At the first major Heroes of the Storm event of 2016, a brand new team emerged victorious over the world champions.
The as-yet unsigned Bob Ross Fan Club took victory at the Heroes Rising tournament this weekend, defeating Cloud9 3-2 in the final.
The tournament was the first outing for both new teams with their new lineups. After Cloud9 signed the Fan Club’s Taylor “Arthelon” Eder, the team responded by signing the player Eder replaced, Heroes of the Dorm winner Fan Yang.
In their first meeting in the second round Cloud9 looked strong in a 2-0 victory, though the second game was a tight affair. After Cloud9 dispatched Panda Global and old rivals Tempo Storm, they made their way to the grand final undefeated.
Bob Ross Fan Club went through the loser’s bracket, taking out SK Gaming, COGnitive Gaming, Murloc Geniuses and Tempo Storm to fight their way to the final.
In the grand final, Cloud9 repeated their performance in their earlier meeting by jumping out to a 2-0 lead—but with the games now a best of five, the world champions were unable to close it out. The Fan Club took three straight games to mount the improbable comeback and take the title.
With their first title under their belt, it seems unlikely Bob Ross Fan Club will remain unsigned for long.
For North America’s other top teams, it was a mixed bag. COGnitive Gaming posted another disappointing performance, failing to win a match in the weekend. The team formerly known as Team Blank, who were representing SK Gaming with a view to a potential deal, were also one of the first teams to go out.
