Hearthpwn

Upcoming Wild Tournament Qualification Drama & Blizzard Update

Late yesterday, the HSEsports Twitter account tweeted the rules for the upcoming Wild tournament that was previously announced last month. After looking through the rules, it was noted that some players weren't going to be able to qualify due to the region of Hearthstone that they were playing in.

The issue here was that the Battle.net launcher asks players to play in specific regions which may not actually be grouped to their real life geography. Due to this, many players in the geographical Asia-Pacific region are forced to play in the Americas but according to the rules were not allowed to take part in the Americas Wild Regional Tournament.

The regions that were originally hurt by this ruling were:

• Australia, Indonesia India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam

In an update this evening, Aratil has come forward with information which adjusts the official qualification rules for the event so that players in the above regions will instead be able to qualify through their play on the Americas ladder.

Quote from Aratil

As Hearthstone Wild Open has a unique qualification structure we wanted to take the time to update and clarify the rules for the Hearthstone Wild Open Regional Qualifiers.

As the Blizzard Launcher currently directs or has directed players in the last 2 years in the following countries; Australia, Indonesia India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, or Vietnam, to play on the Americas server for this tournament we are making an adjustment to the definition of the of the ‘Americas’ server for the Hearthstone Wild Open ruleset.

“Americas” means a legal resident with a registered Battle.net Account in the “Americas” region of one of the following countries: United States, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela, Australia, Indonesia India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, or Vietnam.

“Asia-Pacific” means a legal resident with a registered Battle.net Account in the “Asia” region of one of the following countries: Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, or Vietnam.

Qualifications
As of June 1st we will look at the top players on the “Asia” May Wild In-game Ladder. We will remove players whose country of residence on their Battle.net account is not one of the countries listed as “Asia-Pacific”. We will then extend invitations to the top 64 players remaining to player in the Hearthstone Wild Open Asia-Pacific Qualifier.

We will then look at the “Americas” May Wild In-game Ladder, and remove all players who have already had an invitation extended via the “Asia-Pacific” invitations. We will then remove players whose country of residence on their Battle.net account is not one of the countries listed as “Americas”. We will then extend invitations to the top 64 players remaining to the Hearthstone Wild Open Americas Qualifier. To this end it is possible for players from Australia, Indonesia India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, or Vietnam to qualify via the “Americas” May Wild In-Game Ladder for the Hearthstone Wild Open Americas Qualifier.

We feel that this is the most fair and inclusive way to have players enjoy their Wild Collection and aim to participate in the Hearthstone Wild Open – Rivalries Tournament.

FAQ
Q: If I qualify for the Hearthstone Wild Open Americas Qualifier but live in Australia when do I play my games?
A: The Hearthstone Wild Open Americas Qualifier will take place starting in the morning (Pacific Standard Time) so it will be late in the evening if you are in an Asia Time Zone.

Q: If I am the 66th player on the “Americas” May Wild In-game Ladder and two players are removed from the list above me will I be invited to the Hearthstone Wild Open Americas Qualifier?
A: Yes, there is a possibility that players lower thank rank 64 on each May Wild In-game Ladder may be invited due to players above them being in-eligible or already invited through another region’s Qualifier invitations.