Hoej dominates first rounds of the DreamHack Winter Grand Prix

The DreamHack Winter Hearthstone Grand Prix has narrowed its field from 200 to just eight, and one player in particularly is looking unstoppable.

With $40,000 and the first points for the 2016 Hearthstone Championship Tour up for grabs, players came to Sweden from countries all over the world, including the U.S., Korea, China, the U.K., and Australia.

Frederik “Hoej” Nielsen of Na`Vi posted a perfect 9-0 match score across the initial Swiss rounds before beating World Championship finalist Hakjun “Kranich” Baek 3-0 in the round of 16. With 31 game wins and just one loss, Nielsen looks practically unstoppable. He will face double major winner Jon “Orange” Westberg in the quarterfinals tomorrow.

The sole non-European player in the top eight is another World Championship finalist, Ryan “Purple” Murphy-Root. The GamersOrigin ace had a disappointing performance in the World Championship, where he was considered a favorite by some. He will clash with SK Gaming‘s Esteban “AKAWonder” Serrano in the quarterfinals tomorrow.

DreamHack Valencia champion James “Greensheep” Luo also fought his way to the top eight where he will face unknown German “Borss.” Ersee and Torlk will meet in the final quarterfinal, with the winner going on to a semifinal against either Nielsen or Westberg.

The winner will take home the lion’s share of $40,000, and 30 Championship Tour points.

Image via DreamHack/Flickr