This article is part of our Hearthstone Recap series.
Finals
The grand final of the 2016 Hearthstone World Championships was a European showdown between Artem "DrHippi" Kravets and Pavel "Pavel" Beltukov. DrHippi got out to an early 1-0 lead on the back of his Dragon Warrior against the slower C'Thun Warrior of Pavel. He looked poised to take a 2-0 lead, but a big Flamestrike from Pavel cleared DrHippi's board and swung the momentum enough to tie the series at one apiece. Game 3 was a classic Druid vs. Druid showdown, with both players jockeying for position all game long. DrHippi tried to turn the tides with a Yogg-Saron play, but it came up short and Pavel locked up the 2-1 lead.
Game 4 was another classic matchup between C'Thun Warrior from Pavel and the Malygos Druid of DrHippi. In the late-game oriented matchup, the outcome wasn't clear for quite some time. DrHippi once again tried to make a power play with his Yogg-Saron, but it ended up killing itself before doing much damage. Pavel then used his C'Thun to clean, thus winning the game and the showdown between Old Gods. Not content to go quietly into the night, DrHippi grabbed a win in Game 5 with his Zoo Warlock. He controlled the board all game long and was able to easily defeat the Malygos Rogue from Pavel.
With his back still against the wall, DrHippi pulled out his Druid once again to try and top Pavel's Rogue. But for the third time this series, DrHippi's Druid came up short. Pavel brought out a massive 10/10 Edwin Van Cleef that essentially won him the game and the right to be crowned the 2016 Hearthstone World Champion.
Semifinals
Cheonsu vs. DrHippi
The second semifinal of the day saw Kim "Cheonsu" Cheonsu take on Artem "DrHippi" Kravets for the last spot in the grand finals of the 2016 Hearthstone World Championship. Another series, another 1-1 tie to start things off. While Cheonsu took Game 1 with a big Malygos swing turn, DrHippi put his faith in the Old Gods and took Game 2 with some Yogg-Saron magic. Game 3 was fairly straightforward, with Cheonsu using his Midrange Shaman to defeat DrHippi's Tempo Mage.
DrHippi bounced back in a big way in the final three games of the series. After a strong win with his Zoo deck against Dragon Warrior in Game 4, DrHippi put his faith in The Firelord, which helped him grab a 3-2 lead. His Ragnaros was an absolute sniper, as it hit on both a 50/50 and 1-in-3 shot to fuel a big comeback. He then closed out the series with a Game 6 that saw DrHippi's Tempo Mage prevail against the Dragon Warrior of Cheonsu.
Jasonzhou vs. Pavel
The first semifinal of the day saw Jason "Jasonzhou" Zhou take on Pavel "Pavel" Beltukov for a chance at the grand finals. The first two games were tightly contested, with both players taking a game apiece. Jasonzhou grabbed a Game 1 win with a late-game, top-decked Doomguard for lethal, while Pavel used some early ramp cards to top Jasonzhou's Dragon Warrior in Game 2. Pavel took his Tempo Mage into Games 3 and 4, but he posted two very different results. He couldn't overcome Malygos Druid in Game 3, but parlayed an RNG-filled final play with a Firelance Portal to take down Jasonzhou's Dragon Warrior to tie the series at 2-2.
An early misplay with an unactivated Edwin Van Cleef from Jasonzhou left him at a huge disadvantage in a Game 5 Rogue mirror, essentially gifting Pavel the win. Needing just one more win to claim the series, Pavel used his C'Thun Warrior to take down Jasonzhou with a big late-game, 14/14 C'Thun that locked up the game and his spot in the grand finals.
