Hearthstone Global Games 2019 - Week 1 Results & Decklists

Did you miss the start of the third Hearthstone Global Games last weekend? Don't worry, so did we. In this post we'll take a look at how the tournament progressed and what kind of secret weapons the teams used to book their place in the next round of the competition (hint: Shaman).

What Has Changed?

First things first, for those familiar of the previous iterations of the competition, this year will be a lot different.

• The tournament only lasts 5 weeks in entirety, compared to the absolute mammoth it used to be (10 weeks for initial group stage only).
• The teams consist of two members, down from four.
  • No public vote to decide players, top prize money earner & "Blizzard pick".
• The amount of countries involved is now 32, down from 48.
• The format is now 4 deck 1 ban Bo5 Conquest instead of a 9-deck pick-and-ban system.
• (At least most of the first round) matches are played in advance and shown as recordings on stream.

The Results

The competition kicked off with a group stage, where the 32 teams were divided in 8 groups of four. Each group will play through a double elimination bracket, and the top 2 teams of each group will advance to the next phase (starting in two weeks). Last weekend four of these groups played through their games (Groups A, C, D, and E) and the rest will be played this week. You can find a short summary of each already-completed group below.

• In Group A Philippines and Japan took the round 2 places, eliminating Singapore and Australia.
• In Group C Mexico and Argentina finished ahead of Canada and Brazil, reaching round 2.
• Group D saw Hong Kong and Taiwan advancing while the Netherlands and USA were eliminated.
• Group E's European showdown ended in France and United Kingdom going through at the expense of Spain and Sweden.

You can find the detailed brackets on Playhearthstone.com but BEWARE, some of this weeks games are already being played off-stream. If you don't want to get spoiled, take my word for the results. You should be able to see the VoDs of all the games without getting spoiled here, just click the i-icon.

The Decklists

The decks from all the 8 advancing teams can be found below. Argentina sure put some extra spice on their lineup! Is their Rogue's win condition a ton of N'Zoths or what...

Team Argentina's (Nalguidan & PNC) Decks

Team France's (Felkeine & Swidz) Decks

Team Hong Kong's (kin0531 & Fungggg) Decks

Team Japan's (posesi & glory) Decks

Team Mexico's (Empanizado & Impact) Decks

Team Philippines' (Staz & Jia) Decks

Team Taiwan's (Narina & Shaxy) Decks

Team United Kingdom's (DeadDraw & BoarControl) Decks

Don't forget to tune in on Friday when the broadcast for this week's matches begins (we try to not forget it as well)!