Thijs “ThijsNL” Molendijk hoisted the HCT EU Spring trophy last night after a seven-game thriller against Russian underdog Iner.
The consistency of the Dutchman won him another title on Sunday evening. Defeating Turna, Loyan and Iner in the EU Spring playoffs with a total score of 12-6, ThijsNL became the only repeat regional champion in game’s history.
ThijsNL has participated in all three European championships – the first player in Hearthstone to do so – and in 2015 defeated Yevgeni “Neirea” Shumilin in front of the Prague crowd to win himself a major Blizzard trophy. This qualified him for the Blizzcon 2015 finals where ThijsNL’s run was ended in the semi-finals by eventual champion Sebastian “Ostkaka” Engwall in what many consider to be the highlight series of the year.
This weekend, ThijsNL entered the Spring EU Championship as the undoubted favorite, despite being in the company of other esteemed competitors like Esteban “AKAWonder” Serrano and Simon “Crane” Raunholst. The G2 player has struggled in his recent tournament appearances, losing in the group stages of CN vs EU Season 3 and StarLadder Season 2, but showed top form where it counted.
Thijs’ triumph on Los Angeles qualifies him for the Blizzcon finals two years in a row and joins the small club of repeat Blizzcon finalists, until last night only consisting of Hak-Jun “Kranich” Baek.
Iner's runner-up finish, on the other hand, makes for another strong showing for the CIS region when it comes to HCT European championships. In winter, it was Kazakhstan's Naiman and Ukraine's DrHippi who fought it out for the championship, eding with the victory of Naiman.
