Hearthstone Grandmasters saw a new week of competition just days after the 21.0.3 patch shook the metagame. Posesi, Frenetic, and Monsanto were the best to read the field and execute their game plans to win their respective regions. All this, with $250k Masters Tour Silvermoon coming next week.
Hearthstone Esports won’t stop until Grandmaster Season two is over. Week one took place ten days after the United in Stormwind expansion release, and players could not catch a break for week two either. With the deployment of patch 21.0.3 on Monday with changes to 8 cards, players had to reassess their decks.
Join me while we unravel the stories of the weekly champíons Ishibashi “posesi” Wataru, David “Frenetic” Neila, and Jerome “Monsanto” Faucher, and analyze their decks.
Posesi, Frenetic, & Monsanto dominated their Regions
European Grandmasters
Hearthstone Grandmasters Season one champions are already qualified for the 2021 World Championship. Still, they are showing no lack of motivation for season two. Esports.gg asked the European champion Frenetic about the topic, and he was not relaxed after securing his ticket to Worlds:
“Now have that extra pressure on my shoulders since much more is expected from me now. I will try to do my best and fight for playoffs again.”
At first, it looked like week one champion Gaby was going to take it all again. However, he stumbled against Bunnyhooppor in the semifinals.
On the other side of the Top 4, Frenetic stuck to his words. The Spanish player won week 2 with a stunning 3-0 victory against Bunnyhoppor with his Mage.
Asia-Pacific Grandmasters
Similarly, Posesi in Asia-Pacific demonstrated that Japan is the regional powerhouse. The season one winner for the region stated to Esports.gg that he enjoys playing Hearthstone in shaky and unsolved metagames. It seems that he does not only enjoys it, but he excels at it. Posesi took week two without losing a match, winning the finals 3-1 against his fellow countryman Alutemu.
Americas
Season one champion for the Americas Nalguidan, in talks with Esports.gg mentioned that: “I want to prove it wasn’t a coincidence that I won”. With this spirit, he got to Top 4, and it seemed that the Champions trifecta was about to happen. However, he lost against Fled in the semifinals.
Monsanto came from the other side of the bracket after a series of closed matches. In another tight match, Monsanto defeated Fled by 3-2 to crown himself as champion for the week.
Grandmasters’ Deck choices after Patch 21.0.3
With Grandmaster format rotation, players had to adapt to the Last Hero Standing, Hearthstone’s first competitive format. On top of this, they had to solve which decks were the most powerful after the balance changes that happened on Monday.
Warlock Dominating Hearthstone Grandmasters
Unsurprisingly, Warlock had a 100% representation along the three regions. The 48 Grandmaster players chose different variations of Questline Warlock, including 6 Demons, Handlock, and even a Zoo version.
Monsanto's Quest Handlock Deck Code: AAECAcn1Agby7QOI7wPH+QOE+wOH+wOXoAQMm80D184DwdEDi9UDk+QD2O0D8O0D8e0DxvkDg/sDsZ8E56AEAA==
The class seemed to be immune to the nerfs. It was both the most banned and the best class for the week, with over 60% winrate. Hearthstone Devs have already stated that they will be monitoring the class and that they don’t discard further nerfs.
Shaman & Mage in the rise
After the changes introduced on Monday, Quest Shaman seemed to be the second most preferred weapon of the Grandmasters. Only followed closely by Quest Mage, despite the Enchanter’s Flow nerf. The power level of decks does not translate strictly from tournaments to ladder. However, if you are seeking something to climb with, check them out:
Posesi's Quest Shaman Deck code: AAECAaoIApzOA8L2Aw7buAPhzAP+0QPw1AOK5APq5wP67APj7gPB9gPk9gPwhQT5nwT6nwTwoAQA
Frenetic's Quest Mage Deck code: AAECAf0EBODMA6TRA+j3A/T8Aw3BuAPHzgPNzgP30QPU6gPQ7APR7AOn9wOu9wOy9wP8ngT9ngTonwQA
$250K Masters Tour Silvermoon: Next stop for Competitive Hearthstone
This following weekend, Grandmaster will take a break, but Hearthstone Esports won’t. Masters Tour Silvermoon will run from August 27 to the 29th. With almost 400 players and $250.000 in the prize pool, the stakes are high.
Players will not be the only winners this time. You can earn Hearthstone packs by watching the tournament broadcast. If you have doubts on how to connect your accounts or where to find your localized stream, make sure to check this article.
This will be all for now, but stay tuned to Esports.gg for more Hearthstone news and updates. See you next time, in the tavern.