After the initial match winners for the Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals were determined, the BlizzCon stage was set for another round of intense games.
Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals Winner Match A: RNGLeaoh persists with Shaman
In the first Winners Match, Gao “RNGLeaoh” Yang duked it out against Kim “Surrender” Jung-soo. While RNGLeaoh brought Shaman Token to the game, Surrender had Quest Shaman. Near the end of the match, the latter player managed to push through RNGLeaoh’s taunt minion to win the game.
As for round two, it was Combo Priest versus Combo Priest, and thanks to Lightwarden, RNGLeaoh snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
The next game featured Surrender’s Combo Priest once again. However, this time, it was against RNGLeaoh’s Shaman deck. After a series of plays, Surrender conceded the game, allowing RNGLeaoh to advance to the next bracket.
Winner Match B: VKLiooon strongarms Fenomeno
Winner Match B of the Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals was Xiaomeng “VKLiooon” Li against Chris “Fenomeno” Tsakopoulos. In the first round, both players duked it out in an Evolve Shaman mirror match.
The game did not look good for Fenoomeno, as near the end of it, his hand was full of spells. By the next turn, VKLiooon was victorious by going face after playing Bloodlust.
In game two, VKLiooon played Explosive Trap around turn three, which made her opponent play around it for a few turns. During the game, when Fenomeno unleashed High Priest Amet onto the board, VKLiooon quickly did her best to lower its health. The game was won by VKLiooon after her opponent conceded.
#VKLiooon locks up a Semifinals spot after winning out over Fenomeno with Highlander Hunter!https://t.co/pNUVts8gsq pic.twitter.com/wnfksIlW00
— Hearthstone Esports (@HSesports) November 2, 2019
In the post-match interview, VKLiooon shared her thoughts about getting to play on the BlizzCon Hearthstone stage. She said she was very excited that it was happening, and it was as if she were dreaming. She added that China’s Hearthstone scene was very competitive this year, so she had practiced a lot. VKLiooon concluded the interview by saying that she hoped there will be more women in the competitive Hearthstone scene.
Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals Elimination Match A: Casie survives
The stakes were high in the next couple of elimination matches. Kevin “Casie” Eberlein started off with his Warrior deck against Francisco “PNC” Leimontas’ Quest Druid. By turn nine, Casie used Brawl and left PNC’s board with Mossy Horror. When Casie used his second Brawl, he was still unable to get Mossy Horror off the board. Even with Casie’s board clear thanks to Warpath, it was still not enough against PNC’s completed quest.
As for the second game, Casie used his Control Warrior deck again. Meanwhile, PNC had Combo Priest and a powerful opening hand. It consisted of Northshire Cleric, Beaming Sidekick, Power Word: Shield, and Injured Blademaster. Despite the strong opening, it was not enough to defeat Casie’s board control and board clear using Warpath and Dyn-o-matic.
In the final game between these players, PNC used Combo Priest against Casie’s Shaman deck. On Casie’s turn two, he got Imp Gang Boss thanks to Witchy Lackey. With Imp Gang Boss, he was able to dominate the board. Casie continued to have good board control when he played Mind Control Tech and took PNC’s Lightwarden on turn three. When Casie completed his quest on turn four, PNC tapped out.
Elimination Match B: Bloodyface lives
The second elimination match was just as intense as the first one. In the first game, Chen “tom60229” Wei Lin faced off against Brian “bloodyface” Eason. While tom60229 used Malygos Quest Druid, bloodyface had Quest Shaman. After bloodyface completed his quest, he drew into Barista Lynchen, which refilled his hand and offered him more value down the line.
While there was hope for tom60229 to make a swing turn with Nourish into Ferocious Howl, it was not enough against his opponent’s Weaponized Wasp and Kobold Lackey cards that pushed the final points of damage.
With their tournament lives on the line, both @bloodyfaceHS and @tom60229 are hitting powerful draw after powerful draw in this must win match!https://t.co/iePxxugiLt pic.twitter.com/KH7CAmwjSg
— Hearthstone Esports (@HSesports) November 2, 2019
In game two, both players started out strong. However, bloodyface dominated the rest of the game. After he played Zephrys the Great and received Pyroblast, it looked like game over for his opponent. When tom60229 ran out of cards and took fatigue damage that left him with only six health, he conceded the game.
The next set of matches for the Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals will resume on day two of BlizzCon 2019. Stay tuned here at Daily Esports for the results and details.
