The initial reports have been confirmed: Hearthstone is going to the seaside.
The first HCT Championship of the new year is slated for March 23-26. The tournament will determine the first four players to win berths at the next World Championship, which itself is scheduled for early 2018.
Another first is the tournament’s venue. Where last year’s championships were mostly held in Blizzard’s studio in Los Angeles, HCT Winter 2017 is going to the Bahamas. The exotic Melia Nassau Beach will be where the sixteen players from the four regions will meet.
The news was initially announced by Blizzard Taiwan, but is only now being officially confirmed by the company's HQ.
While Europe, Americas and Asia-Pacific are still to have their own regional qualifiers, China has already gone through its own. This last Sunday, the Gold Series Grand Finals chose Zheng “OmegaZero” Lin, Bohan “Lovelychook” Zhang, “Lvge” and “XHope” to represent China in the HCT Winter Championship, meaning OmegaZero could become the first Chinese player to repeat Blizzcon appearances, should he reach the top four.
The HCT Winter Championship will feature an increased prize pool of $250,000 up from last year’s $80,000, while the Blizzcon finals will put $1 million on the table once again.
