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esports
Bequiet talks about winning the first HCT Tour Stop of 2018
Bequiet surprised many by claiming his first major competitive Hearthstone win at the first HCT Tour Stop of 2018. We talk to the underdog to learn about his unique esports career and future plans.
Andrej 'Bequiet' Traudt hasn't had a chance to celebrate his win yet. Since becoming the champion of the year's first HCT Tour Stop, he's travelled across Germany, from Krefeld to Hanover to Hamburg, in the space of two days without pause. Why? To attend a training course for his full-time job. Right now, he's in a hotel room grinding the Hearthstone ladder in order to reach Legend rank on both the EU and NA servers. It's a hectic start to the year for someone who wanted to take a step back from Hearthstone in 2018.
At 29-years-old, he's on the upper side of the age bracket for the game's competitive players, too, though that should'’t have much impact on finding success in the game. Just look at DocPwn, who made it to last year's world championships in a similar situation. Still, for Bequiet, the idea of winning HCT Germany wasn't at the forefront of his mind.
"Going into the tournament I was like, 'I'm in the top 16, that's okay for me, it's fine'," Bequiet says. "Even if I got into the top eight it would be a big surprise for me, because I had Jack ‘J4CKIECHAN’ Hutton and Rodrigo 'Pern' Barbosa in my group. They're both really good players known for their streams and playing in big tournaments.
"I was the underdog the whole time," he says. "It was like, I've won already, let's have some fun, play the game and enjoy it."
Bequiet did more than just that. He qualified from his group in first place, beating the two players he feared the most along the way, too. Jaromír 'Jarla' Vyskočil and ‘Glaser’ were then dispatched in the first two rounds of the playoffs, before he swept Casper ‘Hunterace’ Notto 3–0 in the final. The victory has not only given him the biggest tournament win of his career, and a handsome prize pot, but also 15 HCT points that will significantly boost his chances to qualify for this season's prelims.
"I was happy with my performance – I'm a full-time worker and the first HCT Tour Stop champion, it's really surprising. I can't believe it still, it's really a whole other world right now. All these people are acknowledging me in the online world and so, yeah, I'm trying to enjoy it."
Until now, Bequiet has had a quiet Hearthstone career. Multiple appearances at many small-to-midsize tournaments have yielded few standout results so this is a major first step for the underdog. In fact, Hearthstone wasn't even the first game he played competitively. Back when he was a teenager, Bequiet began playing FIFA, before his apprenticeship meant he had to postpone his hopes of an esports career. DOTA and Heroes of Newerth pulled him back in, but it was the TCG boom that fully reignited his passion.
"My first game was the Pokémon TCG. I started playing it, searching for tournament decks, but I felt it could be more. Then Hearthstone came out in beta, and when I started playing I was trying to hit Legend, as everyone did, watching streams and learning from that."
"I had a break for a year, and three years ago I started playing Hearthstone again, and I easily hit Legend. I don't know why. When I started playing tournaments and playing competitively, I was actually winning," he says. "I saw I could go to other tournaments or even make it to offline events, and then I started playing it more and more. I think my progress in three years has been pretty good."
Bequiet's first big win comes at an interesting and turbulent time for the game too. A few weeks ago was the release of the latest balance update, which nerfed a number of the most powerful cards in the current meta, such as Patches the Pirate and Corridor Creeper. Essentially, a couple of competitive decks were considered completely unviable for tournaments so many players had the unique challenge of devising new lineups, and tweaking their strategies in a short time frame, including Bequiet.
Bequiet faced some tough matches in the playoffs
© TakeTV
"I like to play aggro and mid-range style decks, so that really affected me hard," he explains. "I had some ideas for lineups before the patch came out, and I was thinking which decks I could bring, and which I could test. At first, I was testing aggro decks, and it felt OK. I also won some tournaments, but I wasn't happy bringing aggro because I felt like it wasn’t the safe line.
"Elias ‘Bozzzton’ Sibelius brought a full aggro lineup, but after playing more and more on the first and second day, I felt like aggro wasn't the way to go for this tournament. Murloc Paladin was in all my lineup ideas, because I feel really comfortable with it. It was on the Thursday before we had to leave that I had an idea of a lineup with Control Mage, Cubelock, Big Priest and Murloc Paladin. I wanted to counter aggro decks and Combo Dragon Priest, which were really popular at the time."
It ended up being a solid deck list among a confused and experimental group of players. Amazingly, HCT Germany was one of the first major Hearthstone tournaments in recent memory to feature representation from all nine of the game's classes. Even if the off-meta choices of Warrior, Shaman and Hunter didn't really excel, that diversity must show that the balance changes were good for the health of the competitive game – and potentially, the viewing experience.
"I think it's too early to say," suggests Bequiet. "I don't know if it's just because we're at the start so we'll have to watch other Tour Stops. But, maybe for now, I can say it's a good step in the right direction to nerf these aggro cards because Patches was nearly in every aggro deck. Corridor Creeper and Bonemare were also in every aggro deck since they came out. Both of those two cards were pushing aggro so hard so you have to nerf it – maybe a little bit earlier, though.
"I felt like the patch was good for me because we all had to start at the same point. All top 16 players had to start at the same point, and research new decks so, yeah, I like the changes."
Bequiet still needs to properly celebrate his win
© TakeTV
Putting Bequiet's win down to just the uncertainty of the game's meta would do too much to discredit what he's achieved, though, especially as a player who's juggling a full-time job and other life commitments. With this win, then, many would suggest that Bequiet's Hearthstone career is on the rise, but he's not willing to fully commit just yet.
"At the beginning of the year, I said I wanted to take a step back from Hearthstone. I have a girlfriend and I want to spend more time with her so I wanted to take a step back. I saw the tournaments and I said 'let's play them just casually'," he says.
"After the win, I'm trying to go to prelims. I'm trying to qualify for it because I have a big boost with the 15 points. I'm going for it, and then we're going to see what happens. I don't know still, as I have to talk with my girlfriend. She always supports me, though. I'm really happy I have her."
As a game, Hearthstone loves to promote the stories of underdogs climbing up into the ranks of pro play. It's still not easy, considering the frequent tournaments and intense monthly ladder grind that goes with it. While that balance is difficult for many players to maintain, Bequiet is another example in a long list of Hearthstone players who break the mold of what we expect from an esports star.
