Grandmasters 2020 - Season 1 Playoffs Preview

Week 7 of the 2020 Grandmasters starts tomorrow. 48 players competed -- including 7 brand new Grandmasters for a total of eight weeks. Prizing for the Season includes $500,000 and of course the right to compete at this year's Hearthstone World Championship. After three weeks of Swiss and 4 rounds of Round Robin, the top players have been determined and the brackets have been seeded.

At the conclusion we'll have three Season 1 winners -- one from each region. We'll also see a total of nine players relegated from Grandmasters, opening up spots for new competitors in Season 2. The stakes couldn't be higher as the season draws to a close!

Read on for a summary of this season's format, final standings from the Round Robin stage, and Player Spotlights for the top 2 seeds from each region.

Format

Weeks 1-3: Swiss/Group Stages

  • Each Region will compete in 7 rounds of Swiss off stream earlier in the week.
  • The Top 8 finishers from each Region will play in a dual tournament format Friday-Saturday, with the Top-4 being played Sunday.
  • Format changes each week:
    • Wk. 1: Conquest w/ 1 Ban
    • Wk. 2: Four Deck Last Hero Standing w/ 1 Ban
    • Wk. 3: Ten Deck Conquest w/ 6 Bans

Week 4-7: Round Robin

  • After the first three weeks, players will be split into two divisions per Region based on point accumulations. Division A will consist of the Top 8, while Division B will consist of 9-16.
  • The two divisions will compete in Round Robin style play over the four weeks. Standings from this four week period will determine playoff participants.
  • Format for the Round Robin will be Five Deck Conquest w/ 1 Ban.

Week 8: Season One Playoffs

  • Top 6 from Division A automatically advance to the Playoff portion.
  • Top 4 from Division B compete in a "play-in" Round with the winners joining the Division A winners.
  • The bottom 3 players from each Region will be relegated from Grandmasters.
  • The winner of each Region's Playoff advances to the World Championship.

Standings

Americas - Division A
Player Games Played Wins
1. Eddie 7 5
2. bloodyface 7 5
3. Gallon 7 5
4. lnguagehackr 7 4
5. Empanizado 7 3
6. justsaiyan 7 3
7. Monsanto 7 2
8. Nalguidan 7 1
Americas - Division B
Player Games Played Wins
1. Zalae 7 6
2. Firebat 7 5
3. muzzy 7 5
4. Fr0zen 7 4
5. ETC 7 3
6. Purple 7 2
7. PNC* 7 2
8. PapaJason* 7 1
Europe - Division A
Player Games Played Wins
1. BoarControl 7 5
2. Jarla 7 5
3. Swidz 7 4
4. Bunnyhoppor 7 4
5. Seiko 7 4
6. SilverName 7 2
7. Hunterace 7 2
8. Felkeine 7 2
Europe - Division B
Player Games Played Wins
1. Rdu 7 5
2. Casie 7 4
3. Bozzzton 7 4
4. Viper 7 4
5. Thijs 7 3
6. Zhym 7 3
7. Pavel* 7 3
8. Kolento* 7 2
Asia-Pacific - Division A
Player Games Played Wins
1. glory 7 6
2. Alutemu 7 5
3. Surrender 7 4
4. Ryvius 7 4
5. Posesi 7 3
6. che0nsu 7 3
7. Flurry 7 2
8. kin0531 7 1
Asia Pacific - Division B
Player Games Played Wins
1. blitzchung 7 6
2. Shaxy 7 5
3. Tyler 7 5
4. tom60229 7 4
5. FroStee 7 2
6. DawN 7 2
7. SamuelTsao* 7 2
8. Staz* 7 2

*Relegated from Grandmasters

Player Spotlights



Eddie

  • Name: Eddie Lui
  • Team: ---
  • Division: Americas #1 Seed
  • Hometown: Hong Kong
  • Earnings: $137,276
Quote from Blizzard
Eddie, formerly known as Seohyun628, is a known risk-taker in his playstyle. His proudest achievement is winning the HCT Atlanta Tour Stop and finishing 3rd/4th in the Americas Grandmasters Season 1 Playoffs. Once upon a time, he beat Hunterace by playing Master Oakheart on turn 5.


bloodyface

  • Name: Brian Eason
  • Team: ---
  • Division: Americas #2 Seed
  • Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
  • Earnings: $246,000
Quote from Blizzard
Bloodyface qualified for back-to-back Seasonal Championships in 2018 and recently finished 5-8th at the HCT 2019 World Championship in Taipei. He considers his biggest strength to be his knowledge of matchups and the metagame. Bloodyface has four cats (Holo, Happy, Jili, and Tiny) and a sugar glider that goes by the name of Mochi.


BoarControl

  • Name: George Webb
  • Team: T1
  • Division: Europe #1 Seed
  • Hometown: Kenilworth, England
  • Earnings: $53,785
Quote from Blizzard
Representing the UK, BoarControl enjoys complex decks that require quick decision-making under pressure. Playing Hearthstone since its closed beta, BoarControl’s top placements in 2018 at HCT Tour Stops and other events put him among the top point earners in the region. He has two cats and a dog named Billy, Bessie, and Livvi, respectively.


Jarla

  • Name: Jaromír Vyskočil
  • Team: Nordavind DNB
  • Division: Europe #2 Seed
  • Hometown: Voděrady-Džbánov, Czech Republic
  • Earnings: $47,550
Quote from Blizzard
Jarla is a self-described slow and deliberate player who likes to run control decks. He typically dedicates five hours a day to watching and playing Hearthstone but has used that time in the past to grind out points on all three servers to secure top finishes. The achievement Jarla is most proud of is winning the Hearthstone Global Games in 2017 with the Czech Republic national team.


glory

  • Name: Kenta Sato
  • Team: ---
  • Division: Asia-Pacific #1 Seed
  • Hometown: Yokohama, Japan
  • Earnings: $39,200
Quote from Blizzard
Glory, who was born and raised in Japan, started playing Hearthstone with a budget Mech Mage deck in January 2016. Glory has several impressive placements, including taking first place at the APAC Summer Playoffs. He loves anime and manga.


Alutemu

  • Name: Nozomi Yashima
  • Team: ---
  • Division: Asia-Pacific #2 Seed
  • Hometown: Osaka, Japan
  • Earnings: $33,350
Quote from Blizzard
Alutemu, formerly known as Machamp, was born and raised in Japan. After casually playing Hearthstone (mostly Arena) in 2015, it was in 2017 that Alutemu began playing competitively. Alutemu placed within the top 25 on the Asia-Pacific ladder for the better half of 2018 and earned respectable placements at Tour Stops and Playoffs as well.

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