The second day of the Hearthstone Global Games had a trio of massive matchups—but perhaps none as hotly anticipated as the U.S. against the U.K.
The match featured two strong lineups clashing, but most fans were focused on the battle between two of the game’s hottest young prodigies: William “Amnesiac” Barton and George Connoly.
As if the teams knew exactly what the fans wanted, they lined the pair up against each other in game one, and in the deciding ace match if it got that far. Sadly for the U.K., all the Twitter trash talk in the world couldn’t stop the star studded American lineup.
The first game between Amnesiac and GeorgeC was a slug fest, with the players trading massive boards. Just as it looked like George had taken a decisive position with a 14/14 Edwin Van Cleef, however, a double Volcano play from Amnesiac with spell damage wiped everything away. From there, George could never recover.
Despite Quest Warrior being fashionable right now, 2014 world champion James “Firebat” Kostesich opted for Pirate Warrior in game two. The aggression did not disappoint, sealing a quick win before David “Dog” Caero completed the sweep with his Token Druid.
The win leaves the U.K. with a mountain to climb in Group B, with Romania and the Netherlands also fighting for the three top spots. It also left British casters Alex “Raven” Baugley and Simon “Sottle” Welch with the bitter taste of defeat, live on air.
Canada were able to match the performance of their North American counterparts, taking out France in another quick 3-0 sweep. In the final game, renowned deckbuilder Ryan “Purple” Murphy-Root sprung something of a surprise with his heavy duty Y’Shaarj Ramp Druid. The hidden decklist, and the relatively unknown deck, tricked “BestMarmotte” into pulling out a massive board advantage for Purple.
In the other big game of the day, Ukraine managed to beat out top Group H rivals Germany in a back-and-forth five-game series. Aleksandr “Kolento” Malsh once again proved his skill at making unfavored classes viable, defeating Jan “SuperJJ” Janssen in the ace match with his Elemental Paladin.
The Netherlands picked up a 3-0 win over Romania in Group B, meaning the match between the United Kingdom and Romania in two weeks’ time could see one of those sides fall out of contention. Norway also came out on top 3-2 in a Scandinavian showdown with Finland.
