Dragonflight S4: TGP Global Finals Preview

The final TGP of Dragonflight is upon us! The Proving Grounds have concluded, Groups A and B have played through their respective weekends, and our top 6 teams head into the Global Finals action starting NOW!

The last two weekends have been dedicated to the group stage, where the top 6 teams of Groups A and B spent three days fighting for a spot in the Finals. This Friday, July 19th, the last 6 teams standing will go head to head in a rush to claim the final Mythic+ crown of Dragonflight.

Read on for a brief overview of some new changes to the TGP format, info on each of the Grand Finals qualified teams, and our predictions for this weekend’s tournament outcome.



Dragonflight’s Season 4 TGP starts at 10am PST / 7pm CEST, and you can watch it live on the Warcraft YouTube Channel, or the Warcraft Twitch Channel. If you aren’t able to tune in, we’ve got you covered with LIVE updates and highlights all weekend long with our TGP Highlights page!

Table of Contents

TGP Format Changes

Over the past few years, TGP has had a very static rulebook, but Season 4’s event promises to switch things up a bit! Blizzard has finally had enough of the 1 tank, 4 DPS shenanigans taking place in high-end key-pushing, and has now mandated that each TGP team must have 1 tank, 1 healer, and 3 DPS at all times.



Additionally, viewers can expect that the first day of the Global Finals will be significantly more exciting. Now that teams will only have to work on prepping push keys for three dungeons on Day 1 instead of the usual four, we should expect to see push keys happening much earlier on Day 1 this time around. Then, teams will receive a fourth and fifth dungeon on Day 2, and a final 6th dungeon on Day 3!



The most exciting rule change applies solely to the Global Finals, and we’re confident this new rule will really spice things up and make every day an interesting one.



No more eliminations on Days 1 and 2? This can only be good news for TGP viewers and competitors alike, as it allows teams the freedom to experiment with some high-risk, high-reward tactics for the majority of the weekend. We may even see some bigger keys, or some wild new strategies, as early as Friday! Be ready, TGP fans: this change also means that Sunday will be an absolute bloodbath, as all 6 teams will be rushing for that top spot.

So how do we think the rule changes will impact the tournament? Check out our Inside Look for our thoughts and hot takes!

Global Finals Team Previews

We expect to see two camps emerge this weekend: the tippy-top teams who are fighting for a podium spot, and the three lower seeds, who will be looking to score that 4th place finish.

In the former camp are the old pros, Mandatory, Missed Count, and Echo. Mandatory have been exceptional at every stage in this tournament, and their picture-perfect gameplay is without reproach thus far. Missed Count have also played exceedingly well, and will be hot on Mandatory’s heels. Shockingly, Echo have not been their usually impressive selves in the Proving Ground stage OR the group stage, and we’re startled to see their runs plagued with mistakes. They aren’t WoW esports’ winningest team for nothing, though, so we’re hoping to see Echo march into the Finals with that same hyper-focused perfectionism they’re known for. If they can return to their usual form, Echo will be right up there with Mandatory and Missed Count in the bloody battle for first place.

The latter camp looks to be Madge, Pedros Per Hour, and Dratnos Guild Team. This three-team face-off for a 4th place finish will be just as exciting as our upper seeds, given that all three are nearly equally matched. Madge may have a slight advantage over their competitors, as they struggled less with particular dungeons and instead need to focus mostly on shaving off some serious time. Both Pedros Per Hour and Dratnos Guild Team, however, had one or several weak dungeons that gave them major trouble during their group weekends. If the Pedro raccoons and the Dratnos Guild rats have dedicated their prep time to improving their dungeon pain-points, we’ll absolutely have a knock-down, drag-out war for that fourth place spot!

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Mandatory came into this season’s tournament as the Season 3 MDI champions, having successfully unseated perpetual kings of keys, Echo. However, Mandatory also had a disappointing finish in Season 2’s TGP, although it seems to us that they’re back with a vengeance this season in the hopes they wipe that elimination off the board entirely! Skylarked, Moadmoad, Stove, Maystine, and team newcomer Hopeful have absolutely played out of their minds throughout this tournament, from their Hail Mary, last-minute push to take rank 1 in the Proving Grounds stage to their perfect play starting on Day 1 of Group A’s weekend. In fact, Mandatory played so beautifully in the group stage that they set a World Record in +22 Algeth’ar Academy AND successfully conquered one of the most terrifying Tyrannical dungeons in the rotation by achieving a zero death +21 Halls of Infusion.

At the end of their group weekend, Mandatory sat head and shoulders above the rest, and throughout the three day group stage, were ahead of 2nd place team Madge by over ten minutes in total accumulated time. If they bring this same level of gameplay to the Global Finals this weekend, Mandatory will absolutely reign supreme, having far and away redeemed their heartbreaking Season 2 defeat and asserting once again that they are capable of defeating reigning TGP champs Echo. We’re looking forward to watching another Mandatory masterclass on perfect Mythic+ play!

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Madge came into the Group A weekend on a respectable 5th place after the Proving Grounds, but they truly impressed us with their amazing 2nd place finish in the group stage! LeMike, Sjele, Drjay, Soda, and new teammate Roiben played their hearts out on Day 3 of their group weekend, even finishing the only other successful +22 Algeth’ar Academy just 27 seconds slower than Group A frontrunners Mandatory.

Despite their incredible Day 3 performance, Madge struggled in the first two days of their group weekend, and nearly faced elimination at several points. Though they didn’t seem to have the same dungeon weak spots as some of their competitors, this EU squad did frequently find themselves behind on time compared to Group A’s third place team, Pedros Per Hour. In fact, it was only thanks to Madge’s impressive +22 Academy that they were able to break their tie with the Pedros and steal away the 2nd place finish.

Madge will need to tidy up their pulls and look to shave valuable seconds off of many of their dungeons if they hope to be truly competitive in the Globals this weekend. We’re confident that we’ll see this team fighting for a fourth place finish alongside familiar faces Pedros Per Hour and Group B squad Dratnos Guild Team, but they may not be quite ready yet to step up into the podium spots with this season’s giants Mandatory, Echo, and Missed Count.

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We’re delighted to have free reign in spamming our Pedros in chat once again, as Pedros Per Hour finished third after Group A’s weekend, becoming the first of two NA teams to move on to the Global Finals. Imfiredup, Yoda, Sanghelios, Crims, and Drohgoh also demonstrated further key mastery in the Proving Grounds, where they finished fourth. Overall, we’re quite impressed with this sneaky bandit squad’s performance in this tournament, as they’ve done remarkably well for a newly-formed team.

Unfortunately, these furry friends were not only beaten in a tie-breaker by Madge’s amazing +22 Algeth’ar Academy, but also by their own missteps in some crucial dungeons throughout their group weekend. Not only did the Pedros struggle with Nokhud Offensive, but they also faced numerous challenges in their own Algeth’ar Academy runs. In fact, Academy gave this squad so much difficulty, they lost over 30 minutes solely on the first pull of the dungeon.

The Pedros need to tidy up their problem dungeons to remain competitive in the Globals, but if they can come into the weekend with some newfound confidence in Nokhud and Academy, alongside some new tricks for shaving precious seconds off of their longer pulls, we fully expect to see these bandit buddies battling for a 4th place finish alongside Madge and Dratnos Guild Team.

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Kira, Ayije, Yarrgi, Hearthjacks, and Thaner, now running under the slightly foreboding name Missed Count, proved once again that they are competitive Mythic+ veterans as they made their mark on their Group B weekend with blazing fast runs and remarkable precision. In fact, this Poland-based squad 2-chested all their +19 keys, and even managed to turn those keys into +21s with remarkable expediency. Then, Missed Count waltzed straight into a +21 Ruby Life Pools and timed it straight away, a feat that their competitors, including Echo couldn’t quite accomplish.

This team finished out their group weekend over 2 minutes faster than their main competitors, Echo, and impressed us with their speed and dungeon mastery. While Mandatory currently look to be Missed Count’s major adversary going into the Global Finals, we can’t count Echo out just yet, either. This three-part, veteran team rush for the podium will make the Finals a must-see!

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Though Echo are the current TGP champions after their victory in Dragonflight Season 2, they were more recently defeated by Mandatory in Season 3’s MDI. Naowh, Zaelia, Clickz, Gingi, and Meeres have long been regarded as titans among men in the competitive WoW scene, but we have to admit that they looked much more human this past weekend on the Group B stage. The squad was uncharacteristically sloppy, both in time and in dungeon execution; most notably, they sat behind Missed Count in time all weekend on every dungeon except, Nokhud Offensive, and even had a number of missteps through a disastrous series of +21 Ruby Life Pools attempts. Missed Count, on the other hand, managed to waltz through that same Ruby Life Pools in a singular, zero death attempt. We even saw Echo struggle to 2-chest all their +19s, placing them squarely in 2nd by the end of the group stage.

This team revealed some glimmers of greatness throughout their group weekend, including their flawless overtaking of fellow Group B squad Dratnos Guild Team’s +22 Nokhud Offensive World Record. If Echo are able to re-focus themselves in time for this weekend’s Global Finals, we’re confident we’ll see that EU champion team we all know and love. In their usual good form, Echo is a menacing opponent for both Mandatory and Missed Count; without their usual confidence, we’ll almost certainly see Echo falling behind.

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The proteges from the illustrious Dratnos Guild Team have made it to the end!
Frosty, Timbermaw, Crypticzz, Forgyy, and Tarisant, who emerged from the Proving Grounds in a reasonable 7th place, put on an excellent show in Group B’s weekend, becoming the second NA team to qualify for Global Finals. The rat squad spent their group weekend battling it out against Hope, but Dratnos Guild Team’s consistency, impressive strategizing, and, most notably, a World Record in +22 Nokhud Offensive, helped them win the last remaining Globals ticket.

While we found a lot to like in this team’s approach to their group weekend, they certainly have one glaring weakness to improve upon if they’d like to remain competitive in the Finals: that pesky +21 Algeth’ar Academy gave them loads of trouble on Day 2. The rat boys secured a spot to the Global Finals, yes, but they were nowhere near the times obtained by Missed Count and Echo. If they’re able to head into this weekend with a renewed sense of urgency and confidence (especially in that Algeth’ar), we see them duking it out with Madge and Pedros Per Hour for a finish just off the podium.

Global Finals Predictions

If the group stage performances are anything to go by, Mandatory are the team to beat this weekend, as long as they continue to show up with the same perfect, confident gameplay that they’ve showcased throughout this tournament. However, their biggest competitors, Missed Count and Echo will likely not let that victory go so easily! Missed Count looked extremely dominant throughout the Group B weekend, and we expect to see them hot on Mandatory’s heels throughout the Finals. Echo, on the other hand, put forth an uncharacteristically messy performance throughout the group stage, even losing nearly a full hour to mistakes in their 12 +21 Ruby Life Pools attempts. However, we’ve all seen Echo at their best, and we know they’ve long been unbeatable in Mythic+; if they can get their heads straight for this weekend’s final showdown, Echo will absolutely put up a huge fight versus Mandatory and Missed Count.

Just as we expect to see some bloodshed between Mandatory, Missed Count, and Echo in pursuit of the top 3 spots, we also anticipate that the other three teams are very evenly matched in the push for that 4th place finish. Madge, Pedros Per Hour, and Dratnos Guild Team all found several difficult dungeons throughout their respective group weekends, so we know each team comes into the Finals with one, or even several, weaker dungeons or slower times, in addition to some of the inexperience as a team that the top three teams of the weekend don’t necessarily suffer from to such a degree. We should be in for an exciting weekend even in the lower seeds, because these three teams are so closely matched!

Mandatory may currently seem to be the frontrunners, but Missed Count have been playing exceptionally well, and Echo may explode into the Finals with a renewed sense of purpose and drive. This is WoW esports, after all, and RNG, nerves, or pure technical difficulty may choose to haunt any team at any time! Gear up for a tense three days, and don’t miss a second of the Global Finals action. Dragonflight Season 4’s The Great Push Global Finals begin Friday at 10 AM PST/7 PM CEST - join us to see which team takes it all!



Thanks for reading our Global Finals preview, and be sure to visit the OFFICIAL TGP Dragonflight Season 4 hub for info on the rules, prizes, teams, and the LIVE events coverage!

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Links

• Watch The Great Push LIVE on Twitch
  
• Watch The Great Push LIVE on YouTube
  
• Visit the Official TGP Tournament Hub on Raider.IO
  
• Tune in for LIVE Event Coverage on Raider.IO
  
• Read An Inside Look on The Great Push Format Changes
  
• Read Our Full Group A Team Preview
  
• Read Our Full Group B Team Preview
  
• Support Raider.IO on Patreon

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