Introducing Hearthstone Masters - Qualifiers, Tour, Grandmasters
Following the video on the Specialist Format, Blizzard has released more information on this year's Hearthstone Competition.
Quote from BlizzardLate last year we revealed we were hard at work evolving Hearthstone Esports into a more sustainable, entertaining, and accessible program. Today we are happy to reveal full details about the first two parts of this new program, which we have collectively named Hearthstone Masters.
Hearthstone Masters’ entry tier of competition, Masters Qualifiers, are open to all eligible players who want to test their Hearthstone skills. Each week during a Masters Tour qualifying season, Blizzard will run approximately 30 tournaments, hosted through Battlefy, which will allow players to compete at a time that works for them. Battlefy is a global platform that has been a trusted partner of Blizzard’s for several years now, and we look forward to working closely with them to make Masters Qualifiers a success.
Winning a Masters Qualifier will earn you an invite to that qualifier’s corresponding Masters Tour event, the second tier of the Hearthstone Masters program detailed below. Online Masters Qualifiers also will award Hearthstone card packs for top-performing competitors. Registration will go live two weeks before each Masters Qualifier is set to begin, with the first tournament scheduled for March 5. Check out the full schedule here; registration already is open for the first tournaments:
But that’s not the only way to qualify! For ladder devotees, each month during a Masters Qualifiers season we will publish the top finishers in the Standard Ranked Play Ladder. Eligible players who end the month in the Top 200 will be invited to participate in a Ranked Ladder Qualifier. Each Ranked Ladder Qualifier follows the same rules of an open-entry Masters Qualifier, except the top four finishers will earn a spot at the next Hearthstone Masters Tour event.
Hearthstone Masters Tour
The first stop on the Hearthstone Masters Tour will be in Las Vegas, at the LINQ hotel, over June 14–16. What are we doing at the LINQ? We’re putting on a huge Hearthstone tournament! For competitors the setup will be familiar. Picture tables wired to the teeth with ethernet, primed for players to prove their merit in Swiss and elimination rounds over three days. There is a $250,000 prize pool, plus the incentive of proving yourself worthy of Hearthstone Grandmaster status—but more on that in a bit.
That $250,000 could potentially be a lot more. We want to give fans the chance to support Hearthstone Masters directly while getting some awesome in-game items. So later this year, we will introduce a limited-time-only esports bundle in the shop. A portion of all sales will be distributed across the base prize pools of each of the three 2019 Hearthstone Masters Tour events. Keep an eye out for more details about the esports bundle soon.
After our trip to Vegas, the Masters Tour will head to Asia and Europe, with even more destinations planned for 2020. The location and dates for each Masters Tour event will be announced at least two weeks prior to the beginning of their associated Masters Qualifiers season.
Players can qualify for Masters Tour events in 2019 through multiple routes, including:
- Winning an online Masters Qualifier
- Placing in the top four of a Ranked Ladder Qualifier
- Securing an invitation through licensed third-party tournaments
- Finishing as a top-performer at a previous Masters Tour event
- Qualifying through the China Gold Series
- Finishing out Year of the Raven with at least 120 Hearthstone Competitive Points
Hearthstone Grandmasters
Last but very much not least we have Hearthstone Grandmasters! We’re not quite ready to announce full details about Hearthstone Grandmasters, including qualifying criteria, but note that one way in which you can be invited to join is via consistent top finishes at Masters Tour events.
Specialist Format
We are sending the Conquest format out with a bang at the 2019 Hearthstone World Championship, starting on April 25. Replacing Conquest will be a new format we’re calling Specialist. We are excited to see how the Specialist format performs when played at the pro level and we’re eager to implement community feedback to improve it as needed throughout 2019. Here’s how the format works:
- Players submit three decks from the same class.
- Players designate one deck as a primary deck, then the other two as secondary and tertiary.
- Secondary and tertiary decks may have up to 5 cards different from the primary deck. For the purposes of this modification, two duplicate cards in the primary deck list count as two cards.
- Players must play game one of each match with their primary deck.
- At the beginning of game two and onward, players may decide to keep playing their primary deck, or switch to their secondary or tertiary decks.
- Deck decisions for games two and three, if necessary, are performed at the start of each game simultaneously and in secret from the opposing player.
- All Masters Qualifier and Ranked Ladder Qualifier matches will be best-of-three. All matches at Masters Tour events will be best-of-three as well, with the exception of a best-of-five finals.
Please see the Official Rules and Hearthstone Tournament Player Handbook for specific competition rules, eligibility requirements, and other important details. We have used feedback from our viewers and competitive community to make several new updates, including allowing note-taking in official competition, and more.
I also read that only 1/3 of them gets 0$. That means anybody outside America should ignore these qualifiers. :( Especially since hotel + plane tickets are more than 1k themselves plus the food you'll have to pay for.
The world championship is going to be great as always. By the general rule of releasing expansions ~7 of every release month (among those April), there will be about 2 weeks for players to evaluate a completely new meta for the championship. It's going to be interesting, at the very least.
I won challenger cups all 3 seasons last year and played in each of the challenger finals. If I qualified, I would have gotten a minimum of $1000 which would have covered travel expenses to the tournament. If I qualify this year, I'm not paying for a trip to Vegas or Europe or Asia on the hope and a dream that I'll recoup my expenses. So no, I don't want to qualify, regardless of my ability to do so.
"That $250,000 could potentially be a lot more. We want to give fans the chance to support Hearthstone Masters directly while getting some awesome in-game items. So later this year, we will introduce a limited-time-only esports bundle in the shop. A portion of all sales will be distributed across the base prize pools of each of the three 2019 Hearthstone Masters Tour events. Keep an eye out for more details about the esports bundle soon."
Most of the promotional bundles have been $20 for 30 packs, which is a great deal. If a million people buy a bundle, they can pick whatever number they feel like as "a portion of all sales." I would hope they make the prize for participating in a Masters Tour enough to cover travel expenses.
We will have to see how the promotion plays out, but keep in mind, as you quoted, this limited time promotion will be distributed across the base prize pools for all THREE tournaments, they aren't doing one promotion for each tournament. So they get all the promotional money, shave off what percentage they want to keep, then divide the rest by three, so that all tournaments have the same pool. Now also keep in mind the distribution of the prize pool is going to be top-heavy. They haven't announced the exact distribution, but assuming last place gets something like .1% of the pool, then the increase is still not going to be very impressive. Even if the promotion doubles the total size of the prize pool, last place is still only walking home with $500 instead of $250.
An international plane ticket alone is generally over $1k.
Edit: Oh and you also have to pay taxes on your $500, so it's now $375.
LOL classic 'I don't even want to qualify'. Nobody every thought you would, kiddo.
As an update, from https://battlefy.com/hsesports
Over 300 invites.
No Travel Accommodation, bring your own device, 2/3rds of all participants will leave with $0 in prizing.
Over 200 people are going to qualify for a single Masters Tour under this system.
The Masters Tour prize pool is $250,000.
Last place will be less than $1000, if anything.
No travel or lodging expenses are covered by Blizzard.
I literally don't even want to qualify.
With the emphatesis of the new mode in tech cards (5 slots that can be changed between deck) I really hope the new sets reflect that as in techs against aggro (losing tar creeper and stonehill will boost aggro by a lot), NEUTRAL techs against OTK (skulking geist rotates out, we need such cards), and a good tech against hero powers (vs genn and baku).
that way you can gear up your other decks against certain matchups
I like the idea of being able to support participants financially but I have the same problem with Hearthstone's version as I do with Capcom's: they decide where the money goes and inevitably they'll bump up 1st place prize because that's the eyecatcher in the press.
I would instead like the ability to distribute my money among the tournament levels (1st, top 2, top 4, top 8,...) like I can distribute my money when buying a Humble Bundle. And personally, I would always put my money towards the lower ranks and never 1st or 2nd.
next year is gonna be awesome!!
thank god ben brode left
NA and EU will be playing new decks blind , but Asia get to play when the mata has settled. I dont know who is fucked more with you only getting to bring 1 deck . Go in blind and hope you get luck and pick the best class or knowing the meta and all its counters and knowing you might lose the moment the match begins.
Do I need to be from America to play in Americas Region?
no, it says players can enter any areas tourney, they just need a card collection.
I really like this idea. We will get more well thought-out and stable decks. When formats with bans are interesting, we often end up in rock-paper-scissors tournament meta. In conquest trick and polarized decks operate well, now those decks will be unable to go far in tournaments. We will be safe from Face Hunter meta or Grimm Patron meta.
These are definitely some nice, new, and accessible ways to attract more people to competitive Hearthstone. I'm curious to see what "Hearthstone Grandmasters" holds in store, but I'm sure we'll soon find out.
Interesting...
Qualifiers seem accessible...
~250 spots and ~500 signed up, really accessible.
Unless thats sarcarsm, then +1 karma for you ;)
It is kinda both is and not... They are accessible as in "anyone can join", but not really as "yeah still limited spots first come first served sorry"