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More info about Playoffs and Pro Teams for Hearthstone Championship Tour in 2018 [xpost /r/hearthstone]

Greetings travelers, and well met!

The Hearthstone community has always provided us with valuable feedback, and we appreciate everyone weighing in on the recent HCT 2018 program announcement and visual guide to the HCT.

We saw a lot of questions on a couple of specific topics, and wanted to share some additional details with everyone.

Qualifying for Playoffs
For Season One, the Hearthstone Competitive Point (CP) threshold for all regions is 45. If there are less than 64 players in a region who earn 45 or more points, all remaining top point earners will be invited until the bracket is filled out. Similar to last year, all players who tie with the 64th-place point earner will also be invited. On top of the 64 players who will have been invited based on points earned, the eight players who qualified through the Challenger process will also be invited. As this is our inaugural season of HCT with a fixed points threshold (rather than a moving target of top 64), we will be monitoring player populations closely and make adjustments as necessary for Season 2 and so on.

Hearthstone Pro Team Standings
We’re excited to see such overwhelming interest in the Hearthstone Pro Team Standings! Pro Hearthstone teams have done a lot over the years to support competitive HS players and 2018 will be our first step in recognizing pro teams. Besides seasonal prizing ($22,500 for the top team), pro team rivalries and the race to be the #1 org in HS esports will be storylines we integrate into our broadcasts.

Here are some additional info about the HCT Pro Team Standings:

Organizations must be approved by Blizzard to participate in the Hearthstone Pro Team System.

All participating organizations must be registered as legal business in their countries of origin, and have an active website and social media presence. New organizations will be expected to review their business plan with Blizzard.

Organizations and players must provide Blizzard with license to use their names, nicknames, logos, likenesses, photographs, and other brand materials for promotional purposes.

A Hearthstone Pro Team active roster is three players. While an organization and its affiliates may only have two active rosters per season, they may also have unlimited players under contract.

Players must be under exclusive contract with the organization throughout the season they are representing it.

HCT Pro Team Standings begin starting Season 2 on April 1, 2018.

For 2018, players may be substituted freely before each season. Organizations must submit changes to their active rosters two weeks before the first day of a new season.

The initial HCT 2018 program announcement was meant to give you an overview of what you can expect from Hearthstone Esports in the coming year. There’s lots more info to come and we will be able to share more details in early 2018.

Please keep the feedback coming, and happy Feast of Winter Veil, everyone!

bdrago

Posted 6 years, 4 months ago (Source)

When do teams have to submit their roster of 3 players? Is it before the 1st season or is it at the end? i would appreciate a reply

Organizations will need to finalize their three players two weeks before the season starts. For Season 2, it will be on or around March 16, 2018.

The legal rules will have the exact date when the update is released.
bdrago

Posted 6 years, 4 months ago (Source)

/u/bdrago I was talking with some of my friends and we were confused about this point:

Starting in January 2018, a player’s three best ladder finishes per HCT season will count towards their point total. We want to avoid players being disadvantaged when they compete at an event that occurs toward the end of a month, when everyone is trying to reach the highest possible ladder rank.

Obviously multiple servers are a thing, so what counts as a "finish" for hct?

Example January: 25th NA, 25th EU February: 5th NA, 100th EU March: 200 NA, 200 EU

Are my top 3 finishes 25,25,1 or 25, 5, 200, because the wording is confusing

Season 1 is slightly different because it is only three months long, which means your top ladder finish each month counts. For your example, it would be:

January 2018
* 25th NA
* 25th EU

February 2018
* 5th NA
* 100th EU

March 2018
* 200th NA
* 200th EU

So 25, 5, 200 are your three finishes that will count towards your Seasonal Points total.

For Season 2 onwards, each season will be four months long, and your top three ladder finishes will count. Here's an example of someone playing on on multiple servers:

April 2018
* 25th NA
* 50th EU

May 2018
* 5th NA
* 10th EU

June 2018
* 1000th NA
* 500th EU

July 2018
* 500th NA
* 200th EU

This player's Seasonal Points total would use their April, May, and July finishes of 25th, 5th, and 200th. Note that only one finish per month counts, so this player's May 10th place finish in EU does not count towards their Seasonal Points total.

<blockquote class="quoted">
 <div class="md">When do teams have to submit their roster of 3 players? Is it before the 1st season or is it at the end? i would appreciate a reply
</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="md">Organizations will need to finalize their three players two weeks before the season starts. For Season 2, it will be on or around March 16, 2018.

The legal rules will have the exact date when the update is released. 
</div> (<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/CompetitiveHS/comments/7kwt76/more_info_about_playoffs_and_pro_teams_for/drj9b7u">bdrago</a>)
<hr/>

<blockquote class="quoted">
 <div class="md"><a href="/u/bdrago">/u/bdrago</a> I was talking with some of my friends and we were confused about this point:

Starting in January 2018, a player’s three best ladder finishes per HCT season will count towards their point total. We want to avoid players being disadvantaged when they compete at an event that occurs toward the end of a month, when everyone is trying to reach the highest possible ladder rank.

Obviously multiple servers are a thing, so what counts as a "finish" for hct?

Example
January: 25th NA, 25th EU
February: 5th NA, 100th EU
March: 200 NA, 200 EU

Are my top 3 finishes 25,25,1 or 25, 5, 200, because the wording is confusing
</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="md">Season 1 is slightly different because it is only three months long, which means your top ladder finish each month counts. For your example, it would be:

January 2018 
* 25th NA 
* 25th EU

February 2018 
* 5th NA 
* 100th EU

March 2018 
* 200th NA 
* 200th EU

So 25, 5, 200 are your three finishes that will count towards your Seasonal Points total.

For Season 2 onwards, each season will be four months long, and your top three ladder finishes will count. Here's an example of someone playing on on multiple servers:

April 2018 
* 25th NA 
* 50th EU

May 2018 
* 5th NA 
* 10th EU

June 2018 
* 1000th NA 
* 500th EU

July 2018 
* 500th NA 
* 200th EU

This player's Seasonal Points total would use their April, May, and July finishes of 25th, 5th, and 200th. Note that only one finish per month counts, so this player's May 10th place finish in EU does not count towards their Seasonal Points total. 
</div> (<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/CompetitiveHS/comments/7kwt76/more_info_about_playoffs_and_pro_teams_for/drv6nn7">bdrago</a>)
<hr/>

<div class="md">Organizations will need to finalize their three players two weeks before the season starts. For Season 2, it will be on or around March 16, 2018.

<div class="md">Season 1 is slightly different because it is only three months long, which means your top ladder finish each month counts. For your example, it would be: