Jump to content

Hearthstonein esports

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AHearthstonecompetition atGamescom 2015

Blizzard Entertainment'sonlinecollectible card gameHearthstonebecame played professionally quickly after its release in March 2014. The game is played as anesport,with high-level tournaments such as Blizzard's official World Championship featuring prize pool of up to$1 million,[1]andlivestreamerscan earn money streaming gameplay onTwitch.

History ofHearthstonecompetition

[edit]

2013

[edit]

The firstHearthstonetournament was held atBlizzConon November 11, 2013, only a few months after the release of the game'sclosed betaand several months before the official release of the game in March 2014. Blizzard selected eight prominentHearthstoneplayers to compete at what they titled the "Hearthstone Innkeeper's Invitational". The tournament was won byArtosis,who was subsequently crowned the "Grandmaster of the Hearth".[2][3]

2014

[edit]

After the official release of the in early 2014, moreHearthstonetournaments followed, including events atEGX RezzedandDreamHackBucharest.[4][5]BlizzCon 2014 featured aHearthstonetournament with a $250,000USDprize pool, the largest up to that point, and players from the Americas, Europe, and Asia qualified for the event through winning regional tournaments.[6][7]

In June 2014, the organization of Assembly Summer 2014, aFinnishqualifying tournament for theInternational e-Sports Federation's (IeSF) World Championship, sparked controversy when it was announced that tournament would be open for men only. The cause was that the World Championship was also slated to have an all-male line-up, and its qualifying events were subject to the same rules. According to the IeSF, the rule was set in place in order to "secure traditional sports status" for esports. The forced gender division was abolished a few days after it was announced for Assembly Summer when the IeSF switched to an "open for all" format.[8][9]

June also saw acheatingscandal when Radu "Rdu" Dima won first prize and US$10,000 atDreamHack Summer.During Rdu's final match againstAmazHS,he got aBattle.netmessage stating the content of AmazHS' hand. Though the information was no longer relevant in the game, Rdu was upset about the unsolicited help and tournament organizers called for a 20-minute break in which Rdu's "friend list"was deleted, though they decided the round was won fairly. Though AmazHS gave his support to Rdu afterward, he stated that DreamHack should have been better at organizing the tournament and implored Blizzard to implement game modes in which such forms of cheating are not possible.[10][11]

InHearthstone's first year, a total of 52 tournaments and series awarded US$1,000 or more to individual players. Over the year, over US$1,000,000 worth of prize money was awarded during 2014, large tournaments being the World Championships and the World Cyber Arena. James "Firebat" Kostesich was the most successful tournament player, winning a total of US$105,650. Fifteen players made above the United Statesfederal minimum wagethrough tournaments alone in 2014, and many players make more throughlivestreamingtheirHearthstonegames.[12]

Hearthstone's inaugural World Championship concluded at BlizzCon 2014 and featured a total prize pool of US$250,000 and the Last Hero Standing format.[13][14]James "Firebat" Kostesich defeated Wang "Tiddler Celestial" Xieyu in the finals, becoming the first World Champion and earning US$100,000.[13]

2015

[edit]

In March 2015,Red Bull's Jon Partridge stated thatHearthstonewas "emerging as one of the world's top esports." Technology company Nvidia held a professionalHearthstonetournament series that spanned eight weeks, from the end of March to the middle of May, with a total prize pool of US$25,000. The tournament, which was split up in Professional Division of 16 high-level players and anopenworldwide Amateur Division, was a qualifying event of the2015 World Championship.[15][16][17]

Blizzard's official 2015HearthstoneWorld Championship tournament concluded at BlizzCon 2015. Sixteen players qualified for the event by improving their rankings at Blizzard-sanctioned tournaments. Four players per region eventually qualified for the World Championship by improving their regional rankings in Europe, North and Latin America, China, and Asia-Pacific.[18][19]This World Championship was the first to be held with the Conquest format with a ban.[13][20]Swedish player Sebastian "Ostkaka" Engwall defeated Canadian player Dylan "Hotform" Mullins to earn US$100,000 and the title of World Champion.[13]

2016

[edit]
Hearthstone competition "Throne of Cards IV" in Vienna, Austria

In November 2015, Blizzard announced a change in theHearthstoneseason structure, where the game's esports calendar would be split into Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons, each running for three months. Players have to earn enough HCT points in order to qualify for major tournaments at the end of each season which are held in three of the game's regions. Companies likeKyoto esports,StriveWire,andZotachost tournaments that give players points to qualify for the seasonal major tournaments. The winners of each tournament qualified automatically for the World Championship. Through this setup, 12 players qualify for the event, while Blizzard appoints four players from China in some other manner.[21]The 2016HearthstoneWorld Tour featured over US$1,900,000 in prize money.[22]

The third Hearthstone World Championship was held atBlizzCon 2016on November 5 with the Conquest format and a prize pool of US$1,000,000, four times as much as in 2015.[13][21]It was played in aSwiss tournamentformat and one class could be banned from use by one's opponent. The winner was RussianPavel "Pavel" Beltiukov,who defeated Artem "DrHippi" Karevets to earn the top prize of US$250,000.[13][23]

2017

[edit]

The 2017 Hearthstone World Championship is the fourth year of the Hearthstone World Championship. Breaking from the tradition of previous years, the 2017 Hearthstone World Championship took place in January 2018 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, instead of during BlizzCon near the end of the year. The winner was Chen "Tom60229" WeiLin from Taiwan, who defeated Frank "Fr0zen" Zhang to earn the top prize of US$250,000.[24]

2018

[edit]

The 2018 Hearthstone World Championship will be the Hearthstone Championship Tour's final event and was held in April 2019 inTaipei, Taiwanwith a $1 million prize pool.[25]The fifth Hearthstone World Championship winner wasNorwegianCasper "Hunterace" Notto that received $250,000.[26]

2019

[edit]

Blizzard is replacing the previously used tour system with three variations of a single class deck called "Specialist". More than $4 million will be available in the prize pool. Blizzard will hold the first tournaments primarily online and will be region-locked. The winners will go on to compete in the live global tournaments throughout 2019.[25]The fifth Hearthstone World Championship took place in April 2019 and was held inTaipei;the winner wasNorwegianCasper "Hunterace" Notto that received $250,000.[27]

Grandmasters Season 2 will remove the Specialist format used in Season 1. Instead, players will bring four decks, each from a different class. Before the match begins, each player chooses a deck to "shield", which means the other player cannot ban it. Then each player will ban one deck from the opponent. If a player wins with a deck, then the next match another deck must be played. If a player loses, then they can replay the deck.[28]

In October 2019, Blizzard announced itwould ban a playerfor one year from competing and forfeited all of his winnings earned during Season 2 because he spoke in support of the2019–20 Hong Kong protestsduring a tournament interview, which violated the rule against promoting a political stance during a broadcast.[29]A few days later, Blizzard revised its decision so it gave back the prize money and reduced the suspension to six months.[30]

The sixth Hearthstone World Championship winner wasChineseXiaomeng "VKLiooon"Li, who lives in China that received $200,000; VKLiooon was also thefirst womanto win a Hearthstone world championship and to win a BlizzCon tournament.[31]

2020

[edit]

The seventh Hearthstone World Championship winner wasJapaneseKenta "Glory" Sato that received $200,000.[32]

2021

[edit]

The eighth Hearthstone World Championship winner wasJapaneseWataru "Posesi" Ishibashi that received $200,000. He defeated the 2020 Hearthstone World Champion, Kenta "Glory" Sato, in the final round to win the title.[33]This was also the first ever time that the defending champion qualified for the next World Championship tournament, but Kenta "Glory" Sato ended up just one series away from winning it back-to-back.

2022

[edit]

The ninth Hearthstone World Championship winner wasGermanRaphael "Bunnyhoppor" Peltzer that received $100,000. He defeated Jack "DeadDraw" Bancroft, who is his teammate inTeam Liquid,in the final. The defending champion Wataru "Posesi" Ishibashi also qualified for the tournament and he ended up losing in the quarterfinal.

2023

[edit]

The tenth Hearthstone World Championship winner wasBritishThomas "PocketTrain" Swinton that received $100,000. He defeated "CJkaka" from Taiwan in the final. En route he defeated fellow countryman, practice partner and sometimes friendBritishThomas "Meati" Wayland.

List of finals

[edit]
Year Champion Score Runner-up Prize money
Total Champion Runner-up
2013 United StatesArtosis 3-2 United StatesKripparrian - - -
2014 United StatesFirebat 3-0 ChinaTiddlerCelestial $250,000 $100,000 $50,000
2015 SwedenOstkaka 3-0 CanadaHotform $250,000 $100,000 $50,000
2016 RussiaPavel 4-2 UkraineDrHippi $1,000,000 $250,000 $150,000
2017 TaiwanTom60229 3-2 United StatesFr0zen $1,000,000 $250,000 $150,000
2018 NorwayHunterace 3-2 GermanyViper $1,000,000 $250,000 $150,000
2019 ChinaLiooon 3-0 United Statesbloodyface $500,000 $200,000 $100,000
2020 Japanglory 3-1 Czech RepublicJarla $500,000 $200,000 $100,000
2021 Japanposesi 3-2 Japanglory $500,000 $200,000 $100,000
2022 GermanyBunnyhoppor 3-1 United KingdomDeadDraw $500,000 $100,000 $70,000
2023 United KingdomPocketTrain 3-0 TaiwanCJkaka $350,000 $100,000 $50,000

Streaming

[edit]

For many professionalHearthstoneplayers, rather than tournament earnings,livestreamingis their main source of income.[12]In 2014,Kinguinproject coordinator Giovanni Varriale stated thatHearthstonewas one of the most popular games onTwitch,with "thousands of people spend[ing] hours watching the best players in action."[34]

Game design

[edit]
See also:Gameplay of Hearthstone

Hearthstoneis a digital and online card game, comparable to traditional collectible card games such asMagic: The Gathering.

Expansions

[edit]

The game features a large amount of inherentrandomnessas calculated through arandom number generator(a property referred to as "RNG" ). Some cards may have excessively random effects and may be able to completely sway a game through RNG. Various fans are worried about the future of the game's competitive scene due tounbalancedcards being introduced in new expansions. In an interview withPolygon,Hearthstoneassociate designer Dean Ayala stated that newly introduced cards can add to the strategy of the game, and that expandingHearthstoneis "all about finding the balance with what is ok and what isn't ok." Ayala explained that a large part of adding new cards to the game is trying to view each card through the lens of each possible type of player and how the card may be used.[35]

Culture

[edit]

The practice of "win trading", where players forfeit games in order to help other players gain in ranking, can be used to reach Legend ranking with less effort. However, win trading is considered cheating, and Blizzard gives out permanentbansfor people who indulge in the practice.[36]

In 2014, professionalcoachingservices became popular, where high-level players discuss strategies with their clients and give tips for improvement. Nathan 'ThatsAdmirable' Zamora stated that the work is his main source of income, and that the service is useful for players that have plateaued and are unsure on how to change their play style.[37]

In August 2014, competitiveHearthstoneplayer Ryan "Realz" Masterson was hired by Blizzard in order to help with the balancing of the game.[38][39]

Controversy

[edit]
Main article:Blitzchung controversy

During a GrandMasters Season 2 match on October 6, 2019, player Chung "Blitzchung" Ng Wai made statements in support of theongoing protests in Hong Kong.During a post-match interview on the official Taiwanese broadcast, Blitzchung woreski gogglesand arespirator masksimilarly to the protesters, and used the popular pro-democracy slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time".[40]Blizzard considered the gesture to be a violation of rules forbidding players from engaging in conduct that "brings [the player] into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public or otherwise damages" the reputation of the company. As a result, Blizzard removed Blitzchung from the tournament, rescinded his Season 2 prize winnings, and banned him fromHearthstonecompetitions for one year. Blizzard also terminated its contract with the two casters involved in the broadcast.[41]Blizzard stated that while it "[stands] by one's right to express individual thoughts and opinions", players were still subject to their official rules and regulations during competition.[41][42][43]

The removal of Blitzchung led to criticism of Blizzard and calls for a boycott of the company. As coverage of the protests have been subject tocensorshipin mainland China, critics considered the decision to be an act of self-censorship intended to appease Chinese investors and stakeholders. Chinese conglomerateTencentowns a minority stake inActivision Blizzard.[44][45]Comparisons were also drawn with a recent controversy involvingDaryl Morey,owner of theHouston Rocketsbasketball team, over aTwitterposting that similarly pledged support for the protests.[41][46]The developers of the similar gameGods Unchainedinvited Blitzchung to its own tournament, offering to also repay the winnings that Blizzard had rescinded.[42]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Changes Coming to Hearthstone Competitive Tour for 2017Hearthpwn, Retrieved October 26, 2016
  2. ^Tach, Dave (2013-10-10)."Blizzard hosting a Hearthstone tournament at BlizzCon".Polygon.
  3. ^Warr, Philippa (2014-06-04)."Hearthstone Q&A: Kripparrian".Red Bull.
  4. ^Bramwell, Tom (2014-03-27)."Hearthstone tournament taking place at EGX Rezzed".Eurogamer.
  5. ^"Hearthstone Help: Interview with Dreamhack Bucharest winner".PC Gamer.2014-05-21.
  6. ^Macy, Seth G. (2014-05-23)."Hearthstone Blizzcon Tournament Prize Pool is $250,000 USD".IGN.
  7. ^Tassi, Paul (2014-05-25)."Blizzard Throwing 'Hearthstone' World Championship With $100K First Prize".Forbes.
  8. ^Savage, Phil (2014-07-03)."IeSF removes male-only restriction from its e-sports tournaments".PC Gamer.
  9. ^Grubb, Jeff (2014-07-02)."E-sports league that prohibited women Hearthstone players reverses policy after talking with Blizzard".VentureBeat.
  10. ^Peel, Jeremy (2014-06-17)."Most lucrative Hearthstone win marred by controversy;" Rdu is not cheating, "says Amaz".PCGamesN.
  11. ^Schreier, Jason (2014-06-17)."'Cheating' Scandal Hits $10,000 Hearthstone Tournament ".Kotaku.
  12. ^abLeslie, Callum (2014-12-31)."Hearthstone players won more than $1 million in the game's first year".The Daily Dot.Archived fromthe originalon 9 May 2016.
  13. ^abcdef"Hearthstone World Championship".Hearthstone Wiki.Retrieved2018-01-20.
  14. ^"Tournaments".Hearthstone Wiki.Retrieved2018-01-20.
  15. ^Chalk, Andy (2015-02-16)."Nvidia announces Pro/Am Hearthstone Tournament with $25k prize pool".PC Gamer.
  16. ^Parfitt, Ben (2015-02-26)."Nvidia is hosting its own Hearthstone tournament".MCV.
  17. ^Partridge, Jon (2015-05-11)."Nvidia Hearthstone comp pits you against the pros".Red Bull.
  18. ^Bogos, Steven (2015-01-31)."2015HearthstoneWorld Championship Announced ".The Escapist.Archived fromthe originalon 2017-02-08.Retrieved2016-09-02.
  19. ^Nunnely, Stephany (2015-01-16)."Here's how you earn a spot in the 2015 Hearthstone World Championship".VG247.
  20. ^"Tournaments".Hearthstone Wiki.Retrieved2018-01-20.
  21. ^abMamiit, Aaron (2015-11-27)."Blizzard Getting Serious On eSports: 'Hearthstone' World Championship Prize Money Quadrupled To $1M, Structure Changed".Tech Times.
  22. ^Lingle, Samuel (2015-11-25)."The 2016 Hearthstone World Tour will feature over $1.9 million in prizes".The Daily Dot.
  23. ^Tassi, Paul."Russia's Pavel Wins BlizzCon's 2016 'Hearthstone' World Championship".Forbes.
  24. ^"Hearthstone World Championship".playhearthstone.Retrieved2018-10-28.
  25. ^ab"Taipei to Host 'Hearthstone' HCT World Championship".2 January 2019.Retrieved2019-01-30.
  26. ^"Hunterace wins 2019 Hearthstone World Championship".Slack News. 28 April 2019.RetrievedMay 1,2019.
  27. ^"Hunterace wins 2019 Hearthstone World Championship".Slack News. 28 April 2019.RetrievedMay 1,2019.
  28. ^'Hearthstone' Dumps One-Hero Specialist Card Format In Esports CompetitionsJuly 30, 2019.
  29. ^"After Hearthstone player's ban, Blizzard is in hot water with lawmakers".October 8, 2019.RetrievedOctober 9,2019.
  30. ^"Blizzard Statement On Hong Kong Controversy: We Will Continue To Punish Political Speech".Forbes.October 12, 2019.RetrievedOctober 14,2019.
  31. ^"'Just forget your gender': Xiaomeng 'VKLiooon' Li becomes first female Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals champion ".The Washington Times.RetrievedNovember 5,2019.
  32. ^"Glory wins 2020 Hearthstone World Championship".MSN.RetrievedFebruary 8,2021.
  33. ^"Hearthstone's 2021 World Champion is Declared!".RetrievedMarch 19,2022.
  34. ^Higgins, Chris (2014-12-11)."eSports tournaments trading cards for charity".Red Bull.
  35. ^Kollar, Phillip (2016-08-26)."Hearthstone devs are not worried about randomness ruining the game".Polygon.
  36. ^Benson, Julian (2014-10-31)."Hearthstone win trading results in permanent bans and tournament disqualification".PCGamesN.
  37. ^Clark, Tim (2014-08-20)."What I learned from playing with a professional Hearthstone coach".PC Gamer.
  38. ^Blanchard, Ryan (2014-08-30)."Professional 'Hearthstone' Player Hired By Blizzard".Game Rant.
  39. ^"Blizzard Hires Hearthstone Pro as Associate Game Designer".IGN.2014-08-28.
  40. ^"Eight Chinese characters that have the Hong Kong government worried".South China Morning Post.2019-08-06.Retrieved2019-10-08.
  41. ^abcCampbell, Colin (2019-10-08)."After Hearthstone player's ban, fans call for a Blizzard boycott".Polygon.Retrieved2019-10-08.
  42. ^abSerrels, Mark."Blizzard pulls Blitzchung from Hearthstone tournament over support for Hong Kong protests".CNET.Retrieved2019-10-08.
  43. ^Spangler, Todd (2019-10-08)."Blizzard Bans 'Hearthstone' Player From Esports Tournaments for Pro-Hong Kong Protest Statement".Variety.Retrieved2019-10-08.
  44. ^Hunter, Gregor Stuart; Huang, Zheping (October 8, 2019)."Blizzard Bans Gamer, Rescinds Money, on Hong Kong Protest Support".Bloomberg News.Archivedfrom the original on October 8, 2019.RetrievedOctober 8,2019.
  45. ^Kelly, Makena (October 8, 2019)."After Hearthstone player's ban, Blizzard is in hot water with lawmakers".The Verge.Archivedfrom the original on October 8, 2019.RetrievedOctober 8,2019.
  46. ^Victor, Daniel (2019-10-08)."'South Park' Creators Offer Fake Apology After Show Is Erased in China ".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2019-10-08.

Further reading

[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hearthstone_in_esports&oldid=1235574468"