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North American Championship Finals Recap
Live
Geposted
14.09.2017 um 12:06
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Dderserei
North American Championship Finals
Hello fellow World of Warcraft esports fans, it's time for another recap! These recaps will give you a summary of the action from World of Warcraft Arena tournaments, along with plenty of statistics to ponder. Today I will be examining the North American Championship Finals. For an explanation of the Road to BlizzCon and to watch previous tournaments, go to
Blizzard's Esports Site
. The bracket for this tournament can be found
here
, complete with team compositions, map selections and other useful information.
The Tournament
The North American Championship Finals were held in Columbus, Ohio. This tournament was played on Patch 7.2.5, the same patch that the European Championship Finals was played on. Teams qualified for this tournament by earning AWC qualification points from the Arena Cups and community tournaments. The 12 teams with the most points were eligible to compete. The seeding was based on the placing of each team on the qualification points leaderboard. The top seed faced the 12th seed first, the second faced the 11th, and so on. The top four teams qualified to compete at the Arena World Championship at BlizzCon. The teams who qualified were Sneaky Snakes (10th seed), Splyce (3rd seed), Panda Global (8th seed) and Method Synergy (2nd seed).
Matches
Seeding Isn't Everything, Part Two
Much like in the
European Championship Finals
, the top seeded team did not make it out of the Group Stage. Tempo Storm had a strong season, wining Arena Cups 2 and 3 as well as the Method NA Major. After defeating 12th seed team Your Name Here 3-0 with their Dancing with the Stars* composition, they faced the team again in an elimination series. Despite the convincing loss to Tempo Storm earlier in the bracket, Your Name Here continued to play their Cleave** and WLS*** compositions. Tempo Storm stayed with their Dancing with the Stars composition, although they did vary the specialisations of the Rogue and the healer. Despite the similarity in the compositions that both teams played, the outcome was very different than in their first series, with Your Name Here winning the series 3-2 and eliminating the top seed from the tournament.
Kaska
Restoration Shaman Build
Talents
(Kaska played Voodoo Totem in Match 2 and Match 3)
Honor Talents
(Kaska played Defender of the Weak in Match 5)
Goob
Demonology Warlock Build
Talents
Honor Talents
Affliction Warlock Build
Talents
Honor Talents
Yoske
Arms Warrior Build
Talents
(Yoske played Double Time in Match 2)
Honor Talents
Vanguards
Retribution Paladin Build
Talents
(Vanguards played The Fires of Justice and Blade of Wrath in Match 1 and Match 2)
Honor Talents
(Vanguards played Hammer of Reckoning in Match 2 and Match 3)
*Rogue (usually Subtlety), Balance Druid, Healer.
**A short history of 'Cleave': 'Cleave' was the name of an in-house Blizzard team that was unsuccessful during a 'Play the Devs' day. The team consisted of an Arms Warrior, Retribution Paladin and Restoration Shaman. Some players saw the potential of the composition and found success on the 3v3 ladder. 'Cleave' was initially considered an insulting term, implying the composition lacked a need for strategy. As the term gained popularity, it was mostly used to describe double melee compositions. This restriction does not seem to apply anymore, nor is it seen as a particularly shameful label (depending on who you ask, of course).
***Warrior, Warlock, Shaman.
Reigning Champions Fall, Part Two
Mirroring the European Championship Finals again, last year's Regional Champions failed to reach the Arena World Championship. Method Reborn lost to Panda Global in the Group Stage but defeated Tempo Storm and SetToDestroyX to reach the playoffs, where they faced Method Synergy. The two teams met seven times in the community and Arena Cups, with Method Reborn's win rate against their sister team at 71.4%. Despite playing double Demon Hunter for most of the tournament, Method Synergy played Restoration Shaman, Windwalker Monk and Unholy Death Knight for all four matches. Method Reborn played RMP**** in three of the matches (twice with Subtlety Rogue and Frost Mage, and once with Assassination Rogue and Arcane Mage) and TSG***** in one. The series was short, with an average match time of one minute and 38 seconds. Ultimately, Method Reborn were eliminated by Method Synergy 3-1 and will not be competing at BlizzCon this year.
Kolo
Restoration Shaman Build
Talents
(Kolo played Graceful Spirit in Match 3)
Honor Talents
(Kolo played Calming Waters in Match 3)
Mes
Unholy Death Knight Build
Talents
(Mes played Ebon Fever, Infected Claws and Soul Reaper in Match 3)
Honor Talents
Trill
Windwalker Monk Build
Talents
(Trill played Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger in Match 3)
Honor Talents
(Trill played Tigereye Brew in Match 3)
****Rogue, Mage, Priest
*****TSG stands for Teh Super Gosus, the name of the team that popularised the composition. The composition itself is Warrior, Death Knight, Healer; traditionally a Holy Paladin.
Sneaky Snakes, Method Slayers
Sneaky Snakes defeated both Method Awakened and eventual North American Champions, Method Synergy, during the Group Stage. Sneaky Snakes' Cupid Cleave^ proved too strong for Method Synergy's Restoration Shaman, Arms Warrior and Demon Hunter composition, as well as their Restoration Shaman, Frost Death Knight and Affliction Warlock composition. Sneaky Snakes were the only team in the tournament to win a series against Method Synergy. The team also sent home Method Awakened with their Discipline Priest, Arms Warrior and Havoc Demon Hunter, defeating all three compositions that Awakened attempted to counter them with.
^Retribution Paladin, Hunter, Healer.
Amne
Discipline Priest Build (Sneaky Snakes versus Method Synergy)
Talents
(Amne played Angelic Feather in Match 3 and Match 4)
Honor Talents
(Amne played Trinity and Ultimate Radiance in Match 4)
Discipline Priest Build (Sneaky Snakes versus Method Awakened)
Talents
Honor Talents
(Amne played Ultimate Radiance in Match 2 and Premonition in Match 3)
Aveng
Retribution Paladin Build (Sneaky Snakes versus Method Synergy)
Talents
Honor Talents
(Aveng played Sparring in Match 3)
Havoc Demon Hunter Build (Sneaky Snakes versus Method Awakened)
Talents
(Aveng played Blind Fury, Soul Rending and Demonic in Match 2)
Honor Talents
(Aveng played Reinforced Armor in Match 2 and Reverse Magic in Match 3)
Ssds
Marksmanship Hunter Build (Sneaky Snakes versus Method Synergy)
Talents
(Ssds played Wyvern Sting and A Murder of Crows in Match 3)
Honor Talents
(Ssds played Spider Sting in Match 3 and Survival Tactics in Match 4)
Arms Warrior Build (Sneaky Snakes versus Method Awakened)
Talents
(Ssds played Sweeping Strikes in Match 2)
Honor Talents
(Ssds played War Banner in Match 2 and Match 3 and Master and Commander in Match 3)
Matches to Watch
Panda Global was involved in one of the most exciting matches of the North American Championship Finals. In Match 2 of their series against Sneaky Snakes, not only was there a cross kill but there was a resurrection – something very rarely seen in tournaments. With Wallabare and Syfoxy dying within two seconds of each other, the match was seemingly down to a 2v2 between Panda Global's Restoration Shaman and Unholy Death Knight, and Sneaky Snakes' Discipline Priest and Marksmanship Hunter. Rositajones' health began to dip as Rubcub was casting the resurrection but as Wallabare came back to life, Sneaky Snakes' Ssds left the arena, granting Panda Global their first victory of the series.
Another Panda-themed team was involved in a cross kill when Pnda Gaming faced Your Name Here in an elimination series. In Match 3 of the series, Pnda Gaming succeeded in killing Vanguards, Your Name Here's Retribution Paladin. Despite this, Pnda Gaming was defeated shortly after, with Mageiden and Brain falling 18 seconds later.
Grand Final
Panda Global and Method Synergy had only faced each other twice during the community and Arena Cups, with the teams winning one series each. Panda Global had slightly more success during the Group Stage, but the teams seemed evenly matched going into the Grand Final. Method Synergy played all four matches of the series with their Restoration Shaman, Mistweaver Monk and Unholy Death Knight composition, the same composition that they used to defeat Method Reborn's RMP and TSG. Panda Global played a different composition in every match in an attempt to counter it, playing six different specialisations throughout the series. Despite their commanding performance earlier in the tournament, Panda Global could not break the synergy of the opposing team's Walking Dead composition, and Method won the series 4-0.
Method Synergy
Kolo
Restoration Shaman Build
Talents
Honor Talents
(Kolo played Counterstrike Totem in Match 1 and Vim and Vigor in Match 3)
Mes
Unholy Death Knight Build
Talents
(Mes played Bursting Sores in Match 3 and Match 5)
Honor Talents
Trill
Windwalker Monk Build
Talents
Honor Talents
(Trill played Tigereye Brew in Match 2 and Hit Combo in Match 3)
Panda Global
Rubcub
Restoration Shaman Build
Talents
Honor Talents
(Rubcub played Vim and Vigor and Skyfury Totem in Match 4)
Restoration Druid Build
Talents
Honor Talents
Jellybeans
Marksmanship Hunter Build
Talents
(Jellybeans played A Murder of Crows in Match 2)
Honor Talents
Wallabare
Arms Warrior Build
Talents
Honor Talents
(Wallabare played Death Sentence and Pain Train in Match 4)
Rositajones
Frost Mage Build
Talents
Honor Talents
Havoc Demon Hunter Build
Talents
Honor Talents
Statistics
North America and Europe – A Regional Championship Comparison
Despite being played on the same patch, the metas for both regional tournamentrs seemed to be quite different. There was more team composition variety in the North American Championship Finals. It was less melee heavy and more specialisations were represented overall. Both regions presented ten different melee specialisations, with Outlaw Rogue, Survival Hunter and Fury Warrior not being seen in North America and Enhancement Shaman, Outlaw Rogue and Survival Hunter not being seen in Europe. Unholy Death Knight was a popular specialisation in both regions, however it was much more popular in Europe, accounting for 28.2% of melee selections compared to 16.8% in North America. Retribution Paladin was significantly more popular in North America, at 14.7% of melee selections compared to 4.6% in Europe. Windwalker Monk was more popular in North America, accounting for 16% of melee selections compared to Europe's 10%.
North America provided more variation with ranged DPS selection, displaying 10 different ranged specialisations compared to Europe's seven. Beast Mastery Hunter, Shadow Priest, Affliction Warlock and Destruction Warlock were not seen in Europe, whereas Beast Mastery Hunter was the only ranged specialisation not seen in North America. Much like the Unholy Death Knight, Marksmanship Hunter was popular in both regions. It accounted for 33% of ranged selections in North America and 25% in Europe. Mages were significantly more popular in Europe, accounting for 47% of ranged selections across the three specialisations. Affliction Warlock was not seen in Europe, but it accounted for 17% of ranged selections in North America.
Despite the differences in diversity of team compositions, the overall DPS specialisation charts appear somewhat similar for the two regions.
The favoured healers were quite different for the two regions, with Restoration Druid being the most popular healer for Europe and Restoration Shaman being the most popular healer for North America. Mistweaver Monk was not seen in either region.
Double Melee Dominance?
There has been much discussion in the PvP community over the prevalence of double melee compositions being played in tournaments. Some have suggested that almost every match is double melee versus double melee, but the statistics show otherwise. With 85 matches, there were 170 team composition selections. Of these, 92 included both a ranged DPS and a melee DPS. Although double melee compositions were significantly more popular than double caster compositions, they were not the dominant composition type.
Next stop, BlizzCon!
The next time these teams will compete is at the Arena World Championship at BlizzCon in November. The results will be kept up to date
here
. Congratulations to all the teams and best of luck for BlizzCon!
About the Author
My name is Dderserei, I'm a Warrior main and I'm also the main contributor to the
World of Warcraft Liquipedia site
. I will be bringing you recaps of World of Warcraft Arena tournaments, with plenty of statistics and a summary of the action.
Hol' dir Wowhead
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