A pro Hearthstone game somehow ended in a draw

Last weekend saw Hearthstone World Championship qualifiers take place all across the world. From Europe to North America to Korea to the Philippines and more, players fought for their chance at the big show. Hundreds of games were broadcast, and one ended improbably: with a draw.

The South East Asia finals were one of the biggest events the SEA Hearthstone scene has ever seen, with a large offline event in the Philippines. In the final it came down to Fade2Karma‘s Jan Marvin “Chalk” Zaldivar and “neilyo” of Vietnam, with only one player advancing to the Asia Pacific regional finals. 

With “neilyo” 1-0 up, his Druid was facing Zaldivar’s Hunter when something very unlikely happened.

Spotting a route to lethal damage, “neilyo” executed his turn finishing with a Swipe to exactly put the Hunter to zero. In doing so, however, he also killed Zaldivar’s Leper Gnome, causing lethal damage to himself in the same action. Both players’ heroes exploded, and the game ended in a surprising draw.

Whether “neilyo” spotted it or not is unclear. He had no chance to win the game, because if he hadn’t played the Swipe he would have died the next turn. A tie was his only option, and if this was done intentionally it was a pretty great play.

Either way, “neilyo” went on to win the replay of the game and the whole series, and will travel to Taipei next weekend for the Asia Pacific regional finals.

Image via Blizzard/YouTube

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