HCT Winter playoffs begin with the European region next week. This will be the last chance that players have to qualify through playoffs for the World Championship. Top players in HCT Winter Season are ready for their chance at the Winter Championship.
Europe
Europe is first on the chopping block for their playoffs which start next week. The others playoffs happening in subsequent weeks thereafter.
Linh “Seiko” Nguyen and Casper “Hunterace” Notto are the number one and two points holders for the European region as of Season Three. Hunterace currently holds the most points for the year in Europe and will qualify for the World Championship via that means. However, he also hopes to qualify via the Winter Playoffs, which gives the next in line a chance to qualify.
Trailing a few points behind in the number three spot is compLexity’s Kevin “Casie” Eberlein. He went to three Tour Stops in October where he had back-to-back top four finishes at HCT Singapore and HCT Orange County. Last month he also finished top four in the Master Monthly Cup.
Another player from Europe that should really be noted is Red Reserve’s Elias “Bozzzton” Sibelius. He is actually eighth in points for Season Three but has been making his way to a lot of Tour Stops to compete. He played in three tournaments in December where he finished in the top four at HCT Winter, as well as top four in the Master Monthly Cup.
Americas
Following Europe, the Americas region will have their Winter Playoffs.
In first and third place for Season Three points standings are David “JustSaiyan” Shan and Brian “bloodyface” Eason. Both of these players qualified for the World Championship in the Fall Championship. JustSaiyan is currently the Americas yearly points leader and leaves the points qualifying spot open to someone else.
Jerome “Monsanto” Faucher is number two in HCT Points for Season Three. He is a very consistent player but hasn’t put on too many strong showings in Tour Stops. His best finishes are when he placed second at HCT Buenos Aires in August and put in a top eight finish at HCT Orange County in October. His big opportunity will be the Winter Playoffs.
Eddie “Seohyun628” Lui has been grinding as of late and is currently fifth in HCT points for Season Three. He won HCT Atlanta in November and finished sixth in the Monthly Master Cup in December. He absolutely has to perform in Winter Playoffs for a chance at a World Championship seat. Seohyun has shown he can compete with and beat the best.
Asia-Pacific
The last region to hold their Winter Playoffs will be the Asia-Pacific region. They will have all of the intelligence from the previous playoffs and will be the most prepared.
Tyler “Tyler” Hoang Nguyen recently moved from the Netherlands to Vietnam. He went from the most competitive region on the planet and playing well, to the Asia-Pacific region where he immediately shot to the top.
Not too many players from this region get the opportunity to go to a lot of Tour Stops and Tyler had that chance. He was also able to perform really well in those stops. He is an absolute favorite to finish in the top four for the Asia-Pacific Winter Playoffs.
The other hottest player in the Asia-Pacific region is the Taiwanese player Wu “BloodTrail” Zong-Chang. He currently sits at number two in HCT points for Season Three behind Tyler. He qualified for the World Championship in Fall and just won the All-Star Invitational that occurred in Taiwan.
The first of the playoffs will start next week on January 12 with the Europe region.
Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment via their official website.
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other TGH writers along with Gino!