The new professional league of Hearthstone is quite elite. There is little movement in the Grandmaster system. Once you’re in, you’re highly likely to stay in.
The “Grandmasters” league of Hearthstone is quite controversial, even among professional players. This is not surprising, as participation in the league is difficult.
Of the 48 participating players, only 6 are eliminated at a time and replaced by new players.
Once you have a spot in the Grandmasters, you are “secure in the saddle” and have little to fear. Even the Hearthstone professional Kolento finds this concerning.
What did Kolento say? In an interview with Invenglobal, Kolento, who has been playing Hearthstone professionally and successfully for 5 years, expressed criticism about the “Hearthstone Grandmasters”. Although he is one of the “Grandmasters”, he says:
“I think it is a bit too hard to get into the Grandmasters League once you’re outside. It’s like a closed club that you can only enter by invitation. Blizzard did not want to use such practices in the past, but now there is the Grandmasters League. Obviously, you are in a good position if you’re already in.”
Although Kolento is glad he was invited, he finds it too difficult for other aspiring players who might want to be a part of it.
What is the Grandmasters League? The Grandmasters League consists of 48 players – 16 each from the regions of America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. These players are then divided into two divisions. At the end of a season, the two lowest players within a region can be eliminated from the league, making room for new ones. The other 14 (or 42 for the whole league) remain in the league.
Invitations come from Blizzard: The participants of the “Grandmasters” receive an invitation from Blizzard. They aim to orient themselves by various criteria, such as:
- Previous earnings
- Earned Competitive Points in Hearthstone
- Contributions to the Hearthstone community
Blizzard is therefore quite free in deciding which players to invite to this special league.
What does Blizzard hope to gain from this? So far, only speculations are possible about this new form. The fact that very few players can be eliminated definitely suggests that they want to keep well-known players in the “Grandmasters” for a long time. After all, these players have many fans, making them potential eSports viewers.
The concern of seeing your own favorite getting eliminated is relatively low – out of the 16 players per region, only 2 can be eliminated.
What do you think of this Grandmasters system? Is it a cool thing since it works in other sports? Or should the system be looser and change players more frequently?
