Grandmasters Asia-Pacific 2019 Season 2 Odds & Preview: Alutemu Favored
- Grandmasters Asia-Pacific kicks off the opening week of Season 2 on August 23rd
- Alutemu is the favorite to win after being the runner-up in Season 1
- Surrender has 8-1 odds despite being the defending Asia-Pacific champion
Hearthstone Grandmasters Asia-Pacific returns for Season 2 on August 23rd. The second season will undergo several changes including a format change to Conquest style which features more decks, and the incorporation of the newest Hearthstone Expansion.
Odds of Winning Hearthstone Grandmasters Asia-Pacific 2019
| Every Teams’ Odds to Win EVO 2019 | Odds |
|---|---|
| Alutemu | +500 |
| Tyler | +600 |
| Shaxy | +600 |
| Dawn | +800 |
| Surrender | +800 |
| Samuelsao | +1000 |
| Staz | +1000 |
| Glory | +1200 |
| Flurry | +1200 |
| Bloodtrail | +1500 |
| Frostee | +1500 |
| tom60229 | +1800 |
| Blitzchung | +1800 |
| Ryvius | +2000 |
| cheonsu | +4000 |
| Pathra | +10000 |
*Odds taken 14/08/19
A Surprising Favorite
Heading into Season 2, Alutemu opens as the favorite with 5-1 odds. He had a very impressing first season as he won his round robin group with a 10-4 record. He then went all the way to the finals before dropping the final match 3-1 to Surrender. Yes, his results were great last season, but being a runner-up doesn’t seem like it should warrant odds as the favorite heading into Season 2.
Outside of Grandmasters, Alutemu doesn’t have many high placings to his name. His best result was a 3rd place finish at Tour Stop HCT Tokyo. Is Alutemu a threat to win this season of Grandmasters? Absolutely. But the value doesn’t make sense when you compare him to other players.
Never Surrender
Somehow, Surrender is not the odds on favorite to win Season 2. He finished just below Alutemu in the round robin standings with a 9-5 record. Surrender then swept Staz in the semis before winning the Season 1 crown over Alutemu.
His track record is also much more impressive, especially when you look at big-scale tournaments that used the Conquest format that is coming to Season 2. Surrender has a first place finish in the 2017 Hearthstone Summer Championship to his name, as well as third place finishes at the 2017 Hearthstone World Championships and the 2018 Hearthstone All-Star Invitational.
Winning Season 1 is impressive, but high finishes at huge tournaments like the World Championship are even more impressive due to the large amount of entrants and qualification steps. The way I see it, Surrender should be the favorite to win Season 2 and become the back-to-back champion. It’s hard to pass on him at the value given.
The 2017 Hearthstone World Champion
Tom60229 is a proven world class Hearthstone player. Luckily for us, his odds of winning are incredibly low because of his poor showing in Season 1. The opening season of Grandmasters ran on a very unique format where matches were played in a best of 3 but each player could only use different variations of the same deck. It’s not a format that is used in any of the big tournaments.
Tom60229 has shown several times that he’s capable of deep tournament runs in a more traditional format like Conquest. He’s the 2017 Hearthstone World Champion, he finished second at the 2018 Hearthstone All-Star Invitational and this past June he placed 3rd at the Masters Tour Las Vegas.
He’s won a lot of money playing Hearthstone and should be considered a top contender in any tournament he enters. Take advantage of his value here. At 18 to 1 odds, Tom60229 is my no doubter pick to win Season 2 of Grandmasters.
Pick: Tom60229 (+1800)
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Growing up, Matthew was in love with sports. So, following his undergrad, it only made sense to dive head-first into the world of sports media. Rather than sticking to traditional sports, Matt found his way to eSports and gaming. He also produces, edits and serves as an analyst for SQUAD.
