Heroes of the Storm’s 2015 World Champion team disbands, gives up on game

Heroes of the Storm continues its struggle to gain traction as an esport. Yahoo Esports reports that Cloud9 has officially dropped its team for Blizzard’s multiplayer online battle arena game.

The news will come as a shock to those who have been following the burgeoning esports scene for Heroes of the Storm. Back in November, Cloud9’s five-man squad for the game actually took first place at the 2015 Heroes of the Storm World Championship at BlizzCon. They beat out other popular groups, such as Team Dignitas, Team DK and Na’Vi.

Sadly, since that momentous victory, Cloud9’s Heroes of the Storm crew has struggled to compete. Most recently, the team failed to qualify for the Summer Global Championship, which will take place at DreamHack Sweden next week with a $500,000 prize pool.

"It is with great difficulty that we announce the dissolution of the Cloud9 Heroes of the Storm division," reads an official statement from the team. "As of today, Cloud9 will no longer field a competitive Heroes of the Storm roster."

Across the esports world, many have questioned whether Heroes of the Storm has what it takes to survive long-term. With a limited number of tournaments, smaller prize pools than many other major esports and a shrinking number of active teams, its unclear how long the game can continue to field a meaningful competitive scene.

For its part, Cloud9 still has teams in League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Super Smash Bros. Melee and its most recent addition, Overwatch. Cloud9 also disbanded its Dota 2 team last year following a lengthy losing streak and the dismissal of a key team member during the Frankfurt Major.

The Heroes of the Storm Summer Global Championship will begin next Monday, June 13 and run through Monday, June 20. Twelve teams will compete for the $500,000 prize pool, including Team Naventic and Gale Force Esports from North America, and Team Dignitas and Myinsanity from Europe. Taiwan’s Please Buff Arthas is currently our favorite to win because that name is hilarious.