Blizzard announces 4 million dollar esports plans for HotS in 2016

At BlizzCon, Blizzard announced big plans for Heroes of the Storm esports in 2016. With four million dollars worth of prizes on the line, they weren't kidding. It has never been a better time to be a HotS fan.

Heroes of the Storm 2016 Spring Championship

With the global launch of Heroes of the Storm, the thrilling World Championship at BlizzCon, our Heroes of the Dorm collegiate tournament, and countless exciting matches that had us sitting on the edge of our seats, 2015 was a monumental year for esports in the Nexus. Now in 2016, we’re taking Heroes esports to a whole new level!

As announced at BlizzCon, 2016 kicks off the new Heroes of the Storm Global Championship Circuit. The best teams from Australia/New Zealand, China, Europe, Korea, Latin America, North America, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan will be competing in a seasonal format, with each of the three seasons—Spring, Summer, and Fall—culminating in a Global Championship event. In total, more than $4 million is on the line in the 2016 Global Championship Circuit.

With the first qualifiers and regional championships of 2016 getting underway, we’d like to share a breakdown of the Spring Global Championship and the events leading up to it. Read on to find dates and locations for some of our regional events, along with links to additional information.

Spring Global Championship Event

Dates: April 1–3

Location: Seoul, South Korea

Partner: OGN

Prize Pool: $500k USD

Check back soon for more information

Australia/New Zealand – Spring Regional

Dates: February 7–28

Location: Preliminaries online; Finals in Sydney, Australia

Partner: ESL

Prize Pool: $20k USD

Check back soon for more information

China – Gold League

Dates: January 15–24

Location: Shanghai, China

Partner: NetEase / NeoTV

Prize Pool: $100k USD*

For more information, visit http://gold.blizzard.cn/live-stream/

Europe – Spring Regional

Dates: March 5–6 (Finals)

Location: Preliminaries online; Finals in Katowice, Poland

Partner: ESL

Prize Pool: $100k USD

For more information, visit http://play.eslgaming.com/heroesofthestorm/europe/championship/katowice/

Korea – Super League

Dates: January 12–March 20

Location: Preliminaries online; Finals in Seoul, South Korea

Partner: OGN

Prize Pool: $200k USD

For more information, visit http://www.playxp.com/heroes/ogn/superleague/

Latin America – Copa America

Dates: January 21–March 19

Location: Preliminaries online; Finals in Brazil

Partner: VIU / BRMA

Prize Pool: $20k USD

For more information, visit http://esports.viustudio.com/heroes-of-the-storm-copa-america

North America – Spring Regional

Dates: February 27–28 (Finals)

Location: Preliminaries online; Finals in Los Angeles, California

Partner: ESL

Prize Pool: $100k USD

Check back soon for more information

South East Asia – Spring Regional

Dates: January 16–March 6

Location: Preliminaries online and offline; SEA Finals online, cast live from Singapore

Partner: AsiaSoft

Prize Pool: $22.5k USD*

For more information, visit http://esports.heroessea.com/en/index.html

Taiwan – Spring Regional

Dates: February 18–March 13

Location: Preliminaries online; Finals in Taipei, Taiwan

Partner: 4Gamers

Prize Pool: $60k USD

For more information, visit http://tw.battle.net/heroes/zh/blog/

*Regional prize pools may vary; USD values according to exchange rates; see regional websites for local prizing.

We are extremely excited to share this sneak peek at our Spring Global Championship plans with you. Be sure to stay tuned here or at HeroesoftheStorm.com/esports as we plan to bring you more details on the Spring tournament and our upcoming Summer and Fall seasons!

Full blog post.

Follow us on Twitter @GosuGamersHotS for more Heroes of the Storm Esports news.

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