At the HGC Finals, most people are expecting a grand final between Gen.G and Dignitas—and with good reason. These two teams stand above the rest of the tournament, and they have never been closer to each other in skill than they are right now. Both teams can legitimately claim to be the best in the world, so how do you predict a series between them?

Given the history and momentum of Gen.G, the key to the BlizzCon finals is actually TheOne, the Chinese Gatekeeper.

In the summer of 2015, MVP Black emerged as the most dominant team of Korea. Between June and October they went undefeated, with their name becoming a whispered rumor across Heroes social media. No other region had such an unstoppable force, but it also wasn’t yet clear how the regions compared. If MVP Black was undefeated in Korea, did that mean they were the best team in the world, or did it mean Korea was weak? As silly as that sounds in hindsight, it was a real question back in 2015 when HotS was barely a month into open beta. Still, as MVP Black’s winning streak became months-long, people became more and more certain they were destined to win BlizzCon.

And then they didn’t qualify.

Right when it mattered most, Team DK ended MVP Black’s winning streak in the Super League 2015and went on to BlizzCon as the Korean representative. That’s the year DK would be eliminated by Cloud9 on their world championship run, leaving many to wonder how things would have turned out with MVP Black there. But the could-have-beens aren’t important; what matters is what actually happened.

Following the disappointing end to a dominant year, MVP Black grew determined. After BlizzCon, MVP Black won every event at the close of 2015, and then every event at the start of 2016. Their next hot streak would run from November all the way through May, and was even more impressive than the summer had been. MVP Black would take the title away from Cloud9 at the Spring Global Championship (which is also the first event where the #HGC hashtag came into usage), leaving no doubt they were the best team in the world. But once they’d proven that, they took a foot off the gas pedal and stepped away from the game, just as a new team named Tempest was beginning to rise....

A pattern emerged. Through all circumstances, continuing after MVP Black was acquired by KSV esports, and even through the rebranding to Generation Gaming, this pattern has held true.



It’s a cycle. Every year, Gen.G rises to become the best team in the world after months-long win streaks that cement their domination. No one can compete with them—not EU, not Korea, no one. Then, after they spend a while being untouchable, they stop improving. Whether through boredom or just complacence, Gen.G plateaus. They keep winning, but their level remains steady.

During that time, other teams catch up. With a clear opponent to focus on and with the competitive drive pushing them onwards, the dream of beating Gen.G brings every team up to the next level. It’s not that Gen.G gets worse at all, simply that the other teams grow to match them. We’ve seen that with Ballistix and Fnatic in 2017, with Dignitas and Miracle in 2018. These teams are every bit as good as Gen.G, and eventually they took the Korean powerhouse down.

With the increased level of competition, Gen.G finds their passion all over again. They grow excited to play, they find their drive to improve, and the whole cycle repeats. Gen.G becomes even better than they were before, and then the rest of the world plays catch up all over again.

After winning BlizzCon last year, Gen.G had a slow start and lost the first Eastern Clash. They’ve been unstoppable ever since. Dignitas is on that level, but at this tier of play psychology becomes just as important as mechanical skill.

Enter TheOne. The most surprising success story of the opening week group stages, TheOne has rekindled hope in HGC China. Despite being the #2 seed from a weak region, they’ve been able to take a game off of every other region in HGC so far…and those regions didn’t even mind. TheOne has shown they have what it takes to defeat Korean gods Tempest, European dark horse Leftovers, and hometown favorites HeroesHearth Esports.

The response to all of this has been smiles and nods. While no one seriously expects TheOne to go all the way, they’ve become an underdog we can love and appreciate. So now, all of BlizzCon might rest on their shoulders.

Losing makes Gen.G stronger. It keeps their wits sharp and their competitive spirits high. Therefore, in order to beat Dignitas in the grand finals, they need to lose a little first.

Taking a game off of Gen.G is a tall order for TheOne. It’s possible—TheOne have proven themselves up to the monumental task ahead of them. They not only eliminated Leftovers, they’ve destroyed Tempest’s mental state early on, leaving them weak for the rest of the bracket. Thanks to TheOne, HHE is a stronger team than Tempest is now…and TheOne took a game from HHE, too. So TheOne absolutely can take a game off of Gen.G, even though they probably won’t.

Counterintuitive as it seems, that’s exactly what Gen.G fans need.

Coming into the tournament, Miracle was looking like Gen.G’s closest rival outside of Dignitas, and the bracket has been arranged in a way where Gen.G and Dignitas are unlikely to meet outside of the grand final. Gen.G needed Miracle to keep them on their toes, but then they just destroyed them on Sunday. Gen.G’s victory over Miracle was so crushing that it makes Gen.G look unstoppable again. And historically, that’s exactly when Gen.G loses. But if TheOne can take a game from Gen.G, in the very first match of the very first day of BlizzCon? That tells Gen.G that they’ve got something to fight for, that they’ve got opponents worth facing.

Gen.G is a team with a proud history, and they’ll do anything to protect that legacy when it’s threatened. As the defending world champions up against a Dignitas that's looking better than ever, there are a lot of question marks hanging above them. With so many possibilities and imagined outcomes, that first series needs to be a wake-up call.

If Gen.G defeats TheOne too easily, then Dignitas still has a chance. In fact, given the rest of the schedule, if there’s going to be any shake-ups in any team’s mindset it has to be now. Unless there’s a big upset, the bracket Dignitas faces will only build their confidence.