Fnatic [3-1] Playing Ducks      

A heavily favored Fnatic did what needed to be done on Friday, starting off the weekend with a convincing 3-1 victory over Playing Ducks. Although Fnatic dropped a game on Towers of Doom, they responded with a strong final game to take the series.

Having already locked in their seeding for IEM Katowice, Fnatic didn’t necessarily have to win this one, but they showed nonetheless that they are a strong force in Europe. For those that missed it, you also missed the ridiculous post-game interview with Fnatic’s captain, Quackniix, where he shared a few thoughts about how the Western Clash would break down as well as a shoutout to “[his] boy, MichaelUdall”.

Misfits [3-2] Tricked eSport      

In what turned out to be one of the biggest surprises of the weekend, Tricked eSport really showed up to play against the European giants. Taking Misfits all the way to Game Five, Tricked seemed to be gelling. However, Misfits wasn’t going to go into the Western Clash with a loss, and answered the call with a decisive 10-minute victory on Blackheart’s Bay.

Gale Force eSports [3-0] No Tomorrow      

No Tomorrow entered this week fresh off of their first series win against the scrappy Team Freedom in Week 4. Alternatively, Gale Force eSports was fresh off a 3-0 against NA's #1 team Tempo Storm. GFE would start the series with an Abathur/Zeratul comp on Sky Temple. GFE would take a late game teamfight over boss thanks to Khroen's Li-Ming resets. GFE managed to grab Tassadar/Valla for Game Two on Braxis Holdout, taking control of the game post-13.

No Tomorrow would bring the fight in Game Three though by running the Varian/Artanis meat grinder combo on Battlefield of Eternity. No Tomorrow would secure the first keep of the game and win a late game teamfight forcing a Core rush. Fan (Zeratul) and MichaelUdall (Lunara) would manage to fight off the assault without Void Prison to secure the game and the series.

B-Step [3-0] Team Naventic      

Since B-Step's series against Team Freedom in Week 3, they've looked like a different team. Naventic though, has struggled throughout the first half of this season. Although B-Step would win the series 3-2, both teams are going to have to step it up in the second half of this season if they want to secure a top spot in the HGC Playoffs. The series started off with a quick 1-1, but things got interesting quickly. Game Three went to B-Step and set them up for match point, but the final game on Infernal Shrines was the most ridiculous hold in recent memory.

Naventic had complete control on Infernal Shrines; all keeps were up and they had knocked their opponent's Core to 15% by 25:00. B-Step prolonged the game for another 10 minutes, finally losing at 35:00 to a lone Punisher barreling down the lane to their Core. In Game Five on Dragon Shire, Naventic went for an ETC/Brightwing combo while B-Step opted for a deletion comp featuring Xul. B-Step led most of the game in experience, but Naventic took the first keep. Only a clutch late game play by k1pro would secure the game and series for B-Step.

Team Dignitas [3-0] beGenius      

Saturday ended up being much less interesting than Friday, as both series ended in a 3-0 sweep by the favored squads. Team Dignitas began the morning with three quick consecutive victories, none of which lasted past 17:00.

beGenius will have their work cut out for them in the second half of Phase 1 as the only team in HGC West without a series win thus far. If they want to steer themselves away from the Crucible, they need to have some strong practice during the Western Clash break and hopefully start building momentum as the second half starts in April.

Team expert [3-0] Synergy      

Similarly to the previous series, Team expert also didn’t allow Synergy to get past 17:00 in any game. They were decisive and purposeful in their rotations throughout the day, even without adrd on Medivh, which was banned first by Synergy in all three games.

Team expert had a strong showing in the first half of Phase 1, convincingly defeating all of their opponents outside of the top three. With the second half looming, expert still has a chance to upset Misfits, Fnatic, or Dignitas and qualify for the next global, but doing so will require practice, practice, and more practice.

Inversely, Synergy is still on the outside looking in when it comes to staying in the HGC. They are the seventh seed, and their only victory was against beGenius. As such, Synergy will need to figure something out if they plan to make a move on Tricked eSport or Playing Ducks.

Tempo Storm [3-2] Superstars      

Although Superstars have shown marked improvement from the beginning of the season, they were still no match for Tempo Storm. For much of the series, Superstars held their own and even took an impressive lead on Towers of Doom, but in the end, they failed to capitalize on their advantages.

In classic fashion, Tempo Storm played the macro game brilliantly throughout the series and to easily take the victory, officially clinching the top North American seed for the Western Clash.

Team 8 [3-0] Team Freedom      

Team 8 outclassed their opponents at every turn in this series. Team Freedom never held any semblance of a significant advantage, and despite a stronger showing in the first game on Battlefield of Eternity, the following two battlegrounds were quick and one-sided.

Team 8’s Prismaticism continued to show a strong preference for Ragnaros, playing the Firelord in all three games of the series. The addition of these three victories to his stat sheet increased his win rate on the hero to a staggering 86% over 14 appearances in the first half of Phase 1. Being the team that has completely surprised the world thus far in HGC, Team 8 will have a chance to impress us even more as the number two North American seed in the Western Clash next month.