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Hearthstone dumps Specialist format for Grandmasters Season 2

Hearthstone is getting ready to kick of its second Grandmasters season, but it will do so without the Specialist format, as Blizzard goes back to the drawing board.

Ozzie Mejia

July 31, 2019 5:00 AM

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Hearthstone's new-look esports year is set to continue with the upcoming Season 2 of Grandmasters. But not everything has worked out the way Blizzard or followers of the Hearthstone esports scene have hoped. Blizzard touted the Specialist format earlier this year as a new replacement for the traditional Conquest, but after a full season of Grandmasters, Specialist proved to be a flop with both players and spectators. With that in mind, Blizzard has gone back to the drawing board and unveiled a different twist on Conquest for Grandmasters Season 2.

On Tuesday, Blizzard announced that Season 2 of Grandmasters will be contested in a best-of-three Conquest format, with players bringing along four decks. One deck will be banned, as in traditional Conquest, however players can first protect one of their decks in a Shield Phase. From there, each player decides which of the opponent's decks they'd like to play against first. After the first game is decided, the winning deck is discarded and both players decide which deck to play against next.

In an effort to increase the quality of life for both players and spectators, each regions two divisions are being restructured. On top of that, the fourth place finisher at the end of the regular season will also qualify for the playoffs.

Things are subject to change further as Grandmasters goes on. This includes the topic of relegation. More information can be found on the Rules and Policies page, along with the Hearthstone website. So stay tuned, as the Hearthstone esports season continues. Hearthstone Grandmasters Season 2 is set to begin on August 23. Meanwhile, the Hearthstone Masters are set to converge in Seoul, South Korea and compete from August 15-18. That's just in time to start playing with the new Saviors of Uldum expansion, which is set to release on Tuesday, August 6.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?