WoW Esports Roundup - APAC Arena World Championship, NA Arena Cup #5, PvP Like a Pro Part 1

Live Опубликовано 04.08.2017 в 15:00 Squishei

Getting into Legion PvP guideVicious War Fox PreviewPatch 7.3 Professions PreviewLiveblog of the Q&A with Ion Hazzikostas.NA Cup #4 Recap

Blizzard

The North America Cup #4 was filled to bursting with new names, old favorites, upsets, and changes. Established teams with great track records were knocked out before the final 8, and new blood entered the fray and proved they’re more than worthy of playing amongst the best teams in North America. Method: Reborn, Panda Global, Method: Synergy, and Jungle Book were all missing from the final 8 is this nail-biting tournament – and more tension followed.

Results

Variety is the Splyce of Life

Splyce, extremely strong contenders in Cup #2, fell behind in Cup #3 and made a significant change coming into Cup #4, replacing Mage Volkazar for the Death Knight Vellido. Splyce are well known for running unusual compositions and taking their opponents by surprise, and this new roster was no different. The changes and off-beat formation clearly worked, they beat Method: Reborn and MammothPower, both by 3-0, to reach the upper-bracket semi-finals and face Union in the final.

Union Power-Up

Union has consistently been a force to be reckoned with. Before entering Cup #4, they were the third highest point-scoring team in North American, just behind Method: Reborn. Their roster consisted of Mageidan, Prevy, Sethcurry, and Brain, which means they were flexibly equipped with two tried-and-tested line-ups: Frost Mage and Holy Paladin alongside either a Balance Druid or a Windwalker Monk. Going into the semi-finals, they had a steady back-and-forth against Splyce’s Windwalker Monk / Destro Warlock / Resto Shaman team. Union ultimately came out on top by bringing out their Windwalker Monk and taking the series 3-2.

BabyRage Against The Machine

This dramatic round saw Splyce drop down into the lower bracket, where they faced BabyRage. BabyRage are a melee heavy team, but in this battle, were no match for Splyce’s Demon Hunter, Windwalker Monk and Resto Shaman team. BabyRage fell to Splyce 0-3, meaning Splyce were facing a rematch against Union in the finals.

Splyce World

In the final, Splyce were playing from the lower bracket, whereas Union were undefeated – so Splyce needed to beat Union in two best-of-five series. Union broke out the Frost Mage / Balance Druid / Holy Paladin once more, but Splyce were more than prepared. Splyce were able to survive and bring each game to the very final moment, eventually wearing down their mighty opponents.

Can Union Pull It Together?

So why didn’t Union bring in their Windwalker Monk? It was obvious that Union were struggling, with Mageidan swapping out to Demo Lock and Subtlety Rogue – but it was no match for Thugonomicz’ Destro Warlock, Chunli’s Windwalker Monk, and Novoz’ Holy Priest. Union found themselves with their backs against the wall and made a desperate last-ditch change, with Brain and Mageidan swapping roles as an Arms Warrior and Holy Priest. However, Splyce won the day – convincingly – which left many wondering what had happened to Sethcurry and what next for Union? They have proven to be the best time and time again, but they’re going to need to work out the wrinkles in their team before hitting Cup #5 and beyond.

Cup #5 Action This Saturday!

Which seems like a good time to tell you the North America Cup #5 is hot on the heels of #4, going live this Saturday, August 5th at 11:00am PDT. Every team is assessing where they are, how their opponents are shaping up, and solidifying their strategies. This tournament is coming down to the wire and every point counts. Tune in this Saturday to see the best arena players in North American put everything on the line for a place in the finals. Don’t miss out!

APAC WoW Arena World ChampionsTeam Rock

Blizzard

Team Rock wins the 2017 World of Warcraft Arena APAC World Championship!

After a fierce two-day tournament, Australia’s Team Rock rose above all, bringing home the $15,000 USD prize and one of the 12 tickets to BlizzCon, the final stage of the Arena Championship.

Typhoon Nesat not only brought its wind and rain to the Blizzard Stadium, but also its intensity to the 2017 World of Warcraft Arena APAC World Championship. After the first day, only four teams advanced: Ttukbaegi breaker from Korea, Team Rock and Avant Gaming from the Australia and New Zealand region, and ROC from Taiwan. On the second day, Ttubaegi beat Avant Gaming in the first match, while Team Rock won over ROC in the second.

Before the final game started, Yunex from Team Rock told Ttukbaegi breaker that they will bring justice to their Australian mates from Avant Gaming. And just like he predicted, they unleashed the fury of the storm onto their opponent, and took the championship with the final score of 4:1.

Team Rock will be advancing to BlizzCon in November where they’ll battle for their slice of the $280,000 prize pool. For more information, please follow us on the official blog or Blizzard Estadium fan page.

NA Arena Cup #5Warcraft Twitch channel

Blizzard

Cup #5 of the North America Arena World Championship goes live Saturday 5th August. To keep up with the action, tune in to the broadcast at 10.30am PDT, with matches kicking off at 11am PDT sharp. Don’t miss out!

Here’s where to catch the action, Saturday at 11am PDT

You can also watch the stream in Russian.

Eight Epic Teams

	Frogs In A Pond		Splyce
Chanimal	Warlock	Novoz	Resto Shaman, Mistweaver Monk
Wealthyman	Mage	Chunli	Windwalker Monk, Hunter
Inviable	Enhance Shaman	Thugonomics	Demon Hunter, Destro Warlock
Kubzy	Resto Druid, Shaman	Vellido	Death Knight, Enhance Shaman

	Tempo Storm		Method: Reborn
Jahmilli	Mage, Balance Druid	Cdew	Resto Shaman
Pikaboo	Rogue	Samiyam	Mage
Gorecki	Resto Druid, Holy Priest	Bean	Feral Druid
		Snutz	Warlock, Warrior

	Your Name Here		Method: Awakened
Vanguards	Ret Paladin	Absterge	Resto Shaman
Kaska	Resto Shaman	Smexxin	Warrior
Yoske	Hunter, Prot Paladin	Roastyz	Rogue
Goob	Warlock	Wizk	Shadow Priest

	Method: Synergy		Union
Maldiva	Warlock	Sethcurry	Windwalker Monk
Kolo	Resto Shaman	Brain	Holy Paladin
Mes	Demon Hunter, Death Knight	Mageiden	Mage
Trill	Windwalker Monk	Prevy	Balance Druid

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First Round Fixtures

Championship Finals

Don't forget, the Championship Finals will soon be upon us. The finals will dictate who will be at the global final at BlizzCon.

EU Championship Finals: August 23-26
NA Championship Finals: September 7-20

Good luck to all the teams, and see you on Saturday at 11am!!

Finding the Right Partners

Blizzard

Competing in Arena can be a lot of fun but for many players it’s difficult to get started. Recently we had the chance to sit down with a few of the 2017 EU Arena Regional Finalists who let us in on their secrets to success which we will be presenting over the next few weeks in this three-part series: PvP like a Pro.

Part 1 - Finding the Right Partners

Often one of the greatest challenges players face when trying to get started in arena is finding the right partners. Alec from team ABC joined us and broke it down into these 3 major points:

The Basics - Know your Class

The most important step is to look up a guide...for your class.

Finding the right partners starts with being a good partner for others. You need to be willing to take the time to become intimately familiar with the abilities of your class as well as with what other classes can do to counter you—this is first and foremost to success in Arena.

“In Legion, it’s quite simple. The most important step is to look up a guide to dealing damage or healing for your class.” Alec recommends using Icy Veins to find this information.

Keep it Simple - Start with 2v2

If you are in the right place, you’ll increase your rating as you both improve.

Once you are confident that you know your class sufficiently, you should start out practicing in the 2v2 bracket. Alec says that he often uses the LFG system to practice a new class as his team healer doesn’t like playing 2v2 with his alts. “There are so many friendly people in 2v2 – and if you guys are doing well you can stick together in 3v3…. If you are in the right place, you’ll increase your rating as you both improve.”

2v2, especially when running a Healer/DPS composition, can be a more manageable source of arena, since fewer players means less information to track. This is a far more ideal location to practice your gameplay, and find partners that you’d want to branch into 3v3 with.

Attitude Matters - The Right Mindset

Mindset is a critical attribute on both the side of you and the partners you find. “The right players don’t deflect and try not to blame” states Alec, who has one of the longest standing team rosters in professional Arena.

Never blame a loss on the ability of your partners.

Alec says that Cdew and his team Method: Reborn are a good example of having a positive team mindset. “His teams are very good since they look at what they can do better together rather than blaming each other… if you have partners that are willing to get better, and willing to practice with an analytical mindset you are more likely to succeed,” says Alec.

Having team mates who can be self-critical and have a positive mindset can be a key to enjoying the game, and improving together in a friendly environment. In the words of Alec “Never blame a loss on the ability of your partners.”

Alec himself, formerly known as Daisyduke, competed in his first event – The Blizzard Worldwide Invitational, Paris – in 2008. He definitely knows his way around World of Warcraft arenas and is often praised as the mastermind behind his team’s strategies. You can Catch him and his team ABC live at gamescom on August 23-26 on our official Warcraft Twitch channel.