World of Warcraft® and Hearthstone® players to compete at ESL’s Hammerstein America Finals for BlizzCon® qualifying spots

Qualifiers for BlizzCon’s US$250,000 Hearthstone Championship along with top World of Warcraft action on October 5th and 6th

(Los Angeles, United States) September 12, 2014 – ESL, the world’s largest independent eSports brand, is set to host Hearthstone® and World of Warcraft® qualifiers for BlizzCon® 2014 in partnership with Blizzard Entertainment. With online qualifiers as a precursor, qualifiers will come to their epic conclusion at the esteemed Manhattan Hammerstein Ballroom on October 5th and 6th.

In order to qualify for the Hammerstein Finals, Hearthstone players will need to battle their way through an online 128 player Swiss Bracket. The top sixteen from the online tournament will advance to Hammerstein with the top four from the offline event qualifying for the US$250,000 BlizzCon competition.

Meanwhile, World of Warcraft teams will have to fight their way through an unlimited online talent pool for a chance to take part at the offline qualifiers in Hammerstein. All would-be players must reach a 3v3 arena rating of 2,500 ahead of the online double elimination bracket, from which only the top eight advance to the offline Hammerstein qualifiers. From there, only the top three will advance to BlizzCon for the Global Finals.

“With BlizzCon just around the corner, we are sure to see some fantastic games in both Hearthstone and World of Warcraft, as the best of the best battle for the chance to compete in Anaheim. To get there, players will first have to prove themselves online and at Hammerstein, a location that will do well to prepare them for BlizzCon,” said Craig Levine, Vice President at ESL North America.

Sign-ups for both Hearthstone and World of Warcraft kicked off on September 1st. For more information on tournament structure and player eligibility, please visit esl.gg/blizzconqualifier