Blizzard has officially announced that the Hearthstone Masters Tour: Madrid will be moved to an online format only, which should come as no surprise considering the ongoing global pandemic. Though expected, the announcement was only made today as for months there has been some hope that by December it would be safe for competitors, commentators, production staff, and fans to travel to the live event, but this is clearly not the case.

This move to an online-only format, while expected, is not really the big news that competitive players should be focusing on. Instead, the most important part of the announcement is that the tournament has been moved up by two months from December to October 23-25.

Hopeful players looking to secure a spot can begin with qualifiers as of August 6, with signups upon today on Battlefy. The Masters Tour Online: Madrid will also be one of the last opportunities for players to advance in the leader board of their respective Regions in hopes of attaining a Grandmaster spot in 2021.

The competition is sure to be fierce, and all eyes will likely be on Simone “Leta” Liguori, who recently dominated the Masters Tour Online: Asia-Pacific event last weekend. With that said, October 23 will mark six weeks following the release of the new Scholomance Academy expansion, which means that all players will have an opportunity to shine in a new meta, and possibly may be dealing with a mid-expansion balance update.

Interestingly, this news comes right during the expansion card reveals for Scholomance Academy. The Demon Hunter class appears to be receiving some of the strangest designs in the history of Hearthstone with what might be considered an unhealthy amount of opponent hand destruction. October may be the time for new players to shine at the top of the competitive scene.

For players looking to acquire an invitation to the Masters Tour Online: Madrid (note that the official Hearthstone website has a typo stating qualification is for Montreal, which is incorrect as that ends July 26), the following can be done:

  • Win one of 90 online Masters Qualifiers between August 6 and September 27 on Battlefy. Finish with at least a 7-2 record at Masters Tour Online: Asia-Pacific and Masters Tour Online: Montreal. Place within the Top 8 of a Masters Qualifier for Masters Tour Online: Madrid five times. Place top 16 Legend on the in-game Ladder in the months of August and September (see official Masters Qualifiers rules for details). Be a Hearthstone Grandmaster.

Best of luck to all competitors at these events, we hope the two-month shift in competition does not disrupt too many plans!

Source: playhearthstone.com

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