Photo: Carlton Beener / Blizzard
The GosuCrew gathers to cast their votes on which names will survive the culling of the World Finals group stage.
Group A
@GGNydra predicts: 
JasonZhou & 
Handsomeguy
Any other time I would’ve picked ThijsNL as the one to go through the groups, unquestionably, maybe even consider him a reliably semi-finalist and even champion. But not this year. ThijsNL has notoriously struggled in majors with the exception of Europe Spring and generally 2016 has not been his year. If he doesn’t find that spark that got him 2015 renown, he will be out of this.
As a result, my vote goes to the Asia in the face of Handsomeguy and JasonZhou. Handsomeguy has been terrifying in APAC (which isn’t a weak region at all) and JasonZhou is just outstanding overall, too.
@Matthieist predicts: JasonZhou & Handsomeguy
Many people have chosen Thijs as their predicted Champion, and many will wonder why I think he won’t even make it out of the group stages. Even though the G2 squad is known for its unmatched effort put into preparing for events, Thijs’ year has been far too inconsistent. I think Handsomeguy’s by far the strongest player the East is bringing this year (APAC and China combined), even though some of his tech choices in his decks seem a little odd.
That leaves Jasonzhou and Cydonia. Between the two of them I feel Jasonzhou has the upper hand (even though they don’t necessarily HAVE to face each other). China’s competitive scene has been a quickly growing force, and even though Cydonia’s undeniably a strong player, the Americas Spring Champion hasn’t made any other big appearances after his win in June.
@Nomlix predicts: 
ThijsNL & Handsomeguy
Handsomeguy has been dominating the APAC region, getting to the final of HCT Winter Spring and Summer while maintaining a 64% win rate up until Blizzcon, that being said him getting out of this group is a safe bet.
Thijs is known to be one of the best Hearthstone has to offer and he has proven it back to back to back. Being the returning player to Blizzcon, losing only to Ostkaka (the later World Champion) in last years run, Thijs with his solid lineup, and the backup of the G2 boys for great preparation is a very promising pick to get out of the group.
Group B
@GGNydra predicts: 
Naiman & 
Bbgungun
In my opinion, this is one of the weaker groups, at least compared to A and C, and it would be a huge shocker if Naiman loses this one, being the most established names of them all. The question is who will be the second to join him and my vote here, after long deliberation, goes to Bbgungun.
The American has gotten a lot of praise in the pro player community as a coach, analyst, deckbuilder and contributor and winning Last Call AM – considered to be the ultimate competitive test in HCT – speaks volumes.
@Matthieist predicts: Naiman & Bbgungun
In the NA scene, the name Bbgungun has been whispered around a lot amongst competitive players. Similarly to G2’s Lifecoach, he is regarded as a Hearthstone guru, just waiting for his breakout performance to gain worldwide recognition. From Europe comes the ultimate redemption story of Naiman. After he had claimed his Winter Championship crown not much was seen of him, until he reached the semi-finals of SeatStorcy Cup V, once again displaying his knowledge of the game. Accompanied by team mate DrHippi I expect the Kazakh to make Europe proud again.
@Nomlix predicts: Naiman & Bbgungun
After coming back to competitive Hearthstone and qualifying for Blizzcon in Winter, Naiman has proven the world his worth in tournaments like Starladder and Seatstory. His preparation and confidence for the tournament make him my favorite for the group.
Hamster's wacky choice of lineup with Paladin and Priest might be the most genious choice one could make, but it’s more likely to fail under the pressure of the strong meta decks.
Between Bbgungun and Cheonsu, who both qualified through their respective Last Call I have to give the edge to Bbgungun for the second spot to make it out. While we haven’t seen either of them perform well in international tournaments yet, Bbgungun is known under many players as a great coach in the NA scene and I’m certain he can show up to the praise he gets to make it out of the group.
