After a full day of Mage, Priest, Warlock and Druid matchups, Hearthstone Grandmasters Week 4 Day 2 concluded with the semifinals. Like the previous week, the specialist format was in effect. Players selected one class and created decks with card variations.
Asia-Pacific region
Ishibashi “posesi” Wataru and Kim “che0nsu” Cheonsu started off the day with Mage versus Druid decks. During the midgame, che0nsu had a full board of buffed minions. However, posesi didn’t give in and managed to clear the board. Then he played Runed Orb into two Refreshing Spring Water cards, which drew into Flamestrike for the full board clear.
Although che0nsu won the next game with buffed minions, it wasn’t enough, as posesi obtained a score of 2-1 in the final game.
Next, it was a Druid mirror match between Pa “GivePLZ” Yu Hsin and Chung “blitzchung” Ng Wai. Both players fought for board development, and blitzchung came out on top with a 2-0 sweep.
When it was Li “TIZS” Ching Li versus Liu “Shaxy” Wei-Chieh, the latter player won the first game against Priest with the help of two Runed Orb spells, a Fireball to the face and minions for lethal damage. In the next game, TIZS tied up the score when his opponent went into fatigue. Shaxy achieved victory in the final clash between them.
The final matchup for the Asia-Pacific was a battle between Poramet “Bankyugi” Putchakan and Chiang “Alan870806” Shih-Hsun. Both competitors brought Priest into the fray, with Bankyugi going 2-0 against his opponent. This meant he earned a place in the semifinals alongside posesi, blitzchung and Shaxy.
Europe’s semifinalists
As for Hearthstone Grandmasters Europe, the majority of competitors played the Mage class.
First up was a Mage mirror match between Martin “Zhym” Prête and Jaromír “Jarla” Vyskočil. While Jarla won the first game, his opponents tied the score in the next one.
When it all came down to the tiebreaker, Jarla played Skull of Gul’dan and drew into Runic Carvings. This summoned four 2/2 Treant Totems on his side of the board. After playing Gift of Luminance to further develop his board, Jarla went face with Mask of C’Thun and Fireball.
Later, Zhym had to juggle between using his spells to either go face or clear his opponent’s minions. It was soon over when Jarla played Solarian Prime, which cast Runed Orb and Fireball for lethal.
Two more rounds of Mage victories followed up Jarla’s win. Radu “Rdu” Dima’s gameplay swept Thijs “Thijs” Molendijk 2-0 in a Mage mirror match. Meanwhile, the same happened in the matches between Enzo “Warma” Floch and Elias “Bozzzton” Sibelius. The latter player’s Mage class defeated his opponent’s Priest 2-0.
As for Linh “Seiko” Nguyen versus Zakarya “xBlyzes” Hail, it was another duel between Mage decks. The latter player won the first game with the help of Fireball and a ping to the face. However, Seiko brought it back in the following game. When it was time for the tiebreaker, it was Seiko who achieved victory. This earned him a place in the semifinals alongside Jarla, Rdu and Bozzzton.
Hearthstone Grandmasters Americas
Ramiro “Rami94” Ponce and Muzahidul “muzzy” Islam duked it out first in the next region. While Rami chose Warlock as his class, his opponent went with Priest.
In the first game, Rami94 became Lord Jaraxxus and summoned 6/6 minions. In response, muzzy played Blademaster Samuro coupled with Apotheosis and Nightmare for the board clear. Muzzy also pushed damage to his opponent’s face. Rami94 played Twisting Nether to get rid of the threats to face next turn.
Muzzy then put a couple of minions on his side of the board before playing Mindrender Illucia. The card swapped hands with his opponent until his next turn. After the switch, Rami94 played Solarian Prime, but the card did not cast any damage to his opponent’s face. Soon after, muzzy earned the first point when his opponent lost to fatigue damage.
Although muzzy won the first game, Rami94 brought it back in the following one. Rami94 then achieved another victory in the tiebreaker. With a score of 2-0, he earned a spot in the semifinals.
Up next, Frank “Fr0zen” Zhang fought against Luna “lunaloveee” Eason in a Priest mirror match, with the latter player sweeping her opponent 2-0. When Jerome “Monsanto” Faucher clashed against Davi “Fled” Garcia in a Mage versus Warlock matchup, Fled came out on top with the same score of 2-0.
As for Shuntian “DreadEye” Luo versus Facundo “Nalguidan” Pruzzo, the latter player’s Mage deck did a full sweep against his opponent’s Priest. Nalguidan made it to the Hearthstone Grandmasters Week 4 semifinals alongside Rami94, lunaloveee and Fled.
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