EGX once again played host to a thrilling ESL Premiership and Capcom Pro Tour European Region finals last weekend, two of the main competitive tournaments on show.
Here’s a quick recap of each.
Paradox lifts ESL Prem Hearthstone trophy with a dab
First up, Oliver “Paradox” Barnett from Vexed Gaming won the ESL UK & Ireland Hearthstone Premiership.
He beat MnM Gaming’s Kieran “Toastmonster” Kane 3-2 in the grand final to take the lion’s share of the £8,000 prize pool.
ESL had its stage once again impressively decked out with Hearthstone-themed items, including suits of armour and other medieval fantasy-inspired stuff.
Paradox thanked his team and Toastmonster was graceful in defeat – here are the finalists’ reactions:
Shoutout goes to the best manager I’ve worked with @MarkAnthonyDigi and @Vexed_GG for all the support they have given me. Without them this trophy wouldn’t be mine!#FeelingVexed pic.twitter.com/kLfhLZNsDZ
— Oliver Barnett (@Paradox_HS) September 22, 2018
I finished second in the ESL Premiership!
I was obviously really upset to fall short again, but really happy I’ve put up another 2nd place finish.
It was a lot of fun meeting up with everyone again as well as some new faces; it really is the community around these events that –
— Kieran Kane (@ToastmonsterHS) September 22, 2018
When presenter Frankie Ward told Paradox this was his moment on stage, and awarded him the trophy, he didn’t disappoint, busting out a flamboyant dab and lifting the trophy at such an angle that the lid fell off.
What is it with ESL Prem Hearthstone trophies and their lids falling off? (see ‘Streaker bundled off stage by ‘jedi’ at UK Hearthstone finals’ for more)
You can check out Paradox’s triumphant moment here:
Luffy Angrybird becomes CPT European Region champion
EGX also played host to the Capcom Pro Tour (CPT) 2018 European Regional Final, played on Street Fighter V Arcade Edition on PS4.
There were two CPT events at the NEC: a $15,000 open regional tournament on the Friday and Saturday, plus a separate $15,000 EU regional top 8 playoff on the Sunday (featuring the top 8 players on the EU leaderboard). The winner of the latter automatically qualifies for the Capcom Cup 2018.
The winner of the open regional was French player Olivier “Luffy” Hay from Besiktas, while the winner of the EU regional was Amjad “Angrybird” Al Shalabi from Jordan, representing NASR Esports.
EGX’s 2017 champion (and recent winner of EVO 2018) UK player Benjamin “ProblemX” Simon from the UK was knocked out by Andrey Rass this year.
.@BanKsEsports interviews a very emotional #EGX2018 champion @Louffy086 #CPT2018 pic.twitter.com/ohn0Fnd4Xr
— Capcom Fighters (@CapcomFighters) September 22, 2018
An emotional finish to the EU Regional Finals. @BanKsEsports interviews your new European Region Champion @NasrEsports @FGC_Angrybird pic.twitter.com/qrohhzKWP1
— Capcom Fighters (@CapcomFighters) September 23, 2018
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
