British Hearthstone pro and former Team Dignitas player James “GreenSheep” Luo has qualified for the Hearthstone Championship Tour Winter Finals in the Bahamas.
GreenSheep played from the UK Fireside Gathering at the ESL UK Studio on the weekend, alongside other UK players including BoarControl, CelticGuard, HelloLeeroy and European No.4 GeorgeC.
GreenSheep was dropped from Dignitas last year as the org exited Hearthstone and Trackmania, but since then he has persisted, and has been playing in open cups to build up his HTC points.
He went 5-2 in the Swiss stage of the competition on the weekend, before beating Pakrovac, the No.1 seed and a second player to reach the European finals. Check out the brackets here.
“We’re incredibly proud of what James achieved on the weekend. He is proof that sheer hard work and dedication can take you to the top tiers of your game.”
ESL UK
GreenSheep eventually lost out to Pavel, the world champion, but has vowed to get revenge at the Winter Finals.
At the Winter Championship Finals later this year, GreenSheep will play with the other three people who qualified from the top four in Europe, and 12 others who will qualify in similar competitions around the world.
WE DID IT GUYS BAHAMAS HERE I COME!
— James Luo (@GreenSheepHS) February 12, 2017
Gg’s @Pavel_HS I’ll get my revenge in the Bahamas :^)
— James Luo (@GreenSheepHS) February 12, 2017
ESL UK is particularly proud of GreenSheep’s achievement.
ESL UK spokesperson Jacob Harrison told Esports News UK: “We’re incredibly proud of what James achieved on the weekend. He is proof that sheer hard work and dedication can take you to the top tiers of your game.
“We’re excited to watch how he performs at the Winter Championship, where he’ll represent the United Kingdom on the global stage.
“James is not the only amazing player in the UK, and for the others the iron is hot – spring season of the Hearthstone Championship Tour is just around the corner, and James is an amazing act to follow.”
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.
