During the summer of 2014, the best tournament Hearthstone player in the world was a 17 year old kid.
This could be seen as an overstatement especially in a game like Hearthstone where the volatility of the game combined with the enormous player pool makes it different to pinpoint who’s on top, but the Romania prodigy sure does make a strong case for himself. During his peak, Dima “Rdu” Radu consistently won or placed high in the events he entered. He succeeded despite his young age, his ongoing school duties and the barrage of negativity following one of the biggest controversies in the Hearthstone scene, the DreamHack Summer finals.
As every other player in any sport, Rdu’s results too started withering and once the king of the rankings is on the edge of falling out of the top 16. The one who once held the second highest GosuRankings peak is at his personal low for two months in a row, with 53% in October and 29% in November. In the wake of unconvincing results, Rdu now struggles to regain his former glory and the last chance to do so before 2014 flies away is mere hours from this article.
Before the kid plunges into the biggest challenge in his career, we hit the rewind button and go all the way back to April, when the first chapter of one of the most intriguing storylines in professional Hearthstone was written.
1. The kid makes splashes
Towards the end of April, an announcement for a tournament called “EU vs CN Masters” appears on Hearthstone portal and event organizer Hearth2P. Like its predecessor, the NA vs CN Masters, EU vs CN is one of the rare instances of international competition where the west meets the east. What’s more, unlike the majority of Hearthstone competition at the time, the tournament is not an invitational. Streamers, champions and up and comers have to take the same grueling test – swiss rounds into single elimination bracket. The goal for all is to make top four, the result that gets you into the main event.
The sixteen players who make it to the bracket are a colorful mix of popularity and anonymity. It’s a tournament that would be known as one of the first to offer big upsets as names like Gnimsh, Darkwonyx and Kolento couldn’t make it past the first round. Although the title ultimately does go to a fan favorite – Janne “Savjz” Mikkonen, then of DogeHouse – this qualifier means all the world to a few other players, one of them being 17 year old aspiring Romanian Dima “Rdu” Radu.
Despite his success in EU vs CN Masters, Rdu’s persona remains largely unnoticed but the kid is determined to keep trying and make a name for himself.
Despite his success, Rdu’s persona remains largely unnoticed but the kid is determined to keep trying and make a name for himself. As one of the biggest eSports brands decided to make a stop at his home town Bucharest, Rdu is giftwrapped the perfect opportunity.
Once again, though, Rdu’s run is overlooked as community’s eyes are on players like Ek0p, StrifeCro and Amaz. His upset victory over DogeHouse captain Gnimsh in round one earns him a short mention but from there on, his road to the top four is unimpressive as he mostly competes against local, unknown players.
Regardless, the kid makes his first splash. As he beats SmilingFlower in the EU vs CN main event two days after he returns from DreamHack, Rdu proudly says that he made $3,000 in less than a week, not even practicing daily and playing for one to three hours when he does.
As the scene start to slowly grow, the youngster readies his quill to write the second chapter of his story.
2. The kid breaks out
In June, the biggest Hearthstone tournament at the time is about to happen. A cooperation between DreamHack and streaming platform Viagame has resulted in a $25,000 prize pool for DreamHack Summer, the second major LAN for Hearthstone.
The invite to DreamHack Summer comes at the cost of being thrown in the group of death.
Unlike DreamHack Bucharest, the Summer event is supported by monstrous hype waves. Invited are some of the best, most known players in the world, while an open bracket welcomes all the rest. Though on European soil, players like Reynad, Realz, TidesofTime, Kitkatz and Amaz fly from overseas to add stardom to the event.
Being a top four finalist from last event, Rdu finds himself among the invites but that comes at the cost of being thrown in the group of death alongside Realz, Tides and Darkwonyx. Still considered the underdog, the Romanian has to win two tough series against the Swede from Curse gaming to make it to the playoffs. The key to his success, Rdu later admits, is knowing how to handle pressure.
“The pressure was big but I managed to hold it. By that time I realized how I should fight the pressure and I think I did a good job. Even though this is not a game like Counter-Strike or League/Dota where if you are pressured and you might misclick and ruin your whole team's game, in Hearthstone if you don't concentrate you can make one mistake that can cost you the game and potentially the series. Even when I was 1-1 vs Darkwonyx in the situation where the winner advances and the loser goes home, I didn't feel that much pressure.”What comes next is one of the most memorable finals to date. As if to build upon his survival from the group of death, the DreamHack bracket throws Rdu’s way the three biggest names in Hearthstone at the time: first, Ekop, then Reynad and finally Amaz. The kid’s Miracle takes care of the first two while his Frost Mage disposes of the Hong Kong player and on the night of June 16, Rdu hoists the first trophy of his career…
…A triumph that is quickly scalded. Caught in cheating accusations, Rdu can’t find time to enjoy his victory. The attacks come in bulk from community boards like reddit and even some professional players like his semi-final opponent Reynad, who later challenges him to a $10,000 duel for the trophy. Even though casters, hosts and the majority of the other competitors flock to Rdu’s defense, his reputation is tarnished in its infancy. The fact that he just beat one of Hearthstone’s most loved players with one of Hearthstone’s most hated decks doesn’t really help his case.
Yet the kid shows character. The barrage flack, as repulsive as it is, doesn’t knock down Rdu and at the end of the day, he’s still the champion of the biggest tournament ever held.
3. The kid and his redemption
Determined to fix his reputation and eager to show he can beat any player in any format without the “help” of his friendlist, Rdu enters into every tournament he can find. In July only, he would place second at WellPlayed Cup, first at Zotac #23, second at GosuCup #17, finish fourth at IEM Shenzhen and win the WEC Europe qualifiers. By the end of the month, he clocks 85,71% win-rate, his first steps to proving naysayers wrong though in an interview with GosuGamers on August 19th, Rdu would admit that he still hasn’t fully restored his reputation.
It was really hard to get my reputation back and I still don't have it completely but as far as I know for sure that I am innocent, I just try to ignore the hater opinions and prove them wrong by winning everything.”
In that same month, Rdu slows down but that’s just being quiet before the storm. In less than one week at the end of the month, the kid takes back-to-back championships at HyperX Invitational and Heroes of Cards and adds more money to his bank account.
Where many players are still being associated with a certain class or a certain playstyle, Rdu shows uncanny flexibility.
By that time, there’s no more reason to doubt Rdu’s abilities to play Hearthstone anymore. Where many players are still being associated with a certain class or a certain playstyle, Rdu shows uncanny flexibility. Though frost mage and miracle are his trademarks following DH: Summer, the youngster demonstrates he feels equally at home playing other classes or archetypes. His competitive consistency over the summer places him second in the GosuRankings for June and first for July and August, making him downright the most solid Hearthstone player of that period.
4. The kid starts fading
As Summer moved into Autumn, Rdu shows no signs of slowing down. Even though his trip to China for WEC leaves him with the somewhat disappointing 5th/6th place, the prodigy adds another first place ten days after his return as he beats Kungen, StrifeCro, Trump and Koyuki to win the Deck Wars Season 2 finals. Three weeks later, the kid makes another trip to China for $97,000 World Cyber Arena and although his result is “only” fourth place, he manages to set another GosuRankings record, becoming the first player to pass the 1,280 Elo mark. To this day, this is still the second highest rankings peak of any Hearthstone player, surpassed only by TidderCelestial’s 1,290 right before the BlizzCon grand finals.
This peak will, however, only mark the start of Rdu’s decline and loss of form. In mid-October, a visit to Stockholm for Viagame’s HouseCup results in a quarter final elimination in the hands of his practice partner, Sebastian “Forsen” Fors. His online results start to wither as well, and Rdu – once the undisputed tournament king – faces early exits at Heroes of Cards 2 and 3, Battle of the Best and DreamHack Bucharest.
History has shown that long periods of success or lack thereof are associated with more factors than just luck.
Pinpointing the source of this downfall is a hard thing to do. Juggling Hearthstone and school has never been a problem for the youngster before, so what else could it be? Though there’s always the argument that in Hearthstone anybody can win or lose a match despite his skill, history has shown that long periods of success or lack thereof are associated with more factors than just luck. In several discussions, competitive colleagues of Rdu point out his bull-headedness and reluctance to admit learn from his mistakes, while others speculate that his pick/ban strategies are behind the current meta and adaptation is lacking from the youngster.
5. The kid returns home
Having been excluded from BlizzCon due to regional rules and missing on the $97,000 trophy, Rdu chances of making a return towards the end of the year diminish. But though his days of dominance seem long gone, there’s one more trial left still.
At the time this article is getting finished, DreamHack Winter is less than two hours away, an event praised as the most stacked Hearthstone tournament to date. Even though the $25,000 prize pool dwarfs before the massive checks of BlizzCon or the Chinese LANs, it’s considered by many to be the ultimate trial for any Hearthstone competitor.
People like to say that WCA was Rdu’s BlizzCon but it’s not. DreamHack Winter is. Despite his enormous list of achievements, offline and online both, this is the biggest test the kid – or any other player for that matter – has faced. The stakes are higher than ever before and in the eyes of yours truly, DreamHack Winter will determine the best player in the world even more than the World Finals did.
Rdu’s has been very prideful of his accomplishments and rightfully saw but they’ll all pale before whoever wins this weekend. Today, the kid returns home, to the town where his career truly began with only this thought in mind. Though the neighborhood has changed more than he probably has, the young prodigy ought to hope time is indeed a flat circle.
Rdu needs to complete that circle by Saturday evening.
Photo: Helena Kristiansson / DreamHack
