HCT Seoul: Hearthstone in the Capital City of Esports!
Don’t unpack yet, the Hearthstone Championship Tour is on the move again! This time, it’s heading to vibrant Seoul, the unofficial capital city of esports. Get ready for Korean barbeque, K-pop, and Hearthstone!
HCT Seoul is a Grand Prix tournament that will take place June 8 through 10. A total of 191 Hearthstone Competitive Points (CP) as well as $25,000 USD are on the line for top players.
Tournament Information
HCT Seoul will feature an offline 512-player Swiss bracket that will narrow to a double elimination Top 32 one. From there, the last heroes standing will find themselves competing in a single elimination Top 8 playoffs. All matches will be played best-of-five in Conquest format with one ban, and deck lists will be open. All games will be played on the Asia server, and all tournament rounds will be streamed. Competition PCs for the tournament will be provided by the organizer.
HCT Seoul will take place in the Nexon Arena and PC bangs (internet cafes) suitable for competition that are also near the main venue. All competition locations are situated in the heart of Seoul—the Gangnam district! The full ruleset for HCT Seoul can be viewed here, with the HCT 2018 Player Handbook available here.
Registration for the tournament is free. However, as with other Grand Prix tour stops, travel to the tournament must be self-funded. For more information related to the tour stop regarding registration, ticketing, accommodation support and event rules, please visit the HCT Seoul website. (We have a hotel partner, so make sure to take advantage of that!)
Registration
To accommodate all players, registration will take place according to regional eligibility. For players not residing in Seoul, please note that you must provide a copy of your flight itinerary within seven days of registration.
Your registration slot eligibility is determined by your Battle.net Country of Residence.
- Global (Americas, Europe, China), 128 players: May 7, 2:00 p.m. to May 14, 11:59 p.m. KST (May 7 07:00 CEST to May 14 17:00 CEST)
- Asia-Pacific #1 (Asia-Pacific), 128 players: May 8, 2:00 p.m. to May 15, 11:59 p.m. KST
- Asia-Pacific #2 (Asia-Pacific), 128 players: May 9, 2:00 p.m. to May 16, 11:59 p.m. KST
- Korea (Korea only), 128 players: May 10, 2:00 p.m. to May 17, 11:59 p.m. KST
If you have any questions about the tournament or its registration, reach out to the tournament organizer via email.
Schedule
HCT Seoul will take place from Friday, June 8 through Sunday, June 10. The schedule for the tournament is as follows:
- June 8: Swiss rounds 1-7 begin at 12:00 p.m. KST (June 8, 05:00 CEST)
- June 9: Top 32 double elimination bracket begins at 12:00 p.m. KST (June 9, 05:00. CEST)
- June 10: Top 8 playoffs start at 12:00 p.m. KST (June 10, 05:00 CEST)
Points and Prizing
HCT Seoul will offer the following point and prizing distribution:
| Standing | Points | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 15 | $6,500 |
| 2nd | 12 | $3,500 |
| 3rd – 4th | 10 | $1,500 |
| 5th – 8th | 8 | $1000 |
| 9th – 16th | 6 | $500 |
| 17th – 32nd | 4 | $250 |
| Total: | 191 | $25,000 |
Broadcast
HCT Seoul will have an English and Korean dual broadcast for all the three days it is being played. Your casters for the English broadcast are: Dan “Frodan” Chou, Simon “Sottle” Welch, Nathan “ThatsAdmirable” Zamora, and TJ Sanders. There will be both an online stream and TV broadcast in Korean.
English: The official PlayHearthstone twitch channel
Korean (stream): The official PlayHearthstone KR twitch channel
Korean (TV): SpoTV Games
Who can participate in HCT Seoul?
Registration for HCT Seoul is open globally.
Which game region will HCT Seoul be conducted on?
HCT Seoul will be played on the Asia game region.
What if I don’t have an Asia server account?
Tournament accounts will be granted to players who are APAC residents (as determined by their Battle.net Country of Residence) and who were directed via Battle.net to create accounts in the Americas game region. These players must make decklist submissions using their personal Hearthstone accounts. Players may not submit decks that contain cards their existing personal collections do not have.
Upon arrival and check-in at the tournament, the organizers will provide players with a tournament account to be only used for the tournament and friendly duels. Players are not allowed to queue in Ranked Play. If a player is found to be using the tournament account in Ranked Play, the player will be disqualified from the tournament immediately.
What is the format for all matches in HCT Seoul?
The 512-player bracket will run in Swiss Format down to the top 32. The top 32 will play in a double elimination bracket in order to find the top eight players of the tournament, who will then compete in single elimination playoffs. All matches will be best-of-five in Conquest format with one ban. Each player will bring four decks.
The full ruleset for HCT Seoul can be viewed here, with the HCT 2018 Player Handbook available here.
How do I get more information on HCT Seoul?
Please visit the HCT Seoul website here. For specific questions, please email us!
Can I play with an account that is not mine?
All participating players must be the legal owners of their Hearthstone accounts. Players found to not be in ownership of the account they are using to play will be disqualified immediately.
Stay up to date on tournament details through the Hearthstone Esports Twitter channel and let us know your thoughts with the hashtag #HCTSeoul. We’ll see you in the tavern!