At BlizzCon 2019, Brian “bloodyface” Eason and Gao “RNGLeaoh” Yang battled it out for a spot in the Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals. In a best-of-five, the chance to earn the lion’s share of $500,000 was also at stake.
For game one, bloodyface brought Quest Shaman into the battlefield against RNGLeaoh’s Highlander Paladin deck. It was the right decision on bloodyface’s part, as he high rolled Octosari for his board. By turn five, he was able to push face damage. RNGLeaoh conceded, unable to deal with his opponent’s board.
The second game featured bloodyface’s Quest Druid against Highlander Paladin. Faced against RNGLeaoh’s several Secrets on the field, bloodyface was put in a tight spot and had to make tough decisions. With Avenging Wrath, however, RNGLeaoh hit lethal and won game two.
Tied 1-1, both players had an intense game three. While bloodyface played Quest Druid again, his opponent used Token Shaman.
By bloodyface’s turn five, he had to face a board of RNGLeaoh’s sticky minions. By only hitting his opponent’s Taunt Totem via Malfurion’s Hero Power, bloodyface was able to complete his Druid Quest. In the next few turns, bloodyface respected RNGLeaoh’s potential of having Bloodlust in his hand. Meanwhile, RNGLeaoh read that bloodyface did not have board clear cards like Swipe and Starfall.
On the turn that RNGLeaoh drew Soul of the Murloc, he played it, giving his minions Deathrattle. Right after, however, his opponent finally drew into Starfall. He then played Nourish before clearing the board with his AOE. Without a card like Evolve, RNGLeaoh was in a rough spot on his turn nine against his opponent’s turn 10. When bloodyface played Kun the Forgotten King, it was game over for his opponent.
As for game four, RNGLeaoh used Tempo Rogue against Combo Priest. By turn six, RNGLeaoh drew out the rest of his deck. Thanks to Shadowstep and Questing Adventurer, he hit bloodyface for lethal.
Game five was the deciding match to see who would face Xiaomeng “VKLiooon” Li in the final Hearthstone match. While bloodyface used Combo Priest, RNGLeaoh brought out Token Shaman. Against his opponent’s board, RNGLeaoh played Spirit of the Frog and tried to find an answer. However, it was in vain, as his opponent drew several of his combo pieces using Circle of Healing. Bloodyface won the game using Divine Spirit and Inner Fire.
