Europe is in prime position to take the first major of 2017, though SEA and LatAm are coming on strong.
Jon “Orange” Westberg is the big star having secured a semi final spot at the $300,000 WESG Grand Finals. The Alliance player, who finished second in his group just behind Yevgeniy “Neirea” Shumilin, is one win closer to contesting the $150,000 first place prize of the Chinese major.
Orange is not the only European with his eyes fixed on the grand trophy. In the top half of the bracket, Raphael “BunnyHoppor” Peltzer – the only Virtus.pro player without a major gold to his name – has also a top four spot guaranteed and will play against veteran SEA representative Euneil “Staz” Javinas from the Philippines for a grand final berth.
Staz himself is one of the surprises of the tournament. The Filipino was supposed to play in the 2014 Americas qualifier for the World Championship but visa issues kept him inland. Continuing to hone his skills in open cups in Southeast Asia, Staz is only now facing Hearthstone’s best on a grand stage.
In the only quarter final match that could not finish on Saturday was Fran “PNC” Leimontas’ face-off against tournament favorite and 2016 player of the year Sebastian “Xixo” Bentert. Ranked #1 in the GosuRankings and representing the CLG colors for the first time, Xixo is to play Orange in a potential semi-final match should he succeed against the Argentinian.
