Blizzard is once again giving out Hearthstone card packs for watching Grandmasters!

Hearthstone players will be able to earn up to a total of six free card packs during the first season of 2021's Hearthstone Grandmasters, with the first week giving us two of these packs. It has been some time since we last saw card pack drops for watching esports so it is a pleasant sight for all!

Last year, Blizzard moved their Esports programs over to YouTube from Twitch in a "multi-year strategic relationship" that would see YouTube as the sole destination for Blizzard's Esports content and Blizzard making Google Cloud their preferred provider. Although drops tech was available at the time on YouTube, Blizzard did not make use of it until now. We've seen the numbers of viewers watching Grandmasters drop since the move, so hopefully, these drops will be another way to help promote Hearthstone.

We've got three different availability periods within this Grandmaster's season of which you can earn 2 packs each.

  • Week 1: Two Year of the Phoenix Packs
  • Weeks 2-7: Two Year of the Phoenix Packs
  • Playoffs: Two Forged in the Barrens Packs

This gives us a total of six card packs you can earn from watching Grandmasters. We've also got more drops coming during Season 2, the next five Masters Tour events, and finally, the Hearthstone World Championship. Although details are not available right now, and we're certainly not complaining about free packs, we're hoping as things ramp up this year, we'll see even more packs.

So, how do you earn drops? Easy!

  • Connect your Blizzard and YouTube accounts. (See below for instructions)
  • Watch 2 cumulative hours of Hearthstone to earn your first pack during the availability period.
  • Watch 4 cumulative hours (an extra 2 on top of the original 2) to earn your second pack during the availability period.

Hearthstone Grandmasters opening week begins April 9! We'll be covering the events here on Out of Cards so be sure to check back to learn more about the events. Below you will find Blizzard's post on drops.

Quote From Blizzard

Drops are back! To celebrate the launch of Grandmasters 2021 Season 1, we’ll be activating YouTube Drops during this weekend’s live broadcasts. All you need to do is create a Blizzard account and link it with your YouTube account, then sit back and collect Year of the Phoenix packs as you watch 48 of the top Hearthstone players from around the world compete over eight weeks.

In addition to opening weekend Drops, you’ll have a chance to receive two Year of the Phoenix packs over the course of Week 2 through Week 7, and then two Forged in the Barrens packs during Playoff weekend, for a total of six drops during the first season of Grandmasters. This isn’t just for Season 1: we’re giving packs away all year, with Drops during Season 2, the next five Masters Tours, and the World Championship!

Earning Grandmasters Season 1 Drops

On one of the eligible YouTube Gaming channels, watch two total hours to receive one pack and two more hours for your second. Time watched is cumulative within each of the three reward blocks, so even if you can’t watch for the full four hours in one sitting your time will still count toward earning the Drops.

  • Grandmasters Week 1: Year of the Phoenix (max 2 packs)
  • Grandmasters Weeks 2 - 7: Year of the Phoenix (max 2 packs)
  • Grandmasters Playoffs: Forged in the Barrens (max 2 packs)

Eligible Channels

Connecting Your Accounts

Before you can receive rewards, you’ll need to link your YouTube and Blizzard Battle.net accounts. Here’s how: 

  • Log in or create an account on YouTube. 
  • Navigate to Account Sharing under “Connected Apps” in Settings.  
  • Select “Connect” next to Battle.net
  • Follow the simple prompts to finish connecting accounts. 
  • When connecting accounts, be sure that you’re currently logged into the Blizzard account on which you’d like to receive your Drops. 
  • Click here for a full set of official rules for Hearthstone Grandmasters 2021 Season 1 YouTube Drops.

Stay tuned for more details on Grandmasters Season 1, and remember to Subscribe to the Hearthstone YouTube channel to receive notifications when each broadcast starts!

Good luck, have fun, and we’ll see you in the Tavern!