BlizzCon 2018: a grand event for gamers as well as the dream stage for esports players, is right around the corner. Many players and fans are eagerly waiting for its arrival; for the players especially, it will be the best and last stage to accomplish something grand before the year ends.

The event will feature competitions for many of Blizzard’s major IPs, specifically Overwatch, HoTS, Starcraft II, and Hearthstone. With so many going on, it can be hard to keep track of it all, so we’re here to help lay out the basics for the tournaments at BlizzCon.

▶ Overwatch
Will Team South Korea be able to get 1st place for the 3rd time at the OWWC?

A great number of Overwatch fans are focused on whether South Korea will be able to keep their winning streak going for a 3rd year. Team South Korea did not lose any sets at the 1st OWWC and finished with an overwhelming score at the 2nd OWWC. Now it’s their 3rd year playing in the OWWC, and they are ready to win again following their perfect scores in the Qualifiers.

This year’s team is just as powerful as last year’s team. Libero, Carpe, Fate, JJoNak, Fleta, Fury, and Anamo are in the final roster for the team; many fans consider this to be the best roster in the OWWC due to its stability and carry potential.

The most threatening opponent to team South Korea would be Team U.S., who they are likely to play against in the semifinals. Not only do most members of Team U.S. play for the Overwatch League, but they are also strongly supported by the home fans. For South Korea, Team U.S. is the biggest threat they will have to overcome in order to win.

Pavane (Hyeon-sang Yu), the head coach for South Korea mentioned that “The match against team U.S in the semifinals will be the biggest hardship,” during an interview with Korean news media. Meanwhile, Libero, the main DPS for the team, expressed strong confidence, saying “We can certainly win since our team will improve even more,” during an interview after the qualifier.

■ Overwatch World Cup 2018 Schedule

November 2nd (PDT)

Quarterfinal 1 U.S vs U.K (12:15 - 14:15)
Quarterfinal 2 France vs Canada (14:15 - 16:15)
Quarterfinal 3 China vs Finland (16:15 - 18:15)
Quarterfinal 4 South Korea vs Australia (18:15 - 20:15)

November 3rd (PDT)

Semifinal 1 (09:30 - 11:30)
Semifinal 2 (11:30 - 13:30)

3rd Place Match (13:30 - 15:30)

Finals (15:45 - 18:30)

▶ Heroes of the Storm
Gen.G, the defending champions; Team Dignitas & Miracle rise up to challenge them

The HGC Finals will be taking place on the main stage of BlizzCon! While Gen.G has been performing very well and is expected to protect their title as, the defending champions, there are also other powerful contestants who may just be able to take the 2018 HGC finals.

Gen.G made it to the top of the HGC Power Rankings by winning in the 2018 Mid-Season Brawls and Eastern Clash; Team Dignitas, their rival on the international stage, and Miracle, for whom this will be their first international tournament, are seen as the biggest contenders to take down Gen.G. Although Team Dignitas may not have won the 2018 Mid-Season Brawl, they have shown their competitiveness through winning the 2017 Mid-Season Brawl; Snitch, their DPS, has been doing great lately, so he will likely play a crucial role in this tournament.

Miracle has shown what they are capable of by defeating Gen.G twice during the regular season for the 2018 HGC KR. Although they may have their ups and downs, they are truly a force to be reckoned with when they’re on an upturn. Gen.G, Miracle, Team Liquid, and Tempo Storm made it to the playoffs in Group A with Gen.G in 1st place, while Team Dignitas, HeroesHearth, Tempest, and TheOne made it to the playoffs in Group B with Team Dignitas placed 1st.

The quarterfinals for the 2018 HGC will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center, BlizzCon 2018 on November 2nd, with the semifinals and finals on the 3rd.

■ Heroes of the Storm Global Championship Finals 2018 Schedule

November 2nd (PDT)

Round of 8 (12:00 - 20:00)

November 3rd (PDT)

Semifinals (09:30 - 16:00)
Finals (16:30 - 19:15)

▶ StarCraft II
Win against Maru!

From the spark of Neeb’s victory in the 2017 StarCraft II KeSPA Cup, the Korean dominance in StarCraft II diminished, and more powerful players outside of Korea began to dominate. Just this year, Serral grasped victory by defeating Stats after a full-set game at the 2018 GSL vs. the World.

However, there remains one final wall that has yet to topple: Maru. It is quite likely that for most competitors, winning the 2018 WCS Global Finals mean they have to win against Maru.

Maru has been winning most of the premier tournaments, making 2018 the year of Maru. Maru has become the winner of $200,000 after defeating Dark at the WESG 2017 Finals as well as all seasons for the 2018 GSL. That was not the end of his march -- he also won the gold medal with no losing sets at the 2018 Asian Games.

It is quite likely that his streak will continue even at BlizzCon, as the current meta favors Terran. Regardless of what the opponent, Terran have been able to get control of the game in the early phase through proxy and cyclone strategies; Maru is a player who makes use of Terran’s early phase strategies with almost perfect execution. Any player who aims to win at the StarCraft II WCS Global Finals will have to defeat Maru in order to make their dreams come true.

■ StarCraft II WCS Global Finals 2018 Schedule

November 2nd (PDT)

Quarterfinal 1 (12:30 - 14:00)
Quarterfinal 2 (14:00 - 15:30)
Quarterfinal 3 (15:30 - 17:00)
Quarterfinal 4 (17:00 - 18:30)

November 3rd (PDT)

Semifinal 1 (14:00 - 15:30)
Semifinal 2 (15:30 - 17:00)

Finals (17:30 - 20:00)

▶ Hearthstone
Adjusting to the meta after the balance patch

The 2nd season of the Hearthstone Global Games (HGG) has started; 4 players from each country will compete for the total prize pool of 409,600 USD. The teams that made it to the playoffs after intense competitions are Spain, Hong Kong, New Zealand, China, Bulgaria, Brazil, Norway, and Singapore.

While certain teams like China and Singapore are often mentioned as the likely winning candidates, many fans are keeping their eyes on Hunterace, the Norwegian winner of the HCT Tour Stop Seoul 2018 that took place in South Korea back in June.

The classes that have been more dominant in the current Hearthstone meta are the Druids and Warlocks. Quest Rogue had been tier 1 before the latest balance patch but fell a little due to less stability caused by the nerf on ‘Giggling Inventor’. Druid managed to miss the nerf and remains powerful since it can reduce mana cost in various ways. Warlock still has the strong deck, ‘Even Warlock’. Both Druid and Warlock will remain strong at the HGG playoffs.

■ 2018 Hearthstone Global Games Schedule

Group A - Spain, Hong Kong, New Zealand, China
Group B - Bulgaria, Brazil, Norway, Singapore

November 2nd (PDT)

HGG Elimination - Group A (12:15 - 14:15)
HGG Elimination - Group B (14:15 - 16:00)

HGG Winners Match (16:00 - 17:45)

HGG Decider - Group A (17:45 - 19:30)
HGG Decider - Group B (19:30 - 21:15)

November 3rd (PDT)

Semifinal 1 (09:45 - 11:30)
Semifinal 2 (11:30 - 13:15)

Finals (13:45 - 15:15)