James "Firebat" Kostesich, Hearthstone's first World Champion, has quit competitive Hearthstone.
The news was announced late this evening in a tweet from Firebat himself and follows his relegation from Hearthstone Grandmasters.
Quote From Firebat My competitive hearthstone career is over. I want to thank everyone that supported me over the last 7 years. And the people running all the events that made it possible to compete. I never imagined it to last this long. I feel truly blessed.
Firebat is currently one of the top earners of all time for Hearthstone players sitting at a comfortable 12th place with total earnings of $263,303 USD for the title. We don't know what he's planning on doing in the future, but he does have a great YouTube channel and Twitch stream so be sure to continue to follow his adventures there.
Quote From Firebat I just couldn't find anything that worked for me this meta. Kept trying different things every week but nothing was really clicking. So, I lost enough in the league to get relegated.
If I'm honest I wasn't putting in the time necessary to play at the level required to win championships. I was putting in the just enough to get by kind of energy. And focusing on other things, YouTube, Twitch Streams, moving house, relationships. So, I'd say it is a deserved relegation. Still hurts though, and I keep running back in my mind all the times I could have done a little more. Or what the hell I was thinking with that control warrior + highlander hunter lineup! Even if I didn't like the current iteration of the system that much, I loved competing and it has done so much to enable me to be where I am today.
I plan to continue making content, maybe not as much Hearthstone content as before. But, I still plan on trying to promote and help out the competitive scene wherever I can so that others may be given the chance at the same opportunities I've had. I know its switched to YouTube now instead of Twitch and its harder to follow. But, if you haven’t had the chance to tune in to the broadcasts I can't recommend watching it enough. It really is a life-changing program that allowed me to take my passion, turn it into something and become a content creator. I know competitive hearthstone gets memed on a lot, but I hope it continues to enable others to achieve their goals as well.
Firebat's World Championship 2014 Run
Here's where Firebat won the first Hearthstone World Championship almost 6 years ago. NAXXOUT!
Firebat's Tribute
Firebat received a tribute card for winning, Fiery Bat. You can learn more about all the other tribute cards in our dedicated guide.
Leave a Comment