After a successful 2017, Twitch and the Heroes Global Championship (HGC) are firing up the HGC Cheer program for 2018, just in time for Mid-Season Brawl. This will give HGC fans the opportunity to support their favorite teams while simultaneously unlocking new loot for use on Twitch and in Heroes of the Storm^®.

During HGC broadcasts, viewers can express their fandom by Cheering with Bits. Like in 2017, you can purchase Bits—a virtual good offered by Twitch— to Cheer on HGC teams in chat. Cheering for teams can unlock unique Twitch chat emotes and an expanded list of in-game items for use in Heroes of the Storm, such as banners, mounts, and Loot Chests.

When fans Cheer for a team, a portion of the revenue Twitch receives from those Bits goes to the HGC team receiving the Cheers. New in 2018, there will be unique global rewards for each of three different phases—so total Bits Cheered in a phase can unlock that phase’s benefits for HGC Cheer participants.

Specialty mounts were a hit last year, so HGC Cheer is offering even more premium goods more often via Cheering with Bits.

This year, all HGC Cheer goals will be tracked right on the Twitch channel page, so you’ll know how close you are to the next milestone. HGC supporters can follow the different kinds of progress:

• Team Progress: As fans Cheer for a favorite team, they’ll unlock team-specific cosmetic items like banners, sprays, and badges for use in Heroes of the Storm and on Twitch. Consistently Cheering for a team gives a fan additional items for that team. An HGC fan can start unlocking items for a specific team once they Cheer 100 Bits or more for that team.

• My Progress: As fans Cheer for any team, they’ll unlock team-agnostic items like Loot Chests, mounts, and emotes for use in Heroes of the Storm and on Twitch based on the level of Cheering by that individual fan.

• Global Progress: All fans that support the program with a minimal level of Cheering will receive premium loot when the overall community hits global Cheering milestones in a given phase.

To Cheer and earn rewards, fans must:

1. Link their Blizzard account to their Twitch account.
2. Visit Twitch.tv/BlizzHeroes (or any of the official Blizzard HGC localized channels) during HGC events and matches.
3. Cheer by clicking the Nexus icon at the bottom of chat, selecting the team’s logo, and adding the number of Bits they wish to Cheer with, plus an optional custom message.
4. Check their Heroes of the Storm account once goals are reached to automatically receive the reward!

Bits are a virtual good that can be purchased directly from the Twitch chat window and appear in chat as gem-shaped animated emotes or as Cheermotes with custom images. The more Bits used, the bigger and more animated the emotes and Cheermotes get. Bits start at $1.40 USD for 100 Bits with the teams receiving half of one cent for every Bit used in chat.

Throw your support behind the teams in the HGC by visiting the HGC Cheer event page for details. The whole program is now live on twitch.tv/blizzheroes, so link your accounts, get your Bits, and start Cheering for the HGC!