EStar Gaming won an incredible 14th Heroes of the Storm tournament in the Gold Series season 2, as American representative Cloud9 faltered at the semi final stage.
The 12-team league, held offline in China, saw the teams go through a grueling group phase and double elimination playoffs in pursuit of a 490,000 yuan ($77,175) prize pool.
Inaugural Heroes world champions Cloud9 departed for China just days after winning at Blizzcon and performed well in their group. Avoiding leading Chinese sides EDward Gaming and Chinese regional champions eStar Gaming, the Americans finished third in their group with a 3-2 record with losses to Brave Heart and surprise package Zero Gaming.
Advancing to the playoff stage, Cloud9 lost 3-0 to eStar in the first round and had to fight their way through the lower bracket before losing to Zero once again in the top four.
After a thrilling 3-2 victory over EDG, Zero advanced to the finals against eStar Gaming. The underdog story shortly came to an end, as eStar reasserted their dominance over Chinese Heroes with a 4-1 win.
EStar Gaming have dominated the scene over in China, but have yet to make an appearance in international competition—the team were forced to withdraw from the Masters Gaming Arena and Heroes World Championship.
The performance was a step below what the world champions had aimed for. The team have opted not to stay in China and compete in the World Cyber Arena tournament this weekend, instead returning home to prepare for the new year.
Published: Dec 15, 2015 03:11 pm