PocketTrain becomes Hearthstone Masters Tour Vashj’ir champion!

After a weekend of intense gameplay, PocketTrain became the Hearthstone Masters Tour Vashj'ir champion! By claiming victory with the help of Big Spell Mage, Boat Rogue and Boar Priest, PocketTrain won the lion's share of the $250,000 prize pool.

Here are the codes for these winning Hearthstone decks:

"I'm in disbelief," PocketTrain said in the post-match interview. "I think I'm a bit too tired to be that happy. I don't know what happened. Something just switched and all the nerves went away. I was just having a good time and along the way, I won a Masters Tour.

PocketTrain gave a shoutout to DeadDraw, Furyhunter and Pascoa over on Twitter as well. Alongside others, these players supported PocketTrain and helped him prepare for the tournament. His practice group achieved incredible results, with DeadDraw and Pascoa qualifying for Worlds and Furyhunter and himself winning a Masters Tour event each.

The Hearthstone Masters Tour Vashj'ir games were fought under the conquest format. This meant each competitor brought four decks and four unique classes into the fray. Each player also banned one deck from their opponent during the best-of-five matches. After the initial four rounds of swiss pairings, another round of them was played before the round of 16, top eight and semifinals. 

Prior to the tournament weekend, the inclusion of Prince Renathal in the meta was discussed among players. Hearthstone Esports Product Lead Alex “Abar” Barhorst provided further insights about this over on Twitter.

When it all came down to the grand finals, PocketTrain kicked things off with Big Spell Mage while his opponent, Dreivo, chose Mine Rogue. While PocketTrain drew into cards and pinged face, his opponent dug for Snowfall Graveyard to get the Deathrattle advantage. By Dreivo’s turn seven, he wasn’t able to find what he needed, and PocketTrain didn't relent as he continued to pressure Dreivo, drawing into dragons and going face with minions. Dreivo soon bowed out, which meant PocketTrain received the first point. 

Next, PocketTrain opted for his Boat Rogue deck while Dreivo continued with Mine Rogue. PocketTrain coined into Blademaster Okani and chose to counter his opponent's next minion. As for Dreivo, he ignored Blademaster Okani in favor of going face with a weapon. This aggressive gameplay paid off as his Naval Mine bombs later went face and tied the score 1-1.

The explosive gameplay continued in game three as Dreivo went for his Mine Warlock deck against PocketTrain’s Boat Rogue. With a discounted Wildpaw Gnoll and Azsharan Vessel, PocketTrain created a board in the early game. This continued into the midgame, with  PocketTrain’s minions chipping away at his opponent’s health total. Dreivo cleared the board with the help of Hellfire. He managed to clear the board in the subsequent turns, but it was not enough as PocketTrain dropped down Mr. Smite and changed face with Pirate minions for lethal. 

The final game between the players featured PocketTrain’s Boar Priest versus Dreivo’s Mine Warlock. Both players drew into cards in the early game and mid-game, with PocketTrain getting to them faster thanks to the aid of Priest spells. As Dreivo used Life Tap to gather his combo and played spells to clear the board, PocketTrain continued to draw cards as well. Both players rushed to get their combo pieces ready, and PocketTrain won the race. He used Amulet of the Undying for Elwynn Boar revives and took those minions down with the help of Wild Pyromancer for the clear plus Northshire Cleric for the card draw. 

With a score of 3-1, PocketTrain  became the Hearthstone Masters Tour Vashj'ir champion!

Taking the silver, Dreivo gave a shoutout to his practice partner Gaboumme, who made it to the semifinals in the tournament.

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