Is it the end of Hearthstone’s esport ?

Blizzard and Hearthstone are celebrating 10 years of competition on the card game by announcing new rules for esports on the game, as well as changes to the ladder system. Although these announcements were intended to renew interest in the game, it seems that these changes for the 2023 season are not well received by players.

For its 2023 season, Blizzard wants to offer the best competition format possible. Seven events will be launched this year, including three seasonal Masters Tour championships to qualify for the 2023 World Championship and three Battlegrounds tournaments: Lobby Legends. Ranking on 3-month periods will determine qualification for each of these events. The top 16 players will participate in the Masters Tour and Lobby Legends. The four players with the most points in each region will receive an invitation, followed by the four with the most points overall, regardless of region and whether invitations have already been sent.

Are you ready for the TENTH YEAR of competitive Hearthstone?! This year is going to look a bit different from the previous few, so let’s get into what is coming to Hearthstone Esports.https://t.co/lD3ZQzy3GV

— Hearthstone Esports (@HSesports) January 19, 2023

In 2023, the competition will be more selective. Players from around the world will compete for prizes and entry into the Hall of Champions. The Masters Tour will now consist of only 16 players, not the hundreds of players that it used to be.

But then what are the motivations behind these changes? It's likely to be related to the return of Blizzard's esports to the Twitch platform. Previously, a contract with YouTube gave them exclusivity in exchange for a fee. Since that agreement is no longer in effect, the competition can now be streamed on Twitch, but there is no longer the same revenue. This is just a guess, the reasons may be different, such as a larger financial reward for the participants

Why are these changes not appreciated by everyone? The reason is simple: qualification is now only done through the ladder, and the competition will be even tougher. There are fewer places to win, and players who don't qualify will not receive any reward. In short, a lot of effort for little to no reward.