The qualifier matches for the Winter Championship are around the corner. This weekend, eight players will earn seeds to the $100,000 majors.
The restructuring of the Hearthstone Championship Tour (HCT) is about to bear fruit soon. The circuit is marching towards its first major championship event at the event of March, but the first qualifier games are actually to be played in a few days.
Hundreds of top HCT point earners will travel around their continents to the appointed HCT locations to take part in the Winter Championship preliminaries. Featuring massive double elimination brackets played out in 1-ban Conquest, these preliminaries will determine which eight players in each region will punch tickets to crown events of the season.
Although the grueling race for HCT points left numerous big names out of the fight, there are players who draw attention still. Russian ladder star ShtanUdachi held to his #1 spot in the standings with 27 points. He is followed by seasoned veterans including Rdu, ThijsNL, Sjow, GreenSheep, Hoej, Crane and Pavel, all of whom are in the top 16.
No less impressive is the top of the Americas region. Tournament greenhorn Fr0zen came on top, leading a long and stacked list that features Purple, Phonetap, Muzzy, Vlps, Chakki, TidesofTime, Fibonacci and more. In Asia Pacific, South Korea occupied the top six spots, with Handsomeguy on the throne.
In English, the preliminaries will be brought by Kibler, Frodan, Savjz, Rober Wing, Sottle, Aquablad and Dtwo, so be in front of your screens this Saturday and Sunday.
