Since losing their first game of the season, the Saint Francis University Hearthstone White Team has been red hot, having won three straight games in the lead up to their match this week. This week they went up against Ball State University, a team that has not played ECAC Hearthstone prior to this season, but has shaped up to be one of the top teams in the league already. However, our season veterans showed why SFU has made finals two times in three years by beating the Cardinals 3-1.
Game 1
As per usual, sans last week, Tyler "Clutch" Tomechak started off the match for the White Team. Not only was his win percentage high in this matchup, but he also started the game with a great hand. This early fortune allowed him to take a 30-19 lead within the first few rounds. However, BSU was able to recover, stalling out the next few rounds and attempting to gain some momentum. Since Ball State was playing a warrior deck, SFU knew that they had to finish the game as quickly as possible due to the exponentially increasing damage potential in later rounds. Unfortunately for Saint Francis, the Cardinals were able to gain ten armor and clear the Red Flash's board. Although this put a halt to the White Team's momentum, BSU was unable to do any damage, resulting in the match being 30-11 in favor for the Red Flash. Within the next few turns, Saint Francis was able to close out the match and go up 1-0 in the series.
Game 2
Tyler "Clutch" Tomechak decided to stay in for game two after his dominant performance in game one. This would be a much harder game to win as his win percentage stood at 42%. The Red Flash were unable to get anything started early which, in turn, gave Ball State the change to start filling the board. After taking some minor damage in the first few rounds, the White Team was able to finally make some plays, establishing a good amount of board pressure. SFU continued to push their small advantage and were eventually able to take the lead 24-14. Despite their best efforts, the Cardinals simply had a slew of healing spells in hand which allowed them to heal back up to full health. These healing cards made it nearly impossible for Saint Francis to gain an advantage. Slowly but surely, Ball State was able to take the lead and eventually take the round, making the series 1-1.
Game 3
For the third game in a row, Tyler "Clutch" Tomechak stayed in for the White Team. Tomechak does not often stay in for three straight games, usually requiring a reliever after the first or second game. It was clear that his arm and mind were clearly becoming fatigued from two intense rounds of Hearthstone, but he was determined to put his team in a position to win. This game was a blowout to say the least, despite SFU only having a 55%-win rate. Tomechak came out of the gates faster than Secretariat, establishing a 29-16 lead within just a few turns. Like clockwork, he was able to find a way to chip away at the HP pool of the Cardinals each turn until there was nothing left. Tomechak and the team celebrated, knowing they only had to win one more game to win the series.
Game 4
With fatigue fully set in on Tomechak by this point, Anthony "McBucketzzz" McFeaters would have to become the Mariano Rivera of collegiate esports. Not only would he have to play a great game to finish out the series, he would have to do it with a measly 38% chance of winning. McFeaters knew that in order to win the match, he would have to establish his presence early and deal as much damage as he could. With this in mind, he came out of the gates swinging, getting hit with some haymakers from BSU as well. A couple of turns in and the HP pools for SFU and BSU were 19 and 22 respectively. However, McFeaters was about to pull off one of the most beautiful sequences in Hearthstone history to win the game for the Red Flash. Within just two turns he was able to deal 22 damage to the Cardinals, winning the series for the White Team and improving their record to 4-1.
