How che0nsu, Floki, and Pun achieved incredible victories in Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022 Week 3 ahead of the playoffs

Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022 Season 1 Week 3 crowned Cheonsu "che0nsu" Kim,  Jolan "Floki" Sonck, and Grayson "Pun" Scott Montanaro as its champions!

The regional winners played under the Last Hero Standing format, which involved four decks and four unique Hearthstone classes. Each player banned one deck from their opponent in best-of-five matches. Competitors who won with a deck used that one again. 

During the Hearthstone Grandmasters live broadcast, che0nsu became the champion for the second week in a row. 

To achieve this back-to-back victory, he went up against players such as Shih-Hsun "AlanC86" Chiang and Kenta "okasinnsuke" Sekiguch. In the finals for Hearthstone Grandmasters Asia-Pacific, che0nsu fought against Wataru "Posesi" Ishibashi and earned a score of 3-1. He won two games with Quest Rogue and one with Libram Paladin. 

This was che0nsu’s full deck lineup:

In the first game, che0nsu played his Quest Rogue deck against Posesi’s Miracle Priest. Both players fought for board control in the late game, with Posesi playing a generated Soul Mirror to clear che0nsu’s minions. Posesi soon followed that up with Onyxia the Broodmother and her Whelps. These minions pushed damage to face and threatened lethal in a few turns.

Although it looked grim for che0nsu, he didn’t give up as he cleared Onyxia and a Whelp to survive another turn. This move paid off in che0nsu’s next turn, as he received Swindle and Secret Passage. Playing Secret Passage granted him SI:7 Assassin, Shadowstep, and SI:7 Extortion, which he used to clear his opponent’s entire board. Posesi bowed out as he had no minions left and hit fatigue. 

In the next game, che0nsu earned yet another point with his Quest Rogue deck. He went up against Posesi’s Quest Fel Demon Hunter and won after creating a strong board of minions and going face. 

However, Posesi prevented a clean sweep in the Quest Rogue mirror match in game three. When it all came down to the final game between them, che0nsu brought out his Libram Paladin deck to go against his opponent’s Quest Rogue.  

Although che0nsu tanked a lot of damage and Posesi was one off lethal, che0nsu didn’t give in and eventually built a huge wall of Taunt minions. Unable to get through the Taunts minions or find that one damage to face, Posesi bowed out. 

With a score of 3-1, che0nsu became the Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022 Season 1 Week 3 regional champion. This victory earned him another five points, guaranteeing him a spot in the Hearthstone Grandmasters Playoffs. 

In Hearthstone Grandmasters Europe, Floki duked it out against players such as Kevin "Casie" Eberlein and Raphael "BunnyHoppor" Peltzer before dueling Frederik "Furyhunter" Adam Møller in the regional finals.

Floki brought the following decks into the fray:

The first game between these players featured Floki's Kaz Druid versus Furyhunter's Burn Shaman. While the latter player slowly developed his side of the board, Floki ramped up in mana to play Kazakusan. Both players then fought for board control, but Floki achieved lethal after playing the Embers of Ragnaros generated by Kazakusan. 

This game was followed by another victory for Floki's Kaz Druid when it went up against Furyhunter's Quest Rogue. Like Posesi, Furyhunter prevented a clean sweep in game three. With the help of Buff Paladin, Furyhunter defeated Floki's Kaz Druid.

Despite not getting a sweep, Floki’s Quest Hunter deck came through in game four. Floki worked on completing his chain of quests while clearing the board in the early to mid-game. The Pen Flinger card, which had been discovered by Resizing Pouch, helped with this endeavor. 

Meanwhile, Furyhunter dropped down some buffed minions and tried to make them stick on the board while playing around Freezing Trap. However, it was to no avail as Floki dished out damage to face with the aid of his Hero Power and minions. When Furyhunter bowed out, Floki became the Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022 Season 1 Week 3 winner for the European region. 

“In Grandmasters, I always have a lot of stress," Floki said in the post-match interview. "So I felt a little stressed in these matches. But in the last match, a little less because I knew that I was qualified for playoffs, and I couldn't get Last Call, and Furyhunter was qualified for Last Call and playoffs. So if [one] of us won or lost, it didn't really matter that much, so I just had a really good time in there.”  

As for Hearthstone Grandmasters Americas, Pun went up against competitors such as Frank "Fr0zen" Zhang and Zachary "GamerRvg" Kannass before he faced Lucas "DimitriKazov" Funes in the weekly grand finals. 

This was Pun’s full deck lineup:

Game one showcased Pun’s Burn Shaman versus DimitriKazov’s Weapon Rogue. Pun played Lightning Bloom on his first turn, which gained him two mana crystals. This was followed up with the Coin into Wildpaw Cavern. 

While DimitriKazov needed to stop the chain of freezes, he also had to survive. Although he prevented lethal in the mid-game thanks to two turns of Cloak of Shadows, it wasn’t enough and Pun earned the first point. 

In game two, however, DimitriKazov evened up the score 1-1 with the help of Quest Fel Demon Hunter. Both players then traded wins, with game three going to Pun’s Libram Paladin and game four going to DimitriKazov’s Burn Shaman deck. 

When the match came down to game five, it was Pun’s Quest Fel Demon Hunter versus Burn Shaman. Pun completed the first part of his appropriately-named Final Showdown quest on turn three. Meanwhile, his opponent began establishing a board and went face with minions. 

Although Pun’s Glide was in the middle of his hand, he eventually pulled through by playing Felfire Deadeye and Expendable Performers. The latter card granted him 1/1 Illidari minions with Rush for the board clear. Combined with the Ashfallen's Fury Hero Power, these minions helped him achieve lethal. 

As the winner of Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022 Season 1 Week 3 for his region, Pun shared a few details about the meaning behind his name.  

“It is short for a name that I had to begin with, and it's a little embarrassing, so I'm not gonna say what it was,” Pun said. “I made it when I was 12 or something. I'll let you guys try to guess what it is.”

“I've grown to love them,” he continued, referring to the play on words. “I still like my name, I like puns. That is unfortunately not the origin of my name.” 

Pun also talked about his lineup and reflected upon how he improved throughout the three weeks of Hearthstone Grandmasters. He had zero points in Week 1, two points in Week 2, and five in Week 3. 

“I didn't go for a super risky lineup,” he said. “I just went for good decks.” Pun added how his lineup had nice matchups and good counters. He said that by trying to play the best he could, it worked out. 

Hearthstone Grandmasters will return with the playoffs on March 25-27, so stay tuned on Esports.gg for more news and updates.