Hearthpwn

Grandmasters continues this weekend as we move on to Week 6. With just two weeks remaining before the playoffs, the players will battle it out for their spots atop the leaderboard and to avoid relegation. The tournament features a continuation and further adaptation of the revamped format that we saw last season. We have recapped it below. 48 players will compete -- including some newly crowned Grandmasters for a total of eight weeks. Prizing for the Season includes $500,000 and of course the right to compete at the World Championship later this year. All the competition can be viewed over on the Hearthstone YouTube Channel.

• Venue: Online
• Stream: the Hearthstone YouTube Channel.
• Dates: Friday, September 24 - Sunday, September 26
• Prize Pool: $500,000 USD
• Format: Last Hero Standing
• Stream Times: Broadcasts begin at 2AM PT/5AM ET/11:00 CEST w/ the Asia-Pacific Region. Followed by the EU Region at 7AM PT/ 10AM ET/ 16:00 CEST. We close the day with the Americas Region starting at 12PM PT/ 3PM ET/ 21:00 CEST.
• Casters:
• TJ “Azumoqt” Sanders
• Darroch “Darroch” Brown
• Jia “Jia” Dee
• Neil “Lorinda” Bond
• Alex “RavenCasts” Baguley
• Simon “Sottle” Welch

Top 5 Moments - Week 5

Free Packs

Drops will be returning for Grandmasters Season 2. Viewers can earn up to six free packs just for watching the action live on YouTube. They will be awarded as follows for watching two hours of the stream. Viewers are required to link their Blizzard and YouTube accounts to claim packs -- directions can be found here.

• Week 1 - United in Stormwind (max 2 packs) **OFFER HAS EXPIRED**
• Weeks 2-7 - Year of the Phoenix (max 2 packs)
• Playoffs - United in Stormwind (max 2 packs)

Format

As we mentioned earlier, the format for this year's competition has been revamped. The first seven weeks consist of a rotating format. Players will compete in a weekly Dual Tournament format, beginning each Thursday, to earn placement in the weekend's top-8 tournament. Points will be awarded based on number of wins. Points totals will determine the final standings before the playoffs in Week 8.

• Thursday - Each region competes in an off-broadcast group play tournament.
• Friday - The 4 decider matches are played to determine who makes the Top-8, per region.
• Saturday - Day 1 of the Top-8 single elimination tournament.
• Sunday - The final 4 advance to complete the tournament.
• Rotating Formats:
• Week 1 - Conquest
• Week 2 - Last Hero Standing
• Week 3 - Conquest
• Week 4 - Last Hero Standing
• Week 5 - Conquest
• Week 6 - Last Hero Standing
• Week 7 - Conquest

The Playoffs - Week 8

The first 7 weeks lead up to the playoffs -- which will qualify one player from each region to compete at the World Championship.

• The top 8 players advance to the playoffs.
• Players 9-12 are eliminated from tournament play, but safe from relegation.
• The bottom 4 players from each region are automatically relegated from the Grandmasters.
• The winner from each region is invited to the World Championship. If an invited player from Season 1 is relegated in Season 2, their invitation is rescinded and given to the next highest finisher.

Standings