Gabriel “Gaby” Jeanne became the Hearthstone Masters Tour Orgrimmar champion after an exciting series of matches. He received the share of the prize pool alongside 22 Masters Tour Points that will go towards a chance at Grandmasters Season 2.
With this victory, Gaby also became the youngest champion of the series. Over 400 players duked it out against each other for the Masters Tour Orgrimmar champion title. There were players from over 45 countries who fought for first place.
Swiss rounds and top 16
Masters Tour Orgrimmar began on April 30 with five rounds of Swiss pairings. This was followed up by four more rounds of Swiss pairings on Saturday.
Gaby first faced off against Kyle “McBanterFace” Spigelman. While Gaby brought his Warrior deck into the fray, McBanterFace went with Rogue. Every bit of damage counted in the game, and Gaby earned the win after playing Alexstrasza the Life-Binder to deal exact lethal to his opponent’s face.
Afterwards, Gaby played his Mage deck against Warrior. He earned another point after his opponent bowed out against a board full of minions. McBanterFace was able to steal a point in a Rush Warrior mirror match, but Gaby brought it back in the next game with another Alexstrasza to the face.
After the completion of the Swiss rounds, the top 16 players for Masters Tour Orgrimmar advanced to the single-elimination playoff stage. Gaby was among this group, where he clashed against David “Frenetic” Quiñones.
Frenetic won the first game with his Warrior deck against Gaby’s Rogue. Although Gaby had an advantage over his opponent in terms of cards in his hand, it wasn’t enough as he didn’t have an answer for Frenetic’s board in the late game. Frenetic then earned another point in the Mage versus Mage mirror match.
At that point, Gaby brought his Mage deck back into the fray and won with the help of two Fireballs and a minion to the face. In Game 4, he obtained another point with the aid of the minions on his side of the board alongside eight face damage with his trusty Alexstrasza. The series was tied at 2-2.
It all came down to Game 5. While Gaby chose Warrior for this game, his opponent went with Rogue. Although Frenetic gathered resources at the start of the game, Gaby brought it back in the end with the help of E.T.C., God of Metal. The reverse sweep was complete and Gaby moved to the quarterfinals.
Quarterfinals and semifinals
During the quarterfinals, Gaby duked it out against Liu “RNGLys” Shuda. Gaby earned the win in Game 1 using a Priest deck into a Warrior match-up. He received another point in Game 2 with a Mage deck against a Paladin. Although RNGLys was able to stave off the sweep in the third match, Gaby closed it out yet again with the aid of Alexstrasza the Life-Binder to move onto the semifinals.
In Gaby’s next matchup, he had to go up against Zakarya “xBlyzes” Hail. The first game between them involved a Mage mirror match, with Gaby coming out on top. He won using a Mask of C’Thun and a ping to the face. Gaby continued with another victory in Game 2 using his Rogue deck
xBlyzes achieved victory in the following game in the Mage versus Warrior matchup, but it wasn’t enough as Gaby brought it back with his Warrior deck in the final game. Gaby played Blademaster Samuro at a pivotal moment, which helped clear his opponent’s side of the board.
Masters Tour Orgrimmar finals
When it came down to the finals, Gaby had to fight against Torben “Viper” Wahl. After both players clashed to a score of 2-2, it all came down to the deciding Game 5.
The Rogue versus Rogue matchup began with Gaby taking a lead in the early game thanks to Efficient Octo-bot. He then received card discounts by using Pen Flinger on his own minion. Viper, however, was able to stop the early aggression by clearing the board.
During the midgame, Gaby used Wand Thief and Shadow Step in order to increase the amount of resources in his hand. He received cards like Devolving Missiles, Arcane Intellect and Ice Barrier. When it was Viper’s turn, the player had to either clear the board or develop his own side of it. With the help of spells and a Pen Flinger, he was able to once again stop the bleeding. Viper later played Jandice Barov, which helped him regain some board control.
Gaby dug for cards using Arcane Intellect and drew into Olgra, Mankrik’s Wife. That wasn’t enough for lethal, so he played Devolving Missiles and Ice Barrier before ending his turn.
Viper had a board of minions, but no more cards in his hand. After hitting the Ice Barrier, he cleared a few minions and was left to topdeck for answers. Gaby did not relent as he played his own Jandice Barov to put on more pressure, which soon led to his win.
With a score of 3-2 against his opponent, Gaby became the Masters Tour Orgrimmar champion.
