BlizzCon 2008 is finally upon us! A time when Blizzard fanboys come from all over the globe to get a sneak peek at future Blizzard games, parade around in…unique…costumes, and of course, witness some great international competition. The event will be taking place October 10th-11th at the Anaheim Convention Center in sunny southern California. The team that walks away with the first place spot will be taking a $75,000 check (yes, $25k per person) with them.

This year, we have two competitors from three different continents (each), including North America, Europe, and Asia. With the Intel Extreme Masters: LA event having crowned x6tence champions, Nihilum second, there is obviously a sense of European dominance in the air; fnatic.Orz (MLG Orlando and Dallas champions) is here to prove that their WLD is strong enough to take on that dominance.



Andrew “Rhaegyn” Miller
Alexander “Glick” Hloderwski
Rumay “Hafu” Wang
Known Comps: Warrior, Warlock, Druid

fnatic, no matter how much you may try to fight it, is obviously the top American 3v3 team right now. With this past weekend being taken into consideration, this team has come in first place in three major American tournaments, the North American Warcraft Finals and MLG Orlando/Dallas. Warrior Warlock Druid is without question one of the strongest American comps, and fnatic seems to have perfected it. However, look for them to have trouble right out of the gate facing the double healer/melee team of Made In Tawain (running WPD.)Even if fnatic does not take first place here, they will no doubt have a strong showing that should put all of the naysayers to rest.

Strength: Perfection of one of the hardest compositions to come up against. While there will always be dissenters, with their past victory at MLG Dallas, it has become very difficult to argue against the skill level of this fnatic team. Looking at their track record, they’ve competed (and won) many tournaments on LAN – the experience is obviously there. Without a standout counter comp to WLD, fnatic may have come up with an unanswerable combination here.

Weakness: Too relaxed at the top? Obviously, each one of these teams will be competing at their apex in an attempt to bring home a nice little payday, but fnatic could come into this tournament too happy with their previous wins. x6tence took out Nihilum Plasma’s WLD at the EM LA Global Championship, so obviously teams competing at this event know what it will take to knock fnatic out of this tournament.
 


Néstor “Souler” García Trabazo
Javier “Siler” Dobón Benlloch
Víctor Manuel “Falcon” Sánchez López
Known Comps: Druid, Warrior, Priest

x6tence is, as of right now, the top European team. They just won the Extreme Masters LA event with a “close as you can get” victory over Nihilum Plasma 3-2. They have obviously found a counter to WLD that works for them, and that is key here going up against no less than four teams planning to run that composition. After the performance at EM LA, it is clear they have a unique calm and collected approach to playing, which seems to keep them focused on the game at all times.

Strength: They can switch up their comp and play it to the fullest, without a doubt. Their WPD setup is a serious threat to any WLD team out there, and with half of the teams at this event running that exact setup, x6tence may have found an easy walk to the finals here in Anaheim.

Weakness: Execution errors have been the fatal flaw for x6tence in the vast majority of their losing matches in the past. This is compounded by the fact that they do rotate their composition so often that they become much more likely to have a slip up due to any number of reasons.



Seoungouk “Numberone” Oh
Naehyun “Orangemarmalade” Kang
Woojin “Hannival” Kim
Known Comps: Priest, Mage, Rogue

H O N is one of two Korean teams to participate at the BlizzCon finals, and not surprisingly they both happen to be running PMR. Obviously, the eSports scene is quite a bit different in Korea, so watch out for this team to have a completely different perspective and performance than their American and European counterparts. One thing to note, however, is that whenever the PMR comp is discussed, many people say that the Korean PMR is vastly superior. Look for some exciting play from both Korean teams.

Strength: Naehyun “Orangemarmalade” Kang is a huge factor for this team. He’s widely regarded as one of, if not the best mage in the world. As far as playing the mage in a PMR setup, key CS lands and polys can ultimately be the determining factor in an absolute blowout win or fatal loss. If he can live up to his online status as the best mage, then he will definitely be the deciding factor in the victories for H O N here.

Weakness: Team composition may disappointingly be the downfall for H O N at this tournament. RMP has never performed well versus WLD teams, and (possibly) facing four of them at this tournament alone will mean trouble for this Korean PMR.