MnM Gaming’s Ben “xl3en” Chapman made Britain proud on the weekend after putting in an exceptional performance at DreamHack Valencia.
The Hearthstone player made it all the way to the grand final, where he was up against Spain’s Hariseldon.
After going 1-0 down, xl3en fought back to level the score after a mage vs mage battle.
He kept playing as mage in the third game and beat Hariseldon’s warrior to take the lead 2-1.
Mage wasn’t enough in the fourth game, however, as Hariseldon’s Paladin was enough to even the scores 2-2, and eventually seal the match 3-2.
But while xl3en may have been disappointed to lose out in the final, just getting there was some achievement in itself.
It was the biggest DreamHack Hearthstone tournament so far with almost 300 players taking part, according to a Reddit post by Paragleiber.
xl3en shared his deck lists following the event:
Decks I used to come 2nd at @DreamHackHS Valencia. Prepared the lineup with @DuncanMeltdown who brought the same lineup. #DHVLC17 pic.twitter.com/6kZ9IgC5gR
— Ben Chapman (@MnM_xl3en) July 16, 2017
xl3en joined rising and respected UK esports organisation MnM Gaming last month.
MnM co-founder Kalvin “KalKal” Chung said at the time: “It is difficult to find the right players to represent you in competitions but I am confident in Ben’s ability and mentality to continue progressing in the Hearthstone scene.”
The tournament clearly left an impression on MnM’s new Hearthstone player.
Goodbye Valencia, it’s been an incredible journey with great friends. You’ve left behind memories that I will never forget ??pic.twitter.com/KO4iQTKPHV
— Ben Chapman (@MnM_xl3en) July 17, 2017
You can watch the full final between xl3en and Hariseldon here.
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.
