Team Dignitas [3-1] Playing Ducks      

In the last few weeks, Playing Ducks had moments where they looked on par with the best Europe has to offer, but they once again proved this week that they still lack the finesse to compete at the highest level.

Starting off on Towers of Doom, Playing Ducks displayed a strong early game and took the lead during the first two Shrine phases. However, the sustain coming out from Malfurion and Tyreal combined with crisp play from Team Dignitas proved too much as the game progressed. No matter how well they engaged with Medivh, Dignitas simply refused to go down.

After losing game one, Playing Ducks came back strong on Tomb of the Spider Queen aided by the original Chromie main, Cris. Combining Shifting Sands with Earthquake and Earthbind Totem, Playing Ducks had plenty of crowd control to secure early takedowns and eventually win the game with key Moshes.

Dignitas got to play the slow sustain based game they excel at on the following maps, Braxis Holdout and Battlefield of Eternity. Playing Ducks did not make many glaring mistakes in either game, but the ability to clutch out a game was not there. The perfect example of this could be seen in the last game, where despite trading one-for-two in the final fight, they mispositioned and allowed Li-Ming to defend the Immortal with a three man takedown.

Misfits [3-0] beGenius      

As Misfits secured their spot for Katowice, beGenius unfortunately took another step toward the Crucible.

On Infernal Shrines, Misfits took the driving seat early on with a first blood and the first Punisher. No signs of weakness, Misfits continued controlling the Shrines until they eventually barreled down the Core. On Towers of Doom, beGenius started off securing three out of three Altars in the first phase, astonishing both casters and viewers alike. However, as Misfits began forcing teamfights, their French opponents simply could not compete.

With the second game going in the favor of the Misfits, Sky Temple was the last chance for beGenius to make a comeback. Punishing several members of Misfits for being out of position, beGenius went toe to toe with the titans in the mid game. But after a team wipe on the fourth Temple phase, Misfits secured a boss and once again propelled themselves forward. With another three-man takedown, Misfits ended the game.

Tempo Storm [3-0] No Tomorrow      

No Tomorrow came into Week 4 looking for their first series win of HGC 2017, and while they did manage to eventually taste victory, they struggled against the undefeated Tempo Storm. Tempo came out of the gate swinging and took an effortless 15:00 victory on Cursed Hollow. They continued their domination in the following games for a quick 3-0. For No Tomorrow, this was another disappointing loss, but luckily, they got a chance to redeem themselves later on.

Superstars [3-0] Team Naventic      

Naventic is in the hot seat. They’ve shown signs of brilliance, but unfortunately it hasn't translated into results. Superstars were considered slight favorites, though both teams are evenly matched, but they ended up crushing Naventic 3-0.

Although Naventic managed to secure 10 kills in Game One on Towers of Doom, they were never impactful when it came to securing the map objective, and Superstars won with 27 health left on their Core. Superstars came out much stronger in the second game on Braxis Holdout and showcased better positioning in fights to win with a +14 kill differential. Naventic seemed outmatched for the vast majority of the series. They managed to make a run on Tomb of the Spider Queen in the final game, but a late game 3-0 trade secured the game and series for Superstars without a hitch.

Tricked eSport [3-0] beGenius      

With both teams lacking wins, this series was a fight for survival. One would expect this to be a close series—looking at the games individually it was—but alas, the series ended with a clean 3-0 in favor of Tricked.

The first game on Dragon Shire was a good indicator for how the series would develop; after a weak early game, beGenius was able to equalize on experience and secure a late game Dragon Knight. As they pushed the bottom keep of Tricked Esport, AlexTheProG dove right into beGenius and was quickly focus fired down, but Death Metal secured his team a 4-man Mosh Pit and allowed Tricked to win the game.

On Infernal Shrines, Tricked simply had better control of the objective and secured it almost every single time. In the final game on Cursed Hollow, BeGenius looked poised to end the game similarly to Game One. With a Curse in their favor and an open bottom lane, beGenius pounced on the opportunity to secure their first win of the series. Unfortunately for them, the Kaelaris curse was also active, which allowed Tricked to defend with 2% left on their Core.

Misfits [3-0] Team expert      

Team expert’s experimental strats were shut down time and time again by Misfits. The unique strats included a Butcher/Medivh comp on Dragon Shire and a Hammer/Ilidan combo on Infernal Shrines. Team expert always had something new up their sleeve, but Misfits did not flinch. From a viewer’s perspective, it almost seemed like expert felt the need for a gimmick in order to overcome their opponents. When expert finally settled for a standard composition in the final game, Misfits still outfought them and ended the series to become the first team to secure their spot at IEM Katowice.

B-Step [3-2] Superstars      

Superstars looked great the previous day against Naventic, and it seemed reasonable they'd take the series easily from the B-Step. What actually happened was probably the greatest series throw this HGC season.

Superstars looked great in the first two games and secured a quick 2-0 lead, but B-Step dominated them in Game Three. In the following game, Superstars misplayed their Zeratul/ETC wombo combo and refused to change tact. While Goku's Zeratul was amazing and his Void Prisons were on point, the sting of losing Game Four would be grossly overshadowed by the epic throw on Battlefield of Eternity in the final game. Superstars had all their forts up against B-Step's naked Core and they were halfway to level 20 when immortals spawned—they had complete control of the game. All Superstars had to do was play patient. No amount of description can do this justice—just watch the link. B-Step took the series 3-2.

Team 8 [3-0] Team Naventic      

Team 8 played some of the most crisp and calculated games from any NA team this season. Game One was so beautiful and calculated, it should be considered a work of art. Glaurung was on Zeratul, and silenced any remaining skeptics that he is undoubtedly the best Zeratul in NA. He threatened the bot lane with constant wave pressure and forced out multiple de-push rotations from Naventic during objective phases.

Naventic's lack of waveclear and mispositioning really hurt them in this series, and Team 8 never lost control of the series. Although Naventic forced Game Three on Battlefield of Eternity to 30:00, it wasn't enough for them to secure a map win and keep the series alive. Team 8 won with a clean sweep.

Fnatic [3-2] Team Dignitas      

Fnatic versus Dignitas is always a treat to watch, and this highly anticipated matchup was no exception. As the series began, Fnatic looked completely dominant with a quick 2-0 lead. The next map was Braxis Holdout, and it appeared they would carry their momentum to an unexpected sweep of Dignitas. But as Fnatic rushed the Core while the Beacons were spawning, they fell victim to a Kaelaris Core after an amazing defensive stand spearheaded by Zaelia’s clutch Ragnaros play.

Dignitas would eventually even out the series with a second victory on Infernal Shrines, and as the momentum seemed to be shifting, Fnatic chose to defer the battleground selection to Dignitas to secure first pick/first ban for themselves for the winner-takes-all Game Five on Dragon Shire.

With their backs against the wall, Fnatic buckled down and showed they are force to be reckoned with. Quackniix secured a Dragon Knight in the fourth minute of the game and Fnatic never looked back, bringing down the Core of Dignitas with a three-level advantage—yet another “W” to their HGC standings.

Playing Ducks [3-1] Synergy      

Getting behind early seems to be Playing Ducks’ schtick. Last week they completed a reverse sweep against Tricked eSport, and this week they secured another come-from-behind victory over Synergy.

After dropping their first battleground, Playing Ducks responded with three straight victories. In the latter stage of Game Four on Towers of Doom, Sportbilly laid down a massive four-man Ley Line Seal whilst retreating from Synergy’s Molten Core play; the teamfight swung in the Ducks' favor and ultimately secured the game and the series.

Gale Force eSports [3-0] Tempo Storm      

This was a big series for Gale Force to help ensure a trip to the Western Clash, but Tempo Storm’s undefeated record posed a serious threat. But what was expected to be a tight series ended up being a rather tame 3-0 for GFE. Tempo didn't look like themselves in this series; their drafts seemed awkward at best, and Jun had some uncharacteristic misplays.
In Game Three, Tempo decided to continue their bizarre double support drafts by unleashing a damage Kharazim/Malfurion composition on Battlefield of Eternity. While Tempo took a quick 6-0 in kills pre-10, they simply could not confirm kills on the members of GFE after Heroics hit the field. GFE stunned everyone by taking down NA’s last undefeated team with an easy 3-0.

No Tomorrow [3-1] Team Freedom      

No Tomorrow came into this week without a series win, and their performance against Tempo on Friday was abysmal. For Team Freedom, this series should've been an easy 3-0, but No Tomorrow was hungry. Game One was the beginning of the surprise upset, but Team Freedom answered back with a quick 8:00 win on Braxis Holdout.

In the following games, Team Freedom went for a triple warrior setup which ended up hurting them on Tomb of the Spider Queen. Though they trailed in experience for most of the game, Freedom did manage to keep it close by maintaining even trades in the late game teamfights. Unfortunately, with the triple warrior comp and Gul'dan they were unable to secure kills or burst heroes down effectively. Each Ancestral Healing from TigerJK was on point and managed to turn the fights instantaneously. No Tomorrow would end up with their long-awaited first victory of the season.