The $300,000 tournament is hours away. This is what two of the favorites are playing.
Sebastian “Xixo” Bentert and Jon “Orange” Westberg are ready to represent the colors of their teams in the largest third party tournament in Hearthstone’s history. Over the next four days, Changzhou, China will host the $300,000 WESG Grand Finals, where 24 players from all over the world will sling cards for the massive prize pool.
Picked up by Counter Logic Gaming just days ago and with the Player of 2016 GosuAward to his name, Xixo comes as the heavy favorite for the title. The German is in a relatively easy group with a couple of players from APAC and Latin America where his most difficult opponent will likely be fellow European Liam “Lbdutchboy” Brouwer from the Netherlands. For Xixo, the choice of decks notably excludes the Tier 1 RenoLock in favor of the Mage highlander variation, with his other three decks being on the aggressive side of the spectrum.
Xixo’s WESG line-up
RenoMage
Aggro Shaman
Miracle Rogue
Pirate Warrior
If Xixo’s has paired one control with three agro decks, Orange has gone a more midrange route. The Alliance headliner will pilot alongside his RenoMage a combination of Dragon Priest, Dragon Warrior and Midrange Shaman. Orange himself has one of the tougher player pools in the grand finals, sharing a group with Josh “Impact” Graham from Canada, Yevgeniy “Neirea” Shumilin from Ukraine. Fran “PNC” Leimontas from Argentina and Rodrigo “Perna” Castro from Brazil, all of whom are considered top players in their respective regions.
Orange’s WESG line-up
Midrange Shaman
Dragon Priest
Dragon Warrior
RenoMage
The games begin early in the CET morning, with the first matches scheduled for 04:30 CET on January 12. Full WESG coverage is available in our event hub.
