ESL Partners With Blizzard To Operate Hearthstone Esports

Tournament organiser ESL Gaming has partnered with Blizzard Leisure to create. Function Hearthstone’s esports ecosystem for the subsequent two years.

Associated: ESL renews Mastercard NLC partnership

The deal will see all of Hearthstone’s main tournaments be affected, akin to Grandmasters and the Hearthstone Masters Tours. Additionally, the circuit will entail a total prize pool of $3m (~ £2,19m) per calendar 12 months.

Michael Van Driel, Senior Vice President Recreation Management at ESL Gaming, commented on the partnership: “We are delighted to strengthen our relationship with Blizzard via this two yr Hearthstone partnership”

“Operating the sport ecosystem is a good move for ESL and Hearthstone. Fans world wide can look ahead to an thrilling two years forward.”

The announcement follows on from ESL’s current agreements with StarCraft II and Warcraft III, both of which are owned by Blizzard. According to the release, the brand new partnership ‘strengthens the connection between the 2 brands’.

Associated: ESL to host Wild Rift tournaments in Malaysia and Thailand by way of 2021

Alongside working the Hearthstone esports ecosystem, the settlement offers ESL an opportunity to introduce ESL and DreamHack branded competitions into its partnership with Blizzard over the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

ESL and DreamHack had been sister firms owned by Trendy Times Group (MTG) since 2015, nevertheless, in September 2020 each entities merged below the ESL Gaming umbrella. Regardless of merging, the two corporations remained separate brands to target their respective audiences. Esports Insider says: Choosing ESL Gaming as an operator of Hearthstone’s esports structure is a logical choice for Blizzard. It must be a positive development for the game’s esports ecosystem. In addition, the partnership continues to strengthen the growing relationship between ESL and Blizzard.