North American Championship Finals Recap

Posted 2017/09/14 at 12:06 PM by Dderserei

Blizzard's Esports SitehereThe TournamentMatchesSeeding Isn't Everything, Part TwoEuropean Championship Finals
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 SynergyKolo
Restoration Shaman BuildTalentsHonor Talents(Kolo played Counterstrike Totem in Match 1 and Vim and Vigor in Match 3)Mes
Unholy Death Knight BuildTalents(Mes played Bursting Sores in Match 3 and Match 5)Honor TalentsTrill
Windwalker Monk BuildTalentsHonor Talents(Trill played Tigereye Brew in Match 2 and Hit Combo in Match 3)Panda GlobalRubcub
Restoration Shaman BuildTalentsHonor Talents(Rubcub played Vim and Vigor and Skyfury Totem in Match 4)Restoration Druid BuildTalentsHonor TalentsJellybeans
Marksmanship Hunter BuildTalents(Jellybeans played A Murder of Crows in Match 2)Honor TalentsWallabare
Arms Warrior BuildTalentsHonor Talents(Wallabare played Death Sentence and Pain Train in Match 4)Rositajones
Frost Mage BuildTalentsHonor TalentsHavoc Demon Hunter BuildTalentsHonor TalentsStatisticsNorth America and Europe – A Regional Championship ComparisonDouble Melee Dominance?Next stop, BlizzCon!hereAbout the AuthorWorld of Warcraft Liquipedia site

Comment by VizixqtJust an fyi in the grand final summary you put that Method Synergy played all four series with a Resto Shaman, mistweaver, dk combo not sure if thats intended or not (2healers)Comment by 1589325Well maybe this will push Blizzard to buff up Beast Mastery in 7.3.5, and maybe just think about give it some major reworks come next expansionComment by GremmNice write-up, thanks.Comment by xface2faceUnless I missed some game, there was no Fury warrior at all in the European finals. Liquipedia says Northern vs EMO featured one but if you watch all the games, you can clearly see they're all Arms.Comment by Pelontirinteresting statistics, thanks for sharing!Comment by DdersereiNice write-up, thanks.interesting statistics, thanks for sharing!Unless I missed some game, there was no Fury warrior at all in the European finals. Liquipedia says Northern vs EMO featured one but if you watch all the games, you can clearly see they're all Arms.