Forward vs. J.Storm: which team will qualify for the Minor?

posted by Brasozial,

Both teams played every Major so far, but now they're fighting for the one and only Minor spot for North America. J.Storm around Tae Won 'March' Park will try to shatter the hopes of Forward's new lineup. Only one team from North America will make it to the Minor, while Europe and China are granted two slots each. This means for Forward and J.Storm that one of these teams' DPC run will end here. Both attended the first three Majors of the season, but didn't make it through the Major qualifiers for Paris. They lost to compLexity Gaming, beastcoast and Evil Geniuses. Those three teams will represent North America at the fourth Major in Disneyland - for now.

The Dota PIT Minor winner is the last team that will make it to the MDL Disneyland Paris Major. It's the last chance for Forward and J.Storm to still attend every Major until this point.

Both teams had a solid performance in the qualifier up to the Grand Finals: while Forward didn't drop a single game to 4 fats 1 old and gg and gg, J.Storm lost a game against the Mexican stack Team Xolotl. However, it never really seemed like those two squads wouldn't end up in the Grand Finals.

For clarification, @Resolut1on_ is still a part of Forward Gaming, but he is currently taking a break, thus he is on the bench and not in our active lineup.

More details about the roster changes can be found in our announcement video: https://t.co/DfIlFkePrN
— Forward Gaming (@goFORWARDgg) 24. März 2019

Forward's new lineup will be tested by the likes of Clinton 'Fear' Loomis and Tae Won 'March' Park. J.Storm has a good combination of talent and experience. Especially David 'Moo' Hull is having peak performances since he joined the squad after TI8.

Both teams already played against each other in the Major qualifier group stage. Back then Forward was the better team and took the series with a 2-1 victory. Yawar 'YawaR' Hassan's change from the mid lane to the hard carry position seemed to be the right call. He dominated J.Storm in two of the games.

Who will emerge victorious this time and qualify for the Minor in Croatia? You can find out on Friday at 12 am CEST.