Photo: Viagame
Frederik “Hoej” Nielsen defied all odds this weekend as he claimed the $10,000 and 100 HWC points of HouseCup #2, going through some of the biggest names in Hearthstone.
It was the ultimate comeback story for the young Dane. Hoej started his HouseCup run in Group A with a brutal 0-3 loss to reigning champion Aleksandr “Kolento” Malsh. Thrown down in the losers match, he also started 0-2 in his series against fellow countryman Erik “Inderen” Kristensen, which meant that one more loss would be Hoej’s end.
Somehow, Hoej pulled through, knocking out Inderen 3-2 and getting a second chance against Kolento in the group’s decider. Another five game series spelled the first upset of the tournament as the Cloud 9 player was knocked out.
In the playoffs, Hoej got the chance to showcase how confident he is playing different archetypes. He eliminated James “Firebat” Kostesich on the back of his face Hunter and mech Mage and ousted Thijs “ThijsNL” Molendijk piloting control Warrior and oil Rogue. Having ploughed through the #1, #3 and #5 world ranked players at the time, Hoej was making one hell of a break-through.
In the grand finals, the Dane met another unlikely grand finalist, Sheng Yuan “Roger” Luo of Wayi Spider. The Taiwanese was the only other open qualifier winner that made it to the playoffs, thus making for the most unexpected final match-up.
Hoej started the series slow, opening with Druid and moving on to Warrior when Malfurion was knocked out. As Roger took a 2-1 lead, though, Hoej pulled the switch and went in full aggro mode, taking out his face Hunter. Three wins in a row on Rexxar sealed it for Hoej: he smiled as he took down the headphones, knowing he was just crowned champion.
This is the second major LAN event in Hearthstone this year that goes in the hands of an up-and-coming player. Hoej’s triumph comes just two weeks after Jon “Orange” Westberg snatched the $13,000 of ESL Katowice.
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