RideRocket left the scene. They managed to keep the team’s core players, Darvish and Magi, while bringing in Curbancle, woojae, and Sway. Former member of Team DomiNation, Curbancle has shown great proficiency with AA Assassins in HCOT Season 2, and woojae is getting his first debut in the Korean Heroes scene after leaving NA’s Stellar Lotus. It is still unknown how well this fresh roster will perform, but as one of the few teams in Korea that practices in a team-house environment, the team may have a surprise in store for us.
Roster
- Darvish
- woojae (ex-Stellar Lotus)
- Curbancle
- Magi
- Sway
Key Characteristics
- Fresh roster with three new members. Power level unknown.
- Darvish is very close friends with MVP Black’s Sign, merryday, and KyoCha. They actually started playing Heroes together for fun.
- Signature Heroes: Raynor (Curbancle)
Young Boss
The Young Challengers
Young Boss is a brand new team that was formed around two former players of Team MRR, RichardLee and dami, along with couple long time veterans in the Korean scene. They are the team that is expected to be the spiritual successor of MRR’s raw mechanical power and team fighting prowess. There is high anticipation for the team, as RichardLee and Dami were considered mechanically gifted players. This is the team’s first big tournament, but Young Boss is expected to be a threatening force.
Roster
- YbRaverLord aka RichardLee/EverGreen (ex-MRR))
- YbDami (ex-MRR)
- YbTheQ (ex-Danawa Joker)
- YbArhan (ex-GameAde TOP)
- Yblaster aka Kirashin (ex-GameAde TOP)
Key Characteristics
- Brand new team with unknown style, but expected to be aggressive and team-fight heavy similar to MRR.
- Many of the roster participated in League of Legend’s Kespa Cup 2015 under the same team name.
- Signature Heroes: ???
Mighty
The Dark Horse
Finishing fourth place in HCOT Season 2, Mighty was a brand new team that showed key moments of brilliance but didn’t quite have the magic to threaten the top teams. During the post-HCOT roster shuffle, Mighty managed to recruit Jeongha and kong from Team ASD, creating a roster that has the potential to grow into a world class team. Mighty’s Support, Joju, has shown himself to be a creative Support player, being the first one to experiment with solo-support Iron Fist Kharazim. If he figures out how to synergize together with his new teammates, Mighty could turn into a formidable force. While the team would still need a lot of time to learn how to work together, this is the team that has the biggest potential to shake things up.
Roster
- Zzangman (warrior)
- 건전한배틀태그
- Jeongha (ex-MRR,ASD)
- kong (ex-ASD)
- Joju
Key Characteristics
- Jeongha and kong from ASD (former Team Snake) recently joined the roster.
- Zzangman is known for going into a draft with pen and paper, taking careful notes of every draft and scrims. (known as “Zzangman Note”)
- Joju was the first one to bring out solo Support Iron Fist Kharazim in Korea.
- Signature Heroes: Zeratul (Jeongha), Johanna (Zzangman), Kharazim (Joju)
MVP Black
The Unstoppable Force
The undisputed No.1 team in Korea right now, MVP Black is the big favorite to win the tournament. While they had to settle for second place in last season of Super League, MVP Black managed to climb out of the loss with even more polish. The team cruised through HCOT Season 2 without a single loss and managed to also come out top in the international stage at WCA 2015. Their creative drafting and bold execution helped captivate many fans around the globe and has quickly turned them into one of the most feared teams in the world. The team recently parted ways with their melee flex player Lockdown and brought in Rich (Oreoman), former member of Team Snake. Rich has been considered the most mechanically talented player in Korea, and it will be exciting to see how well he can fit into the MVP style.
Roster
- Sake
- merryday
- KyoCha
- sign
- Rich (ex-Snake)
Key Characteristics
- Wide hero pool and strong drafting. Excels at absorbing and dismantling the meta.
- Each member of MVP Black is a world-class player in their individual role.
- Rich recently joined in place of Lockdown. Rich has been touted as the most talented player in Korea.
- Signature Heroes: Jaina/Raynor (Sake), Kharazim (merryday), Johanna (sign), Butcher/TLV (KyoCha)
Team No Limit
The Slumping Lions
The defending champion of the tournament, Team No Limit had a glorious finish in the previous season. Unfortunately, life after that has not been great for them. They had a disappointing finish in Blizzcon and a lackluster performance in China’s GHL Finals. The loss of their sponsor, along with the team’s three month break from the game post-Blizzcon caused the team to fall significantly behind their rivals. Although the team has lot to catch up on, the team can still bring themselves back up to their former glory if they make maximum use of the long schedule in Super League. They have been slowly improving their low Hero pool and predictable drafting after bringing in kinnu as their coach and they should continue to get better as they get more time to practice. The team had difficulty finding success in the aggressive stun meta but they could find their stride again if counter initiation and sustained fights become the norm again.
Roster
- Jaehyun
- CrazyMoving
- sCsC
- Noblesse
- Sniper
Key Characteristics
- Known for their strong rotations and objective play. Like the iterate and improve upon popular compositions.
- Often criticized for weak drafting but have been improving steadily after recruiting kinnu as a coach.
- They have not been performing as well as they used to due to lack of practice.
- Signature Heroes: Jaina (CrazyMoving), Malfurion (Jaehyun), Arthas (sCsC), Abathur/Tassadar (Sniper), Illidan/Johanna (Noblesse)
Group Stage Expectations
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/6R9DJEj.png)
Group A: TNL, RAVE, Mighty, Team 1.4
Based on previous records, TNL is expected to come out first place without problem, and the second place would be a close competition between Mighty and RAVE. However, TNL will be suffering from a very tight schedule flying back home from China’s Gold League, especially for their opening match against RAVE. In addition, TNL has not been quite as sharp in recent times, so RAVE and Mighty has a strong chance of usurping the defending champion. Mighty’s new roster has great potential for greatness, but one can never count out the strong synergy RAVE has built up over a long period of time. Between these three teams, it will come down to how much time the teams have been able to invest in polishing their teamwork and how well they adapt in the shifting meta.
Match List:
- TNL vs RAVE (Jan. 25th 19:00 KST)
- Mighty vs 1.4 (Feb. 1st 19:00 KST)
Group B: MVP Black, Young Boss, Team Hero, Team Redemption
MVP Black is expected to come out first in this group with little competition while the second place should be a fierce battle between Young Boss and Team Hero. Both rosters of Young Boss and Team Hero are relatively new, and while Young Boss should have had more time together, it is unknown how well they will be able to perform. Team Hero might be suffering from some difficulties after losing their sponsorship from Danawa and we have yet to see them play in their latest roster. With little info on the current state of the two teams, it is hard to say which team will come out ahead.
Match List:
- MVP.B. vs Young Boss (Jan. 26th 19:00 KST)
- Redemption vs Team Hero (Feb. 2st 19:00 KST)
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/n6LFieV.jpg)
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