Everything you need to know about BlizzCon 2014 tournaments. World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and Hearthstone action awaits you!
Editor's Note: For more on BlizzCon 2014, visit our coverage hub. Make sure to check out our everything you need to know guide about the convention itself!
WATCH THE TOURNAMENTS IN OUR LIVE STREAM.
BlizzCon 2014 is finally here. After weeks of speculation, we'll finally be able to see what Blizzard has up its sleeve for 2015 and possibly beyond. But if you're a fan of eSports, there's another reason to be excited about the start of this two-day convention in Anaheim, CA. Top tier Hearthstone, StarCraft II, and World of Warcraft players have been going head to head for the last week to determine this year's world champions and the final matches to determine the winner will play out over the next 48 hours. Thankfully, Blizzard will be streaming all of the matches direct from the convention.
Here's your viewing guide for what lies ahead.
The three big tournaments with major prize money on the line are the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship, the StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals, and the Hearthstone World Championship. There's also an exhibition tournament for Blizzard's still-in-alpha MOBA Heroes of the Storm.
With so much going on, Blizzard needed two weekends to accommodate all of the action. WoW, SC II, and Hearthstone all had their opening rounds play out last weekend and the results carry into BlizzCon. Let's take a look at where the chips have fallen so far for the three games with prize money up for grabs.
World of Warcraft
The World of Warcraft tournament features 3v3 arena PvP battles. 8 teams in total have qualified, with three players on each team. Last weekend, all 8 teams battled for the first two spots in the semi-finals. Group winners Skill-Capped EU and Bleached Bones were the winners. BlizzCon will kick off with the remaining six teams fighting for the last two semi-final spots.
As you can see, Penny for Your Thought and Playing with Fire are in the driver's seat in their respective groups for the last two semi-final spots, but the other four teams still have a chance if they get hot. All matches are best-of-5, except for the Global Finals which are best-of-7.
Bios for the players are available on the official BlizzCon site. Skill-Capped EU features two members from the runner-up in the 2013 Arena Invitational. 3 Amigos boasts Snutz and Venruki, the winners of the 2012 Invitational. Penny for Your Thought made it to the semi-finals last year and is most notable for knocking off the 2013 Global Champion Skill-Capped NA in the American Regional this year.
Tournament Start Times
11:45 a.m. PST - November 7
10:00 a.m. PST - November 8
Prize Total: $250,000
1st - $120,000
2nd - $50,000
3rd-4th - $20,000
5th-8th - $10,000
Starcraft II
The top 16 players in the WCS Global Standings began play last week in a single elimination bracket. The eight winners will continue play at BlizzCon. (The 8 eliminated players from last weekend will play in special exhibition matches at BlizzCon)...
The 16 players who qualified for the finals are unsurprisingly all from South Korea. Snute of Norway just missed breaking through, finishing in 17th place. (The best finishing American this year was puCK, all the way down in 52nd place.)
The 16 qualifiers consist of 6 Terran players, 6 Protoss and 4 Zerg so we should be seeing a pretty diverse variety of battles. One last thing to note is that last year's champion, sOs, failed to qualify for Global Finals, finishing in 18th place in the standings.
The first round of this year's WCS has already brought quite a few upsets, with the players ranked 2nd through 5th in the Global Standings all being upset by their lower ranked opponents. It looks like top seed Bomber could now have an easier path to the final.
The championship round is a best of seven, but every round leading up to it is a best out of five.
Tournament Start
12:00 p.m. PST - November 7
12:00 p.m. PST - November 8
Prize Total: $250,000
1st - $100,000
2nd - $50,000
3rd-4th - $15,000
5th-8th - $7,500
9th-16th - $5,000
Hearthstone
Like StarCraft II, Hearthstone's championship round features 16 players. But the tournament, which began last weekend, is more similar to World of Warcraft's tournament, with the teams split into 4 dual-tournament groups. The four group winners punched their ticket to the quarterfinals last weekend, when the tournament moves to a single elimination format.
But before the quarterfinals get underway, the eight remaining players who finished 1 and 1 last weekend will battle for the final four spots. (The four players who finished 0 and 2 last weekend have been eliminated.)
Of the 16 players in the tournament, the two who are perhaps most well-known within the eSports community are StrifeCro and Kolento. Some fans expected the two of them to be the favorites for the championship, but the fact that they both ended up in the same opening group is causing a bit of controversy. StrifeCro advanced by winning the group last weekend, and Kolento is still alive but will have to play well to make it to the quarterfinals.
Tournament Start
9:45 a.m. PST - November 7
10:00 a.m. PST - November 8
Prize Total: $250,000
1st - $100,000
2nd - $50,000
3rd-4th - $15,000
5th-8th - $7,500
9th-16th - $5,000
As you can see, it's going to be a fun weekend for fans of Blizzard Entertainment. The tournament schedule for BlizzCon itself is up online and don't forget to check out our BlizzCon coverage hub for all of the latest news as it happens.
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