Heroes of the Dorm has been a complete success in the single elimination bracket, although it had some bumps early on, everything has since smoothed out. Since the round of 16 only two of the twelve matches went to a third game. The Elite Eight was full of excitement as expert casters Day9, Grubby, and Trikslyr provided light hearted commentary and wonderful analysis. Heroes of the Storm is still a game in beta and having a good roster of educated casters remains important. Aiding the round of four casting team will be the famous casting Archon Artosis and Tasteless who will no doubt provide great color commentary. And of course the wonderful Michele Morrow will be hosting the semifinals and finals.

      A great casting crew however, cannot succeed without exciting teams. These final four teams are no doubt the best in the country. The final four match ups will be the Boston College Eagles versus the Arizona State Dream Team and Illinois Urbana-Champaign Mad Banners versus Cal Berkeley Golden Bears. Each match up provides some real challenges. Certain teams perform on smaller maps like Tomb of the Spider Queen which requires quick reactions and on the fly thinking. Other teams excel on larger maps such as Cursed Hollow. On a map like this, the team with better coordination and patience will have the better chance of winning. For much further analysis of these matchups, read ahead. Teamliquid has covered all the matches from the round eight and provided a semifinals preview.

Preview of the Final Four

The Unstoppable Force.

credit to the heroes of the dorm website for the statistics

      It takes... quite a bit of gumption to win 22 games in a row to make it to the quarterfinals undefeated. Which is exactly what Arizona State did, not dropping a game in their entire run through the brackets. Impressive to say the least. What contributed to their success? A few things: the first, almost flawless execution in teamfights. The second a very clear differentiator is their understanding of how to react to map objectives.

      Lets talk about the first point. One of the most distinctive things about Arizona, is the fact that almost always draft Tassadar, and in stark contrast to the established doctrine, pick force wall instead of Archon. In fact, in every game from the ro16 on, they drafted Tassadar. Their use of force wall is actually quite impressive, being used defensively to allow the entire team to disengage from disadvantageous fights, and offensively to trap enemy heroes that would escape and punish them. Their skill in teamfights goes beyond the use of a single ability however, Arizona, is, as a team, very capable of reacting to the enemies abilities and repositioning appropriately. Its a subtle skill, but one whose impact cannot be overstated. Arizona is extremely skilled at repositioning to avoid enemy ultimates, at tricky positioning to avoid being caught and at timing the enemies heroic abilities in order to make gambits that lesser teams could not make. For example, in game two of the Ro8, on cursed hollow, the entire team dived into a narrow hallway, ready to engage Texas A&M. A lesser team would have held back fearing Zagara’s maw and Uther’s Divine storm. Arizona however, had their finger on the pulse of the game, and knew those were still seconds away from being available, which forced Texas into full retreat.

      Its this type of game knowledge and execution that distinguishes Arizona from many other teams, and one of the reasons they’ve been undefeated so far.

Watch for: Tassadar picks. Plays that seem dangerous but aren’t really. Really well executed teamfights. Choking the enemy out before they have a chance to recover.

The Puppetmasters

credit to the heroes of the dorm website for the statistics

      If Arizona is categorized by strong execution and by the book plays, then Boston College is categorized by their ability to bait the opponents into behaving how they want, both by making conscious choices during the draft that aim to pigeonhole the enemy into specific playstyles, and by trying to force the enemy into specific behaviors and bad teamfights during the game. Their entire play style seems to delight on pretending to do one thing, while doing another, and in punishing the enemy for believing them.

      Lets look at an example: game 1 of Boston vs Ontario, at around twenty minutes, Boston moves into the area where the golem is and begins to try to take the golem while the entire enemy team is located in the top lane. Obviously that is just screaming for Ontario to swoop in and kill all of Boston. The thing is, Boston wasn’t seriously trying to take the golem, they were content to poke it a little bit and lure Ontario into fighting where a Void Prison could ruin their day. Ontario proved too canny for this, but this just shows the level of mindgames Boston enjoys playing with the opposition.

      Strategically, Boston does quite similar things, like trilaning Sylvanas in an attempt to both push and force the enemy to miss out on experience by rotating. Or picking Zeratul in order to try to force the enemy to cluster, as to avoid being picked off, so that they can punish them with a strong teamfight composition.

      This manipulation is very difficult to counter, only a team that’s confident in what the correct decisions are and how to execute properly stands a chance. Interestingly, Boston is also the only team to have picked Tyrael in the Ro8, so watch for Tyrael picks!

Watch for: Interesting draft decisions. Choices that force the enemy into impossible positions. Traps. Tyrael.

Balanced on the Precipice

credit to the heroes of the dorm website for the statistics

      Berkeley may be one of the more interesting teams in the tournament. The other undefeated team in the tournament, they could not be more different than Arizona. Berkeley plays a much more aggressive, more oppressive style, bordering on the edge of recklessness. In teamfights, they tend to win with slivers of health left, or wipe entirely, giving their games a very intense quality. Fan, in particular, is a player to watch for. He plays the Illidan for Berkeley, and Illidan is a hero Berkeley values highly. Fan is perhaps the epitome of what Berkeley represents as a team.

      From the moment they swing out the door, Berkeley is looking for blood, and they won’t pass up the chance to get an early edge. Illidan is super fragile but hits like a ton of bricks, so as the team fights, everything is focused on killing Illidan before being killed. Of four games played in the Ro16 and Ro8, Berkeley did not fail to pick Illidan once. Their entire teamfighting execution comes down to this: can illidan outlast the enemy? Sometimes this is achieved via supports and extensive healing. Other times its achieved by picking a second assassin and pouring on the damage. It would be remiss not to mention Suppy here, Berkeley’s key support player, Suppy’s job is, more often than not “Keep Illidan alive no matter what!”. A lot of the teamfight skills Berkeley displays is in properly controlling positioning. Much like Arizona, Berkeley knows where to stand to not explode.

      By extension, this also means that single enemy heroes are extremely vulnerable. Illidan can be terrifying to take on one on one, as he can chase endlessly and hurt quite a bit. So, the enemy is forced to travel as five, and fight head on. Worse, when they break, or split during a teamfight, Illidan catches the isolated elements and punishes them for fleeing. So really, the choice against Berkeley is to fight, or be hunted.

Watch for: Illidan surviving battles with 3 hp. Clutch heals. A terrified enemy cornered into fighting when they’d rather not.

Predatory Instincts

credit to the heroes of the dorm website for the statistics

      Calling Illinois a team feels almost like a mistake. Illinois is not a team. Its a predator. Its a feral beast that works on mechanics practiced on the wilds of the ladder. When it smells blood, an opening, say an E.T.C too far forward of the team, it pounces and devours. It strikes, and goes for the throat. A lot of what Illinois does doesn’t feel so much as a strategy, as it does instinct. Illinois plays, and they play well, but where they excel is in punishing the enemies mistakes without a second’s hesitation. They might be the team that has dropped the most games out of the final four, but that does not make their incredible skill at punishing mistakes and grabbing an advantage any less terrifying.

      The best examples of this are visible in Illinois first game against Indiana, where E.T.C would take a step too far, and Illinois would waltz past him and shred the back line. A lot of times this wasn’t even intentionally baited it seemed. E.T.C would advance to turn in, and suddenly Valla and Jaina were dead and the team was fleeing, trying to escape. The same applies to how Illinois handles seigies. Indiana would rotate slightly uncovering a keep, and suddenly the keep in question would take a ton of damage. Almost like Illinois could smell weakness. The relentless, constant pressure that led to Indiana’s eventual defeat.

      Also worth mentioning is Illinois incredible ability to turn around fights that seem lost. Once again, like a cornered beast, they might be down two team members, but if the enemy overextends when chasing, they’ll find themselves bleeding, as Indiana learned in a couple of fights, that went from “win” to “draw” by virtue of sudden and ferocious counterattacks. Of interest is the diversity of drafts we’ve seen from Illinois, their only true constant a tendency to pick Uther above other supports. They have the only Stitches pick in the Ro8, which was used to devastating effect. They also have the distinction of being the only team to have used Abathur in the round of 8.

Watch for: Preying on weakness. Turnaround fights. Incredible hooks. Abathur!

By GMarshal

Boston Vs Arizona: The Puppetmasters vs The Unstoppable Force. The clash of perfect execution against meddling intrusion. Its going to be an interesting matchup for sure, but I have to give Arizona the edge. I feel like they've been playing generally better overall, and their record seems to maintain it. It will be interesting to see if Boston can disrupt the otherwise stable picks of Arizona somehow, either by preempting their picks, or by countering them. 2-1 in favor of Arizona.

Illinois Vs Berkeley: My heart is with Illinois, my brain is with Berkeley. I think that overall Berkeley executes their strategies a bit better and that they don't have the same tendency that Illinois has to overextend, Berkeley knows how to control and channel their aggression properly.That said, Illinois could absolutely come out on top, as they have made some unorthodox pics that might be enough to throw Berkeley off balance. I'm going to go with my heart and say 2-1 Illinois.

Arizona vs Illinois : On the off chance that I'm right, this will be a very, very interesting matchup. Arizona is all about well executed strategy and strong understanding of positioning and map movement, while Illinois might be slightly better at teamfighting. Honestly if this matchup happens, I expect Illinois to be punished for overextending, and Arizona to play an extremely cautious game otherwise. I think the teams would be well matched, but unless Illinois has more unexpected tricks up their sleeves, I can't see them coming out on top after having shown their hand against Berkeley. 3-1 Arizona.

      The first game is poised to begin and the opening match for each series will be on, Tomb of the Spider Queen. This small tri-lane map offers a constant threat to heroes as they attempt to collect and turn in jewels dropped by the corpse enemy minions. Four best of three series begin on this frightening map as the eight best teams from universities around the country battle for the Frozen Four. The first of those matches played was the Texas A&M Maroons versus the Arizona State Dream Team.

Texas A&M vs Arizona State

      The game starts off with a great show of skill from Arizona State’s Diablo controlled by Melkor. His strong front line presence is constantly supported by a constant rotation of heroes in the early game. Despite solid roaming, Texas does a great job of finding open turn locations and reaching the fifty jewel count first. The weaver queen being pleased, send her team of weavers to all three lanes as Texas gathers for a push. Arizona does a brilliant job of defending here. Taking down a squishy Sylvanas, Texas is forced to play safe as the weaver wave is stopped in its tracks.




      Arizona State hits level 10 and caps their jewel count at 50. Level 10 pushes pose a much scarier threat. The Dream team pushes in the south and Melkor picks off a hero using the lightning breath heroic ability. As the weaver at the bottom and middle lane die off Arizona quickly shifts attention to the north. Texas player Ghostson is caught off guard in the top lane engagement and his hero, Zagara, falls. Shortly after the first push, Arizona State grabs another weaver wave. The push results in a 13-11 level lead and the Texas towers on the frontline are taken down. Fighting hard and scrappy now, Texas was able to snipe down Falstad the Assassin. Unfortunately, a fast response by the Dream Team results in a death of ETC, the tank, and a third weaver wave is triggered. The game gets out of control from here as the keeps in each lane fall. The core is finally taken down in a dominating game from Arizona and their record improves to 20-0.



      Arizona’s suffocating defense was aided by the small map size of Tomb of the Spider Queen. Cursed Hollow could provide much needed breathing room for Texas A&M in game 2. The teams split among the three lanes as they wait for the first tribute to spawn. Arizona uses the heavy DPS of Valla and shutdown ability of Sylvanas to claim a couple siege bruisers for the bottom lane. This is fortunate as the first tribute also spawns towards the middle of the bottom lane. Texas A&M gets aggressive here and focuses solely on claiming the tribute. Brightwing and ETC are both taken down as Arizona State fails to prevent to Texas from getting the tribute.




      The second tribute spawns in Texas territory at the top left. It was an easy claim for the Maroons as the tribute lead is now 2-0. Arizona commits hard to taken their first tribute and denying Texas a curse. Arizona caps a tribute, but loses a third hero. Texas A&M earn the first curse after capping the fifth tribute. The miraculous defense of Arizona kicks and this team shows why they have no losses. The Maroons were unable to take down the towers on any lane as the curse ends. As the game continues, Texas A&M goes for a grave golem engagement and gets flanked by the Dream Team. Losing three heroes and the boss, Arizona’s push become to strong and the series is won 2-0.

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Boston College vs Western Ontario

      The first series has finished up and the next two teams begin the draft. Canadian University, Western Ontario Burnt Toast, have an undefeated record going into game 1. The game starts of less then promising for the Burnt Toast. The early game proves really difficult as the Lost Vikings pick looks to be countered by the presence of Zeratul. The Boston College, Boston Eagles, get a some early xp as KingPlato roams the map picking off out in the open Viking characters. Continuing his roll, KingPlato heads south and gets a huge pick off on Valla. Deaths hurt hard on Tomb of the spider queen as jewels that could be turned in are dropped. The Boston Eagles have an amazing 47-0 jewel lead and Burnt toast does a team push to one of the turn in locations. Providing a massive contribution, it comes down to just three more jewels needed for either team.




      The Boston Eagle react quickly by capping the weavers and begin the weaver march. The first push goes really well as the bottom lane guard towers fall and xp falls into the team bank. By level nine, Ontario is able to push with their own weavers and head towards the middle towers. Zeratul uses his level 10 heroic void prism trapping all five Ontario players and Diablo hits the entire team with apocalypse turning their entire team into “burnt toast”. A second mid lane engagement gives the Eagles a 17-13 level lead. A third and final weaver push gives the Eagles enough time to cap the map’s boss and pave the way towards victory.



      Game one was something of a blowout and Ontario has to be a bit shaken. Despite the troubles with the lost Vikings in game 1, Ontario picks the lost Vikings along with strong healing from Malfurion. The Boston Eagles opt for a tank heavy team with ETC and Tyrael picks. Cursed Hollow starts off in favor of Boston as a triple hero push at the top lane along with the Sylvanas tower lock down ability takes out the two guard towers. Western Ontario responds with two hero’s heading north but the damage had already been done. As the first tribute spawn, Boston College all ins while Ontario uses this opportunity to soak up experience from all three lanes and closes the level gap. Ontario get the lucky spawn for the second tribute and is able to even the score.




      As the third tribute spawns, Sylvanas is evaporated by the Ontario offense. Kupo, playing Diablo for Burnt Toast, bravely snags a second tribute for the Canadian warriors. The fourth tribute lands in the hands of Burnt Toast and they cap a boss to send against the cursed waves of Boston College. Despite the damage, the Eagles keep the levels even as both teams reach 17-17. The kill count remains low at 2.75 to 4 and Ontario initiates another curse push. With too much confidence on the Canadian side, the five heroes are caught too deep in the bottom lane. Boston College pulls of a double kill and sends Ontario into retread mode. The Eagles tribute count is still stuck at 2/3 when they cap the top right boss and send mercenary camps towards the enemy base. Ontario’s Malfurion is picked off and Boston completes the tribute curse. The push is too strong and Western Ontario is eliminated in just two games.

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Cal Berkeley vs Washington

      All ten heroes head towards the middle to start game one off. Both teams are host to Starcraft 2 pro players KawaiiRice and Suppy. The Cal Berkeley Golden Bears and Washington Hot Dogs refuse to play the waiting game. KawaiiRice’s Diablo leads the charge for the Hot Dogs as the engagements begin. The Golden Bears are prepared and kill off Diablo almost immediately. This was a strong display of early game potential provided by their assassin heavy team. The game remains scrappy as Diablo is taken down a second time in less than 90 seconds. Despite early take downs, the strong hero composition of Washington allows them to earn the first wave of weavers. Berkeley's high DPS proves extremely useful as the weavers from each lane are picked off in a matter of seconds and no towers are lost.




      The Golden Bears show why they are one of the smartest teams in the tournament. Instead of capping at nine the Bears save their weaver wave until after level 10 is reached and heroic abilities are accessible. Modest damage is done, but Washington ultimately defends well. A second weaver wave initiates for Washington as the lead in this game continues to shift between both teams like a pendulum. The Hot Dogs second push succeeds much better than its first and the front line of towers in each lane are taken out. Berkeley quickly responds with their on weaver push where the well rounded composition of Washington once again shuts down the Bears. The Hot Dogs engage with the map Boss and Cal Berkeley counter attacks in the bottom lane. What was a questionable move turns into a four kill engagement for the Bears. Both teams reach 20 at the same time and the Golden Bears need four more gems to earn another weaver wave. Despite Washington’s defense the wave is earned and Cal Berkeley takes game 1.



      Cursed Hollow sets the stage for game two. Cal Berkeley opens with a better-rounded team this game. Two dps, one support, one specialist, and one tank make up the Golden Bears and Washington have one dps, three specialist and one support hero. The heavy focus on specialist pays off quite well in the early game. The first tribute spawns in the top mid lane and the Washington Hot Dogs cap it quite easily. No losses occur, but Berkeley did sustain damage. The second tribute spawns on the right side of the middle lane and Washington’s Jaina is taken out. A fast response by Washington delivers a killing blow to ETC and gives them enough room to cap the second tribute. The third tribute spawns in a favorable position for the Golden Bears and the tribute score is now 1-2.




      The fourth tribute is typically the most deadly and proved true here. A clash of titans in the middle cause both teams to lose 3-4 heroes. The battle is back and for and blood lays waste to the battlefield. After several minutes Washington wins the day and is able to curse Berkeley. Cal Berkeley defend with effectiveness and gains a level lead 18-17. Keeping it neck and neck, the strong specialist composition of Washington earns them a second curse. Berkeley once against hangs on as they reach 20 first. Despite all the Golden Bears can do, the Hot Dogs get a third tribute and even the hero levels at 23/23. Cal Berkeley finally gets a third tribute 30 minutes into the game and capture a Boss. Pushing along with the boss and a curse, the Hot Dogs were unable to hold on and lose 2-0.

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Indiana vs Illinois

      The draft begins with an unusual pick, in the form of Abathur on the side of Illinois, a hero that's popular in the European meta, but seen less often in the NA scene. Mad banner's give out first blood to a well executed gank on the part of Indiana. After this however, the early game quickly stabilized, with Indiana trying to pick off individual heroes by concentrating their forces, and Illinois not letting them pick heroes off. Taking advantage of Abathur's symbiote Indiana manages to sneak a few mercenary camps. Due to the nature of Abathur's abilities, Illinois is not able to contest the turn in, letting Indiana get the first wave of webweavers. Indiana push as five, and do a number of the towers and gates in two of the three lanes, with Illinois attempting, unsuccessfully to force fights in their territory. Illinois slowly falls behind...

      Or so it seems, in a quick reversal of fate, they manage to jump on Indiana's exposed Tyrande, picking her off, and to turn in, activating the spiders in their favor, forcing Indiana, to defend. However Indiana mounts a tenacious defense, as both teams hit level ten and maintain more or less defensive positions. Illinois seems to hold the middle of the map, as Indiana hesitates to commit to fight. This lets Illinois get a second turn in. Taking full advantage of this, they commit to a fight under Indiana's top fort, and in a chase that takes them almost to under the keep bring down two of Indiana's heroes as well as the top fort. Of special note is the strength of Abathurs' cloned Illidan, which allowed him to relentlessly punish a retreating enemy. Indiana is only saved from a teamwipe thanks to a timely use of Malfurions heroic ability and the presence of the second set of walls. Indiana responds to this setback by committing even harder to a defensive stance, giving up their last outer fort without offering much more than a token resistance. However, Illinois has committed Ultimate Evolution to taking this fort, and seeing this, Indiana pushes out, trying to turn in. Four gems away from getting spiders, Illinois falls upon them like the wrathful fists of an angry god. The fight is quick and brutal. ETC is too far forward and as a result the entire rest of the Indiana lineup is wiped out.




      Illinois continues to exploit their advantage, two levels ahead and with the enemy reeling, they take the golem, and the bottom mercenaries as the respawning Indiana is forced to defend. Indiana does manage to sneak a turn in, *and* they manage to pick off Uther, helping them to close part of the gap between the two teams... and then ETC, for the second time, overextends, Illinois smells blood in the water, and they turn, placid fish into bloodthirsty piranhas. Of Indiana, only Jaina survives the sudden and brutal turnaround. The small glimmer of hope for Indiana having been brutally snuffed. Confident with their lead Illinois sits back, taking mercenaries, waiting, as Indiana mounts a rather effective defense, denying the spiders. Although, crucially, Indiana's attempts to get off a solid initiation with ETC's mosh pit fall short. Inch by inch, Indiana bleeds out, losing two keeps to the relentless siege. The situation is otherwise stalemated however. In an attempt to break into the Core's health, Illinois goes after the golem, and Indiana peruses, knowing that letting Illinois get the golem will guarantee their demise. Following the theme of the game, the clash is brutal, quick and bloody. Illinois crushes the attacking Indiana, wiping them from the map, clinching their victory.

      Game 1 goes to Illinois.



      Game two takes place on Dragon Shire. Indiana immediately grouping up and navigating the map to ambush an unweary hero in the middle lane. However Illinois learned from the same occurrence game 1, and manage to avoid it. However, their plan is clear, four heroes group, seize the bottom shrine, and then split off again. Neither team especially wants to give up the Dragon Knight, but Indiana manages to seize both shrines without much of a fight. In an attempt to disrupt Indiana from seizing the Knight, ETC throws himself boldly at four enemy heroes. He succeeds in delaying them, at the cost of his own life. With some harassment from Illidan, Uther manages to disrupt the top shrine, seconds before Indiana can seize the Knight.

      They continue to skirmish around the shrines and knight, with Illinois almost getting it and being disrupted by a last second owl from Indiana. Groups of heroes seem to dance a ballet, avoiding direct confrontation in favor of sneaking shrines. This dance on the edge of a precipice lasts for what seems like an eternity, with channeling being interrupted a few seconds before finishing multiple times. But eventually something must give. And so it does. In a teamfight that is surprisingly bloodless, costing each side only one hero, Illinois manages to seize the dragon, despite being down a level on their opponents. The attempt to split push from Illinois doesn't go well. Uther gets picked off, and the dragon knight fails to deal any significant damage. What should have been at least a destroyed fort becomes nothing, a punishment for Illinois' greed.

      Both teams return to posturing. With the help of mercenaries, they trade forts, Illinois' fort on the bottom goes down in exchange for Indiana's on the top. A bloodless trade. Indiana pushes further, and Illinois catches them in a pincer movement, bringing two Illidans against an exposed rear... and into ruin. Diablo's fiery breath combined with the rest of Illinois inability to catch up costs them their lives. ETC also goes down. Illinois loses a keep, Indiana's reward for a fight well fought.




      Both teams return to tiptoeing around the battleground, seizing shrines, but not committing to a fight. Shrines changing hands rapidly. Finally, two teams clash! For an instant it seems like Illinois is going to die to a man, but somehow, inexplicably, they turn it around. What felt like it should have been a shattering defeat becomes a marginal victory, 2-4. This allows them to grab the dragon, costing Indiana two forts. But Illinois overextends, in an attempt to grab the bottom keep, they let Indiana jump on them. In a matter of seconds, Illinois dies to a man. Indiana sees the opening and doesn't pause for breath, falling on Illinois' core.

      A split second mistake, costs Illinois the game, Indiana wins, bringing the score 1-1.



      Game three, on Cursed Hollow, a map we've seen plenty of already! Given the alternatives, it makes sense. No funny business from Indiana early on, while Sylvanas pushes top lane against a helpless Valla. As towers fall, Rehgar and Diablo rotate top in an attempt to counter the push. Their defense however is a little too eager, and a timely hook by Stitches costs Diablo his life, as the towers make short work of him. This gives Illinois the first tribute, and an advantage in experience. Both teams decide to grab mercenaries in response, in preparation for the second tribute. As they cluster around the tribute, a perfectly aimed hook costs Rehgar his life. As Indiana is forced to retreat, they lose Diablo to a incredible lunar flare. Once again, Indiana is on the back foot. Forced to give up the second tribute to Illinois.

      As the third tribute spawns, Indiana engages forward of it, and by doing this manage to secure it unimpeded by Illinois. However this comes at a cost, despite almost escaping, Diablo pays with his life. Both teams back off, waiting for the fourth tribute. The Raven Lord is generous, and doesn't make them wait too long. The tribute soon spawns, and both teams collapse on it. Wrath opens with a incredible hook. Illinois hits level 10. Indiana is only level 8. The battle ends quickly, starfall and Uther's Divine Wrath devastate Indiana. Rebounding from their victory, Illinois seizes both golems, as the enemy is cursed.

      Two forts go down, and Indiana is behind by almost three levels. The siege continues, costing Indiana their last outer fort. A rhythm develops, both teams seizing mercenaries and posturing. This almost comes to a head, with Indiana coming hairraisingly close to wiping as a hook into engage almost costs them several team members. Fortunately for them, retreat is near, and they make it to the safety of their keeps with their lives. Indiana cannot contest tributes however, with the occasional pickoff from stitches ensuring that Illinois remains in control of the map. With two tributes in the enemies pockets, Indiana sallies forth from the safety of the walls, not willing to try to weather another curse. This proves to be unwise, as a hook from Stitches ends in a dead Diablo, ancestral healing being too slow to save him from the concentrated fire of the entire enemy team. Indiana breaks into a retreat, losing two heroes on the way out.




      Taking advantage of this Illinois grabs the golem, keeping up the pressure on Indiana, who is slowly being gnawed at inch by inch. A keep goes down for Indiana, and both teams meet at the top keep, as Illinois escorts their golem in. Wrath's hooks continue to be on point. With almost terrifying ease, Illinois drifts in and destroyed Indiana, sealing their victory.

      Illinois wins, 2-1


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Don't forget to catch the Final Four duke it out on April 26th starting with Arizona vs Boston at 2:30 p.m. Pacific / 5:30 p.m. Eastern! Watch the Heroic Four duke it out on ESPN3 via WatchESPN.com, as well as on smartphones and tablets using the WatchESPN app. You can even stream the show on your television through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

While ESPN requires a cable network subscription, in many cases, you may still have access based on your internet or broadband package, regardless of whether or not you have TV service. Be sure to check these lists of affiliated ISPs and other providers to see if you can tune in to ESPN3 on game day.

Additionally, players in Canada can catch all of Sunday’s live Heroic Four action via The Sports Network.