eStar Gaming [3-1] Super Perfect Team      

eStar and SPT are familiar names from the Eastern Clash, but both were eliminated by Korean team Tempest without facing each other, so the series here was their first official game.

The series began extremely close. Both teams played defensively on Tomb of the Spider Queen, trading early advantages before entering a long stalemate. After five minutes of goaltending and casualty-free teamfights, SPT initiated a final push, but eStar’s defense remained too solid to crack. It would take a single front line kill to finally tip the game in eStar’s favor. The stalemate continued into the next game on Infernal Shrines, as the teams took conflicting strategies—SPT focused on shrine control, while eStar ceded the objective for split push pressure instead. Both strategies were finding value, and the game remained too close to call; unfortunately, significant disconnects and lengthy pauses robbed the game of its momentum, and it ended with an anti-climactic base race in SPT’s favor.

Following the technical difficulties, eStar found new passion. They bullied SPT for the rest of the series, finishing the Braxis Holdout game in less than 10 minutes, and continued the streak on Warhead Junction. SPT drafted The Lost Vikings, but were unable to find value as eStar’s double-digit takedowns outpaced anything SPT was able to soak. Even in their dominance, eStar showed signs of fallibility—TiGer’s Falstad in particular was caught out several times—but despite close moment, SPT was never able to mount a true comeback in the series against the regional champions.

Hots Lady [3-1] Keep It Simple      

Unfortunately, more technical issues plagued the first game on Battlefield of Eternity. KIS played aggressively early on, but Hots Lady taking control of mid-game with an immortal push right as the stream cut out. Hots Lady won that first game, but their victory was not broadcast.

The second Infernal Shrines game was in Hots Lady’s favor at first until HD’s Gul’dan play equalized things. After tying the series at 1-1, both teams adopted a defensive approach on Tomb of the Spider Queen. While the match seemed close, Hots Lady risked a boss play that swung the series toward them. Hots Lady’s passive play disappeared as they ramped up, but KIS began to falter. Their hesitance allowed Hots Lady to hold every temple and dismantle KIS’s defenses without needing to fight them directly, ending the game quickly.

RPG [3-0] Start Over Again      

RPG is the other promoted team, but their play was a marked contrast from KIS. SOA is an aggressive team, but RPG matched their aggression each time by taking every engagement that was offered to them. Each time, the early posturing would go in RPG’s favor, with kills propelling them into huge level leads. As the first game on Sky Temple ended, RPG had scored 17 takedowns while SOA still had none.

SOA found some moments of brilliance on Tomb of the Spider Queen, but could never seem to outplay RPG. There would be close calls on both sides, but every time SOA found a teamfight that looked even, they could never actually confirm their kills. The third game on Infernal Shrines was the closest of the series, as SOA finally found an early lead. The teams would alternate victories for a while, tied in experience and kills, but once loktar’s Greymane came online with Wizened Duelist, one last teamfight was all RPG needed.

With how one-sided the series went, it’s still hard to guess where RPG will rank in the league. SOA is a pre-established team but has been on a loss streak throughout their competitive history. The first series leaves RPG still largely untested, and time still has to tell how they can measure against names like SPT or Xteam.

CE [3-0] Xteam      

With the two teams close in standings, this looked to be the closest series of the week. The opening match on Battlefield of Eternity seemed so at first, but the trades were all subtly uneven and gave slow advantages to CE that spiralled out of control after CE took advantage of a wasted ultimate from Tao’s Rehgar. The game was won convincingly, and a good deal of the credit goes to Paradise’s Artanis. Not only did he secure important kills with Phase Prism, but his usage of Suppression Pulse denied Xteam crucial damage whenever they needed it most.

The second game on Warhead Junction was surprisingly intense. CE committed to a strategy of all-in tower dives, recklessly threatening both heroes and structures which Xteam defended. The teams eventually split across the map in more traditional style, but the early pressure paid off, as Xteam was never able to fight on truly equal footing. With Dehaka, Stage Dive, and The Hunt, CE had a global ganking threat, making it impossible for Xteam to recover from CE’s lead.

After decisive losses in the first two games, Xteam risked a non-traditional draft on Braxis Holdout, and the gambit resulted in the closest game of the series. While Xteam had not been able to recover in the previous games whenever CE gained the lead, this time they were successful and kept the game on equal footing. Each teamfight was excessively lethal on both sides, making it difficult for either team to capitalize on their kills. As the teams fought over the beacons, Paradise’s Dehaka left his team to fight 4v5, soaking top lane for four minutes while Alooffool’s Morales and Wind’s Varian held CE’s line. The soak was enough to get CE the level 20 advantage they needed to close out the series.

Xteam [3-0] Keep It Simple      

KIS’s young roster still needed to prove itself against the league’s established names, so facing off against Xteam was a rite of passage for them. Xteam needed the win just as badly after their poor start in Week One to stave off a downward spiral like the one that has been plaguing MVP Miracle in Korea.

If there were lingering questions about Xteam’s performance, Xteam answered them with a clean and definitive victory on Braxis Holdout. KIS was able to draft Tassadar along with an Auriel/Zu’jin combo, but neither support could keep up with the damage pressure from Xteam’s Lunara. KIS learned from their passivity the previous week and remained aggressive and passionate on Dragon Shire despite the loss. Miracle found good early kills for his team on Valeera, but Xteam out-rotated them as the game went on. Undeterred, KIS continued their gank attempts even as Xteam’s experience lead grew. The failed ganks would end up launching Xteam’s lead even further and launching the game towards its conclusion.

Xteam continued their dominance on Tomb of the Spider Queen with an early lead. KIS demanded respect with their Stitches pick potential, and for a brief window between levels 10 and 13, the teams fought on equal footing for the first time all series. But as Xteam’s late game comp grew in power, the window for KIS closed. Despite a worse score in this series, the young roster showed improvement over the first week by not letting their spirits falter in the face of a better team. They showed they can learn from that mistake, and now they need to work on their front line positioning. On Xteam’s side, RTTTTTT earns commendations for his Ragnaros play throughout the series, and opponents should be cautious of letting him get the hero in the future.

CE [3-0] Start Over Again      

After their previous 3-0 against Xteam, CE is looking better than they ever have. It was unlikely CE would be the ones to finally fall and break SOA’s career loss streak, but the underdog team looked strong on Cursed Hollow. Both teams started the game by trading forts unopposed in opposite lanes, immediately opening up win conditions for either team if they could secure a boss later. This would come back to haunt SOA; while they maintained control over the entire game with a significant structural lead, it only took one teamfight to undo it for them. Despite being behind all game, CE wiped their opponent, secured the curse, and walked to the Core through the lane they’d opened in the first minute.

Having come so close to getting their first ever win, SOA was crestfallen as the series continued. CE won the second game on Braxis Holdout in only seven minutes, and SOA’s awkward draft for the third game on Battlefield of Eternity didn’t help them recover. With another 3-0 in hand, CE holds the top standing in the region.

eStar Gaming [3-0] Hots Lady      

Both teams finished the previous week with 3-1 scores, making them equal in season standings—but there was little equal about this series. In the first game on Sky Temple, TiGer’s Falstad continued to be a weak hero choice for him. However, after Hots Lady identified TiGer as the weak link, TiGer began playing more defensively, and gank attempts on him started turning in the other direction. The more pressure Hots Lady put on Falstad, the more TiGer seemed to come to life, and the turnaround kills fueled eStar’s experience lead until victory was inevitable.

The second game on Tomb of the Spider Queen flipped the situation. While the teams were playing evenly, Kty’s Gul’Dan was the weak link on Hots Lady, and his deaths fed eStar to an earlier level 10. eStar was a good enough team to compensate for TiGer being caught out, but Hots Lady couldn’t compensate in the same way. The experience lead escalated to a five level difference, and eStar was unstoppable.

The final game on Battlefield of Eternity was no less one-sided—but on a brighter note, it was decided by players performing well instead of playing poorly. TiGer’s impact on Nazeebo more than made up for his earlier hiccups, and Llius’ Arthas play kept Hots Lady in the game longer than they could have hoped. With better performances on both sides, the series ended on a high note, though fans of Hots Lady might not agree.

Super Perfect Team [3-0] RPG      

This series was an important test for the season, whatever the result. RPG’s first week gave them a good start, but facing one of the region’s top three would be a better test of their abilities as well as a litmus test for how dominant the top teams were.

The series played out consistently. In every game, RPG took an early lead in the first phase, and then lost it as SPT gained more talent tiers. Even when RPG took advantages, SPT’s greater cohesion would keep them ahead. For example, in the first game on Dragon Shire, RPG would overcommit to ganks across the map, allowing SPT to pull back with their global heroes and take the Dragon Knight in exchange for the kill. RPG likewise started strong on Braxis Holdout, but as they struggled to gain control of the beacons, SPT’s Zagara began to gain insane value.

Infernal Shrines was RPG’s best chance to tie the series. Leading in objectives, structures, experience, and kills, RPG held control of the final game. Though SPT was able to draft Zarya for MelodyC, RPG’s burst damage and SPT’s odd rotations around the map didn’t give the shields a chance to protect anyone effectively. RPG had the game in their hands, but SPT stole it at level 16. With the talent advantage gone, SPT pushed RPG off of the objective and initiated their comeback as they captured the Punisher for themselves and rode the ensuing push to victory.