The Round Robin matches continued this past weekend with Week 5 of Grandmasters 2020 Season 2. All 48 players are chasing the same dream: getting enough wins to reach the playoffs and avoiding relegation. You can re-live the action with our post below.
Selected Decklists
As this phase of the competition consists of individual matches rather than mini-tournaments, there are no "winners' decklists" to show; instead, we'll showcase some interesting deck choices from selected players.
Che0nsu's Heal Druid
Che0nsu brought an anti-Bomb Warrior lineup this week which included this strongly teched Heal Quest Druid. Despite the fact that his first opponent Surrender didn't bring Warrior, che0nsu came very close of beating his Demon Hunter with this deck, just narrowly running out of answers before fatigue. Against Tyler's Warrior the deck performed as it was meant to, thus finishing the week with a 1-1 record.
Che0nsu's Control Shaman
Not only did che0nsu bring a unique lineup when compared to the rest of the field, he also brought the first Shaman of the Season! However, this deck turned out to be the weakest link of the lineup, losing all three games it was played in. To add insult to injury, it fell short even against Tyler's Bomb Warrior, the very deck it was meant to counter.
Briarthorn's Zoolock
The only region where Warlock still saw fringe play was Americas, with Firebat bringing a very similar list to pre-nerf Zoolocks, whereas Briarthorn decided to include the already-nerfed Imprisoned Scrap Imps to his version of the deck. The weekend didn't start well as the Zoolock got Solarian Prime'd, followed by quick losses to both Empanizado's Rogue and Nalguidan's Hunter, before finally taking a win against Nalguidan's Rogue, bringing its match record to a suboptimal 1-3.
VoDs
Here are the match VoDs from the three days of competition in spoilers.
——— Asia-Pacific ———
- TIZS vs Flurry: VoD
- glory vs Bankyugi: VoD
- Surrender vs che0nsu: VoD
- Ryvius vs kin0531: VoD
- Alutemu vs Alan870806: VoD
——— Europe ———
- Bozzzton vs BoarControl: VoD
- Warma vs Swidz: VoD
- Bunnyhoppor vs xBlyzes was not played due to Bunnyhoppor being ill. xBlyzes was awarded the win.
- SilverName vs Felkeine: VoD
——— Americas ———
Results & Standings
The individual match results can be found on the official site. Current standings within each Division can be found in spoilers below.
Discussion
After a more modest representation during Week 4, Druid rose back to the #1 pick amongst the regions. Even though last week's Masters Tour event showed that Bomb Warrior counter lineups can succeed, the number of Warriors continued to rise, with every EU player deciding to bring one. Out of all 48 players, only che0nsu tried to prey on the Bomb strategy, bringing the first Shaman of the season in his lineup, but that choice did not pay off for him. The top 3 picks were completed by Mage, who lost some support everywhere else than in the EU when comparing to the previous week.
The big winner of the week (alongside Druid) was Demon Hunter, as Illidan more than doubled his popularity. At the same time, the other Demon-loving class Warlock continued to suffer from its post-nerf depression, with only Briarthorn and Firebat bringing Zoo lists; a stark contrast to the 22 Zoo players before the latest patch. One thing still remained the same: no Paladins this week either.
While che0nsu's decision to bring something different this week was refreshing and fun to watch, it may have doomed him into the relegation struggles this Season. On the other end of Division A, Surrender already booked his Playoffs ticket as he's looking to improve from his last Season's runner-up finish. In Division B nothing is certain yet, although the Taiwanese duo TIZS and Shaxy are very close to safety.
In Europe, Rdu and Bunnyhoppor will almost certainly be seen in Playoffs, despite Bunnyhoppor having to forfeit his first match of the weekend due to an illness. Things are not looking as bright for Viper who just doesn't seem to be able to get a win on the board. In Division B the French are leading the way, while the players with only one victory so far are starting to fall behind, amongst them the Season 1 champion SilverName.
In the Americas, the Division A standings are very even, with only NoHandsGamer having an edge against the rest of the players. The same can be said about Division B as well, with ETC having a small lead to others on what will be his swansong season in Grandmasters.
Round Robin matches continue next week, and the stakes are getting higher. Don't forget to tune in!
Comments
Completely forgot that Lucentbark was still in Standard. Props to Che0nsu for trying some unique material, even if it didn't work out.