Here we go again!
A bit late, and I definitely don't have as many infos as 3 years ago, but let's create another thread to share guesses and informations about Hidden Cup heroes!
Followup to this thread from previous Hidden Cup: https://www.aoezone.net/threads/hc4-the-ultimate-guessing-guide.173540/
Back then, I had a huge knowledge of the scene and had admined/watched many A/B-tier tournaments so knew quite a lot about every player, since then I've taken a step back and I've only ever seen 3-4 sets from some players (Sebastian, Ganji, Mihai, and Hearttt gotten much better...), but I'll try my best to give useful informations, especially based on draft, which is a major factor
I definitely welcome your help and insights!
I expect this year to be harder because this won't be G1 Arabia, and Arabia is where we have the most infos on each player and this definitely helped a lot. Also more civs, different civ draft settings and a new patch that might change the general direction of the meta (I personally dislike these changes, variety is good for a standard tournament but HC already has its twist, I'm completely fine with G1 Arabia and very meta civs for HC, and it definitely was instrumental in the guessing game). The boar lure was also a major factor back then, and I don't think this is still as relevant now (but tell me if I'm wrong).
(I edit as I go, I'll try to have everything ready before first set but posting already to get your informations)
Ganji
Probably the biggest surprise of the tournament, having come nowhere near a qualification in a previous S-tier tournament, his best results are a victory in the Gold League of Titans League, and a top 8 in Masters of Arena, but that actually shows some solid skill for the map pool of HC, even if he's still expected to go out in Ro16.
The approach he showed during qualifiers was super defensive, both against MbL and against Stark. He tended to wait for lategame while booming, notably with massive walls on Mudflow without taking much control of the center. He was completely outclassed vs MbL who actually went for some Smush all-in on Gold Rush, and just outpaced him in every game. The style worked vs Stark, but all games went to Post-Imp and the competition will be much higher in main event. Arabia and Cross are games I expect Ganji to lose vs any qualified players if he plays them the way he played vs Stark.
His main asset during those games was his inhuman monk micro, but I don't think that will be enough, especially with more focus on archers. If Ganji shows up with a similar style, I expect him to get swept, even by some qualified players (he lost 4-0 to MbL after all). However, I was very interested with the extremely unique approach Valas had in the Hidden Cup Showmatch, and it is actually very likely that Ganji and Valas trained together. If we see a player trying to clown, forward and all-in with offmeta strategies this would definitely hint at Ganji imo (no Finn, definitely not Barles' playstyle, so why would the eliminated Valas have prepared unique strats and trained the HC maps like Hidden Forts?) The Gold Rush approach of Valas also seems partly based on what MbL did to Ganji, maybe some inspiration there?
Mapwise, I expect the more closed maps, but I welcome any info on Ganji's preferences. Ganji had a tendency to go for eco/cav civs (Franks/Chinese/Khmer/Burgundians) which feats the boomy/macro playstyle. He banned Cross throughout the qualifiers, which points at lower multitasking again.
Mihai
We do have 4 sets of qualifiers casted on T90's channel, so I could actually check quite a lot even if it wasn't extensive. I noted that Mihai actually does wall quite a lot early on even if he also produces army and has very active games (maybe also due to opponents who were all aggro, how does he play vs a more passive opponent?). His walls tend to be pretty big, he walls towards the edge of the map instead of doing potatowalls so his walls are bigger than most, his Huns game on Cross vs Sobek is very unique in how much of the map he walled early, but generally you can expect pretty big rectangular walls. He does rewall midgame which is pretty rare, with massive stonewalls to setup for lategame (Cross vs Overtaken, Arabia vs Vinchester), that's something to look out for.
Notably went for Outposts to check the sides of Quarry in both games, and had the exact same approach vs Overtaken and Margougou on Slopes (won both games), with fast extra TCs on both sides, but he did not do it vs Vinchester where he was pressured. He had a unique approach on Mudflow where he entirely ignored the middle, lost vs Vinchester but beat Sobek, but maybe other people will try it.
As for maps and civs, he is notably undefeated on Islands during qualifier even if he did not really prio it, and he also went for a solid Franks prio on Slopes. Would love to know how prepared you expect him to be. Both him and Sebastian are training together and are new and motivated, but how likely is it that they pick some of the HC maps and have unique strats? Expect water maps maybe? He banned Mudflow throughout the qualifiers.
Hearttt
His style is very similar to Hera/Liereyy, he shines with feudal agression with superior micro, both with scouts and with archers. He completely outclassed Babaorum in feudal on Arabia and Slopes to qualify, and put heavy pressure on TaToH on Mudflow, but his main strength is his ability to macro behind the agression and especially to develop his farming eco, very reminiscent of Hera/Liereyy, as I said.
I don't really know whether he can actually prepare with Liereyy and MbL, depends on if they actually trained/prepared, but I expect him to train a lot with Hera regardless of the fact that Hera is now in GL. Hearttt had actually helped Hera a lot in HC4 despite the fact he was not qualified, I'm certain they will train together again and might share some strategies.
I expect him to do really well on land maps, especially Arabia, but also Mudflow where he did really well in the qualifier and which he picked as a homemap in Round 2, or Gold Rush/Slopes, who are very similar to Arabia anyway.
Sebastian
Best performer of the qualifier with an undefeated run towards Hidden Cup. That's the player I've seen the least of from all the qualified players as he developped a lot over the last year and T90 only casted one of his sets in qualifier. I still have this old image of him as the CallMeSubotai of ladder and it's clear he has grown massively since then.
He was playing pretty structured, focusing on early Castle Age instead of Feudal vs Babaorum. I was surprised with the fact he performed consistently on Islands, and displayed a variety of creative strats like his Spanish Conqs game on Slopes. I need more infos on him, as he can definitely upset people here and seems very flexible. I want more informations, because I think I can easily confuse him with others, especially if he performs.
He banned Quarry throughout the qualifiers.
Sitaux
First Hidden Cup but has been regularly top 16 and even top 8 in some tournaments over the last years so not a real surprise.
He has a very agressive playstyle, tends to go forward and to bring chaos to his opponent. He likes civs that excel in early feudal for that reason, notably Malians, but also Ethiopians, Japanese or similar civs, with a preference on archer play in general. Very fast, good with multitasking and build orders, which makes him especially good on Cross. He's also one of the known Arabia players who is actually very good on Islands. I would not be surprised if he goes for Mudflow as he tends to enjoy the chaos, but he may be behind in strategies on prepared maps, especially the more closed ones.
Barles
Finished top 16 last HC after losing 3-1 to ACCM, but he had won Arabia. Back then the deciding factor was the fact that he was still manually queuing farms in mill instead of using autoreseed, I bet this is not the case anymore?
Otherwise, that's a very meta player who prefers land maps, where he plays pretty structured and defensive, with small walls relatively early. He tends to pick Arabia/Gold Rush as home maps, and he banned Islands HC4 and during most of the qualifiers, and regularly banned Mudflow as well. He won his decider 4-1 but lost Islands. He has a tendency to go for more archer civs, especially on Arabia.
MbL
Very convincing in qualifier, seems in good shape and could get back to top 8 with a good first round pairing. Obviously known for his very distinct style on land maps with lame, trash in feudal, potatowalls, tendency to get housed. Last time I think everyone recognized him 10 minutes into the first game.
Mapwise, he will obviously go for Arabia but I also expect Mudflow which he picked last time, where he got his only win against Jordan and which he picked again in qualifiers, but also expect Gold Rush. Definitely expect him to ban Islands and to underperform in water/hybrid in general and try to land/make it messy.
Underrated skill is his mango micro/ability to clown, would not be surprised if he goes for an all-in push on a map that does not suit him.
Vinchester
Creative player, with unique offmeta strategies, but sometimes very dubious ones like his fast Imp Feitoria on Bypass in HC4, or his love for Goths. Generally can have very weird drafts and unique approaches. Inconsistent and hard to predict level, was a clear top 8 in 2021-2 but then struggled a bit more recently. He shined on Islands last HC but struggled on it during the qualifiers and seemed to prefer Cross and Mudflow. He had a very high level in his decider against Mihai, with impressive micro.
Hard to predict what he will do exactly, if he does not go for offmeta strategies he might be hard to recognize unless someone has something to offer.
TaToH
The real dark horse of the tournament, overall maybe top 2 of 2023 and the settings always suited him. He was the most competitive against Hera in HC4 and in another timeline he actually wins it all.
Usually pretty easy to recognize, with very creative strategies, often shared with DauT, but superior micro, and a solid mix of the GL structure/strats with an offmeta flair and flavour, unique decisions that always seem to make sense on the spot. That's something we might also expect from an Hera that trained with GL, but I still think the style of TaToH is pretty easily defined.
Two easy points are the map control with towers, and the use of demos, with an actual investment in both (maybe the player that goes for keeps/arrowslits and heavy demos the most often) but be careful because Viper tried to fake it in the past and Hera might try it as well. He also has excellent micro, with quickwalls on par with Viper/Hera, and that's an easy way to differentiate him from DauT when they might share strats.
Maybe the best Islands player in the world, and generally very good on hybrid and water maps, has (some of) the best build orders and prepared strats. On top of Islands, Cup, Mudflow or High Tides, I definitely expect him to do great on Evacuation, and I expect DauT and him to share a very good approach on Hidden Forts. He picked a lot of Slopes and Gold Rush as homemaps in qualifier, but map pool was more reduced and he was probably not as prepared; I expect him to really favour the unique hybrid/prepared maps of the map pool and not the more meta land maps like Arabia/Gold Rush/Slopes.
ACCM
Solid top 12 player, whether he can make it to top 8 again will depend on pairing, like last time.
He tends to prefer standard land maps, picking Cross as his first home map in both HC4 sets and winning both games, and also picking Gold Rush, even if he went for more unique maps in recent tournaments. I might expect maps like Mudflow, but not all hybrid/prepared maps.
Like Yo or Vinchester, he can sometimes have unique ideas on civs and approach draft differently (but civ drafts will be weird with the draft system anyway)
Generally prefers to play solid in feudal and go very aggro in early Castle Age, plays knights civs more often than many players in the tournament.
Notorious for resigning very late and for grinding lategame thanks to his top-tier multitasking and resilience.
DauT
Solid in all previous Hidden Cups, has always advanced at least one round.
The DauT castle is a meme but actually true, even if some other players might do one from time to time. Generally, it's easier to spot him thanks to his approach of standard land maps, refusing to micro, using market, and booming on 4-5 TCs if he has the chance (especially when behind), and to his approach of prepared maps, where he tends to find creative strats, often implying feudal agression, forwards or men at arms.
He should share strats with TaToH, but won't micro and won't pick Islands, two clear differences. His best map last Hidden Cup was Bypass, I expect him to love Hidden Forts as well. Also very clutch under pressure, underrated trait from DauT: he does reverse sweeps a lot, and tends to perform in must wins situations.
Liereyy
Might disappoint depending on his level of prep, he struggled in last NAC and the settings of HC really do not favour him, with many prepared and strategic maps. Maybe the new archer patch can help him perform, but I don't expect more than top 8 (depending on bracket obviously), unless he very seriously prepared behind the scenes, which would be unusual.
Should really focus on standard meta land maps or on strats shared with Hera/Hearttt, and will most likely make no attempt to hide his archer ability and general flashy micro. He was very easy to spot in previous Hidden Cups, but it might be harder now that he is less clear of a top 4 player and that other new players have superior micro as well. An underperforming Liereyy might easily be confused with an overperforming Hearttt for instance.
Yo
Expected top 4 even if obviously depends on bracket, but has shown solid results recently and the tournament map pool always suited him more than pure meta players. Had a preference for maps like High Tides, Mudflow and Bypass where he did well, and definitely a player I expect to do well on a map like Evacuation or Hidden Forts. The map pool is really designed for a player like him. A difference with Viper/Jordan/TaToH would be the lack of Islands, and a more chaotic style in general, but otherwise his strengths are also in the strategies and map control.
Historically a huge lover of meso civs who always went Aztecs/Mayans on Arabia, but no guarantees to see Arabia and meta has shifted a lot, would still be a sign to see oldschool meso eagle gameplay.
Unique love for Celts on open maps, but otherwise civ meta and civ draft settings will make it hard to get many info.
Viper
As usual, hard to know what to expect from Viper, who is maybe the only player who could challenge Hera, but has been wildly inconsistent these last years and could get upset very early if he has a bad day.
Not much to say about Viper, his style is known. He favors map control, has probably the best "map occupation" with a lot of expansion, control of key areas and production buildings spread around the map, and generally he has a stable and macro gameplay, shines with decisions and strategies. He can be a bit greedy and throw a lead by undermaking army or making a Daut castle.
A defining trait of Viper is his eco micro, which can be hard to see live but is very striking in replays. Refreshes lumbercamps, always optimal positioning of lumberjacks, perfect farm placement around TC with no gap. Made it very obvious that he was Ivaylo and not Admiral in HC4. Linked with fish trap passion.
Mapwise, expect Islands and Bypass, as well as prepared maps in general.
Jordan
That's definitely the tournament that suits Jordan the most (a lot of semi-closed and hybrid maps, high importance of prep) and he had his best performance 3 years ago. He maintained a very solid level despite not being full time anymore, but it would be very surprising if he can replicate his upset of HC4 and reach finals again, quarters seems more realistic and he could even go down in first round depending on matchup.
His style is very similar to Viper's, with a lot of focus on stability, map control and a structured gameplay. He values vision and information a lot (outposts, early town watch, lots of scout intel early game, not pushing deer). Solid overall but usually shines with decisions and strategies, not the fastest player and can struggle with multitasking sometimes which makes him weaker on maps like Cross.
Very solid on prepared maps and on maps favoring build orders and decisions like Islands or Bypass (just like Viper).
Hera
Has a level of dominance we haven't seen since Viper's peak, he's winning literally every S-tier tournament. This all started with HC4, crazy how much happened since then.
Traditionnally a structured and defensive player, focusing on economy development and especially farms, transitioning into lategame (Hussar spam), but he has improved massively and is able to play pretty much any style and has shown a real creative flair on some instances (Celts Paladins in HC4 was a turning point imo). EXTREMELY curious on what he will bring now that he most likely prepared with some GL players (even if I still expect him to have trained with Hearttt, at least).
Regardless of playstyle, expect flashy micro, especially insane scout activity.
Now that he's both very dominant and very commited in the community/content creation, I would not be surprised if he embraces the Viper style of HC3 and tries to hide his identity/have some fun, be careful with that.
Just like last time, I'll happily welcome informations, let's use our collective knowledge!
A bit late, and I definitely don't have as many infos as 3 years ago, but let's create another thread to share guesses and informations about Hidden Cup heroes!
Followup to this thread from previous Hidden Cup: https://www.aoezone.net/threads/hc4-the-ultimate-guessing-guide.173540/
Back then, I had a huge knowledge of the scene and had admined/watched many A/B-tier tournaments so knew quite a lot about every player, since then I've taken a step back and I've only ever seen 3-4 sets from some players (Sebastian, Ganji, Mihai, and Hearttt gotten much better...), but I'll try my best to give useful informations, especially based on draft, which is a major factor
I definitely welcome your help and insights!
I expect this year to be harder because this won't be G1 Arabia, and Arabia is where we have the most infos on each player and this definitely helped a lot. Also more civs, different civ draft settings and a new patch that might change the general direction of the meta (I personally dislike these changes, variety is good for a standard tournament but HC already has its twist, I'm completely fine with G1 Arabia and very meta civs for HC, and it definitely was instrumental in the guessing game). The boar lure was also a major factor back then, and I don't think this is still as relevant now (but tell me if I'm wrong).
(I edit as I go, I'll try to have everything ready before first set but posting already to get your informations)
Ganji
Probably the biggest surprise of the tournament, having come nowhere near a qualification in a previous S-tier tournament, his best results are a victory in the Gold League of Titans League, and a top 8 in Masters of Arena, but that actually shows some solid skill for the map pool of HC, even if he's still expected to go out in Ro16.
The approach he showed during qualifiers was super defensive, both against MbL and against Stark. He tended to wait for lategame while booming, notably with massive walls on Mudflow without taking much control of the center. He was completely outclassed vs MbL who actually went for some Smush all-in on Gold Rush, and just outpaced him in every game. The style worked vs Stark, but all games went to Post-Imp and the competition will be much higher in main event. Arabia and Cross are games I expect Ganji to lose vs any qualified players if he plays them the way he played vs Stark.
His main asset during those games was his inhuman monk micro, but I don't think that will be enough, especially with more focus on archers. If Ganji shows up with a similar style, I expect him to get swept, even by some qualified players (he lost 4-0 to MbL after all). However, I was very interested with the extremely unique approach Valas had in the Hidden Cup Showmatch, and it is actually very likely that Ganji and Valas trained together. If we see a player trying to clown, forward and all-in with offmeta strategies this would definitely hint at Ganji imo (no Finn, definitely not Barles' playstyle, so why would the eliminated Valas have prepared unique strats and trained the HC maps like Hidden Forts?) The Gold Rush approach of Valas also seems partly based on what MbL did to Ganji, maybe some inspiration there?
Mapwise, I expect the more closed maps, but I welcome any info on Ganji's preferences. Ganji had a tendency to go for eco/cav civs (Franks/Chinese/Khmer/Burgundians) which feats the boomy/macro playstyle. He banned Cross throughout the qualifiers, which points at lower multitasking again.
Mihai
We do have 4 sets of qualifiers casted on T90's channel, so I could actually check quite a lot even if it wasn't extensive. I noted that Mihai actually does wall quite a lot early on even if he also produces army and has very active games (maybe also due to opponents who were all aggro, how does he play vs a more passive opponent?). His walls tend to be pretty big, he walls towards the edge of the map instead of doing potatowalls so his walls are bigger than most, his Huns game on Cross vs Sobek is very unique in how much of the map he walled early, but generally you can expect pretty big rectangular walls. He does rewall midgame which is pretty rare, with massive stonewalls to setup for lategame (Cross vs Overtaken, Arabia vs Vinchester), that's something to look out for.
Notably went for Outposts to check the sides of Quarry in both games, and had the exact same approach vs Overtaken and Margougou on Slopes (won both games), with fast extra TCs on both sides, but he did not do it vs Vinchester where he was pressured. He had a unique approach on Mudflow where he entirely ignored the middle, lost vs Vinchester but beat Sobek, but maybe other people will try it.
As for maps and civs, he is notably undefeated on Islands during qualifier even if he did not really prio it, and he also went for a solid Franks prio on Slopes. Would love to know how prepared you expect him to be. Both him and Sebastian are training together and are new and motivated, but how likely is it that they pick some of the HC maps and have unique strats? Expect water maps maybe? He banned Mudflow throughout the qualifiers.
Hearttt
His style is very similar to Hera/Liereyy, he shines with feudal agression with superior micro, both with scouts and with archers. He completely outclassed Babaorum in feudal on Arabia and Slopes to qualify, and put heavy pressure on TaToH on Mudflow, but his main strength is his ability to macro behind the agression and especially to develop his farming eco, very reminiscent of Hera/Liereyy, as I said.
I don't really know whether he can actually prepare with Liereyy and MbL, depends on if they actually trained/prepared, but I expect him to train a lot with Hera regardless of the fact that Hera is now in GL. Hearttt had actually helped Hera a lot in HC4 despite the fact he was not qualified, I'm certain they will train together again and might share some strategies.
I expect him to do really well on land maps, especially Arabia, but also Mudflow where he did really well in the qualifier and which he picked as a homemap in Round 2, or Gold Rush/Slopes, who are very similar to Arabia anyway.
Sebastian
Best performer of the qualifier with an undefeated run towards Hidden Cup. That's the player I've seen the least of from all the qualified players as he developped a lot over the last year and T90 only casted one of his sets in qualifier. I still have this old image of him as the CallMeSubotai of ladder and it's clear he has grown massively since then.
He was playing pretty structured, focusing on early Castle Age instead of Feudal vs Babaorum. I was surprised with the fact he performed consistently on Islands, and displayed a variety of creative strats like his Spanish Conqs game on Slopes. I need more infos on him, as he can definitely upset people here and seems very flexible. I want more informations, because I think I can easily confuse him with others, especially if he performs.
He banned Quarry throughout the qualifiers.
Sitaux
First Hidden Cup but has been regularly top 16 and even top 8 in some tournaments over the last years so not a real surprise.
He has a very agressive playstyle, tends to go forward and to bring chaos to his opponent. He likes civs that excel in early feudal for that reason, notably Malians, but also Ethiopians, Japanese or similar civs, with a preference on archer play in general. Very fast, good with multitasking and build orders, which makes him especially good on Cross. He's also one of the known Arabia players who is actually very good on Islands. I would not be surprised if he goes for Mudflow as he tends to enjoy the chaos, but he may be behind in strategies on prepared maps, especially the more closed ones.
Barles
Finished top 16 last HC after losing 3-1 to ACCM, but he had won Arabia. Back then the deciding factor was the fact that he was still manually queuing farms in mill instead of using autoreseed, I bet this is not the case anymore?
Otherwise, that's a very meta player who prefers land maps, where he plays pretty structured and defensive, with small walls relatively early. He tends to pick Arabia/Gold Rush as home maps, and he banned Islands HC4 and during most of the qualifiers, and regularly banned Mudflow as well. He won his decider 4-1 but lost Islands. He has a tendency to go for more archer civs, especially on Arabia.
MbL
Very convincing in qualifier, seems in good shape and could get back to top 8 with a good first round pairing. Obviously known for his very distinct style on land maps with lame, trash in feudal, potatowalls, tendency to get housed. Last time I think everyone recognized him 10 minutes into the first game.
Mapwise, he will obviously go for Arabia but I also expect Mudflow which he picked last time, where he got his only win against Jordan and which he picked again in qualifiers, but also expect Gold Rush. Definitely expect him to ban Islands and to underperform in water/hybrid in general and try to land/make it messy.
Underrated skill is his mango micro/ability to clown, would not be surprised if he goes for an all-in push on a map that does not suit him.
Vinchester
Creative player, with unique offmeta strategies, but sometimes very dubious ones like his fast Imp Feitoria on Bypass in HC4, or his love for Goths. Generally can have very weird drafts and unique approaches. Inconsistent and hard to predict level, was a clear top 8 in 2021-2 but then struggled a bit more recently. He shined on Islands last HC but struggled on it during the qualifiers and seemed to prefer Cross and Mudflow. He had a very high level in his decider against Mihai, with impressive micro.
Hard to predict what he will do exactly, if he does not go for offmeta strategies he might be hard to recognize unless someone has something to offer.
TaToH
The real dark horse of the tournament, overall maybe top 2 of 2023 and the settings always suited him. He was the most competitive against Hera in HC4 and in another timeline he actually wins it all.
Usually pretty easy to recognize, with very creative strategies, often shared with DauT, but superior micro, and a solid mix of the GL structure/strats with an offmeta flair and flavour, unique decisions that always seem to make sense on the spot. That's something we might also expect from an Hera that trained with GL, but I still think the style of TaToH is pretty easily defined.
Two easy points are the map control with towers, and the use of demos, with an actual investment in both (maybe the player that goes for keeps/arrowslits and heavy demos the most often) but be careful because Viper tried to fake it in the past and Hera might try it as well. He also has excellent micro, with quickwalls on par with Viper/Hera, and that's an easy way to differentiate him from DauT when they might share strats.
Maybe the best Islands player in the world, and generally very good on hybrid and water maps, has (some of) the best build orders and prepared strats. On top of Islands, Cup, Mudflow or High Tides, I definitely expect him to do great on Evacuation, and I expect DauT and him to share a very good approach on Hidden Forts. He picked a lot of Slopes and Gold Rush as homemaps in qualifier, but map pool was more reduced and he was probably not as prepared; I expect him to really favour the unique hybrid/prepared maps of the map pool and not the more meta land maps like Arabia/Gold Rush/Slopes.
ACCM
Solid top 12 player, whether he can make it to top 8 again will depend on pairing, like last time.
He tends to prefer standard land maps, picking Cross as his first home map in both HC4 sets and winning both games, and also picking Gold Rush, even if he went for more unique maps in recent tournaments. I might expect maps like Mudflow, but not all hybrid/prepared maps.
Like Yo or Vinchester, he can sometimes have unique ideas on civs and approach draft differently (but civ drafts will be weird with the draft system anyway)
Generally prefers to play solid in feudal and go very aggro in early Castle Age, plays knights civs more often than many players in the tournament.
Notorious for resigning very late and for grinding lategame thanks to his top-tier multitasking and resilience.
DauT
Solid in all previous Hidden Cups, has always advanced at least one round.
The DauT castle is a meme but actually true, even if some other players might do one from time to time. Generally, it's easier to spot him thanks to his approach of standard land maps, refusing to micro, using market, and booming on 4-5 TCs if he has the chance (especially when behind), and to his approach of prepared maps, where he tends to find creative strats, often implying feudal agression, forwards or men at arms.
He should share strats with TaToH, but won't micro and won't pick Islands, two clear differences. His best map last Hidden Cup was Bypass, I expect him to love Hidden Forts as well. Also very clutch under pressure, underrated trait from DauT: he does reverse sweeps a lot, and tends to perform in must wins situations.
Liereyy
Might disappoint depending on his level of prep, he struggled in last NAC and the settings of HC really do not favour him, with many prepared and strategic maps. Maybe the new archer patch can help him perform, but I don't expect more than top 8 (depending on bracket obviously), unless he very seriously prepared behind the scenes, which would be unusual.
Should really focus on standard meta land maps or on strats shared with Hera/Hearttt, and will most likely make no attempt to hide his archer ability and general flashy micro. He was very easy to spot in previous Hidden Cups, but it might be harder now that he is less clear of a top 4 player and that other new players have superior micro as well. An underperforming Liereyy might easily be confused with an overperforming Hearttt for instance.
Yo
Expected top 4 even if obviously depends on bracket, but has shown solid results recently and the tournament map pool always suited him more than pure meta players. Had a preference for maps like High Tides, Mudflow and Bypass where he did well, and definitely a player I expect to do well on a map like Evacuation or Hidden Forts. The map pool is really designed for a player like him. A difference with Viper/Jordan/TaToH would be the lack of Islands, and a more chaotic style in general, but otherwise his strengths are also in the strategies and map control.
Historically a huge lover of meso civs who always went Aztecs/Mayans on Arabia, but no guarantees to see Arabia and meta has shifted a lot, would still be a sign to see oldschool meso eagle gameplay.
Unique love for Celts on open maps, but otherwise civ meta and civ draft settings will make it hard to get many info.
Viper
As usual, hard to know what to expect from Viper, who is maybe the only player who could challenge Hera, but has been wildly inconsistent these last years and could get upset very early if he has a bad day.
Not much to say about Viper, his style is known. He favors map control, has probably the best "map occupation" with a lot of expansion, control of key areas and production buildings spread around the map, and generally he has a stable and macro gameplay, shines with decisions and strategies. He can be a bit greedy and throw a lead by undermaking army or making a Daut castle.
A defining trait of Viper is his eco micro, which can be hard to see live but is very striking in replays. Refreshes lumbercamps, always optimal positioning of lumberjacks, perfect farm placement around TC with no gap. Made it very obvious that he was Ivaylo and not Admiral in HC4. Linked with fish trap passion.
Mapwise, expect Islands and Bypass, as well as prepared maps in general.
Jordan
That's definitely the tournament that suits Jordan the most (a lot of semi-closed and hybrid maps, high importance of prep) and he had his best performance 3 years ago. He maintained a very solid level despite not being full time anymore, but it would be very surprising if he can replicate his upset of HC4 and reach finals again, quarters seems more realistic and he could even go down in first round depending on matchup.
His style is very similar to Viper's, with a lot of focus on stability, map control and a structured gameplay. He values vision and information a lot (outposts, early town watch, lots of scout intel early game, not pushing deer). Solid overall but usually shines with decisions and strategies, not the fastest player and can struggle with multitasking sometimes which makes him weaker on maps like Cross.
Very solid on prepared maps and on maps favoring build orders and decisions like Islands or Bypass (just like Viper).
Hera
Has a level of dominance we haven't seen since Viper's peak, he's winning literally every S-tier tournament. This all started with HC4, crazy how much happened since then.
Traditionnally a structured and defensive player, focusing on economy development and especially farms, transitioning into lategame (Hussar spam), but he has improved massively and is able to play pretty much any style and has shown a real creative flair on some instances (Celts Paladins in HC4 was a turning point imo). EXTREMELY curious on what he will bring now that he most likely prepared with some GL players (even if I still expect him to have trained with Hearttt, at least).
Regardless of playstyle, expect flashy micro, especially insane scout activity.
Now that he's both very dominant and very commited in the community/content creation, I would not be surprised if he embraces the Viper style of HC3 and tries to hide his identity/have some fun, be careful with that.
Just like last time, I'll happily welcome informations, let's use our collective knowledge!
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