After a group of mostly unknown players triumphed in the Hearthstone European Winter Championship preliminaries, things are looking a little more familiar across the pond.
Among the eight players who will compete for a share of $80,000 a spot in the Hearthstone 2016 Global Finals are representatives of some of the game’s top teams.
Keaton “Chakki” Gill of Team Dignitas and Team Archon’s 15 year-old prodigy William “Amnesiac” Barton will both represent their teams in the finals as the only players actually signed to organizations.
Enigmatic high legend player and Warrior savant “Fibonacci” also made the the top eight, meaning he will make his first ever appearance at a live event. China’s “Wtybill” will also take part in the Winter Finals, having made a number of appearances in major events in his home country.
Barton has been touted by some as a player to watch in 2016 after his appearance in the Red Bull Team Brawl, and he lived up to lofty expectations in winning his spot. After losing to eventual qualifier “Talion,” Barton fought his way through players like Andrew “TidesofTime” Biessener and Andrew “kitkatz” Deschanel to claim his spot.
Deschanel, Biessener, Nathan “ThatsAdmirable” Zamora and Ryan “Purple” Murphy-Root were among the experienced players who failed to make the cut, coming within just a match or two of qualification.
Image via DreamHack/Flickr
