Amaz (gamer)

{{Infobox Twitch streamer

| name = Amaz

| logo =

| logo_caption =

| image =

| caption =

| birth_name = Jason Chan

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1991|4|12}}

| birth_place = Hong Kong

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = Hong Kong-Canadian

| occupation = Twitch streamer

| home_town =

| website =

| pseudonym =

| channel_name = Amaz

| years_active =

| genre =

| games = Hearthstone
Magic: The Gathering
Teamfight Tactics
Slay the Spire

| teams = {{ubl

| Team Liquid

| Team Archon

| NRG Esports

}}

| followers = 826 thousand

| associated_acts =

| module = {{Infobox YouTube personality|subbox=yes

| channel_handle = AmazHS

| years_active = 2014–present

| genre = Gaming

| subscribers = 367 thousand

| views = 290 million

| stats_update = October 20, 2024

}}

Jason Chan (born April 12, 1991), better known as Amaz, is a Hong Kong-Canadian professional video game player best known for streaming Hearthstone on Twitch. Chan now plays for NRG, having left the Hearthstone team he created, Team Archon. He was Team Liquid's first Hearthstone streamer as well as a commentator for the Hearthstone World Championship.

Early life

Chan was born in Hong Kong on April 12, 1991. He later moved to Vancouver with his mother when he was in fourth grade, leaving his father behind. There he quickly learned English in his English as a second language (ESL) classes and was introduced to computer games by his cousin. After playing Warcraft III and World of Warcraft, he became a self-described "Blizzard fanboy".

During high school, Chan and his mother moved back to Hong Kong to live with his father. He had to attend international school due to losing most of his Chinese language knowledge during his time in Canada. He later attended University of Waterloo where he studied mathematics. In 2011, his mother died from intestinal cancer, after which he put his studies on hold to move back with his family.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HubLECpQ7Lo|title=Amaz Draw My Life|first=Jason|last=Chan|date=June 4, 2014|editor=KnowNothingNerd|publisher=|via=YouTube}}

Career

In 2013, Chan started an office job his uncle introduced him to in Hong Kong. After deeming it "boring," he earned his diploma and soon after tutored children in saxophone. He also worked on the board game Scribe's Arena, which he conceptualized in high school.{{cite web |url= http://amove.tv/news/2015/2/22/tac-talks-with-amaz |title= TAC Talks with Amaz! |work= Amove.tv|first= Garrett |last= Weinzierl |date= February 22, 2015|accessdate= October 28, 2015}}

Chan started to stream on Twitch in late 2013 after a friend suggested him to. He considers himself lucky to have queued many of his games into fellow Hearthstone streamer, Artosis. This drew Chan a high of 20,000 concurring viewers.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}

=''Hearthstone''=

Chan was the first member of Team Liquid's Hearthstone division.{{cite web |url= http://www.dailydot.com/esports/amaz-hearthstone-team-liquid/ |title= Jason 'Amaz' Chan becomes Team Liquid's first 'Hearthstone' pro |work= The Daily Dot |first= Cody |last= Conners |date= June 12, 2014 |accessdate= October 24, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151126044123/http://www.dailydot.com/esports/amaz-hearthstone-team-liquid/ |archive-date= November 26, 2015 |url-status= dead }} In the Blizzard 2014 Stream Awards, Chan won the "Best Hearthstone Streamer in 2014" award in the poll categories. He came in second place for "Most Active Chat" and fifth place for "Highest Mean Viewership" for overall Blizzard games on Twitch.{{cite web |url= http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/18313049/and-the-winners-are-%E2%80%A6-3-18-2015 |title= And the Winners Are … > |work= Battlenet |first= Blizzard |last= Entertainment |date= March 18, 2015 |accessdate= October 24, 2015}} In November 2014, Chan formed Team Archon after leaving Team Liquid. He immediately signed the Blizzcon 2014 November Hearthstone world champion James "Firebat" Kostesich.{{cite web |url= http://www.dailydot.com/esports/hearthstone-amaz-rdu-reyand-trump-kolento-firebat/ |title= The 10 people who made Hearthstone matter in 2014 |work= The Daily Dot |first= Callum |last= Leslie |date= December 16, 2014 |accessdate= October 24, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151126065800/http://www.dailydot.com/esports/hearthstone-amaz-rdu-reyand-trump-kolento-firebat/ |archive-date= November 26, 2015 |url-status= dead }}

Amaz commentated the 2015 Hearthstone World Championship along with his colleagues Kripparrian and Frodan.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailydot.com/esports/kripp-amaz-frodan-cast-world-championship/|title=Kripp, Amaz, and Frodan expected to headline Hearthstone World Championship cast|first=Callum|last=Leslie|website=The Daily Dot|date=October 20, 2015|accessdate=November 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126062437/http://www.dailydot.com/esports/kripp-amaz-frodan-cast-world-championship/|archive-date=2015-11-26|url-status=dead}}

Chan voice acted some of the Blackrock Mountain expansion cards for Hearthstone's Cantonese and Taiwanese languages.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PrKOOF5iYg|title=Amaz Voices Blackrock Mountain Cards! (Chinese/Taiwan)|last=Amaz Hearthstone|date=April 7, 2015|accessdate=October 14, 2016|via=YouTube}}

On September 6, 2016, Amaz left Team Archon, which he created, and joined NRG eSports.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailydot.com/esports/amaz-signs-nrg-esports-archon/|title=Amaz signs with NRG, future of Archon unclear|website=The Daily Dot |date=6 September 2016|accessdate=October 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011091927/http://www.dailydot.com/esports/amaz-signs-nrg-esports-archon/|archive-date=11 October 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://gamurs.com/articles/amaz-leaves-archon-for-nrg-puts-archons-future-further-into-question|title=Amaz Leaves Archon for NRG, Puts Archon's Future Further into Question|date=September 7, 2016|accessdate=October 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018231129/https://gamurs.com/articles/amaz-leaves-archon-for-nrg-puts-archons-future-further-into-question|archive-date=October 18, 2016|url-status=dead}}

Amaz produced the Amaz Team League Championships (ATLC), later called "the most successful third-party tournament in Hearthstone." On October 31, 2016, Amaz started a Kickstarter for ATLC 2, but cancelled it after two weeks due to insufficient funding.{{cite web|url=http://www.gosugamers.net/hearthstone/news/42209-atlc-2-kickstarter-cancelled-amaz-to-look-for-sponsorship-funding-moving-forward|title= ATLC 2 kickstarter cancelled, Amaz to look for sponsorship funding moving forward |date=11 November 2016|accessdate=November 17, 2016}}{{cite web|title=Hearthstone caster, streamer Amaz turns to Kickstarter for 2nd season of Team League|url=https://venturebeat.com/2016/10/31/hearthstone-caster-streamer-amaz-turns-to-kickstarter-for-2nd-season-of-team-league/|website=VentureBeat|date=31 October 2016 }}

=''Magic: The Gathering''=

Other than Hearthstone, he is also an occasional player and streamer of Magic: The Gathering (and its digital counterparts Magic: The Gathering Online and Magic: The Gathering Arena).

In June 2016, he was given a special invitation by Wizards of the Coast to play in Pro Tour Kyoto 2017.{{Cite web|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/organized-play/introducing-silver-showcase-2018-06-28|title=Introducing the Silver Showcase|last=Mike|first=Rosenberg|date=June 28, 2018|website=Magic: The Gathering|access-date=July 2, 2018|archive-date=July 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702093441/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/organized-play/introducing-silver-showcase-2018-06-28|url-status=dead}} A year later, he was again invited to Pro Tour Minneapolis 2018, also being invited playing an exhibition match celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the game. His team achieved a Top 32 finish in the main event. While he managed to get into the finals of the exhibition match, only losing to 2017 Hearthstone Global Games winning member Stanislav Cifka (who is also the winner of Pro Tour Seattle 2012){{Cite web|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/pt25a/silver-showcase-finals-2018-08-05|title=SILVER SHOWCASE FINALS|last=Ray|first=Walkinshaw|date=Aug 5, 2018|website=Magic: The Gathering|access-date=Aug 8, 2018|archive-date=August 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807185829/https://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/pt25a/silver-showcase-finals-2018-08-05|url-status=dead}}

After the two special invitations in 2017 and 2018, he had been actively participating on both paper and digital Magic events,{{Cite web|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/gpvan18/day-1-highlights-2018-12-29|title=Day 1 Highlights of Grand Prix Vancouver 2018|last=Marc|first=Calderaro|date=Dec 30, 2018|website=Magic: The Gathering|access-date=Jan 4, 2019|archive-date=September 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924085358/https://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/gpvan18/day-1-highlights-2018-12-29|url-status=dead}} including two Grand Prix top 8 finishes in the 2018–19 season (as of May 1, 2019).{{Cite web|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/gpmex18/top-stories-2018-10-07|title=TOP MOMENTS OF GRAND PRIX MEXICO CITY 2018|last=Marc|first=Calderaro|date=Oct 8, 2018|website=Magic: The Gathering|access-date=Oct 13, 2018|archive-date=September 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924092413/https://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/gpmex18/top-stories-2018-10-07|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://coverage.channelfireball.com/event/14|title=Alexandre Habert is your Grand Prix London Champion!|date=Apr 28, 2019|website=ChannelFireball Events|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=August 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804220331/http://coverage.channelfireball.com/event/14|url-status=dead}}

Currently, he is sponsored by ChannelFireball as a regular streamer and video producer for Magic: The Gathering Arena.

== Tournament results ==

{{MTG pth event

|s = 2018–19

|d = {{sort|2018-10-6|6–7 October 2018}}

|l = Mexico City

|et = gp

|f = l

|p = 3

}}

{{MTG pth event

|s = 2018–19

|d = {{sort|2018-4-27|27-28 April 2019}}

|l = London

|et = gp

|f = l

|p = 7

}}

{{MTG pth footer|u = April 28, 2019

|s = [https://web.archive.org/web/20140621150252/http://magic.wizards.com/en/coveragearchive Event Coverage at Wizards.com]

|date=May 1, 2019}}

=Other games=

Amaz was invited by tournament host Pokimane to "TFT Thursday", a Teamfight Tactics tournament held on July 4, 2019.{{cite web|last=Viana|first=Bhernardo|title=Pokimane reveals TFT Thursday, a Teamfight Tactics streamer tournament|url=https://dotesports.com/league-of-legends/news/teamfight-tactics-tournament-tft-thursday-is-announced-by-pokimane|website=Dot Esports|date=July 3, 2019|access-date=July 12, 2019}}