Thijs "ThijsNL" Molendijk has finally been defeated on King of the Hill grounds by none other than the first long-reigning player of the showmatch series - Janne "Savjz" Mikkonen. Savjz is now the second most winning KOTH player behind the Dutchman.
Yesterday, MYM's ace ThijsNL was on the verge of doing the impossible - get ten straight wins in IHearthU's King of the Hill series.
Thijs' streak was already unparallelled and the Dutch player had surpassed all other established King of the Hill players, including Alchemixt and Savjz at IHU's series and Amaz and TidesofTime at the NESL version of the showmatch. The first days of his reign go back so many weeks that few Hearthstone fans actually recall Thijs' first win against Twisted in KOTH #21 in mid May.
Following the win against the Canadian (now a part of newly-established Team Coast HS roster), ThijsNL sliced through StrifeCro, Spo, Gnimsh, Alesh, Hosty, Hyped, Chacruna and Kaldi and was one win away from that coveted tenth straight victory.
After talking to Thijs and Sympatico - the person responsible for organizing the KOTH series - we learned that IHU want someone very special to take on the Dutchman in his tenth week at the showmatch. Originally, Cloud 9's powerhouse Kolento was invited but upon him cancelling the offer, the fols at IHU turned to another constructed master - Janne "Savjz" Mikkonen.
For the Finn, this was a return to his roots. The King of the Hill series was Savjz' baptism into competitive play and was what brought him his fame in the early days of Hearthstone. Known as the first long-lasting KOTH champion with four straight victories, Savjz's return to KOTH was going to set a battle between the old and the new.
The hyped match started well for Savjz as his token Druid made short work of Thijs' Miracle but the score was quickly died in a Druid mirror as the Dutchman pulled out his signature class. Game three, however, became the turning point of the series as Savjz brought out his own Miracle and reaped significantly more success than his opponent could.
Going on a hot streak, Valeera wiped out Thijs's tokens, his Handlock and his mid-range Shaman, scoreboarding a final 4-1 for the Finn. Thijs's reign was ended and Savjz sat on the throne for the second time, following his fifth KOTH victory.
