MTG legend Brian M. Kibler came one win short of making the BlizzCon NA Qualifiers
Held over the last two days, the Chanman-hosted Sunshine Open crowned Josh "Impact" Graham as champion, who prevailed over none other than MtG hall of famer Brian Kibler.
For old-school card game fans, it's always enticing to see a TCG legend try Hearthstone. Patrons of the Gentlemen Cup often see Pro Tour champion Stanislav "Obv" Cifka compete against the known names in the European scene. Other notable MtG names like Hall of Famer Paolo Vitor Damo Da Rosa is also trying Blizzard's CCG and while he's not yet actively competing in the game, a recent interview with GosuGamers suggests he just might start to.
Another transition step of Magic's greatest legends to Hearthstone was done yesterday as five-time Pro Tour top 8 finalist and class of 2010 Hall of Fame inductee Brian M. Kibler made his first splash in competitive HS. Going through the grueling single elimination bracket of the Sunshine Open - including notable names like Kisstafer, Sjow, Xixo, Kitkatz, Luffy, WhtPwdr and Wampie - Kibler made it all the way to the grand finals, where his tournament life would end, crushed by Impact's Zoolock.
"I'd only really played one deck in my entire climb to Legendary this season – and only one other before that – so I’d have to scramble to put together two new decks by morning, and it was already late," writes Kibler in his blog post titled "How to Make the Finals of your First Hearthstone Tournament with Decks You’ve Never Played", where he also talks about his choice of decks, developing his Priest build and the issues with the ban system in Hearthstone tournaments.
Kibler's run through Sunshine open might've been an impressive one, tainted only by Team Coast's players, but although the Hall of Famer will pocket $500 for his wins, he's come short of claiming the best prize of the tournament - a spot in the BlizzCon NA Qualifiers.
"I had thought that the invitation to the Blizzcon Qualifier dropped down to me because Impact was already qualified, but sadly it did not, so if I’m going to be the Hearthstone World Champion this year, I’m going to have to find some other way to get there.
And I’m probably going to have to learn to play a few more decks."
Below are the decklists of the top four finalists.
Front page photo: Wizards
Impact
Kibler
Atlanta
SpArk
