The road to BlizzCon is nearly complete, and this Sunday it all comes to a head! Hearthstone's Summer Playoffs broadcast kicks off on July 19, where over 150 players will take their shot at reaching the Summer Championship. Blizzard has laid out everything you need to know for this packed day of competitive Hearthstone, so let's dive in.
When Does the Broadcast Start?
The Summer Playoffs broadcast goes live on Sunday, July 19 at 12:00 a.m. PDT (9:00 a.m. CEST, 4:00 p.m. KST). The competition itself runs across the whole weekend, though only Sunday's action is broadcast.
Friday and Saturday (not broadcast): Swiss rounds for all three regions
Sunday (broadcast): Top 8 for all three regions
The event uses a 4-deck, Best-of-5 Conquest format with one ban. The Top 4 players from each region will qualify for the Summer Championship, taking place in July-August.
Who Is Competing?
Each region's roster of competitors is made up of:
The Top 50 Competitive Point earners for that region over the Competitive Season (May - June)
The Top 4 players from each Open Qualifier during the Summer Competitive Season
The winner of each of the Summer Blitz Weekend tournaments
Blizzard notes that qualification for 2026 Hearthstone Esports has now concluded, but you can still join the official competitive Discord server to stay up to date with all the esports news.
How Do You Earn Drops?
Good news for viewers - there's a free pack up for grabs just for tuning in! You can earn an Escape from Violet Hold Pack by watching on Twitch for an hour. If you want to catch up on the set those packs come from, check out our Violet Hold Launch Survival Guide and the Escape From Violet Hold Rewards Track.
Who's Casting, and Can You Co-Stream?
The broadcast will be called by casters Edelweiss, Lorinda, PocketTrain, Raven, and Sottle. If you're a streamer who wants to watch the Summer Playoffs alongside your audience, you can fill out the co-stream application - and if selected, you can co-stream the tournament on your own channel.
You can watch the action on the official channels:
Twitch: twitch.tv/playhearthstone
YouTube: youtube.com/Hearthstone
We'll be tuning in to see who punches their ticket to the Summer Championship - who are you rooting for? Let us know in the comments!
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