Hearthstone - Heroes of Warcraft news » The HCT World Championship Live Experience

The Hearthstone® Championship Tour (HCT) World Championship is the cherry on top of a very sweet year of Hearthstone—and what better way to celebrate 2017 than to travel to Amsterdam and experience all the thrills live and in-person? Here are five reasons to experience the 2017 HCT World Championship first-hand.

Meet Your Favorite Developers

It isn’t a Hearthstone Championship Tour without the development team’s presence, and what better way to recognize the crème de la crème of championship events than with four developers? Gracing the halls of the Beurs van Berlage will be:

Ben Brode	Seyil Yoon	Mike Donais	Dean Ayala
Game Director	Senior Software Engineer	Principal Game Designer	Game Designer

You’ll get a chance to meet, mingle, and even play Hearthstone with all of them! As part of the HCT World Championship experience, daily competitions for attendees will be lined up, and playing with or against your favorite devs at our Cannons Away! station (see below for more) is part of that.

Rub Shoulders with Pros

The 16 HCT World Championship players aren’t the only professional players you’ll be able to meet. In Amsterdam, you’ll also have a chance to say hi to:

Thijs Molendijk	David Caero	James Kostesich	Radu Dima
Thijs	Dog	Firebat	RDU

Play Hearthstone Every Day!

Hearthstone players know the importance of min-maxing, so min-max your game at the HCT World Championship by not just watching, but also playing Hearthstone! We’ll have the following on-site events for attendees to enjoy:

Cannons Away!

At the HCT World Championship, we’re one-upping ourselves over HCT Summer. This time, you don’t just get to duel a developer—you can also be on the same team! Our Cannons Away! game stations are a unique combination of Fireside Brawls and board games. You and a friend (or friend-to-be) will team up with a Blizzard developer or Hearthstone influencer to play against another three-person team.

Play an unforgettable game of Hearthstone with some of the industry’s best and brightest? Don’t mind if I do!

Hearthstone Daily Tournaments

This daily-run Swiss-pairings tournament will be open to signups for the first 128 players when the venue doors open on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. If you’ve always wanted to experience a large LAN Hearthstone tournament, this is your chance. Rounds of Swiss, played in a best-of-five Conquest with ban format, will conclude with a top-eight single-elimination playoff bracket. It sounds serious because it is, and so is the prize for first place: a paid trip to an HCT Seasonal Championship in 2018.

Other prizes include HCT pins, new HCT World Championship notebooks, HCT World Championship T-shirts, and the rare Year of the Mammoth duffel bag.

You can find full tournament rules for Daily Tournaments here. If you miss out on the opportunity to play in a Daily Tournament, don’t worry! There will be other chances at the HCT World Championship for you to play Hearthstone and win loot.

Earn Your Thrill of Victory Card Back

Attending the crowning jewel of the 2017 Hearthstone Championship Tour will also grant you the Thrill of Victory card back, which you can only receive at an HCT Championship event.

Enjoy a Hearthstone-Filled Holiday

The city of Amsterdam isn’t just host to the HCT World Championship—it’s an amazing tourist destination. The capital of the Netherlands originated around a dam in the river Amstel, and later grew to become one of the world’s most important 17th-century ports.

Today, Amsterdam is filled with gorgeous architecture, including romantic canals and historic buildings like the Oude Kerk (Old Church), which has been around since 1306! Amsterdam also has lots of greenery and open space within its borders.

To help you enjoy the HCT World Championship and more, here are some hotel discounts! The Beurs van Berlage has partner hotels with discounted offers, but you can also check out:

The Arcade Hotel

15% discount on visits from Jan. 16–23*
Promo code: BlizzardHCT2017

Swissôtel Amsterdam

17% off normal room rates from Jan. 18–21*
Promo code: PDIR

StayOkay Hostel Amsterdam Stadsdoelen

10% discount per night from Jan. 17–22, excluding breakfast and tourist tax (minimum two-night stay)*
Promo code: HCTW10

Mercure Hotel Amsterdam Centre Canal District

10% off regular room prices from Jan. 17–22*
Promo code: SC287755941

*All discounts are subject to availability and other terms. Please contact the participating hotels for details.

Has your appetite for Hearthstone been suitably whet? Tickets for the HCT World Championship are now available in limited quantities, and can be purchased below.

Billetterie Weezevent