PVPLive Tavern Takeover - Live Updates

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Quarter Finals:

Savjz vs Kungen

G1: Savjz opening with midrange Hunter whilst Kungen attempts to counter it with his Miracle Rogue. Kungen gets an insane Malygos - Preparation - Blade Flurry into a topdeck Sinister Strike, taking the first game home for the Swede.

G2: Kungen again with his Malygos miracle Rogue, whereas Savjz lines up with a different archetype of Rogue - the tempo rogue. Savjz takes him to 4 health until a devastating Malygos - Preparation - Eviscerate takes him down. So close, yet so far.

G3: An awful start for Savjz's Ramp Druid turns into dominance later on, as his turn 6 Cairne Bloodhoof and turn 7 Ancient of Lore seem too much for Kungen's Miracle. A startling board turn around through the use of Gadgetzan Auctioneer nearly brought it back for the Swede but Ragnaros bringing him down to 3 for an easy finish with Druid of the Claw sealed the deal for Savjz.

G4: Savjz's Ramp Druid runs riot all over Kungen's midrange Hunter. An extremely aggressive play in Alexstrasza-ing the Hunter and zerging him down pays off for Savjz, and he takes the game due to it.

G5: Ramp on ramp! This is where one would say the skill comes into it, with Kungen making some slight misplays allowing Savjz to Big Game Hunter his Ancient of War. From there on the game was only heading in one direction, and it wasn't that of Kungen.

Final Score: Savjz 3, Kungen 2

Trump vs Ek0p

G1: Trump's iteration of Control Warrior just has too much value for Ek0p's Shaman to handle. The Gorehowl going almost 7 for 1 seals the deal, and Trump closes with a Kor'Kron Elite.

G2: Ek0p DC, Trump takes the free win.

G3: Trump thwarts Ek0p's pesky Snake Trap plan, eventually drawing 4 cards in one turn with two Acolyte's of Pain on the field with two Whirlwinds whilst simultaneously clearing Ek0p's board. This seems to prove too much for the German who instantly concedes.

Final Score: Trump 3, Ek0p 0

Reynad vs ThatsAdmirable

G1: Reynad's luck is admirable! His turn one Chillwind Yeti is cleverly played around by Admirable and his Miracle Rogue, but he ends up clearing the board later in the game, and keeping it clear. Triple Leeroy ensures the win later on for Admirable, and Reynad must be wondering how he lost with that opening.

G2: Reynad's switch to Handlock thwarts Admirable's Miracle. How often do you see a Miracle Rogue on one card in hand and win? You didn't see it this game. Reynad takes the second game quite easily.

G3: Admirable switches to his midrange Hunter, the bane of the Handlock's life. Reynad plays for the win and unfortunately Admirable has his kill commands and the burst damage from his hand to finish him off. A good attempt by the Handlock, but in a matchup heavily favoured in the Hunter's favour, it was never to be.

G4: Reynad switches to face Hunter. Hunter vs Hunter, how exciting... it proves too much for Admirable in the mirror. Having to Kill Command a Starving Buzzard shows that you're in a pretty dire spot.

G5: Admirable changes to his tried and tested Control Warrior deck, an extremely hard matchup for the Face Hunter. It's even harder when your Misha gets Black Knight'ed and your Eaglehorn Bow gets Harrison Jones'd. An unfortunate culmination to the series for Reynad, who played extremely well during all of the games, but Admirable edges it in the end.

Final Score: ThatsAdmirable 3, Reynad 2

Realz vs Puffin

G1: An extremely tight game one ends up with Puffin going all in on his Edwin Van Cleef as Miracle Rogue, whilst Realz scrambles to find lethal from his hand using his Watcher Druid deck. Puffin ends the game on 1 HP, with Realz ruing the Cairne Bloodhoof that was sat in his hand for a few turns in this matchup. Sap can be a pain!

G2: Realz goes for the throat and goes for the Miracle Mirror. Showing his finesse and skill with the deck, he takes the board early and never looks like he's going to lose this game. The Puffin Rogue was not strong enough to take down the Realz Rogue!

G3: Puffin going for his ex-teammates trademark deck, the Control Warrior. Realz gets an awesome draw for his Gadgetzan - Preparation - Conceal combo with 5 mana remaining, and Puffin's Ragnaros decides it doesn't want to win him the game today. The next turn ensures 13 damage to the face, and then Leeroy later on to seal the deal for Realz.

G4: Puffin, unfortunately, has to go for the midrange Hunter in game four, which kinda sucks against the Miracle Rogue. The most frustrating card for it however, is most definitely Sap, which Puffin was subjected to twice during the game. The concealed 6/6 Edwin Van Cleef and Gadgetzan Auctioneer proved to be too much for Clarity Gaming's second player of the tournament, as the game and series went to Realz in the end.

Final Score: Puffin 1, Realz 3

Semi Finals

ThatsAdmirable vs Savjz

G1: Savjz opening with his midrange Hunter, whereas Admirable opens with Miracle Rogue. With Miracle favoured in this matchup, it's easy to see why - Admirable clears the board with Auctioneer - Prep - FoK on Turn 5. Savjz, however, has a HUGE amount of damage in hand and just decides to race the Miracle - who can't keep up with the pace. A vital win for the Finn in a matchup he's not favoured in.

G2: Admirable switches over to his version of the control Warrior, a common counter to the midrange Hunter, taking early board control through the use of some Kor'Kron Elites. Some unlucky Ragnaros RNG for Admirable and some awesome topdecking skills from Savjz enable lethal for the Finn later on in the game, taking Admirable to match point.

G3: One of the worse spots Admirable could be in now, as he has to go for the mirror and hope his own midrange Hunter can carry him through the reverse all-kill. Unfortunately, it doesn't happen, as Savjz just draws better, and as you know in a mirror match that's nearly all that matters at the highest level. Savjz takes the win as well as the series.

Final Score: ThatsAdmirable 0, Savjz 3

Trump vs Realz

G1: Realz and Trump both lead with their tried and tested Druid decks. A few misplays from Realz involving a pesky Sylvanas ultimately end up costing him the game, and already putting him on the back foot in this best of five.

G2: Realz's so far unseen Warlock deck turns out to be a Handlock - probably the Warlock deck that Trump didn't want to see. It doesn't matter though, because Trump draws perfectly into his Big Game Hunters and Keepers of the Grove leaving Realz relying on Ancient Watchers to do the job - unfortunately they don't though, and Trump looks in a commanding position to take the set.

G3: Realz finally switches over to his signature deck, the Miracle Rogue, and you can tell it's going to be a good game for him when he starts with Gadgetzan Auctioneer and a Preparation in his starting hand. Trump's early ramping with the Wild Growth wasn't enough, and the Auctioneer took the straight ride to Value Town and taking with it the game.

G4: Trump's goin to the Zoo! He brings his Warlock aggro deck out to play, maybe not the best matchup against Miracle Rogue, but it gives him some breathing space to feel out the deck and what cards he only runs one copies of etcetera. A devastating Coin - SI:7 Agent opening for Realz though is only the start of the pain for Trump, who can never really establish a solid board despite taking Realz incredibly low on hit points, and eventually falls victim to the Miracle.

G5: Again, Realz has the devastating starting hand of Auctioneer and Preparation, but Trump's starting hand with an early Armorsmith and Cruel Taskmaster are equally good. However, the Warrior control deck lets Trump down later in the game when he can't deal with the Gadgetzan Auctioneer on the board; and when you can't deal with a Miracle Rogue's Auctioneer, there's only one way the game is going to go: downhill. Realz quickly takes the game and then the set, producing another reverse allkill with his miracle rogue.

Final Score: Trump 2, Realz 3

Bronze Match

ThatsAdmirable vs Trump

G1: Admirable leads with Miracle Rogue, whereas the Mayor of Value Town starts with his Ramp Druid. A fearsome board of Ancients of War due to the power of the Faceless Manipulator leads to Admirable burning too many cards to remove it, taking the Rogue to fatigue whilst Trump is at a hefty 27 hp with a good board - Trump takes the first game!

G2: Admirable switches over again to his archetype of the Warrior Control deck, which generally has a hard time against the Ramp Druid. The stereotypical matchup is proven again once more, as the Druid's effective cards and it's ability to reach the late game quicker than the Warrior show in this matchup as Trump slowly takes over the board and the game with it.

G3: Admirable's Hunter, to even his own surprise, works extremely well against the deck that was made to beat it in this game. The pure amount of damage coming out of the Hunter through the use of Kill Commands, Leeroy Jenkins and the Savannah Highmanes is just too much for Trump to handle in this game. Admirable claws a game back!

G4: Admirable's Hunter again works extremely well against the new variation of Control Warrior, which was geared towards beating it. Could we see a reverse all-kill on the cards against all odds?

G5: Trump's Zoo fills up the board too quickly in game five of the series for Admirable to respond, in a matchup favoured towards Trump's deck anyway. It was always going to be hard for Admirable to come back from 0-2 down, but he did an admirable job trying.

Final Score: Trump 3, ThatsAdmirable 2

Finals

Savjz vs Realz

G1: Realz opts again to lead with his Druid deck, whereas Savjz goes with his tempo Rogue deck. Realz has a strong opener with an innervated Chillwind Yeti, however Savjz manages to remove it using his own Loot Hoarder and a Backstab and play his own Yeti. Slowly though, with the Druid's more efficient removal and bigger minions, Realz manages to take over the board and in the end a topdecked Black Knight into Force of Nature - Savage Roar takes game one home for Realz!

G2: Savjz moves to his more ramp-orientated Druid compared to Realz's midrange Druid. Realz gets a quicker start, with a few minions such as a Harvest Golem already on the board which Savjz is forced to remove. An extremely quick start for Realz leads to more and more hurt for Savjz, as the Black Knight just adds to his pain removing his taunted Druid of the Claw. Realz nearly has lethal on turn seven, but then on turn 8 seals the deal and goes 2-0 up in the series!

G3: Savjz is down to his last deck now, his Hunter deck, and gets his Unleash the Hounds in his starting hand. Some early board presence from Realz translates into more cards for Savjz from his Starving Buzzard - Unleash combo, and the game just snowballs from there. Leeroy Jenkins closes the game and pulls a game back for Savjz.

G4: Realz switches to his trademark Miracle Rogue, which is so far unbeaten in the tournament and has a strong matchup against the midrange Hunter deck of Savjz. Realz's massive amounts of removal leads Savjz running out of minions slowly, waiting for Realz to draw into the combo, and the board with only a single Bloodmage Thalnos on it spelled death for Savjz. Realz takes a commanding three game lead!

G5: With Savjz at the edge of defeat and having used up all three of his decks, the PVPLive rules allow him to go back to his tempo Rogue list for one last crack at defeating Realz. It doesn't start well, however, as Realz draws into an early Gadgetzan Auctioneer allowing him to clear the board - despite going down to a rather low life total. However, it doesn't matter, as Realz so close to lethal instead decides to play a huge Edwin van Cleef which Savjz cannot deal with - the next turn he swings away with Leeroy Jenkins and takes home the game, series and the $1500 1st place reward!

Final Score: Savjz 1, Realz 4