by Alex Sprackling





This weekend we saw Greatswords strengthen, Dun Banners brick and Nekkers play hide and seek in the fourth GWENT Open. Old faces like TailBot and Adzikov clashed with the new kids on the block Lbdutchboy and Damorquis for a share of the $25,000 prize pool. But the money was the last thing on these professional players minds. They were fighting for a place at GWENT Challenger #3, which will be broadcast live from the Wieliczka Salt Mines . And nobody was going down without a fight – or at least a few rounds of cards, GWENT specifically.







A New Champion Must Rise





No matter the outcome, this Open would see a new face take the trophy. All three previous winners – Shaggy, Freddybabes and SuperJJ – were absent from the event. There was even a distinct lack of Gameking. That said, these faces were all new once and went on to become household names in the GWENT scene. It was time for the Eternal Fire to shine over a new star.





Day one kicked off with Cmel taking on Lbdutchboy. A new face on the scene and GWENT’s youngest competitor to date, Lbdutchboy had already proven he could joust with the best. After all, it was his dominating Pro Ladder grind that secured him a place in the tournament, coming in at 8th on the overall rankings. Cmel, on the other hand, was looking to redeem himself after his 0-3 defeat in GWENT Open #3.





That said, Lbdutchboy showcased his skill by winning the Skellige mirror on blue coin, but it was his successful Coral bait that impressed me the most. While playing his Deathwish deck, Lbdutchboy, already with one Archespore on the board, played his Brewess: Ritual to resurrect two additional Archespores. This forced out Cmel’s Coral and cleared the way for an unanswered D’ao/Griffin combo to secure Lbdutchboy a 3-1 victory.





Huyahanachan took on Damorquis in another old guard vs new guard matchup. The Chinese player, after qualifying for every GWENT Open, was looking to finally make it past the semi-final. Meanwhile, Team Aretuza’s Damorquis was hoping to make a name for himself. Unfortunately for him, he appeared to suffer from first time nerves but found his feet with a 2-0 victory to punish his opponent’s dry pass against Elf Swarm. Even so, the Chinese player’s Greatsword deck proved too menacing for Damorquis, which he’d admitted he was hoping not to face, and Hanachan won the set 3-2.





Next came a clash of titans, with the undisputed Kings of the Pro Ladder Adzikov and TailBot battling it out. Both had already secured a place at the upcoming Challenger so were competing for the glory and, in TailBot’s case, the top notch bants. Still, both proved that, while being longstanding veterans, they had different ideas, and treated us to a Deathwish civil war. TailBot’s traditional variant clashed with Adzikov’s Ciri: Nova version and, in this case, the Nova variant came out on top. Even so, TailBot went on to secure a 3-1 victory and successfully took down the most feared monster in GWENT, Red Coin Henselt.





Day one ended with Kolemeon, one of GWENT’s newest faces, taking on one of the oldest, ProNEO, who was present at the first ever GWENT Challenger. But Kolemoen’s lust for redemption proved too much for the returning veteran – he’d fallen victim to SuperJJ’s targeting at the last Open – and Kolemoen was able to secure a 3-1 victory. It wasn’t plain sailing, however, as he had to forfeit his first Arachas Queen game due to stage fright Nekkers.









All to play for – the day two bracket







Men of Kaedwen, attaa – oh wait, we’re banned...





A battle between Hanachan and Lbdutchboy kicked off day two. The Chinese player had clearly made an impact on the other players with his Greatsword deck; his opponent had opted to ban it and allowed King Henselt through. At first, it seemed that Lbdutchboy would triumph, for Hanachan got too greedy in the Deathwish mirror and pushed too hard in R2. But this is something Lbdutchboy went on to mimic in the next game, choosing to commit his Birna Bran too late into the round. In a tense 75-72 victory, Hanachan dodged a potential bricked Vilgefortz to advance to the final 3-2.





We closed off the semis with a matchup that could have been considered the final in itself. Kolemoen took on TailBot in a grudge match from Challenger #2, where the German player was able to defeat the trash-talking Polish competitor with a set defining double Scorch . Despite its high roll nature, TailBot respected his opponent’s ability to pilot Consume and banned Arachas Queen, while TailBot’s Henselt was unsurprisingly banned. And the Polish player proved his capability, where he made Kolemoen’s Henselt game a nail-biting ordeal. He was able to deny most crewmen pockets with his Viper School Witchers and won the series 3-1. This was TailBot’s second victory against Red Coin Henselt and, if that isn’t a display of his skill, I don’t know what is.









Europe vs Asia – the finalists and their decks









A Battle of Continents









Once again, the Chinese player’s Greatsword deck received a respect ban while TailBot suffered another Henselt ban. The Polish player was Twitter’s landslide favourite and he looked good to live up to the hype; he came out on top of a brutal Deathwish mirror (the third this weekend). However, TailBot’s luck ran out against Henselt and was unable to secure the hat trick defeat, with Hanachan forcing his opponent to go two cards down. His persistence proved key and the Chinese player, after appearing at every GWENT Open, was able to finally secure a 1st place victory.







Is ban-baiting the key?





Overall, what did we learn from GWENT Open #4? Henselt was the most banned Leader by a large margin. There’s no denying its dominance on the ladder but it’s still susceptible to the coinflip. In a tournament setting, and thanks to the regulated coin system, players are able to exploit its red coin potential every time. Was this all part of Huyahanachan’s plan? He was the only player to bring Greatswords, another strong meta deck, and its dominant performance against Damorquis struck fear into the other players. His Crach was banned over Henselt every time, allowing him to fully exploit his red coin games. With foresight like that, we can’t wait to see what the Chinese player brings to Challenger #3 at the end of April.