WSOE 5: Hearthstone - The Return of Jia is set to begin tomorrow and will see Jia Aquino “Jia” defend her title. To spice things up for those attending or watching the tournament, showmatches have been announced with veteran players going head-to-head against each other.
Joining the tournament is Andrey "Reynad" Yanyuk, Paul "Zalae" Nemeth, William "Amnesiac" Barton, and David "Justsaiyan" Shan.
The four will participate in a best-of five Last Hero Standing matches. The matches take place on March 31, with Reynad going against Zalae in the first match at 4:15 p.m. EST. The second match has Amnesiac versus Justsaiyan at 5:45 p.m. EST. Both matches are set before the main match, which features Jia defending her title.
Given the unique format of the upcoming tournament, it will be interesting for many to see what strategies these players will show. Under the rules, players cannot included new Hall of Fame entries to their decklists. The deck drafting rule of these showmatches are the same at that of the WSOE 5.
While the showmatches are exhibition matches, the winner of each match earns $2,500, with the other player getting $500.
For the upcoming tournament, WOSE announced that they partnered with Avira for cyber-security and gaming optimization. Talking about the partnership, ESP Gaming Co-Founder and Senior Vice President of Business Development, Richard Blankenship, said that with Avira being considered as the top in security software, there was no doubt that Avira would be “a natural partner for WSOE as we continue to offer our fans the best and most secure experiences in esports.”
On winning the WSOE 2, Jia took home $15,000, the largest by far of a single prize that has been won by a player in WSOE. If she wins WSOE 5, she will be the first champion to defend her title.
