How to watch the final showdown in this year's HCT Winter Championship.
The HCT Winter Championship finals kick off a little later on today, and will see the tournament’s sixteen best players descend on the Blizzard Arena Los Angeles to fight for their share of the prize money.
The competition runs from 28th Februray to 3rd March, and there’s a hefty $250,000 on the table for the best players to claim. In this article, we’ve pulled together all the information you need to follow the tournament from start to to finish.
Schedule
Play takes place between 28th February and 3rd March. Here’s a complete breakdown of what’s happening and when:
- February 28th – Group Stages
- March 1st – Group Stages
- March 2nd – Deciders and Quarterfinals
- March 3rd – Championship Sunday
The competition on each day begins at 8:30am PT and ends at 4:30pm PT. Here’s how those times look in other regions:
- PT – 11:30am – 7:30pm
- GMT – 4:30pm – 00:30am
- CET – 5:30pm – 01:30am
Format
The sixteen players will compete in four groups. Each of these groups will contain a player from each of the four regions.
The top eight players from the Group Stages will then take place in a series of elimination and decider matches.
The remaining top four players will then enter the final World Championship showdown on Sunday March 3rd, where the ultimate winner will be crowned.
Matches will take place in a best-of-five format, with a single ban in place for each match-up.
Stream
The HCT Winter Championship will be streamed on the official Hearthstone Twitch channel which we’ve embedded for you below:
Prize Money
A total of $250,000 is on offer during this final leg of the tournament. Here’s how the money will be dished out based on tournament finishing places:
| Rank | Points | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 | $50,000 |
| 2 | 25 | $40,000 |
| 3 | 20 | $25,000 |
| 4 | 20 | $25,000 |
| 5 | 15 | $12,500 |
| 6 | 15 | $12,500 |
| 7 | 15 | $12,500 |
| 8 | 15 | $12,500 |
| 9 | 12 | $7,500 |
| 10 | 12 | $7,500 |
| 11 | 12 | $7,500 |
| 12 | 12 | $7,500 |
| 13 | 12 | $7,500 |
| 14 | 12 | $7,500 |
| 15 | 12 | $7,500 |
| 16 | 12 | $7,500 |
