In a shocking victory, Team DK beat longtime rival Snake in a 3-1 lower bracket final to advance to face MVP Black in the Hot6 Superleague Grand Finals.

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In the past, the Snake versus Team DK bout has heavily favored Snake with a 5-1 record. However, today Team DK brought new specialist picks and strategies and defeated their longtime rivals in a 3-1 series. The series was full of back and forth games with stalemate ending fights and critical rotations that brought about minor advantages. In regards to hero selection, Jaina ended the series with a 4-0 record, whereas Leoric ended at 1-3. Compositions that focused around bruisers also faltered and lost every game in the series. A double tank strategy with a burst and sustained damage dealer was a potent counter to these compositions. Key bans focused Abathur, Sonya and Brightwing, all three of which have seen increased play due to new strategies and the return of global compositions.

Game 1: Sky Temple

Snake holds Sky Temple as its favored map and chose a team composition focused on protecting Jaina and Kael'Thas in the backline through two tanks and Uther. DK on the other hand focused on causing chaos to form penetration pockets to sack Jaina or Kael'Thas but had limited success even with Noblesse on Zeratul. The lack of organization gave Snake a handy lead the entire game and eventually they seized the Boss and pushed for the win.

Game 2: Garden of Terror, Game to Watch

After a decisive loss, DK mixed up their strategy and chose Lost Vikings on the Garden of Terror for ex-Starcraft professional Sniper. Lost Vikings are incredibly strong on this map for their ability to soak experience in all lines meanwhile their teammates rotate and seize objectives. Snake chose Kerrigan for bruiser player Oreoman to assist in quick kills during rotations on the Lost Vikings or for initiation advantage against DK.

DK started out the match strong with a nearly 3 minute distraction of Snake while the Lost Vikings soaked experience. When the seedlings spawned DK rushed towards the boss Snake was taking and steamrolled Snake with the assistance of the boss area of effect slam. Meanwhile, the Lost Vikings continued to gain experience but Snake struck back with a decisive victory over the second objective boss and matched DK's experience through the first terror. Snake continues controlling DK through brilliant siege positioning and took 2 keeps.

In a series of close fights in the final 5 minutes of the match, Oreoman makes an incredible initiate on Kerrigan that falls flat due to DK's amazing sustain. Both teams progressed to the boss and in a clutch moment, both seize enough seeds to spawn terrors. Snake became confident in their push since they had 2 keeps down and pushed for the core, however DK held a strong defense that reversed the momentum and pushed for the win.

Game 3: Tomb of the Spider Queen

The third match revealed the strength of Team DK's drafting phase. Snake chose an early Muradin and Sonya composition that needs a strong melee support. Snake banned Uther first, a devastating mistake, because DK ends up banning Kharazim and taking the second priority Malfurion, forcing Snake on Li-Li. Meanwhile, DK got key picks like Cmoving's Jaina and ScSc on Arthas. Their double tank strategy was also fortuitous against Sonya.

In the game DK showed excellent sustain against Snake's heavy frontline. DK took 2 early kills through constant 4-man rotations between top and middle lanes and it looked like the series had been flipped on its head relative to game 1. A fight that netted DK 4 kills showed the insane sustain on their team against Snake's team composition. The momentum's apex was at a 3 level lead with 10-1 kill difference. Snake began inching back but it was not enough; a boss attempt was wiped and stolen by DK.

Game 4: Dragon Shire

DK once again showed drafting strength in the final battle of the series. After Snake chose Zeratul for Oreoman, Tassadar was chosen for specialist extraordinaire Sniper. Tassadar was an excellent pickup on Dragon Shire which is prone to constant rotations and a true counter to Zeratul through the trait, Oracle. DK also banned out Uther and Brightwing, forcing Snake on a weaker Rehgar.

DK took an early siege giant mercenary camp at a poor time and Snake took the first Dragon Knight of the match in a fast rotation. As teamfighting began, DK's sustain composition revealed its power. The final half of the game was an attempt to turtle to late-game by Snake but DK had relentless pressure. Through a series of Dragon Knights, DK penetrated some early inner fortresses but were held off by Snake. Sniper made two incredible baits into flanking members of his team, with the second bait forcing a game winning fight.

MVP of Series: DK Sniper

The MVP award goes to DK Sniper for not only his quality mechanics but for his wide hero pool that provides incredible leverage during drafting phase. This goes beyond saying that Abathur was banned in 75% of the games of this series, targeted at Sniper, and that his Lost Vikings and Tassadar made micro-level plays that accumulated into victories for his team. These pocket picks of Sniper allow for clutch picks that secure advantages based on opponents' drafts or map variance.

Looking Forward:

MVP Black and Team DK will face off Saturday, October 3rd at 6:00 CEST. This match will determine the victor of the first Hot6 Superleague and decide Blizzcon invitation. These teams have no prior history in Hot6 Superleague, however most likely scrimmage against one another or play in Hero League. The match will be unmissable as DK has risen from the lower bracket to face the current top-dogs, MVP Black.

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