Countless cards have been played and mana spent to bring the final four teams together in their quest for their share of $50,000 in scholarships and prizing.

The action will be broadcast live from the Twitch Arena at PAX South this Sunday, January 29th from 11am - 5pm CST. For those of you not at PAX South this year you can catch all of the action by tuning in on Twitch at twitch.tv/PlayHearthstone.

This final series will be using an exciting new 3v3 format that allows each player’s skill to shine. Teams will draft decks for each of the 9 Hearthstone heroes together. From there, players will then play a Best of Three series alongside their other teammates. Voice chat allows them to be in constant communication as they strategize against their opponents. The team to walk away with 5 or more game wins from their set of 9 will win the match and advance to the next round. 

Each of the four final teams are sure to pull together some exciting stats as they mix in cards from the Standard set and the newly released expansion Mean Streets of Gadgetzan! Here’s a quick look at our finalists.  

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS - URBANA CHAMPAIGN (WAASABI) - North

Playoff Decks: Tempo Mage, C'thun Warrior, Malygos Druid, Midrange Shaman

Q: How did your team come together?
A: The three of us lived in the dorms together last year, so when we heard about a Hearthstone tournament, we knew who to call!

Q: What was your team's biggest challenge?
A: Just playing the game. We're all good players in our own rights, but none of us have ever hit legend (and we're constantly playing against legend card backs in this tournament). I think great teamwork and communication has helped us overcome this issue, as every player's input has been necessary to navigate each turn of the tournament.

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA - BIRMINGHAM (BLAZERS) - South

Playoff Decks: Control Warrior, Midrange Hunter, Malygos Yogg Druid, Midrange Shaman

Q: How did your team come together?
A: We came together last year, we had a couple of classes together and met there.

Q: What is your favorite memory from this tournament?
A: We got 0-3'd by Chessdude123's team (in Swiss stages) and then we 3-0'd them back in the Playoffs.

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY - FULLERTON (TITAN KINGS) - West

Playoff Decks: Midrange Hunter, C'thun Warrior, Discolock, Midrange Shaman

Q: How did your team come together?
A: We were thrown together from our Esports club. We did not know each other beforehand.

Q: What is your least favorite card?
A: Totem Golem because the 4 health makes it difficult to deal with.

UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER (YOGGONOMICS) - East

Playoff Decks: Malygos Rogue, Dragon Warrior, Discolock, Midrange Shaman

Q: What were your expectations coming into this tournament?
A: We wanted to have some fun playing games, and enjoy a more competitive format than ladder. We're pleasantly surprised to have come this far.

Q: What is your favorite memory from this tournament?
A: Opponent used post-nerf Yogg-Saron on an empty board and it Pyroblasted itself as the first spell. Esports.

This competition promises to be a unique and exciting experience for everyone. Don’t forget to join us at PAX South or tune in live this Sunday, January 29th from 11am - 5pm CST on Twitch at twitch.tv/PlayHearthstone