Dedicating your life to mastering a craft requires an internal understanding that sacrifices need to be made if your intention is to be the best you can be. Relationships with friends, one’s own health and the ability to dedicate enough time and energy to enter the dating world are some of the very common facets of everyday life that are occasionally put on the backburner when you work in an industry as volatile as esports. Long hours, working weekends and traveling around the world can and do impact those who work “traditional” jobs but esports can take it to extremes at times. Thomas “Khaldor” Kilian is no stranger to the impact that devoting more than 15 years of his life to esports has had on his ability to find love, enjoy a night out with friends and form intimate relationships with peers around him.
Few figures in the Heroes of the Storm scene are as polarizing as Thomas “Khaldor” Kilian. Ever since he was handed a Technical Alpha key back in 2014, Khaldor has dedicated his blood, sweat, and tears towards playing, commentating, dissecting and discussing Heroes of the Storm. His love for the title, in addition to his decade-long-plus background in the esports industry in titles such as Warcraft 3 and Starcraft 2, opened up opportunities for him that he was able to capitalize on through a spartan-like work ethic. These right set of circumstances allowed him to be is one of the full-time Heroes Global Championship (HGC) casters for the European region, a location very close to his heart as he grew up in Germany.
t’s a natural reaction for fans of players or the pro circuit to be concerned when news of an original member of the first Heroes of the Storm World Championship team, King Caffine, declares that playing at the highest level feels like a “part-time job” to him. However, change is not only healthy in terms of keeping the HGC fresh but very common in an industry where some turnover is necessary.
When the Heroes of the Storm patch notes were released on September 17 revealing the re-worked Garden Terror map, Kerrigan and Brightwing, the community was so wrapped up in the big news that, unbeknownst to everyone, there was a small couple lines amended to the post that would have more impact than anything else.
Professional Heroes of the Storm players talking amongst one another about strategy, heroes and their opponents is commonplace as many of them are close friends. There is also nothing wrong with that, according to the rules of the Heroes Global Championship (HGC). What multiple sources have told InvenGlobal Sunday night is that players were violating both an un-written and a written one in the HGC rule book where a gray area causes confusion.
Over the weekend, the bi-annual Heroes of the Storm Crucible tournament was held across the globe. The bottom two teams in each professional division were pitted against the top two teams in the Open Division, the top amateur league, for a spot in the Heroes Global Championship (HGC) in 2019. Win your best-of-seven series, you secure a place among the other professional teams. Lose and you either remain in the Open Division or fall out of HGC.
Jerome “JayPL” Trinh, the French main Tank player for Team Dignitas, the number one team in Europe, has announced he will be retiring from the competitive Heroes of the Storm scene after the $1 million BlizzCon Finals taking place in November.
The Goddess of Elune, Tyrande, is back in the spotlight after an extended absence from the competitive Heroes Global Championship (HGC) scene. If one can remember far back enough to the last time she saw as much play as she did this past weekend, you’re recalling the days of the famous or infamous, depending on who you ask, double-Support meta. Since that time period, her exposure in high-level play has been extremely scarce. If she did see play, it was as a secondary Support hero if a team composition lacked a bit of damage or needed scouting on a larger map.
Blizzard unveiled two new Heroes of the Storm character re-works the other day, Kerrigan and Brightwing. Below are the details for each with a full breakdown of their new kits players will be able to use.
" hope that every single person who likes Kerrigan now on live will continue to like Kerrigan with the change."
" think a lot of the design ideas for Brightwing just went in and we did it. There is a lot of experimental stuff."
In a tweet seemingly out-of-the-blue, psalm announced he was leaving the scene to pursue a career in the industry-warping title, Fortnite. The announcement sent waves throughout the Heroes community. Players supported him, Reddit users questioned him and Tempo Storm lost a valuable piece to their puzzle of success.
With a robust hero pool to choose from in Heroes of the Storm, each hero, when correctly paired with another or others, has the chance to shine and take advantage of what makes their kit unique in the first place. Xul is no exception. The ability to click on a target and instantly root them, is an immensely valuable tool, especially in competitive play now that Cleanse is all but gone. A potential pick at any given moment can swing a game in an instant and put the opposition on their heels, turning the tide of a series. Justing knows that and whether it is viable in the long run or not, he wants to give it an honest try before writing it off, like before.
The Heroes of the Storm team made their presence known at Gamescom this year in Cologne, Germany. While the community was under the impression that only the updated Hanamura map and the new hero, Mephisto, were being shown, Blizzard had something else lurking in the shadows.
Working with Keaton "BamBam" Consentine is similar to the uncontrolled chaos that his rapidly-growing Heroes of the Storm Twitch channel features. A story six months in the making, BamBam is the most raw, brash, blunt and, arguably, vulgar streamer of the consistently-growing title, turning on his stream and constantly sitting atop the viewership leaderboard.
When the Hanamura map launched in Heroes of the Storm back in April of 2017 alongside fellow beloved Overwatch hero, Genji, the community was excited about the possibilities. Soon after both went live in-game, the hype turned into frustration then anger as the map never seemed to play as intended.
A highly aggressive Mage who deals incredible sustained damage by reducing the cooldowns of his abilities when damaging enemies, Mephisto enters the nexus in an upcoming content patch.
Method’s Adrian “adrd” Wojcik is known within the professional scene as someone who relies on unconventional strategies to catch his opponents off-guard. At the Heroes Global Championship Western Clash event last weekend, his idea of sneakiness came in the form of the imposing Russian bruiser, Zarya. A seldom scene hero at the competitive level, Zarya’s ability to provide poke damage from afar, high sustain damage up close and powerful shields to herself and allies spoke to adrd as he played her twice on the grand stage.
In a "David vs. Goliath" storyline, Goliath won, heavily. Team Dignitas took down the Leftovers (4-0) to become the Heroes Global Championship (HGC) Western Clash winners for the second time in 2018.
"Every time you lose to something, like Zarya, you just get angry. It's like, 'Why are you playing Zarya? Why are you making me play against Zarya? Why am I losing to Zarya?'"
