The first season of Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022 will kick off on Feb. 25 and feature three weeks of gameplay before the playoffs. A global prize pool of $250,000 will be on the line.
How it works and what to expect
Between Feb. 25 and March 13, players will duke it out against each other in a weekly dual tournament format beginning each Thursday, earning points for the weekend top eight stage.
Each week, players will obtain points based on their number of wins. These points will determine whether or not they will advance to the playoffs that will happen between March 25-27.
This means on Thursdays, there will be off-broadcast matches. On Friday, four decider matches will determine the top eight and be broadcast live on YouTube. The top eight players will duel in a single-elimination tournament on Saturday, and the top four players will play on Sunday.
The format for Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022 Season 1 will change weekly:
- Week 1: Conquest (Feb. 24-27)
- Week 2: Trio (March 3-6)
- Week 3: Last Hero Standing (March 10-13)
- Playoffs: Conquest (March 25-27)
As for the broadcasts, they will begin at the following times:
- ASIA-PACIFIC: 5 a.m. EST
- EUROPE: 10:00 a.m. EST
- AMERICAS: 3 p.m. EST
New Trio format
The new Trio format is an experimental one, according to Blizzard’s announcement.
Below is how it works:
- The Hearthstone Esports team will create five unique groups consisting of three classes each
- These groups can share one or two classes
- Players will choose one group and submit three deck lineups for each class
- The group selections will be private, meaning players won’t know what others have chosen
- There will be best-of-five matches, and winning decks will become unavailable for the rest of the match
“We are excited to see how the Trio format performs when played at the pro level and if well received then we’ll consider how to possibly implement it in other Hearthstone Esports tournaments,” Blizzard said.
Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022
As revealed by Blizzard last year, Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022 Season 1 will be the final regular season of Grandmasters. Like the previous seasons, the regional winners will get an invitation to the 2022 Hearthstone World Championship.
Rather than relegating players while other competitors head to the next season, only the top four regional players will head to Hearthstone Grandmasters: Last Call. Participants of Hearthstone Grandmasters: Last Call will also include the top four players by Masters Tour Points from the final three Masters Tours of 2021 and the first three of this year. This means the tournament will feature 16 players in total. A place in the 2022 Hearthstone World Championship will be on the line.
How to get Hearthstone card packs
Fans can earn up to four card packs during the Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022 Season 1 live broadcasts. Two hours of matches must be watched to get one card pack, and two more hours must be watched to earn the next one. During the playoffs, two more Fractured in Alterac Valley card packs can be earned by viewers.
To receive these rewards, a viewer must connect their Battle.net and YouTube accounts. This can be done by visiting the “Connected Apps” section on YouTube and pressing the “Connect” button located beside Battle.net.
