The Hearthstone Grandmasters - the highest level of competition for Blizzard's game - will be starting in May and will feature the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions competing together, with 16 players from each region attending and then being split into two divisions of eight players each.
Players in these divisions are set to play a double round robin with best-of-three Specialist format, and after all the matches are done, players will be ranked according to the number of wins they've achieved. Divisions will be unveiled at the HCT 2019 World Championship in Taipei on April 28, before the Grand Finals.
Players will be invited to join Grandmasters based on criteria like lifetime earnings, points from the Hearthstone Championship Tour 2018, and other factors, earning prize money based on performance during the season. These players will also be qualified to compete in all Hearthstone Masters Tour events as well, with rosters being revealed over the next few weeks.
At the end of the season the top three players in each division will go to the playoffs, with the finalist from each region for both 2019 seasons - plus two players from the China Gold Series - competing in the Hearthstone Global Finals at the end of the year for a prize pool of $500,000 USD.
After the end of Season 2, players who finished last in their respective division will be at risk of relegation, and the top earners from the Masters Tour will then be eligible to receive an invite to replace them.
There are two Grandmasters seasons this year, each featuring eight weeks of online matches broadcast on Twitch, with five matches every Friday, five on Saturdays, and six on Sundays. Season 1 starts on May 17, so there isn't that long to wait.
Is this a good format?