Deceptively simple in design but epically engaging, Hearthstone will be instantly accessible to players regardless of their familiarity with Warcraft or collectible card games. Whether players prefer to wield magic or arms in battle, strike from the shadows or head on—or have never given any of that much thought—they’ll be able to jump right in, create a deck, and get in on the card-slinging action.

In addition to honing their skills in practice matches against the computer and taking on their buddies via their Battle.net friends list, players can challenge each other in two competitive game modes. “Play Mode” features traditional head-to-head battles, with players facing off for a chance to increase their medal ranking and earn card packs along the way. And for a different type of challenge, players can enter “The Forge,” where they start each match by building a deck from a new set of cards, and then use that deck to duel other Forge participants. Aside from winning new cards, players will be able to round out their collections by purchasing new card packs or disenchanting some of their existing cards to craft the ones they’re missing.

With hundreds of cards to choose from, featuring a wide range of colorful Warcraft spells, weapons, and characters, players will have limitless possibilities for developing and fine-tuning their deck-building strategies.

The Hearthstone Masters Tour is growing in 2020! In 2019 Blizzard held three Masters Tours: Las Vegas, Seoul, and Bucharest. Thousands of players participated in Masters Qualifiers for their chance to play in these events, and the Hearthstone Esports team is excited to announce that we are doubling the number of Masters Tours for 2020.

All six Masters Tours in 2020 will have at least $250,000 in prizing, with crowdfunding initiatives expected to bolster the prize pool of each Masters Tour even higher (details to be announced later). These events have yielded some of the most exciting and fun moments in Hearthstone esports, as they combine the current crop of top-tier of players with up-and-comers seeking to make their mark. 

Beginning in 2020, Hearthstone Esports will be teaming up with ESL and DreamHack as the trusted vendor for Hearthstone Maters Tour events next year.

Below is the most current information on Masters Tours for 2020, with further information to be announced in the coming months:

• Masters Tour #1 – Arlington, Texas – 1/31/20 – 2/2/20
  • Qualifying Period: 10/3/19 – 11/24/19
• Masters Tour #2 – Bali, Indonesia – 3/20/20 – 3/22/20
  • Qualifying Period: 12/12/19 – 1/26/20
• Masters Tour #3 – Jönköping, Sweden – 6/12/20 – 6/14/20
  • Qualifying Period: 2/6/20 – 3/29/20
• Masters Tour #4 – TBD Asia-Pacific Location (July/August)
  • Qualifying Period: 4/2/20– 5/24/20
• Masters Tour #5 – Montreal, Canada – 9/11/20 – 9/13/20
  • Qualifying Period: 6/4/20 – 7/26/20
• Masters Tour #6 –Spain Location (December) 
  • Qualifying Period: 8/6/20 – 9/27/20

Grandmasters & Relegation

Grandmasters will be back in 2020 for two more epic seasons, with the first season starting in April and the second in August. Each season will consist of eight weeks of play, but with a new structure. For the first four weeks, the format will rotate with all 16 players in each of the three regions (Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific) competing against each other, earning points based on placements. These points will be used to determine two divisions in each region.

Weeks five, six and seven will consist of round-robin play within the two divisions, much like the previous seasons of Grandmasters. This leads into the Playoffs taking place in week eight, which will qualify one player from each region to the World Championship at the end of the year. 

Regarding promotion and relegation: three players per region will be relegated at the end of Grandmasters Season 3, with the top three prize money earners from the first three Masters Tours of 2020 moving up to Grandmasters to replace them.