Week 4 of the 2020 Grandmasters starts tomorrow. 48 players will compete -- including 7 brand new Grandmasters for a total of eight weeks. Prizing for the Season includes $500,000 and of course the right to compete at this year's Hearthstone World Championship. With the first three weeks and the Swiss portion of the competition in the books, we're moving onto the Round Robin phase. This will last four weeks and will follow a Five Deck Conquest with 1 Ban format.
Last week's competition saw Nalguidan, Swidz, and glory take home first place finishes for their respective regions. Points totals from the first three weeks were used to split the field into two Divisions per region. Players in Division A from each region do not face the threat of relegation at the end of the Season. The stakes are a bit higher in Division B, where the bottom two players from each region will leave Grandmasters at Season's end.
Featured Match-ups This Week
We've chosen one must watch match-up from each region this week. While the weekend is sure to be packed with action, these are the matches you'll definitely want to make time for!
bloodyface vs. justsaiyan - Friday - 2:00pm PDT
The second and third place finishers of the Swiss portion square off on the first day. Bloodyface finished as the runner up in this Season's Stage 2 and was the winner of Grandmasters 2019 Season 2. Justsaiyan's resume includes a win at HCT Montreal, a second place finish at HCT Oslo, and 1st place at HCT Americas 2018/19.
Swidz vs. Bunnyhopper - Saturday - 10:00am PDT
The top two finishers in the Europe region will go head-to-head on Saturday. Swidz has been competing in tournaments since 2016 and won the last two stages of Grandmasters. Bunnyhopper won HCT Summer 2018 and was the runner up for HCT Winter 2018. It's interesting to note that Bunnyhopper was eliminated by Swidz in both of the last two stages.
glory vs. Surrender - Friday - 3:00am PDT
Asia's top two finishers face off early on Friday. Glory is best known for winning Season 1 of HCT Asia-Pacific in 2018/19. He's also on a hot streak after a 1st and a 2nd place finish in the Season's last two stages. Surrender won both HCT Summer and HCT Spring in 2017. He also has a 1st and 2nd place finish through the first three stages of competition.
All the competition can be viewed over at the Hearthstone YouTube Channel!
Format
Weeks 1-3: Swiss/Group Stages
- Each Region will compete in 7 rounds of Swiss off stream earlier in the week.
- The Top 8 finishers from each Region will play in a dual tournament format Friday-Saturday, with the Top-4 being played Sunday.
- Format changes each week:
- Wk. 1: Conquest w/ 1 Ban
- Wk. 2: Four Deck Last Hero Standing w/ 1 Ban
- Wk. 3: Ten Deck Conquest w/ 6 Bans
Week 4-7: Round Robin
- After the first three weeks, players will be split into two divisions per Region based on point accumulations. Division A will consist of the Top 8, while Division B will consist of 9-16.
- The two divisions will compete in Round Robin style play over the four weeks. Standings from this four week period will determine playoff participants.
- Format for the Round Robin will be Five Deck Conquest w/ 1 Ban.
Week 8: Season One Playoffs
- Top 6 from Division A automatically advance to the Playoff portion.
- Top 4 from Division B compete in a "play-in" Round with the winners joining the Division A winners.
- The bottom 3 players from each Region will be relegated from Grandmasters.
- The winner of each Region's Playoff advances to the World Championship.
Standings
| Americas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Points | Prize $$$ |
| 1. Gallon | 11 | $5750 |
| 2. bloodyface | 10 | $5500 |
| 3. justsaiyan | 10 | $5500 |
| 4. Nalguidan | 10 | $5500 |
| 5. Eddie | 10 | $5500 |
| 6. lnguagehackr | 9 | $5250 |
| 7. Empanizado | 9 | $5250 |
| 8. PNC | 8 | $5000 |
| 9. Monsanto | 8 | $5000 |
| 10. Fr0zen | 8 | $5000 |
| 11. Purple | 7 | $4750 |
| 12. muzzy | 7 | $4750 |
| 13. Zalae | 6 | $4500 |
| 14. Firebat | 6 | $4500 |
| 15. ETC | 5 | $4250 |
| 16. PapaJason | 5 | $4250 |
| Europe | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Points | Prize $$$ |
| 1. Swidz | 14 | $6500 |
| 2. Bunnyhoppor | 11 | $5750 |
| 3. Jarla | 11 | $5750 |
| 4. BoarControl | 10 | $5500 |
| 5. SilverName | 10 | $5500 |
| 6. Hunterace | 9 | $5250 |
| 7. Felkeine | 8 | $5000 |
| 8. Seiko | 8 | $5000 |
| 9. Bozzzton | 8 | $5000 |
| 10. Zhym | 7 | $4750 |
| 11. Thijs | 7 | $4750 |
| 12. Viper | 7 | $4750 |
| 13. Casie | 6 | $4500 |
| 14. Pavel | 5 | $4250 |
| 15. Kolento | 5 | $4250 |
| 16. Rdu | 3 | $3750 |
| Asia-Pacific | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Points | Prize $$$ |
| 1. glory | 14 | $6500 |
| 2. Surrender | 13 | $6250 |
| 3. Posesi | 11 | $5750 |
| 4. kin0531 | 11 | $5750 |
| 5. Ryvius | 9 | $5250 |
| 6. Flurry | 9 | $5250 |
| 7. Alutemu | 8 | $5000 |
| 8. che0nsu | 7 | $4750 |
| 9. tom60229 | 7 | $4750 |
| 10. Staz | 7 | $4750 |
| 11. blitzchung | 6 | $4500 |
| 12. DawN | 6 | $4500 |
| 13. Tyler | 6 | $4500 |
| 14. FroStee | 5 | $4250 |
| 15. Shaxy | 5 | $4250 |
| 16. SamuelTsao | 5 | $4250 |
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Posted May 9, 2020 (Second DH Nerfs)In this year, relegation policy was changed such that 3 players were relegated every season, instead of the 2 in the previous year. Also, the main match format was changed from Shield-Phase Conquest to the original Conquest format used in the Hearthstone Championship.
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Posted May 7, 2020 (Second DH Nerfs)Aren't the bottom 2 under division A still under threat under threat of relegation?
From what I understand, 3 players total per region will be relegated per season.
(Please correct me if I'm wrong)
From what I understood, relegation format favors higher seeds.
Match 1 = Seed 1 vs Seed 2
Match 2 = Seed 3 vs (loser of Match 1)
Match 3 = Seed 4 vs (loser of Match 2)
Higher seeds are given more leeway to lose.
Given the format, Div A is unlikely but still under threat of relegation.
EDIT: typos
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Posted May 7, 2020 (Second DH Nerfs)Seems like it is 2000 + 250/point
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Posted May 7, 2020 (Second DH Nerfs)I would like play on grandmaster in future. Hot to qualify? :))))
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Posted May 7, 2020 (Second DH Nerfs)Not sure if you are trolling on not lol.
Assuming you are not trolling, I think the best (or only?) way into grandmasters right now is participating and placing highly in the masters tour events. Winning a tour almost guarantees you a spot in the succeeding grandmasters season.
To qualify for a masters tour, AFAIK, you need either of the following:
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Posted May 7, 2020 (Second DH Nerfs)It depends on the single results in the rounds and won matches, etc.
For further details look into the GM rulebook. It is explained there.
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Posted May 7, 2020 (Second DH Nerfs)It's a total from 3 weeks, with 3 different out comes. Some players ended up placing higher, more often, during the 3 week span than players in other regions.
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Posted May 7, 2020 (Second DH Nerfs)any free packs from watching?
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Posted May 7, 2020 (Second DH Nerfs)Nope.