During the group stages of the Mid-Season Brawl, a particular team composition appears to be gaining momentum among the top performing teams. The core includes Abathur and Genji who are usually accompanied by illusive and tanky heroes that are difficult to take down. Varian, Tyrael and Dehaka are easy inclusions because of their exhaustive defensive options, with Uther being the ideal support hero to ensure Genji's safe Abathur empowered dives.

Zeratul and Illidan can make a guest appearance alongside Genji, but the general strategy of composition remains the same: if no one on the team is an easy target, how will the enemy ever get a kill? While Genji seems to always grace the ban or pick list, the success rate of Abathur should not be ignored going further. These hero picks are proving to be among the most influential of the tournament so far and the teams that use them are all doing well.

The Winners Circle

Fnatic and Estar Gaming are the only undefeated teams after two days of group stages, but Tempo Storm came close. Their 4-0 dreams were stymied by the Taiwanese team, Soul Torturers. After an incredibly close game two, Soul Torturers managed to pull off a clutch team fight, immediately winning them the game. The execution was immaculate and will surely be among the top clips from the tournament:

After being defeated in such a brutal manner, Tempo Storm's support player, Jun, can't help but feel the burn of the upset:

One of the most entertaining matches of the day was eStar vs Red Canids. Although the clear favorite, eStar had a difficult time closing out the second game of the series, resulting in one of the longest most chaotic matches of the tournament. Whether it was Chromie's odd talents, Valeera's death-defying escapes, or Leoric's backdoor attempts, eStar seemed to thrive in the chaos, eventually ending the game with a clever Divine Shield to ensure a 29 minute Dragon Knight:

The miracle of Team Dignitas

Team Dignitas have not had easy opponents. Their 0-2 defeat to eStar was unexpected, but only because of everyone underestimated eStar's current form and how polished they look during international competition. Unfortunately for the EU fan favorites, their day two opponents were the often indomitable KR leader, L5. Game one was looking horrendous for Dignitas: at one point they had lost every structure on the map and L5 hadn't lost a single fort. The game was already being called as a defeat, and rightfully so.

And then, the comeback happened:

As his commentary grew increasingly stunned, Dreadnaught final words on the match reflected how equally shocking and miraculously this comeback really was:

"I legitimately can not put into words how impressive the last 10 minutes of that game was on the side of Dignitas. I mean, I don't say this lightly when I say it needs to be near perfect to actually make this game recoverable vs. an amazing team like L5... Honestly, I do not have words. It was so beautiful.

Game two had the analysis desk scratching their heads during the draft phase. L5 opted for an extreme late game stall composition that relied on Ragnaros and Genji to escort Nazeebo to level 20. In response, Dignitas drafted another unkillable composition (Abathur, Uther, Dehaka) with a signature JayPL Stitches twist. The hooks were on point and Dignitas, despite all odds, managed to win 2-0 against the opponent that previously looked to ensure a 0-4 record.

This win for Dignitas was paramount for the team's morale and their chances to make it into the Phoenix Bracket taking place on June 17th. This win represents the second Western upset against a Korean powerhouse team. Yesterday, Roll20 delivered a devastating 22-0 victory against MVP Black which, apparently, was the start of a larger trend. Could the era of Korean tyranny over competitive Heroes finally be ending?

Stay tuned for more updates on the group-stage of the Mid-Season Brawl. Standings and schedule can be found here.