The second Winter Playoff coming up will be for the Americas region starting on January 18. Europe set the stage for the rest of the regions as they went first, yet the Americas opted for much different decklists on the whole. Here’s what to look out for in our 2019 HCT Americas Winter Playoffs Preview.
The Favorites
Compared to the European playoffs, there are a few less competitors in the Americas, with a total of 76 in attendance. The American Hearthstone Masters are still seeking spots for themselves at the World Championship and will be on the top of their game.
David “Justsaiyan” Shan is one of the few Hearthstone Masters who has already qualified for his seat at the World Championship, but will be looking for a repeat performance similar to what German player Torben “Viper” Wahl accomplished.
Muzahidul “Muzzy” Islam is a teammate of JustSaiyan and has yet to qualify for Worlds. Muzzy is considered one of the best and should be expected to be among the top 16. Eddie “Seohyun628” Lui is another American Master who has had an outstanding year that could only be improved by a Championship appearance.
David “killinallday” Acosta, Mihai “languagehackr” Dragalin and Brian “bloodyface” Eason will also be in attendance at the Winter Playoffs. The three of these players qualified in other Seasonal Championships for the World Championship, but they’re definitely threats themselves, as well.
Underdogs with a Good Shot
Some players aren’t the first names that come to mind when you mention the Americas region, but these guys have a storied career and the potential for great success.
William “Amnesiac” Barton is the third member of Tempo Storm to attend the Winter Playoffs. He had a pretty quiet 2018, but he came rather close in last season’s playoffs, finishing 14th. As a player with World Championship experience, expect him to do well. Jerome “Monsanto” Faucher finished alongside Amnesiac in last season’s playoffs at 16. Having a very strong 2018, Monsanto could definitely make a run at the Championship.
Jeffrey “Tarei” Liu came in 9th in Season 1, just missing his chance at top eight. He went on to win HCT Oakland in Season 2 but struggled in playoffs. Season 3 is his last chance for a Championship. Shokrukh “Fibonacci” Rakhimov just barely lost out his chance at playoffs in Season 1 to killinallday. Fibonacci doesn’t travel much, but he is both a very strong player and one of the best Warrior players.
Fei “ETC” Liang just barely missed Season 2 playoffs, and he recently made top eight at HCT Philadelphia. The Winter Playoffs will be his best chance at a Championship given his strong play as of late. A player who hasn’t played in any tournaments since Season 2 playoffs is Edwin “HotMEOWTH” Cook. He is another historically good player who participated in the 2016 World Championship.
Last year’s runner up at the World Championship, Frank “Fr0zen” Zhang, will participate in the Winter Playoffs. He has traveled here and there in 2018 but has yet to make an impact after his World Championship performance. However, he did pretty well at the All-Star Invitational and should never be underestimated.
The Meta
Just like we saw in the European Winter Playoffs, the American players have Hunter as their most represented class, with 68 of the 76 players bringing a form of Hunter. They are also favoring that same Hybrid Hunter list that utilizes Midrange minions, Secrets and Zul’Jin.
Differently from Europe, however, is that Priest is the second most represented class. 60 of 76 players are bringing the class. Most people brought a Control Priest, which must have been inspired by the success of the deck in Europe. Six of the players in the top eight at the European playoffs had Control Priest.
Paladin comes in the third position with 56 of the 76 players bringing the class. Though rather than mostly Even Paladin like the EU players brought, the most popular deck is one that involves using the Holy Wrath OTK. The option to take OTK Paladin is definitely a preemptive action for Control Priests. The healing available makes it very difficult for the Priests to win.
American players believe a little bit more in the power of Mage, as it is only the third least represented class in the Americas playoffs. 12 players are bringing Mage, and of those 10 are Control Mage, while someone was bold enough to bring Murloc Mage.
The frowned-upon class this time around was actually Shaman. Only five players brought the class, and three of those players are those who believe in the strength of the famous Peanut Shaman that Viper brought to EU playoffs. Only two Even Shamans will be in play, which was a deck that was quite a bit more popular in Europe.
Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment via the official Hearthstone website.
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