The 2017 HGC Finals started with MVP Black dispatching Southeast Asia’s Deadlykittens with relative ease. As one of the tournament favorites, MVP looked comfortable getting past China’s CE 2-0 in their second match to earn, at minimum, a top eight placement. MVP Black isn’t doing anything to undermine their status as a tournament favorite, finishing each game against CE with a two level advantage in experience.

Deadlykittens were the first team to be eliminated from Group A after falling to Tempo Storm 2-1. Tempo Storm, who had lost to CE earlier in the day, defeated the Chinese team in the final series of the evening off the back of some remarkable Kerrigan play by Harrison ‘psalm’ Chang. Psalm lead his team in total eliminations, siege damage, hero damage and total experience contributions in Game 2 on Kerrigan. Other Heroes that graced the Nexus during Group A include the likes of Maltheal, Sonya, Garrosh, Kel’thuzad, and Ana. This is the time of year when unorthodox team compositions and tactics are the rule rather than the exception.

Tempo Storm joins MVP Black as the other team to survive Group A, and now they’ll each have a spot in the playoff bracket when the tournament moves to Anaheim on November 3.

Next up, it’s Fnatic, the champions of the Mid-Season Brawl, who will be challenged by North America’s Team Freedom among others in Group B. Be sure to keep your browser locked on BlizzCon.com to catch all of the HGC Finals action live. For more on the HGC, including full box scores and team info, check out playheroes.com/esports.