As the qualifiers for the Hearthstone World Championship roll on, some of North America’s top players have found themselves on the wrong end of early upsets.
Cong “StrifeCro” Shu, George “Hyped” Maganzini and David “Dog” Caero have all dropped down to the lower bracket of the NA Hearthstone World Championship qualifier after losing in the initial rounds of the upper bracket.
Shu was defeated by Justin “JAB” Black of Team Hearthlytics, who has emerged as a real contender in North America following a strong showing in the Hearthstone Pro League (HPL). The loss for Maganzini came at the hands of well regarded Canadian player Dylan “Hotform” Mullins of ROOT Gaming.
With only 16 players left in the upper bracket, the top eight seeded players will now face the eight players left from the bracket. Archon’s Paul “Zalae” Nemeth of will face former team mate Ryan “Purple” Murphy-Root, while defending champion James “Firebat” Kostesich will face up and comer Victor “Vlps” Lopez. Those matches, and the rest of the round of 16, will be played tomorrow.
In the lower bracket, the stakes are now much higher. The losing players will be eliminated from the tournament and see their dreams of World Championship glory extinguished. Maganzini has one of the tougher tests, as he faces a Tempo Storm team kill with team founder Andrey “Reynad” Yanyuk. The lower bracket resumes later today.
Image via DreamHack/Flickr
