On May 3, 2019, the first major Hearthstone tournament using the specialist format starts off, Hall of Heroes from Esports Arena. It will feature 12 of Hearthstone’s best, competing for their share of a $10,000 prize pool and the bragging rights of being the first to win a major event in the specialist format. All information on what classes and decks the players are bringing to the event will be announced on May 2 at 4 p.m. PT or 1 a.m. CEST on May 3. But here is our breakdown of the competitors.
The competitors
Reynad
Andrey “Reynad” Yanyuk is most known for being the owner of Tempo Storm. This organization fields teams in various major esports titles, including Hearthstone. Besides his career as the owner of Tempo Storm, Reynad still streams occasionally to speak with the fans that got him to the position he is at now.
RDU
Dima “RDU” Radu is most known for his career as a Hearthstone streamer on Twitch. After his early success in the Hearthstone competitive scene, RDU has mostly transitioned into the role of a streamer.
Justsaiyan
David “Justsaiyan” Shan is known as one of the best Hearthstone players in the world. Most recently making it to the top 8 of the 2019 Hearthstone World Championship, he also achieved various incredible results along the way at tour stops throughout the year. Recently Justsaiyan left his team, Tempo Storm, to join Radiance alongside Muzzy.
Muzzy
Muzahidul “Muzzy” Islam is most known for his incredible ladder results throughout the years. These results have led Muzzy to both the 2017 and 2019 Hearthstone World Championship qualifications and a combined tournament winnings of almost $150,000.
Firebat
James “Firebat” Kosesich is the 2014 Hearthstone World Champion. After his win at the event, he joked about becoming a streamer, which he turned into reality over the years. Now Firebat is one of the content creators behind the media team Omnislash.
Deathstav3
Stephen “Deathstav3” Stone is mainly known for his career in Magic: The Gathering. Deathstav3 doesn’t have many achievements yet in the Hearthstone scene. However, he is well known for his ability to create and pilot various Hunter decks. Because of this, he was picked to represent the Hunter class in last year’s Specialist Showdown, which he ended up winning with ease.
Rayc
Raymond “Rayc” Cipoletti is most known for his success at the earlier Hearthstone events. Some of his best achievements include winning the ONOG Pax East Major in 2017, as well as a second place finish at the ONOG Pax South Major in 2017 just months earlier.
Zalae
Paul “Zalae” Nemeth is someone you will know from the early days of Hearthstone. Some of his biggest achievements include placing first and second in the Trinity Series team events back in 2017. Nowadays, Zalae mostly focuses on his career streaming and creating content for Omnislash.
BoarControl
George “BoarControl” Webb is one of Europe’s best, recently joining the ranks of T1’s Hearthstone team alongside Feno and Orange to compete in the upcoming Hearthstone Grandmasters. Over the past few years, BoarControl has competed in tournaments all over the world competing for points for the HCT circuit.
Feno
Christos “Fenomeno” Tsakopoulos is most known for streaming on Twitch and competing in the HCT circuit over the years. Some of Fenomeno’s biggest achievements of his time competing on the circuit include winning HCT Orange County and placing second at HCT Montreal 2018.
Orange
Jon “Orange” Westberg has had a long history in competitive Hearthstone and is arguably one of the most successful players in the scene. One of Orange’s biggest achievements is finishing second in the 2017 Hearthstone World Championship. Another would be his second place at the WESG 2016, where he finished second for a prize of $70,000.
Strifecro
Cong “Strifecro” Shu has been absent from the Hearthstone scene for a while. However, he will be making a comeback as it was recently announced he will be competing in Hearthstone Grandmasters later this year. Some of Strifecro’s past achievements include winning SeatStory Cup I, one of Hearthstone’s first major events back in 2014. Strifecro also won the OGN Hearthstone Seoul Cup World Invitational back in 2016 and competed at various other events between 2014 and 2018.
Hall of Heroes starts at 12 p.m. PT this Friday. Day 1 and 2 will be the group stages, with the top 4 being played out on Sunday. During Hall of Heroes, you will be able to watch the players’ individual streams as well as the main Twitch stream on a 15-minute delay.
Published: May 1, 2019 04:06 pm