The latest major event of the HGC took place this past weekend in the Western that saw the top four teams from North America and the top four teams from Europe compete against one another. With the grand prize of $30,000, the title of HGC Western Clash Champions and the honor of securing a third slot for their region at the HGC Finals at Blizzcon 2018 on the line, fans were treated to some adrenaline pumping Heroes of the Storm action that ultimately ended with the European roster of Team Dignitas taking home the championship.
Twin Galaxies was able to sit down and discuss the current state of the professional Heroes of the Storm scenes for both North America and Europe with a multitude of players who were at the center of the regional battle that took place at the HGC Western Clash.
Adrian "adrd" Wojcik of Method: "So far it seems like Europe is way stronger. I think Liquid lost against NA teams, so I am not sure how good they are because they were boot camping, so I was surprised. I was expecting them to do better than that. I think it depends a lot on the meta because at the last tournament, mid-season I think, NA was doing way better in some metas when the games are slower I would say and depends less on team fights is when I think NA was doing better."
Jerome "JayPL" Trinh of Team Dignitas: "EU is Kobe beef and NA is Walmart meat, it’s just so different. Maybe they will make it later, but they don’t play that good at the moment"
Maksym "Mopsio" Szczypa of Leftovers: "I think NA lost a lot by Psalm retiring from the scene. I think Heroes Hearth lost a direct competitor and the team they were improving the most from, and I think it puts North America in the state where they need a team to improve drastically to contest major regions."
Mark "Linked" Sepec: "I would say that NA is competitive, like the top three or four teams, but overall I guess the problem is that the other spots in the HGC lack the dedication that Europe has, so I would say that is the reason why Europe is in the lead right now. We have more teams that are actually going for competing for a top spot."
Dominic "Nic" Asal of Method: "Currently, I think that they have been getting a lot better over the past. Now, since Tempo Storm lost Psalm who was a big player for them, I think they need some more time to get back to their strength, but I think if they can get to a point where they were before they can definitely contest the top European teams."
Joshua "Snitch" Bennet of Team Dignitas: "I think that the deeper we get into this tournament its becoming more and more clear again that it is not much of case of EU vs NA. I think there are more outliers for each region such as our team and maybe some of the two or threes of Europe. If you look at the top NA teams, like Freedom in this tournament and Heroes Hearth for some of it, they look head and shoulders above the rest of the league, so I think it is very tough to look at EU and NA as a whole after they way this tournament has gone. I think it is more important to look at the top teams of each region and compare them."
Villhem "POILK" Flennmark of Team Dignitas: "I think EU definitely started the year being a lot weaker, and NA came out really strong with Tempo Storm and the other teams doing very well. Later on it seemed like NA as a whole kinda went back and got worse. EU then went through roster changes again and came out a much better region. I think EU now is a lot better than NA overall."
With the most anticipated event of the season approaching very soon in the HGC Finals taking place at Blizzcon 2018, North America will be looking to defy the odds and take home the title of champions, while Europe will be determined to keep its spot at the top of professional Heroes of the Storm.
(cover photo courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment)
