When it comes to esports, Hearthstone is certainly one of the most popular ones, which is quite an oddity for a card game. Of course, the reason behind the success of its popularity is the fact that there are quite a lot of events organized by Blizzard every year, and they create some of the most epic moments that the Hearthstone competition has to offer.
Over the past few years, it has been established that Hearthstone is still an incredibly fun game, and Team 5 deserves nothing but positive light as they really care about the game. The competition in 2022 was quite interesting, but in 2023, Blizzard has decided to reorient their approach for the tenth year of competitive Hearthstone.
Hearthstone Tournaments in 2023: A Revised Structure
Something that motivates players to become a part of a Hearthstone competition is definitely the prize pool, which this year got a slight decrease across the board of all the official tournaments. The updated prize pool for 2023 has three Masters Tours will have $50,000 prize pools, ending with a $350,000 World Championship.
Masters Tour Seasonal Championships
Similar to last year, the biggest official events are the Masters Tour seasonal Hearthstone tournaments, which are also the best place to try your knowledge with some Hearthstone betting.
Each Hearthstone championship features a $50,000 prize pool, and the three Masters Tour events will be taking place as follows:
- Spring Championship Masters Tour – April or May 2023
- Summer Championship Masters Tour – August or September 2023
- Fall Championship Masters Tour – November 2023
Each split will be accompanied by three months of qualification open to all competitors. The best players in the world will earn Competitive Points through monthly standings and other events such as Battlegrounds: Lobby Legends tournaments.
Each Masters Tour tournament will involve the top 16 players in the world, featuring four players from four regions each. While the winner of this event will receive a cash prize, they will receive something even better, which is a slot in the Hearthstone World Championship.
Battlegrounds: Lobby Legends
Returning from last year, Lobby Legends will now play a greater role in the competitive calendar. Specifically, each of the three Splits will be accompanied by a Lobby Legends Championship. Here, standard players will be competing for one of eight spots at the 2023 World Championship.
Have a quick look to see when these events will take place:
- Spring Championship Battlegrounds: Lobby Legends – May 2023
- Summer Championship Battlegrounds: Lobby Legends – July or August 2023
- Fall Championship Battlegrounds: Lobby Legends – November 2023
Each Lobby Legends event will feature a $50,000 prize pool for participating players. To reiterate, as an esports tournament series, these events are designed to allow anyone to compete at the highest level.
World Championship 2023: Ending with a Bang
Of course, we saved the best for last, and that is the highest tier of all Hearthstone tournaments – the World Championship 2023. This Hearthstone competition is hosted every year in December. In 2022, it featured 4 spots from Grandmasters, 8 spots from Season Championships, and 4 from the Chinese Gold series.
Considering the changes to this year’s format, Blizzard is yet to publish details for this $500,000 event. Regardless, this will certainly be the climax of Hearthstone betting, with multiple weeks of competition with the goal of crowning a new World Champion.
Qualifying for this event will involve performing well at Masters Tours and Lobby Legends events consistently. One hope for this year is that the competition returns to an offline, in-person venue like in the distant past.
All Hearthstone Competition on YouTube and Twitch
Notably, this season will be enjoying a change with regard to broadcasting rights. While last year was exclusive to YouTube, all competitions will be available on both YouTube and Twitch for 2023!
Speaking of which, besides the mentioned tournaments, the likes of the China Gold Series may return as a tournament this year, although this is highly unlikely for unforeseen circumstances. Overall, 2023 will be a pivotal year for competitive Hearthstone, influencing the future following a few tough years.
Image credits: Blizzard
