It is therefore the first season of the Grandmasters which will begin this Friday on Hearthstone. Blizzard had already talked about it last December, and so it will be the final regular season which will feature 48 of the best players from the Americas (North and South), Europe and Asia Pacific regions. This regular season will also allow players to qualify for the 2022 World Championships. There will be three distinct tournaments this season, taking place on weekendsallowing you to earn points, then giving access to qualifications.
As for the dates, these tournaments will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from February 25 to March 13, then from March 25 to March 27. At the level of the cashprize, we find $250,000 in prize money, divided between the various events. $71,700 will therefore be available during the tournaments for the three regions during weeks 1 to 3then, for qualifications, $34,900 will be available.
This year, the Grandmasters will offer two of their usual formats, Conquest and Last Hero Standingwho will be joined by the brand new Trio format. Note that this format is on trial at this competition. If it is well received, it will probably be used at other Hearthstone esports events in the future. As for its specificities, here they are:
- The Hearthstone esports team is creating five separate groups comprising three classes each.
- Groups can have one or two classes together.
- The players choose one of the groups.
- They must prepare a series of three decks taking up each of the classes in the group of their choice.
- The selected groups are kept secret; no player is informed of the choice of his opponents.
- The matches are played best of five setsand each winning deck becomes unavailable for the rest of the match.
As for the structure of this event, players will compete during weeks 1-3 in weekly double-elimination tournaments. Starting Thursday, players will compete in order to clinch a place in the Top 8 phase, which will be organized during the weekend. Points will be distributed based on total player wins each weekthus defining the final classification before the qualifications.
- Every Thursday, the 16 players from each region will compete in the group stages of a non-broadcast double-elimination tournament.
- Friday, 4 decisive matches will be played to determine the top 8 players from each region. They will be broadcast live on YouTube.
- On Saturday, the top 8 players will compete a knockout tournamentand thehe top 4 will play on Sunday.
- The game format will change every week:
- Week 1: Conquest
- Week 2: Trio
- Week 3: Last hero standing
- Qualifications: Conquest
Spectators will also be entitled to rewards during these Grandmasters. By following the competition, they can win up to 4 decks of cards. By following her on one of the partner Youtube channels, players will win 1 package after 2 hours of viewing and then a second for the next two hours.
During the two periods during which these rewards will be in play, your viewing time will be automatically accumulatedso you’ll be rewarded even if you don’t watch all four hours of competition in a row.
- Grandmaster Weeks 1-3: Divided in Alterac Valley (maximum two packs)
- Grandmaster Qualifications: Divided in Alterac Valley (maximum two packs)