Photo: Adela Sznejder / DreamHack
Aleksandr “Kolento” Malsh climbs atop of the European rankings after a close match against Adrian “Lifecoach” Koy in the KPL playoffs. This is Ukrainian’s sixth first place this year alone.
It was a long night on May 8th as six players readied their decks to compete for the $15,000 prize pool of the KPL playoffs, as Hearthstone’s first ongoing league was coming to its end. After nine weeks of group stage matches, some of the best players in the world reached the final bracket.
The playoffs began with James “Firebat” Kostesitch vs. Kolento, the more anticipated quarter final of the two. Although fans expected a battle worthy of songs, it didn’t quite go that way and Cloud 9’s bannerman ran away with a 4-1 victory, exploiting Firebat’s detrimental trust in his Oil Rogue. This advanced Kolento to the semi finals where he would play his C9 team-mate, Cong “StrifeCro” Shu. The end result was the same and almost for the same reason – StrifeCro clang to his Zoo almost too much, which cost him the match.
From the lower part of the bracket it was Lifecoach who reached the grand finals. The Nihilum star 4-2’d Liquid's Jeffrey “Sjow” Brusi, after the Swede took a surprisingly quick 4-0 victory over Tempo Storm’s George “Hyped” Maganzini in the quarter finals. With all three Americans eliminated, the battle was to be held on European soil.
To viewer’s delight, the finals became the absolute highlight of the match as Lifecoach and Kolento sparred for seven games. When the dust settled after turn 1 [card]Azure Drake[/card]s, 25/1 [card]Frothing Berserker[/card]s and funky Priest combos, Kolento had come out victorious 4-3.
For Kolento, this is his sixth tournament win this year alone. Recovering from an all-time lowest record in December 2014, the DreamHack Winter champion returned in 2015 to win Heroes of Cards, ESL Legendary Series Day #2, Gamers Assembly, CN vs. EU and Kinguin for Charity Winter. So far, he’s earned close to $42,000, already having earned more than in the entire last year.
You can relive each match by clicking navigating through the bracket below. Check the bottom of the post for decklists.
Firebat: Oil Rogue • Zoo • Patron Warrior • Freeze Mage
Kolento: Druid • Patron Warrior • Zoo • Priest
Hyped: Freeze Mage • Midrange Hunter • Oil Rogue • Druid
Sjow: Mech Mage • Face Hunter • Handlock • Patron Warrior
StrifeCro: Paladin • Midrange Hunter • Patron Warrior • Zoo
Lifecoach: Handlock • Mech Mage • Druid • Patron Warrior
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