Is Thijs making a comeback to Hearthstone Esports? Check out January Leaderboards

Despite the devastating Hearthstone Esports announcement, Thijs seems to be back. Yesterday the first qualification month for the new Hearthstone esports system ended, and we saw some surprises.

While we've read tons of retirement Twitlongers, some familiar faces are still present in the Top 10. Bunnyhoppor, Thijs, Furyhunter, PocketTrain and Jarla, among others, still keep their competitive spirit alive.

With Hearthstone esports going down the slope to the abysm, some players refuse to give up, and Thijs is one of them. Still delivering one of the most wholesome streams the Hearthstone community has ever seen, Thijs made his run for #1 Legend this month.

He climbed to Top 15 playing an off-meta Highlander Blood Death Knight. This combination of "meta-breaking content" and awesome results motivated Thijs to push for #1 days before the first Hearthstone esports qualification month ended.

Thij's Highlander Blood Death Knight Deck Code: AAECAfHhBByW6AP36AOm7wPN+QPhpATlsATHsgSWtwSY1ASa1AS42QT04wT84wT+4wSU5ASJ5gSP7QSk7wSH9gSy9wSz9wS2+gSrgAWogQWimQWXpAWfpAXipAUBieQEAA==

Unfortunately for him and his always supportive audience, Thijs rank #2 didn't hold the last 24 hours, and he ended in the 8th spot. This means he gets 6 points in the race to qualify for the first Masters Tour of 2023 and, subsequently, the World Championship.

With a very top-heavy system with only $500,000 in prizes for the whole year, someone could think that the current Hearthstone World Champion wouldn't bother to tryhard in the new downgraded system. However, Bunnyhoppor also got a Top 10 finish, and with that, his chances of qualifying are intact.

Alongside Bunnyhoppor we can see that other familiar faces got their points. Casie and Ike, two OG players, also hit a Top 10 finish in the Americas Server, which was dominated by PocketTrain. McBanterFace, Reqvam and Dimitrikazov, the new generation, don't want to give in either.

In the Asia-Pacific Server, Norwis got #1, beating heavy names like Surrender, Jarla and Tansoku. As we have already mentioned, Thijs scored a Top 10 finish in the European Hearthstone server, in which Meati and Furyhunter also had a good performance.

Despite many known pro players doing their best this first month to get a finish, this doesn't mean they are committing to compete. The Hearthstone esports announcement came on the 19th when most "tryhards" had already invested their time ranking.

Even players who achieved a good finish this season feel that Blizzard is sunsetting Hearthstone Esports. Thijs addressed the topic and mentioned said: "I would lie if I say I'm fully surprised, I was worried Blizzard would slowly put the plug out." 

Bunnyhoppor, just 30 days after becoming the 2022 Hearthstone World Champion, had to face the harsh announcement.

Despite whatever happens in 2023, now that we have had some time to reflect, I think it's a good opportunity to value all the incredible memories Hearthstone Esports gifted us. On this topic, Thijs took a moment to help us remember the good old Hearthstone esports days.

That's all for now, but if you wish to check out Hearthstone leaderboards you can visit the official page and browse the different servers and game modes. Stay tuned to Esports.gg for more Hearthstone news and updates. See you next time in the Tavern.