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Blizzard Reveals Details On Hearthstone Esports For 2021

Published Sun, 31 Jan 2021 11:40:37 -0600

Blizzard Entertainment revealed the details of what's to come in the esports division for Hearthstone throughout 2021. Since the pandemic doesn't really have what anyone would call an "end date" for when things might get back to normal, the organizers are moving forward with a plan that will involve an online system. That system will be going through a few changes and accommodations where there will be six Masters Tours and a TBD system for the Grandmasters. We got the full details from the organizers for you to look over below.

Hearthstone Esports will be played online for all of 2021, courtesy of Blizzard. — *Hearthstone* Esports will be played online for all of 2021, courtesy of Blizzard.

Hearthstone Masters Tour

Due to the ongoing global pandemic, we will be holding all six Masters Tours of 2021 online. Each Masters Tour will feature a $250,000 (USD) prize pool divided among the top 200 players based on final standings. As players won't be able to travel from around the globe to compete together, we are taking the locations for the 2021 Masters Tour back to Hearthstone's roots, so hop on the Deeprun Tram in battle against 400 players in Masters Tours themed all-across Azeroth, beginning with Masters Tour Ironforge, March 12 – 14!

Here are some of the ways you can snag an invite to Masters Tour Ironforge:

Win one of 120 online Masters Qualifiers between January 28, 2021 and February 28, 2021 on Battlefy.

Finished with at least a 7-2 record at Masters Tour Online: Montreal or Masters Tour Online: Madrid.

Place within the Top 8 of a Masters Qualifier for Masters Tour Ironforge four times.

Place Top 32 Legend on the in-game Ladder in January (see official Masters Qualifiers rules for details).

Be a Hearthstone Grandmaster.

While we still cannot travel around the world for the Masters Tour, to ensure the most fair schedules we are setting two events in time zones within each region to ensure no players are given any undue advantage. Here are the locations and dates for all Masters Tour events in 2021:

After listening to additional player feedback from all levels of Hearthstone Masters, the final Masters Tour change for 2021 is the new Masters Tour Points system. We are converting Grandmasters invites from total cash earnings to total points. Players now receive points based on number of wins at each Masters Tour, with additional points awarded to players within each Top 8. Invites to Grandmasters 2021 Season 2 will be based on the top points-earners from each region for Masters Tour Asia-Pacific, Montreal, Madrid, Ironforge, Ogrimmar, and Dalaran. You can follow along for each region on the new Road to Grandmasters page on the Hearthstone Esports website. We are also excited to announce that we are partnering up with ESL on the operations and broadcast for Hearthstone Esports the next two years.

Grandmasters

Hearthstone Grandmasters will return in 2021 for two more intense seasons! We are still working on finalizing improvements and will share details soon. Good luck, have fun, and we'll see you in the Tavern!