With well over 300 players and a US $500,000 prize pool, the J?nk?ping tournament was recognised as one of the most competitive Masters Tour events to date.

After making it through the first stage without much hassle, Warma defeated WEStone in five rounds to reach the semi-finals. The French tactician then took on Ramiro “Rami94” Ponce, defeating the Americas Grandmaster 3-1 to reach the decider.

In the grand finals, Warma met with Salvatore “Pignas” Pignolo, whose Demon Hunter-Druid decks failed to stack up with his opponent’s Demon Hunter-Rogue-Druid combination. A commanding 3-1 win saw Warma collect $32,500 in tournament winnings and the title of Masters Tour champion.

With his victory, Warma became the third French player to win a Masters Tour event, following in the footsteps of his compatriots Théo “Felkeine” Dumont, who triumphed at Masters Tour Seoul, and Zakarya “xBlyzes” Hail, who won both Masters Tour Arlington and Masters Tour Los Angeles.

With the relegation of nine players at the end of Grandmasters 2020 Season 1, which concluded last weekend, Masters Tour Online: J?nk?ping was also the last chance for Hearthstone pros to receive an invite for the second season.

The top three players from each region based on total winnings from Masters Tours Arlington, Los Angeles, and J?nk?ping have now been announced and are set to join Grandmasters Season 2, where they will look to book a spot at the Hearthstone World Championship later this year.

Next on the Hearthstone schedule is Masters Tour Online: Asia-Pacific, which is set to take place from July 17-20.

Grandmasters 2020 Season 2 invited players

Americas:

• Ramiro “Rami94” Ponce (ARG) – $15,850
• Luke “NoHandsGamer” Kooken (USA) – $14,250
• Brian “brimful” Schneider (USA) – $14,100

Asia-Pacific:

• Alan “Alan870806” Chiang (TW) – $18,100
• Poramet “Bankyugi” Putchakan (TH) – $15,850
• Li “TIZS” Ching-Li (TW) – $15,500

Europe:

• Zakarya “xBlyzes” Hail (FR) – $65,850
• Enzo “Warma” Flock (FR) – $36,000
• Romaric “AyRoK” Dubois (FR) – $25,750

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Blitzchung, a professional Hearthstone esports player from Hong Kong, was banned Monday after expressing support for ongoing protests in his homeland by shouting “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our age” during a live-streamed interview.

His actions earned him a 12-month ban from participating in all Blizzard-run tournaments on top of losing his tournament winnings (US $3,000).

Blitzchung’s punishment caused a widespread public protest against Blizzard, accusing the company of using too harsh punishment in order to cater to the Chinese audience.

The support for Blitzchung reached all corners of the world, with some legal entities and political figures joining in the protest against Blizzard, which forced the company to respond to the accusations.

And a response came on Friday, October 11, when Blizzard president J. Allen Brack released an official statement where he doubled down on the firm’s decision to disallow any political speech during their events and denied that the initial decision was not in any way driven by the company’s relationships in China.

“The specific views expressed by Blitzchung were not a factor in the decision we made. I want to be clear: our relationships in China had no influence on our decision,” said Brack.

Brack went on to explain he stands behind Blizzard’s punishment for banning Blitzchung for his support of Hong Kong protests and will do the same to any players or casters that will do the same in the future.

While the punishment stands firm, Brack stated Blizzard have decided to reduce the punishment to be more rational and still serve its purpose. For that reason, Blitzchung will receive back the lost prize money on top of his ban being reduced from a one year to six months, because he played fair in the tournament.

“But playing fair also includes appropriate pre-and post-match conduct, especially when a player accepts recognition for winning in a broadcast. There is a consequence for taking the conversation away from the purpose of the event and disrupting or derailing the broadcast,” added the Blizzard president.

While a nice gesture made by Blizzard, the protests against the company continue and it seems like this fire will need much longer to extinguish as seen by ongoing anti-Blizzard posts made on Reddit, Facebook and Twitter.

Twitter has been roaring in recent days with #BoycottBlizzard trending, where several pictures of people cancelling their subscriptions to Blizzard-owned games as well as others acts of protest can be found.

Adding to online outrage, there is supposedly a mass protest planned for next month’s Blizzcon, which should keep the fire going, as masses demand for further clarification of Blizzard’s controversial actions.

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The HK native made the headlines due to his controversial statements during a live streamed interview that took place after his Asia-Pacific Grandmasters tournament match.

Blitzchung appeared wearing a mask, closely resembling that of the protesters, yelling out “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times”, a slogan used by the social movement in Hong Kong.

His actions, however, did not sit well with Blizzard, who took immediate action against the pro as well as both casters involved.

Blitzchung suffered a 12-month ban, preventing him from participating in any Blizzard-run tournaments beginning from October 5, 2019 and extending to October 5, 2020. On top of that, he lost all prize winnings he earned at the event, where he finished seventh in his group, which would have awarded him with US $3,000.

Blizzard also released a statement talking about both casters, claiming that despite them physically “ducking” from Blitzchung’s comments on air and immediately cutting the stream to commercials, the company decided to immediately cease working with them.

Activision Blizzard justified their decision by saying the interview broke the tournament rules, which dictate that players may not take any action that could damage Blizzard’s image.

Section 6.1 of the 2019 Hearthstone Grandmasters Official Competition Rules states: “Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image will result in removal from Grandmasters and reduction of the player’s prize total to $0 USD, in addition to other remedies which may be provided for under the Handbook and Blizzard’s Website Terms.”

Blizzard ended their ruling by saying: “While we stand by one’s right to express individual thoughts and opinions, players and other participants that elect to participate in our esports competitions must abide by the official competition rules.”

Soon after the incident, many players, esports fans as well as companies and other legal entities expressed their dissatisfaction with Blizzard’s decision to punish Blitzchung, claiming Blizzard is catering too much to China, which is not the first time something like that has happened.

One of the first to jump at the opportunity to criticise Blizzard was the creators of Gods Unchained, who decided to show their support for Blitzchung, by claiming they will pay him for all his lost winnings on top of gifting him a ticket to their US $500,000 tournament.

In the wake of the news, it seems like some of Blizzard’s employees started their own silent protest by covering up parts of Blizzard’s statue at the centre of Blizzard’s campus in Irvine California.

The covered parts show companies core values written on it, such as “every voice matters” and “think globally”, which compared to current events come off as contradictory to Blizzard’s actions.

The news also reached some more influential individuals such as US senator Ron Wyden, who commented on the situation with a Twitter post which read: “Blizzard shows it is willing to humiliate itself to please the Chinese Communist Party. No American company should censor calls for freedom to make a quick buck.”

Blizzard have found themselves between two fires, seeing how the company has ties with Tencent Holdings Ltd. and NetEase Inc., both Chinese firms who help distribute and co-develop many Activision’s game titles. Tencent also holds a 4.9% stake in Activision Blizzard, meaning taking no action on the matter could result in a huge financial disaster for the company.

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Following the steps of Dungeon Run from the previous expansion “Kobalds & Catacombs”, this new mode is only for the bravest. Every player can pick one of the four Legendary heroes and their tailor-made deck of cards and must clear all eight challenges, losing will require you to restart the run from the begging.

The four heroes available are:

Tess Greymane: Tess belongs to the Rogue class. This new hero introduces a unique power called Scavenge. This ability allows her to discover which class spell was used in the game. With a great hero, comes a great villain. Tess must face Captain Shivers if she wants to reach the end.

Darius Crowley: Fire! is the power for this warrior hero. Darius shots different cannons and every time he loses a minion, the cannons refresh. The nemesis on his way is no other than Lord Godfrey.

Houndmaster Shaw: This hero can summon a Bloodhound thanks to Dog Whistle. Houndmaster’s ability is possible thanks to Rush, a new keyword introduced on this expansion. This Hunter hero fights against Glinda Crowskin.

Toki, Time-Tinker: Last but not least. Toki has one of the most interesting abilities, he can start the player’s turn over again. This ability is known as Temporal Loop and it’s a great tool against an alternate version of Toki.

The heroes must defeat their nemesis but this is not the end of the road. The final boss is Hagatha the Witch, another legendary card. This witch set the Witchwood curse.

Players that come on top will be awarded with the exclusive Monster Hunt card back.

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The Witchwood is officially the eighth Hearthstone expansion and the first of 2018 and it comes as we have recently said goodbye to the Year of the Mammoth.

This expansion takes us all the way to the wicked wood in the Gilneas region. Despite the grim appearance, the locals visited the woods frequently. The peace they once enjoyed was destroyed by Hagatha the Witch. The curse set upon the woods turned it into a place out of a nightmare. Shadows, eerie figures and monsters haunt the woods. Those brave enough to enter The Witchwood never return.

Collectible Cards

Cards are the core of Hearthstone. There wouldn’t be collectible card games without the cards. On this occasion the expansion will include the standard 135 new cards, divided the usual way between neutral and class cards. The expansion follows the standards being the nine heroes in the game will receive exclusive cards plus the legendary minion cards.

Keywords

The Witchwood introduces three new keywords to the game:

Start of the Game: It gets activated at the start of the game. Three cards contain the keyword, Baku the Mooneater, Genn Greymane and Prince Malchezaar.
Echo: It allows the player to use the same card multiple times. The card is copied to the user’s hand multiple time and will be removed once their turn ends. Players can keep copying the card as long as they have mana. Only Unstable Evolution has the mechanic without the keyword on the text.
Rush: Not to be confused with Charge. Rush allows the minions to attack once they are summoned. Said minions cannot attack the hero. This keyword was included on 18 cards from The Witchwood.

Game Mode

A new single-player game mode will be introduced “Monster Hunt” which will have four special heroes with exclusive powers and new cards. This game mode has some facts in common with Dungeon Runs, a game mode introduced on previous expansions. It will have 9 different monsters to clear through. The exact release date is yet to be determined.

Extras

The experience would not be complete without a new battlefield. It features a mysterious tree, a house that looks like it belongs to a witch and a brewing potion. Additionally, those that pre-ordered a bundle will enjoy one exclusive card back called “In a Dark Wood”.

The Meta

New cards will change the game. Currently there are several deck guides based on the new cards.
The highlight of the new Meta is the Elemental Shaman Deck. Shaman’s decks are not particularly popular. The Witchwood promises to make it relevant again. Special mention to Hagatha The Witch, the new legendary card.

How To Get The Witchwood?

The Witchwood is the beginning of a new year for the Hearthstone world. The card packs are available in the shop, the price and options remain the same. These cards cards could also be crafted however players will need the regular amount of Arcane Dust. Every time a player finishes an Arena run, they will receive one card pack from The Witchwood.

As an incentive, Blizzard is rewarding the players that log into the game with three card packs to celebrate the release.

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Twitch.tv has officially partnered up with Blizzard Entertainment for exclusive third-party live streaming video rights to Blizzard esports tournaments through 2018, which includes Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, StarCraft II and World of Warcraft.

For the next two years, only Blizzard themselves and Twitch will broadcast Blizzard-sponsored esport content, which grants the popular video game streaming service a significant monopoly over some of the biggest and most watched esports competitions worldwide. Twitch has so far announced broadcasting rights for over 20 “major individual events”, including:

• Heroes of the Storm Global Championship (HGC)
• StarCraft II World Championship Series (WCS Circuit)
• Hearthstone Championship Tour (HCT)
• Hearthstone Global Games (HGG)
• World of Warcraft Arena Championship
• Overwatch APEX League
• Overwatch Premier Series

Amazon and Twitch Prime members also get additional bonuses as part of the deal, with Blizzard giving Prime members exclusive in-game content for its games. From June 20 to August 10, subscribers to either premium service will be awarded a golden loot box in Overwatch – guaranteeing at one legendary item. Considering the crazy efforts people tend to go to obtain such cosmetic items, it’s definitely an enticing incentive to jump on board and enjoy the new official home for Blizzard esports tournaments.

The collaboration between live stream video gaming services and goliath esports gaming company is not a new phenomenon. The Blizzard and Twitch team-up is just the latest in a series of high-profile broadcasting partnerships, with Riot Games pocketing $300 million per year from BAM Tech for granting exclusive broadcast distribution of League of Legend tournaments through 2023.

Neither Twitch or Blizzard have confirmed the financial extent of the monolith deal, but we’re fairly sure it’s a big one – but well worth the asking price, considering the upcoming debut of Blizzard’s Overwatch League and the continuing growth of the esports industry as a whole, projected to exceed $1 billion this year and over $1.23 billion in 2019.

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