Rase’s Playoff Predictions

Lucas “Rase” Guerra narrowly missed out on playoff qualification this past weekend after an unfortunate disconnect cost him his final series of Season 1 against Ryan "Purple" Murphy-Root. This came on the heels of the first ever tie in Grandmasters, when the two players hit the turn timer in the first game of the set.  

“After being 7-4, losing three in a row and missing playoffs was really frustrating for me, especially after the disconnect in my last series” Rase said. “I'm the kind of guy that never surrenders and always tries to fight until the end.  But sometimes these things happen, so I must raise my head and move on. I would like to thank everyone that cheered and supported me.” Rase explained that even though he is sad for not making playoffs, he is also very proud of himself. “I know I've tried my best and will work hard to go even further next season,” he said.

We’ve asked Rase to give his playoff predictions for each region. He has happily obliged but has provided us with this caveat: “I'll be cheering and supporting Team Genji, but to make this much more interesting and not biased, I will not vote for them!”

Americas

• Rase’s Predicted Winner: Frank "Fr0zen" Zhang
• Rase’s Predicted Runner Up: Eddie "Eddie" Lui

For the Americas Region, I was pretty impressed by Fr0zen. He didn't play much last year but has been unstoppable in Grandmasters. He won his last 9 matches and always has some interesting deck choices. For the second place, I will go with Eddie. I've been working with him on Grandmasters and I know how hard this guy is trying to show his best. Even though he lost his last 3 games, he will step up his gameplay again for playoffs and will perform well.

Europe

• Rase’s Predicted Winner: Aleksandr "Kolento" Malsh
• Rase’s Predicted Runner Up: Casper "Hunterace" Notto

For Europe, things are super interesting. After a tough start, Hunterace turned things around and won his 7 last matches. But I think this streak will be stopped by one iconic player. Since I started with Hearthstone, Kolento always impressed me and everyone else with amazing gameplay. We’ve been seeing this from him in Grandmasters, so I will pick him as the winner from Europe and Hunterace as the runner-up.

Asia-Pacific

• Rase’s Predicted Winner: Kim "Surrender" Jung-soo
• Rase’s Predicted Runner Up: Liu “Shaxy” Wei-Chieh

For Asia-Pacific, unfortunately I have not been watching it as much as I’ve been wanting to, due to the time zone. But when we talk about the region, Surrender has always been a reference for me, so I'll pick him as the winner.  For the second place, I will go with Shaxy. I met him at HCT Rio de Janeiro last year, and when this guy is not nervous, he is super talented and can play very well.

Do you agree with Rase’s predictions? Let us know what you think in the comments. The Hearthstone Grandmasters Season 1 Playoffs will begin in with Jang “Dawn” Hyun Jae taking on Euneil “Staz” Javiñas in Asia-Pacific at 2 a.m. PT on Twitch.tv/PlayHearthstone!