After securing one of the four spots in next month’s Hearthstone World Championship, Thijs “ThijsNL” Molendijk kept his momentum going by becoming the first Hearthstone champion of Europe.
After the four players had secured their World Championship spots, they played out a single elimination bracket for the European title and the $10,000 first prize.
Molendijk defeated teammate Adrian “Lifecoach” Koy 3-0 before beating Team Liquid’s Eugene “Neirea” Shumilin in the final to take the title. Though Koy and Sebastian “Ostkaka” Engwall are considered favorites for Blizzcon, Molendijk and Shumilin showed that they are no pushovers.
The win is only the second major title for Molendijk, after winning DreamHack Masters Bucharest last November. This will be his first appearance at the World Championships, after falling at the last hurdle in the 2014 European qualifiers where he lost to Aleksandr “Kolento” Malsh.
With Europe considered by many to be sending the strongest cohort to the World Championships, Molendijk’s victory over his counterparts will be considered a strong indication of form heading into the $250,000 event.
The European Championship final was the culmination of Blizzard’s two day Road to Blizzcon event in Prague, which also featured the regional championships for Heroes of the Storm and World of Warcraft.
Image via ESLHearthstone/Twitter