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Hearthstone Esports’ Next Big Turn

bdrago
Posted 7 years, 1 month ago (Source)
TL;DR:

New 3-Tier System

Tier 1 - Online Qualifiers: Run by 3rd-party platforms, primarily online, not region-locked. Winning a qualifier moves you up to the next tier.

Tier 2 - Live Global Tournaments: No more Tour Stops. These will be invite-only events featuring some of the most well-known players, as well as a few rising stars from Tier 1. $250,000 prize pool per event. 3 events planned for 2019 (presumably one per season), with even more planned for 2020. Winning one of these events opens you up for the next tier.

Tier 3 - Premier Play: Top level of competition will be composed of weekly Round-Robin online events, split into regional divisions. Players at this level will receive performance-based bonuses, as well as automatic invites to Tier 2 events. More details to come on what these bonuses will be.

Format

Conquest is being retired as the official HCT format. More details will be unveiled in the coming months as to what the new format entails, but this new format is guaranteed to be used across the board for all Tier 1 and Tier 2 events.

Updated Hearthstone Masters System for 2019

New 120 Point Tier - Invite to a live global tournament (player's choice of location).

150 Point Tier - Invite to two live global tournaments (player's choice of location).

175 Point Tier - Invite to all three live global tournaments, $1,000 appearance bonus for each live global tournament.

200 Point Tier - Invite to all three live global tournaments, $2,500 appearance bonus for each live global tournament.

2018 Points will not expire on December 1st. Players will have until March 31st, 2019 to rack up bonus points for the new 2019 season.

During this transitional period, players can earn points at Tour Stops, the HCT Winter Playoffs, and the HCT Winter Championship, but not on ladder.

During this transitional period, players who reach a given Masters tier are guaranteed prizes of equal or greater value. Link to document with these transitional prizes.
Hi everyone—Ben from the Hearthstone Esports team here. It’s been great reading everyone’s thoughts on our 2019 news. We know there are questions about things we haven’t announced yet, but rest assured, we’ll be answering these questions—and more!—as we share further information about the 2019 season early next year. Prior to that, I wanted to clarify a couple details from today’s announcement that there may have been some confusion around:
- First, the online qualifiers will be operated and administered by Blizzard—we’ll be utilizing a third-party platform to host and manage brackets.
- Second, winning a qualifier will earn you an invite to one of the live global tournaments, where you'll be competing for a $250,000 prize pool.
Thanks again for reading! We look forward to seeing you in the tavern.

<blockquote class="quoted">
 <div class="md">TL;DR:

New 3-Tier System

<ul>
<li>Tier 1 - Online Qualifiers: Run by 3rd-party platforms, primarily online, not region-locked. Winning a qualifier moves you up to the next tier.</li>
<li>Tier 2 - Live Global Tournaments: No more Tour Stops. These will be invite-only events featuring some of the most well-known players, as well as a few rising stars from Tier 1. $250,000 prize pool per event. 3 events planned for 2019 (presumably one per season), with even more planned for 2020. Winning one of these events opens you up for the next tier.</li>
<li>Tier 3 - Premier Play: Top level of competition will be composed of weekly Round-Robin online events, split into regional divisions. Players at this level will receive performance-based bonuses, as well as automatic invites to Tier 2 events. More details to come on what these bonuses will be.</li>
</ul>

Format

<ul>
<li>Conquest is being retired as the official HCT format. More details will be unveiled in the coming months as to what the new format entails, but this new format is guaranteed to be used across the board for all Tier 1 and Tier 2 events.</li>
</ul>

<a href="https://bnetcmsus-a.akamaihd.net/cms/content_entry_media/va/VAM7T59LB3S31543343631938.jpg">Updated Hearthstone Masters System for 2019</a>

<ul>
<li>New 120 Point Tier - Invite to a live global tournament (player's choice of location).</li>
<li>150 Point Tier - Invite to two live global tournaments (player's choice of location).</li>
<li>175 Point Tier - Invite to all three live global tournaments, $1,000 appearance bonus for each live global tournament.</li>
<li>200 Point Tier - Invite to all three live global tournaments, $2,500 appearance bonus for each live global tournament. </li>
<li>2018 Points will not expire on December 1st. Players will have until March 31st, 2019 to rack up bonus points for the new 2019 season.</li>
<li>During this transitional period, players can earn points at Tour Stops, the HCT Winter Playoffs, and the HCT Winter Championship, but not on ladder.</li>
<li>During this transitional period, players who reach a given Masters tier are guaranteed prizes of equal or greater value. <a href="https://bnetcmsus-a.akamaihd.net/cms/gallery/kv/KV79L66GXJBY1543344445808.pdf">Link to document with these transitional prizes.</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="md">Hi everyone—Ben from the Hearthstone Esports team here. It’s been great reading everyone’s thoughts on our 2019 news. We know there are questions about things we haven’t announced yet, but rest assured, we’ll be answering these questions—and more!—as we share further information about the 2019 season early next year. Prior to that, I wanted to clarify a couple details from today’s announcement that there may have been some confusion around:

<ul>
<li>First, the online qualifiers will be operated and administered by Blizzard—we’ll be utilizing a third-party platform to host and manage brackets.</li>
<li>Second, winning a qualifier will earn you an invite to one of the live global tournaments, where you'll be competing for a $250,000 prize pool.</li>
</ul>

Thanks again for reading! We look forward to seeing you in the tavern.
</div> (<a href="https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/blog/22649422/hearthstone-esports-next-big-turnear4ar1">bdrago</a>)
<hr/>

Tweet

<div class="md">Hi everyone—Ben from the Hearthstone Esports team here. It’s been great reading everyone’s thoughts on our 2019 news. We know there are questions about things we haven’t announced yet, but rest assured, we’ll be answering these questions—and more!—as we share further information about the 2019 season early next year. Prior to that, I wanted to clarify a couple details from today’s announcement that there may have been some confusion around:

<ul>
<li>First, the online qualifiers will be operated and administered by Blizzard—we’ll be utilizing a third-party platform to host and manage brackets.</li>
<li>Second, winning a qualifier will earn you an invite to one of the live global tournaments, where you'll be competing for a $250,000 prize pool.</li>
</ul>

Thanks again for reading! We look forward to seeing you in the tavern.
</div> (<a href="https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/blog/22649422/hearthstone-esports-next-big-turnear4ar1">Source</a>)
 
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