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It wasn’t the European bloodbath of day one, but day two of the Hearthstone World Championship proved to be just as unpredictable as the first, with several fan favourites sent packing early.
Some outrageous play in the winner’s matches, however, ensured fans left the venue thoroughly entertained.
The first match of the day saw fan-favourite Anthony “Ant” Terevino face off against Russia’s Aleksey “ShtanUdachi” Barsukov. Ant brought out the Murloc Paladin first to combat Highlander Priest, but after neither Gentle Megasaur gave Ant the buffs he needed, he succumbed to ShtanUdachi’s Shadowreaper pretty quickly.
Ant was able to tie the series though, with a very clutch Savage Roar draw allowing him to break through a Bonemare-buffed Blaine Bloodhoof and get the lethal damage he needed, before ShtanUdachi retook the lead with an amazing comeback in game three, where Ant scored Prince Keleseth and two Shadowsteps in his mulligan.
The Russian was able to finish it off in the next round, after a draw of Spreading Plague at his most desperate moment allowed his Jade Druid to turn the tables once more on the Murloc Paladin.
Group C action continued with Canada’s Ryan “Purple” Murphy-Root taking on Germany’s Thomas “Sintolol” Zimmer. Purple looked to be cruising early, after his lethal Pirate combo overcame a strong Blizzard from Sintolol’s Control Mage to claim the first game, before he took a 2-0 lead after knocking off the Highlander Priest with his Aggro Druid.
But Sintolol wasn’t done, using an absurd concoction of Inner Fire and Divine Spirit to create a 44/44 minion and, unsurprisingly, win that game, before his smart board building as Druid allowed him to overcome a Shadowreaper Anduin and tie the series 2-2.
The decider pitched Sintolol’s Mage – one of just two such decks at the tournament – against Purple’s Priest. Sintolol used his Frost Lich Jaina to great effect, as Purple’s Shadowreaper Anduin stayed buried in the deck until far too late in a frustrating loss for the Summer Championship semi-finalist.
Sintolol soaks up his considerable crowd support. (Photo: Helena Kristiansson / Blizzard Entertainment)
Group D got underway shortly after, and it was Korea’s Kim “Surrender” Jung-soo who jumped out to the early lead over China’s Zheng “OmegaZero” Lin. Some strong combos as Tempo Rogue saw him inflict serious burst with a 9/9 Edwin VanCleef in the first round, before he went 2-0 up after an insurmountable wall of Taunt generated by Skull of the Man’ari, Voidlords and Bloodreaver Gul’dan got his Warlock over the line.
An Aggro Druid mirror match in round three went OmegaZero’s way to get the series back to 2-1, before he was able to tie the series next round after poor midgame draw doomed Surrender’s Aggro Druid to ineffectiveness.
But Surrender was able to avoid the reverse sweep, with his Aggro Druid deck finally coming through – picking apart OmegaZero’s Murloc Paladin in something of an anticlimactic decider.
The group stage then concluded for the championship with the final Group D game – between the USA’s Frank “Fr0zen” Zhang and Ukraine’s Eugene “Neirea” Shumilin. Neirea’s decision to ban Fr0zen’s Mage deck was a talking point, and after Fr0zen made light work of the first two matches, it looked to be his undoing.
The Dragon Priest tore through Neirea’s Tempo Rogue with ease in the first match, before the Cube Warlock – the most commonly banned deck at the tournament – proved even more lethal in the second.
Neirea was able to get back to 2-1 down after successfully disrupting Fr0zen’s Jade Druid deck with an Aggro Druid of his own, but Fr0zen closed out the 3-1 win in the next game after a superb comeback with the Jade Druid against the Rogue.
That brought us to the elimination matches, and first up was a bittersweet matchup between two of Hearthstone’s fan favourites – Ant and Purple.
Ant’s Aggro Druid looked to be in control in the first game, but – like his first game against ShtanUdachi – a clutch card draw by his opponent was his undoing.
On this occasion it was a Swashburglar gifting Purple a Keeper of the Grove, allowing him to silence a troublesome Crypt Lord and turn the match around. The next match was a similar story, with two Deathrattle card draws gifting Purple Shadowreaper Anduin and Raza, the Chained on the same turn.
Ant’s Aggro Druid then ran out of petrol for the third and final time, with a lethal combo of Living Mana and Savage Roar helping Purple’s Aggro Druid claim the win and a 3-0 series sweep.
Purple ponders his next move. (Photo: Helen Kristiansson / Blizzard Entertainment)
Neirea got cheeky in the first round of his elimination match against OmegaZero, but it was OmegaZero who ended up having the last laugh.
After OmegaZero’s Shadowreaper Anduin turned out to be, unfortunately, the very last card in his deck, Neirea went on the offensive with a stack of Voidforms. To the crowd’s initial confusion, he willingly left his opponent with one HP, but all that meant was OmegaZero died at the start of his next turn from fatigue.
That savagery was as good as it got for the Ukrainian however, with OmegaZero tying the match with a comeback from two HP in the next round, before taking a 2-1 lead with perhaps the best Murloc Paladin synergy of the tournament so far in round three.
Neirea started the fourth game with the ascendancy courtesy of some strong Tempo Rogue pressure, but again it was Shadowreaper Anduin turning the game around and allowing OmegaZero to progress with the 3-1 series win.
Day two saved, by far, its best until the end – with both winner’s match series proving the best viewing of the day.
Sintolol and ShtanUdachi traded rounds early, with Sintolol’s Frost Lich Jaina putting up too many defensive traps to overcome in the first game, before ShtanUdachi’s Tempo Rogue boxed the Jade Druid into a corner to take game two.
But it was Sintolol who progressed to the quarterfinals after two applause-inducing plays saw him go on to claim a 3-1 win.
Back-to-back Ultimate Infestations for ShtanUdachi looked to have Sintolol’s Jade Druid on the back foot late, but his decision to play Nourish late gave him enough firepower to deal 27 damage in one turn – the exact amount he needed to claim a stunning victory.
The Dragon Combo Priest got perhaps the biggest crowd reaction of the day later on, however, after he used Twilight Acolyte to swap the HP and attack of the opposing Fandral Staghelm, who he then used Potion of Madness on to rip ShtanUdachi’s board apart.
The most enthralling of series of the day then came at the very end, with Fr0zen and Surrender slugging out an incredible five-game series worthy of a championship final.
The first game took almost a full half hour, with Fr0zen’s massive armour looking a sure bet to keep his Jade Druid alive. But Lyra the Sunshard gave Surrender both Forbidden Shaping and Free from Amber – and from those spells he managed to secure both Alexstrasza and Deathwing in a dumbfounding turn of events.
Surrender at the post-match press conference. (Photo: Helena Kristiansson / Blizzard Entertainment).
Surrender looked a sure bet to double his lead in the second round after buffing his Edwin VanCleef to 10/10 on turn three, but Fr0zen was able to get the Jade Golems rolling for his Druid deck and fight back to claim the win.
Fr0zen ended up getting ahead in the best-of-five after a miserable early draw proved too much to overcome for Surrender’s Tempo Rogue, but the Korean was able to force a decider after a Mark of the Lotus on a full board of Living Mana saw him get the lethal damage before Fr0zen could get the big Demons on the board.
Surrender started the decider in fine form after drawing Prince Keleseth and Shadowstep in his mulligan, and from there it was smooth sailing. His decision to play Bonemare on its own seemed like a misstep at first, but its devaluing of the Golakka Crawler allowed him to play Southsea Deckhand on the next turn and get exactly the 11 damage he needed.
The business end of the competition gets underway tomorrow, with the four decider matches between winners of the elimination matches and losers of the winner’s matches, with the quarterfinals to follow immediately after.