Blizzard ups the ante in 2017 with $100,000 regional clashes, $250,000 mid-season brawl, playoffs, crucibles, Open Division and more.
Heroes of the Storm is in the middle of a resurgence. Whether it is higher than average Twitch numbers due to an influx of streamers, or the palpable hype surrounding the BlizzCon 2016 Championship, even the most cynical of skeptics have something to be excited about.
And now, esports fans can officially join this group:
What makes up the HGC?
Teams will compete in a variety of events, first starting with the qualifiers.
Qualifiers will begin for North America in November. A series of special tournaments running after BlizzCon 2016 will determine the six teams in the initial HGC North America campaign. Astral Authority and Denial eSports have already received invites
Then, comes Regular Season: the HGC pits eight of the top professional Heroes of the Storm teams in a region against each other in weekly, live streamed matches. Match days are programmed for primetime viewing in each region; North America, Europe, China, and Korea play on a Friday-Saturday-Sunday schedule.
After Five weeks of regular season play, we enter Clashes. The top three teams from each league in China, Europe, Korean and North America will join representatives from Latin America, Australia/New Zealand, Southeast Asia and Taiwan in either the Western or Eastern Clash exhibition.
These Western and Eastern clashes will take place twice a year, with four in total.
After ten weeks of regular season play, the top finishers in the standings qualify for the Mid-Season Brawl. This $250,000 prize pool tournament will feature 12 teams from every HGC region. The league's 2nd-6th place teams face off in a playoff for an additional spot, in the Mid-season brawl
New Blood
The Crucible gives motivated Open Division teams an opportunity to fight their way into the top-flight league. On top of this, HGC teams that are struggling will have to re-earn their spot by fending off the challengers from the Open Division. The top Open Division team will choose the HGC team it wants to face from the 7th and 8th place finishers of that season in a best of 7 series. The winner is included in the next HGC season.
After that, the remaining Open Division teams will face the other 7th/8th place finisher in a different best of 7 series. The winner of this also gets a spot in the HGC.
North American timeline (subject to change):
- November – Qualifiers begin
- January – Regular season begins
- March – Western and Eastern Clashes
- April – Playoffs
- May – Crucible (relegation)
- May/June – Mid-Season Brawl
- June/July – Regular season resumes
- July – Western and Eastern Clashes
- Oct – Playoffs
- Nov – HGC Finals
- Nov – Crucible (relegation)
So far, Team Dignitas and Fnatic have already qualified for the EU qualifiers into the Open Season, and MVP Black and Ballistix for the KOR qualifiers. China has yet to determine the teams playing in their respective qualifier.
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