Esports Hearthstone 2019 takes a new turn with a $4 million tournament

2018 was a great year for Hearthstone Esports. At the beginning of this month, the Chinese team beat the Brazilian candidate in the finals Hearthstone Global Games takes place at BlizzCon. We see the champions of the Summer and Fall Championships, over 200,000 players participating in the 25 Tour Stops and other major global events. And at the end of the Year of the Raven, Blizzard awarded more than $2.8 million – the largest ever.

Since then, Blizzard has received feedback from both players and fans. The team understood that the HCT system was difficult to follow, not easy for new players, and difficult to sustain for pro players. Therefore, Blizzard is excited to share their plans to continue helping Hearthstone esports is the best for both viewers and competitors.

2019 – and beyond

Hearthstone The Championship Tour (HTC) as we know it now will be gone after the end of the Spring HTC World Championship – a $1,000,000 tournament.

After the World Championship, a three-tier system will begin, consisting of qualifiers, global live tournaments and separate tiers with a prize pool of more than $4 million in 2019. Here’s how it works:

Qualifiers

During the year, in collaboration with a third partner, Hearthstone Esports will host hundreds of tournament qualifiers, mostly online. The first qualifiers will begin in the spring, and the tournament will be region-locked: anyone anywhere can enter at a time that suits them. Winning the qualifier will grant you access to a higher tier of the tournament.

Global live tournaments

In 2019, Blizzard will host three global tournaments (by invitation only), with many more to come in 2020. These live events will see the best Hearthstone players – from the big names. age-old popularity to first-time players – with prizes of $250,000 per event. More specifically, successful players will be able to participate in even more advanced tournaments.

Premier Play

The highest tier will be the seasonal online round-robin tournament, divided into regions, with the appearance of players. Hearthstone the best in the world. It will start after the HCT World Championship and end at the end of the year. Players participating in this tournament will receive bonus points based on their ranking, as well as being invited to all global live tournaments in the previous tier. More details on this seasonal tournament will be announced soon, including how players participate in the first year of the tournament.

Formula

Aim for Hearthstone esports is steady, entertaining, and for everyone. For this part, Blizzard will not apply the Conquest format in 2019. Basically, Blizzard wants to Hearthstone esports better reflect the in-game experience, making it easier for new players to grasp. This new format will be announced in the coming months.

Hearthstone Masters and Transitional Season

This year, the system Hearthstone Masters was created to recognize top players based on their stable rankings, with Competitive scores calculated from the previous three seasons. Many are striving for these achievements – and Hearthstone esports is going to change so much this year, Blizzard wants to make sure those who reach the Masters title receive rewards of equal or greater value.

In addition, the points earned in 2018 Season 1 will not be lost on December 1. From here until March 31, 2019, players will have a “season change” period to earn more points for the following year:

During this period, players can earn points from the Tour Stop, HCT Winter Playoffs and HCT Winter Championship. Details of the rules can be found here.