While 48 countries entered, only one can leave—as the victor of the 2018 Hearthstone Global Games (HGG)! After the initial Swiss rounds and the Round of 16 concluded, we were left with eight teams of some of the most talented Hearthstone players from around the globe. Those eight teams will compete in dual-tournament format groups of four at BlizzCon to identify the four semifinalists, who will then go head-to-head in a single-elimination bracket to determine which team will claim the 2018 title.
None of the top four teams from 2017 are making repeat appearances, but China and New Zealand will reprise their role as top eight competitors. All six of the other teams are fresh faces for this tournament! Before the games begin, here’s a look at what to expect from the group stage and these eight teams.
Group A
In the first group, Spain and Hong Kong will face off initially, as will both teams making repeat HGG top eight appearances, New Zealand and China. At the end of the Swiss rounds, all four of these teams had 4-2 match records; none had gone head-to-head up to this point. China had the strongest placement on tiebreakers (finishing Swiss in sixth place), but Spain finished with the fewest game losses (even despite New Zealand’s sixth-round bye).
In the Round of 16, Spain narrowly edged out of their group in first place after two five-game series, whereas China had a more definitive victory over Switzerland and took one less game loss overall. New Zealand beat Chinese Taipei 3-0 before taking a 3-1 victory over Singapore to advance almost undefeated. Hong Kong initially fell to the United Kingdom, then came back through the elimination and decider matches to ultimately fell them and claim a spot in the playoff bracket.
Prediction: New Zealand and Spain advance
Group B
Easily the more stacked of the two groups, Group B features Brazil—the only team to go undefeated in Swiss rounds—up against the Bulgarian contingent who finished 5-1, followed by another 5-1 finisher in Singapore taking on the popular Norwegian quartet. Although Brazil and Singapore finished first and second in Swiss, respectively, both teams ended up taking more game losses than either Bulgaria (which placed fifth) or Norway (14th), both of which ended the six rounds with only seven game losses.
Brazil fell in a lopsided initial match to Portugal, failing to take a single game, but pulled off a miracle run like Hong Kong’s to ultimately upend the Portuguese players in the decider match. Bulgaria won their group entirely and were the only team in this group to do so—Norway lost in game five to China in Group D and were forced to play Ukraine in the decider to advance. Singapore finished third in their group, but advanced due to the team from Taiwan being disqualified. (For more information, please visit the Hearthstone Esports Administrative Rulings blog.)
Prediction: Brazil and Bulgaria advance
All eight of these teams are comprised of world-class competitors, so the action is sure to be second-to-none! Join us live at the Hearthstone stage at BlizzCon or on the official Hearthstone Twitch channel to witness the epic finale of this year’s Hearthstone Global Games, and don’t forget to Cheer for your favorite team along the way.
Who do you have taking the trophy at this year’s HGG Finals? Will it be a returning team New Zealand that claims the title, or will an undefeated Brazilian squad shut down their opponents’ dreams? Can China surprise on the global stage after their less-impressive Hearthstone Championship Tour (HCT) performance, or will Bulgaria be the eventual champions? Hit us with your predictions in the comments.
