In the first part of our Heroes International preview we introduced you to the tournament and recapped the Eastern rosters and former-CCL organizations qualified for the tournament, which will take off next October 14 in Miami. Tempest, Ammonite, 30k and Diamond Hands will be joined by the three European contenders and the North American Last Chance Qualifier victors.

The European scene has always had a life of its own. Players used to build their rosters with little involvement from organizations, because most of them (with few exceptions, such as Granit Gaming) usually weren’t around. This situation changed once CCL began. These new and returning orgs signed or sponsored some teams for specific tournaments, but due to the draft system they were often forced to have two different rosters: one for CCL and another for the European events. Once the draft was removed, more CCL organizations got involved, but they left when the major league was canceled. That’s why many players have gone back to the mixed teams where they used to play or formed new ones.

Washed Up

Qualifiers: EU Q1
Mascarade, Daykwaza, BananaH, HasuObs, Nic

If Washed Up had a trophy room, they would probably need to buy new shelves by now. In 2019 and 2020 they won most of the tournaments they played. After a year and a half apart, they’re back together and at the first European qualifier they showed us their synergy is still on point. They have played many LAN events before, so they aren’t new to that kind of pressure. Without a doubt, they are one of the favorites to win the tournament.

Bang Bush

Qualifiers: EU Q1 EU Q2
Nagrom212, Svampgrotta, Skogh, Ultralisk, Henn1ng

Sweden has always been one of the Heroes of the Storm power houses. From Fnatic to Granit Gaming, there has always been a Swedish team among the European elite. At Heroes International that representation will be portrayed by Bang Bush. We’ve already watched them play at tournaments such as Masters Clash Championship or X-Cup Summer, though they have made a couple roster changes since. After losing both the winner and grand finals of the first HI qualifier against Washed Up, they swept the second qualifier without dropping a single map.

5 Shots of Copium

Qualifiers: EU Q1 EU Q2 EU LCQ
SimplyDK, Casp3r, Nano, gaflo, Veikzu

Some of the players of 5 Shots of Copium have been around for a while. However, they were far from the top until they joined this squad. The team, formed by Casp3r and Nano in early 2022, has experienced many roster changes. They missed MCC, though the Spaniard subbed-in for Bang Bush at the offline finals. Their trajectory has been meteoric, improving map after map and game after game. And that’s how they claimed the third European spot for HI. Will they keep rising and upset any of the higher seeded teams?

Performance Enhancing Zugs

Qualifiers: NA Q2 NA LCQ
Unaverted, TTporky, CPX, ibtingz, BBJ

Last but not least, we go back to North America, getting closer to Miami and the LAN to come. Performance Enhancing Zugs features five ex-CCL players. In fact, four of them used to play for STORM Esports, though they weren’t part of the same roster iteration. The roster came together just before the HI qualifiers. They are very talented and experienced players who might just need to get some games together to get on the level of their competitors.