A big week ahead for the Grandmasters as the Round Robin phase of 2020's Season 2 concludes, and both Playoffs and relegation spots are on the line. In addition to the ever-increasing pressure, Blizzard threw in some card nerfs to mix the field a bit. You can find everything you need to know below.
This Week's Format
The Round Robin matches continue!
- Best of 5 Conquest.
- Each player brings four decks, and one deck is banned before each match.
- The players have been split into two Divisions, and they'll play against everyone in their Division once - a total of 7 matches.
After this week, the players will move to the next stage based on the standings as follows:
Division A
- Top 6 automatically enters the Playoff phase.
- The 7th- and 8th-placed players enter a relegation Play-In with two players from Division B - one of the four will get relegated.
Division B
- Top 4 will play a dual tournament bracket to determine two players to join the top 6 from Division A in Playoffs.
- The 5th- and 6th-placed players enter the relegation Play-In with the Bottom 2 players of Division A.
- The 7th- and 8th-placed players are automatically relegated from Season 2 of Grandmasters 2020.
For the entire competition format, check out the spoiler below.
Quote From Blizzard Weeks 1-3: Swiss into Group Stage
During weeks 1 – 3, players will compete in matches in a Swiss format each Wednesday and Thursday of the week to earn a placement in the weekend Group Stage. Points from these weekend rounds will be used to determine two Divisions in each region for round-robin weeks. There will be a different gameplay format each week.
- The 16 players in each region will compete against each other off broadcast in 7-9 Swiss Rounds during the week.
- On Thursday, after Swiss play has completed, the field is cut in half based on standings and the Top 8 per region will play in a dual tournament format live on YouTube across Friday and Saturday, with the Top-4 finals played out on Sunday.
- Gameplay format changes every week:
- Week 1: 7 Rounds of Swiss, Conquest with 1 Ban
- Week 2: 7 Rounds of Swiss, Four Deck Last Hero Standing with 1 Ban
- Week 3: 9 Rounds of Swiss, Bo3 Specialist
Weeks 4 – 7: Round Robin
Weeks 4 – 7 will consist of round-robin group play within the two divisions in each region – much like Season 1 of Grandmasters.
- Following weeks 1-3, players will be sorted into two divisions based on their points standings. Division A is comprised of the top-8-point-earning players, and Division B will be point total ranks 9-16.
- The two divisions compete in round-robin group play over four weeks. The standings at the conclusion of these weeks will determine who will move onto the Playoffs, and who will be relegated from Season 2.
- The format will stay consistent during round-robin weeks:
- Bo5 Conquest (4 decks, 1 ban)
Week 8: Season 2 Playoffs
Round Robin weeks lead into Week 8 Playoffs, which will qualify one player per region to the World Championship at the end of the year, while three players from each region will be relegated.
- Top 6 from Division A automatically make it into Playoffs.
- Top 4 from Division B compete in a play-in round to determine who will join the top 6 from Division A in a dual tournament bracket for Playoffs.
- The 7th and 8th placed players in Division B at the close of Round Robin are automatically relegated from Season 2 of Grandmasters.
- Final relegation will be determined via a 3-match Play-In involving the 7th and 8th placed from Division A, and 5th and 6th placed from Division B.
- The winner from each region in Season 2 Grandmasters Playoffs will advance to the Hearthstone World Championships later this year.
Stream Schedule
West Coast PDT (UTC-7) | East Coast EDT (UTC-4) | Europe CEST (UTC+2) | Korea KST (UTC+9) | |
| October 2 | 2:00 | 5:00 | 11:00 | 18:00 |
| October 3 | 2:00 | 5:00 | 11:00 | 18:00 |
| October 4 | 2:00 | 5:00 | 11:00 | 18:00 |
You can find all the matches, results, and decklists on the official tournament site.
Asia-Pacific Grandmasters
Division A
Division B
Europe Grandmasters
Division A
Division B
Americas Grandmasters
Division A
Division B
Watch Live
You can watch all the action on the official Hearthstone Esports Youtube channel. If you want more Grandmasters content, the caster videos have made their return for this Season as well.
Recap of last weekend with Raven.
Top 5 Moments with Darroch.
Mull It Over with Jia.
Hot Takes with TJ and Sottle.
Comments
The Guardian Animals nerf hit Druid hard. The class is now 9th place on HSReplay, and I'm sure both Malygos and Pure Guardian Animals archetypes suffered. My prediction is less people will bring Druid, and will stick to safer classes. Might even seen a rise in Paladin
The decklists are already out so I can tell you the class distribution.
Thanks for the decklist summary! :D I'm surprised Warlock is favored over Paladin, did not see that coming