Heroes of the Storm offers a new HGC championship for 2018 with higher resolution broadcasts, team owners and new formats.
The HGC, the world championship of Heroes of the Storm, had largely surprised everyone for its first year by increasing its number of spectators. For 2018, fans will have new surprises. Indeed, the HGC will bring them a better viewing experience and bring together the elite of the competitive scene of Heroes of the Storm.
A better viewing experience
In 2018, all HGC matches will be broadcast in 1080p and 60FPS. All North American and European tournaments will be broadcast in multiple languages on official Blizzard channels. The available languages will be revealed shortly.
A new structure for the league
The new season of the HGC will begin on January 26, 2018 for a first week of league, it will see 32 teams from the Chinese, Korean, European and American championships compete against each other.
The eight teams from each region will face each other for ten weeks before the mid-season showdown, with a five-week break for the East scrum (Korea, China and a team from Taiwan) and the West scrum (Europe and North America). This pattern will be repeated during the second half of the year to reach the final of the championship.
Scrum winners allow another team from their region to reach the mid-season clash or the HGC final, depending on the time of year.
Outside of the four main regions of the HGC, teams from Latin America, Australia/New Zealand, Southeast Asia and Taiwan enjoy their own tournament, with a spot in the mid-season clash and the HGC final.
The East Wild Card and the Western Wild Card will give the winners access to the next HGC World Event. The East and West Wild Cards qualifiers are arranged by local partners to better meet the needs of the teams in the regions concerned.
Team owners to define
In 2018, the 32 HGC teams will have to have an owner to recruit the players, but also manage all the operations of the team and collaborate with the HGC office. Team owners are responsible for the administrative aspects of the HGC including league organization and marketing. As a result, players will be able to focus on their level of play and improve the quality of exchanges on the professional scene of the HGC.
The list of 32 teams is decided. Only sponsors and names can still vary before the start of next season. It will not be surprising to find among these teams: Fnatic, Team Dignitas or Ballistix.
