We all knew that Hearthstone was going to go big. It’s an addictive game and people with all kinds of gaming tastes are getting hooked – it’s even coming to iPad so you can carry on your addiction on the move. But how much impact is it having on eSports?
Locally, Hearthstone has started out in eSports already. The DGL has a Hearthstone league that you can go sign up for Winter Leg; 295 people played in the Summer Leg and I’d wager that even more will take part in the Winter Leg. Hearth Battles has also launched, offering winners the chance to win Steam vouchers (courtesy of Evopoints) and Battlecoins. So the local Hearthstone scene is starting off strong, especially considering how recently the game came out of Beta.
Internationally, the game hasn’t gotten much eSports attention, until now. Over on the Hearthstone forums, it looks like there’s a possibility of becoming a Hearthstone World Champion. This will use ranked play, as well as other means to qualify:
The Regional Qualifiers for the Americas region will take the top 16 players from each of the first five Ranked Play seasons (April-August) and pit them against each other until only the best remain. The European regional tournament will function in the same manner as the Americas region. Korea/Taiwan and China will have slightly different qualification methods that will be detailed soon.
Becoming a Top 16 Legend player isn’t the only way to qualify for the Americas or Europe regional tournament – more information regarding how to qualify outside of Ranked Play will be announced at a later time. Performing well in multiple Ranked Play seasons will also be rewarded, so make sure you play your best each season!
So, go best the other Europeans in ranked play and show them why your South African deck is best. I can’t wait to hear the game shoutcasted.
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Last Updated: April 9, 2014
Admiral Chief in Space
April 9, 2014 at 15:04
Haven’t had a look at this, tell me, is it skill or luck based or based on your deck that you have to pay for?
Sk3tz0
April 9, 2014 at 15:15
Bit of Everything.. its a card game so it will depend on luck.. the skill comes in when u have to clear ur opponents board.. and obvious ur deck will play a role in all that
Alien Emperor Trevor
April 9, 2014 at 15:15
d) all of the above
I guess.
Kyratic
April 10, 2014 at 07:18
Played it a bit, there is definitely some skill involved, too much pay to win for my liking but it can be overcome. Sometimes the gods of RNG can play havoc with you…
But Seriously If anyone is thinking of starting playing a card game try “Infinity Wars” on steam, it free. but way, way better than hearthstone. possibly even better than magic when you get into it.
Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!
April 9, 2014 at 15:05
Give me my iPad version already!
Alien Emperor Trevor
April 9, 2014 at 15:10
I wonder if my Canasta skills will translate well to this card game.
Sk3tz0
April 9, 2014 at 15:14
The game is Mucho Fun … I play with the ppl over at HearthBattle.co.za and they a great bunch.. Tried signing up on the DGL site but the Sign in Button wasnt working and still havent heard anything from the tech support ppl..
Admiral Chief in Space
April 9, 2014 at 15:18
Have you tried turning it off and on?
Sk3tz0
April 9, 2014 at 15:19
NO i did try swearing at it.. but sadly that didnt work..
DieJason
April 9, 2014 at 15:28
Waiting for the iPad version to release and I’ll check it out.
saneman
April 9, 2014 at 15:33
unlike poker there is no betting so the random cards draw destroys any kind of competitiveness and stratergy and becomes a basic math problem u have to solve in 2 minutes with what ever crap cards u where dealt.
saneman
April 9, 2014 at 15:35
You have to grind to get std cards to craft into fancy special cards. OR u can just buy your way in. Defeats the entire point. no skill or time required just basic math and your dads CC
Admiral Chief in Space
April 9, 2014 at 15:38
So that’s a resound NO from my side then.
Pay to win can suck my stamp of approval
noxville
April 9, 2014 at 15:55
There are a lot of decks that win tournaments with very few expert cards. That said a lot of people I know have played the game for ~3 months and got all the playables unlocked. You can pay to speed up that process, but you won’t be instantly winning just because you have all the legendaries, there’s a huge amount of skill required to win.
Many streamers have done the whole “not putting a cent in” strategy and got quite easily to the top tier of ranked play. There’s a huge emphasis on skill, having the cards just means you have more variety in being able to choose more diverse decks. In a tournament scene, some people go insane and prepare 5-6 decks, and most prepare 2-3.
Robert Hart
April 9, 2014 at 15:59
Not exactly a good spectator sport, unfortunately. I dont think Blizzard really care much for eSport when it comes to this game (compared to the focus Valve have put in to their games for eSport).
noxville
April 9, 2014 at 16:08
On Twitch.tv, more people watch Hearthstone than all the car racing games put together. 🙂
Robert Hart
April 9, 2014 at 18:18
I dont doubt that for a second 😛
noxville
April 9, 2014 at 20:40
I’m pretty sure you’d make an argument for car racing games being spectator sports 😀
Rags
April 9, 2014 at 21:54
I am yawning already. It’s a card game. While watching poker can be fun even online, that’s only cause there is a boatload of money for each play involved.