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This is a thread for discussing Blizzard's new HGC League, which just wrapped up qualifiers for EU and NA this week. All eight qualified teams from each region are guaranteed $50,000 per team in salaries for the first 6 months.
The schedule can be found here.
HCG Official website
Blizzard provided the full replay packs for NA and EU in addition to all the VODS here
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2017 HGC North American League teams for the first 6 months:
Overview by DBSmiley:
Tempo Storm
- Players:
- Fury
- CauthonLuck
- Cattlepillar
- Jun
- psalm
- Roster changes since last fall:
None.
- Qualification -
- Auto Qualified via Blizzcon
- Premier Events:
- NA Fall Regional #1 - 1st Place (10-6) as Murloc Geniuses
- NA Fall Regional #2 - 1st place (10-7) as Murloc Geniuses
- Blizzcon - 7th/8th place (1-4)
- Gold Club World Championship - 7th/8th place (2-14)
- Major Events:
- Bloodlust: Did not participate
- NA Nexus Games: 1st Place (12-3)* *-In the final series, Astral was credited a win because they advanced from winner's bracket. However, they only won 12 games, despite being credited with 13.
- Formerly Astral Authority, which reemerged as Murloc Geniuses in the wake of NA's post-summer Rosterpocalypse 2016, and now is sponsored by Tempo Storm. It features players from previous iterations of Gale Force eSports, GOGnitive Gaming, and Panda Global to name a few. As Murloc Geniuses, they immediately changed the landscape of NA HotS by winning the first fall regional despite low expecations and lacking a sponsor. Murloc has since won every NA Major or Premier event they have participated in, with the Bloodlust community tournament being the lone exception. Their most recent play at the NA Nexus Games was particularly dominant, as they didn't drop a single set, and only losing 1 map to each of Level Up, Gale Force eSports, and Denial. Astral Authority dropped their roster and acquired Murloc Geniuses leading up to the NA Nexus Games.
B-Step
- Players:
- KingCaffeine
- iDream
- apm
- k1Pro
- McIntyre
- Roster changes since last fall:
- Prismaticism replaced by iDream (between Fall Regional #1 and #2)
- Glaurun replaced by McIntyre (post Blizzcon)
- Qualification - Auto Qualified via Blizzcon
- Premier Events:
- NA Fall Regional #1 - 5th/6th Place (2-5)
- NA Fall Regional #2 - 2nd place (11-3) - including a 2-0 victory over Gale Force eSports in Blizzcon Qualifier tie breaker.
- Blizzcon - 7th/8th place (4-6)
- Gold Club World Championship - Not invited
- Major Events:
- Bloodlust: 5th/6th place (2-2*) (following loss to Gale Force, Denial withdrew and forfeit despite still being in the competition)
- NA Nexus Games: 2nd Place (10-8)
- Formerly Denial Esports. After Cloud 9 disbanded following a disappointing summer season, KingCaffeine and k1pro founded Crescendo alongside apm (Team Name Change), Prismaticism (Team Name Change), and Glaurung (Brain Power). This team quickly generated substanial hype, and immediately qualified for the first NA Fall Regional, beating then Murloc Geniuses and Vox Nihili in the first qualifier. Crescendo was picked up by the Denial eSports organization. Following disappointment at the first regional, Prismaticism was dropped in favor of former Cloud 9 teammate iDream. Following the change, Denial qualified for Blizzcon. At Blizzcon, Denial managed to get out of the first group phase, but ultimately went 0-4 in the second group phase. Upon returning home, it was announced that Glaurung would leave the team, and McIntyre was picked up to fill Denial's roster for the upcoming HGC season. Denial has immediately become one of the favorites in NA.
Gale Force eSports
- Players:
- MichaelUdall
- akaface
- khroen
- Equinox
- Fan
- Roster changes since last fall:
- Fury replace by Bkid (before Fall Regional #1)
- Roflcopter replaced by Fan (before Fall Regional #2)
- Bkid replaced by Equinox (after NA Nexus Games)
- Qualification -
- Qualifier #1 (9-0), including (2-0) over Chu8 my HotDoge. Qualified by beating Vox Nihili (3-0)
- Premier Events:
- NA Fall Regional #1 - 2nd Place (9-7)
- NA Fall Regional #2 - 5th/6th Place (2-6) - including 0-2 loss to Denial eSports in Blizzcon Tiebreaker round.
- Blizzcon - Not invited
- Gold Club World Championship - Not invited
- Major Events:
- Bloodlust: 2nd Place (7-4)
- NA Nexus Games: 4th Place (5-7) *Vox Nihili was forced to withdraw and so did not play Gale Force.
- Fall was a tumultuous season for Gale Force. After winning the second summer regional, Gale Force had high expectations heading into the fall. A strong showing at the first fall regional set GFE up for success, but the team failed to find synergy. After Roflcopter retired, the team struggled at the second fall regional. Despite getting a second chance thanks to a tournament win by Murloc Geniuses, Gale Force failed to qualify for Blizzcon, losing the tiebreaker to Denial eSports 0-2. Gale Force impressed in the first HGC qualifier, as they didn't drop a single map. Gale Force's roster presents unique challenges to draft against, as it really is four flexes and an akaface. During the qualifier, we saw khroen, the presumed "carry", on Muradin, and Equinox, the presumed "tank", on Tracer in one game. This flexibility could be the X factor GFE needs to get back to the top of NA, and it will be worth keeping an eye on this season.
Team Naventic
- Players:
- Zuna
- Kenma
- bigempct
- Tomster
- bkid
- Roster changes since last fall:
- McIntyre replaced by Tomster (before Fall Regional #1)
- Fan replaced by Jason (between Fall Regional #1 and #2)
- Jason replaced by bkid (after NA Nexus Games)
- Qualification
- Qualifier #1 (9-1), including (2-0) over Grandmaster Jackets, qualified by beating No Tomorrow (3-1).
- Premier Events:
- NA Fall Regional #1 - 3rd/4th Place (6-3)
- NA Fall Regional #2 - 3rd/4th Place (6-3) - including 0-2 loss to Denial eSports in Blizzcon Tiebreaker round.
- Blizzcon - Not invited
- Gold Club World Championship - Not invited
- Major Events:
Bloodlust: 1st Place (8-2) - Credited 9 wins because winner's bracket champion was given 1 game advantage in final set.
NA Nexus Games: 7th/8th Place (0-2) - dropped out due to Zuna being unable to play at TwitchCon after starting 0-2 against Imported Support
- Naventic has been among the more consistent teams in NA over the last year, though given the instability of NA this may not be a particularly high bar. That said, Naventic is known for having well managed team fights, and have very large hero pools. While their 3rd/4th place at both Fall Regionals may seem underwhelming, you have to note they went 4-0 in groups both times and lost both semifinals in very close game 5s. Naventic will alwyas have an air of controversy about them, and memes like Zuna feed and Lagf likely aren't going anywhere. But you know what else isn't going anywhere? Naventic. They will almost certainly be in the conversation for top team in NA as the season progresses. It's up to them to close out these best of 5 series. But they do not lack for talent.
No Tomorrow
- Players:
- TalkingTrees
- Casanova
- erho
- Jason
- TigerJK
- Roster Changes since last fall:
McIntyre was replaced by erho before 1st Qualifer
- Qualification -
- Qualifier #1 (9-3), including (2-0) over Dumpster Tier SuperStars. Lost (1-3) to Naventic in the finals.
- Qualifer #2 (9-1), beating Dumpster Tier (3-1) in the finals to qualify.
- Initially a planned reformation of Barrel Boys, No Tomorrow changed names after former Barrel Boy McIntyre was picked up by Denial eSports. Despite being a new team, No Tomorrow features veterans of the NA Scene: TalkingTrees (Gust or Bust), TigerJK (Team Name Change/Tempo Storm), erho (Naventic, Tempo Storm) and Jason (Panda Global, Dumpster Tier Superstars, Naventic). This team went a comined 5-1 over Dumpster Tier Superstars, and managed to take a map of Naventic. No Tomorrow has experience and clearly believes they are a top 4 calibur NA Team. The competition heading into the season will get much tougher than the qualifier, but taking a map off Naventic is certainly a show of promise. It will be up to No Tomorrow to realize their goals heading into the season.
Team Freedom
- Players:
- Nazmas
- insomnia
- zugrug
- daneski
- KilluZiion
- Roster changes since last fall:
None, as this is a new team for HGC 2017
- Qualification -
- Qualifier #1 (6-2), lost (0-2) to Naventic
- Qualifer #2 (9-1), beating Vox Nihili (3-1) in the finals to qualify.
- KilluZiion and insomnia played together on the short-lived team Peter Dinklage, which nearly qualified for the first NA Fall regional before one of their players (Goku) was signed by Team Name Change (who eventually qualified). This was particularly controversial at the time since the signing of Goku was after the registration deadline for the second qualifier, meaning both TNC and Peter Dinklage how to sit out qualifier #2. ZugRug previously played for Team Nom, and made it to the LAN at the Spring Regional in Los Angeles. Add in daneski (a former teammate of ZugRug on RaccAttack) and Nazmas, a new player to the pro scene, and you have a surprising team that upset both Gust or Bust and Vox Nihili en route to qualification. Of the first 6 teams to qualify, this team is the least known, and that wildcard status makes them a difficult match-up to predict. It will be interesting to see how they develop under the brightest of spotlights.
Superstars
- Players:
- Srey
- Faye
- iakona
- Hosty
- Goku
- Roster changes since last fall:
- McIntyre and Jason replaced by kladeous and prismaticism (in between Fall Regionals 1 and 2)
- kladeous replaced by Goku (after Fall Regional #2, before Bloodlust)
- Prismaticism replaced by Hosty (after HGC Qualifier #2)
- Qualification -
- Qual #1 Result (6-2): lost 0-2 in lower bracket semifinals to No Tomorrow.
- Qual #2 Result (9-3): lost 1-3 in lower bracket finals to No Tomorrow.
- Qual #3 Result (11-0): defeated Cata's Encore (3-0) in finals
- Premier Events:
- NA Fall Regional #1 - 7th/8th Place (2-4) as Gul'DansGame
- NA Fall Regional #2 - 7th/8th Place (0-4)
- Blizzcon - Not invited
- Gold Club World Championship - Not invited
- Major Events:
- Bloodlust: 3rd Place (6-4)
- NA Nexus Games: Not invited (lost to Level Up in qualification to finish outside the top 4)
- Dumpster Tier Superstars aka Dumpster Tier Failures aka Dumpster Tier Rejects aka High Score aka High Power aka Gul'DansGame aka Veni, Vidi, Spongegar have gone by many names, but the core of the team rose out of the ashes of Brain Power. Srey, Faye, and Iakona have been together since formation, with somewhat of a rotating cast at the 4th and 5th positions. DTS performed very well in qualifiers for last two NA Regional events, but performed poorly at the LAN events. Despite a very strong performance at the Bloodlust community tournament, DTS failed to qualify for Nexus Games. These difficulties were compounded in qualification for HGC, where DTS twice played and lost to No Tomorrow. DTS did finally qualify in the third qualifier, but didn't drop a single game in their run.
Team 8
- Players:
- Prismaticism
- glaurung
- Justing
- Buds
- YoDa
- Qualification: Qual #1 Result (6-3): lost 0-2 in upper bracket semifinals to Gale Force Qual #2 Result (6-2): lost 0-2 in lower bracket semifinals to Dumpster Tier Superstars Qual #3 Result (11-0): defeated Vox Nihili 3-0 in the finals
- Formerly known as Chu8 my Hotdoge, this is a team started by Chu8. The biggest name on this team, however, is Glaurung. After international play, Glaurung left Denial eSports in a surprising turn of events. Joining these two are former TNC players Justing (tank) and Buds (support). Both players are certainly in the upper echelon of players in Hots, but are not top 4 team material given TNC's long history of failing to make it out of groups at LAN events. Yoda from Team Blaze rounds out the roster. chu8, with a different roster but same team name, almost qualified for the second NA regional, losing the semifinals to then Astral Authority. While chu8 didn't participate in any events since that loss, his team proved to be ready to go in the third qualifier, not dropping a single game en route to qualification. Most recently Chu8 dropped out of the team to focus on his streaming career and was replaced by Prismaticism.
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HGC 2017 EU Qualified Teams
Blizzcon Qualifiers:
- Team Dignitas
- Bakery
- Snitch
- JayPL
- Ménè
- Atheroangel
- Fnatic
- Breez
- Smexystyle
- Quackniix
- scHwimpi
- Wubby
Qualifier #1
- Misfits
- Splendour
- HasuObs
- Nurok
- Darkmok
- Blumbi
- Expert
- adrd
- BadBenny
- bLaDe
- Cursen
- Nic
Qualifier #2
Qualifier #3
- Synergy
- CEBKAJE
- Neon
- PowerOfDream
- SirIceCream
- zwHydra
- Playing Ducks
- chriZplosion
- Cris
- mTwRaiDbawZ
- nande
- WolfJoe
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So many joke-name teams. A sympthom of the scene atm? The remaining "pro" players scrambeling together without sponsors or organisation.
I still enjoy HotS as an e-sport, though, it was simply released 4 years too late, so Dota 2 and LoL were already too far ahead. As a true blizzard fanboy, I will never try those games though!
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Chinese GWC info and Gold League posted by DogRay
Source:
http://heroes.blizzard.cn/article/esports/5772
Gold League 2016 Grand Finals
- Gold League 2016 Grand Finals starts from January 6th to 8th.
- 6 Chinese teams will compete for total 570,000 CNY(~82,600 USD) prize pool and the golden Heroes of the Storm championship rings.
- All 6 teams participating in Gold League 2016 Grand Finals will also earn their spots in the upcoming 2017 CN HGC league.
- eStar, Zero, and SPT, all of which represented CN in GCWC, automatically qualify for the tournament.
- The other 3 teams will be decided through the open qualifier.
Gold League 2016 Grand Finals Open Qualifier
- Online tournament, up to 32 teams.
- Top 3 will qualify for Gold League 2016 Grand Finals
- Date: Dec.16-17
- Format: BO3 Single elimination
- Registration Open: Dec.12-14
- Requirement: A group of 5 people who have achieved at least Gold in season 2 in either Hero League or Team League.
- Chinese nationality
2017 CN HGC League
- Details about the league have not been announced yet, including how to obtain the last 2 spots.
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On December 13 2016 05:59 Slydie wrote:
So many joke-name teams. A sympthom of the scene atm? The remaining "pro" players scrambeling together without sponsors or organisation.
I still enjoy HotS as an e-sport, though, it was simply released 4 years too late, so Dota 2 and LoL were already too far ahead. As a true blizzard fanboy, I will never try those games though!
Nonono. That was not about release time. That was all about ridicilously bad launch of HotS. I don't know how but Blizzard decided to send me a beta at that time. Game was soooo bad. Talents, heroes, UI, gameplay... Everything. But the worst part was marketing. Most people couldn't find access to beta and they watch streams. There was a big hype. Then they realized the game sucks... They can't try themself and they don't enjoy watching. Hype was over almost immediately.
Blizz fixed some of them (UI is still horrible. Its a monstrosity!) but MobA player base doesn't give another chance. I really can understand that. Moba genre has so many different choices and no one wants to try a game twice.
Joke names also Blizz's fault. Due to low viewership, players cannot get decent sponsors. Blizz did nothing to promote HotS e-sports at launch. Now they are trying hard. Yet unfortunately... I don't believe HGC will continue at 2018.
HotS would be great university thesis about "How not to market a potentialy perfect idea?"
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Let's just enjoy this year of guaranteed competition. And maybe it'll get better 
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HGC starting date confirmed:
BlizzMilkfat:
The first match of HGC will kick-off on January 20th. We have many announcements heading your way the next couple of weeks and we appreciate the patience.
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On January 04 2017 04:28 karazax wrote:HGC starting date confirmed: BlizzMilkfat:The first match of HGC will kick-off on January 20th. We have many announcements heading your way the next couple of weeks and we appreciate the patience.
I think this is being handled really, really poorly. They announced months ago that the league would begin in January, and we're already in January and there is still no official announcement, just a comment on a reddit thread with a date. It blows my mind that they didn't give dates and details in mid December at the latest. It seems like they must be scrambling things together on their end if they haven't even been able to solidify a starting date until two weeks before.
I really hope this won't be indicative of the the production quality of the broadcasts or the clarity of announcements once things begin. Hoping for the best but confused about it so far.
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From what I read, the players who qualified for HGC are traveling this week to meet with Blizzard and decide on map pools and work out details, possibly sign contracts.
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Typical Blizz concerning HotS: Too little , too late ^^
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On January 04 2017 06:04 karazax wrote:
From what I read, the players who qualified for HGC are traveling this week to meet with Blizzard and decide on map pools and work out details, possibly sign contracts.
Would be really nice if they have a big say in the proces I think.
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United States4883 Posts
Pretty standard Blizz.
Spring season is going to be a clusterfuck of Blizz trying to coordinate with ESL/DreamHack and OGN/Netease while simultaneously making shit up as they go. I'm not even surprised anymore. I'll be even more unsurprised if half of the games are on a community stream which you can only find on Reddit.
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AU/NZ map pool announced
Official Map Pool:
- Towers of Doom
- Infernal Shrines
- Battlefield of Eternity
- Sky Temple
- Tomb of the Spider Queen
- Dragon Shire
- Cursed Hollow
- Braxis Holdout
- Warhead Junction
Banned Maps:
- Haunted Mines
- Garden of Terror
- Blackheart’s Bay
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HGC Battlegrounds Revealed:
With HGC 2017 right around the corner, we’re excited to unveil the official competitive Battleground pool for the inaugural season of play. Until the Mid-Season Brawl, HGC and Open Division teams around the world will duke it out on these battlegrounds week in and week out. This list is subject to change after the first phase of play as new Battlegrounds are potentially rotated into the pool.
The Battleground pool is as follows:
- Towers of Doom
- Infernal Shrines
- Battlefield of Eternity
- Sky Temple
- Tomb of the Spider Queen
- Dragon Shire
- Cursed Hollow
- Braxis Holdout
- Warhead Junction
For Battleground selection, one team will be elected ahead of time to go first in the banning process. This team will strike one Battleground from the pool, then the opposing team will strike one. The team that banned first will then get to select which Battleground of the remaining seven they would like to play, with other team getting the first pick in the draft. The loser of each game in a series will have the option between first pick in the draft, or the selection of the next Battleground.
Be sure to check back soon for more information regarding HGC Opening Weekend!
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HGC news from Blizzard
The opening weekend of the Heroes Global Championship (HGC) is fast approaching. Sixteen top Heroes of the Storm® teams, eight in North America and eight in Europe, will begin their quests for championship glory playing in new leagues, under a new structure, and at a new level of professionalism. Once they’re joined by teams from Korea and China, these teams will set the stage for a remarkable year of Heroes esports.
The first match of HGC 2017 will kick off on Friday, January 20 at 9 a.m. PST/6 p.m. CET with Team Dignitas vs. Misfits. All series will be a best-of-five. The full opening week schedule for North America and Europe is as follows:
Friday, January 20
- Europe Match 1
9am PST/ 6pm CET
- Europe Match 2
11:30am PST/ 8:30pm CET
- Team expert
vs.
Diamond Skin
- North America Match 1
2pm PST/ 11pm CET
- Tempo Storm
vs.
Team Naventic
- North America Match 2 4:30pm PST/ 1:30am CET
Saturday, January 21
- Europe Match 1
9am PST/ 6pm CET
- Europe Match 2
11:30am PST/ 8:30pm CET
- North America Match 1
2pm PST/ 11pm CET
- Superstars
vs.
Team Freedom
- North America Match 2 4:30pm PST/ 1:30am CET
- Gale Force Esports
vs.
B Step
Sunday, January 22
- Europe Match 1
9am PST/ 6pm CET
- TRICKED eSports
vs.
Team expert
- Europe Match 2
11:30am PST/ 8:30pm CET
- North America Match 1
2pm PST/ 11pm CET
- North America Match 2 4:30pm PST/ 1:30am CET
- Team Naventic
vs.
Gale Force Esports
Looking to the East, the final seven Korean HGC teams will be determined by January 22 after qualifiers have concluded, with the HGC Korea season kicking off February 3. All regular season games will take place live at the OGN studio and will be broadcast simultaneously in English on the official Heroes of the Storm Facebook and Twitch channels. All series will be best-of-five and will be streamed every weekend throughout the season on Fridays at 1 a.m. PST/10 a.m. CET.
The casters piloting the ship this year will be none other than Gillyweed and Dreadnaught for North America, Khaldor and Trikslyr for Europe, and the duo of Wolf and GClef for Korea. The Western casters have made the journey to Southern California, from where they’ll provide the play-by-play commentary and analysis that fans have come to know and love.
A special guest will be filling in for Khaldor for the first week while he packs his bags and heads west.
Eastern Skirmishes
In China, Netease, in partnership with Blizzard Entertainment, will host the HGC Gold League. The region is still finishing up the Gold Series and will join in the full HGC festivities around the time of the first Eastern Clash.
Korea and China will run their premier HGC leagues with eight teams apiece, and each region will have their own Crucible to test the merit of those up-and-coming rosters vying for a spot in the top tier.
All HGC games in North America, Europe, and Korea will be streamed on twitch.tv/BlizzHeroes and Facebook.com/HeroesEsports, which will be live Fridays through Sundays during the regular season, with one hour breaks between the European and North American slate of games, and four hours between games in North America and Korea.
After several weeks of regular season play, the first exhibition clashes will begin. The Western Clash will take place at IEM Katowice on March 3–5 where qualified teams from North America, Europe, Latin America, and Australia & New Zealand will compete for their share of a $100,000 prize pool. Meanwhile, on March 17, the first Eastern Clash will take place at the Gold Series Stadium in Shanghai, with another $100,000 on the line for teams from Korea, China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
We’re also excited to disclose preliminary details on the Mid-Season Brawl, the first major international tournament of the year. For MSB, Heroes esports will return to DreamHack Summer in Jönköping, Sweden on June 17 with $250,000 up for grabs to the twelve best HGC teams from around the globe.
This should be an exciting year for the Heroes of the Storm esports scene—when the HGC gets underway on January 20, there will be no shortage of competitive play to enjoy. Join us on January 17 for the relaunch of the official HGC site, updated to feature the comprehensive 2017 schedule as well as league standings, news, VODs, and more.
HGC Korea news: "All regular season games will take place live at the OGN studio and will be broadcast simultaneously in English"
Team renames:
Bstep = Denial
Superstars = Dumpster Tier Superstars
Synergy = Russian Circus
Expert = Two Bees Determined
Chu8 = Team 8
Tricked eSports = Damascuz bois
TempoStorm = Astral Authority = Murloc Geniouses
Grandmaster Jackets = Team Freedom
Trikslyr is no longer community manager:
Taking the casting position was a contracted position, not a position posted as a Blizzard employee. So, long story short, I'm no longer a Blizzard employee, thus no flair.
But, I get to cast and be a part of HGC and work side by side with Blizzard! Pretty exciting.
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Couldn't be happier. This is going to be ace.
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141 Posts
More details on Qualifier:
Online Qualifier will be single-elim Bo3's to narrow down to 24 teams. (in the past, a team usually only have to play one or two sets to advance).
Offline Qualifier will be six groups round robin. Winner of each group advance to HGC.
Both Online and Offline Qualifier brackets are determined by OGN, seeding based on standings in Fall Super League..
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EPT
