BeNice wins first Hearthstone Battlegrounds Lobby Legends

German Hearthstone player BeNice has won the first Battlegrounds Lobby Legends – Raid Leaders. With the victory he takes the title of first Battlegrounds Lobby Legend ever and $10,000 (9200 euros).

In eight rounds spread over two days, BeNice dominated with high scores. He was the only player to achieve first place in a lobby no less than three times, with first place in the final round being the deciding factor in his victory.

First Battlegrounds Lobby Legends

Last weekend on April 2 and 3, the first Battlegrounds Lobby Legends took place. From each of the four regions, the four best Battlegrounds players were delegated to compete for the title of first Battlegrounds Lobby Legend and a total prize pool of $50,000 (€45,000). The sixteen players were divided into two groups. On the first day, each group played three games to earn points.

A quick reminder of the most important rules of Lobby Legends – Raid Leaders!#HSEsports pic.twitter.com/CAiredmgng

— Hearthstone Esports (@HSesports) April 3, 2022

With a first place finish, a player was awarded seven points and that counted down to zero points for the eighth place finish. The four players with the most points from each group then advanced to the second day for the finals. The finals were played in the check format. If a player managed to get twenty points, they put the lobby in check and then had to get first place to win. Therefore, there was no way to tell in advance how many rounds would be played during the second day.

Group stage

The first day was kicked off by EducatedCollins, baiyu, keromon, Maks7K, Ponpata07, BaboFat, summer and ZoinhU. After the first two games, EducatedCollins was already sure of a spot in the top four. Maks7K, however, needed a miracle to advance to the final day after his disappointing results in the first two games. For the other six players it was really about what would happen in the third and final game. Ponpata07, baiyu and BaboFat finished first, second and third respectively, which put them next to EducatedCollins in the top four.

Playing in Lobby B were Curt, gudDummit, BeNice, hof, KenKen, Satellite, SeseiSei and yjSJMR. Unlike Lobby A, after the first two games no one was dominating and anything was still possible as far as the top four were concerned. Only SeseiSei no longer had a chance to qualify for the final day. In the last game gudDummit and KenKen battled for the all important first spot in the lobby. KenKen won and therefore it was BeNice, KenKen, Curt and hof who advanced to day two.

Final Day

The finals were really dominated by BeNice. At the beginning of the final, it was not yet known exactly how many rounds would be played, as it depended on how fast the players would reach twenty points and then also finish a game first.

At the beginning of the fourth game, both BeNice and KenKen were in a position to reach twenty points or more and thus put the lobby in check. To do so, KenKen would have had to finish first in the fourth game and BeNice a shared fourth/fifth place or higher. However, KenKen became a shared sixth/seventh place, but BeNice became fourth. He thus had the lobby in check.

The fifth game was thus all-decisive for BeNice. The players didn't necessarily seem to adjust their strategy to take on BeNice together, but it turned out to be pointless pretty soon as well. BeNice played with Elise Starseeker and by leveling up early he managed to set up a very strong board. He eliminated almost everyone by himself and took the first place in the lobby convincingly.

Future

The qualifications for the next Lobby Legends are already closed. The final tournament will take place in May. The Dutch Tyler got through the first qualification round, so maybe the next Lobby Legends final will have a Benelux flavor. BeNice did not qualify and will therefore not be able to defend his title.