Overview[edit]
2016, as announced at BlizzCon, 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.
With 2017 comes some changes to the format, now instead of three seasons, there will be two—Phase 1 and Phase 2—in which each region competes in a brand new league format. Additionally there will be two Clashes for the Western and Eastern regions respectively, where the best teams meassure their current strenghts. Phase 1 will culminate in the Mid-Season Brawl in Sweden, Phase 2 culminates in the Grand Finals at BlizzCon, Anaheim.
Starting 2018 the Western and Eastern Clashes got some changes. Now it will feature the top four from the major regions, being North America and Europe for the Western Clash, as well as China and Korea for the Eastern Clash. This time they will not only face off for the price money and prestige that comes with winning their regional title, but they now also fight for an additional spot for their region at the seasonal final tournament, the new Buddy Pass.
Minor regions will now have their own Clashes: Intercontinental Clash, where the best team from Latin America will face the best team from ANZ in a fearsome single best of seven to decide which of the teams will represent their region for the big final tournaments, while at the Horizon Clash, the best team from SEA and the best from Taiwan/Hong Kong/Japan will try and achieve the same.