Four teams of North America’s best players competed in the GET Hearthstone Classic tournament in LA, the first LAN event in almost two years. A great success, the tournament saw the return of some old schoolers from the early days of HS.
Hearthstone Classic format allows fans to play the game as it if it were 2014. Blizzard announced the format during Blizzcon 2021, and much hype was built around it. Being able to revisit the game in its original state brings back memories, and nostalgia that goes much deeper than just the gameplay. Global Esports Federation and FACEIT got together to give Hearthstone fans a blast from the past with this Classic tournament in the Global Esports Tour.
With Stormwind’s metagame on the eye of the storm, and the sensation that power creep is just inevitable, this Hearthstone Classic tournament was an oasis in the desert. Turn one Chillwind Yetis, four mana Leeroys, and zero mana Molten Giants seem fair compared to some Stormwind questlines. The format was not the only OG thing in the event, many of the participants were actual 2014 Hearthstone players!
OG Players and Talent
This $50.000 event was the first LAN tournament since the pandemic and had everything esports fans adore. Four teams of North America’s top players competed in a conquest double-elimination format. With old school players facing current Grandmasters, the stakes were high. Each team entered with six decks from unique classes, to play Best-of-7 Matches, being able to leave one deck on the bench if it didn’t fit the battle.
The participating teams were named after mythical creatures represented in the game’s calendar. Trump, Fr0zen, Alliestrasza, and Killinallday were captains and responsible for inviting two other players to their team to make the best rooster possible. Trump brought two of the best America’s Grandmasters, while Killinallday choose to go with real Classic Hearthstone players.
The Teams
Team Kraken
- Jeffrey “TrumpSC” Shih
- Jerome “Monsanto” Faucher
- Mihai “languagehacker” Dragalin
Team Phoenix
- Alexandra “Alliestrasza” MacPherson
- John “Dekkster” Kotrich
- Andrew “TidesofTime” Biessener
Team Mammoth
- Frank “Fr0zen” Zhang
- David “Justsaiyan” Shan
- George “hyped” Maganzini
Team Gryphon
- David "Killinallday” Acosta
- Jeffrey “Tarei” Liu
- Mark “Ant” Trevino
The Casters
The casting desk was also OG, with Brian Kibler, Nathan ‘Admirable’ Zamora, and Cloud9 player Cong “StrifeCro” Shu providing their expert commentary and analysis. Themed for the occasion, Kibler even wore the “classic Hearthstone caster wardrobe” with a T-shirt and a Blazer. I’m not sure if Kibler and Admirable were also remastered with Hearthstone Classic format. Time seems not to pass for them.
Hearthstone Classic Tournament action
The Global Esports Tour Hearthstone Classic tournament had many epic moments during the two-day broadcast. Four mana Leeroys, Molten Giants, Ragnaros coinflips, and Force of Nature combos were all over the place. We didn’t get to see much of Valeera since miracle Rogue was the most banned deck of the tournament, unfortunately for Hyped and his fans.
Despite Hearthstone being a 1v1 game, this Hearthstone Classic tournament was a team event. Teams decided which players would pilot the different decks, and players were allowed to call their teammates once a game to consult. This “call a friend” card was both used to check lines of play and to meme as well.
After an intense bracket, Team Kraken -TrumpSC, Monsanto, and languagehacker- defeated Team Gryphon - Killinalday, Tarei, and Ant- in the finals. With the memories still fresh from the 4-1 defeat in Round 1, Trump’s team wanted to prove themselves that they were worthy classic opponents and that Monsanto’s #1 Classic Legend rank was not a coincidence. On the other hand, Killinallday and his OG gang, was there to take the tournament and claim that 2014 was indeed the Year of Killinallday #YOKAD.
The finals were up to everyone’s expectations. With the Kraken team changing strategies and not playing any more Paladin, who everyone in 2014 knew was an awful deck, the odds were even. Team Kraken took the lead and was able to maintain it until the end, closing the finals 4-2 with Ragnaros delivering the final blow. This time the new-school players came up victorious and crowned themselves as Hearthstone Classic champions.
“It’s really cool, honestly. This entire tour that you’ve set up is really incredible. For the first edition to be Hearthstone®, and for us to be a part of it, it’s incredible. We didn’t really expect to win it all, and that’s just speaks for how cool this event is.”
What’s the next stop after the Hearthstone Classic event?
This Hearthstone Classic tournament in LA was just the first stop of the Global Esports Tour. The tour, organized by GEF and FACEIT, will have a total prize pool of $500.000 and feature two other titles during 2021. On October 24th the GET heads to Riyadh with PUBG MOBILE, and on to Dubai on November 26 with CS:GO.
If you missed the action and want to check the awesome games, you visit the broadcast VoD and catch how Hearthstone was like in 2014. For more Hearthstone news and updates, stay tuned to Esports.gg. I will see you next time, in the tavern!