Activision Blizzard Announces World Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft 2016

The well-known video game publisher seems to be serious about the development of e-sports, and this also applies to the mega-popular title Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. The American company announced the details of the 2016 Hearthstone Championship Tour, and it will be seriously different from the event that took place this year.

According to The Verge, much more money will be allocated for the championship next year than before. The prize pool of the 2016 championship finals will be $ 1 million, which is four times the prize money of the current year.

Along with an increased budget, the series of tournaments, which will be held throughout the year, also received a new, more structured format. Gamers from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and America will compete in a series of seasonal tournaments throughout the year, and winning them will bring them a place in the final. The World Championship will be attended by four gamers from the above regions, as well as four participants from China. Oddly enough, in the Middle Kingdom qualifying rounds will be held in a slightly different way. For each regional championship, 100 thousand dollars of prize fund were allocated.

Recall that the final of the championship of 2015 was held recently - in November in Anaheim. And the new competition, in fact, will begin today - with the DreamHack Winter 2015 event in Sweden. By the end of the year, the best 16 players who will enter the final battle for the main award will be known.

Activision Blizzard is the parent company of Blizzard. Recently, she has made a major leap in the world of electronic sports, and the Hearthstone Championship is only one of the evidence of recent times.

In September, the company announced a new competitive league for Call of Duty, with an event prize pool of $ 3 million. Earlier this month, the World Heroes of the Storm Tournament was held, which also had a huge prize pool of $ 1.2 million. The publisher has also set up a separate e-sports division, led by former ESPN CEO Steve Bornstein. “I’m sure that e-sports can become a serious competitor to traditional sports in terms of future opportunities,” said Bornstein, explaining this decision.