Hearthstone’s come a long way since closed beta last year. BlizzCon 2013′s Innkeeper’s Invitational boasted more than 90,000 viewers. Recent Deck Wars and Tavern Takeover tournaments have seen more more than 30,000 people tune in to watch their favorite players duke it out. Competitive teams are springing up all over the place, and more and more individuals are becoming known for their in-game prowess. The Hearthstone scene has absolutely arrived, and Blizzard’s recent announcement on the prize pool for the Hearthstone World Championship only helps confirms it.
Also See: What to Expect from Blizzcon 2014
250,000 dollars in total prizes. That’s right… $250 000! the prize money will be divided up as follows:
Here’s the details on how you can enter, and how the tournament will go:
How can I qualify for the European Qualifier Tournament?
There are a few ways to qualify. A total of 130 players will be participating in the European Qualifier Tournament:
- Be a top 16 Legend player from Ranked Play in April, May, June, July, or August.
- Top players from select community tournaments between April and August will be invited to participate in the European Qualifier Tournament. We will highlight those tournaments as well as how many qualifier spots are available in that tournament.
- A Last Call Tournament will be held before the European Qualifier Tournament to determine any remaining qualifier spots, up to 130 participants. Players must be a resident of the countries noted below and must have achieved Legend rank on the European Ranked Play ladder at least one time between April and August. Players residing in these countries are eligible to participate in the Last Call Tournament for the European region: Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Ukraine and The United Kingdom.
- Players cannot compete in multiple Qualifier Tournaments. If a player qualifies for multiple, they must choose one to compete in.
What can I expect at the European Qualifier Tournament?
The European Qualifier Tournament will have a total of 130 players and takes place in two phases. These 130 players will be matched against each other based on their cumulative placements in the European Ranked Play Rankings from April to August. The top 2 players with the highest cumulative placements will immediately advance to Phase 2 of the Tournament. Play your best each season!
All matches will follow a best of five “Last Hero Standing” format. Each player will bring three different decks to each match. If a deck is defeated during a game of the match, that player must change to a different deck for the next game of the match.
Phase 1 of the tournament will consist of “The Constructed Arena Phase.”
- Players will be matched against each other in a Swiss format based on their initial seeding.
- If a player loses three matches (not games) in Phase 1, that player will be eliminated from the tournament.
- If a player ends a round of the Swiss format tournament with a +5 match record, that player will advance to Phase 2. (Match records are determined as Wins minus Losses. 5-0, 6-1, or 7-2 records are all considered +5 match records.)
Phase 2 of the tournament is the “Final Qualifying Round.”
- In Phase 2 of the tournament, only 16 players will remain from the initial 130 participants.
- Players will be randomly seeded into four tournament groups of four.
- The top two players from each group are placed in an eight-player single elimination bracket.
The top four players will advance to the Hearthstone World Championships at BlizzCon 2014!
Hearthstone Qualifier Tournament Comprehensive Rules
Keep in mind that not all countries are eligible to participate in the Hearthstone World Championship or the Qualifier Tournaments. Please refer to the comprehensive rules below for a list of eligible countries.
For the European Qualifier Tournament rules please go here.
For the comprehensive Americas Qualifier Tournament rules please go here.
We’ll see you at the European Qualifier Tournament table. A seat is waiting for you!
[Source: BlizzCon 2014 Gives HearthStone Tournament A $250 000 Prize]
