Will “Amnesiac” Barton of Team Archon hoisted the trophy at the Winter Americas Championship after a 3-1 against Nostam.
The competition in Hollywood this weekend wasn’t light on surprises as the eight best in the Americas region sparred to split the $80,000 prize pool and the singular invite into the grand finals at Blizzcon later this year.
Day two saw the elimination of one of the tournament favorites. Keaton “Chakki” Gil of Dignitas, the most experienced competitive player on paper out of the eight, was dealt his second loss at the hands of Canadian player Talion. Chakki was on his way to a clean 3-0 sweep when his aggro Shaman was reverse-killed and thus his tournament life was ended.
Eventual champion Amnesiac also struggled somewhat in the same group. After getting blanked by Nostam in the winners match, the youngster had to once again go through Talion in yet another five-game series before he could advance to the playoffs.
Amnesiac’s run through the final four was a bit easier. In both series, Archon’s hopeful started with a two-game lead and gave his opponents just one game before sealing the semi and grand finals at 3-1 scores.
Being crowned the Winter Americas champion at age 15, Amnesiac becomes the youngest player in Hearthstone to win a major of such size and importance. Apart from the $25,000 winner’s cheque, Amnesiac secures the much coveted invitation to the Hearthstone World Championship finals. By the end of this week, he will be joined by the champion from the European region.
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