pick ’em up and lay ’em down
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I have been thinking We need a gaming tournament, and what better game to do this on than Hearthstone? So lets make it happen! Consider this the official announcement of the second BSG Hearthstone tournament, and the first BSG Hearthstone invitational. I like how it sounds all fancy when put like that. We are going to make this fun with some unique deck building rules, and of course a pot for everyone to compete for. Read on for who is participating, what the rules are, prize amounts, when it is happening, and everything in between.
Quick Info
- Date: Saturday June 29, 2024
- Start Time: 2:30pm eastern
- Prize: $30 for 1st, $20 for 2nd, and $10 for 3rd.
- Tournament Format: 8 person single elimination
- Rules: Random Splendiferous Whizbang decks only
- Participants: Invitation only (listed below)
- Everything streamed on the BSG Twitch Channel
- Stream commentators: Smoke & BlurrySito
The Format of the Tournament & The Rules
Ever since the announcement of the Splendiferous Whizbang card and his random 11 decks, I wanted to do a tournament based around this mechanic, and now that time is here. I’ve reached out to both well known and newer blind hearthstone players, and all have agreed to participate in this unique tournament. They can’t make their own decks, instead they have to rely on their knowledge of these 11 decks, and their ability to adapt on the fly to interesting matchups and rules. This has the ability to go great, or horrible, but with these players I’m sure it is going to be a hell of a show.
I used random.org to randomize the list of eight participants, and they will pare up and face off against one another in best of 3 sets. For example match 1 will consist of player 1 vs player 8, match 2 will consist of player 2 vs player 7 and so on. After everyone faces off in their first match we’ll have 4 players remaining, and they’ll face off against one another and the two winners from that round will advance to the finals. The two losers will also face off to decide who gets third place. This whole schedule will be posted later in this blog post. Everyone will have 3 matches, and at the end of it all we’ll have crowned a winner for the first BSG Hearthstone Invitational.
The one rule for everyone participating I had to figure out was a way to simulate the conquest banning of a deck. Since this is not actually possible when dealing with Splendiferous Whizbang decks, some creativity had to be used. For each best of 3 match each person will be allowed one concede during the mulligan. This will not count as a loss, but rather just a toss away before the match starts so you can start a new game against your opponent with new decks. Participants can do this if they don’t like their deck, if they don’t like their opponent’s deck, or if they just feel like it for no reason what so ever. Again every participant will have one of these mulligan concedes for each best of 3 match. Use them wisely, and make sure you are doing it when it means the most.
This tournament will be streamed, and due to the possibility of stream watching we will be running on a delay. I honestly don’t expect any of these players to try and stream watch, but nevertheless we’re going to keep it safe. This is more for everyone in chat, just so you are aware on our reaction to your chat messages.
That’s really all there are for rules, this is a fun event with hearthstone pros, so lets have a good time watching these players showcase their talents.
Why Is This An Invitational?
This is simply because I have a hard time figuring out the proper time in an expansion schedule to hold a full tournament, and this has stopped me from hosting another one. Doing an invitation only tournament allows me to put it together quick, and to have some fun with it. There was a huge amount of people I wanted to invite, but I also wanted to keep it somewhat small with eight participants. I went with some of the best blind players out there who have already proven themselves, and also some I feel are good but haven’t had a chance to participate in any tournaments yet. So to keep it short…I did it because it is the easiest and fastest way to get a hearthstone event from idea to stream, and I’ve been wanting to do another event for a year or more now. There will be a full blown open registration tournament hopefully with the next expansion…as long as this one goes good and we have a good turnout, so share it around and get folks to the stream to see these players.
About The Participants & The Schedule
We have so many good players in this tournament, and random.org has done such a great job matching them up for us. Below you’ll find who is facing who, and a little bit about each player in the tournament.
Match 1: JessicaGG vs. Anton
Jessica has been a long time Hearthstone player, and has been on stream playing with me multiple times, also drinking way too much. You may remember her from infamous streams like Stream 189 Jessica’s sticky poops, and a Splendiferous Whizbang stream earlier this year. She is sassy,and always manages to make her matches entertaining, but now she needs to put it all together and make it to the end.
Her opponent Anton placed third in the last BSG hearthstone tournament, and for good reason, he is one hell of a player. On hearthstone he is better known as Endefx, and is one of the main reasons we still have a hearthstone access mod for this game we all enjoy so much. Last time he came out of nowhere and put on a hell of a show taking home some of the pot,and I can’t wait to see what he does this time. Seeing these legend players work is always so much fun, and I can’t wait to see him play on the 29th.
This match of Jessica vs Anton is actually a rematch of the bronze match from the last tournament, so thank the RNG gods that we got this one. Will Jessica be able to get one back, or will Anton continue to keep her down?
Match 2: Livdera vs. CritterPup
Anyone who knows Hearthstone knows of Livdera, how could you not? One of the very best players in the game…blind or not. Even though she scares us all in the game, she is one of the sweetest players out there, she’ll beat you then help you know why she beat you. For some reason she even joined me on stream once for a coaching session, and managed to make me not suck. She is honestly one of the scariest people to face off against, and she showed that in her performance in the finals of the last BSG tournament.
Livdera doesn’t have it easy though, as she is facing off against another well known Hearthstone name…CritterPup. He has participated in multiple Exhibitions on TBlaze’s streams and always performs great. He is known for playing some decks that may not be considered meta, so will the Splendiferous Whizbang randomness play in his favor? I think it will be a perfect fit, and this match is going to be incredibly close. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Match 3: Gruntok with a K vs. Lunar Echoes
Gruntok is a very well known name from BSG streams, and he also plays hearthstone. He has been very deep in the WoW and Hearthstone world for years now…the nerd even read the books. Not only that, He knows the sweet taste of victory as he was the first place champion of a past BSG Singing Competition in the bad category. The question is, can he use this to his benefit in hearthstone? Well probably not, but he has some serious hearthstone skills as well.
LunarEchoes is a newer name to me, but definitely not to those who know Hearthstone. She was also a regular on TBlaze’s exhibitions where she got to show her HS skills. Once I saw her play I realized she needed to be in the next Hearthstone tournament without a doubt! It seems every time I check HS she is always floating between Diamond 1 and 5, a rank most people don’t ever get to. She has a great ability to see mistakes and correct them in the next match, something she did in blaze’s exhibitions more than once. I can’t wait to see how this match turns out.
Match 4: Konnor vs. Sarah Joyce
Konnor is a very well known name in the blind fighting game community as he is one of the scariest players to face off against in that genre. He is a multiple time second place finisher in the Sento Showdown tournaments, but this ain’t Mortal Kombat. Lately he has been showcasing his talents and his hyper competitive nature in hearthstone streams on his twitch channel. I’ve been watching these streams, and I really want to see if he can make a pivot to competitive Hearthstone. Now the question is, can he turn this MK skill into Hearthstone skill and perform the same way?
Sarah Joyce is another well known name in the world of BSG singing competitions, and of beautiful music on YouTube. Everything Gruntok doesn’t have she does have when it comes to music, but this isn’t a talent show. She has been playing hearthstone for a couple years now, and is also always floating between Diamond 1 and Diamond 5 on the ladder. Another player who enjoys playing decks for their fun value rather than for their meta ranking, she may be a perfect fit for these Splendiferous Whizbang random decks.
This is a match between two players most have never seen play before, and so many questions are going to be answered, I can’t wait to see it.
Match 5 (semifinals 1)
Winner of Match 1
vs.
Winner of Match 4
Match 6 (semifinal 2)
Winner of Match 2
vs.
Winner of Match 3
Match 7 (third place)
Loser of Match 5
vs.
Loser of Match 6
Match 8 (first and second place)
Winner of Match 5
vs.
Winner of Match 6
Lets Go!
I honestly can’t wait for this tournament. It has been too long since we’ve done one of these, and it is a damn shame. Hearthstone is one of the best games out there for us to play, and these players are so damn good at the game. Come to the stream on Saturday June 29 at 2:30pm eastern and lets watch it all go down!
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