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Over the past weekend, the World E-sport Championships 2014 American Qualifier took place online. Seven American players as well as Liquidhearth’s Hong Kong-native, Amaz, competed for one of two spots in the WEC E-sport Championships in the Yellow Dragon Stadium in Hangzhou, China.
Quarterfinals
Team Liquid’s Amaz faced off versus Copenhagen Wolves’ Firebat in the first series. Firebat’s Naxxramas-fueled Hunter made short work of Amaz’s Handlock and Priest decks. Amaz climbed back into the series with his Ramp Druid deck before finally conceding the series to Firebat’s Shaman deck.
The ro8 also featured a series between Cloud 9’s Strifecro and Tempo Storm’s Reynad. Reynad took command in the first game with a Miracle triple-Leeroy versus Strifecro’s Paladin. In Game 2, Strifecro utilized Loatheb to clog Reynad’s hand, which allowed Strifecro to finish the game two turns later with Swipe. In Game 3, Strifecro’s Loatheb proved to be the deciding factor once again versus Reynad’s Control Warrior, as Reynad could not use his spell arsenal to dig himself out of a losing position. Reynad came back into the series with his Zoolock deck and forced the contest to Game 5. In Game 5, Reynad held the tempo early until Strifecro’s clutch Unleash the Hounds into Banana play. Unable to muster the hand to come back, Reynad dropped to the Losers’ Round.
The next series saw Curse’s Alchemixt face off against Mana Grind’s Realz. In Game 1, Alchemixt’s mid-range Hunter traded with Realz’s Druid well into the late stages until Alchemixt sealed the game with a Savannah Highmane, Houndmaster, and Kill Command combo. Realz came back into the series as his Control Paladin deck defeated Alchemixt’s Hunter and Control Warrior decks. Alchemixt’s Shaman deck sealed the series by taking out his opponent’s Paladin and Handlock decks.
Tempo Storm’s TidesOfTime faced off versus Dont Kick My Robot’s Brad in the final ro8 series. Brad’s Druid dealt easily with Tides’ Zoolock in the first game. However, in the following three games, Tides proved that he was the superior Druid as he performed the reverse sweep.
Semifinals
In the semifinals, Strifecro’s Control Paladin won against Firebat’s Hunter: Loatheb once again playing a huge part. In game two, Firebat bounced back with his Shaman deck. Strifecro countered with his Hunter deck in Game 3, which forced Firebat to his last deck, Druid. Firebat’s Druid made clinched the last two games and a spot in the Winners’ Finals.
The other semifinals series pitted Alchemixt versus TidesofTime. Alchemixt took complete control of the series as he swept Tides 3-0 with his Control Warrior deck.
Losers’ Round 1
Amaz and Reynad faced off to avoid elimination. Amaz’s turn one Coin, Innervate, and Chillwind Yeti combo took much of Reynad’s Hunter’s health in the early game. Reynad ultimately lost game one to a timeout on his last play. Reynad’s Zoolock dispatched Amaz’s Druid quickly in the following game. Reynad also took care of Amaz’s Handlock deck before Amaz tied up the series with his Paladin and a Banana-buffed Sludge Belcher. In the final game of the series, Reynad’s Control Warrior went the distance against Amaz’s Paladin. Reynad secured the game and the series off an amazing Deathwing play once Amaz ran out of cards in his deck and hand.
The other series in this round failed to prove as exciting since Realz swept Brad with his Handlock deck.
Losers’ Round 2
TidesofTime’s Hunter deck secured a quick 2-0 lead in the series until Reynad bounced back with his Hunter deck in Game 3. Tides finished the series with a Miracle Rogue victory and continued through to the next round of the qualifier.
Strifecro jumped to a 1-0 lead over Realz with his Token Druid deck in a drawn-out first game. Realz bounced back by securing the next two games with his Handlock deck. Strifecro then finished the series with a dominating Miracle Rogue deck.
Losers’ Round 3
TidesofTime illustrated the power of Zoolock as he swept StrifeCro’s Miracle Rogue, Token Druid, and Hunter decks to advance to the Losers’ Finals.
Winners’ Finals
Alchemixt’s Zoolock quickly rolled Firebat’s Heavy Ramp Druid, Shaman, and Hunter decks to procure the 3-0 sweep and a spot in the grand finals in China.
Losers’ Finals
The series kicked off with a Druid mirror match-up between TidesofTime and Firebat. Tides finished the game on turn nine with Savage Roar. In game 2, Firebat’s Hunter dispatched his opponent’s Druid, which resulted in a Hunter mirror for game 3. In game 3, Tides’ burst damage in the mid-game proved too much for Firebat. Tides’ Beast synergy continued into the final game against Firebat’s Shaman and secured for Tides a spot in the grand finals in China.
Final Match
The series between TidesofTime and Alchemixt began with a Zoolock mirror matchup. Tides retained control of the board throughout the game to secure the first win. Alchemixt attempted to come back in game two with Control Warrior but ultimately fell short. Alchemixt finally defeated Tides’ Zoolock with his Hunter deck. The following game featured a scrappy Hunter mirror-matchup that resulted with a Tides’ victory. In the final game, Alchemixt attempted to stay in the series with his Shaman deck. Unfortunately for him, he could not deal with Tides’ burst damage and Beast synergy and Tides reigned victorious in the Finals Match.
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