Hearthstone 2020 World Championship To Take Place In December
While 2020 has been an unmitigated disaster, there's a ray of sunshine for Hearthstone fans as Blizzard has confirmed the Hearthstone 2020 Worlds Championship will officially go ahead in December. Blizzard has played things cautiously to combat COVID-19 and sadly pulled the plug on BlizzCon in May. The event usually takes place in November and holds host to the Overwatch World Cup, Hearthstone Global Finals, and Starcraft II World Championship Global Finals.
Just days after announcing a virtual BlizzCon 2021, there's more news on Hearthstone. Eight of the best players from around the world will compete together (online) for a $500,000 prize pool. Posting on Twitter, Blizzard confirmed the Grandmasters will lock horns on December 12/13, first competing in a dual tournament, selecting the final four, and then duking it out to find the 2020 Hearthstone World Champion in a single-elimination bracket.
When it comes to who will be taking a seat in the tavern, we already know Brian "Bloodyface" Eason, Sato "glory" Kenta, Vladislav "SilverName" Sinotov, and Fan "iG.Syf" Yilun have secured a place. The final four will be decided after they've finished competing in Season 2 of the Hearthstone Grandmasters professional circuit. Season 2 rounds off on October 11, and with 2019 World Champion Xiaomeng "VKLiooon" Li still yet to qualify, there could be someone else sitting on the throne in 2020.
The first dual seedings are set to be:
Group one
Season 1 – Americas player v Season 2 – China player
Season 1 – Asia-Pacific player v Season 2 – Europe player
Group two
Season 1 – China player v Season 2 – Asia-Pacific player
Season 1 – Europe player v Season 2 – Americas player
When the first four have been eliminated, the player with 2-0 will face-off against the opposition's 2-1 player. Blizzard also confirmed the prize pool will be as follows:
1st place: $200,000
2nd place: $100,000
3rd/4th place: $50,000 each
5th-8th place: $25,000 each
Click to enlargeAlthough it's disappointing the Hearthstone 2020 World Championship has been forced to go virtual, is it any surprise? Even huge events like the League of Legends World Championship have been forced to go online, while Pokemon Play has suspended all official tournaments until 2021. When it comes to Hearthstone, we should just be thankful we've got anything at all.
Even though Heartstone might not be as big in the esports scene as something like LoL, that doesn't mean there isn't a loyal following who will be pumped that some form of 2020 Worlds is going ahead. Those who want to tune in for the Hearthstone 2020 World Championship, you'll be able to on the Hearthstone Esport YouTube channel.
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Images via Blizzard