Los Angeles, California is the location for the 2017 Hearthstone Summer Championship with 16 players – four each from the Europe Summer Championship, Americas Summer Championship, Gold Series 2017 Summer and Asia-Pacific Summer Championship – set to compete for a $60,000 first-place prize.
Pavel’s Strong Play Continues
In a continuation of his dominant end to 2016, Pavel is the first seed representing Europe for the 2017 Hearthstone Championship Summer Tour. Pavel has continued to display his brilliance ever since his victory at BlizzCon 2016, proving that despite being blessed with overwhelming good fortune, more than just luck played a factor in the win.
Given his length of stay at the top, Pavel has transcended multiple meta games, transitioning between both aggression and control. Look for Pavel to maintain his consistent form moving forward into the playoffs. The other well-known player qualifying from Europe is Orange, who won DreamHack Summer 2017 back in June. Orange is a very dangerous player, given his deep card-game background via Magic the Gathering. Europe has continually performed at these types of tournaments, with Orange hoping to continue that trend.
Purple the Top Seed out of the Americas
In the Americas Qualifier, PurpleDrank found himself as the first seed, dominating with Highlander Priest, Control Warlock, and Murloc Paladin. Purple is similar to Pavel in his consistency at the highest level, continually seeing play in top-tier events. While not having the same highs as Pavel, Purple’s ability to maintain such a high level over the years has been impressive. The surprise qualifier in America is YAYtears, who qualified by defeating one of the best players in all of Hearthstone, Amnesiac, in a 3-0 stomp.
Amnesiac failed to find a single win with Highlander Priest, one of the strongest decks throughout the tournament. Meanwhile, YAYtears displayed excellence in his understanding of when to play reserved and when to put it all on the line, something even the savviest of pros struggle with. YAYtears is one of the few players in America that brought Hunter into the tournament, keeping his opponents on their toes. YAYtears impressed by making it thus far, but questions remain about his ability to maintain this strong of a showing against the likes of Orange and company.
China Looks Dangerous
Arguably the deepest region is China, which competed in the Gold Series for the qualifier. Acquiring first place was Trunks, who flies under the banner of Wukong Gaming. Trunks won an incredibly close 3-2 over Jiajia, who has since withdrawn from the competition due to visa issues, with BaiZe replacing him. BaiZe is the only female to reach this far in the competition, impressing many on the way. While known domestically for her consistency in top-tier events, this specific tournament will give her an opportunity to show her skills globally.
Two more top players from China round out the qualifiers, with OmegaZero and JasonZhou making the cut. Two of the legends from China, both OmegaZero and JasonZhou, are expected to perform in the coming playoffs. Jason has been the more consistent of the two thus far, yet both have shown remarkable skill in a multitude of events thus far.
Asia-Pac Could Surrender
Claiming the first seed from the Asia-Pacific Summer Championship was Surrender from Planet Odd (formerly on CLG). South Korea has continued to rise in the Hearthstone scene, with Surrender being no exception. While for the time being, players such as Pavel, Orange, Purple and JasonZhou represent the favourites, the likes of Surrender and second-seeded cocosasa can no longer be underestimated.
The other well-known qualifier from this event was Tom60229, who has played for the Flash Wolves for an extended period of time. Competing at the highest level for over two years, a majority of Tom60229’s success came during 2016 while going deep in a series of different tournaments. While not a favourite to win it all, all the players from the Asia-Pacific Summer Championship are dangerous in terms of upsetting the expected outcome.
