Months of competition and one last chance qualifier have decided who will be competing in the Hearthstone World Championship regional qualifiers.
The tournament will feature 40 players in a double elimination bracket over the next two weekends for their respective regions: the top 23 performers in standings resulting from a mix of tournament and ladder play, the Fireside Gathering winner, and 16 players from the last-call qualifier.
Among the top eight North American players from the standings are the Archon trio of defending champion James “Firebat” Kostesich, Jason “Amaz” Chan, and Paul “Zalae” Nemeth. They will be joined by such names as ESL Legendary Series winner Austin “SilentStorm” Li and Jeffrey “Trump” Shih, all of whom will get to skip the first two rounds of the qualifying event.
In Europe, Aleksandr “Kolento” Malsh, Adrian “Lifecoach” Koy, and Dima “Rdu” Radu are among the top players in the rankings.
Jung-Soo “Surrender” Kim dominated the standings in Korea, finishing on 511 points—the most of any player worldwide. Players such as James “Greensheep” Luo and Cong “StrifeCro” Shu will be among those looking to return to the World Championships after having qualified for the year’s biggest Hearthstone tournament last year.
In each region, the top eight players will advance to an offline Regional Championship in October. The European event will be held in Prague, while the North American players will be headed to San Francisco.
Photo via Blizzard
