Andrew "TidesofTime" Biessener, aHearthstone veteran with more than $50,000 in prize money winnings in Hearthstone, is gliding through an early qualification tournament for Blizzard’s $1.6 million Hearthstone Championship Tour. In the semifinals he needs to only beat William "Amnesiac" Barton, a sandy-haired 15-year-old playing in only his fourth tournament.
But even though he has a lineup of decks designed to counter Barton, Biessener loses. In the next round Barton, a high schooler from Massachusetts, tears through another veteran, Andrew "Kitkatz" Deschanel, and wins a coveted spot in the Winter Americas Championship—leaving him one step away from the World Championship.