Hearthstone - Heroes of Warcraft news » HCT 2018: Everything You Need to Know About Seasonal Playoffs

The Hearthstone Championship Tour (HCT) 2018’s Season 1 is almost at an end! This first point-earning season of 2018 culminates in the Summer Playoffs, which lead into the first seasonal championship of the year—the Summer Championship.

If you’ve been gunning to qualify for a Seasonal Playoff this year, we’ve got you covered. Iron out your dates and plan your travel with more information about HCT 2018’s Playoff locations!

Format

HCT 2018 will utilize the Swiss format. Players can expect to compete in seven rounds of Swiss, which will progress into a dual-tournament top eight playoffs. The top two players from each group will move on to play in the Seasonal Championship. The semifinals and finals will not be played.

Matches will be best-of-five with one ban in the Conquest format, and make use of only cards in Standard rotation.

Schedule

	Europe	Americas	Asia-Pacific
Summer Playoffs	Playoffs: May 5 and 6 Deck Submissions: May 1	Playoffs: May 12 and 13 Deck Submissions: May 8	Playoffs: May 19 and 20 Deck Submissions: May 15
Fall Playoffs	Playoffs: Sep. 1 and 2 Deck Submissions: Aug. 28	Playoffs: Sep. 15 and 16 Deck Submissions: Sep. 11	Playoffs: Sep. 8 and 9 Deck Submissions: Sep. 4
Winter Playoffs	Playoffs: Jan. 12 and 13, 2019 Deck Submissions: Jan. 8, 2019	Playoffs: Jan. 19 and 20, 2019 Deck Submissions: Jan. 15, 2019	Playoffs: Jan. 26 and 27, 2019 Deck Submissions: Jan. 22, 2019

All seasonal playoffs will take place in local timezones.

The HCT Summer Championship will run from June 28 to July 1, while the HCT Fall Championship will take place from Oct. 11 to 14. The HCT Winter Championship will be held in Winter 2019, from Feb. 28 to March 3.

All Seasonal Championships for HCT 2018 will be held in the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles, California.

Venues

Our commitment to 2018 was to maintain the accessible, distributed model for HCT Playoffs, while increasing on-site staffing and infrastructure support for playoff venues. This means we will have fewer playoffs venues per region, but each venue will be built for competitive play, with stable internet connections and a more controlled competitive environment.

Several venues in 2017 had Fireside Gatherings attached to them that also granted the Power Core card back. To keep venue environments competitive, we will be scaling back on official Fireside Gathering activities at playoff venues. If you are interested in spectating Playoffs in-person, please keep an eye out for notice of which venues will have Fireside Gatherings.

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Summer Playoffs Locations

• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Americas

Locations	Venue
Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands	Esports Game Arena Raadhuisstraat 134 2406 AJ Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands
Kiev, Ukraine	Cybersport Arena Vadyma Hetmana St, 13, Kyiv Ukraine, 02000
Milan, Italy	Samsung Arena Via Mike Bongiorno, 9, 20124 Milano MI, Italy
Moscow, Russia	CyberSpace Avtozavodskaya ylitsa, 18, Moskva, Russia, 115280
Prague, Czech Republic	Kavarna Majak Jankovcova 1060/10, 17000 Praha 7-Holešovice, Czechia

Locations	Venue
Auckland, New Zealand	Megaweb f1/51 Hobson St, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand
Bangkok, Thailand	INI3 Digital PLC 8th Floor, Room 8/1-8/2, Galaxy Place Building 149 Nonsee Road, Chongnonsee, Yannawa Bangkok 10120, Thailand
Melbourne, Australia	Zen Gaming Lounge 280 City Rd, Southbank VIC 3006
Seoul, South Korea	WDG PC Bang B2 View Building, Bongeunsaro 107 Gangnamgu, Seoul
Sydney, Australia	TBD
Taipei, Taiwan	Blizzard Arena Taipei 106, Taiwan, Taipei City, Da’an District
Tokyo, Japan	Tokyo School of Anime, Kita Kasai Building 4-10-1, Kita Kasai, Edogawaku, Tokyo, Japan

Locations	Venue
Austin, Texas	Mothership Books and Games 2121 West Parmer Lane Suite 119, Austin TX 78727
Buenos Aires, Argentina	LocalHost S.A. Av. Fondo de la Legua 631 Boulogne, Buenos Aires :: Argentina
Curitiba, Brazil	Cooldown E-Sports n’ Burgers Av. Silva jardim, 1145 (6,294.57 mi) Curitiba, Brazil 80230-000
Fairfax, Virginia	The Cave 10621 Braddock Rd Fairfax, Virginia 22032
Pueblo Libre, Peru	Jirón Gral José Ramón Pizarro 619 Pueblo Libre 15084
Santa Ana, California	Esports Arena 120 W. 5TH ST Santa Ana, CA 92701
Thornhill, Ontario	Zanzone eSport Club 505 Highway 7 East, Suite P1-10 (2,164.55 mi) Thornhill, Ontario L3T 7T1

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Fall Playoffs Locations

• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Americas

Locations	Venue
Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands	Esports Game Arena Raadhuisstraat 134 2406 AJ Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands
Bergamo, Italy	TBD
Kiev, Ukraine	Cybersport Arena Vadyma Hetmana St, 13, Kyiv Ukraine, 02000
Moscow, Russia	CyberSpace Avtozavodskaya ylitsa, 18, Moskva, Russia, 115280
Prague, Czech Republic	Kavarna Majak Jankovcova 1060/10, 17000 Praha 7-Holešovice, Czechia

Locations	Venue
Auckland, New Zealand	Megaweb f1/51 Hobson St, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand
Bangkok, Thailand	INI3 Digital PLC 8th Floor, Room 8/1-8/2, Galaxy Place Building 149 Nonsee Road, Chongnonsee, Yannawa Bangkok 10120, Thailand
Melbourne, Australia	Zen Gaming Lounge 280 City Rd, Southbank VIC 3006
Osaka, Japan	Osaka Communication Art School 2-4-6 Kita Horie, Nishiku, Osaka City, Osaka, Japan
Seoul, South Korea	WDG PC Bang B2 View Building, Bongeunsaro 107 Gangnamgu, Seoul
Sydney, Australia	TBD
Taipei, Taiwan	Blizzard Arena Taipei 106, Taiwan, Taipei City, Da’an District

Locations	Venue
Austin, Texas	Mothership Books and Games 2121 West Parmer Lane Suite 119, Austin TX 78727
Buenos Aires, Argentina	LocalHost S.A. Av. Fondo de la Legua 631 Boulogne, Buenos Aires :: Argentina
Curitiba, Brazil	Cooldown E-Sports n’ Burgers Av. Silva jardim, 1145 (6,294.57 mi) Curitiba, Brazil 80230-000
Fairfax, Virginia	The Cave 10621 Braddock Rd Fairfax, Virginia 22032
Pueblo Libre, Peru	Jirón Gral José Ramón Pizarro 619 Pueblo Libre 15084
Santa Ana, California	Esports Arena 120 W. 5TH ST Santa Ana, CA 92701
Thornhill, Ontario	Zanzone eSport Club 505 Highway 7 East, Suite P1-10 (2,164.55 mi) Thornhill, Ontario L3T 7T1

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Winter Playoffs Locations

• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Americas

Locations	Venue
Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands	Esports Game Arena Raadhuisstraat 134 2406 AJ Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands
Bergamo, Italy	TBD
Kiev, Ukraine	Cybersport Arena Vadyma Hetmana St, 13, Kyiv Ukraine, 02000
Moscow, Russia	CyberSpace Avtozavodskaya ylitsa, 18, Moskva, Russia, 115280
Prague, Czech Republic	Kavarna Majak Jankovcova 1060/10, 17000 Praha 7-Holešovice, Czechia

Locations	Venue
Auckland, New Zealand	Megaweb f1/51 Hobson St, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand
Bangkok, Thailand	INI3 Digital PLC 8th Floor, Room 8/1-8/2, Galaxy Place Building 149 Nonsee Road, Chongnonsee, Yannawa Bangkok 10120, Thailand
Melbourne, Australia	Zen Gaming Lounge 280 City Rd, Southbank VIC 3006
Seoul, South Korea	WDG PC Bang B2 View Building, Bongeunsaro 107 Gangnamgu, Seoul
Sydney, Australia	TBD
Taipei, Taiwan	Blizzard Arena Taipei 106, Taiwan, Taipei City, Da’an District
Tokyo, Japan	Tokyo School of Anime, Kita Kasai Building 4-10-1, Kita Kasai, Edogawaku, Tokyo, Japan

Locations	Venue
Austin, Texas	TBD
Buenos Aires, Argentina	LocalHost S.A. Av. Fondo de la Legua 631 Boulogne, Buenos Aires :: Argentina
Curitiba, Brazil	Cooldown E-Sports n’ Burgers Av. Silva jardim, 1145 (6,294.57 mi) Curitiba, Brazil 80230-000
Fairfax, Virginia	The Cave 10621 Braddock Rd Fairfax, Virginia 22032
Pueblo Libre, Peru	Jirón Gral José Ramón Pizarro 619 Pueblo Libre 15084
Santa Ana, California	Esports Arena 120 W. 5TH ST Santa Ana, CA 92701
Thornhill, Ontario	Zanzone eSport Club 505 Highway 7 East, Suite P1-10 (2,164.55 mi) Thornhill, Ontario L3T 7T1

Please note that venues and locations are subject to change.

Competing in Playoffs

If you’re new to competitive Hearthstone, there are several ways you can qualify for Seasonal Playoffs. You can play on the Ranked ladder or compete at Tour Stops to earn Hearthstone Competitive Points. If you earn enough of these points in a season, you’ll be able to qualify for the Hearthstone Masters program and Seasonal Playoffs.

If ladder climbing and travelling the world aren’t for you, you can also choose to compete in Challenger Cups and at Tavern Hero Qualifiers. Challenger Cups are online cups that progress you into the Challenger Finals, while Tavern Hero Qualifiers are offline events in your local Hearthstone community (hosted at approved Fireside Gatherings). Winning one of those also gets you into the Challenger Finals. From there, the top eight players of the Challenger Finals will move on to compete in the Seasonal Playoffs.

Interested in starting your journey into competitive Hearthstone? Learn more by clicking the buttons below!

HCT Challengers

HCT 2018 Overview