Ahead of Blizzard’s inaugural Heroes of The Storm tournament, held at their almost annual event Blizzcon, the four invited teams are starting to reveal their all-star rosters. Although details about who will be competing are scarce, sources have informed us that the pioneering StarCraft organisation Team Liquid will be entering a team headed up by Shawn “Sheth” Simon.
For veterans of the Heroes of the Storm technical alpha, that may come as no surprise. Simon, a former professional StarCraft 2 player on Liquid, has been trawling the battlegrounds of the Nexus wearing a Liquid tag for weeks.
Where other organisations have elected to pick well known and talented players from other esports and Blizzard titles, Team Liquid have put the focus firmly on the future by providing an opportunity for four other Heroes of The Storm public players to have their chance in the limelight. One source close to the organisation informed us that “it will be Sheth and four pub stars, really good public players, and it will definitely surprise a few people with how well they do.”
When asked about their roster, Team Liquid declined to comment. But the determination to use players familiar with the game should give them a leg up on some competitors content to rely on star power, and not Heroes of the Storm experience, at the exhibition.
Fnatic announced their roster yesterday and revealed it will contain a player many consider the greatest Western StarCraft 2 talent of all time, Johan “NaNiwa” Lucchesi, who retired from competitive play in March this year. Alongside him will be fellow Swedish StarCraft player Kim “SaSe” Hammar and two former Fnatic players from their League of Legends season 1 champion team, Manuel “LaMiaZeaLoT” Mildenberger and Maciej “Shushei” Ratuszniak. Completing the lineup is mYinsanity Heroes of The Storm player Cristian ”Ace of Spades” Lippa, adding someone who at least has some game relevant experience to the lineups.
The two other confirmed BlizzCon participants, Evil Geniuses and Cloud9, have yet to announce their rosters. The exhibition tournament will take place on November 7th.
Image via Team Liquid
Published: Oct 10, 2014 01:17 pm