The Hearthstone World Championship is back at BlizzCon, and 16 of the world's best players are set to battle it out for a $500,000 prize pool from September 8-13! After years of waiting, Hearthstone's biggest stage returns, with the Group Stage running online before the Knockout Stage goes live in front of a BlizzCon crowd.
We couldn't be more hyped to see the World Championship come home to BlizzCon. Here's everything you need to know to catch every match, snag some free packs, and cheer on your favorite competitor.
When Does the Hearthstone World Championship Take Place?
The tournament is split across two stages, with the Group Stage online and the Knockout Stage live at BlizzCon:
Group Stage: September 8-10, starting at 9:00 a.m. PDT
Knockout Stage at BlizzCon: September 12, starting at 11:00 a.m. PDT, and September 13, starting at 9:00 a.m. PDT
What's the Format?
The whole event runs on a 4-deck, Best-of-5 Conquest format with a ban. Here's how each stage breaks down:
Group Stage - Day 1: Groups A and B Initial and Winners' Matches
Group Stage - Day 2: Groups C and D Initial and Winners' Matches
Group Stage - Day 3: Elimination and Decider Matches for all groups
Knockout Stage - Day 1: Top 8 Single-Elimination Quarterfinals
Knockout Stage - Day 2: Semifinals and Finals
The winner of the tournament will be crowned the 2026 Hearthstone World Champion and take home a $100,000 prize, drawn from the overall $500,000 prize pool.
How Do You Earn Drops?
If you tune in on Twitch or YouTube, you can rack up Escape from Violet Hold packs just for watching:
Group Stage: Earn 1x Escape from Violet Hold pack each day while watching on Twitch or YouTube.
Knockout Stage Day 1: Earn 2x Escape from Violet Hold packs while watching on Twitch or YouTube.
Knockout Stage Day 2: Earn 1x Escape from Violet Hold pack and 1x Golden Escape from Violet Hold pack while watching on Twitch or YouTube.
What Is Choose Your Champion?
You can also pick a competitor in the World Championship, and the better they finish, the more packs you'll earn. Plus, if you pick the player who wins the 2026 Hearthstone World Championship, you'll earn an additional Golden Escape from Violet Hold pack.
Choose Your Champion goes live at 10:00 a.m. PDT on Thursday, September 3, so head over and make your pick!
Not live yet. September 3!
Who's Competing?
Sixteen players across four groups have earned their spot on the world stage. Here's the full lineup:
Group A: McBanterFace (Americas), Soyorin (APAC), mlYanming (China), hyosung (APAC)
Group B: maxiebon1234 (APAC), WinBrownie (Americas), XiaoT (China), Fatty (Europe)
Group C: Gaby59 (Europe), Curfew (APAC), Xiaobai (China), Kwanuu (APAC)
Group D: OTGxhh (China), Che0nsu (APAC), SAVOR (Europe), Mesmile (Americas)
Who's on the Casting Desk?
The action will be called by Edelweiss, Lorinda, PocketTrain, Raven, Sottle,, and guests. Interested in co-streaming? Blizzard is asking prospective co-streamers to fill out their form as soon as possible to be considered.
Where Can You Watch?
You can catch all the matches on the official channels:
Twitch: twitch.tv/playhearthstone
YouTube: youtube.com/Hearthstone
All this fresh esports action comes hot on the heels of a busy stretch for the game, including the recent Violet Hold class sets going live and the latest Hotfix 36.4.1 bug fixes. Which competitor are you backing to be crowned the 2026 Hearthstone World Champion? Let us know in the comments!
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