The beginning of the end of Hearthstone Grandmasters. The action starts this weekend with drops and a new format.

Hearthstone Grandmasters is entering its last regular season as it will be phased out in 2022. 48 players will battle for the $250,000 prize pool during this last regular season that will only last 4 weeks. The action starts this same week, and Hearthstone Esports is bringing some surprises as farewell gifts. Learn how to get Drops and everything about the new competitive format, Trio.

Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022
Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022

Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022

As announced last December, Hearthstone Esports will sunset the Grandmasters system during 2022. This week, the last regular season will start, and don’t blink, since it will only last for four weeks. This will be the last Hearthstone Grandmasters season in which players will be regionally divided.

During this season, Hearthstone Grandmasters will feature three individual weekend tournaments, just like in 2021. The difference is that a new competitive format will make its debut on the big screen, the Trio Format. Grandmasters will accumulate points during each weekend towards qualifying for the Playoffs on week four. On top of the $250,000 prize pool, each of the three regional champions will get an invite to the 2022 World Championship.

2022 World Championship Invites Split
2022 World Championship Invites Split

New Trio Format

If you, like any ordinary player, have read the full 2022 ruleset, you might have noticed the new Trio competitive format in there. You haven’t read the rules lately? Oh, never? Don’t worry, let me explain it.

Imagine the Trio format as a variation of Conquest in which you don’t get to choose freely which classes to bring. Hearthstone Esports will create 5 unique sets of three classes each (that may share one or two classes between them), and players will have to choose from there.

New Hearthstone Format: Trio
New Hearthstone Format: Trio

Sets of Classes could be, for example, a) Druid, Warlock, and Rogue; b) Mage, Hunter, and Druid; c) Demon Hunter, Warrior, and Warlock. The composition of those sets will be at Hearthstone Esports soles discretion, and Grandmasters will have to choose from them.

Like in every other Hearthstone format, Grandmasters elections and decklists will be secret until the end of submissions. Players will submit one deck for each of the classes in their selected set, and then fight best-of-five (no bans) matches. During Trio matches, you have to win with each of your decks once, just like in conquest.

Hearthstone Grandmasters Details

Just like in the last Hearthstone Grandmasters season, the competition will be organized in Weekly Dual Tournaments. The action will start off-stream on Thursday, where players will have two matches hoping to advance to the Top 8 Stage. On Friday, the 4 deciders' matches will take place live on broadcast. The top 8 stage will start on Saturday when the 4 winners from Friday will be joined by the undefeated Thursday players. Sunday will be finals days with the last Top 4 matches, seeking to crown a weekly champion in each region.

Dual Tournament Stage Group example
Dual Tournament Stage Group example

As we mentioned, this will be the last Hearthstone Grandmasters’ regular season. There will be a massive restructuring in which only the best 4 players of each region will keep competing on Hearthstone Grandmasters: Last Call. Stakes are higher than ever.

Dates & Format

Thursday (off-stream), Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 

  • February 24 - Week 1: Conquest
  • March 3 - Week 2: Trio
  • March 10 - Week 3: Last Hero Standing
  • Playoffs - March 25: Conquest

Broadcast Start Time:

  • ASIA-PACIFIC: 2 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. CEST / 6 p.m. KST
  • EUROPE: 7:00 a.m. PDT / 4:00 p.m. CEST / 11:00 p.m. KST
  • AMERICAS: 12 p.m. PDT / 9 p.m. CEST / 4 a.m. KST

Prize Pool:

Global prizing of $250,000 (USD), split between $71,700 (USD) across all three regions each tournament for Weeks 1 through 3, and $34,900 (USD) for the playoffs

Language Streams on YouTube:

Hearthstone Grandmasters Drops

Drops return to Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022 in every official broadcast. Tune in to your preferred language broadcast to earn up to four Fractured in Alterac Valley Hearthstone card packs during the Grandmasters season. Watch two hours to get each pack. Remember that your watched time is cumulative, so don’t worry if you can’t watch for four hours straight the same day or week.

  • Grandmasters Week 1 – 3: Fractured in Alterac Valley (max 2 packs)
  • Grandmasters Playoffs: Fractured in Alterac Valley (max 2 packs)
Hearthstone Grandmasters returns with Drops
Hearthstone Grandmasters returns with Drops

Don’t forget to Connect your Accounts!

To receive Hearthstone Drops during Masters Tour Onyxia's Lair, you will need to link your Blizzard Battle.net account with YouTube. You can do this in simple steps:

  • Log in to your YouTube account.
  • Go to Account Settings.
  • Click on “Connect” next to Battle.net. Don’t forget to be logged into your Blizzard account on which you’d like to claim your Hearthstone packs.
  • After successfully connecting your accounts, you will be able to see a Diamond by the “Like” button below the video.
  • Check full terms and conditions here.

That is all for now, check the official post for more info, and stay tuned to Esports.gg for more Hearthstone news and updates. See you next time in the tavern