James "Firebat" Kostesich of the newly formed Team Archon is BlizzCons second grand finalist. The American now faces Wang "TiddlerCelestial" Xieyu for the $100,000 check.
As opposed to the 3-0 trampling of Kranich in the first semi final, the face-off between Western hopes DTwo and Firebat went set for set, going to full five games. Double [card]Gadgetzan Auctioneer[/card] play piloted Firebat to a 1-0 lead against DTwo's Priest but Valeera's onslaught was stopped by DTwo's Handlock, a deck that in turn fell to the arrows of the Hunter and one lucky Leokk spawn from [card]Animal Companion[/card].
Now on match point, Firebat needed only to overcome DTwo's Warrior but the armored Garrosh barred the door and a fifth game had to be played. In a Zoo versus Control match-up, Firebat found himself racing down DTwo, all-inning with his board commitment, hoping IHU's player doesn't draw a [card]Brawl[/card]. With no mass removal ever drawn by DTwo, Firebat's path to the grand final was sealed.
After squeezing into the playoffs finishing second in Group C behind Kranich, Firebat is now one Bo5 away from the $100,000. Currently ranked #2 worldwide, Firebat is to place the current GosuRankings king TiddlerCelestial.
Related: Firebat interviewed at opening weekend
