After an intense weekend of matches, teams Blackwater Gaming and Sup Fresh became the World of Warcraft Classic Arena Tournament champions on Sunday. While Blackwater Gaming represented the European region, Sup Fresh took home the gold in North America. Both teams won the lion’s share of the combined $100,000 prize pool.
How Blackwater Gaming reached the top
Throughout the live broadcast, Blackwater Gaming fought their way to the top and remained in the upper bracket. After taking down the Bald Pythons 4-0 in the quarterfinals, they earned another score of 4-0 against Got Renamed in the semifinals.
When it came down to the finals, the team duked it out against Naixi Demon King. The latter team earned a place in the intense finals by fighting their way up from the elimination bracket, defeating Poland Mountain, J.B.Phelps Insta, Scarabs and Got Renamed.
In the finals, Blackwater Gaming faced Naixi Demon King in the Nagrand Arena first and received point one after taking down the enemy Rogue. This was followed by another win for the team as they defeated Naixi Demon King again in the Ruins of Lordaeron. Blackwater Gaming earned their third point in the next game, bringing them one point away from victory.
However, Naixi Demon King prevented a full sweep in the fourth game within the Nagrand Arena. They then claimed another point in the same map in game five. When both teams fought in the Nagrand Arena yet again for game six, Blackwater Gaming came out on top and became the World of Warcraft Classic Arena Tournament champions for the European region.
Sup Fresh are the North American champions
Like Blackwater Gaming, Sup Fresh also spent the weekend in the upper bracket. They defeated No Glaives in the first round, went 4-1 against Congrats Flaberz in the quarterfinals and 4-1 against Fishstick Gaming in the semifinals before fighting Surf’s Up for the gold.
Meanwhile, Surf’s Up battled and won against B I N G B O N G, Congrats Flaberz, Kick Aimed Shot and Fishstick Gaming in the lower bracket before facing Sup Fresh.
Surf’s Up obtained the first point in the Nagrand Arena. However, Sup Fresh tied the score in the Ruins of Lordaeron by playing aggressively, swiftly taking down the enemy Mage first.
When the teams were back in the Nagrand Arena for games three and four, Sup Fresh obtained a couple more points. By defeating their opponents in the fifth game, Sup Fresh achieved a score of 4-1 and became the North American World of Warcraft Classic Arena Tournament champions.
The Burning Crusade esports
During the live broadcast, World of Warcraft Classic lead software engineer Brian Birmingham made an appearance. He talked about his own experiences with Hearthstone before joining the Classic team. Birmingham also provided insights about item restrictions, matchmaking, quality of life changes and Arena teams.
He then hinted at more esports for The Burning Crusade. “I have this big, unruly beard because I hear that there’s a big bear coming soon. Maybe of an Amani variety. So there’s something exciting for that,” he said.
