Blizzard has given an outline of what the next year of competitive Hearthstone will look like. Set to return in February 2022, the next season will feature a total prize pool of $3 million.
But more than that, Blizzard has also outlined its plans to shake up the format of the scene a little bit, with the first three Masters Tours of the year set to serve as qualifiers for the Summer Championship and the final three feeding into the Fall Championship. All games from the Masters Tours are also set to be held online this season, although Blizzard has shared that it aims for the Fall and World Championship to be in-person events.
As for the World Championship, qualification this time will be a little different as well. The event will feature 16 players, eight of which come from the Master Tours, four from China, and four from the Grandmasters portion of the scene. While Grandmasters isn't seeing all that much change to its format this year, Blizzard has stated that these final two seasons of it will be its last, as it "does not align with our goals for the program."
Finally, Blizzard is also set to host a Battlegrounds: Lobby Legends scene, where players will be able to compete for a share of a $500,000 prize pool over the course of 2022. While this will be a global event featuring the best players from around the world, we're told that exact details on dates and schedules will follow "in the coming months."
On the topic of dates, the only one we have to go by right now is for the first Masters Tour of the season, which is set for February 18-20, everything after will be revealed "throughout 2022."
