Asia-Pacific is a region that covers a lot of land area. It is also a region that the world gets to see a decent amount of in competitive play. The region also produced 2017’s World Champion. Here is a talent overview for the four competitors from the Asia-Pacific region in the HCT Summer Championship.
Kenta “Glory” Sato
First we have Glory, on a team by the name of Rascal Kanteidan. He is one of two players from Japan in the Summer Championship.
He got to experience international play during the first and second tour stop of this year in Sydney and Taipei. Glory finished first in the Sydney qualifier, beating American Paul “Zalae” Nemeth on his way to victory. Unfortunately in Taipei, he bowed out after two rounds in the tournament but got to face off against the renowned Aleksandr “Kolento” Malsh.
The decks that got Glory to the Championship from the Asia-Pacific qualifier: Even Shaman, Even Paladin, Control Warlock and Control Priest. He is not bringing a single of the same archetype deck to the HCT Summer Championship. His even paladin deck featured a 4-mana Call to Arms, which has since been nerfed to 5-mana. Glory will play from Group D against Gao “Leaoh” Yang, David “killinallday” Acosta and Raphael “Bunnyhoppor” Peltzer.
Decks for HCT Summer: Taunt Druid, Miracle Rogue, Shudderwock Shaman, Cube Warlock
Shuhei “Tansoku” Omura
Tansoku is the second player from Japan. Though unlike Glory, he has never played anyone outside of
the Asia-Pacific region in tournament.
Tansoku is a very active YouTuber. He likes to try out lots of experimental decks on ladder and they seem to work despite not being in the meta. For the upcoming tournament, he’s not doing anything meta breaking, though. In the Asia-Pacific qualifier, he brought a Control Warlock and Even Paladin very similar to Glory. However, he did bring two unique lists in the form of Odd Warrior and Spiteful Druid.
His deck-lists for the HCT Summer Championship are completely different from the qualifier and along the lines of most of the other players. He will try to reach the quarterfinals from Group A versus Lucas “Rase” Romano, Wu “XiaoT” Jiwei and Torben “Viper” Wahl.
Decks for HCT Summer: Taunt Druid, Recruit Hunter, Miracle Rogue, Even Warlock
Jinsoo “Jinsoo” Park
Jinsoo is a Hearthstone player coming from South Korea. Definitely no stranger to international competition, and not even a stranger to Burbank, California.
Earlier this year Jinsoo played at the Hearthstone Wild Open and finished second. Said tournament took place at the same venue as the HCT Summer Championship. Without a doubt eyes will be on Jinsoo, a player skilled enough to compete at the highest level in two formats.
Jinsoo brought Quest Rogue and Even Paladin to the Asia-Pacific qualifier. Since then, both decks have seen key cards nerfed and as such Jinsoo has adjusted his Summer Championship lineup. Jinsoo has brought a very control oriented lineup. He will try his luck in Group C against Qu “Rugal” Yixian, Marco “Turna” Castiglioni and David “Dog” Caero.
Decks for HCT Summer: Control Mage, Control Priest, Miracle Rogue, Even Warlock
Wu “BloodTrail” Zong-Chang
Little is known about this last Asia-Pacific representative, other than Bloodtrail is good enough to make it to
the Summer Championship. For the player from Taiwan, it will be his first time abroad, looking to make a name for himself in the Hearthstone competitive scene.
Bloodtrail’s deck lineup for the Summer Championship is completely different than those he qualified with. This is mostly due to all the nerfs that Hearthstone had recently received. Making decks like Even Paladin, Quest Rouge, Control Warlock and Spiteful Druid less powerful than before. He will look to a tough Group B featuring Facundo “Nalguidan” Pruzzo, Kacper “A83650” Kwieciński and Li “YuYi” Daixiong.
Decks for HCT Summer: Taunt Druid, Recruit Hunter, Shudderwock Shaman, Even Warlock
Good luck to all the players from the Asia-Pacific region in the HCT Summer Championship.The next article will go over the players from the European region.
Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment via their official website.
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