Hearthstone Grandmasters Season 2 Week 4 moves past the halfway point in the season. Due to the nature of the game of Hearthstone, no one is in a comfortable position, and those in first can still miss the playoffs while those far behind can still get there.
Asia-Pacific Region
In Asia-Pacific’s Division A, Kim “che0nsu” Cheon Su widens his lead to two games. Now 7-1 on the season, he went 2-0 this week with Quest Druid, Quest Shaman, Zoo Warlock, and Combo Priest. He did not protect Combo Priest in either of his matches, opting instead to protect Quest Shaman and Quest Druid once each. Both of his sets were 2:1, and he won a game with every deck he brought this week.
Kim “Surrender” Jung-soo has made a fantastic comeback from the start of his season. He has gone from 1-3 to 5-3 and now finds himself in second place in Division A. We are seeing shades of what he did last season, with a slow start into a strong finish. He is also 8:2 in game score in those last four matches, showing that he was never to be doubted. Behind him are four players all at 4-4.
Over in Division B, Kenta “glory” Sato is now two games in the lead at 7-1. He made quick work of his opponents this week, sweeping both to go 4:0 in game score. He protected Control Warrior in both of his sets, and it payed off.
Chen “tom60229” Wei Lin dropped both of his games this week to put him in second at 5-3. He shares this record with Jang “Dawn” Hyun Jae and Euneil “Staz” Javiñas.
DawN is on a hot streak, taking down tom in a 2:0 set this week. Tom tried to win a game with his Control Warrior, queuing it twice, but lost to both DawnN’s OTK Paladin and Combo Priest.
Europe Region
In Europe’s Division A, Casper “Hunterace” Notto’s undefeated run finally came to an end this week against Joffrey “Swidz” Cunat. Hunterace is still a game in the lead at 7-1, as Aleksandr “Kolento” Malsh also dropped a game this week and is now 6-2.
Hunterace was actually swept in his set against Swidz. He tried twice with his Control Warrior to get a win, but lost to both Quest Druid and Combo Priest. It’s unusual for Hunterace to not protect Priest, and it was appropriately banned by Swidz.
Over in Division B, the race for first place is even tighter. Jaromír “Jarla” Vyskočil and Raphael “Bunnyhoppor” Peltzer are both 6-2, with Pavel “Pavel” Beltukov at 5-3 in third. Then three players trail right behind him at 4-4.
Pavel has been quite a streaky player this season. He started 3-0, then went to 3-3, and has won his last two in a row to hit 5-3. He swept first place Jarla this week with his OTK Paladin over Combo Priest, and then Combo Priest over OTK Paladin.
Chris “Fenomeno” Tsakopoulos also finally broke through with his first win this week to reach a 1-7 record. He still sits in last, but might now start to get the ball rolling.
Seiko Controversy
Linh “Seiko” Nguyen has dropped 6 games in a row to fall to a 2-6 record, and has Hearthstone fans angered by his actions on stream this week. He was participating in a Dota Auto Chess Qualifier while playing his match this week.
Blizzard actually did not deny him this opportunity. Seiko tried to get his matches for the week rescheduled, but that did not happen. So, Seiko attracted by the large prize pool of the other tournament and lack of “job security” in Hearthstone Esports, did what he could to help himself.
Either way the distraction led him to a very bad misplay which cost him a match.
Americas Region
Facundo “Nalguidan” Pruzzo is still number one in Division A at 6-2. Two players trail him at 5-2, Edward “Gallon” Goodwin and Eddie “Eddie” Lui. Nalguidan split his matches this week, so he couldn’t increase his lead.
Gallon won both of his sets this week, including a 2:0 sweep of James “Firebat” Kostesich to pass him up in the standings. Everyone has been trying to win with Control Warrior, as Firebat is another player who went down fighting in both games with the deck. Firebat has a twist on his version, trying to squeeze Zeprhys the Great into his list, and lost in the mirror to Gallon who is running a more standard version. He then lost to Gallon’s Quest Shaman.
David “justsaiyan” Shan has a two game lead in Division B at 7-1. Behind him are Brian “bloodyface” Eason and Frank “Fr0zen” Zhang at 5-2. Fr0zen won both of his matches this week including taking one off bloodyface 2:1 to take second place by tiebreaker.
Only three weeks remain in Hearthstone Grandmasters and the playoff runs will definitely come down to the very last matches.
Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment via their official website and the PlayHearthstone Twitch channel.
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