A new STORM has reached the CCL shores. With a name like STORM Esports, they’re a perfect match for the Heroes of the Storm scene. The Chicago based organization has just arrived, but they’re already feeling comfortable in our community. We had the opportunity to talk to Alcove—one of the STORM owners—a few days before draft day. We’ve asked him for a blind prediction about their first CCL run:



Alcove was deadly serious when he told us that. STORM traded and drafted its way to quite a stacked roster with some of the strongest players in the scene:

• Lauber
  
• BBJ
  
• ibtingz
  
• Qepi
  
• Daykwaza
  
• CPX

Those big brain draft moves and high—though doable—expectations are not the only thing STORM is bringing in. As an organization, competing is only one aspect of being involved. They’re also quite focused on communities (for example, hosting game servers) and production. This production-oriented side synergizes well with CCL. In fact, they want to co-stream their matches by developing a relationship with the talent in the streamer pool. Moreover, they’re also looking for any broadcasting opportunities within the Heroes of the Storm scene.

We are excited to announce that STORM has accepted an org spot to compete in Season 2 of @heroeshearthccl. We are grateful for the opportunity to be involved with such a passionate community and feel at home.

Check out our blog post for details: https://t.co/waWZp1ED6f pic.twitter.com/GIYOL0hi0M

— STORM Esports (@StormEsportsUS) March 16, 2021

Content creation as a whole has become a great priority for STORM Esports in 2021, Alcove tells us. They want to help the players grow their personal brands under the STORM name. That’s something they’ve been doing with their current rosters—in CS:GO, Valorant and Rocket League—and are willing to do with their Heroes of the Storm roster as soon as they draft it.

STORM was born as a gaming community for a group of friends to play and meet new people. Though CCL is consuming all their time in HotS right now, they want to also get involved with the community beyond the HeroesHearth league. They began as a community and they’re always happy to come back to their roots. With that in mind, they’re exploring their options in terms of starting an academy team like Chilly Mountain or Simplicity have in the NGS Storm Division. They want to provide a space for players to reach their highest potential and maybe draft them into their main roster in the future.

Even if this is their first MOBA, the STORM staff are doing their homework. They don’t see being the newcomers as something bad, but as an opportunity. “Coming into HeroesHearth CCL gives us momentum and pushes our passion further to provide a fun, competitive environment for all fans”, Alcove says.

He encourages all those fans to cheer for STORM and promises to make them feel surrounded by a group of friends while enjoying the CCL games. No matter what happens, STORM wants to keep the community at the focus of everything they do.

Thank you Alcove for sharing all your insight with us! We wish STORM Esports the best in the upcoming CCL Season 2. Don’t forget to tune into the next draft!