Gaming
Gaming
The underdogs of the Hearthstone Winter Playoffs
Tournament competition is ripe for surprises and some of these players could unseat the top dogs.
Competing for a spot at the Winter Championships
© Blizzard
Whether it’s Rocky Balboa or the Average Joe’s gym in Dodgeball, there’s something inherently human about supporting the underdog. The chance that the little guy gets one over the big name is the sort of startling event that thrills and excites; it suggests that anyone, even us sitting at home watching, can defy expectations and be right along with them.
The forthcoming Hearthstone Championship Tour Winter Playoffs will decide the lucky few who get to jet off to the Bahamas and ping digital fireballs at each other for huge sums of money. The Chinese contingent has already been decided, with Zheng ‘OmegaZero’ Lin, XHope, Bohan ‘Lovelychook’ Zhang and ‘Lvge’ all with their seats booked and swimming trunks packed.
Over the next few weekends we’ll find out which players from the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific will be joining them. Some big names will be vying for a spot, some of whom will be worth keeping an eye on in the coming year of Hearthstone competition.
However, while all heads are turned in one direction, these are some of the players that could surprise or cause an upset and nab that spot on the beach from right under their noses.
George ‘BoarControl’ Webb
There are moments some players fight through that define them, that give them the confidence to play their game without fear or worry because it just feels like something otherworldly is on their side for one day. The standout moment for BoarControl came during his win at the ESL UK Premiership in 2016 when he fought back one game away from defeat and through two best-of-seven series to claim the title. The stakes will certainly be raised come the HCT Playoffs, but that high pressure experience should temper his nerves and set BoarControl in good stead for qualification.
Raphael ‘BunnyHoppor’ Peltzer
Edwin ‘HotMEOWTH’ Cook
Fran ‘PNC’ Leimontas
South America’s most successful and strongest-looking player, the Argentinian PNC is in the best spot to upset the North American players who consistently dominate the hemisphere. Recently, he was the only South American player to reach the elimination stages of WESG 2016 and found himself streets ahead in the group stages of Copa America Winter 2017. His semi-final opponent, Thiago ‘Coglorin’ Pontes, would go on to win that tournament, but expect to see PNC go far again in the play offs.
Eugene ‘Neirea’ Shumilin
The Ukrainian from Team Liquid has struggled over the last couple of years to build upon his breakout showing in 2015 when he came runner-up in the European Championships. That sealed qualification for the World Championships, but he was unable to move past the opening rounds and finished bottom of his group. Things could be looking up for Neirea, though, as he burst into 2017 with a strong performance at WESG, topping his qualification group and then reaching the quarter finals. A deep run in the play offs could be the next step.
Wei Lin ‘tom60229’ Chen
Back in 2014, tom60229 made the World Championships after claiming first place at the Taiwan Qualifier, but failed to win a game in his group and remained quiet ever since. He’s another player to see a recent resurgence, though, taking first at the Malaysia Major and finishing second on the Winter HCT points standings for the Asia-Pacific region. All eyes will be on Il-Mook ‘handsomeguy’ Kang and Kim ‘Che0nsu’ Cheonsu for qualification from there, which gives the alphanumeric player from Tawain a chance to sneak in alongside them.
Justin ‘ChongGEr’ Chong
Making regular appearances at the Asia-Pacific Majors in 2016, ChongGEr can be considered one of the best players in the region not to make a World Championship Finals. Staz, and fellow underdog nominee, tom60229, have stood in his way of glory in the past, but it’s about time that changed. Now with M8 Gaming, the Malaysian has the opportunity to finally break the curse with qualification for the Winter Championships.
Frank ‘leadpaint’ Kissick
When a player turns up and beats Orange, Trump and rayc to secure a major tournament victory, that’s when you need to pay attention. At the recent ONOG Major at PAX South, leadpaint did just that without so much as breaking a sweat. His deck choices mostly played up to the meta with a few cheeky tech cards thrown in to mix things up (hello Beneath the Grounds and Burgly Bully!) that surely caught some of his opponents by surprise. With a dose of that creativity and the confidence from a big win behind him, the Winter playoffs may have come along at just the right time for leadpaint to make a dash for the Championships.
For more eSports coverage, follow @RedBulleSports on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
