The ESL Heroes of the Storm Spring Regional Katowice is now only a week away. US$100,000 and a spot at the Heroes Spring Global Championship is on the line for these top eight Heroes of the Storm teams, and none of them are willing to give up their share of the spoils without a fight. But there can be only one champion...
The expert opinion
We asked desk host James “Kaelaris” Carrol for his opinion on the matches ahead:
“Since we last took a look at it before the qualifiers, the European scene has settled for the moment. That being said, while all the rosters may look different from when we saw them at the last LAN, it’s still the same faces, the same veterans all jumbled up and now flying different team flags. Right now Europe is probably the region that shows the most diversity in their drafts. You have some teams showing very conservative lineups and then others giving us wild compositions looking to disrupt the flow. Picks like Cho’gall, Arthas and even Murky are not outside the realm of possibility in Katowice.
Taking a look at the groups, both A and B are relatively balanced. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dignitas and NaVi make it in group A, then Fnatic and Liquid to go the distance in group B. Those are the safe picks. Realistically, all the teams have a chance to upset here, as some strategies in the meta right now have teams throwing caution to the wind and looking to catch their opponents off guard. However, nobody can deny the power that the top four in Europe currently hold.
Players to look out for in terms of plays? Well, QuackNiix is one to always keep an eye on. The Mighty Duck himself is always out to impress, be it on Falstad or one of his current choice picks, Greymane. Snitch for Dignitas in a more flex role compared with his previous LAN showings will be interesting to watch here. Finally, pay attention to Epsilon - they’ll be interesting since they were the first team to even qualify for the tournament, which was quite out of the blue.
There’s a lot to be excited about from the deepest region on the planet, talent-wise. Katowice is going to be hype!”
The schedule
You can find the schedule for the ESL Heroes of the Storm Spring Regional Katowice below. Please note that some matches will be played backstage, but all games marked as taking place in Expo A can be watched live at the event.
SATURDAY, MARCH 5TH
- ~12:00 CET: Group A match one (backstage)
- ~12:20 CET: Group A match two (Expo B)
- ~14:50 CET: Group A winners’ match (Expo B)
- ~14:40 CET: Group A elimination match (backstage)
- ~17:20 CET: Group A decider match (Expo B)
- ~19:20 CET: Group B match one (backstage)
- ~19:40 CET: Group B match two (Expo B)
- ~22:10 CET: Group B winners’ match (Expo B)
- ~22:10 CET: Group B elimination match (backstage)
SUNDAY, MARCH 6TH
- ~12:20 CET: Group B decider match (Expo A)
- ~14:40 CET: Semifinal two (Expo A)
- ~17:00 CET: Semifinal one (Expo A)
- ~19:40 CET: Grand final (Expo A)
Are you ready for Heroes of the Storm in Katowice?
The two-day ESL Heroes of the Storm Spring Regional Katowice kicks off on Saturday the 5th of March and will be taking place at Expo at Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2016. Whether you’re tuning in online or coming to watch the competition live, here’s hoping for some incredible games!
For all the latest updates, be sure to keep an eye on the official tournament site as well as follow ESL Heroes on Facebook and Twitter!
