It is right after the competition in Romania that we catch up with Amaz to talk DreamHack, Priest's weaknesses, being part of ROOT and peaking at #1 in the GosuRankings.

Amaz's knowledge of Hearthstone does not end with Priest, however. The Hong Konger currently boasts the biggest record of NESL King of the Hill wins - six in total - as well as a prestigious top 4 finish at the recent DreamHack Bucharest.

In the world of Hearthstone, Jason "Amaz" Chan is a rare breed of player. One of the very few players to have mastered the undervalued and underplayed Priest class, Amaz has gathered a trusty fanbase of players, eager to learn the intricacies of Anduin. His emotional responses and outgoing nature during stream hours further make him an easy to like player.



Hello Amaz, first of all thanks for taking the time for this interview. Right off the bat I obviously want to get into the Bucharest experience you just had a week ago with DreamHack. Was it your first major LAN event in any game?

No problem at all! It actually was the first gaming convention I've been to in my life. I've been to local ones for Dota in Warcraft 3 way back then, and Bucharest was crazy compared to that.

How was it for you personally, as a popular streamer to be able to go to such an event?

It doesn't change much, as anybody would be excited to go to an event such as this one. As a competitive player, I want to join major tournaments like this to keep myself active, and traveling there also tells my viewers that I am a dedicated Hearthstone player and they can have faith in me.

Were you nervous playing in front of a live-audience or was it just business as usual?

I don't usually get nervous as there really isn't space to feel that emotion inside a tournament. I try to focus on making the best plays possible and that basically puts me "in the zone". The most nervous moment was probably losing my very first game in the tournament when the 3 "pros" before me won their matches, but even then I just focused more on the match.

One thing outside of the playing field that stood out from your performance or your appearance was the deck choice. You are widely known as one of the best Priest players in the game, but you didn’t bring a deck featuring Anduin to Bucharest. What was the reason for that?

I expected a lot of Zoolock decks, and Priest is very weak against that archetype. When I saw that the only popular class was midrange hunter, I was a bit sad and regretted not bringing Priest to the tourney.

The three decks you brought to the event were Hunter, Druid and Warlock. Can you explain to us why you chose them over other potentially strong decks?

The Handlock was to counter Zoolock (once again), and the Druid deck was a comfort pick. When I lost my first match with the Watcher Druid, I knew I had to lead with my Hunter first in all my matches. Other potential candidates were Warrior and Paladin for me.

Leaving the specific action on the table now - How do you generally feel about a Single-Elimination bracket in a card game like Hearthstone? What mode would you rather have seen?

While Single Elimination is bad because players don't get to play a lot and variance might trump over you, it's the worst thing that could have happened. As far as I know, every player who got eliminated was because they made a mistake in their matches. Still, Swiss or Double Elimination might have been better if there were more computers and more time allotted to the HS event (and of course it would suck flying 18 hours to the tournament only to lose two matches).

The bad luck or misfortunate RNG struck down some known players in the early rounds right away - were you afraid that something like that might happen to you too?

We as players cannot be afraid of RNG, the best we can do is to adapt to what happens and make the best play. RNG might give certain players an advantage in certain situations, but it's usually the best plays that come out on top in the end. That's why we have "Hearthstone pros" who consistently do well in tournaments.

Was there a specific state of any game early on, when you felt like you were close to the edge of going out?

After the loss of my first game, I thought I was going to be the first pro eliminated. Then I just focused even harder and bounced back!

Ultimately you made it out of the first day with ease but then ran into Gaara who had not lost a single game up until that match. How did you prepare for that match?

No special preparations. Any preparations would need to be done before the tournament, and any matches further into the tournament just means you have to focus more and play better since there are better players ahead.

If you break down your loss to him, what were the key moments that cost you the game and therefore the entire tournament?

I played my Handlock deck really poorly: the first Soulfire I used was completely out of place and incorrect. One simple play like that cost me the entire game.

With that result you left the venue as the 3rd/4th placed player of a 128-man field. What feeling dominated - joy about the accomplishment or disappointment about the loss to Gaara?

While of course I was disappointed about losing, that only strengthens the will to do better in the next tournament. I made mistakes as well, so I needed to re-watch the games, analyze my plays, and improve for the next one.



With Kripparrian at DreamHack Bucharest. Photo: Twitter

This was one of the first big major tournaments in Hearthstone, aside from various smaller online cups like GosuCups, NESL cups or Zotac weeklies. Do you plan on attending those big events, and maybe even smaller events more regularly now?

I do plan on attending all the big events, and for the smaller events like NESL KotH, I am already attending those!

Speaking of cups, I can’t really let you go without bringing up the NESL King of the Hill series. You are the only player in that entire cup history to ever defend the throne. How do you feel about that cup and that neat accomplishment?

It's pretty good to win a lot of matches. Consistency is the most important thing in a tournament, and I'm glad that I have that in my tournament play.

Another accomplishment I want to talk about is the GosuGamers Ranking system. Even before DreamHack Bucharest you were the #1 player in our system. Do you actually feel like the best player in the world or are you more humble than that?

I don't think there's ever a #1 player in the world. There will be more events, more metagame changes, new stuff to learn that it's pretty silly to name one person the best in the world. I do appreciate the honor though, and I guess the community and viewers love to see rankings and statistics from players.

Who is better than you, or on roughly the same level?

Strifecro, Savjz, Gnimsh, Xixo... the list really goes on and on. To be a good player though, you have to throw yourself in tournaments, because the style is so different than in ladder that your skills as a player will really carry you through.

Okay fair enough. To find a nice ending to this interview I wanted to bring up the Priest class, but with a little twist. The Naxxramas add-on got revealed and two class cards have been made public as well. If you could design the Priest card that will be introduced with the new content: What would that card read, do and what details would it have?

Priest is suffering in the early-game department. I would probably introduce a 2-mana cost minion that had a lot of health (similar to the Armorsmith) with some effect to help it out.

Would that fix the Priest class enough for you?

A Shadow Word: Yeti would help as well. I just want some more flexible cards in the class set since Mind Blast, Divine Spirit, and Lightwell are really one-dimensional.

What are your general thoughts on the Naxxramas content so far? Do you like the neutrals and the class cards?

My first thought was one of sadness, as 2 of the neutral minions had 4 attack. I don't think a lot of these announced neutrals are too exciting for the Priest.

Do you think that the balance of the game will take huge steps into the right direction with Naxxramas or are you more sceptical?

I don't think Blizzard should be afraid of balance issues, especially with Neutral cards where every class could use them. Me and the other pros were discussing in Bucharest that if Blizzard have the "pros" give feedback about certain ideas, then the balance will definitely be there. Maybe they are doing that already and I'm not in that elite circle yet.



F.l.t.r.: Reynad, Lothar, Ek0p, Frodan, Amaz, Kripparrian, StrifeCro. Photo: Twitter

Before we head into the closing “quick takes” of the interview, I want to take the opportunity to ask about your team. You were the first member to be signed by a team with plenty of StarCraft 2 history. How has the cooperation with ROOT been so far?

ROOT has been great, and Catz is a great guy. Communication is good and things are going well!

Did you have offers from other teams or was ROOT the only team knocking at your door?

Back then only ROOT offered me a team spot, so I accepted it happily!

Most recently more and more players joined ROOT like SjoW, ErA and Xixo. Are there any plans of you guys to try to get into team leagues, maybe even ESGN’s Fight Night?

That is the plan, although we certainly need more people to recognize that we are a team and to give us some invites to team invitational tournaments.

To end this interview I want to do the popular “quick takes” segment again. Some random questions about the game itself. Here we go!

Let's do it.

Your favorite class outside of Priest in the game?

Paladin is my favorite, although not the strongest.

Favorite card?

Thoughtsteal by a long shot.

Favorite neutral card?

Ragnaros, because he's MY Sniper Rag!

Least favorite Legendary?

Leeroy, because he always kills me.

Wisp or Laughing Sister?

If taking Wisp means I'll get Ysera Awakens, bring on the 1/1.

Most hated class to ladder against?

Rogues, because they are playing Solitaire while I am playing Hearthstone.

Naxxramas card that will make the biggest impact? (That is revealed already)

Nerubian Egg. That card is crazy.

Most underrated Legendary?

Gelbin, and I actually won a tournament with that card!

Thanks a lot for the time. Any shoutouts?

Shoutout to all my viewers and fans: you guys help me do what I do and your support helps me tremendously! Also to ROOT gaming's sponsors, TTesports, V3-Gaming, and Twitch.tv of course. Find me streaming on twitch.tv/amazhs and follow my Twitter @amazhs !