Dylan Walker, Blizzard Entertainment
While we’ve profiled a few characters that have made moves in the HGC (POILK, BadBenny, Daneski) and the new teams that emerged from the Crucible (HeroesHearth, Leftovers, Team Ace, Good Luck), there are a few other new faces to familiarize yourself with before the league kicks off on Jan. 19.
The Expats
Three players have made the transition from outlying regions to the big leagues over break—the first a name you’re likely familiar with if you’ve been following Heroes esports over the past few years. Juan “Jschritte” Passos has leapt from Latin America to North America and will be competing alongside Jon “Equinox” Peterson and Thomas “Tomster” Maguire on Spacestation Gaming. Jschritte brings with him more experience than nearly any other player can tout, having attended almost every international tournament since 2015.
Europe has adopted two veterans from Australia & New Zealand: Liam “Arcaner” Simpson and Robert “robadobah” Purling. Arcaner will be playing for the roster formerly known as Team expert while robadobah will be playing for Diamond Skin.
These two played together as part of Nomia last year, and both have attended international events on behalf of the ANZ region. Make sure to tune in Jan. 20 at 11:00 a.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. CEST when these former teammates clash for the first time in 2018.
New Kids On The Block
Open Division Playoff runners up LFM Esports will be replacing the now disbanded Lag Force. Who are LFM Esports? They are a cut above the rest of the Open Division, having won $3,500 in prize money from top three placements in 11 separate cups. While the meta has changed substantially since their time in the Open Division, they prioritize Stitches, and rarely play Specialist Heroes outside of the occasional Abathur, Medivh, and Xul.
When Even in Death was added after the Mid-Season Brawl last year they had a difficult time against the major players in the North American HGC and were ultimately relegated. Tasked with the same objective, all eyes will be on LFM to perform against the proven rosters at the top in Phase 1 of 2018.
Korean Refresh
Team Ace (formerly “Winners”) and Good Luck (formerly “Re:Zero”) both stomped their way through the Crucible in convincing fashion without dropping a Battleground. Many are excited to see how big of a splash they can make when the games begin.
Last season’s forever fourth place team, Mighty, has disbanded. Replacing them will be Team Feliz, who also hail from the Open Division. Team Feliz have a couple of scene veterans on the roster, including Jae Yeop “FrankWhite” Jeong who played formerly with RoMg, a Korean squad that competed in all three seasons of 2016’s Super League.
Be sure to check out the full rosters for the 2018 season for Europe, North America, and Korea. Make sure to keep it tuned to playheroes.com/esports for everything HGC.