A new three-tier system will open up the competition to all players.
A number of changes have been announced for Hearthstone’s official esports scene, and will come into play following the conclusion of next spring’s HCT World Championship.
Once that tournament has been wrapped up, the game’s official tournament will move to a three-tier system consisting of qualifier stages, live global tournaments and a top pro tier format. Alongside these changes, the team has announced that the overall prize pool will be increased to $4,000,000.
Qualifiers will be held throughout 2019, and will feature hundreds of online tournaments. The first of these events begins in spring and no region-locking will be in place – this will be an entirely global affair.
Those who win these qualifying stages will move onto the live global tournament tier. This will consist of three invitation-only tournaments, where the best players – regardless of their current pro status – will fight for their share of $250,000 per event.
Succeed in the global tournaments and you’ll qualify for something called Premier Play. Here, players will be separated by regions and receive performance-based bonuses as they compete. More details on the precise format of this tier will be confirmed in a future update.
There are a number of changes to the way Competitive Points will be handed as well – head over to the official announcement if you’d like to learn more about how pro players will be affected.
