Week 3 of the Hearthstone Grandmasters starts tomorrow. The top 48 players in the world -- 16 from each region -- compete weekly; with the top 4 from each region advancing to the playoff portion of the event. The top player from each region will join the Season 1 winners, plus two Gold Series Champions from China to crown this year's Hearthstone World Champion at Blizzcon!
This marks the second round of competition since the recent nerf patch. With another week for the players to prepare, decks should become more refined for the tournament meta. We've compiled some featured match-ups, spotlighted three of the Grandmasters, and have the current standings below. Join us each Thursday as the season progresses for continued coverage.
- Two former World Champs remain undefeated with both Hunterace and tom60229 sitting at 4-0.
- Alternatively, two players have yet to notch their first win: Fenomeno and blitzchung.
Twitch Drops for Grandmasters and Playoffs!
Twitch Drops have returned! Check out the full blog post by Blizzard about it here
Quote from BlizzardTwitch Drops will be returning for the remainder of Grandmasters Season 2! Running on the Twitch.tv/PlayHearthstone channel exclusively during the designated time frames, we’ll make it rain Saviors of Uldum card packs--at random, once an hour, we’ll drop 1,500 packs to viewers who have linked their Twitch and Battle.net accounts.
Season 2 Twitch Drop Dates and Times (Twitch.tv/PlayHearthstone only):
- September 6, 2 a.m. – 4 p.m. PDT
- September 7, 2 a.m. – 4 p.m. PDT
- September 8, 2 a.m. – 4 p.m. PDT
Featured Match-ups
We've chosen one must watch match-up from each region this week. While the weekend is sure to be packed with action, these are the matches you'll definitely want to make time for!
Fr0zen vs. justsaiyan - Friday - 3:00pm PT/6:00pm ET/10:00pm GMT/12:00am CEST
Widely considered to be two of the best players in the world, this should be a great match-up. Fr0zen finished with the best record in any region in Season 1 and was the runner up in the 2017 World Championship. Justsaiyan is a dominant ladder performer with an impressive stretch of finishing in 3rd or better through four straight HCT Tour Stops in 2018.
Pavel vs. Bunnyhoppor - Saturday - 10:00am PT/1:00pm ET/5:00pm GMT/7:00pm CEST
Though struggling a bit as of late, Pavel is the 2016 Hearthstone World Champion. He's off to a strong start in Season 2 and squares off against Bunnyhoppor who has several strong tournament finishes, including 2nd at the HCT Winter Championship and 3rd at the HCT World Championship.
Surrender vs. BloodTrail - Saturday - 5:00am PT/8:00am ET/12:00pm GMT/2:00pm CEST
Two highly respected players from the Asia-Pacific region meet this week. With both players sitting at the bottom of their group, it's sure to be a hotly contested match. Surrender has already qualified for Blizzcon with his Season 1 victory, while BloodTrail is a former HCT Asia-Pacific Champion.
Player Spotlights
Firebat
- Name: James Kostesich
- Team: Omnislash
- Division: Americas: Group A
- Hometown: Detroit, Michigan
- Earnings: $237,163
Quote from BlizzardFirebat started playing Hearthstone in class at school in 2014 and went on to become the first ever Hearthstone World Champion in November of that year. His win is immortalized in the game with the flavor text for Fiery Bat which reads “He’ll always be our first.” Firebat has numerous other impressive placements, making him one of the all-time highest prize-money earners.
Thijs
- Name: Thijs Molendijk
- Team: G2 Esports
- Division: Europe: Group A
- Hometown: Enschede, Netherlands
- Earnings: $437,497
Quote from BlizzardThijs is one of the most popular streamers in Hearthstone and also one of the biggest prize-earners in the game’s history. Thanks to Hearthstone, he was able to purchase his own home in September 2018 and even won an Aston Martin DB11 at a tournament in Shanghai. Also, he loves tea.
Tyler
- Name: Tyler Hoang Nguyen
- Team: Complexity Gaming
- Division: Asia-Pacific: Group A
- Hometown: Viet Nam
- Earnings: $65,625
Quote from BlizzardTyler grew up in the Netherlands but moved to Vietnam in 2018 with his parents. As well-documented ladder grinder, Tyler has been getting into yoga and calisthenics recently and would like the dating world to know that he is currently single and ready to mingle. Tyler qualified for both the Fall and Winter Championship and competed in the Hearthstone Global Games in both 2017 and 2018 on the Netherlands team.
Standings
| Americas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Group A | Overall W/L | Week 2 W/L |
1.  Nalguidan |
3-1 | 2-0 |
2.  Eddie |
3-1 | 1-1 |
3.  Firebat |
2-2 | 1-1 |
| 4. Purple |
2-2 | 1-1 |
| 5. muzzy |
2-2 | 0-2 |
| 6. Gallon |
2-2 | 2-0 |
| 7. ETC |
1-3 | 1-1 |
| 8. StrifeCro |
1-3 | 0-2 |
| Americas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Group B | Overall W/L | Week 2 W/L |
| 1. bloodyface |
3-1 | 2-0 |
| 2. Fr0zen |
3-1 | 1-1 |
| 3. justsaiyan |
3-1 | 1-1 |
| 4. Monsanto |
2-2 | 1-1 |
5.  Rase |
2-2 | 1-1 |
| 6. Zalae |
1-3 | 1-1 |
| 7. PNC ** |
1-3 | 1-1 |
| 8. Amnesiac |
1-3 | 0-2 |
| Europe | ||
|---|---|---|
| Group A | Overall W/L | Week 2 W/L |
1.  Hunterace |
4-0 | 2-0 |
2.  Kolento |
3-1 | 2-0 |
3.  Thijs |
2-2 | 1-1 |
4.  SilverName |
2-2 | 0-2 |
5.  Viper |
2-2 | 1-1 |
6.  Rdu |
1-3 | 1-1 |
7.  Swidz |
1-3 | 1-1 |
8.  Orange |
1-3 | 0-2 |
| Europe | ||
|---|---|---|
| Group B | Overall W/L | Week 2 W/L |
| 1. Pavel |
3-1 | 1-1 |
| 2. Bunnyhopper |
3-1 | 2-0 |
3.  Jarla |
3-1 | 2-0 |
| 4. Casie |
2-2 | 1-1 |
5.  BoarControl |
2-2 | 2-0 |
| 6. Seiko |
2-2 | 0-2 |
| 7. Bozzzton |
1-3 | 0-2 |
8.  Fenomeno ** |
0-4 | 0-2 |
| Asia-Pacific | ||
|---|---|---|
| Group A | Overall W/L | Week 2 W/L |
1.  Ryvius |
3-1 | 2-0 |
| 2. che0nsu |
3-1 | 1-1 |
| 3. Tyler |
2-2 | 1-1 |
4.  SamuelTsao |
2-2 | 0-2 |
| 5. Shaxy |
2-2 | 1-1 |
| 6. Flurry |
2-2 | 1-1 |
| 7. Bloodtrail |
1-3 | 1-1 |
| 8. Surrender ** |
1-3 | 1-1 |
| Asia-Pacific | ||
|---|---|---|
| Group B | Overall W/L | Week 2 W/L |
| 1. tom60229 |
4-0 | 2-0 |
2.  glory |
3-1 | 1-1 |
3.  Staz |
3-1 | 2-0 |
| 4. DawN |
2-2 | 1-1 |
5.  FroStee |
2-2 | 1-1 |
| 6. Alutemu |
1-3 | 0-2 |
| 7. Pathra |
1-3 | 1-1 |
8.  blitzchung |
0-4 | 0-2 |
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Posted Sep 8, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)retard much? there is no such thing as guaranteed packs
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Posted Sep 8, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)No free packs sorry I won’t even log in and leave it minimized in the toolbar. You want to count me for advertising dollars give me something for it otherwise ,nope.
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Posted Sep 7, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)I would add here that there are 25k viewers so the chances are not that high either!
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Posted Sep 6, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)Am i the only one that didn't even get the pack for see the stream for 3 hours?
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Posted Sep 7, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)Where does it say there would be such a pack?
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Posted Sep 7, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)Oh i don't know maybe in the title that says
Twitch Drops Returns!
or almost at the start of the article
Twitch Drops for Grandmasters and Playoffs!
Twitch Drops have returned! Check out the full blog post by Blizzard about it here
with a link to the page and all, but sure i am the one who does not read
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Posted Sep 7, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)Hopefully the streams losses enough views to add back the guaranteed pack drops next time.
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Posted Sep 7, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)thats why i ask, it supose to be guaranted uldum pack drops for 3 and 6 hours, but almost all in the chat didnt get any of them, included me and have the linked account from past events (i confirmed it yesterday before i start to see the stream)
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Posted Sep 7, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)There are no guaranteed packs. It's just 1,500 random packs each hour.
The guaranteed packs for 3 and 6 hours returns for the playoff portion.
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Posted Sep 7, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)I still can't see where it says you'd get something after watching it for 3/6 hours. Since you're the only one out of the two of us who can read, you'll have to show me the exact spot.
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Posted Sep 6, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)Nice job on this , I like the player spotlights, who will win "The battle of the Stache" Firebat or Muzzy ?
Good luck to all the competitors!
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Posted Sep 6, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)Strange, i thought Firebat won 250k when he got HS champion. Maybe it was less back then .
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Posted Sep 6, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)That’s totally wrong.
Toast made a video not quite a year ago, when he only streamed Hearthstone and had 10k viewers on average. He said he didn’t played any additional commercials, but with his subs alone he made 20-25k a month. With some sponsorship for other stuff plus donations,cheers youtube etc. in total he would make 40 k a month.
A streamer gets 2.5 Dollar for every 4.99 sub. If you have constantly a high viewer count, i don’t know the exact number my guess is 300-500 , you get 3.5 for every sub. So if Thijs has 3.2k subs he gets a bit more than 11.000 just from subs alone. And in general i would say he gets more donations and plays more adds than Toast. .... Like Toast said; Honestly, it’s like winning the Lottery.
edit: Thijs technically didn’t won the Aston Martin, since he took the money the car is worth. But I heard he bought himself a Ferarri lately, i guess he’s doing alright.
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Posted Sep 6, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)Nice article, thanks for posting!
Thjis is really an awesome streamer, I wonder how much he earns as such compared to the tournament earnings (I guess a lot, all deserved)
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Posted Sep 6, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)I forget the exact figures but from Twitch subs alone, he probably earns close to €7,000 per month. I think streamers get to keep about 40% of the sub amount if they less than 10k subs. Thijs currently has about 3200 subs, maybe a little more so my guess is close to €7k. That's not counting donations which could be a couple of hundred bucks a month as well.
He's doing very well for himself which is great to see. He regularly has more than 50% of the total HS viewership on Twitch and is probably the number one HS streamer globally alongside Krip. I think his daily average vierwers is something around 10k which is really impressive.
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Posted Sep 5, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)thanks for the article
pls fix Europe Division B, it shows pavel and bunny with 3-2 records
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Posted Sep 5, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)Most important question: Does Firebat still have his mustache?
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Posted Sep 5, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)i can't wait to watch more of these games wow hypeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! no packs ?!!?!?!?! Peace then SEE YA
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Posted Sep 5, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)All three of the matches to watch this weekend will I am sure be just that. I can watch 2 of the 3.
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Posted Sep 5, 2019 (Saviors of Uldum)2hrs after hearthpwn posted this article, I posted 1st.
Clearly the game and Grandmasters is doing well.
it must be bc rng memes are fun, the pay wall is reasonable, in game incentives are adequate, hero skins are easily attainable, and there are no 30+ minute mirror matches.